Ed Buford - Just Another Geek

Unplugging

Part of the problem with being a computer geek is that I don't just work on a computer but I also recreate on the computer. I shop online, play chess online, watch TV shows and Movies online; I even use a computer program for practicing the guitar.

This weekend I plan to unplug from the computer for all non-work (non-emergency) things. I find myself working a lot during the weekends because I have my computer going and remember something that should only take a second (or an hour) and the next thing I know It's not recreation but a never ending extension of my work week.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love mission of GCC, and I love, trust and pray for the leadership... still I need to unplug. I need to unplug not because I want to escape my job, but because I need to find and continually seek balance in my life.

So if you need me this weekend call my cell phone.... if you don't have that number, then you don't need me :)

End of an Addiction

Jason posted about Bloxorz (my addiction) the other day, but that addiction has come to an end as I've finished all 33 levels... this last one was insane!

nice place for a break

Ghetto-tasm Meets Malones

Last year my 90 Toyota Camry had to be put down, it was sad and I mourned the loss of the faithful little car all the way to the scrap metal yard where I cashed it in for weight. The saddest part was that I was officially without a Kayak hauler.

I pulled the Yakima Q - Towers and Cross bars off my Camry before putting er down, but the Q- Towers need to be replaced with LowRiders to get them up on my Van. Considering the height of the van I didn't want to put the Malones on it. But I decided I'd rather try to Fit the Malones instead of paying out another $300 to upgrade the factory rack with Yakima gear.

I took a good hard look at the factory rack discovered the beam and the Malones wouldn't get along. So after a bit of thinking I came up with a design that would let the Malones grip well to the factory beams.

This is my prototype spacer:

 

 

This shows how it sets on each Malone:

 

 

Reminds me of the Flintstones:

And now she's ready for the river:

 

I'm planning on hitting the water Tuesday morning, and though I know a couple of guys who are also off Tuesday mornings, I've decided first time out this year needs to be just me and God.

Just a little sad.

Recently my wife set up gmail accounts for both of my sons who are 6 and 3/4. This morning, I got an email from each of them. I know my wife has something to do with it, but it really was a sweet thing. One the one hand it's fun to see them growing up, on the other head it's a little sad to see them growing up so quickly.

You Matter.

This week I was confronted by a video of a group of "christians" who spread hate. I won't link to that video, I'm sure you've seen enough of this kind of stuff already. With that said, I'd like to point out that all who call themselves "christians" do not follow Christ. I apologize for anyone who has ever condemned you under the guise of Christianity. This was never the message of Jesus. The real message is that you matter to God, that you matter so much he would give the unthinkable so that you know he loves you.

Anyone who ever gives you any other message in "the name of christ" is stuck in religion, and not in love. God is love, anything not of love is therefore not of God.

This Easter, there are two things you should know, no matter what you might hear about God; God loves you and you matter to God.

FYI

Today from 10:00am to 12:00PM Starbucks is giving away free coffee (not Frappuccinos) see for yourself here.

Take the Summer off

In an effort to make life easier on my wife, I thought I'd try to give her the summer off of one of her daily tasks. So I asked her "if you could take the summer off of one thing what would it be?" she answered "cooking".

Now for most men I assume this wouldn't be a problem, but I don't know how to cook! I can here you saying wha....? but it's true. Well for the most part it's true, my cooking repertoire is so small I can list it for you now. I can cook frozen dinners in the microwave along with any other box that has microwave instructions on the side. I can also use a toaster to it's fullest potential. One other thing I can cook is spaghetti, which means I've learned how to brown hamburger.

So unless I can enhance my cooking skills, it looks like we'll spend the summer eating spaghetti, toast and frozen dinners. If you have some ideas of easy but good things to cook, and / or cooking tips for complete novices, I would love to hear about them.

Writing Obituaries.

I meet with a group of guys weekly to discus life, God and whatever. A few weeks ago we were talking about what we'd like our own obituaries to say about us. One of the guys said he had to write his own for a class in college. It got me thinking about why we wait to say something good about people we care about until it becomes a byline in the back of the local section.

At work we have a weekly team meeting and often times we'll get someone to come up to the hotseat. The format is three parts, first we get to ask questions of the person, it helps us get to know them better. Then we tell them what we like or love about them. Then we give that person a standing ovation. It's a wonderful experience.

I've been thinking that I'd like to write something about people I know while their still alive, I can't won't call them obituaries so I'm trying to figure out what to call them. What would you call them?

Home Again

Well it's been almost a month, but our little car came home today. You can't tell it was ever damaged.

It's true that we did have to cover the deductible, which is $250 bucks, but we had $20 dollars a day to cover a rental car, and the rental car came to $19.98 a day. So other than the deductible we were taken care of.

The Lord gives and Lord takes away, sometimes the Lord even gives back.
Blessed be the name of Lord.