tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60023572012-02-02T23:46:57.699-06:00"Whatever way you put it, I am here only because my world is here. When I took my first breath, my world was born with me. When I die, my world dies with me. In other words, I wasn't born into a world that was already here before me, nor do I leave anything behind to live on after me. People live thinking of themselves as members of a group or society. However, this isn't really true. Actually, I bring my own world into exisitence, live it out, and take it with me when I die..." Kosho UchiyamaEricanoreply@blogger.comBlogger1841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-24689690209586956402012-01-26T18:19:00.001-06:002012-01-26T18:19:21.590-06:00

First of all, I'm in this for weight loss, but also looking at this as a way to maintain my goal weight once I get there.  So... Starting weight:  147 this morning, been fluctuating up to 149 over the last week. Diet:  A little all over the place today since I didn't go shopping with this diet in mind yet (aside from dinner).  Breakfast:  2 eggs  Lunch:  3 slices of bologna with 2 slices of

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-36657602700039556512012-01-11T15:43:00.000-06:002012-01-11T15:43:07.361-06:00

You can like things without wanting them for yourself. You ultimately want a simple life.  To be able to pack up and move.  To not need extra room in a living space for your stuff.  Or more stuff to dust. So many times you've seen something, wanted it, got it, and then let it sit in a corner unused.  It's a waste of money, space, and ultimately that brief period of happiness from the purchase

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-90738536870809761872011-11-18T23:53:00.001-06:002011-11-19T00:00:45.686-06:00

I tend to root for the underdog.  In a shelter situation, that's usually a dog with medical or behavior problems.  Having been an employee and (currently) a volunteer in a "no-kill" shelter, I've fallen for many animals who never made it out.  Some succumbed to disease or illness, but at least an equal number were euthanized for behavior problems that could not (or would not) be solved. This is

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-12164018866831171392011-09-08T17:21:00.002-05:002011-09-08T18:07:56.426-05:00

I'm currently using an old HTC G1 (original Android phone).  I've been looking for a replacement for some time, but don't want to regret my next purchase halfway through my contract like I did last time.  So, I decided on the Samsung Galaxy S2 last spring.  Unfortunately now that it's finally out in the US (or will be in a week), I find that it's not top of the line anymore.  There are several

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-4714409499639770142010-04-06T12:19:00.003-05:002010-04-06T12:24:00.733-05:00

It's a Tuesday. I love Tuesdays. After a week that looks like this:-Wednesday: surgery 9am to 5:30pm (no breaks)-Thursday: work 8am-12n, leave for school at 2:30pm, get home at 5:30pm-Friday: surgery 8:30am to 5:30pm (no breaks)-Saturday: work 8am to 4pm-Sunday: work 8am to 3pm-Monday: leave for school at 1:30pm, go from school to work, get home at 8:30pm...then there's Tuesday, the only

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-64732190529616961382010-01-14T20:12:00.003-06:002010-01-14T20:39:03.536-06:00

My Dad grew up hunting with his father and passed on the ethics of hunting to me. Knowing many vegetarians and city-dwellers, I know that phrase "the ethics of hunting" may sound funny, but I think you might just be surprised at how hunters like my father feel about what they do.Life, I was told, is precious and the animals that die so that we can have food deserve respect for the gift that their

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-31422756942663234892009-10-20T15:15:00.003-05:002009-10-20T15:21:32.408-05:00

I've been finding the USB cover on my G1 phone annoying lately, so I just took a look at it to see how I could take it off. After some searching I saw some instructions on removing a screw or prying the cover to get it out. But, after reading that it was just a rubber ball on the end that was anchoring it to the phone, I decided to just carefully pull on it instead and guess what? -it popped

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-32444850414750862142009-10-02T07:50:00.002-05:002009-10-02T07:56:31.490-05:00

Be careful with your credit card payments! I got a letter in the mail from Discover the other day (it looked unassuming, like most of their advertisements) that said I "triggered the variable Default ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE" and my rate was being raised to "Prime + 21.49%"!I called right away since their customer service is open 24x7 and found out that the cause of the change was the fact that I

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-26066498202763050182009-09-19T21:26:00.007-05:002009-09-22T21:08:34.790-05:00

I spent 11 hours volunteering yesterday. Each hour was grueling. Not because of the work or the length of time, but because of someone I have to work with. It's driving me crazy because I can't recall ever being in such conflict with someone that I couldn't work with them before, but it's truly gone that far at this point. I keep running the situation through my head. Is it my fault?Yes, I

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-5169650517622519592009-09-08T15:59:00.002-05:002009-09-08T16:38:33.904-05:00

Problem #1: Employer-provided insurance puts all the choices in the hands of my company's executives and HR people and leaves me, the consumer, with limited options.I don't understand my insurance policy at all. If I were out in the market I'd give my money to whatever insurance company would provide me with the best customer service at a reasonable price. I'd love the ability to choose a plan

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-55527517810108312822009-08-09T21:31:00.000-05:002009-08-09T21:32:12.590-05:00

What? You thought this blog was dead? Well, half-dead. I post by posting posts from others on others' posts like this:Despite my silliness, this article really is quite good and lays out the exact reasoning that lead me to leave the Republican party:http://sidschwab.blogspot.com/2009/08/signposts.htmlPerhaps one day I'll come back to write my own material!

