October 2009 Archives

Happy Halloween

I am getting pretty bad at telling you guys to enjoy your "holidays" so here we go. I hope that your Halloween is a good one. I know that since it's on the weekend this year, there is more of a chance for you to enjoy it.

What are my plans? Well, we have a tradition in my family where my mom makes a broccoli and cheese soup with breadsticks. Oh yes, and Ghoul-Aid which is basically orange Kool-Aid, grape Kool-Aid, ginger ale and water. Good stuff.

So I'm really excited about that. The number of scary movies coming on TV have been awesome too. I usually don't go to parties or anything like that for Halloween.

So I hope you do something fun this weekend and if you don't, it's your own damn fault. ;)

And now to show you some of my favorite Halloween candy:

I love that stuff. Though I see there are "Mary Jane's" mixed in which I have no idea if they're the same thing or not.

A few of you probably already know this but I am a big fan of the Wii. But I shouldn't be expected to blow my whole pay check on games and accessories.

I also have a Wii (actually I have 2 of them) and something that bums me out is the cost of new games and accessories. But there is hope out there because there are cheap nintendo wii accessories available at reasonable, low prices. There are definitely new things I can get like a few more Wii remotes and stuff because I've found that 1 isn't enough.

Shop and buy some great quality DreamGear Wii accessories before you spend way too much buying the same exact thing at the regular store!

This post is a sponsored post, just so you know. :)

It's an unintentional hoax, folks so yeah it wasn't planned....

In this podcast episode, I tell you about the Twitter account I set up just for idioPod (so please follow me) because I won't be updating my regular, personal Twitter account anymore after #100 with podcast updates. The solution to the radio "problems" I was having. My moving plans and why those plans are shot to Hell.

Very short and to the point.

Stay updated with upcoming podcasts by checking out the idioPod Event Calendar!

Download: Right-click or listen on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Subscribe: Subscribe here
Length: 14 minutes 29 seconds
File Size: 6.6 MB

Did you know that I have two Twitter accounts? One is my personal account which is idiologic and the other is idioPod which is dedicated to my podcast updates.

I will continue to post updates on my personal one until #100, then after that I will begin posting them only on the podcast dedicated one.

Keep that in mind if you are a regular listener to my podcast.

I have recorded iP 96 and you should see it tomorrow.

Have you been afraid to buy something online because you're afraid of a company misplacing your data (things like your name, billing address, mailing address, email address, passwords, phone numbers, credit cards and more)?

Unfortunately, it's not just hackers you have to worry about. A lot of fraud and identity theft is caused by employees and other insiders. If you've paid a bill such as your cell phone bill with a representative over the phone, how do you know that he or she isn't writing your information down to go shopping for video games later? You don't really and that's why Shop Shield is a great product for you. Keeping yourself and your family safe from fraud and identity theft should be one of your main concerns. Really, who wants to find out they've been scammed when they go out and buy the car of their dreams? Stop it from happening now and get that sense of security now.

Shop Shield replaces your real payment and identity information with anonymous data that cannot be traced to you so in turn, it will be completely useless to thieves and con artists. It allows you to use a Secure Online Payment when you pay for your goods and services. And of course, Shop Shield works almost everywhere credit cards are accepted so you can shop or pay bills safely and securely at almost every web site you need. Shop Shield is guaranteed to be 100% secure.

A secure payment agent (or SPA) is the only product that keeps all your data safe when you shop and pay bills online. It protects everything: your identity, billing address, login information, account numbers, email address and so much more.

Did I also tell you that the service is 100% FREE when you pay with a checking account and a secure site registration is included with every transaction.

I didn't lose my dad. I know where he is...

I am back with new podcast episodes.

For this podcast, I talk about my dad and what impact his unexpected death has had on my family and me. I also talk about the creepy things that have been happening with the truck radio.

And a huge thank you to the people who continue to listen, even after my absences.

Stay updated with upcoming podcasts by checking out the idioPod Event Calendar!

Download: Right-click or listen on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Subscribe: Subscribe here
Length: 23 minutes 26 seconds
File Size: 10.7 MB

It's that time of the year again (at least for some people) to start thinking about Christmas cards, but hey, if you have a business, it kinda could be Christmas all year around... uh, in a way. What I mean is that if you're a business and you need advertising at a cheap and affordable rate, you can always purchase postcards from 123Print.

They have thousands of designs which are fully customizable with full-color text choices and free postcard image uploads. You can also get them in standard and oversized versions. Feel free to let your creativity flow and design the postcard that will get you noticed!

Just to let you guys and girls know, I have made a few changes to my website (with more to come). I have removed most references to the plugboard since it wasn't getting much love. You might be able to find a link or two pointing to it, but I decided to hide it for now.

I have also replaced the plugboard link to my Opera Unite page.

