Friendly Contest?

Some are requesting more content and more frequent postings. And i agree, i've been slacking a little bit. Perhaps a little contest is in order, or perhaps it's been on-going already. It seems Josh and Rob have had many postings lately...so, the game is on...who can get the most postings by the end of the year? Not sure there is a prize at stake here, but just the joy of knowing that each and every post is bringing someone somewhere happiness is prize enough. So, continue to visit my journal, Josh's Journal, and The Green's Journal for a year-long contest full of posts...

Would you like a new name....

Heather and I are going through names...Don't get excited, we're not having a baby. Besides, we have those names picked out already. We're trying to name our new nifty universal remote control. I know, it sounds silly, but sometimes, in life, you have to do silly things.

So, you want a different name? Try this baby name generator out! You'll cringe, you'll laugh, who knows, you might even like what comes up!

Back to naming our remote...

The End of one...The Beginning of another...

We are only hours away from the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006. How did your year turn out? Did you accomplish all of your goals? Do you have your goals lined up for 2006?

I had a fairly great year! I expect 2006 to be a better year! I was not able to complete all my goals for 2005, however. That just means i need to work harder in 2006 to make up for it. Finding Reason fell a little short in our goals. We had planned on recording 5 songs this year. We re-recorded a song already recorded. We did, however, start adding to our catalog of workable material. We have a few songs that are in various stages of work, some nearer completion than others. Perhaps we'll make our goal of five this year with several others to follow. Who knows?

I do have a few goals in mind for this next year, but just like last year, i'll keep those to myself. I'll post those accomplishments as they come to fruition.

So, for the good news of December. I have finally passed my certification sim. Now, I can become a real ADCO. I also did the last progress docking as a Hot OJT. What that means is that i did all the work the ADCO normally would, except I have a certified ADCO sitting nearby to take over if things go bad. That lucky ADCO had to do a lot of commanding to the vehicle for me. But it worked out well... Luckily things went perfectly nominal. I have a few more days of Hot OJT'ing ahead of me, then i'll start flying the vehicle on my own. It's been a very long road, but I finally came to the end of that road. Now I start what will seem like a new job. If you have NASA TV, take a quick peek every now and then and you might see me there. Perhaps i'll clue you in to when i'll be working.

It was a great Christmas this year and I have been enjoying my little vacation. I've been needing one for quite sometime now. Maybe this upcoming year, with Heather's graduation and Brandon and Jessica's marriage, I can take a few more days off.
So, stay tuned to HorelicaNet and you'll know how 2006 is going for me...

How did 2005 go for you? How will 2006 go for you?

Titanium Refrigerator

I'm fairly certain it's not made of titanium, but that's the finish on our new refrigerator. This new refrigerator is compliments of Best Buy's service plan. Well, i shouldn't say compliments, for I had to pay more for this nifty upgrade. But this new fridge has more than 3 cubic feet more space than my previous non-operating refrigerator.
Here are a few pictures:




Well, it doesn't quite go with the rest of our white appliances, but there is an easy remedy to that. We either move...or buy matching appliances. Or deal with the mismatch until the need arises for either of the former two.

Is anybody out there??
Welcome to the machine…

How does one put into words the performance that I just witnessed? It is tough really. I’m sure you are wondering what this is all about? Well, last night (Nov. 23rd), several of us went to see The Australian Pink Floyd Show (TAPFS), or Aussie Floyd for short. These guys (and gals) are a tribute band to the great Pink Floyd. But these guys are not just your run of the mill tribute band. These guys are “endorsed” by the actual members of Pink Floyd. It really doesn’t get any cooler than that! Aussie Floyd have partied backstage with Pink Floyd, they have played at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday party, and they have played with Pink Floyd. I don’t know too many (actually I couldn’t name another without doing any research) tribute bands that are endorsed by the bands to which they lay tribute.