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-91945784315458243452009-06-29T08:57:00.002-05:002009-06-29T09:32:31.081-05:00

On June 16th I went to Wheatland Dental for a checkup. It had been two and a half or so years since I had been, so I wasn't surprised when I was told I needed another deep cleaning/scaling and that I had 4 cavities that needed to be filled. At that visit the hygienist said that one cavity was pretty deep -she showed it to me on the xray and she said there was a possibility that that tooth would

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-17758462570113688972009-05-11T09:53:00.002-05:002009-05-11T10:25:30.630-05:00

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-68847234717433184592009-02-11T20:51:00.002-06:002009-02-11T21:14:33.194-06:00

Not quite. ...I never dreamed of being a writer, but in an attempt to get a bit more serious about my offering professional photography lessons, I've started writing a book(let) to give to my future students.Basically, I've had the lesson plans written up for a year. I've had a few inquiries about the lessons, but I've either met up with them for a day of shooting for free rather than give

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-77003904730549135692008-12-05T08:09:00.003-06:002008-12-05T08:34:03.959-06:00

Every year around this time I look up the average daily temperatures online. Like, for today, the average high is 41*F and the low is 27*F. Which makes me hopeful that we'll get back up above the freezing point again soon (as I write this it's 5*F).The temperatures fall-fall-fall through December and hit a low of an average high of 31*F on January 14, then they bounce back up and slowly make

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-83515647411458608492008-11-30T20:27:00.003-06:002008-11-30T20:44:14.561-06:00

In July I bought a digital picture frame for my Dad for his birthday. I had originally wanted to get him a 10 inch frame or so, but I ended up purchasing a $300 15-inch frame instead because it was capable of wifi and it'd pull photos off of Flickr, so anyone in the family would be able to drop photos onto it really easy.It turned out the frame didn't work well. It'd keep showing the same

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-37573771167475099342008-11-18T08:55:00.000-06:002008-11-20T08:04:56.168-06:00

'Tis the season...Two things are occupying my mind as of late. First, with Obama being our new President-Elect, I'm hoping the right's fringe who chanted hateful things about him hating America and being a Muslim realize that they were mislead. I'm not deluded enough to think they'll ever LIKE the guy, but they'll have to see that his agenda doesn't include changing our religious beliefs or

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-39486560241660240772008-11-17T08:43:00.000-06:002008-11-20T08:51:07.099-06:00

We adopted a 3 year old dog who was supposed to be housebroken, but we let Apex have the run of the house last night and we had a few problems. At 2am he woke me up with his face in mine. I tried to get him to leave me alone, but he insisted on having my attention. I decided to get up and let him out in case he needed to go -I knew he didn't have the routine of bedtime and asking to go out down

Ericanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-43765470310006261402008-11-16T20:23:00.003-06:002008-11-20T08:43:15.922-06:00

So today we brought Forty-Two to the Naperville Humane Society to meet "Buddy", who we put on hold yesterday with the adoption pending on this meeting. They had us bring Forty-Two into a fenced-in pen and keep him on the leash while they brought out "Buddy". First, they had them meet through the fence. Their tails wagged and they sortof got bored, so they brought "Buddy" into the pen and we

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-59786158217650550682008-11-15T20:05:00.002-06:002008-11-20T08:23:21.577-06:00

Today we adopted Apex from the Naperville Humane Society. At first I was iffy on adopting a second dog -I wondered if it'd help occupy Forty-Two, who can be somewhat whiny and needy when I can't give him the massive amount of exercise he needs or if we'd end up with 2 demanding dogs. But, we decided we'd take our chances and look for another dog.After searching Petfinder.com for an hour or so

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-56317924286941301212008-10-23T12:04:00.005-05:002008-10-23T14:21:10.537-05:00

Republicans, "conservatives", from what I've been told, are supposed to work for a smaller roll for Federal government and less intrusion of government on people's lives. That's a concept I whole-heartedly agree with. And they generally keep to that stance when it comes to issues like gun control, the environment, and health care. But since the 90's they seem to have adopted an exception for

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-23909391619329272122008-10-02T20:19:00.001-05:002008-10-02T20:19:26.973-05:00

Being off work with extra time on my hands and having overly ripe pears in the fridge, I decided to try to make cobbler out of them. All the recipes I could find online included lemon juice, which I didn't have. Or used more pears than I had (I had 3), so I came up with something on my own. It was good, but I didn't write down what I did. Here's the idea, though, so that maybe I can reproduce it

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-41792333802636297642008-09-29T08:53:00.002-05:002008-09-29T08:55:57.688-05:00

I'm keeping track of the polling data as displayed on http://www.electoral-vote.com/ here:http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pdA43BWeSXQfFhKuw8YrCfATo easily view side-by-side the changes from 2004 to now and periodically from now until the election.Why? I don't know. OCD? ...just thought someone else out there might be interested.

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-15598474810416615692008-09-24T15:36:00.002-05:002008-09-24T15:38:19.774-05:00

The answer to the question "Can you just rinse salted peanuts and use them as unsalted peanuts in a recipe" is yes.

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-14744738597640769232008-09-24T11:33:00.002-05:002008-09-24T13:30:38.948-05:00

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "It is told that Buddha, going out to look on life, was greatly daunted by death. "They all eat one another!" he cried, and called it evil. This process I examined, changed the verb, said, "They all feed one another," and called it good."

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-24666777652218197422008-07-25T12:41:00.004-05:002008-07-29T11:42:42.590-05:00

Looping:For Each...Next: These commands let you walk through a collection of objects, do something with each of them, then move on to the next one. You cannot perform a WScript.Echo on a collection because each item in the collection can be assumed to have different properties, so which would it echo? Instead you'll need to use a "For Each"..."Next" loop.For...Next:"For...Next" differs from "For

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-41388408876258236482008-07-24T09:43:00.004-05:002008-07-28T14:30:40.820-05:00

Script Headers:This is how you start your script; by telling the computer what to expect and how to run the script."Option Explicit": You're going to list each variable in the script before it is used. If you don't use this it'll be assumed that any statement that VBScript doesn't recognize is a variable. In order for it to work, though, it must be the first non-commented out line in the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-3377887530119252902008-06-17T13:46:00.003-05:002008-06-17T13:58:19.481-05:00

Okay, so here's the story that's prompting this post:More than half of the women in science, engineering and IT leave the field at mid­career. Here's the reason.read more | digg storyIT is a male-dominated field. There are a lot of reasons for this, but they don't really matter because it's just a fact. And IT teams are generally highly stressed, so as stress relief there are usually all kinds

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-51789010320944625682008-05-10T17:08:00.001-05:002008-05-10T17:10:00.733-05:00

Babies eating plastic bags? Nope, they claim the packaging contaminates the food...http://green.sympatico.msn.ca/article.aspx?cp-documentid=478795

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-23658234293029716042008-05-07T20:41:00.005-05:002008-05-09T08:03:48.620-05:00

For over a decade now I've playfully toyed with the idea that one day I'd become dictator for the purpose of evaluating whether certain political or sociological ideas would work for the masses rather than just evaluating them at an individual level. Silly, but it makes the exercise fun and allows me to sneak "when I become dictator" into conversation.Now that I've completed PaulHarrison1976's

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-19956425209542678062008-05-06T11:41:00.003-05:002008-05-07T08:49:38.522-05:00

I've been listening to / watching PaulHarrison1976's videos on YouTube lately and have found them VERY interesting. He's recently gone from being religious to non-religious and he has shared some pretty personal information about how difficult the transition can be and how lost he is without the culture of religion even though he no longer believes the metaphysical part of it. This jives with

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-85480720927754525572008-04-16T20:39:00.002-05:002008-04-16T20:42:17.830-05:00

Vitamin supplements may increase risk of death!Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/16/medicalresearch

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-18279406514581290942008-04-12T11:08:00.004-05:002008-04-12T11:32:52.538-05:00

So, in the last week or so we've heard:"American Airlines Cancels More than 300,000 travelers were left stranded by American Airlines in one week...""ATA Airlines shut down operations and stranded thousands of travelers..."When airlines go under, fliers find that they have few protectionsAnd a personal story about a mistake in SouthWest's reservation system leading to a sneaky $66 charge for a

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-28004008838375466712008-04-03T12:57:00.004-05:002008-04-04T09:31:11.968-05:00

First thing you notice after installing Backup Exec 12 and setting up your first job, is that you can't select anything but "Keep Data Infinitely - Do Not Allow Overwrite". Great :-\"Help" and Google tells you to manually erase the media, relabel it (which effectively erases it), or move the media to scratch. But if you're looking to continuously overwrite your media, this is a big pain. I

Ericanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-56371041133875564522008-04-03T08:20:00.002-05:002008-04-03T08:45:41.484-05:00

I've just finished upgrading our backup software from Backup Exec 9 to Backup Exec 12 and I must say that the documentation, for all it's length (over 1600 pages in the pdf!), it wasn't much help. If this gets any google juice, maybe it'll let someone else avoid reading and re-reading the docs over again because Symantec decided to leave out some key information:1. Grab the CD (or download

Ericanoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-3612314098793940122008-03-11T10:27:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:28:39.831-05:00

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PHARMAWATER_I?SITE=PASCR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-22305505814445286442008-03-10T18:55:00.003-05:002008-03-10T19:31:50.315-05:00

Right after I got rid of the ick, just a day or so after reducing the copper medication, salt, and beginning to reduce the temperature back down to normal, my fish tank's water began to get cloudy. After 24 hours it was bad. After 48 you could barely see the back of the tank. For the next 3 weeks I did water changes every other day trying to get rid of whatever was in it.According to the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-26412853398807623702008-02-25T07:23:00.007-06:002008-02-25T09:09:54.358-06:00

Our LTO tape library took a dump a couple weeks ago, so I need to find a replacement. These are my notes while I look into the drives available to see what I'll recommend:First, I started with a search for all LTO tape libraries sorted by lowest price first on CDW.com.My requirements (in no particular order):At least 100GB/200GB capacityBackward compatible with our Ultrium 1 100GB/200GB tapes (

