For my WoW friends that like PvP...

I was scrolling around on Facebook when I had an epiphany. We should create a guild with the sole purpose of assassinating other players. Here's how it would work:

1) Setup a website where players can post bounties on other players
2) Base bounty price on level of person being hunted
3) Meet player in-game to collect half up front
4) Post target players character name and level on guild only forum
5) Hunt player and kill
6) Screenshot dead target to document death
7) Post screenshot on forum for "customer" to see
8) Collect second half of the bounty**
9) Players involved in the kill get a percentage of the total bounty
10) Lather, rinse, repeat

I think as long as the target isn't camped (for long anyway), or griefed, Blizzard wouldn't take offense.  It would have to be on a PvP server for sure so we could go after both factions, maybe even a role playing server to make it more interesting. What do you think? Sounds fun and a great way to make some gold!

**If the person requesting the bounty doesn't pay...they get put on a "Kill on sight" list and will be hunted and killed (not camped...well not long anyway) on a regular basis until the balance due is paid with interest.

Rest in peace...

This morning I was given some news that has affected me more than I would have thought. I've been struggling to keep my composure all morning and feel like I need to write a letter to a lost friend, so bear with me.

Dallas, my estranged friend, I'm saddened by the news of your death. We were pretty close friends for a few years, then things fell apart. We both know the reason, so no need to put that dirty laundry out there. We had a lot of good times, and I still think about us sitting on the porch of the apartment getting ready for football games, me taping my pads and gear, and you painting your toe nails. Still cracks me up. I also remember basically missing your birthday party in the same apartment because I was drugged up on morphine after having knee surgery and missed the entire thing...noise and all. Going to the Cash was a pretty regular thing for us and we had "our" table that everyone knew.

There were also some pretty rough times. There was one particular girl you knew I liked but you went for it anyway. I blew it off because I didn't figure I had a chance anyway. The weekend Bobbie flew to Vegas for Jessie's bachelorette party was the end of our friendship. Even though we didn't speak again, I thought of you often and hoped you were getting your life together. I tried reaching out a couple of different times to see how you were doing but got no response. When I was told of your death this morning it really shook me. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me.

I wish I could have been more of a positive influence on you my friend. I know there was nothing I could do, and you felt you were in control of your life, I just wish it would have ended differently.

What fuels me...

Susan and I have been reading The 5 Love Languages lately because we want to make our relationship as strong and long-lasting as possible. It's been truly inspirational and enlightening. It didn't take long for me to figure out what hers was, even though we haven't quite finished the book yet, but I've struggled trying to ascertain what mine is. I've thought of all the things that make me feel good, but none have really struck a chord with me. Until this evening. I was watching a TV show while Susan was studying. One of the characters said something that pierced me to the core, and I knew my "love language" had been confirmed. He said, "I just want to make my dad proud." 

Now before I go any further, for anyone that hasn't read the book, your "love language" doesn't only apply to your love life. It applies to your life in general, every relationship you have, whether it is friendship, work, acquaintances, or any other human interaction. I realized the thing that fuels me, makes me want to do my best, please others, and do everything possible to make others happy is words of affirmation. Not long ago, my boss sent an email to our team asking for feedback on what motivates us, makes us happy to come to work, and to go above and beyond. It took me a couple of days, but I finally replied. I was very honest in my thoughts, and took great care in the wording. I was a little fearful of her reply, but felt I owed it to her for the honest truth. The thing that fuels me is knowing I'm appreciated, sincerely telling me I've done a good job. My customers make me feel that way, always saying it to me verbally, sending me email saying how much they appreciate what I do for them, or just dropping by my office and saying thank you for taking care of us. My company on the other hand...not so much. Of course, this makes me work even harder to take care of my customers, to not let them down, to always do whatever I need to do to make sure their issue is resolved. I know they appreciate me, and I never want to let them down.

