Well, that is sort of what the kiddo looks like so far on the ultrasounds, at least according to my Father. Every day I tend to think about the fact that my wife is pregnant and how happy we will be to corrup…err, raise a kid.
Archive
Category: PersonalIt seems that our attempts at conception did not go unrewarded thankfully. We have been trying for a while and I am glad it finally happened. I really do not care if our kid is a boy or girl. I cannot wait until I can corrup…err, teach our child in the ways of being a Smock. No easy feat I assure you as being a Smock is wrought with many trials and tribulations. Only after years and years of work can that name, which everyone loves, be earned. Man, did it just get deep in here from typing that or what?!? Anywho, I will, as usual, update my blog often. Yeah right. I will just say this, I will make more of an attempt now that I have something to talk about.
I do not normally go much into topics of real personal value but I think I will for this post. I was looking at my Grandpa Smock’s tribute site because my father updated it by using a picture gallery software and I wanted to see how it was going. It did get me thinking of some of the people over the years I have lost that were close. Now remember this is by no means a comprehensive list because it is past 1:30 in the morning and I am a bit tired.
One of the first people I lost was my Grandmother on my Mother’s side. I never really got to know her because she died when I was two, but from what I was told she liked me a lot which makes me feel better.
Another was my Grandfather on my Mother’s side. He died when I was 15 if my memory serves me right. I do wish I could remember going to his funeral but because of a bump on the head that same year I kind of lost the memory of his funeral, among other things. He is where my Mother got her smart alec side and of course from both of them is where my brother, sister, and I got it. He was almost always joking and enjoyed getting a rise out of people. I do remember that about him.
Up next on this somewhat emotional ride is my Grandfather on my Father’s side. He died on October 24, 2004. The only reason I know the date is because of the site. As I grew all the way to become an adult with him around I remember him of course better. He was a man that was hard-headed, strict, and did not often make jokes. It was not until I got to my mid to late teen years when he started to soften up to where I noticed it. Every time I visited he made a point to see me, even if he just got into bed he would get back up to at least say hi. Sometimes toward the last few years of his life I would try to make it over there to do a crossword puzzle with him or stratch off a few lottery tickets. I never got over there as much as I would have liked to. As usual, you do not always think of such things until it is too late. I do miss him…
I know that I will always miss these and others as the years go by but am glad I have a wife and family to be with on those tough times.
It has been a little while since I have done any posting to the blog. When I have not been busy I have been tired of doing too much with computers. I know that sounds scary if you know me, but I am doing better now. I updated some of the software running houstonjuggalos.com. It is a site that I am just the ‘code monkey’ for so don’t get any ideas. heh… I am enjoying things mostly. I am also slimming down my pile of computer junk slowly. I may have trouble not accepting old computer hardware but once I mess with it and make something useful I am finding it easier to get rid of it. The same can be said for hardware that does not work or is flaky. I am tired to dealing with that crap. Anyway, while I am typing this I am putting the finishing touches on my laptop image that I am creating. When I am done I will never have to reinstall Windows on my laptop again because I will have it set to just need a restore DVD put in the drive to get it back working in case I hose the OS.
It seems that I have been too busy with life to drop a post or two. Well, I will update on a few things that I have done in the time of this lack of posting. One thing that I have done is get a smaller computer case instead of the server case I was using for years. It is a mini-tower with 3x 5 1/4″ drive bays, 1x visible 3 1/2″ bay and 5 3 1/2″ bays for hard drives and the lot. The thing actually holds my three internal hard drives, one DVD/CD burner and a CD burner without too much problems. Another thing is that it has a clear plastic cutout on the side of it and so I have a Green LED exhaust fan to light it up. Yes, I know I am a bit late to the party on this one but I found it fun. I did not want red or blue because those LED colors hurt my eyes. Green is a nice calm color for the future of my vision. I almost have my dedicated Multimedia PC ready to go so when I rip music/movies/etc., capture video and otherwise edit graphics I will have a dedicated workstation for such a feat. The thing has a bit more power than my current system. My processor is an Athlon XP 2100+ and the one in the aforementioned system is an Athlon XP 2500+ so it is a bit faster. The RAM is the same at 512Megs but it is faster than what is in my main system. The thing I need to get soon for my main system is a really good video card because mine is and has been showing it’s age for a while. What sucks is that since I am almost always broke I doubt I will be able to afford one for a long time to come. I know you are thinking, “hey, where the hell did he get all that hardware if he is broke?”, and I have an answer for you. I tend to accept any computer hardware someone is willing to give me. I am not too proud when it comes to that. 
Anyway, I am going to get out of here for a short and will attempt to most more often for the 2 or 3 people that sometimes visit a month. 
This seems to be the first post of the new year. It took me a little while to get something typed. Well, I have been busy working hard and finding time for spending time with the wife. My IPod is still chugging along. I do not even have 10 gig used yet of the 30 available. I am using about 5.58 gig according to iTunes. That is with pictures, music, and a few video podcasts stored on it. In other news I am slowly making sense of my computer room and one day be clean it will. But yeah, work has been keeping most of my time and when that is not using my time something else seems to be. I will try to stop by with updates more often.
Well, I finally got my Niece’s gallery upgraded to the newest version. She was using Gallery 1. She is now using Gallery 2. I also set up one of my nephews with a Gallery 2 set up of his own.
