My iphone apps

Here are screenshots of my current iPhone apps. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing anything good.

Smack in the face…

I’ve restarted P90X. Got lazy really fast the first time around. Didn’t do the nutrition “I can regulate it myself” I said. Bullshit. So, after the first 6 weeks, I hadn’t seen the results I wanted so I started over. Adding the nutrition system this time around. Its been a huge change, a lot more planning, a lot more food, a lot more expense. But in the end, my health and happiness are worth it all. I can already tell, the better I’ve been eating, the better I’ve been feeling. BUT, the back patting can stop there. I still can do better, and I will.

I joined TeamBeachBody.com today, its free, you can join too. I was given a “coach“; someone who has been in a program, and had success, enough so that they can help motivate others. That’s what I need, a little motivation, someone standing over my shoulder saying “should you really eat that?” “are you sure you don’t want to do your workout today?” She pointed me to a link that Tony Horton had posted a few weeks ago. It was from one of his chats, and pretty much went off on his audience. I suggest you give it a read also.

Anyway, after reading that, I KNOW I have a lot more work to do. So starting today, for 30 days, NO red meat. As little dairy as possible. NO white bread or anything made with enriched or processed flour. NO carbonated drinks, even Diet Sprite. Only water and 1 cup of coffee a day. At least 1 vegetable at 2 meals every day. At least 1 fruit at 1 meal every day. I’m going to write down every single thing I eat. For 30 days. All of those changes, when in reality, that’s not that much. If you see me doing/not doing any of these, bring it to my attention, abruptly and immediately. I WANT to do these things, I NEED to do these things, all I’m asking for is a little help along the way.

My son’s biggest WTF was he thinking moment… so far.

Any of you that know me, know my son has a mind of his own. He has a penchant for challenging the rules, pushing boundaries, like most boys, just finding every way he can to see exactly what he can get away with. He’s 5 by the way.

We’ve been battling with him lately about his stealing. He hasn’t taken anything from a store, yet. His biggest offenses have been little toys from school. He always tries the “I got it from the ‘treat box’” line. But we learned very quickly that the daycare doesn’t put chewed up Lego pieces in the ‘treat box’. The last time, I actually saw his latest find in his book bag when I picked him up before we had left the classroom. I took it to the teacher with him, told her that he was using the ‘treat box’ as an excuse to bring things home. We talked to him about taking other peoples things, how he would feel if they took his things, etc. I also asked her in front of him to not let him get anything from a treat box for the remainder of that week so I would know for sure that he shouldn’t be bringing anything home. So far, this has worked, he hasn’t offered to try and bring anything home from school.

On top of the school, he goes into his sisters bedroom and takes things of hers. Small things, like pencils, little toys, his favorite thing being her lip gloss or chap stick. His favorite hiding place for these things were in his pillow cases. So, with our daughters bedroom door closed, his pillow cases permanently removed, him losing several of his favorite toys (an eye for an eye punishment), that has subsided as well.

With all of that said, he is a very sweet loving child. He loves attention, loves hugs and kisses, is very open and talkative, your very average 5 year old boy.

This morning however, was literally our biggest WTF were you thinking moment of his young life. Its a work day, he usually wakes up before everyone else, gets himself dressed and watches cartoons on the couch right outside our bedroom before we get up. Nothing special, I heard him up what seemed especially early this morning, made a mental note, but dozed back off….only to be awakened shortly after by him and his sister arguing, then him crying very abruptly. My first thought was, “did she smack him?” I started in with the obligatory, “stop it, its too damn early for this arguing over the TV channel…”. “No, daddy, its not about the TV”; OK friends, are you ready for this..? ’cause I wasn’t. “He peed in a cup and put it in my bedroom and told me to drink it, that it was water.”

Oh My GOD! I have never jumped out of bed, grabbed him off the couch, brought him in the bedroom and spanked him so quickly. I was utterly blown away. I had no comprehension of what I had just heard other than, that is fucking ridiculous and he is getting his ass beat over it.

He was sent to his bedroom until we were ready to go to school/work. I gave him a few words before I left; “that’s disgusting, do you think that’s funny, do you hate your sister so much that you want her to drink pee?, there’s so much wrong with that in so many ways, etc…”.

Since, Paige and I have read a few articles/comments online about how this isn’t as unique as we had first thought, not as bad, although not OK, etc. I’m still not totally convinced, and we are actually still brainstorming on how we need to sit him down and explain exactly what the problem was and a suitable punishment for this crime. Yes, there will be more to come. The spanking is not to be the end of this.

