This morning I woke up a couple of minutes late, and then after getting ready for work found that again, even though I expressly told him not to, my son had used my PC again.  I know this because when he sits in the chair he has a habit of bumping the power cord and I have it password protected.  He also left the glass he was drinking from there. 

Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but lately I have tracked him going to websites I do not approve of, and I am worried about getting viruses and ad ware.  I will again talk to him when I get home.  I do not like the fact that I have the sites blocked and then he just turns off all the protection and visits them anyway.

I get to go to the dentist this morning to get my crown and false tooth.  I wonder how much I will have to pay and how much will be picked up by my insurance plan. 

This morning after Laila and I recited the rosary I checked out the news and saw all the stuff that happened in Great Britain and with me taking an International flight tomorrow it has me a little worried.  It is not so much that I will have a problem on the plane, but it is that I don't want to get delayed going through airline security.  I only have about 2 hours to get through the International part of the airport in San Francisco so I hope everything is going smoothly.  I usually use my military retired ID and passport to get through customs so I usually pass through everything fairly quickly.  I hope that is the case tomorrow.

Laila started using her new DSL service yesterday and it appears to be only slightly faster than PLDT.  I am wondering if perhaps the game her kids play is robbing her of bandwidth.  Also since her virus protection expired maybe that has something to do with it.  Well her new PC will arrive Monday and I will ensure that it is protected.

Time to get to work.  I will add to this at lunch if I get a chance.

I am back from the dentist and have my new crown. I thought they were going to give me a false tooth for the one that I had pulled but my dentist is recommending an implant.  He doesn't do that so he is sending me to another dentist on the 24^th.  Sandra, the receptionist showed me a pamphlet that showed that they will put a screw in my jaw and then they will put a tooth on top.  Ouch, that sounds like it is going to hurt.

On the radio on the way to and from the dentist all I heard about was all the stuff going on in the press about the terrorists arrested in Britain.  This is going to be very ugly trip, trying to get through all the security that is going to be stepped up.  They are now saying that there will be no carry on luggage.  I guess I will have to watch the news tonight and make sure I am ready for any new procedures or changes.  It looks like I will not be able to take my laptop and camera on the plane, but will have to check it through instead.

Well I guess that is it for now.  I will try and post something before I leave tomorrow and I will post from Laila's when I get there. 

This morning started very early since I had to get up at 4AM to take Judy to the airport.  I was a little worried that I would have a hard time waking her up, but she was already downstairs when I went to take my shower.  We got her to the airport about 5:15, which was plenty of time for her to get on her flight.  I hope she had a nice flight home.   It is lunchtime now so she should already be there.

Laila had her new hookup for Bayantel DSL installed yesterday but they were not able to configure her modem yesterday so they will be doing it today.  Her PLDT phone line was working again yesterday, I wonder if the Bayantel folks fixed it for her and so she had phone and DSL last night. 

Since I had to get up so early this morning I went to bed at 10 PM and had no problem getting up on time.  Laila went out to the gym for her weight loss treatment as soon as I signed off.

Well only 2 and a half days and I will be on my way.  I need to stop on the way home to pick up a few items for the trip, and I will start packing today.  I also have to take David to the grocery store to get the items he likes before I leave and some extra dog food.  I want to make sure he does not run out.

Well I guess that is it for today.  I am working on a little project for work and when it is lunchtime and quiet it is the perfect time to knock these things out.

Well tomorrow morning I have to get us very early because Judy will be leaving to fly home.  Her flight to Washington DC leaves at 6:30 in the morning so I will have to make sure she is at the airport by 5.  Then I will have to fight all the traffic to try and get back to the base for work.

Laila and I were checking out deals for our Hong Kong vacation yesterday.  It is amazing how much the price differences are.  She is also getting a new PC built and I have asked her to make sure she keeps her kids off of it.  Currently whenever they use it they change all of her settings and they mess with the operating system all the time.  I wonder how many of her PC problems could be a result of people messing with her operating system.

I was allowing my kids to use mine, but they kept shutting off the firewall, adware and virus protection, and all the rest of the protections.  I got a virus about a week to ten days ago and that was the end of them using mine.

