Third Time is a Charm

This is my third blog post for the day... But it may be the only one I publish.

The first was about an assumption I made about a friend on Facebook, but I think I may have been wrong... Stupid Paranoid Brain!!

The second was intended not to be, but I think it may have been received as offensive to a group of people who I wouldn't wish any offense on. It's hard to know where the lines are sometimes, and if something crosses that line, or if you're simply being hypersensitive on behalf of other people.

And thus we arrive at post number 3...

I stayed up late last night watching an episode of Brew Master. My son actually saw the promo a couple of weeks back and suggested it for me.

Last night they made a tamarillo based beer and then entered it in a festival down in Wellington, New Zealand. The scenic shots made me homesick and the accents brought back memories.

The beer didn't win any prizes, but the Punkin beer the main guy took down there did. Punkin beer was the other story the episode covered.

I've become increasingly fascinated by beer and the process of brewing it. It's a fascinating topic for me - hence my son suggesting Brew Masters.

I had a couple of thoughts:

1 - I would kinda like to try pumpkin beer. The stuff the Dogfish Head guy made (He's the brew master on Brew Masters), had real pumpkin meat, nutmeg, cinnamon and all-spice. I'm not sure you can go wrong with any of that! Alas, the Pumpkin Ale which the local brewery, Squatters puts out was sold out at my local store this morning.

2 - I would not mind working in a brewery. Anyone know a brewery that could benefit from a Software Engineer who could help optimize their processes? Dogfish Head give each employee a Payday Case with their paycheck each week (or every 2 weeks). Sounds like a great place to work!

3 - Maybe I should look into micro brewing supplies... Not that I need another hobby at this point!!

4 - I was wondering about starting a beer review website. Of course that would also entail an admission to the world that I occasion sip from the goblet of the historically significant beverage.

Well, I guess the latter half of #4 just got taken care of.

Elf

It wasn't a bad Thanksgiving - although we ended up bringing home about half of the 30lbs of mashed potatoes which we were assigned to bring to Mrs. Koda's family feast.

Black Friday ended up being somewhat of a blur. Walmart at Midnight, sleep from 3:30 till 6, Kohls, Target and Lowes, then helping a friend move from 9 till about 11, then back to Kohls and Target again, and finally Buy Direct and then home.

If we learned one thing... Black Friday is far better spent in Cyber Space. I realized this, when... Having missed all the really good deals at Walmart, and still finding ourselves standing in a 2 hour line to check out with a couple of pairs of PJ's... I logged into Walmart.com, and purchased all the stuff we missed!

Today begins a new week though...

I feel energized! Woke up at 4:15 this morning, and was dressed and ready to go by 5. Got my driveway and sidewalks shoveled and salted, down a delicious cup of hot joe, and was at the Park and Ride well before my commute buddy, ready to enjoy the treacherous trip into Salt Lake.

Tonight brings with it a little vinyl work (My order of reflective vinyl came in on Friday!!) and then Movie Night Monday...

Tonight, I believe dinner will consist of Sandwiches and the entertainment will be provided by Will Ferrell!



Since all the other clips have embedding disabled... Especially the one with...

"He's an angry elf!"

I'm Married to Nora Krank

As I posted yesterday, Monday night this week was Movie Night Monday, and the evening consisted of a Pepperoni Pizza from Papa Murphy's with Cheesey Bread. Mountain Dew on the side and Christmas with the Kranks as the movie choice.

I realized that I am married to Nora Krank.

Which seems fitting, since I mentioned this to Mrs Koda during the course of the viewing and she responded that she appears to be married to Luther Krank.

You know... I do like the idea of skipping Christmas to take a cruise!

Movie Mondays

One LDS tradition which me and the Mrs have struggled to get going in our house is something called Family Home Evening or FHE.

It's not that we haven't tried, it just never gets traction and usually stops a week or two after we start.

The deal is, on Monday nights, the whole family gathers together, and you have prayers, songs and then a special lesson on some gospel thing, and then you finish it with treats.

Sounds like a blast right?

I remember lots of FHE from when I was a kid about cleaning up our toys and helping out around the house - Not so much fun.

Anyway, so now that we're not active Mo's the pressure to have FHE has gone a little, but in reality the idea of a night set aside for family is actually quite a good one.

So....

We started Movie Mondays. It's taken a while to get traction, but unlike FHE, everyone is keen to get this one going.

So the Monday plan is this:

I get home from work as quick as is humanly possible.