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-34914617954957506202008-02-14T14:17:00.004-06:002008-02-14T15:39:21.473-06:00

Watching it doesn't work. Worrying about it doesn't work. Only paying it off without adding to it works. So, starting a couple days ago I've cut my ties with my credit cards!It's just too hard to tell that you're debt is growing when you see yourself plunking down $1500 a month towards it -I figured I must be making progress. But since I used it every day to pay for meals out, groceries, gas,

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-63906436544013572192008-02-13T10:36:00.003-06:002008-02-13T10:48:55.569-06:00

As of last night I couldn't stand how dirty the tank was any more. I did a 50% water change (I figured while I was at it I'd get rid of as many ich organisms as I could). After filling the tank back up I added a 1/2 dose of CopperSafe and 1/2 of my salt back in to replace what was taken out with the water. One hour later I tested both the copper levels and the salinity and found I needed a tad

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-81947651115895437472008-02-12T20:18:00.005-06:002008-03-10T19:49:26.981-05:00

I can't describe what it's like being a member of a family who stops talking to each other at the drop of a hat, but I can describe the events surrounding it to some degree.Some background first: My Aunt and my Grandma had a very close relationship throughout my childhood. I believe they went to church together every Sunday, then spent the rest of the day together as well. But...About 20 years

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-30648766328382811532008-02-12T08:24:00.000-06:002008-02-12T08:30:14.134-06:00

As of Sunday Ed and I noticed that the big pleco who I doubted would survive this round with ich was pretty much free of the ich dots. The water chemistry looked good (about 10ppm of NitrAte, no ammonia, no NitrIte), so I skipped my Saturday water change since the levels of copper and salt seem to be right-on for getting rid of the ich. ...but as of yesterday the tank was disgusting. I really,

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-38490414661934149512008-02-08T22:17:00.000-06:002008-02-08T23:07:41.219-06:00

So, I still have ich in my tank. The new pleco's been getting worse and worse in fact today I noticed that his eyes are now cloudy and the right one looks like it's peeling -ew!The cichlids are still active. The acei may have fewer spots on them, but all-in-all they are looking fairly good. The original pleco, for the past couple days, has looked like it's been breathing fast. I'm a bit

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-87382316059458940772008-02-05T08:13:00.001-06:002008-11-02T19:24:04.985-06:00

**UPDATE:**For the November 2008 election I've gone back to documenting candidates on my other site here:http://ericasworld.logic.net/politicsI've been so busy following the Presidential Primary that I lost track of time and failed to research what other offices are being voted on! So, here's my notes on who's running where I'm at and whatever I find about the candidates until I figure out who

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-7557864213179993082008-02-03T17:18:00.000-06:002008-02-03T17:38:47.161-06:00

I keep recording my fish stuff in various notebooks, then I loose them or they get wet and it's no longer usable or congruent. So, why not record it here on the blog that changes week-to-week. Will I forget and go back to my notebook tomorrow? Who knows, but for now I'll pretend like this will be permanent...So, after Xmas I lost my fantail goldfish and was left with 2 goldfish and a pleco in

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-36267788669963864082008-01-23T09:37:00.001-06:002008-01-23T10:38:22.783-06:00

Watching atheist videos on YouTube leads you to believe that the bible is a horrendous book that defends all kinds of immoral acts. The reaction videos made by christians explain away each accusation by saying it was taken out of context. So, I decided to find out for myself. I bought my very own bible and began reading it recently.First, on the subject of buying a bible. Which one of the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-61212648002016700972008-01-22T10:17:00.000-06:002008-01-22T11:22:44.762-06:00

I've been spending a lot of time on YouTube lately surfing the atheist vs christian debates. They raise some interesting questions and philosophical debates. I've been wishing I had a video camera to participate, then I decided to try recording myself on my cell phone to see if it'd come out well enough to upload, and I chickened out. I hate seeing myself on camera. Blah.For those who haven't

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-51376981114260028872008-01-10T09:55:00.000-06:002008-01-10T09:59:56.085-06:00

I just started using Google Reader and I'm finding the ability to save and share the stuff I find interesting kinda cool. My shared stuff is here and updated frequently:http://www.google.com/reader/shared/02489598110106339821

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-82880618135584208622008-01-09T07:09:00.000-06:002008-01-09T07:53:31.743-06:00

Right before the holidays I started researching candidates. I usually take elections quite seriously, and this one even more so since I have to avoid making the same mistake I made in 2000 when I voted for Bush the first time. So I printed out each candidate's "On the vote" page and hauled the 30 page monstrosity with me to Canada with the intention of reading it on the plane or something. Well

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-4002099086849772862007-11-14T14:54:00.000-06:002007-11-14T15:19:19.475-06:00

I just wanted to post about how wrong I was about the person I spoke of here -I saw her again at same Starbucks, but this time we sat sortof behind her. Ed pointed at her laptop and I said "yeah, I saw it" dismissively. But, he indicated again that I should read what was on her screen. ...okay, I was curious, so I looked -it looked like she was in a 12-step type program about "Coming Out To God