Today the furniture gets delivered and I can hardly wait to get off and go home to see it.  It will start feeling like a home again.  That is provided my son wakes up to allow them to deliver it.  He will be the one staying home for the delivery today.  Sometimes he has a habit of sleeping through and if he does it today I will have to pay the delivery fees again, so he better get up.

Also I am expecting a few things to get delivered today via Fedex or UPS.  If he wants he can sleep downstairs and he will hear the door.

Well time to get to work.  I hope everyone has a great day.

Wow, am I sore today.  Yesterday Judy and I did something I have been trying to get David to help me do for a long time.  That was move the TV and computers out of the family room and back into the house.

We got it all done and everything set up after church yesterday.  As soon as we got home we ate breakfast and I chatted with Laila.  As soon as her PLDT High Speed Internet (40K) decided to go to 5K she went to bed early.  As soon as she went to bed Judy and I went to work.

We vacuumed and cleaned everything inside and out.  We then moved it, which was a big task for us.  I am not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds but everything we moved was heavier than that.  I just made sure I was lifting properly, and made sure Judy was helping and ready should I have a problem.

We got everything moved but I am paying for it today and could really use one of Laila’s massages.  The place looks great, though I do have to dress up a few of my PC cables.  I would have done that yesterday but after we got everything moved I just wanted to get some rest.

This morning when I got up I was paying for it, because my back was really aching.  Anyway I am really proud of my daughter and the work she put in to make the place look better. As soon as the new furniture comes in I will be posting a few pictures on flickr, so Laila can see what it looks like.

We are actively working the Hong Kong trip and have been in touch with Eric so that our families can get together.  We will be staying on the Kowloon side since it is closer to most of what we want to do.  I can hardly wait, especially since this will be Laila’s first vacation in a long time.  I want it to be special, a time for both of us to remember.  

Well time to get to work.  I hope everyone has a great week.

Yesterday was one of those days when odd stuff happens.  It started at work and continued after I got home.  At work since my class finished all their labs early I turned them loose for the day and continued working on improving our Power Point presentations. 

The military instructors are all members of the command softball team and since they had a game yesterday I manned the phones and dealt with any business that came our way.  I have a student that has to graduate early because of an upcoming deployment and so I called our office and made arrangements to pick up his graduation certificate early.  When I called our secretary asked if I was going to the potluck they were having in the other building.  I explained that I would like to but could not leave.  

I then checked to see if our other guys could go, but they were all doing the same thing I was doing, manning the phones, so we could not go.  They were nice enough to bring us all a piece of cake though, and that was really great of them.

I got a call from the boys later and they had finished their game and were all going out for lunch, and would probably not be coming back so I told them I would stay and do the pass down with the night shift.  Besides, I was really busy with the Power Point stuff I was working on and can really get a lot done when not disturbed.

When the night shift folks showed up I passed down what was going on and we chatted about some work related things and then I set out for home.  I left a lot later than I normally do and one look at the freeway let me know I would take the neighborhood roads instead.

I stopped at the post office and got the mail and then went home.  As I got out of my car my neighbor, Bill, asked me to come over.  Bill has lived there longer than I have and so we have known each other since 1982.  He was really excited and I asked him what was up.  He then informed me that the neighbor who lives between our houses, was arrested by the DEA and that they has seized all kinds of things from the property.

Bill told me that yesterday morning a while after I went to work the Drug Enforcement Agency came there with about five cars full of agents and they searched the house, found drugs, and hauled the neighbor away.

We have long suspected something was going on next door, since the guy didn't seem to have a job, and all night long cars would come by and people would run in and out all night.  Also the guy had TV cameras all over his property so he could monitor everything going on around his house.

The sheriffs department frequented the house all the time and he never seemed to get caught when they came by.  Anyway, Bill told me that when he talked to the agents they said that this guy was a member of the Mexican Mafia and was dealing drugs out of the house.  They had him under surveillance for quite a while and since he was already on probation we will not see him again as he will get going to jail for a long, long time.

I think that is great because he and his wife used to fight all the time and some of the other people that would visit would also fight all the time, which disturbed our sleep.