In my love life, Susan treats me the same way. She lets me know she appreciates me, loves me, and doesn't take me for granted. She evidently figured out my "love language" before I did. It took a TV show and thinking back to the email I sent to my boss before I figured it out. There are still a couple of other people in my life I hope will figure it out eventually; one I know never will but I can still hope, the other...well...some day he's going to tell me he's proud of me, and I'm going to feel like he actually means it. Until then, I'll just keep trying to be my best, give everything I have, and some day...

Recipe's that Rock!

So lately I've been seeing some really cool recipes and I want to keep track of them. I also want to start adding Halloween recipes, so if you have ideas, or a link to something cool, add it in the comments!

Here's the first one:

Here's another one (and remember these don't have to be just for Halloween!):

Emotional Roller Coaster

The past couple of weeks have really put me on an emotional roller coaster. It has shown me who my true friends and family are, who is standing beside me, and who is fighting against me. It's made me see why brother was fighting brother in the Civil War. That's exactly how this whole "chicken" drama has made me feel. I understand it so completely now. I've been amazed by who took a stand for me, and completely heart broken by those that showed exactly how they feel about me in who they supported. I've felt frustration over people arguing over something they didn't bother to get all the facts on, and felt alienated even further from some family members that knew exactly what the issue was and still supported the other side.

For the most part, I've been left with a feeling of sadness and of being without much of a family. I know I have a lot of people that care about me and love me, but there's something about seeing your family being so judgmental and bigoted. There's nothing like basically being told "I love you but..." There are no "buts" in love. You either love or you don't. There is no grey where love is concerned. Susan is going through the same thing, as are a lot of my friends. Seeing their pain, hearing the hurt in their voices, reading the pain and frustration in their posts. I feel it. I know exactly what they are going through, and there really isn't anything I can do except remind them that I love them unconditionally.

With so many people failing to get the facts, and make an attempt to understand why so many of us are upset and hurt, I found an article with 5 points on exactly the reasons this is affecting us the way it is.


1) The company has donated at least $5 million to organizations (including a certified hate group) that, among other things, depict gay people as pedophiles, want to make "gay behavior" illegal, and even say gay people should be "exported" out of America.

2) The company's president didn't merely say he supports traditional marriage. He said if you support gay marriage, you "are inviting God's judgment on our nation," and that we "shake our fist at Him" when we do. He also said same-sex marriage is the result of a "deprived" mind and called it "twisted up kind of stuff."

3) The company supports organizations that have claimed they can change gay people into straight people -- "pray away the gay" -- despite the fact that practically every major medical organization has stated that this is not only impossible but dangerous and harmful.

4) The media keep saying the company has never discriminated, but the truth is that it has been sued over a dozen times for employment discrimination. That's what a leading business publication, Forbes, stated in 2007, when they also called it a "cult" and reported that it's founder and CEO said he wanted to hire married people because they are more industrious and productive. He has also said he would probably fire someone who "has been sinful or done something harmful to their family members."

5) The company is just exercising their First Amendment rights by running a business based on the Bible, right? Wrong. There's a line between the "free exercise of religion" and violating the law. If the company is violating the law by discriminating against gay people, or by firing women so that they can be "stay home" moms, as one woman who is suing the company says in court documents, that's not exercising religious expression or free speech, and that's not a First Amendment issue. It may be, if the court decides, a violation of the law.

This is so important to us because it affects us on a basic level of being able to live our lives, go to work every day, as well as marry the person we love. This isn't about Freedom of Speech. They can say whatever they want. They can give their money to whoever they want. It's when we see our friends and family showing support for this company and the things the company is giving money to that hurts and upsets us.

There are no "buts" in love. If you love me, then love me unconditionally. If there are conditions attached, then it isn't love. If you stand beside me and support me, then do so. If you say "I don't care either way," then you've made a decision not to support me, therefore have decided against me. Just be honest with me, as well as yourself.