So, with that all out there, I want to hear from you, thoughts, stories, opinions, ideas. Let me hear them, good or bad, whether I agree or not, I’m asking for them. Am I overreacting, or is this even a bigger deal than I’m making it? But seriously, in the end, WTF could he have possibly been thinking?

Allison & Patrick’s wedding.

I’m not a big fan of getting dressed up and doing the “fancy” thing. I’m most comfortable in either jeans/t-shirt/boots or camo shorts/t-shirt/sneakers. So, when I have to put on “slacks” and a tie. Fuck me.

Anyway, our dear friends Allison and Patrick got married this past Saturday here in Charlotte. Paige and the kids were all in the wedding. I got to sit in the crowd and watch. Again, weddings… eh. I could take em or leave em, but for what it was, it was absolutely beautiful. The kids did great, Allison looked amazing, and Paige, well, let’s just say, dayam. I’ve got one helluva smokin hot wife. (Love ya babe).

Here’s a few photos I took before, during and after the wedding, most at the reception of course.

Photo Gallery

Increase Web Traffic

As a web developer, one area I’ve admittedly been lacking is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Clients have come to me with the question, “how can I get my site listed higher in search results?” My basic answer was usually, “reciprocal links”. Get sites with high traffic to link to you. Its true, it works, but easier said than done.

I stumbled upon this write-up today that gives a relatively simple yet detailed description of a few ways to Increase Web Traffic to your site.

I will most definitely take all of these into consideration when building my next site, as well as updating some current sites to adhere to these “rules”.

Adventures in a root canal…

In case you’re thinking of having one, here’s what you can expect.

First, a little background on what led up to this…

I went to my bi-annual dentist appointment back in November. She found I had a cavity in my #2. In case you’re not familiar with the numbering, it starts with the very back, right, top. So my wisdom tooth on the upper right would be #1. I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed a couple years ago, so the first molar I have left is actually #2. Anyway, she scheduled me to come back in a couple days to have that cavity filled. No biggie, i’ve had cavities in the past, not in many years, but still, I new what to expect, not too bad, just an afternoon of talking like a stroke victim, but all in all, nothing unbearable.

That went as planned, cavity filled, no big deal. A few days later however, I started noticing that area was very sensitive to cold. I’m a big ice water drinker, and I chew the ice, bad habit? Possibly. So, this just didn’t fly. I went back and told her, she said, “hmmm, i’m not sure, the cavity wasn’t that deep, surely, I didn’t hit the nerve.” WTF? Surely? Are you kidding me? She referred me to an Endodontist right off the bat.

I wasn’t happy with that, so I immediately sought a second opinion. I found a new dentist much closer to home, very new, with all the modern technologies. My old dentist was just that, old and antiquated, I felt an update was well overdue. I told my new dentist the story and she was as appalled as I was. She spent a few visits (only charged me for the first) until she had exhausted all of her options. She had tried coating the tooth several times with some of finish in case there was a crack or some other cause for the pain. After a few attempts, she admitted defeat and then referred me to an Endodontist.

Now, you may be thinking, “the first dentist was right after all”. True, but, at least the new one actually tried, just didn’t dismiss it and pass me on to someone else, that actually meant something to me, that she was willing to try and save me the pain of a root canal. Just to add, my opinion is that the first dentist either a) did go too deep and hit the nerve a bit, or b) was a little too over-zealous with her drill and cracked the surface a bit. Either way, the pain started almost immediately after receiving the filling.

So, needless to say, I eventually had enough of the pain, and made an appointment with the Endodontist. I had that appointment yesterday at 8am. Everyone in the office was very nice, very comforting, and very open to explaining all the details of what I would be experiencing. Part of me wished they hadn’t been so descriptive, but now, i’m glad they were.

In case you aren’t aware, a root canal consists of drilling 4 holes (in a molar) 1 into each “branch” of the root. The nerves are scraped out of each canal, then the canals are filled, and eventually a crown is put on. Apparently, removing the nerves eventually kills the tooth and it becomes brittle, and can crack and break.

The drilling and cleaning took about 2 hours. Laying pratically upside down, mouth wrenched as wide as it can go with instruments galore invading my space. After that time, she sat me up and said “ok, we’re done… for today.” WHAT? There’s more? “Yes, 2 of the 4 canals aren’t drying to my liking, you’ll have to come back in a week so I can finish filling those last 2.” UGH! 3 Advil and a see ya later, i’m out the door.