After talking to Bill I went home, ate and paid some bills.  I then did my usual Internet stuff while waiting for Laila to get up and come on line.  I also was getting ready to make my plane reservations, but Laila told me I might get a discount if I go through a travel agent.  I will see one on the way home.

So we got all set up to watch America's Got Talent and all of a sudden my camera locked up, Skype dropped and I lost chat.  I am kind of used to this, since Laila has been having all the Internet problems and this happens when her Internet resets, but this time it was different, I was having the problem.  We called each other and I told Laila that I was having problems and was going to call my provider.

I went ahead and called my provider, SBC, I then did their entire automated Internet troubleshooting procedures.  That didn't fix it so I had to call back and deal with someone in person.  The guy sounded like he was from India, and I told him that I was transmitting but not receiving.  My sync light was working and all.  Basically I knew the problem either had to be my IP, my DSL modem or the Ethernet switch that I use for my LAN.

I have had SBC for 6 or 7 years now and have used the same equipment and IP's all of that time.  Well the representative started troubleshooting the software end.  I knew he was going the wrong way, but I know how the outsourcing thing goes, and I also know he only knows answers to things that are in the book placed in front of him.  He had me search for a software program, which I didn't have.  He then asked me if I had my original installation disk.  Since that was from 6 or 7 years ago, I am sure I have it, but I have no idea of where it is.

What he was going to have me do is bypass the modem, and I needed their software to do it.  Since I didn't have the program or the disk we hit the wall, on how far I was going to get with him.  He said he would send me a disk and that I would have it in about 10 days.  I then told him that I would go ahead and buy a new modem and switch, and he gave me an 800 number to call to ensure I would get a compatible model.  I am sure it is so I purchase from SBC, but I will go to best buy instead.

So last night I called Laila to say goodnight and I just shut everything down and went to bed.  This morning I fired everything back up and everything worked fine.  So I either have a modem going bad or a bad Ethernet switch.  The switch was very hot so I suspect that is the problem.  It will not cost that much.  The modem should be supplied for free from SBC but I will have to prove to them that it is broken first.  We will see what happens.

Last night was a lot of fun.  Laila and I watched America’s Got Talent and she was very excited by some of the acts.  Maybe next week I should write my blog entry while the show is on so I do not miss any of the acts when I try and remember them the next morning.

The first act was a juggling act while they were pretty good they were not in my opinion worthy of winning last night.  Their act was different and unique and looked pretty cool, but it showed a talent for creativity and not actual physical or vocal talent.

The second act was an Irish family dance and music group.  I thought they were pretty good and demonstrated a lot of flexibility.  Piers, the English guy advised them to dump their parents and little brother from the act.  I see no call to do that.  All he managed to do was get the younger members of the family upset and crying.  I feel that since the panel votes 1 act in, and the people vote one act in that they could just check the group through and just not vote for them at the end of the show.  There was no reason to be cruel and I hope a lot of people voted for them, though I voted for others.

I am a bit fuzzy on the order of the other acts.  They had a singer, who the audience and the panel loved, but I was unimpressed.  They had a couple of tap dancers, and while they were good, they were not what I would call the best act to advance in the competition.

After that they had a female contortionist that shot a bow and arrow with her feet and hit dead center on the target from a really difficult position.  Laila and I were both wowed by her and I really wanted her to move on to the finals.

They then had a male contortionist who was more of a freak show act.  I liked what he and his partner did, but it was too radical of an act and he was not going to move on. He did stuff like eat fire, walk on glass and lay on a bed of nails. 

After his act they had a married couple that did a quick-change act and they were totally awesome, just as they had been in the preliminaries.  They were another group that we both wanted to pass on to the finals.

After that they had a stripper, which I thought shouldn’t have even been asked to perform.  Since they invite 14 acts and only allow 10 to perform I would have rather seen one of the four that did not get to the stage. 

They then had a unicycle basketball team whose timing was all off, and they just were not on their game last night.  It was a shame too, because they did a great job in the preliminaries.