Before we get to the review… I must say thank you to Matt Geraghty (and his dad) for even suggesting we see this show. I had not heard of this show before it was mentioned and there wasn’t much advertisement about the show. Matt was also able to get us great seats (14 rows back, stage right). And yes, seats…we sat down for nearly the entire show with very little obstruction (from big headed tall people). There was no opening band and at about 8:10pm the show began. The lights went dark and the dull thud of a heartbeat began to pound the theater. Slow and steady, a strong heartbeat with increasing volume. (I must say this was the first concert that I remembered to bring ear plugs. And they do make a difference. There is no ringing of the ears or pounding of the head. And we were able to still hear clearly. I think earplugs will be a staple at any concert I attend, especially since I need to hear for a living.)

The stage setup was quite authentic. A large circular screen (Division Bell-esque), center stage rear, surrounded by a circular lighting rig, was the main focal point. Here is where all the animation and video footage was directed. There were two projectors hung from the ceiling rig. One projector was dedicated for the circular screen, and the other was for the rest of the back drop. (or one was for backup.) Of course there were several banks of lights on the ceiling rig and then 30 or so multidirectional spot lights with multiple colors positioned strategically throughout the stage. There were also several smoke machines to increase the eerie effects that high powered beams of light can produce when cutting through the wispy smoke. And a Floyd show would not be complete without the large animal figures used to instill fear and drama to the melodramatic. In this show there were two – a large head of a pig (really a boar) and a large kangaroo. What would an Aussie show be without kangaroos? Also included in this show is the largest (largest I’ve ever seen) mirror ball known to man. That thing must’ve been 6ft in diameter, at least 6ft!! It was super impressive, especially when every spot in the theater was aimed at it.

On to equipment now…Drum kit on a riser on back just left of the circular screen. Dual bass drums and an assortment of cymbals and other percussion equipment kept the beat with conviction. On a riser in the back right of the stage were the keyboards—this guy looked like he was Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd with the long hair, beard and wide brimmed Hi-Roller hat.. Directly in front of the keyboardist was where the ladies of TAPFS stood, swayed in unison, and sang with power. Front stage left was the bassist and his rig (he was using Fender basses), center stage was a guitarist and his rig (he had dual Fender amps and used Fender Strats. He also had a rack of effects directly behind him. He also had this bionic looking mic stand that included his tuner, his slides, his talk box tube and who knows what else), and stage right was the other guitarist (from my vantage point I could tell what equipment he had up on stage, other than his Fender Strats and an obvious stop box/multi-effects pedals). Most of the vocals were done by the guitarist on the right side of the stage. The bassist and center guitarist also contributed with some vocals. I guess now would be a good time to introduce the members of the band instead saying guitarist right, guitarist center, etc. The drummer is Paul Bonney. The keyboardist is Jason Sawford. The bassist and vocalist is Colin Wilson. Okay, Colin from what i've read recently, Colin is not the bassist. Ian (don't know his last name is filling in). The lead guitarist and vocalist is Steve Mac. The rhythm/lead guitarist and main vocalist is Damian Darlington. I believe Damian also plays keys on a song or two. There was also a very animated saxophonist, who did an amazing job, but I didn’t catch his name nor is he on the website.

Back to the show…now as stated before, the showed stared out with the thunderous heartbeat…this started off the complete Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) album. I think every song was accounted for. The sound was impeccable. The bass response was very dominant…so dominant that my clothes were moving from the low frequency sound waves oozing from the large bass cabinets. The thunderous pounding was so deep that you could feel it throughout your bones and even made it difficult to breathe at times. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Following the completion of DSOTM album, Aussie Floyd took a break. This was probably my only complaint of the night … it just seemed odd that the band was going to take a break. The break lasted for about 20 minutes or so.

Towards the end of the break the crowd was starting to get agitated…but the agitation didn’t last long as the lights dimmed again. TAPFS started the second part with Shine on You Crazy Diamond, followed by a wonderful rendition of Sorrow. Sorrow was followed by a song that I had not heard before—The Fletcher Memorial Home. Another Brick in the Wall, Careful with That Axe Eugene, Wish You Were Here, followed in sequence. Bring on the pig….The following song Pigs (three different ones) brought out the giant inflatable boar with evil red glowing eyes. Heather is not a fan of pigs, so she didn’t look off to the right very much during this song. The next song was One of These Days, which brought out the large inflatable kangaroo, Skippy. Skippy bobbed up and down in rhythm of the beat…with human help of course. The last song in the main set was Comfortably Numb. Comfortably Numb is probably one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs and I was absolutely blown away with that performance. Words cannot describe how intense and wonderful this song was performed. Towards the end of the song emerged the giant mirror ball. The spectacle of dizzying lights dancing across the venue helped the mind take in the full sonic and visual experience. TAPFS took a short break before the encore. After Comfortably Numb, I was uncertain how you can finish as strong as the previous song.

