StewStuph

This is not the first time I have been late. It is really annoying because every time I am late, I know that an opportunity has passed. Those opportunities can be rare. This morning I was in the car listening to the radio and heard a new song that I really liked. When I made it to work I found more music by the same band. Turns out I really like Beach Slang . I took a look at their tour dates. I realized they were currently touring and close to my city. In looking at their past dates I saw that I missed them by TWO DAYS!!

My wife claims she does not like South Park. however, over the years, I have seen her enjoying parts of the show while at other times she is totally disgusted at the crude humor. She even found herself playing South Park: The Stick of Truth on Xbox. She loves that style of gaming and completed the game, though I had to help her with the farting. My wife is a fan of musical theater and we are very excited to go see The Book of Mormon when it returns to DPAC in January. As fans of South Park know, music is an integral part of South Park's appeal. One of my favorite numbers is about Kyle's mom . Last night we were watching the latest South Park episode, Safe Space , and when the musical number was over she said that they did a great job. A compliment! I was a bit surprised to hear such praise and can only hope that Matt Stone and Trey Parker continue to impress her.

I put this up on my other more work oriented blog , but thought I would share it here too. In a  previous post  I explained how to batch rename files using a little DOS, Excel and Notepad. Now I have found a quicker way to accomplish this task. I searched for a vbScript and found  this example . This was a great start, I just wanted to make it a little easier for the non-dos friendly users and get it away from the command line.  So here is my modified script. Option Explicit Dim StdIn:  Set StdIn = WScript.StdIn Dim StdOut: Set StdOut = WScript Dim fso:    Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Dim FilesRenamed:   FilesRenamed = 0 Dim FilesSkipped:   FilesSkipped = 0 dim path dim olds dim news dim ext1 dim ext2 Main set fso = nothing Sub Main      'get the parameter list path=InputBox("Specify Path Of Files To Rename","Enter path") olds=InputBox("Enter String To Replace","String To Re...

Let me start by saying The Walking Teenager is not entirely like The Walking Dead . Sure, they can both startle you with their mere appearance. They can add stress to your life. At times, their appetite is insatiable. At times, The Walking Teenager only communicates with minimal verbal grunts and groans like The Walking Dead. The Walking Teenager usually will not seek out any other than their own. When they do, it is out of necessity of money, a ride to the skate park, or food. They are not trying to attack and eat your brain, though after a day with the creatures, you may feel you have lost a bit of your mind. This past weekend I found myself home alone with three walking teenagers. Well, two walking and one crutches enabled teenager. It was after 10am and I had not heard or seen any of the creatures. Here is what happened that morning.

The way our family works is like this: Gina and I, usually Gina, plan a menu for the week and then make a shopping list. When chicken is on the menu, we usually buy frozen chicken to use later in the week. Sometimes, we will forget to take chicken out of the refrigerator to thaw. This is where the 13 year old comes into play. I sent my son a message to take chicken out to thaw.

I love all of my Google services. I have an Android phone. I love the connectedness of everything between my desktop and mobile devices. However, sometimes I think they, the GoogleBots are listening all the time. I was at a coworkers desk talking about work. The term "Autoclave Aerated Block" came up in our conversation. At the time I had my phone in my pocket.  When I returned to my desk I decided to Google the term so that I could do a little more research.  As I typed in Chrome "Autoclav" the very first autocomplete suggestion was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I highly doubt the most popular worldwide search beginning with "Autoclave" is related to concrete blocks. Was my phone listening? Did my phone tell Google I was interested in that product? Did Google then make it easier for me to find information if I were to search for it? http://www.cement.org/think-harder-concrete-/homes/building-systems/autoclaved-aerated-concrete Just a little bit cre...

This year I turned 40. <sarcasm=1>Nearly half a century! As I passed this milestone I started to think of all things I have not yet done and may never get around to.<sarcasm=0> This week My Morning Jacket released the audio of their concert at Red Rocks this year. I remember visiting Red Rocks  as part of an office trip several years ago and how much I would enjoy seeing a show there. So I added it to my bucket list. When I told my wife about this wish she informed me I cannot actively work to check items off of my bucket list until all the kids have moved out of the house. At least 8 years from now. So maybe, at the half century mark, we can make our way to Colorado for a concert. Until then, I will have YouTube.

Occasionally, I get emails intended for ANOTHER Eric Stewart. How do you handle these incidents? What should I do the next time I get one of these? This message has been sent through Gumtree mail, which keeps your email address private. We recommend that you always reply this way and be wary of anyone asking you to use their private email addresses. If there is anything about the message that you think is suspicious, do not reply and report it to the Gumtree team. We will get back to you asap. Hi Eric, Thanks for your interest but your CV has not been attached and has not come through to me. Please re-send. Cheers, David From: Gumtree Mail Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 9:06 AM To: redacted@hotmail.com Subject: Eric Stewart replied to your ad: Experienced garden landscaping labourer wanted Dear David, You have received a reply to your ad: "Experienced garden landscaping labourer wanted" posted in Gardening & Landscaping Jobs in London. From: Eric Stewart Hi, I ...

First of all I am not trying to make any excuses for my reluctance to obey the posted speed limit. I accept that I was driving faster than I should have. However, this $30 ticket cost me, in real cash paid, $203. That's right you math wizards, $188 in court costs. You REAL math wizards will see there is a problem there, more on that later. Maybe we should look at the other costs associated with my infraction. Here are just a few things that come to mind: I got about a dozen letters from law firms wanting to represent me in court. Each firm had to print and send the letter to me which costs them money. Since I decided to hire none of them, this is overhead. Does this get added to their fees to cover the expense? I spent a total of 20 minutes inside the courthouse. I went through a very efficient line only to get to, what I assume was, an assistant DA that asked what I would like to do about the ticket. I asked for it to be "reduced." This is what those lawyers wante...

We often drive to Michigan from our home in North Carolina to visit family. Before I even met Gina, she and her kids would drive back and forth. One day her son started singing John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads as they crossed the border into West Virginia. Gina then remembered she had that song on a CD. From that point forward she would play the song whenever they entered WV. When I first made the trip I noticed we crossed over the Cuyahoga River in OH. I immediately thought of the song that shares the rivers name by R.E.M. I mentioned that we should make a CD of different songs representing the states we drive through. I finally did it for our last trip. James Taylor - Carolina In My Mind The Rosebuds - Esse Quam Videri Foo Fighters - Virginia Moon Gin Blossoms - Virginia America - Old Virginia John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth R.E.M. - Cuyahoga The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio Johnny Cash - Sa...

Occasionally, I get emails intended for ANOTHER Eric Stewart. How do you handle these incidents? What should I do the next time I get one of these? From: Random Lady Subject: Drama Queen Hi Stew, I'm doing ok... I can still feel I am crazy, but hopefully can pull it together. Just had a meeting with my new boss and things seemed to go well, I think I am nervous but excited. Should have called out, I'm doing nothing.         Somethings I'd like you  to ponder: Can you make either wedding? 6/6 or 6/20 - I think I am pushing for 6/20 (Random Lady's Friends Name)... While I know its not your fav activity, it means a lot to me and these people will always be my friends and while they can drive me crazy I love them a lot and its very important to me that you both can get along and find you great and awesome like I see you. I don't know if I will be going to Chicago, we might do another city, so maybe we wanna go?? My Reply Wow, I don't know what t...

This weekend, after our trip to Wilmington, there was laundry to be done. We loaded the washing machine and then headed out to the grocery store, as that was also a priority. Upon returning home the washing machine was still going. It has long been a joke that our washer and dryer work on "Gina Minutes" in which a minute is actually much longer than 60 seconds. The display showed "15" minutes remaining. Twenty-five minutes later the display read "5" minutes. Finally, when the washer was  done, there was an error code of "F 21." Looking on the internet I found this video After watching I opened our lint trap to clean it hoping to clear the error and return the washing machine back to a normal working state. It should be known that we live in a household of six. The kids are now aged ten, thirteen, thirteen and fourteen. You can imagine some of the things that were found in the lint trap.

I was asked by a co-worker to create some Revit families from CAD blocks. They are 2D plan representations of people. I asked the requester if she wanted them named any certain way because this is what I saw.

While listening to Gina's R.E.M. mix CD set , I was inspired by William Burroughs version of Star Me Kitten to create a mix of cover songs. Here is the mix that I created. What would you add, change, or delete? Performing Artist Song Original Artist U2 Helter Skelter The Beatles Orgy Blue Monday New Order Bizarre Love Triangle Frente New Order R.E.M. Superman The Clique R.E.M. Pale Blue Eyes The Velvet Underground R.E.M. King Of The Road Roger Miller 10,000 Maniacs Everyday Is Like Sunday Morrissey 10,000 Maniacs Because The Night Patti Smith Red Hot Chili Peppers Higher Ground Stevie Wonder White Stripes Jolene Dolly Parton Nirvana The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie Nirvana Where Did You Sleep Last Night Lead Belly * Jeff Buckley Hallelujah Leonard Cohen The Sundays Wild Horses The Rolling Stones...

Let's go back in time to when I was much younger.  I am not sure of my exact age, but I was under ten years old.  Our family took a trip to Disney World . One of the rides to which I was subjected was Space Mountain . I do remember being very frightened and trying to get out during the middle of the ride. My mom did all she could to keep me in my seat until the ride was over. I vowed then to never ride another roller coaster. As the years went on I would ride some tame rides at the county or state fair. As I got older, I realized that the "spinny rides" would make me sick. All of those years were spent in fear of roller coasters.  Finally, at 40 years old I have returned to Disney World. This time I was with my wife, our four kids, and my wife's grandmother, mother, aunt, sibling and nephews.  Fifteen people total. I had told my wife, and she had heard from my parents, about my previous Disney World experience. She also knows from going to the fair with me that ...

Each February I create a mix CD for Gina.  It has happened every February since I have met her.  This past year she suggested I do an R.E.M. mix.  That is like asking me to pick my favorite child, or my favorite type of chocolate.  However, I was able to narrow it down to 47 tracks spanning three CD's.  The theme was alternate versions. The first track in the pairing (and one triplet) was the original album or single version.  The following songs were either a live version, alternate mix, different vocal track or outtake recording.  We had the opportunity to listen to all three CD's this past weekend.  It was fun to create the compilation and to explain how the alternate versions were different.

With the new year comes a lot of new things.  New "best of" lists, calendars, resolutions.  One of the things new this year is the companies branding.  We now have new logos, stationery, website and business cards.  Now, what do I do with the box of old business cards sitting on my desk?