With all the stuff going on about Gay rights and Chick-Fil-A, I've been thinking about what would all the people who are anti-gay have to boycott if they decided not to buy or use services or products from companies that support LGBT rights. So, I decided to do a little research and make a list of everything they would have to do without. After looking at most of these companies, I don't see that happening...LOL. Check out the list I've come up with so far. If you support LGBT rights, please support these companies. If you don't, you might want to start looking at land near the Amish in Pennsylvania. I only listed the name of the parent company as several have multiple brands under them...too many to list individually.


List of companies that support LGBT rights:

3M
AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah
Abbott Laboratories
Abercrombie & Fitch
Adobe
Aetna
Ahold USA
AIG
Allianz Life
Allstate
Amazon
AMC Entertainment
AMD
American Airlines
American Eagle
American Express
America Family Insurance Group
Ameriprise
Anheuser-Busch
Aon
Apple
Applebee's
Assurant
AT&T
Avis Budget
Avon
Bank of America
Bank of New York Mellon
Barclays Capital
Barnes & Noble
Bausch & Lomb
Bayer
BB&T
Best Buy
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
Blue Cros Blue Shield of North Carolina
BMO Bankcorp
Boehringer Ingelheim
Bon-Ton Stores
BP
Bridgestone
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Brinker
Brown-Forman
Burger King
Campbell Soup
Capital One
Carlson
Caesars Entertainment
CarMax
CBS
CDW
CenturyLink Inc.
Charles Schwab
Chevron
Chipotle
Choice Hotels
Chubb
Chrysler
CIBC
CIGNA
Cisco Systems
Citi
Classified Ventures
Clear Channel
Clorox
CNA Insurance
Coca-Cola
Colgate-Palmolive
Comcast
Comerica
ConAgra Foods
ConocoPhillips
Corning
Costco
Cox Enterprises
Credit Suisse
CVS
Darden Restaurants
Delhaize America
Dell
Delta Airlines
Deutsche Bank
Diageo
DirecTV
Dollar Thrifty
Dr Pepper Snapple
DuPont
EarthLink
eBay
E & J Gallo Winery
Electronic Arts
Enterprise
Estee Lauder

E*Trade Financial
Expedia
Fannie Mae
FedEx
Fifth Third Bancorp
Ford
Freddie Mac
GameStop
Gap
GE
General Mills
General Motors
Gerber Baby Products
GlaxoSmithKline
GM
Goldman Sachs
Google
Group Health Cooperative
Group Health Permanente
Hallmark Cards
Hain Celestial Group
Hanesbrands
Hanover Direct
Harry & David
Hartford Financial Services
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Health Net
Heinz
Herman Miller
Hershey
Hertz
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Worldwide
HP
Home Depot
Hormel
H&R Block
Humana
Huntington Bancshares
HSBC
HCSC
Hyatt
IBM
Imation
ING
Intel
InterContinental Hotels
Intuit
J.C. Penney
John Deere
John Hancock
Johnson & Johnson
Jones Apparel
J.P. Morgan Chase
Kaiser Permanente
KB Home
Kellogg's
Kenneth Cole
KeyCorp
Kimberly-Clark
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group
Kodak
Kraft Foods
Kroger
Land O'Lakes
Levi's
LexisNexis
Lexmark
Limited Brands
Lincoln National
Liz Claiborne
L.L Bean
Macy's
Marriot International
Mars
MassMutual Life Insurance
Mastercard
Mattel
McDonald's
McGraw-Hill
MetLife
MGM Resorts International
Microsoft
MillerCoors
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Monsato
Morgan Stanley
Morningstar
Motorola
Mutual of Omaha
Nationwide
Newell Rubbermaid
New York Life
New York Times
Nike
Nokia
Nordstrom
Northern Trust
Northwestern Mutual
Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.
Office Depot
Office Max
Olive Garden
Orbitz
Owens Corning
Pacific Mutual
Pep Boys
Pepsico
PetSmart
Pfizer
PNC
Principal Financial
Proctor & Gamble
Progressive
Prudential
Qualcomm
Quest Diagnostics
Raymond James Financial
RBC Wealth Management
Red Lobster
REI
Replacements, Ltd.
Rite Aid
Robert W, Baird & Co
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Ryder
Sabre Holdings
Safeway
Sara Lee
S.C. Johnson & Son
Sears
Selective Insurance
Shell Oil
Sodexo
Sony
Southwest Airlines
Sprint Nextel
Staples
Starbucks
Starwood Hotels & resorts
State Farm
State Street
Subaru
Sun Life Financial
SunTrust
SuperValu
Symantec
Target
TD Bank
Texas Instruments
The Palm
Thomas Reuters
TIAA-CREF
Tiffany & Co.
Time Warner
Time Warner Cable
T-Mobile
Toys 'R' Us
Toyota
Travelers
Travel Impressions
Travelport
TJX
UBM
UBS
Unilever
United Airlines
United Continental Holdings Inc.
UnitedHealth Group
Unum
UPS
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Foodservice
Viacom
Visa
Volkswagen
Walgreens
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney Company
WellPoint
Wells Fargo
Whirlpool
Whole Foods
Wyndham
Wynn Resorts
Xerox
Yahoo!
Zurich