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-22847291486812860812007-10-08T05:53:00.001-05:002007-10-08T05:59:37.608-05:00

Last night I dreamed we were on a cruise where Ed an I were to be married. Ed popped in and out of the dream, but I was mostly alone. This was kindof a sequel to similar dreams I had before we got married...First, there was a flashback to the previous dreams where I was on IM in the cabin alone at night and some guy and I were having a conversation. But, when he found out where I was and why,

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-82242500020143447892007-09-28T05:49:00.000-05:002007-09-28T05:57:59.313-05:00

I had a dream last night that began with me getting up in the morning and noticing that the fish tank was really cloudy and silty looking. The lights weren't on yet (they are on a timer that turns them on about 10min after I wake up), but I could still tell the water quality was really, really bad. I stepped back and realized that he had switched the fish tank and TV around (this makes no sense

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-37600360204771039532007-09-26T06:05:00.000-05:002007-09-26T06:20:25.159-05:00

The basic idea in the dream was that Ed and I were invited to a dinner somewhere. It felt like it'd be a family thing, but uncomfortable, like maybe it was my Dad's side of the family. There was a lot of time to kill before leaving and for all of the time except when it was time to get dressed for the party, it was someone else's house.Towards time to go to bed, we went upstairs, but to get to

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-58924927257112406042007-09-20T10:15:00.000-05:002007-09-20T10:17:22.984-05:00

An over-consumption of fluoride can lead to: poisoning, kidney failure, osteoporosis, brain damage, and more! http://fluoridealert.org/health/index.html

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-76266879949048570802007-09-20T08:38:00.000-05:002007-11-14T15:22:13.319-06:00

I've yet to come right out and say this on my blog because I have no idea who reads it. I know my Mom's read a couple of my photography-related posts that were linked to from Flickr, but I don't think she reads it regularly. Anyway, I consider myself bi. There. That should be fun if my family finds it...Anyway, I deeply believe in supporting gay rights. In fact, I can't understand how anyone

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-91534890512038498852007-09-20T07:53:00.000-05:002007-09-20T07:56:04.227-05:00

The following blog entry covers the various ways food dye can kill you such as: cancer, organ failure, allergic reaction, mental retardation, chromosomal damage, and obsessive compulsive disorder: http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/09/19/the-7-wonders-of-the-food-coloring-world/

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-14220064576212449912007-09-04T14:52:00.000-05:002007-09-04T15:00:41.147-05:00

Ed bought me a full ERZ "ebay exhaust" for around $325 shipped and we got it installed over Labor Day weekend. I won't write about how the install went, 'cause I'd rather forget about it. Between stripped bolts and an "extra" bolt found stuck between the tranny and a frame member, it was kindof a mess. I suspect it was due to the body shop we used after our Dec '05 accident. :-PAnyway, it's

Ericanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-39373852656845994242007-08-29T09:41:00.000-05:002007-08-29T10:00:40.290-05:00

I see this whole thing as being very sad. Senator Craig was born in 1945, and therefore, grew up in the 1950's. An era that held homosexuality as a "sickness" that was "contagious" as you can hear and see for yourself in the 1950's era video "Boys Beware" here:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1342644952171097956How horrible to grow up thinking you are "sick" for being gay. It's now known

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-49861511499598273862007-08-29T08:04:00.000-05:002007-08-29T08:32:51.518-05:00

Perhaps I'm being stupid or overly optimistic, but here's why I'm not panicking...Say you bought a house about 3 years ago, at the height of the housing boom. You thought it'd be a smart investment. Interest rates were low, so you bought in.But, you were smart about it. You did your homework by using one of the many online tools that took housing cost + interest rate and gave you an idea of

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-80971273410189759602007-08-24T12:18:00.000-05:002007-08-27T15:22:01.746-05:00

I'm going to share what I'm learning while I read "The Spanish Inquisitioin" by Joseph Perez, published by Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-11982-8I'm reading this more out of curiosity about they psychology of it than I am out of religion bashing and intend to just note the facts here for those interested in the short-story. Truth is, I'm finding it interesting, but can't quite keep track of

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-81941183057821501352007-08-01T08:17:00.000-05:002007-08-01T09:55:25.314-05:00

Another bad review of Sprint's customer service...A couple hours after the last post I realized what a whiny little brat I must sound like at this point -angry that my latest tech gadget isn't getting here fast enough... Well, it arrived yesterday -a week and a day after the last purchasing issue was ironed out. It's certainly not up to your average web store's standards, but it got here, so I

Ericanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-31337148840353742242007-07-30T09:26:00.000-05:002007-07-30T09:33:15.303-05:00

Just to break the cycle of negative reviews, here's a positive one for Allegro Medical (at AllegroMedical.com). -I bought my dad a birthday present from them on Monday, July 16th and on Tuesday, July 24th, I realized that they hadn't been delivered, nor did I ever get a tracking number for them yet!?! Since my dad's birthday party was the next weekend (July 29th), I called and asked for the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-213810866137306802007-07-30T09:12:00.000-05:002007-07-30T09:41:35.513-05:00