For my Niece, Jessica, it is http://seeker.theuncle.com/
For my Nephew, Charlie, it is http://chucknasty.theuncle.com/
It was interesting doing the import from Gallery 1 to 2 and it was actually really easy… Only a few differences exist that can be irritating but oh well. Got to go…
Well, I have found a job. It is with Wells Fargo. I think it will be an interesting job and looks like a fun challenge. On a side note, the fence is done and looks nice. I am glad I had help from my father or it would never have been finished or even much started. I will have more to post in the coming weeks I hope. Anyway, lates…
Well, I have been busy looking for a job and rebuilding the back fence. The former is because of getting laid off from First Community Bank which turned into Wells Fargo. The latter is because of Hurricane Rita. My father is helping me with the fence as I have no talent for anything related to woodworking. Not much else is going on though so I will cut out. I will try to make more updates to this blog even though not many people read it.
Well, my toe seems to be doing better. I also got some new shoes that might not cause pain like steel-toed ones do. From what my nephew Charlie said, we will be up there the entire day. All I know is that I am going there specifically to see Ozzy so I do not care as much when we get there as long as the aforementioned requirement is satisfied. So, enough of my jibber-jabbering. I may update this after the concert to say my thoughts on it. Lates…
You know, normally I am very sure footed on stairs, but this past Sunday night I fell down the last 4 or 5 steps at home. What really did not help matters is that I landed on both knees and my toes on my right foot. The knees are ok but my big toe on my right foot seems to be broken. I did not go to a doctor as it would be a waste of time. I was unable to walk for the most part of Monday because every time I moved it seemed to move my toe and cause large amounts of pain. I got some medical tape and taped my toes together to stabilize it and that seems to have helped a lot. I have an Ozzy concert to go to this coming Saturday so it will be fun with a broken toe. 
You know, I noticed something today. Time just goes by way too fast. I don’t know if it just seems that way or my mind is going more so I do not remember much of what happens. You never know, at least I don’t.
When it rains it pours is so very true, it seems that for a while things will be going decent and smooth then all of a sudden a lot of stuff gets dumped into your lap and taking care of it takes time.
I am on a roll this week with my entries. Anyway, I think it was Tuesday night our A/C went out. I never remember the house getting as hot as it has gotten these past few days. Even with the windows open and almost everything that generates heat being turned off it still is horrible. Today it should be getting fixed which is a good thing. I love being in Texas but the heat sometimes gets to me and that is why I am glad we live in an age of A/C. Of course the house gets hotter than it is outside. Oh well, I am hoping things will be ok when I step through the entrance of the Smock house. Well, specifically this Smock’s house.
One thing I have noticed is that Sonic decided to get stingy with their cherries on their mixed cherry flavored drinks. The last few times that I have been there I have had to specifically request it or say something after they bring the drink out. I know it sounds petty but I get more than irritated because they show cherries in the pictures of the drinks, have included them in the past, and so I want my freaking cherry(ies). Grrrrr…
I have never been a fan of Metro for more than a few reasons. From what I have seen, they have sunk to a new low. Check out what it says on BlogHouston.net
I think was really makes me mad is that they refuse to recant on their idiotic decision to not bring actual security back. It makes me real nervous about ever riding a bus with a Metro name slapped on the side of it. Well, more so than usual.
On the 24th it will have been one year since my wife and I tied the knot. It has been an interesting year and I hope of many more. I love my wife very much and am glad she has tolerated my weird nature for as long as she has. Anyway, gotta go…
You know you wonder where time goes when you think about how long ago you graduated high school. I happened to graduate in 1997. What kind of scares me is that I remember it like it was yesterday and I have trouble remember what I actually did yesterday. All kidding aside, I have never been one for thinking old and to know me is to see a mind of a child with the logic of an old man. I have just started thinking “damn, has it been that long” more and more. One day I will be 30 and look back on everything wondering where the time has gone and is going. If you happen to think that I am just a young whipper-snapper then this was not written for you, as it were… I cannot say I have lived a boring life but I can say I got away from childhood with less pain than many. I have just found this life to be interesting so far and for what seems like a long time goes by so damn fast. Anyway, I just felt like rambling a bit so don’t mind me, I am just going to go and sit in my rocker and shout at the young-ins for a piece…
Oh yeah, when you get a chance check out the tribute site my father has been working on about his father. Some of his siblings have been submitting their own stories and I might put pen to the preverbal paper myself soon. Here is the link http://rip.smock.com/
Yes, there is a story behind the ‘Rip’ name. Maybe it will appear on the site one day. You never know.
Yes, the title made no sense. I figured I would step away from the cold and logic side of things and just cut loose, as it were. I am actually thinking of installing Windows 2k on a machine for my father for his server/backup computer. I was thinking of setting up RAID since I have enough hard drives and IDE RAID controllers sitting around. Well, I was actually also thinking of how much it would hurt if I licked a stove burner while it was at full. Of course that is just a passing thought and thankfully I have not lost all sense that is considered common. I am getting my computer room cleaned up more and more as the weeks go by. I can see the floor and it has carpet. w00t! All kidding aside, the room is starting to shape up and I think I will even have a table with room to do computer work on without having to move stuff around. I think I am getting tired of typing but I will say this, I like the interface on WordPress much better than Movable Type. Most things just work without having to do much at all. Time to go. lates…