So I go home, with my puny Advil (not even decent drugs after that near torturous experience?), to rest and wait for the real pain to hit.

Now, don’t get me wrong, having my wisdom teeth pulled left me in much greater pain, but, I had plenty of Vicodin to get me through that. By 8pm last night, my jaw was throbbing, the Advil just wasn’t cutting it, the constant throb was giving me a headache, and actually making me naucious. I happen to have a few “other pain killers” just lying around. I took a couple, and crashed.

I awoke this morning, feeling “not too bad”. And decided to have a bowl of cereal to celebrate. That was a mistake. Although the cold sensitivity is completely gone, that’s replaced by an excrutiating twinge every time I bite down. I called the Doc this morning, and said, this Advil just isn’t doing the trick. She was happy to call me in some Vicodin to help relieve the pain and get me to sleep at night. She says this pain should be fully gone in 2 or 3 days. Yay, just in time to get good and healed to go in for more.

So, all in all, I have to say, if this pain dissipates as expected over the next day or so, and I fully recuperate and the cold sensitivity is completely gone, I will declare it a success and recommend it to anyone with similar pain as I’ve had. Just don’t believe the “oh, its not that bad…” BS. feel like i’m relatively tolerant to pain, but, this hurts, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Movie Review – War Inc.

Watched an obscure movie last night. Thanks to Netflix, a movie I’d never heard of came to find itself in my queue. John Cusack on the cover grabbed my attention. Grosse Pointe Blank is one of my all time favorites, so I had to give it a watch.

Right off the bat, I could tell this was going to be a different kind of movie, would take some introspection, and special attention, I’m sure a couple follow up screenings to “get” the subtle nuances.

In a nutshell, the U.S. is in a “war”, for the first time completely funded by private contract organizations. Corporations were at the top of the pecking order, the government followed, then the people. The film is set in the fictional Turaqistan, occupied by the private corporation run by a former US Vice President. The goal of the corporation is of course purely financial. Instead of US flags, the soldiers wear the corporate logo. Tanks are lined with ad banners and marketing from McDonald’s to Popeye’s Chicken.

Cusack, an ex-CIA hit-man hired by the corporation to kill a Middle East oil minister while visiting a trade show staged by the corporation for this purpose, acts as the trade show producer. Our protagonist struggles with his growing demons while organizing a high-profile wedding and keeping a left wing reporter at bay.

There’s a muddled area where you get lost in the cross stories, but they tie up nicely in the end. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. As I said, I’m sure I’ll have to watch a few more times to “get” the movie fully, but I definitely recommend, in today’s political climate, its not a far stretch of the imagination. If you’re not into political satire, check it out just to see Cusack at his typical dry wordy/witty best.

Whats the big deal…?

2 topics in the news right now that are irritating the be-jeezus out of me, and I just felt the need to post my official opinion.

Christian Bale cursing out the director of photography on the set of Terminator Salvation.

According to news reports, Shane Hurlbut, “accidentally” walked on set, apparently into Bale’s line of sight, throwing off his concentration. Bale then went on a reported 4 minute F-bomb laced tirade against Hurlbut.

The majority of news opinions seem to be chastising Bale for this outburst, but I can relate. Not that i’m a famous actor and my concentration has been broken by some douchenozzle “accidentally” walking on set and fucking up my mojo. But rather at my temper getting the best of me and verbally abusing someone.

Who’s to say that this just wasn’t a last straw in a hay-stack of a day for Bale? Everyone has openly said that Bale is a very intense guy/actor, he takes his trade very seriously. He lost 60 lbs for the Machinist only to immediately beef up for his role in Batman. He loves what he does, he takes it very seriously, and wants to be at his best at every moment. Reportedly, this was not the first or second instance of Hurlbut walking onto set and finally, “snap”, Bale lost it. He had had enough, and made sure that not only Hurlbut but everyone else within earshot knew it. And on top of it, what’s the big deal with the number of F-bombs? Would it have been better if he said “darn it” and “freak” instead? I mean, come on, at the end, he told Hurlbut, “You’re a nice guy, but professionally, we’re done.” Which to me meant. “Ok, get off my set, you’ll never work on a project with me again, but we’re cool otherwise, lets go grab a beer after I wrap this thing up.”