I ordered a new phone with service from Sprint on Sunday, July 22nd. On Monday there was an issue with them being able to pull my credit report, but that was resolved on the same day (although it took about 4-5 calls, see the "Sprint review" post from 7/23 for that story). ...My invoice said to expect the phone in 2-4 business days, so I expected the phone sometime between Wednesday and Friday,

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-7786450670275745412007-07-25T07:32:00.000-05:002007-07-25T11:50:45.181-05:00

I ran across this article yesterday:http://www.stevenmsmith.com/content/view/110/72/The summary is that this guy pitched the idea of a hypothetical job applicant named Albert to several managers to see whether or not they'd hire him. Albert is described as someone who has exceeded work goals for the past 5 years and he gets along well with others, but while seeking full-time pay, he refuses to

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-18204642170972171302007-07-24T13:01:00.001-05:002007-07-24T13:03:53.537-05:00

New Report: Diet Soda Linked to Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease: read more | digg story

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-77981221429864985032007-07-23T12:39:00.000-05:002007-07-24T14:47:43.920-05:00

Whew. I feel like I just went through some initiation for some super-elite underground organization. But in reality, all I've accomplished was becoming a Sprint customer! Wow... it really shouldn't be that hard!Here's what happened:At 9pm last night I ordered a new phone and service plan with Sprint online.At about 9am I found I had an email from Sprint saying there was a delay in processing

Ericanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-89843977763939637262007-07-20T14:27:00.000-05:002007-07-20T15:57:49.971-05:00

In high school I was about 140lbs (chunky considering I'm only 5' 3" or so). Then in college I hung out with some pretty active guys, so I lost some weight by trying to keep up with them. I was about 125 when college was over and we all went our separate ways. Over the next year or two I probably gained about 5 pounds back. Then, in 1999-2000 I gained a lot of weight and maxxed out at 150lbs.

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-12336210460350304502007-07-19T09:52:00.000-05:002007-07-19T09:54:48.515-05:00

Sunscreen that absorbs into your blood is TOXIC!!!Massive gov't conspiracy!!!FDA hasn't studied it because manufacturers know it's not safe!!!Oh noes!!!: http://www.newstarget.com/021927.html

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-54510215229359797182007-07-19T09:31:00.000-05:002007-07-19T09:41:37.294-05:00

Please excuse my rant from yesterday. I've found an awesome service to use for my custom online radio needs. It's slacker.com -yes, I know I complained about them yesterday, but as long as you create an account and LOG IN before creating your custom station, you should be fine. I recreated my station yesterday and listened to it from 9am to 4pm with NO ADS, NO COMMERCIALS, and I can pause a

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-78416074430517831352007-07-18T07:45:00.000-05:002007-07-19T07:56:02.127-05:00

I stumbled upon Yahoo's LAUNCHcast service a few months ago and I absolutely loved it. I spent a good hour searching for and adding artists that I liked to it so it'd play the music I like. Sometimes it'd choose off-the-wall artists to play like the Notorious MSG or this band that plays a song called "Are We Not Horses" that's really odd, but I loved it. So, I endured the ads and the limits on

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-73205206218245832532007-07-17T08:59:00.000-05:002007-07-17T09:09:11.031-05:00

364 days out of the year, Ed and I sit on our butts all day at work, then come home, eat, sleep and repeat. The most exercise we get usually happens on the weekends while we roam Ikea or the Carmax car lot on Sundays. Then, sometime in mid-July we get the bright idea to dust the cob-webs off of our bikes and go for a 25 mile ride around Chicago from midnight to sunrise with approximately 9,000

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-19821278970826429732007-07-13T10:47:00.000-05:002007-07-13T10:49:38.538-05:00

To the 83% of Americans out there who call yourselves Christians, I sincerely would like to know how you feel about what happened on the floor of the Senate yesterday:Click here for a link to a short article about it on CNN.Now, I know we all live very busy lives and it's hard to keep up with the news and how our government works, so let me point this out -As the article states, the Senate has a

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-21765005966170012072007-07-13T08:07:00.000-05:002007-07-13T11:24:36.083-05:00

Okay, I think this has some humor value, so I'm gunna share:On Wednesday I got an email advertisement from Amazon about some sale on a DVD or something that I wasn't interested in. I followed the link at the bottom of the email to change my email preferences. When the page loaded, I checked the box that said I still wanted to be notified of legalese changes as well as the box that said I wanted

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-63779010591880111282007-07-06T13:59:00.000-05:002007-07-06T14:03:21.894-05:00

I know there are some people out there who watch this blog for my photography stuff, and I wanted to give you all an update. -I've decided to become more serious about blogging about photography, so I've started a new blog just for "photography talk". It's at http://muddybootsphogotraphy.blogspot.com/ and I intend to post there at least 3 times a week. There are 3 articles up already, so go

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-57381275182365088762007-06-25T09:29:00.000-05:002007-07-06T14:09:58.302-05:00

I've decided to start a business. The business part I get. The part where it interacts with the government I do not. My eyes instantly glaze over when I read tax forms, etc. But, in order to possibly help others or at least for documentation purposes, I plan to outline the process here.Step 1:Choose what business type you are going to set up and register the business with your state. In my

