Happy Birthday Nathan!

Nate now has wireless web! I picked up a USB
wireless adapter for a whopping $12.95 at
Frys so he can get online at the local coffee shop.

SPAM! It's whats for breakfeast?

Salt Lake Tribune: SPAM innovation best in nation. Ten-year-old Cynthia Coombs, the creator of a breakfast corndog -- made of Spam chunks dipped in apple-cinnamon pancake batter, and then slathered with maple syrup, applesauce or honey -- is this year's "Spam champion."

-credit-Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune

Ten-year-old Cynthia Coombs is the winner of the National Kid's Spam Cook-off with her ''Spam-a-licious Sunny Dogs.''

This is pure GENIUS! If they could peddle these things at the local Dutch Brothers espresso stand, I could wash'em down with my extra sweet snickers mocha!

Can't Escape The Rain

Saturday I spend the day in Wilsonville for a cheerleading competition. Fortunately I didn't sit in the bleachers all day, and snuck out to do some Geocaching with Karmann. One quest took us on a scenic trail right near the high school we were visiting, and I took some photos of the mossy environment and the bridge that takes this trail across a small creek. Of course we got cold and wet, but what do you expect in on a January day in Oregon. Found my 100th cache this weekend, I think I get a merit badge or something.

Culturally Sensitive Banking

I hate using cash. Call me a germaphobe, but I used to cook at a bar where we had male strippers for ladies night, so any bill smaller than a $20 I consider a biohazard. Regardless, on occasion I need to swing by an ATM to make a withdrawal as to avoid outing my spending habits via the online banking system (AKA my wife).
What gets my goat is the audacity of the bank to request my language of choice every time I visit. If the bank knows my FICA score, checking & savings balances, spending habits, and my mother's maiden name, why don't they know what language I speak? In todays information age, how did this little triva item slip by? If you ask anyone who knows me to recite the last 4 digits of my social security number, I am sure they would draw blank, but they sure know I don't speak a word of Spanish!

Moe's Southwest Grill

Karmann & I ate @ Moe's for lunch today. Moe is my dad's name.

"Our Space" Video

The Post Show produced this great piece on improving your My Space profie for maximum result. If your like me, and want to get the most out of your MySpace page you need to check this out.

Oh Shit!

When using the word "SHIT!" is appropriate.
Our office gets the usual share of e-humor, I rarely forward them but this one gets my vote.

From the popular photoshopping website Worth 1000.com

Google for Commies

THE RAW FEED: reports today that Google has agreed to censor and re-direct, Chinese internet searches by it's citizens away from such topics like China's human rights abuses, Tibeten genocide , and the like. The hipocrocy of a known liberal leaning company like Google to bow to censorship of a totalitarian comunist regime for the sake of the mighty dollar is highly evident here. My question is does it show support for communism, or capitalism? Other bloggers are pulling there adspace in protest, but I am a capitilist, not an activist, so keep clicking on those google ads!

Picture Simplicity

It's time for another Google Goldmine plug, and no, I don't own any stock

(Yet, it's too expensive!)In this post, let me boast about Picasa, Google's free photo organizer. If you trust me here, get rid of whatever program came with your digital camera right now. I am pretty sure it's CRAP! See, all the camera makers from Canon to Kodak, include a program to monkey around with your pictures. The problem is, you can spend hours trying to figure out how to resize an image for email, and screw up all your original images in the process. If you edit down all those pixels you paid for in your $400 digital camera, you will never be printing a glossy 8x10 photographic masterpiece.

With Picasa, you can rotate, crop, re-size, and brighten your images in a cartoonish, yet sophisticated interface, CLICK, CLICK, BOOM, your done! And the beauty is, now you can view, email, or upload pics to your blog as fast as you can snap'em, yet all your originals are untouched on your hardrive until you choose to export your edits. This by the way, is perfect for websites, MySpace, or Powerpoint, when you don't need those monsterous files, size them down with export, yet keep the original for future enlargements. Give it a try, and for a limited time, I am providing, from my own pocket, a double your money back guarantee. Because it's free dumbass! JK Get it here but first, a note: During install, it will ask you what to scan, your whole computer, or just your My Pictures file. Select My Pictures, unless you wanted to organize all that microsoft clipart you never use. Feel free to email me if you need a hand with it, Picasa has become my most used computer program.

Google Video: Boardstock 2004

Wanted to test out an embeded google video clip, so here is one from Boardstock 2004. I made it to 2000 & 2001 , but since have given up the trek.