Mrs Koda arranges for a dinner which is quick and not too messy. The plan is to eat it while we watch.

The whole family picks the movie and then we sit down and watch it together.

In the last week, it's been Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Christmas with the Kranks.

Good times!

Feeling Punchy

It's funny how life works. I had a great weekend, but it had crappy parts as well. Last week I was feeling like I was finally escaping religion, and then I got sucked in again.

So while blogging about that, and lamenting other aspects of my life I would like to change, I felt the need to post something funny - or rather punchy - if punchy means, what I think it means...

This is a selection from a play list I have on YouTube, which I've entitled my R-Rated Favorites. The common theme amongst the videos, all of the musical variety, seems to be the F-word.

So I think it goes without saying that the following should not be listened to by minors - I would say viewed, but it's a static picture, and it's just not that offensive.

I think I shall dedicate this post to TGIAA, seeing as we share a love for this comedic genius!

Just Saying...

I have kind of an awkward situation with my job. It's one of the hostile workplace type situations, where my superior's political and religious views are polar opposites of mine, and often his expression of those views with respect to my political views and various minorities is actually quite offensive.

It would be all fine and well if he was just my boss, but unfortunately he's also been a good friend for most of the last decade, and he has no idea I feel differently. I've considered telling him, but I've seen how he treats people who he disagrees with. Not the their faces mind you, but behind their backs, and I don't want that. It's one of the minor reasons for my current job search.

I think he may suspect something though, since when we're driving together, which we do frequently, he'll put forth his opinion, and then start directing questions at me to defend his opinion, and put me in a place where I feel like I have to pick a side. So far I've been successful in trying to avoid the topic, and suggest possible alternatives to his opinion.

The topic this week was torture.

If you want my opinion. GW should be sitting in jail, and Obama shares part of that responsibility for not allowing or pushing for such a case to be pursued against GW.

GW admits to authorizing torture. That should be enough.

Unfortunately in our 'Free' country. Wealth and influence speak louder than justice.

Anyway. There really isn't a nice clean solution to my employment situation, other than changing the circumstances of said employment, but if I could get a few things off my chest...

I've stated before that I actually like the principles behind the Tea Party and I identify myself as a Libertarian Socialist, which means much of what I support is based on Libertarian principle.

So... With that said... In my opinion, if you want to claim to believe in Libertarian principles, and this includes stating that you agree with the Tea Party, you need to be careful of some of your other views.

• Support for the war in Iraq is in direct conflict with your stated views. The Iraqi war was not justifiable and should never have been started. As Eminem so eloquently put it...

Strap him with an Ak-47, let him go, fight his own war
Let him impress daddy that way

• Support for torture. There are no excuses. We claim to answer to a higher power, and live by a higher standard. The "But they would do the same to our troops" excuse is lame, as is the notion that it's justified because "They came into our country to kill our women and children" excuse. I don't think we've actually tortured anyone caught in the US, and if you want to bring women and children into the equation, lets discuss civilian casualties in Iraq.

There is a bunch of other stuff too, but the way I see it, if you're in favor of electing Palin in the next election, or if you defend Bush while condemning Obama for the current financial crisis, all you're doing is painting yourself as a hypocrite and showing that you have opted to choose party loyalty over principle and integrity.

And while we're on that topic...

Where did the idea of the option for a straight party vote on the ballot come from? Are we really that lazy that we can't check the boxes of those we want to vote for? By all means, show yourself to be a mindless, ignorant fool by voting for a party rather than a person, but do we have to make it easy to take that route?

Seem to be enabling of pure laziness, if you want my opinion!

OK - rant over...

I'm too late

One of the many handicaps I have as a computer programmer, and nerd in general, is that my knowledge of Star Wars is limited at best.

I didn't watch a single Star Wars episode until I was in my twenties, and I haven't watched any of them more than once, and I think I still have two which I haven't seen.

I don't think I'm missing too much.

My four year old on the other hand... Can walk through the toy section at Target, and name off the characters like they're old friends. He lives and breathes Star Wars, and I'm not sure where it came from.

I guess I'm too late for this, and even if I'm not, if I would actually have the knowledge base to pull it off.



I noticed in the comment section below the video on YouTube however that someone made a comment about introducing children to Monty Python.

Now that I've already started! 3 nights in the Koda household last week, were spent watching Monty Python's Flying Circus.

And my 10 year old is fast becoming a Black Adder fan - much to his mothers dismay!