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-42521809490070347812007-05-29T19:42:00.000-05:002007-05-30T12:07:56.436-05:00

In March my husband and I started planning our semi-annual trip to Canada to visit his mother and I realized that, because we got married last year, I'd have to update my passport to reflect my new last name. I downloaded the form, filled it out, and read on the instructions that it usually takes 6-8 weeks, but could take up to 10 weeks to get a new passport. So, I counted up the days until our

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-2804443641347277292007-05-18T12:08:00.000-05:002007-05-18T12:45:07.671-05:00

(click on the photo to view it on my Flickr page where larger sizes are available)There's a growing number of people subscribing to the thought that having a goal of taking and posting a photo a day to your web gallery can help your photography improve by leaps and bounds. I tend to be a person who drives past photo opportunities because I don't like stopping the car, or I don't pull out the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-51747050191494350622007-05-16T19:38:00.000-05:002007-05-16T20:41:50.866-05:00

(Proof that I'm a girl!!!)I ran into Blythe dolls on Flickr and got hooked on them. The originals go for hundreds to thousands of dollars, and even the new ones (or the Pullip dolls) are $80. Either way, I have enough expensive hobbies, and I'm not about to pay that kind of money for a doll, so finding the "Petite Blythe" dolls (about $25 shipped from Japan or Hong Kong) made me a happy

Ericanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-50411835808644729892007-05-08T09:45:00.000-05:002007-05-08T10:20:12.637-05:00

See the full size here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/erica_marshall/489021262/I got home last night and I've been itching to get out and do some "real" photography, but time hasn't really allowed it, so I grabbed the camera and decided to try to make do with whatever might be available. Our lilac tree is in full bloom, so I headed towards it to see if there might be a new angle or something

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-18984544324217420672007-05-03T13:01:00.000-05:002007-05-04T14:34:12.981-05:00

This isn't the greatest example ever, see Jameela's Flickr site to see some better smoke photos, but here's how you achieve the effect:You need:Any camera in any mode (having your flash on is recomended, though)Something non-reflective and black to use as a backgroundIncense (to create the smoke)A light source (I used my Canon 30D's on-camera flash and the darkness of my backyard as my light

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-67318446179711746752007-04-18T08:03:00.000-05:002007-04-18T11:19:26.984-05:00

When I first started out in digital photography I found image editing software like Photoshop, Gimp, and even Photoshop Elements really confusing. The multiple windows, and the way the tools worked were all very foreign to me since the only previous experience I had with trying to make art on a computer was Microsoft Paint.Luckily, I found Paint.NET, which has an intuitive interface that closely

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-29020357692101778492007-04-10T12:21:00.000-05:002007-04-10T12:25:06.847-05:00

I'm not going to be outside much this summer...http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gardenerscorner/issue_03/03_spring_06.html

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-69397277127363431052007-04-09T08:42:00.000-05:002007-04-09T08:46:40.569-05:00

When I bought my (first) house about 3 years ago there was a wildflower garden in the middle of the backyard. It looked out of place there, so I dug it all up and planted grass there instead. Year 2, many wildflowers and a whole bunch of tulips sprung up in the middle of the backyard again; so, I sat there digging up bulbs and roots and trying to remove everything that wasn't grass. Year 3 it

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-6594011108260586542007-04-02T13:05:00.000-05:002007-04-02T13:35:45.333-05:00

In an Exchange 2000 environment, I had one user reporting that she could send emails, but she was not receiving new emails. When a Send/Receive was initiated, the following Outlook 2003 error occurred:Error message when you send or receive e-mail messages in Outlook: "Sending and Receiving reported error (0x8007000E): Out of memory or system resources"Taking Outlook out of Cached Exchange mode

Ericanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-33496790466228947822007-03-18T16:05:00.000-05:002007-05-09T08:28:43.596-05:00

The photo above can also be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/erica_marshall/425731394/So, Ed and I had a small dinner party yesterday. While I was finishing up the last of the cooking so we could get the meal on the table, Ed's talking to Mike about my new lens. Then, he asks me to go get it and show it to him... So, I stop stirring the rice in the frying pan, and go get my Sigma 50-

Ericanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-5773744860715574952007-02-23T15:47:00.000-06:002007-05-03T13:19:43.315-05:00

(Click on the photo to see a better version of it. Blogger is re-sizing it poorly, so it looks a little funky here...)It's cold outside, so lately my creative juices have been flowing towards studio photography. Truth is, I have a real interest in it and I'm looking to start building a portfolio incase I get a chance to do some photos professionally.So, this means I need practice (and hopefully

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-53194841097667053032007-02-14T11:39:00.000-06:002007-02-14T11:42:05.596-06:00

Our Pasta, who art in colander,Draining be your noodles.Thy noodle come, thy sauce be yum,on top some grated parmesan.Give us this day our garlic bread, andforgive us our tresspasses as weforgive those who trample our lawns.And lead us not into vegetarianism,but deliver us some pizza,for thine is the meatball, the noodle,and the sauce,forever and ever.RAMEN

Ericanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-13171856397411129372007-02-07T14:05:00.000-06:002007-02-14T10:06:59.841-06:00