Well, to be honest, they didn’t finish as strong…but it was still a great encore finish. They finished off the concert with a shout out to their road crew. Not many bands thank their road crews publicly, and I thought this was a nice touch. After all it is the road crew that is truly responsible for the visual look of the show, which is just as important as the sonic portion. In the Flesh and Run Like Hell finished off the show

Visit Tarik's website for a short review and some pictures.

I have never seen Pink Floyd before, and I’m not sure that I ever will. If I never get that chance, I can at least say that I saw the closest thing I’ll ever see to Pink Floyd and this show was truly an experience. I can’t say this was the best concert I’ve ever seen as I think David Bowie still holds that mark. But it was a close second or third. I will definitely be making their second stop in Houston…if they choose to come back this way.

High Hopes

Where is Finding Reason?

That's a good question. We've been on hiatus the past few months. But we're back in the studio pumping out lots of ideas. Our new goal is to meet weekly and work on a catalog of ideas as opposed to working on one song. So far this new method is working out. We've got several ideas recorded, probably 3 to 5 songs worth of music now. Nothing in a workable song structure right now, but there is a lot of potential.

I recently upgraded my guitar with new pickups. They sound great and give the guitar a whole new feel and vibe. I highly recommend Fender Lace Sensors. Anyway...i'm getting a sound that i've been trying to get and it sounds great through the Boss GT5. I'm able to do a lot more with the new pickups and it's stretching my tonal wings. Perhaps i'll get better at playing guitar so that i'm able to use my equipment to the fullest. And to get better, i'm thinking of taking guitar lessons soon...perhaps early next year. We'll see what happens there.

But Finding Reason is still out there...so there should be some material coming forth in the next few months. (I know, i've said that many times before.) Hopefully we will not disappoint.

Are Service Plans Worth it?

Well, it depends really. You don't want to buy a service plan if it is nearly as much as the item itself. However, for refrigerators and most digital cameras it is worth it. I have personal experience in both categories.

First the refrigerator: I had the refrigerator go out on me a couple of weeks ago. Well, the service plan was about $150 for 5 years. Well in addition to having the repair man come out for no charge, I am also entitled to $200 for spoilage. I think that has paid for the service charge right there. Had I not paid for the service charge i would be paying the repair man and still have to suffer the spoilage cost. So, lesson learned there...buy the service plan for large appliances.

On to the digital camera: I bought the service plan for my 2003 digital camera for $60 for 4 years. The LCD started acting up on me...so i took it in. Got it fixed and cleaned...total cost to me $0. Total cost to someone else $172. Well, that alone paid for the service plan and then some. Got it back and still didn't work...so i had them send it back. Again...another repair was done on the camera. Not sure of the cost of that one...but for me it was $0. Several weeks later, i see the camera needs repair. I get a call from best buy saying they aren't going to repair the camera...but i'll get a new one. I was hoping for store credit, but they wouldn't give it to me. So, I had to get a new camera. This is the one i got.



So far it has been a great camera. I wanted a digital SLR, but those are much too expensive right now. I had to compromise, so i went with a high zoom camera with an SLR type body. This camera has a lot of features and a great zoom lens. BUt i'll let you read the several reviews that i used to make my purchase...er exchange.

www.dpreview.com
www.dcresource.com
www.steves-digicams.com

So far, I haven't been able to test the camera to it's capabilities. But here are a few pictures that i took with the camera.

Here is a picture of the moon taken tonight (11-08-05). This shot was hand held, with full optical zoom (12X) and full digital zoom (4X). Not bad for a hand held shot.



Here is a squirrel on my fence...i shot this one through my french doors.



Here are the ducks at work chillin' in the shade. Not a great shot, but fairly cool, nonetheless...