They finished the show with a band, and these guys were terrible.  At the end of the show the jugglers were picked by the panel to get through to the finals.  Laila and I were at a loss on who to vote for so I gave five of my votes to the female contortionist and my other five to the quick-change couple.  We can hardly wait until tonight when they announce who the winner of the audience vote is.  I am also glad that they are having a wild card round next week so that the top vote getters from all the shows, that have not made it to the finals will get a second chance to get to the finals.

So that was how we spent last night and I really felt great just relaxing and talking to Laila as we were watching the show.  Judy was watching the first part but then she and her mother were going out today so she left about halfway through the show to stay over night at her mother’s place.

I do have some great news.  I have 10 vacation days left and I have to use them before the 30^th of September.  The only problem is that somehow my old boss calculated that I only have 7 days left.  This is no big deal for me and I will keep better track of them for the next fiscal year.

We have been so busy lately that I was getting worried that I may not have a chance to use them.  Well my current class graduates next Friday and since the current class is still in Receivers the opportunity to vacation came up and I am going to take it.

Since weekends do not count against my vacation I will get to actually take 11 days, since it will be over two weekends. 

So Friday the 11^th I will depart for Manila and I will be returning the evening of the 22^nd.  That time frame will also ensure that I will be able to make it to my dental appointments on the 24^th and 30^th.  Laila and I discussed it last night and this morning and I told her I would see if the time frame would work out.  I am sure she is going to be thrilled.  I know I am. 

Well I guess that is it for now.  Have a great day everyone.

I heard some great news last night before I went to bed.  The cross on Mt. Soledad will be saved.  The Senate voted unanimously to make it a federal landmark.  It now goes to the President for his signature, which is pretty much automatic and the whole lawsuit thing will be over. 

Last night Laila and I didn't get to chat all night like we usually do.  She was busy most of the evening with the phone representatives from Bayantel getting her new ISP and telephone agreements all worked out.  They will have everything set up by the 6^th and she is really happy about that.

Dennis is really excited about an upcoming competition on Level Up but was worried that the PLDT high speed Internet bandwidth of 2 Megabytes (really 40 kilobytes) might affect his game play.

This morning when I got up Laila and I were chatting about the new service and I found something she said funny, now that I have woke up and am more alert.  Usually after she would log a complaint PLDT would call her and ask her about her Internet.  With no phone (dial tone) they can't even do that.

When she gets her new service I hope she will blog about her dissatisfaction with PLDT.  Since many folks from the Philippines read her blog they should be warned of the poor customer service and incompetence exhibited by that company.  Of course if her readers have PLDT it may be a few weeks before they are able to read her post. 

Yesterday Judy got a picture on her cell phone of all the dogs sleeping together on the couch.  She is going to post it on her site today and I will of course steal it and post it here.

Well it is time to earn my paycheck so I had better get to work.  Have a great day everyone.

I don't know if I told this one before but today one of the more humorous things that happened to me back in my Navy days came back to me.  The air conditioning in my classroom was not working so well today and the classroom was a little stuffy so during one of the breaks I went outside to get some air and saw one of the LPD's leaving port.  It brought back memories of something that happened back in 1990 just before we left for Operation Desert Shield.

It was October of 1990 and we had received orders to deploy early in December, so they moved all of our inspections up to the month of October so we would be ready to deploy in December instead of our regular deployment that was to start in May.  We had several underway hoops to jump through at the time such as our Propulsion Readiness Exam, Refresher Training and Amphibious Refresher Training.  We were going out to sea every Monday and returning every Friday, if we returned that week at all.

One Monday was overcast pretty much like it is here today.  Also being late in the year and the fact that we were getting underway early in the morning had me driving to work with my headlights on. 

I got to the ship, made sure the underway check off list was completed and then went and manned my sea and anchor detail station on the bridge of the ship.  As we were getting underway I happened to glance over at the parking lot and low and behold there was a car parked there with the lights turned on.  What was worse was, that it was my car. 

I remember calling the wife when we pulled in that Friday asking her to bring the jumper cables and her car.  She always hated coming to the base, especially since she never knew when I would be able to leave the ship.

I think that was the last time I ever left my lights on, and of course with today's cars you get an audible alarm if you try and get out and you left them on.  I sure wish they had had those alarms back then.