Best viewed LARGE to show detail...After a run of bad macro shots, this is my first macro to turn out sharp (or really close to it) in a few months!All day yesterday I watched the snow fall from my office and all the plows and salt they were dumping on the road simply weren't making a dent. I dreaded the drive home. When the whistle blew I got in my Jeep, put in 4WD, and gingerly left the

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-67143249667256627772007-02-03T22:31:00.000-06:002007-02-14T10:07:24.922-06:00

The making of a bad photo....I ordered a rock for my aquarium from eBay and received it this week from the seller who lives in Texas. Along with the rock, I received this kinda cool looking bug, so I decided to use it for macro photography practice. This is the best of about 200 photos I took last night... :-\ Looking back on the session, I did a bunch of stuff wrong, but I can't say the time was

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-37047074687515726562007-01-26T14:13:00.000-06:002007-01-26T14:17:34.043-06:00

Today I realized that in England the song "Skip to my loo" would be about going to the bathroom.

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-63269009189453561792006-12-18T09:22:00.000-06:002007-02-14T10:06:09.588-06:00

Yep. It's true, you got me. I'm one of those people who write "Xmas" instead of "Christmas". It's not even out of laziness, I'm not just saving myself from writing those extra 5 letters. It's not even because "X" stands for the Greek letter "Chi" which used to mean "Christ" or whatever that story is... Nope. I do it because I don't believe in Christ, yet I celebrate the holiday with friends

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-43865047952430644922006-12-18T08:56:00.000-06:002006-12-18T09:22:07.453-06:00

Yesterday, on the photography_beginners yahoogroup that I own, a member felt it necessary to post this in response to someone's story about a printing mix-up when they had some photos printed for use as Xmas cards...Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.....Not X-masDo we greet eachother and say "Merry X-mas"?? No!! We say "MerryCHRISTmas"!! Christ didn't forget about you when he died on thecross!!

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1164837186690487772006-11-29T15:53:00.000-06:002007-03-09T14:51:12.001-06:00

A guy on Flickr posted this lesson about lStudio Technical AssignmentOriginally uploaded by Daniel Tückmantel. Learning to use perspective control and lighting ratios.

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1164208303977633702006-11-22T08:26:00.000-06:002007-03-09T14:51:50.765-06:00

We, as a society are often lead to believe that the world is filled with "either, or's".Good or bad.Right or wrong.Black or white.With us or against us.Republican or Democrat.The reality, however, is that the world is full of grey.Lesson #1: Learn to recognize propaganda.It's all around you and not always as obvious as the billboards and signs put up by special interest groups. Propaganda is

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1155742000982010952006-08-16T10:12:00.000-05:002007-03-09T14:52:12.521-06:00

What is it about some people that makes them hold other people up while they do something insignificant? or be the one person in a group who has a problem with the restaurant that everyone else wants to go to? Does it make them feel superior? -seeing they have the power to determine where the group goes or what they do? Or, perhaps, they just aren't good team players and lack the social

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1155133305687876382006-08-09T08:35:00.000-05:002007-03-09T14:52:34.120-06:00

I got a $150 bill from my dentist in the mail and freaked out. See, I have dental insurance (from Great West), for free from my employer, so one day I figured that after 13 years since my last visit, maybe I should go to the dentist again. I had 2 cavities, needed a deep cleaning, and had some pockets they wanted to keep an eye on."Okay, fine, whatever. Take care of it" says I. -I was here to

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1155061206315490482006-08-08T12:45:00.000-05:002007-03-09T14:50:50.028-06:00

As I said before, we eat out a lot. When deciding where to go, my top 3 questions are:What do I feel like/not feel like?What area is most convenient?What time is it?The type of food and location are probably normal, and those of you who live in populated areas might be able to figure out where I'm going with the time thing too...Saturday we were looking for a place to eat. It was 6pm, a

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1154733375993979342006-08-04T17:42:00.000-05:002006-08-04T18:43:55.126-05:00

I ran into the waiterrant blog a few weeks ago and read the whole thing! Considering Ed and I eat out almost every night, it's interesting to hear what goes on behind the waiter's smile and accommodating attitude. But what about the customer???I've seen firsthand how rude customers can be, but I've also experienced bad service. I think we need a customerrant! I doubt I'll be that blogger, but

Ericanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1154093020565106562006-07-28T08:21:00.000-05:002006-07-28T08:31:27.740-05:00

I've started a blog on Yahoo 360 about what's going on in my life for those friends and family who are interested. This blog has been kinda crazy -some personal stuff, some political, etc. I don't know what it'll be in the future, but I guess we'll find out...

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002357.post-1143565320155978622006-03-28T10:38:00.000-06:002007-03-09T14:53:14.344-06:00

Here it is...And here's the story of how it got here (drama warning).On February 21, 2006 I found out about the 30D coming out. At that time the release date (as per Canon's USA press release) was March 15, 2006. I re-did my research about the APS-sized sensor vs full size and decided to buy it. On March 5 I put in the order with Amazon -a retailer I trust, and one I assumed would get a

Ericanoreply@blogger.com0