Well, that's about all for now...but keep checking back...there should be more pictures posted soon. I hope to get better at using the camera and all it's features.
And yes, Service Plans are worth it...when you need it! Be smart and do what's right.

Mark that off the List...

There is a certain list that everyone has...it may not be written down anywhere, but you have it. It's a list of things to do before you die. Everybody's is a little different. And it's always changing...most likely getting longer.

I can mark off "Attend a World Series baseball game". That's right, we were able to attend the 2005 World Series Game 4. Unfortunately, our team lost. It was the deciding game in which the Chicago White Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1917. It would've been nice for the Astros to win their first World Series ever...but i was just happy they even made it to the World Series. It was their first trip ever and that was exciting enough for me; winning it would've been the icing on the cake. I'm proud of the Astros. They did well...especially since at one point during the season they were 15 games below .500 or 15-30. It was an amazing run. Unfortunately they made a few too many mistakes during the World Series. Perhaps next year...

A special thanks goes out to Josh and Lisa Parris. Josh was one of the lucky few to win the lottery for a chance to buy the tickets. He could've sold the other pair of tickets he had for a large sum of money. So, thanks Josh and Lisa.

Speaking of making money, I could turn around and sell my ticket stubs on ebay. I could probably fetch $90 or more per stub. But I think i'll hold on to my part of baseball history. I have plans for a plaque or some picture collage of our experience at the World Series.



Here are a few pictures from the night...



Downtown Houston and Minute Maid Park



Downtown Houston and Minute Maid Park just after sunset



Here we are enjoying the game



Again, here we are enjoying the atmosphere of the World Series. This photo was taken by a kind concession worker who was takin' a quick break from selling "COLD BEER AND COLD SODAs".

Perhaps I'll post more pictures at another time...
What do you have left to mark off of your list???

ASTROS ARE WORLD SERIES BOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the first time in the Astros organization history, they are headed to the World Series!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is nothing more to say!!!!

WORLD SERIES 2005!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO ASTROS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Astros Advance to NLCS after 18 long innings!!!

Oh my! I am so exhausted! If you didn't see the game or watch any of the highlights, the Astros defeated the Braves in 18 long innings. The game ended with a Chris Burke walk-off homerun! There were many other outstanding plays in the game on both the home team and the visitor team. There were 2 grand slams in the game, one for each team. Brad Ausmus tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homerun that barely cleared the yellow line in left field. Roger Clemens came in as a relief pitcher for only the the second time in his career. He pitched 3 outstanding innings to pick up the win. Every player on the Astros roster was utilized, with the exception of Pettitte and Roy Oswalt.

With the longest post season game in baseball history now over, i think i'm going to try and relieve my headache. Both heather and I have headaches from the rollercoaster emotions of the day. We're completely exhausted and we watched the game from the comfort of our couches...I can only imagine what it must've been like at the game!

Go Astros!!! It's time to take care of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Astros are now 4 wins away from the World Series. See you there....

Here are a few links for you to view with all the highlight information...

abc13.com
Astros.com

Chron.com

All is well...

Well, heather and i made the trek down from Tomball this morning. Yeah, we know, government officials were saying stay off the roads--but i think they were primarily speaking about those folks who travelled to dallas, san antonio, and austin. Those of us that were close probably had an okay to return...at least that is how we looked at it.

The drive down 45 was much easier than when we went the opposite way. We only encountered one slow spot and that was downtown. Other than that speeds were at and above the speed limit.

There was no major damage to our house that we can tell. The only thing that was amiss was our gate to our fence. The latch had broken in the high winds. I'm actually surprised that my fence is still standing. All is well with the Horelica house. We have power and we will start the post hurricane clean up probably tomorrow.

I didn't see any major structural damage to any of the neighboring houses. Our back neighbor's large tree in the front yard is split in half and there are several other houses with uprooted and broken trees and tree limbs. It truly looks like we were spared the devistation.

Now, must turn our attention to those folks who need it. I do hope that those of you that still have to travel will be safe and have patience. Things will be okay...

Last post for the night...