Lightbulbs and Layoffs

I received the official invitation to a Christmas shin-dig of sorts put on by my superiors. Last year it involved sandwiches and super sweet punch in a room hidden in the bowels of the building I work in. It wasn't too bad, had it not been for the Merry Christmas message given by the deputy dude in the department, about how many of us would face layoffs in the year to come...

I'm not sure I'm going to go this year.

In other news, my job search has yet to turn up anything promising. I've tried following up on the couple of interviews I've had, but I've run into folks who all seem to be suffering from extreme cases of apathy. It may have to do with the type of business I'm in.

There is a company though which I think I'd like to work for. They were founded on the principle of creating a place where people want to work, and thus far the dividends appear to be huge.

I've been trying to think of a way to get my application noticed by them, because to be honest, coding database interactions just isn't sexy.

BUT I HAD A BRAINWAVE THIS MORNING IN THE SHOWER!!!

I'm going to put together an interactive resume over the next day. Databases may not be sexy, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to try.

I may post a link when I get it done... Maybe...

Veterans Day

I'm going to come across as a complete ass today, but blogging is all about being honest, right?

Veterans Day fills me with an incredible amount of sadness.

I used to want to join the armed forces. Actually, had it not been for my mission or the requirement by the New Zealand Army that officers enter the Australian Defense Force Academy prior to their 21st Birthday, I may actually have spent some time serving.

I used to think the highest honor would be to die in the line of duty, while defending the freedom of my nation.

Things have changed for me recently.

I feel sad today, because I suspect that many, many lives of young and vibrant men have been lost, fighting not for the cause of freedom, but to further the political and economic objectives of corrupt men.

That likely makes me sound like an ass, and would probably be viewed by those who've served and those who have lost loved ones serving and very disrespectful.

I admire the courage to serve for what is viewed as a good cause. I'm sure all these men and women died fighting for the causes which they truly believed in.

I mourn the loss however for what were likely less honorable motives of their superiors.

Paranoia

So I changed my Religious preference on Facebook to Humanism. It published a little blurb on my wall about it...

It was a bit of a rush pushing the button to publish it.

I was prepared for the worst.

AND...

NOTHING!

I did lose 1 friend over the weekend, but I don't know who or why, or even if I lost them, or it's just a glitch in the Facebook Universe.

It appears I was just far more paranoid than I needed to be.

Of course it still may hit the fan, but I'm getting more an more comfortable with the idea, that if those who don't like the new, more honest me are offended, they're really not worth my time.

Oh - and I just got back from a weekend in Vegas. Brutal, brutal triathlon, but I'll resume normal blogging activities soon.

Freedom

There is a significant amount of freedom with "coming out" as it were. Syncing up who you are, with how the world sees you.

I feel like it might be time to come out on Facebook.

Part of me is terrified that I'll lose friends, but if friends are going to ditch me over a shift in my beliefs, they aren't really friends now, are they?

I've been toying with updating my religious status. Currently it's hidden.

Agnostic doesn't quite describe how I feel though.

Atheist probably best describes it, but that may be a hard pill for people to swallow.

Pantheist is a term I like, simply because Richard Dawkins describes it as sexed up Atheism.

But I think at the end of the day, I may actually go with Humanism...

Wikipedia has this definition:

A secular ideology which espouses reason, ethics, and justice, whilst specifically rejecting supernatural and religious dogma as a basis of morality and decision-making.

I think that about covers it... The lack of belief in religion and supernatural forces, but adds to it the believe in reason, ethics and justice.

It's like saying I'm an atheist, and since y'all think atheists are evil creeps, let me add that I still believe in ethics and morality...

Or am I trying to justify too much to people who wouldn't mind if they actually cared.

Still not entirely willing to bite the bullet though, because I know there will be some backlash...

Friend count currently stands at 369.

I'll let you know if I do decide to go for it though.

Trivia

A co-worker sent me this...

I LOST the trivia contest at the church social last night by one point ---- The last question was:
"Where do most women have curly hair ?

Apparently the correct answer is: Africa ........

I've been asked to find another place to worship....

Guide for Morons

I think I may have a few moron readers, and I thought by way of assistance on this election day, I might share a few pieces of advice.

1. The US Economy tanked in 2008. It tanked under George Bush's watch. It tanked because corporate crooks used loopholes created by deregulation to defraud the American People. That would be you! Bush authorized the big bank bail outs, and the source of your financial woes was his Republican Administration.
   
   I've heard one of the talking heads on the radio mention how "Nothing works in this country since Obama took power..." The reason is that Bush broke it. Not Obama!



2. Gay Marriage isn't all about sex. Homosexuality isn't all about sex. While I don't have the reference on hand to back this statement up, one magazine I read, reported a study which found that a higher percentage of heterosexual couple engage in anal sex, than homosexual couples.
   
   Gay marriage isn't any more about sex that your marriage is. Your marriage is more about companionship and love. Sex is simply one way of showing affection for you companion. So when you vote on issues about Gay Marriage and Gay Rights, don't think forbidden sexual acts which you may or may not want to try yourself, simply think about love and freedom. The love and freedom you have the right the legal right to pursue.

I'm sure I could come up with other tips, but those are the big ones on my mind today.

I'm voting mostly democrat, although for my county Attorney, I'm voting Libertarian. In cases where the only candidate is a Republican, I'm going to try and write something in. Either Ficus, or perhaps even my own name.

There are a few races where I have to pic the lesser of two evils. The Republican guy in one race actually seemed kind of decent and until he started spouting forth the economic benefits of Ronald Reagans approach... Unfortunately the sharp increase in National Debt during the preceding 2 occasions when that approach has been tried would seem to indicate that it is in fact a BAD IDEA!!

Fantasy Blog, Improv Style

So apparently none of you can relate to my pro-Slutty Halloween post of earlier today... Although I think since the vast majority of my readers are of the female persuasion that may explain why...

You may recall a blog post a week or two back about a crazy new blog idea I had - although it was more of a disjointed series of ideas, with no real conclusion.

Since writing that post however, I've had a couple more thoughts about the idea, and I've gotten some feedback from friends and family.

The one big concern is time, because I don't have too much of it, and I suspect neither do you.

So, here's the idea...

With your help, I want to create a character, and setup a blog for him/her.

I'll put together the initial post about the character, and then resort to either a random number system, or a dice.

However it works, the user name and password will then be sent to one of the people involved. They can either write a new post to advance this character and the story of his/her life, or if they don't have time, simply send it back, and it'll get sent to someone else.

If enough people want to do it, perhaps we could ever come up with a couple of blogs. The original idea was to have a blog for each contributor, but this way we'll have multiple people contributing to one character, and it might make it even more exciting.

And I've rethought the whole literary porn thing, and I guess if that's the way the story goes... So be it! Contributions will be somewhat anonymous, so let the creative juices flow and let's see where it goes.

If you would like to participate, here's what I need from you:

An email address, which I can send the user name and password to when it's your turn. I may change it on occasion just to be safe (From what I'm not sure yet!).

Some idea of what kind of character you would like to see...

Gender
Sexual Preference
Age
Educational Background
Possible Names
Possible Living Situations
Physical Description

An email would be best to experiment at kodafit dot com

Or shoot me a note on Facebook or some other way, or if you absolutely have to, leave the info in a comment. I just wouldn't want your email address picked up by a bot, and you getting spammed because of a desire to participate in a project like this. You could always just delete it after you post it, but be aware that anyone who has subscribed to the comments may see it anyway.

Alright, just to put my idea's into the mix.

I'd kind of like a blog about a young girl, probably early to mid twenties.
Brown hair, green eyes and I'm liking the name Piper, but that's just because I have a thing for the girl on Covert Affairs!
She likes guys, although I'm not opposed to her experimenting at times if that happens.
She's a recent college grad - maybe in anthropology, and she's working in a major downtown area - maybe Chicago. She's got a new apartment, and is new in town.
I have some other ideas too, but perhaps I could save those for the blog.

I'm thinking a group of 5 to 6 people would be optimal, and like I said, maybe if we get some more, we could set up a couple of characters.

I have this bright idea to have it manage itself online... So you'd just log into an application on a website, and check in with the user name and password you used, and then it would automatically figure out the next person and email them... That way it would stay anonymous to me as well - and make it more fun - but I have lots of ideas like that, which I never follow up on.

Halloween

I like Halloween for many reasons, but perhaps primary among them is the fact that it appears to have morphed into a holiday where girls like to slut it up. Not necessarily the young teens and tweens, but I have a great appreciation for the early twenty somethings who like to celebrate this holiday.

However I live in Utah, and it was rainy and cold all weekend.

I counted two, although I could count three if I included the naughty school girl outfit of the Provo Girl.

One was my girlfriend at the donut shop (As Mrs. Koda refers to her) and then second was one of the checkers at the store yesterday. A naughty cop and a chamber maid.

Two is not a good Halloween Weekend.