Resorts play geo-cache game

Mike Elgan's Raw-Feed site pointed today to this USA Today story about Geocaching adventures offered by some vacation resorts. Even though geocaching is becoming more and more main stream, it doesn't make it any less geekey. (I found this image from Ben's Geocaching log, no relation) --> Story: Resorts play geo-cache game

I'm lovin' it

If Jared can do it, I can do it! An earlier post I aluded to the fact that my 30 something shape has changed and not for the better. This summer I would joke about how I spent my lunch hour, sitting in the McDonald's right next to the local fitness club that many of my older co-workers frequent. While stuffing my neck with a quarter pounder, my fellow office mates were entering the gym right across the parking lot. One day it hit me, the new menu has some tasty looking and low calorie items so why not change from a QP to a yougurt parfait? On my 3rd week of the MD diet and I'm lovin'it! The fruit'n yogurt parfait is only 160 calories, and with a light lemonade that adds only 5 more and I can get through my day. If my appitite is larger, the fruit & walunt salad was great and actually filled me up! If a sandwitch is more your style, just get a fish or griled chicken but hold the big glob of mayo and you can still keep it under 400 calories but always hold the french frys. Thats the biggest challenge! 3 weeks without a single MD fry is crazy. Your thinking that the stupidest thing you have heard of yet, you'll eat crow when I am on TV as the Jared of the golden arches! The play-place is really a workout too, but I'm going to kill those little brats if they don't stop throwing balls at me while I am trying to do the back stroke! Should I get fatter first for dramatic effect?
McDonald's USA - McDonald's Nutrition Facts

Who reads this stuff anyway?

Now that I know that a few friends and family members are reading my posts, wouldn't it be intersting to see who and where they are? Well it would for me. Why continue to contribute to my carpel tunnel sydrome if the bathroom wall I am writing on is only used by yours truely? Visit my Frappr Map and place your pin where it should be. Much obliged, Ben

BensViewpoint | Add yourself!
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Man Show: Deer on Car

I have talked, linked-to, and blogged about AllDumb.com, where most of your emailed video, joke, photo, and weird news storys end up anyway. Today, this clip from "The Man Show" wins for the funniest thing I have seen this year. I can't host these video clips, so here is the link.

Support Our Armed Forces

My step daugters got a great surpise in our inbox today, when their daddy (far right), who is currently serving active duty in the USAF sent this picture. While currently stationed in the mid-east, John Baughman and his fellow Air Refueling Tanker Planners at the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha Qatar were visited by none other than the 41st President of the United States, George Bush Sr.! Cindy and I are quite jealous that the Girls Dad, was fortunate enough to meet, and have his photo taken with the ex-President.

Howdy Cousin

My cousin Brad left me a comment and since he might be reading I thought to post another image from the past.
This again with my trusty old Mavica, did not deliver the quality I currently expect, but as you can see on the left, Brad is proud of his hike. We were on a trip to Tumble lake, just above Detroit Lake in Oregon. This trip requires a long winding drive up a single lane, gravel logging road that has shear cliffs along the sides, then once you get to the trailhead, you must hike about 3 miles down a switchback trail to a secluded lake. The trip in is a challenge, but the trip out is a killer! .

Google Search Know How

If you visit Google Help Center and read all the info you will surely be overwhelmed. Google helps me in my job daily from converting square feet to square yards using google calculator, or locating a competitors home floor plan that one of our customers want us to build. Google is the Get-R-done for geeks.

Now the following is for the search know nothing, and I post this because I am surprised how many people can benifit from the folowing tip. Start short for more, then add more to get less. Did you get that? When you search for, say a 1972 Green Ford Pinto, on google image search, start with 1972 Ford then add Pinto, and then add Green as you will see if you click on each example, the result filters down from 7140 results down to 8 when you get more specific... BUT if you had started with something like: 1972 Ford Pinto Convertible you would have ended up with ZIPPO and been discouraged. See we worked our way down to the 8 green pinto's and obviously none were convertibles, so why throw in another useless word?

Enough for today, I have to see a man about a hot deal on a classic Pinto Wagon... Later!

Google Junkie

Those who work with me, know I love to "Google" around on the web. When someone asks some obscure trivia question I run to my PC and suck the answer from my personalized Google home page. Tonight, reading the news feeds that automatically update using RSS a CNET post about Adsense caught my attention. Those little links atop my Blog where it say Ads by Google Those little suckers earn me a couple pennies every time somone clicks one. So far this month I have earned a whopping $7.60, not much, but a few months past, I was earning enought to cover my monthly Comcast broadband bill. The beauty is, I don't do a thing! Well at least not after I signed up for the program, and plastered the link script upon every web page I own. Most of the earnings were gained from www.themud.com, and since this little blog has visitors little to none I don't expect my income to cover more than a run through the drive thru once a month now. Since Google has been so good to me, my next few posts, I am going to go geek and post all the google garbage I enjoy. My hope is you will spread the word, and get some more internet novices to read my posts and possibly earn me a penny or two.