Michael Phelps banging on the bong.

This is an easy one. Fucking chill. He’s not competing, he’s not responsible for anyones lives, no children involved, he’s not smoking crack (not that even if he were I’d care too much). He was smoking a little weed in his down time.

Who the fuck cares? Get over this marijuana issue. Do you even know why its illegal? Take a minute, read this, and see if you still feel the same. If you do, I’m sad for you.

Enough said on that…

I’d like to hear your thoughts on these.

Golden Tips for a Better 2009

I didn’t write any of these, but with the way 2008 ended for not only myself, but a lot of people I love. I thought these could help. Keep your heads up, and look at things in 2 ways. 1) They could either get worse, or with the power of positive thinking, 2) they will most likely get better.

Golden Tips for Better Life in 2009

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, Smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,

‘My purpose is to __________ today.’

5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

7. Make time to practice Meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. – Appreciate their genuine nature, strength, and innocence. For real!

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan Salmon, broccoli,
almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Nature heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is it will change.

30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

Time flies…

Wow, I was just sitting here thinking, even though the new year has arrived, and we’re already 5 days in, that time seems to be going by slowly lately. Then Iooked at my last blog post and its been 2.5 weeks. Its as if time continues on whether I’m paying attention or not. Wait, then that would mean the world does NOT revolve around me? No, I don’t think I like this new revelation.

So, what exactly has happened in the last couple of weeks? Well, there was that Christmas thing. We kicked off the holidays with a party at our house on the 16th, coincidentally the same day as my last post. It was fairly small, but alot of fun, just the right people were there. Alot of our old/dear friends, and some new ones. Everyone got just drunk enough i.e., no puking A fair amount of flip-cup was played, and everyone got home safely. Our favorite holiday guests arrived the next day. Cam and Sean got here Sat. afternoon and that’s when we knew the holidays had officially arrived. We have such a blast when they’re here. Tons of great food (not great for us). Good movies, tons of laughs and seemingly endless amazing drinks (for those of you that don’t know, Cam is a bartender at Aiko in Atlanta.

Christmas Eve we went to our friends Byron & Cheryl’s house for dinner and more drinks. Before the trip, Paige, Sean and I partook in a bit of a certain mind altering substance to help lighten the mood even more (Cheryl’s in-laws were scheduled to be there). Needless to say, we had a great time, food was tremendous…

Christmas day is all but written in stone at the Rice house. We’re awoken by the kids cheers of joy from all the Santa gifts under the tree that weren’t there the night before. Someone makes coffee, the kids open their gifts from Santa, Mom and Dad, and Cam and Sean. The adults save their gifts for later that night. We then all get ready take some gifts and food to “Big Mama’s” house (an hour up the road to Forest City). Big Mama is Paige and Cam’s grandmother on their dad’s side. Not to be confused by Martin Lawrence’s Big Mama. Paige’s Big Mama is the exact opposite, a sweet, tall, thin lady, who got her moniker from being the neighborhood grandma. Beyond all of the grandkids of her own, she always had a house full of kids from around the neighborhood. We spent a few hours there, ate too much (no drinking at Big Mama’s house), opened a few more gifts, then finally pack up to head home. After we get home, we get the kids settled in bed, clean up a bit from the mornings activities, make a snack (turkey sandwiches and such), get in our jammies and crack a few beers, or holiday punch, and get to the adult gift exchange.

Sadly Cam and Sean have to head back to work the next afternoon, Paige and I use the weekend to recover and try to get ready for the week to come. Payton still being out of school requires me to “work from home” a couple days. Some work gets done, but mostly seeing some creation Payton has come up with while trying her best to entertain herself.

New Years rolls around, back to Byron and Cheryl’s. This time, joined by Paul and Ellie. 3 words. SO MUCH FUN! More great drinks, great food, and Partini!!! The ball drops, champagne toast, kisses to the loved one(s). Home to bed. Slept all but a few hours of the next day. Having kids old enough to entertain themselves 90% of the day is amazing. I never thought the day would come. To top off the festivities, to Paul and Ellie’s after church Sunday afternoon to watch their beloved Eagles take on the Vikings in Wild Card game of the playoffs. Great Chili Ellie. Love ya!

That’s about the extent of it. In short, lots of eating, lots of drinking, a pill here, a toke there. We all survived. Here’s to a 2009 filled with many more days and nights of fun with our best of friends. Love you all and Happy New Year!