Well, Rita is a merely a few hours away from making landfall, most likely west of Port Arthur. So far no bad weather here...that's good news. We still have power at the house as far as i can tell anyway. The winds at our house are about 38 mph sustained gusting to 50 mph. Good news again. I'm pretty sure the house can handle those winds. I guess we'll see in a few days what has happened.

So we spent the evening eating chocolate chip cookies and drinkin' margaRITAs. Not a bad way to spend the night during a major natural event.

Well, I'm turning in for the night...in what i hope will be a nice night's sleep. I'll post again in the morning for more updates...

Stay tuned and stay safe.
see you on the flip side...

Latest Update...

The winds are starting to pick up around here in Tomball. The winds aren't bad yet. It appears that Rita is still tracking a bit to the east, which is good for most of us. We won't take a direct hit, but will probably still have some high winds and rain.

We just took a ride around the Woodlands area and there are a few people out and about, but other than that, a ghost town (minus the tumbleweeds, well there are a few things blowing around.) No businesses are open and there is no gas to be found. I have about a half of a tank left. That would get me back to the house assuming there was not any gridlock. I really can't take that chance, so i'll be looking for some gas before i head out.

Perhaps later tonight i'll post an update of the current weather. Have a good afternoon and be safe.

Well Rested...

After 25+ hours on the road, we are finally well rested and ready to relax. Of course, we are still a little apprehensive, but ready to relax. We both got plenty of sleep last night. From the latest weather reports it looks like Rita is heading a bit further east, putting landfall east of Galveston and west of Port Arthur. That would be the west side of the storm over our house. The bright spot to look at here is that the west side of the storm is not as intense as the east side. We're still gonna get lots of wind and some rain...but it could be worse.

So, what are we going to do with our time? We've got books to read, i've got the laptop to work with...well at least until power goes out and then i have 4 hours of time left on it. We'll chat with our relatives and just hang out and have a grand ol' time.

I hope you are fairing well wherever you have gone! I think I may hold the record for longest time driving with the fewest distance travelled...at least among my co-workers. A report has it that a normal 3 hour trip to San Antonio took one of my co-workers around 18 hours to travel. Man, seeing the roads first hand is a sight to see...one that i hope never to see again!

Well, if you know of anyone that is wondering where we are, point them to this website. The cell phone network seems to be extremely busy...so getting calls through has been a hassle. Be safe where ever you are!

Where are we?!

Okay...anyone checking out this website can keep tabs on me and heather. So, where are we? Only in Texas can you drive 25 hours and only travel a distance of 45 miles. Well, at least during a hurricane evacuation. After 25+ hours we ended up at my aunt and uncle's place in Tomball. I'll tell the story later, but man...did that blow!

So, anyway...you might see some frequent updates here over the next few days...assuming we have power!

So, where are you?

5 Years...

September 2, 2000. The day Heather and I got married. Yep, it has been 5 years!! Can you believe that? I almost can't. It's been great so far...

Well, with Heather in school there isn't any time for a nice little vacation somewhere. So, instead, we bought bedroom furniture...we're adults now. Here are a few pictures of the new furniture and the way it looks in our bedroom.

This is a 7 piece set (includes headboard, footboard, 9 drawer dresser, mirror, armoire base, armoire cabinet, and a nightstand)

Yes, Back in the States.

Ok...i know there are some of you out there wondering if i made it home. I should've posted this a while back, but here it is now.

I did make it back to the states okay. International travel can be a pain, but the sights and experiences are well worth it. Upon my arrival into Atlanta (after an 11 hour flight from Moscow) we hit the un-airconditioned and sweltering hot international terminal. I spent more time in that hot environment than i wanted to. If i were visiting the United States for the first time, i would not have had a good impression.

Anyway...here are a few more pictures that i have displayed for your viewing pleasure.

The follow two pictures are using my camera's "stitch assist" feature. This is basically a panoramic views. The first one is a panoramic view of Red Square. The second is a panoramic view of Moscow from the Moscow State University overlook. It was quite hazy this morning, but you get the idea...





This next picture is of our farewell picnic in the Korolev woods outside the Russian Mission Control Center. Only person missing is Andrey...he's operating the camera.



This next picture is of us doing our little blues song that we wrote. Man, that did not go well...The Russians enjoyed it though, I guess that is what matters.



Here is a picture of the Buran in Gorky Park. Yep, looks familiar, doesn't it. This , BTW, is not a flight model. It was used in testing, but did not fly.




Here is the main building on the Moscow State University campus. This is one of seven building throughout Moscow. These soviet looking buildings are referred to as the "seven sisters". While the other buildings are not identical to this one, they are very large and quite impressive.



Here is another one of the seven sisters.



Automobiles ranged from this ...



to this...



Well, that's about it for now...there may be some more pictures later on...
Come back tomorrow and see what is significant about Sept. 2nd.

Here are a few more pictures that I took here in Moscow.
I am winding down from a night's worth of work and decided to post a few more pictures. Enjoy.

Here is a statue representing Yuri Gagarin. It's a very comic book looking statue, but very cool.



Here is a shot of the Kremlin from another bridge. Quite impressive!



Here is a shot of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It is a massive church and pretty too!



I was feeling artsy on this one. This is a lamp post near the Cathedral of Christ the Savoir.



Here is a mosaic mural that overlooks the cafeteria at the Russian Mission Control Center. Pretty amazing...



With only two days left, I fear I have not taken enough pictures. So, I'll see if i can maximize my picture taking over the next few days. I'm sure I'll be back this way in the future, but for one's first experience, I figure the more pictures the better...

From the 5th Largest City in the World

I send everyone back home a "Zdravstvuite" or hello. That is how the word would look in English...Russian cyrillic looks much different.

I haven't had much time in front of a computer. That's why there isn't days 3, 4, 5, and 6. Sorry. Well, i'll be here almost a week now. Things are going well. This weekend has a lot in store for us...Lot's of touristic things to do...I hope to take tons of pictures. I'll see what i can do about posting some pictures. I may be too tired to go to the office to get that done. But stay tuned...

do svidaniya (man, the english transliteration of these words looks funny)

From Russia with Love...Days 1 and 2.

...okay, i know. Cliche title. But this one is true. I write to you from Moscow, Russia, this morning--er...your night. Just wanted to say that I made it here just fine and things are going well.

The flight was entirely too long. I'm really second guessing wanting to go to Austrailia, for that flight is more than twice as long as the one i was on. I suppose if you had the first class service it wouldn't be so bad.

Anyway...The 10 hour 10 minute flight seemed to take forever. I guess it probably had something to do with the fact that i was sitting in Atlanta for 6 hours before that. Luckily i had company sitting with me.

Making it through the Moscow airport was easier than expected. Most things here so far are easier than expected...and that just makes travelling more fun. I'm sure i'm in for my fill of not-so-easy times.

Moose met us at the hotel and we started our Moscow initiation. First item on the list was to do the currency exchange. Then was the Metro initiation. The Metro is truely impressive. Too bad Houston doesn't have a rail system (a rail system that is useful). We were able to hop a few trains to take us to Red Square. Perhaps the most famous tourist spot in Russia? When we arrived at Red Square, it was closed. Go figure, we flew 6000 miles and can't get into one of the most famous Russian landmarks? So, we walk around a bit more and decide to get something to eat. Now, i'm being a bit brave here--i've decided that i'll try anything once, and if i don't like it, there are snacks back at the hotel. My first meal here, wasn't Russian...but rather Asian. Everyone that knows me knows i don't like Asian food...but i go along anyway. After studying the menu, i decided on some spicy beef and red and green chili dish. Turns out it was pretty good...and somewhat spicy too. Now, that doesn't mean that i'll be frequenting Asian food places from here on out.

After dinner, we returned to Red Square and it was open! So, of course we walked around and took some pictures and kinda took it all in. Unfortunately, i couldn't remember how to work the panoramic feature on my camera so hopefully i can return and get some panoramic shots of the area. I'll try to include photos as time permits. The top photo is of course me in front of St. Basils Cathedral. Quite impressive isn't it?

Here is a photo looking down the Moscow River. Off to the right is the Kremlin.


Here is a better shot of the Kremlin.


And one final shot for Days 1 and 2. A more spledid picture of St. Basil's Cathedral.


Well, that is all for today...time permitting, stay tuned for days 3 and on...