The Rules of Wedding Crashing

The Rules of Wedding Crashing: From the movie, Wedding Crashers, likely the funniest movie.... of all time! Couldn't, not link to this when I stumbled upon it today on AllDumb.com and remember:

RULE # 17. Every female wedding guest deserves a wedding night.

Boardstock 2000

Browsing some of my older photos, I found a series taken with my Sony Mavica from Boardstock 2000 waterfront exposition. Among the pro wakeboarding show, they had freestyle motocross jumping. Later that night we shared some of these shots with the riders that were camping at Tower Park near us. I wish I could remember their names. This shot barely shows the streetlamps below in the background, and better provides prospective as to how high they were in the air. The Mavica, was only a 640x480 image but I got great result in sunny weather. Most of my photos from www.themud.com were taken using the Mavica.

Dizzy

Take a photo of your subjects while spinning on a merry-go-round. Just be sure you took some drammamine before hand. Again using my older camera, the quality of the image is poor, but with some adjustment, and sharpening with Picasa2, the result was interesting. This photo is about 2 years old. 

Multnomah Falls

This photo of Multnomah Falls was taken with the sun in a great position to highlight the trees. I wish I had my newer camera, as the quality would have been much better. You can really see the difference in the greens and detail when you compare the barn and this photo.

The Barn

Another one of my favorite photos is this one taken at a Beazel park near Philomath where you will find horseback and hiking trails. The scenery is great, and it looks like they are working to improve and expand the trails. I am looking forward to visiting this place again this spring.

Look Alike?

My internet bread & butter is www.fark.com, where I find all sorts of odd websites. A week or so ago I came across MyHeritage face recognition, where you upload your photo and it compares you to a database of famous faces. It told me I looked like George Clooney? That could be good, or bad... I suppose he is like some GQ celeb, on the other hand I wouldn't want to be compared to his politics but don't get me started there. Try it for yourself, but at the time of this posting the site was pretty busy... I suppose this link has been getting around. ( And NO, I didn't photoshop this screen clip, I would'nt have picked Glooney)

Let it rain

If you are growing tired of the water falling from the sky, and flooding your neighborhood, look at the bright side. Full resivoirs for generating power, irrigation, recreation, and watering your lawn this summer. On the down side, I might not have an excuse not to water this year, requiring to mow more, cutting into my recreation. On second thought... 

Going Mobile

I figured out how to post directly to this blog using my camera phone! This way when I see a car in the ditch, I can fumble for my cell phone, snap a lousy photo, rearend the sheriff car stopping to help, and in my spare time while sitting in the back of the squad car, put the story on the internet for all to see in seconds flat!

Flooding in Albany

The Wilammette river is really swelling up, and has engulfed most of a park we frequent in the summer. This photo is across the river from where the photo of Emily below was taken. If Emily were in the same place today she would be about in the middle of the river with the water well over her head. 

Emily

Emily deleted all my camera phone pics and took her own. Here is one of them.

More Daisy

I have been talking this weekend about all the photos we have been taking of our new puppy, and realized I only had the one on here recently. Here is another one. She likes climbing into things. Or in this case put into things. 

Fit-less

Recently I have not been as active as I once was, and not only has my waist line increased ever so slowly, so has the amount my belly hangs over my waist. When I had to strain to see over my front butt to buckle my belt it was time to do something. My first idea was to do more of the outdoor activities I enjoy, however the opportunities are too few and far between. Now I hate to admit, I have to watch how much I eat. Being a sucker for sugar, with cravings for icecream makes it all the more difficult. Then when shoping, I come across my favorite icecream flavor, packaged in a single serving, including a spoon! Since usually I would buy a whole pint and end up eating the whole thing, a single serving size is just what I needed...... NOT! 

Farm Fresh

Here is a farm fresh photo of Daisy our new family puppy. Please comment and rate the cuteness factor 1-10

Mt Hood

On the way to lunch Mt. Hood was looking spectacular so I wanted to take a photo on our way back. Unfortunately it clouded in so here is one I took last summer. The days are getting longer now! 

Irritation Station

After reading todays post on the
Irritation Station I had to put the link right atop my blog today. You can find this in my links area on the lower right in the future. Irritation Station
cracks me up with observations from bathroom humor, to road rage. It is worth checking out once every so often.

Delores II

Geocaching takes me to places I would have otherwise never been. In this photo, Stephanie is trying to keep-up as we hike up a hill to the Delores II Cache.