"Look, Dave, I can see you're really upset about this...

"...I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over."

It's getting late, and I'm tired, so this will be quick. My dad sent me an "old" computer that he said didn't work anymore so I could play around with it. It arrived Friday, and I quickly assessed that it had a bad power supply, which I fixed tonight be installing a new one. It powered up fine, but then I could not get the OS (Windows XP) to load, which was frustrating- but not the end of the world because my plan was to load Linux on this machine, anyway. I spent several hours on the phone with a couple of nerd buddies of mine, and downloaded a copy of Linux (PC Linux OS 2007) which I then burned to disc as an .iso file (bootable operating system disc). But then I could not get the computer to boot from my optical drive, so it didn't work.

My plan for tonight was to: 1) fix the power supply, 2) load Linux. Well, had I known the other problems that this machine had my plan would have been: 1) fix the power supply, 2) get Windows to load, 3) install Linux. Having said that, I was 34% successful in my goals tonight.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat." Going to bed.

When it rains, it pours.

Ever see the 1995 film Crimson Tide with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington? It's been several years since I've seen it myself, but there was one scene in there that always stuck with me. The Chief of the boat has a heart attack down in the galley, or is injured, or something... Anyway, while the men are scrambling to go to his aid, the Captain (Gene Hackman) decides to run a boat drill. So he gets on the intercom in the middle of the crisis and announces that it's an all hands on deck drill and the men have to scramble to their battle stations. It causes quite an intense few minutes in the sub, and I think the Chief even dies during the chaos.

Later, Denzel Washington goes to Gene Hackman to confront him. He is mad that the captain made the decision to call for a drill during the chief's heart attack. Hackman defends his decision saying that it is during tough times that men are truly tested, and that he took advantage of the Chief's heart attack to see how the men would handle themselves under the pressure.

Now, regardless of what you may think of that rationale, it does illustrate a good point. We never know when emergencies are going to arise in our lives. If we did, we would prepare for them and handle them with an organised calm. But sometimes when bad things happen, and then another and another I get to thinking, "Man, I could handle any one of these things, but not all these at once!"

That's not how it works! LOL That's why they're called emergencies. I had a scenario tonight creep up on me that made me nervous, apprehensive, and uncomfortable. So I called a good friend to talk about it (my sponsor, for you 12 steppers out there), only to discover that he is in the hospital for emergency surgery tomorrow! Then I tried to call another friend (a former sponsor up in Utah), and could not get through... So I kinda feel like too much is flying at me at once.

I know I'll get through all this, and be stronger for it in the end. But I just had to laugh when I thought back to that scene from Crimson Tide. Tonight I got hit with a couple of things all at once, and I wish I could take them one at a time- but I'll get through them.

Next rung up on the ladder.

As many of you know last year I studied for, and eventually passed, my CompTIA A+ Certification (see Sept 11th blog: Books that I'm reading.). This was part 1 of a two-part plan: get certified, find a job in an IT department. I accomplished them both.

The next next plan is to get my Networking certification. I read a book last year called "Teach Yourself Networking in 24 Hours" by Joe Habraken and Matt Hayden. It's a 24 chapter book, that you are supposed to be able to read one in an hour (one chapter per hour). I finished that book, and then bought some study materials in November.... A new textbook (650+ pages!!), and 12 hours worth of lectures on DVD by Mike Meyers (no not the comedian, or the serial killer... well, can we be sure about the last one?). Anyway, I've sat through all 12 hours of the lectures, and watched portions of them again. Then I finished reading that massive textbook, and am now starting to study for the exam, which I plan to take next month.

Thanks to all my friends (geeks and non-geeks) who helped me study last year: Melissa, Terri, Ahmari, and Mike. I've already started calling them all back for another round of cramming!

Wish me luck!

It could happen!

Well, the first two weeks of playoffs are over. Now all that remain are the NFC and AFC championship games, both played next weekend (Baltimore at Pittsburgh, and Philly at Arizona). This means that there is a 25% chance that Superbowl LXIII could be the Steelers vs the Cardinals. In my opinion, that would be a terribly exciting game. Keep your fingers crossed.