As far as podcast episodes go, I am planning to post a new podcast episode this Friday evening. I haven't started on it but there is a lot to say... how much of that I'll actually say remains a mystery. I'm still coming to terms of all the stuff that's been happening around me for the past month or two.

I also did a small, news-related update to idioPod.com for those people who visit that website.

Unfinished business, undone

I made this podcast the week of 13-19 September 2009 which was before my father's unexpected death. It was meant to be posted on 22 September 2009. I put it on hold while I came to the aid of my family and mourned the loss of a special person to me.

I can't tell you what's in it mostly because I don't remember but I think I talked about coming back to the USA and my future plans.

NOTE:
This podcast episode is old/unfinished. Some of the information in it may be outdated or irrelevant now.

I hope to be back with new podcast episodes but I can't promise when that will be. I'm a bit burnt out on podcasting while mentally I adapt to life changes and my environment.

But as always, you can stay updated by checking out the idioPod Event Calendar!

Download: Right-click or listen on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Subscribe: Subscribe here
Length: 17 minutes 32 seconds
File Size: 8.1 MB

As you may already know, I got myself an iPhone and I had previously owned a first-generation iPod Touch so there are a lot of new things opened up to me. One of them is the Google app.

I was a little confused when I saw that it was asking me to speak what I was looking for. So I started talking and it actually works decently.

Then I looked at Google Latitude. Yeeeah... good old Google Latitude. Let me just post what has gotten my panties in a bit of a ruffle (you know, if I actually wore panties):

How creepy is that? Apparently when I open Google Latitude, it tells everybody where I am. OK, so you probably can't tell exactly where I am but if you had a thirst for revenge on me for whatever reason, you know my general location. A select few, I can share my exact location, like right to the dot! I definitely wouldn't want THAT to fall in the wrong hands, believe me. The last thing I need is a throng of stalkers (though I'd be flattered).

It's a fun idea though I admit. But I can see where it would probably cause quite a few issues. Kind of like when I want to piss away a day or two and not let anybody know where I am... but I guess it's as simple as turning my location off... so yeah. :)

Anyway, that's weird... the concept is!

With that said, I'm off to make some orange chicken for my mother. Have a great day, everybody.

Today's been a long, hard day.

A few of you probably are curious about how I'm going with everything since I very sparingly post anything person anymore. And usually when I'm quiet means that I am in deep thought. Well, honestly this isn't the case this time. A lot of it is that I just need(ed) some time to myself and as far away from technology as I can get.

Today, the immediate family had a meeting with a pastor of the Methodist church. He did the service at my dad's memorial and I have to say that I really like him. He has come by a few times to talk to us about the passing of my father and I have to say that he isn't pushy at all. He seems to be a really nice guy who is genuinely interested in helping people out which is great. He talked to me about my dad and I realized that I do miss my dad quite a lot. I told him, well, most of all I just really miss the company.

So I thought it would be a good time to reflect on a few things. People might not have been able to see that I have "lost" someone special to me. But as the pastor says, I haven't really "lost" him. I know where he is. I like to think that he's up there, wherever he is, watching cheerleaders do jumping jacks in the rain. I've kept myself together by remembering him as a great person, and appreciative of the time I DID get to spend with him. I'm happy that I did get to see him a week before he passed away. I still can't really believe it happened, but it did... and well, sadly, it's something I'll have to adapt to. I am going to miss him and his craziness and his sometimes crazy ways of doing things. My dad was awesome as a person. To me anyway.

Another thing people ask me a lot is how my mom is doing. She's doing okay. She's adjusting. She'll make it. I feel like I need to be closer right now than what I was (you know, here vs Australia). I seriously don't know when I'll be back in Melbourne.

I did have a good day with my mom, sister and nephew today. We went out to eat at a Mexican buffet where I ate like 6 cheese enchiladas, beans and rice. I just can't eat as much as I used to either. Oh yes, and I HAD to eat one sopapilla. And be thankful you're not around me because I'm farting death gas now.

I also brought my old phone back to Sprint (my wireless carrier) and cancelled my service with them. I'm with AT&T now with an iPhone. I have my iPhone and iPod Touch side by side because I start thinking the iPod has feelings and I think it's jealous. Anyway, the iPhone is cool. Expensive, but cool.

Bad thing about the iPhone is that I'm getting screwed out a few things:

So really I'm losing quite a few perks from going with AT&T. But I know I'll be happier with an iPhone. But let me tell you right now, I wasn't THAT unhappy with Sprint. I like them, honestly. Yeah, they have problems sometimes, but to me they've been top notch.

So yes, ladies and gents, that's all for me for now. It's 10:30 and I am totally exhausted. So it's off to bed for me. If you don't have my new number yet, you should get it from me! Or if you want to do it by Google Voice, go here.

Goodnight folks.

In the late tradition of not writing anything meaningful, here are some pictures my friend forwarded to me this morning about restaurant names: