Winter in Iowa

It's winter in Iowa (well, technically still fall, If your that kind of person). nothing says hello winter like a blizzard. here's some pictures from before and after:

The first pic taken on the 2nd, and the next pic taken in the 7th. what a difference

a week can make!

what's really kind of nice is that we got 3 days off school. the best

part of that is that I don't have to make up those days at the end of the year because I'm a senior this year.

In yo faces other people!!
see you at or around Christmas!!

Thanksgiving and the day that follows

For those of you that are still waking up (10:41 CST anyway) and in a food coma, you're not alone. I am suffering a big case of food coma, and after Thanksgiving gas. Like this cat over on the right, I feel bloated. the only big dinner left this year is Christmas. then I have the rest of the year to get rid of all the fat ( I'll probably give up half-way into spring, but at least I tried!).

-Random moment- Listening to "Go to hell" by Alice cooper, Good song!

Moving on... Guess what today is. That's right! It's Black Friday! nothing says happy Black Friday like beat'n the hell outta people over a $5 Barbie doll!

-this just in- Avoid swamppolitics.com, it just froze my computer.

Anyway, Please don't kill anybody today, or trample anyone. We definitely don't want a repeat of what happened at Walmart last year.
Enjoy your day everybody!

Holy crap, where have I been?

I have been everywhere. But mostly either at work, or at school. I am currently enrolled in the student-built house class this year, you can view the progress of the house at this site: http://www.studentbuilthouse.com/.
that is all I have to say for now, I will be back sometime. in the meantime, No New Taxes!

"Free Carfax Record check"

When you click on a link that says "enter your VIN and get a free carfax record check" that's all you are getting for free, Carfax will check to see if that car has a record, that's all. If you want to see the record, you have to pay $30. Don't be fooled. They just want your money.
I did, however, come across a webpage where you can get a general report that is actually free. it is a database type of site. http://www.autovinvent.com/. you may not find your vehicle on this site though. for the whole story, visit this.

8 days left....

We are now down to 8 days left. 8 days until I have to go back to school. This year shouldn't be too bad, I have scheduled myself to some pretty fun classes. I don't know how I feel yet, but we'll know soon enough.

I just can't wait to go on vacation next summer, the waiting is killing me.

I ordered a load of state travel guides (because they are free! (even shipping is free!!)), I ordered one from Wisconsin, on saturday, and I got it in the mail today! That is pretty fast for the distance that it has to travel. I should be getting one from Minnesota, kentucky, and some other places, I ordered so many, I don't remember all of the states I'm getting them from!

By the way, I'm feeling much better now, after having my teeth pulled. Thumbs up!

Aug 17, 2009

10 days left of summer

With only 10 days left until I have to go back to school, I realize....I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!!! I need to do something interesting.

All summer, I've done nothing but work and watch the tube. I went out fishing a few times, but that wasn't very exciting, there was nothing to catch.

Before summer started, I was thinking of getting a paper route, make some extra ca$h, but to this day, I find myself sleeping in, somtimes until 1:00 in the afternoon!

I guess I'll have to go fishing a lot more, like every day, maybe even tonight after work.

Well, I'm off to figure something out...Peace!

Aug 15, 2009

Feeling better

Yesterday, I felt like crap. Now, today, I feel much better. The right side of my face is still a little puffy, though. I've been trying to research some possible places to go for next summer's road trip. I was thinking Missouri, But where in Missouri should I go? There are so many places to go. I was thinking about St louis, with that big arch thing. I thought that would be pretty cool.


Speaking of arches, When I was 10, my grandpa took me to see the arch in Kearney, Nebraska (over I-80), it was pretty cool, in one part of the tour, you could look over the interstate, and you could clock the speed of the cars below. Check it out sometime, this is what it looks like>

Well, I have to go do other stuff now, have a wonderful rest of your day.(no, I do not work at walmart).

Aug 13, 2009

Undergoing Surgery

I had my wisdoms pulled yesterday. I'm still in some pain, it hurts to talk. the doctor gave me some painkillers, but they are so big, and I don't like huge pills. I also got some infection pills, they're not much smaller. I just can't wait until this pain is over.

I've never had to do any type of surgery, I've never been put to sleep. For me, even at 17, it scared the crap out of me, even if I was asleep the whole time.

Aug 12, 2009

Next summer

Ok, this summer Isn't over yet, and 'm already planning for next summer.

Being that this school year will be my last (at least in High School), next summer, I want to go somewhere with one of my friends. Road trip!!!

lets see if we can get this car full of stuff, and take it out of state. I'll tell you one thing, it won't be too cheap. With about 15-20 mpg, my 1993 Ford Taurus GL will be taking us to where we want to go.

I'm not sure how she'll be running by next summer, but that's a whole year away, giving me some time to do some tune-ups, and get some other things done to it.

Another pending issue, because I work a minimum wage job, getting enough money together might be a challenge.... But I'm not too worried about that now.

....Well now it's time for me to go...I'll be back tomorrow.

peace!

Aug 5, 2009

It's been...how long??

Holy crap... summer break is almost over! That was fast. I really didn't do much, just watched the tube, went out fishing a few times, and worked. I only have 3 weeks left. what am I going to do?!?!

Didn't I say I was going to be posting through the summer?, Well I guess I lied.

ok.. I guess I can still make it up... I don't know.

Aug 5, 2009

Reflecting

Yes, this is yet another assignment post. what I am supposed to do is make a reflection. Well, here you go....

During the past year, blogging has just been a part of school life, but also a little more than that. I have a way to express my thoughts and It doesn't matter who reads it. I don't really care who reads it. Even if nobody reads it, that's fine with me!

Now it's time to start answering some questions, all of which come from this page.

first question: Have you ever done anything like this before?

the answer: No, I have never done anything like this before, I knew that it existed, but I didn't know what it was. Yes, I may be technology challenged, but that's just the way I grew up, we didn't have computers in the house until just over a 2 years ago.

Ok, second question: What were some of your first thoughts when I said we were going to start blogs?

the answer: We're doing what?

third question: Which posts were you happiest with? (Providing links would be awesome.)

the answer: well, I like them all (because I wrote them, duh!), but the best ones are the ones that are funny. Even if It is just an attempt at funny. I don't really think i should attach any liks to this question, just read any post.

the fourth question: What was the hardest thing about this assignment?

the answer: Simple, having a word count requirement.

question number five: Is this something you think you might keep doing?

Answer: Hell yeah!!!

the last question (6): What do you think of blogging, now that you’ve done it for a school year?

Answer: well....like I said above, it seems like a good way to express my thoughts (even if nobody is reading them).

Ok, all of the questions have been answered, and I met my word count reqirement a while ago, but I have one more thing to say.

"The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on." - Robert Bloch

ok, I don't know what that has to do with anything, but whatever.

peace out!



May 28, 2009

Craigslist.Org

Craigslist.org. A good way to sell what you are selling, and a good way to fing something locally if you really want it. My friend sold his '94 Nissan pickup in under 12 hours. My grandparents sold their '97 Mercury Cougar in two days, and are now selling their two Oldsmobiles (see previous post). Also, they have free stuff. Go visit this site sometime:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.
May 12,2009

Two Cars for sale

My Grandparents are selling their Oldsmobiles, they are in pretty good shape.

The first one, a 1964 Olds Jetstar 88. 54,600 miles, Auto trans, 330 V8. Click this link for more info: http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1166118154.html

The second Oldsmobile, a 1974 Olds 98. 34,480 miles, Auto trans, 455 V8. Click the link for more info: http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1166118921.html

The one interesting thing about this car, My grandma probably doesn't want me to tell you, but I'll tell you anyway. The green '74 was, I believe, shown in the movie "The Final Season" for a short time. The dent behind the rear window was caused by a baseball hitting it during filming.

Both of these cars are in Atkins, Iowa. West of Cedar Rapids. If you like what you see, don't wait, these cars could sell fast!

May 12, 2009

Old People

Something related to my first post, the thing about dentures:

The other day, while at work, one of the servers brought in a pair of someone's nasty dentures. they were in a ziploc bag, and they were left in the bathroom. that's just grossssssssss!
old people are weird!
May 5, 2009

Just do something

Americans are too fat. Why? Because we are all lazy. Get off your ass and do something! Build a shed, ride your bike, get a job, do something! Summer is coming fast, and it's not going to stop just for you. If we all get too fat, then we will end up drifting towards the sun, and we will all die a horrible burning death.
Did you ever wonder why the terrorists are trying to kill us? It's because we are all fat.
Find something fun to do, just do something!
May 5, 2009

Today In History

64 years ago today, 1945, Hitler and his woman killed themselves.
Notice the sloppy job I did messing up the picture>

Also in history today, the Vietnam war ended, when south Vietnam surrendered to north Vietnam.

Apr 30, 2009

The weather forecast

The real spring weather is almost here, in our area, the last time that 80 degree weather has been in the forecast was back in October.

I really can't wait, I have a whole window full of plants waiting to be put outside, and I want the temperatures to be just about perfect, I want them to grow as fast as possible, I eat a lot!

I'm really not the type of person that does gardening, but anyone can grow corn, beans, or anything else. Just plant it, water it, give it sun, and watch it grow. If you start from seeds, most seed packets have directions on how to care for the plant. You can also use the Internet. I am growing tomatoes this year, and I heard that tomatoes are best grown in perfect conditions. I visited Reneesgarden.com while using Google to find out how to grow a tomato. The site gives pictures and describes the steps for growing the certain plant.

In this economic depression, I believe that growing my own food will be a good thing for the economy in some way. For example, corn, which is Iowa's biggest crop. If I grow more of my own corn, then there will be more corn for making ethanol gasoline (E85), which is cheaper, and supposedly better than every other gasoline. Think about growing your own corn this year. It's cheaper than going to the store and buying it.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

What I hate about school

last week, I took a test in my math class. It was a short little test, but it was a test. I put everything that I had into this little test. OK, now you know the first part of the story, here's the part that I hate.......

When we received the tests yesterday, I found out that I had failed this test, I didn't receive any points, not one! Why would this be, you ask? I used a pen to take my test with. now I know what you are probably thinking, why should that matter? well, I don't really know. I always thought that a test was supposed to be an evaluation on weather or not a person is understanding the material, not having anything to do with what you used to write the test with. Hell, I could've used a crayon, marker, highlighter, or even chalk and still gotten many correct answers!

Ok, now just because I like to leave on a happy note, here's a funny picture from funnypart.com:

Apr 9,2009

Today in History

Saddam Hussein's statue was destroyed in 2003, after American commanders declared that his ruling had ended.

April 9, 2009

After The Flood

I have a friend whose parents' home was in the flood affected area. I helped them take stuff out of their house just before I got a job cleaning out businesses. I made $100 a day for every day I worked. Anyway, the house I helped clean out has been redone, and from what I hear, it looks very nice, I am going out there on Saturday, and I will take some pictures and post them, and possibly find some "before" pictures to compare to.
Now I need something to leave on. how about this:
Enjoy the rest of your day, But don't enjoy it too much
I don't Know, whatever, have a nice day!

Mar 19, 2009

A Random Story

I was at K's Acres the other day, to get a "new" horn for my car. On my to finding the car that I was going to get my horn from, I stepped in something, I don't Know what it was, but it was really nasty.

If you've never been to or around the Cedar Rapids, IA area, then you've probably never heard of K's Acres. Well.... K's Acres is a salvage yard, duh!
K's Acres is at 400 41st Avenue Dr SW, phone# (319)365-4248

probably the only salvage yard in the area that lets YOU get the part yourself.

Mar 12, 2009

The Mercy implosion

Ok, I guess I lied about getting before and after pictures, but it was pretty cool. From my area, there were some bare trees in the way, but I could see good enough to capture it on film. I don't really know how I'm supposed to get video from an 8mm video camera onto the Internet, so I'll just give you a link to a site where you can see it.
I believe that I did say that the Discovery Channel was doing a show or something on the implosion. I haven't been able to find out when that episode will air on TV, but I will tell you when I find out.
I'll tell you one thing, It was a nice way to start the day (my birthday[ :-) ] smiley face)

March 12, 2009

Mercy Medical Center Implosion

First off, tomorrow is my birthday, and what better way to start the day, than by watching a building implode.
The Mercy Family Practice building at 701 10th St. SE here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is scheduled to be imploded at 8:00 am on Saturday morning (tomorrow). There will be a film crew from/for Discovery Channel's "The Detonators".
I will be there to personally film the whole thing. I will also take before and after photos, and I will try to post them as soon as I can.
By the way, tomorrow, I turn 17. Freakin' sweet!

Feb 27, 2009

about blogging

as an assignment, I have to write a post about blogging. Really, how should I explain it. I guess I'm supposed to talk about whether it is a good idea for education, or something like that. I guess it's a pretty good idea, actually, it is a good idea. students in this generation like the computer, and would rather do something on the computer than write a paper for homework. well, for awhile now, educators have been having their students type up papers on the computer. which is still really boring. another thing, you can fit more lines on a piece of computer paper than you can on a piece of lined notebook paper. that actually makes more work for a student that doesn't like to write papers. until this anonymous teacher came around, this is what life was like. now we have blogging, a good way to express what you are thinking. the best thing is that you can write anything you want. ok, maybe now I kind of sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just not very good at explaining things. I'm probably going to end up getting rid of this post sometime this summer, when school gets out. now I ran out of stuff to say, isn't that just great. you probably can just stop reading right now, anything written after this is probably going to just be a load of BS anyway.
Well, here's something that I didn't think of. you can put pictures on your posts, so you can further personalize your blog, and express yourself a little more. I dunno, now I'm just boring myself. peace out!

Oh yeah, the date is Feb 12, 2009

Nice weather

In the next week, the weather here in Cedar Rapids will be pretty warm compared to what it has been (lower teens, and + & - single digits ). here's some proof:

I might actually get to clean my car this weekend. Right now, it is just about covered with sand and dirt left over from the snow and ice. Really, we haven't had much precipitation, but my car hasn't been cleaned since before I got it in early December '08.

Have a nice rest of the week! I know that I will!

Feb 5, 2009

Today in History

On February 3, 1959, singer, and guitarist Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa while on tour. at this time, he was working on his solo career. In 1986, he was one of the first people inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Today also marks the 50th anniversary of the crash.
Buddy Holly, 1936-1959

feb 3, 2009

Super Bowl Ads

like a lot of people, I watch the Super Bowl ads. Who cares if the Steelers beat the Cardnals, I just watch for the ads. My favorite, and one of hulu.com's viewer's favorite, is the ad for careerbuilder. This ad is the best! Also, the commercial for The Office was pretty good. I laughed my Ass off watching the first couple minutes after the Super Bowl. Here's the clip.
Another thing that I watch the Super Bowl for Is the halftime show. I don't really know who Springstein is, or if I even spelled his name right. the point is, I just like the halftime show.

Feb 3, 2009

I'm confused

Right now, I'm in the school library. First of all, this computer may be being monitered by the librarian at the desk right by me. the school has some fancy system so they can watch what students are doing. In one way, I really don't like the system, because in a way, it violates privacy (remember now, this is my opinion, don't hate me). The other way is that the administration can see if students are using school computers to view porn, or hack into government computers, or something like that. Anyway, back to what I wanted to say.
In this library, there are signs posted everywhere that say "No cell phone use" and " No food/drink in library". well why was the librarian eating a banana about ten minutes or more ago while in the library? yes ma'am, you've been caught.

Jan 30, 2009

Food

I like food (doesn't everyone?) I'm not much of a cook, but I do like to cook. I get most of my recipies from the internet. allrecipes.com is a good site to look at, I just now found this recipe for Ham and cheese rolls, sounds pretty good to me.

Even though I'm not a master chef, I can just throw some good stuff together. For example, one morning I was hungry, and there wasn't much in the kitchen, so I just threw something together. Here's the approximate recipe:

Very good scrambled eggs

• 5 large eggs
• 1 or 2 dashes of salt
• about 1/8 cup brown sugar
• about 1/8 cup white sugar
• about 1+1/2 tsp cinnimon
• a small bowl to mix
• a fork
• a skillet
• a rubber spatula
• a stovetop
• butter or no stick spray (unless you have one of those fancy no stick skillets)

Put all ingredients into bowl, mix with fork. Butter or spray skillet, put on stovetop on medium-low heat. Add mixture to skillet. with spatula, stir until set.

I'm really not sure how to explain how to make scrambled eggs, so if you don't already know how, visit allrecipes.com.

Jan 28, 2009

Coca-Cola

I like to drink Coke products. I even have an account at mycokerewards.com. anyway, I found this article today while reading the gazette (gazetteonline.com). I hope that this Stevia sweetener doesn't change the flavor too much if they do decide to use it. I'm just having a hard time figuring out why everything has to change. why can't things just stay the same? On that question, why do we have to switch to DTV (digital television)? I have a friend that got a converter box, and he can't even figure the thing out, and he's pretty good with electronics.

lets see here, what other changes am I annoyed with?... how about the change in weather. I hate cold weather. here in Cedar Rapids, the temperature has risen and fallen so much that it's driving me crazy!!!!! For a couple days, we have a temperature of -24 degrees, and a wind chill of -51 degrees, and then it goes to about 30 degrees, and then drops again. wake me up when spring comes around will ya!

Jan 26, 2009

Building Security

As you may already know, I work in a retirement home. In the front foyer area, they have a big security door, I believe it and its windows are bullet-proof. On the back door, mostly for employees, the security is questionable. there are no windows, it may be bullet-proof, and I need a special magnetic key to open it. the open door alarm goes off randomly when the door is closed, and after a certain time, if the door is left open for a long period of time, the alarm goes off. Just last night, as I was about to take out the garbage, I was probably 6-7 feet from the door, and the alarm goes off. I wasn't expecting the alarm to go off, so it scared the crap out of me. then the alarm shut off, and I continued my buisiness. Hopefully management can have the door looked at soon. the alarm doesn't really go off all the time, but it does go off randomly.

Jan 22,2009

G.W. Bush Vs. Hitler

What's The Difference?

Jan 22, 2009

New Year, New President

As of the 20th, I believe, we have a new president. Yes, I know he's a black man,
but I'm not a racist. I don't usually talk about politics, because I don't really care about politics. I just hope that Obama is as good a president as people say he is/will be. Hopefully he will be better than G.W. Bush

Jan 22,2009

a bus driver, a parent, and a lawsuit

I was watching the local news this morning. there was a short story about a bus crash that happened 2 years ago. apparently, the parent of a child injured in the crash is filing a lawsuit against the driver.... Really ?!?!?!?! how stupid is that?!?! oh, wait I didn't tell you the whole story. The road was covered with ice, the driver lost control, driver crashes, kids hurt. another thing that I really think is stupid, the driver was charged for "failing to control the vehicle"..... Really!?! if a bus is traveling at a set speed and then hits a patch of ice, you would think something would happen, right? maybe the bus would loose traction and go out of control?!
There are a lot of stupid people out there that will do crap like that just to make a few hundred dollars. I can't stand people like that!!!

you can view the story here: www.kcrg.com/news/local/37208254.html
also, view the comments, a lot of people agree with me

Jan 8, 2009

New Year 2009

let's all hope that 2009 will be better than 2008. In my book, 2008 sucked. The worst part of the year was the flood in June. you might have heard of it on your local news. here in Iowa, Cedar Rapids (where I live), and Iowa city were probably the worst hit areas. also, as far as I know, the whole town of palo was flooded. The local newspaper and local news made a book and video/documentary about the flood in eastern Iowa, that explains a lot about the flood. the book and movie are called Epic Surge, and can be purchased at http://www.gazetteonline.com/ or at www.kcrg.com/epicsurge. I ordered both the book and the video before they were even released. I received them in either September or October, i don't remember, but I give them both an A+.

Another thing that I hated about 2008 was the reeeaallllyy high gas prices. Here in Cedar Rapids, the price per gallon (ppg) was close to $3.90, or even $4.00. I do remember the ppg on june 13, the day the flood destroyed Cedar Rapids, was about $3.80. the reason I remember, the sign is still up at one of the downtown gas stations. I was somewhat happy when the ppg just suddenly dropped to just under $2.00. hopefully it stays that way.

Jan 8, 2009

Happy Holidays, New Year!

I hope all of you out there had a merry Christmas, happy Kwanzaa, happy hanukkah, and happy new year! {I hope I spelled all of those right :) }

Jan 8, 2009