**source HRC.org business listings

How to connect to a local wireless network in Windows 7

I'm writing this because I was asked for a "How to." So...here you go!

Using the Network Notification Area Icon

To connect to an available wireless network, click the Network icon in the notification area of your desktop. The resulting pane will give you a list of detected wireless networks and, for domain-joined computers, the names of wireless networks configured through Group Policy (see Figure 1)


Figure 1 The list of available networks will look something like this.

From this pane, you can connect to a listed wireless network by double-clicking it, clicking the network and then clicking Connect, or by right-clicking the network and clicking Connect.

Set up a connection or network dialog box:

You can access the Set Up a Connection or Network dialog box in Windows 7 (see Figure 2), by selecting the Set Up a New Connection or Network link in the Network and Sharing center.


Figure 2 The Set Up a Connection or Network dialog box.

To manually create a wireless network profile, click “Manually connect to a wireless network,” and then click Next. You should see Figure 3



Figure 3 

To enter information for the wireless network you want to add, configure the following:
Network name; Type the name of the wireless network.
Security type; Select the method used to authenticate a connection to the wireless network.
Encryption type: Select the method used to encrypt data sent over the wireless network. The choices depend on the selected security type.

When you select the — No authentication (Open) security type, None is selected for you.
When you select the — WEP security type, WEP is selected for you.
When you select the — 802.1x security type, WEP is selected for you.
When you select the — WPA2-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPA-Personal, WPA-Enterprise security types, you can select AES or TKIP.

As before, the encryption choices listed depend on your wireless network adapter capabilities as reported to Windows.

Security Key: Type the WEP key (if you selected the WEP security type), the WPA preshared key (if you selected the WPA-Personal security type), or the WPA2 preshared key (if you selected the WPA2-Personal security type). For the WPA2-Enterprise, WPA-Enterprise, and 802.1x security types, Windows 7 automatically determines the security key when performing 802.1X-based authentication.

Hide characters: Specifies whether you want to view the value typed in Security Key.
Start this connection automatically: Specifies whether Windows 7 will automatically connect to this wireless network. If you clear this checkbox, you must manually connect to the wireless network from the list of networks available from the Network notification area icon.

Connect even if the network is not broadcasting:Specifies whether Windows should attempt to connect even if the wireless network is not broadcasting its name. This will cause Windows to send Probe Request frames to locate the wireless network. These probe request frames can be used by malicious users to determine the name of the non-broadcast network.

When you click Next, you should see Figure 4.

Figure 4 The Successfully added page.

I haven't been able to post much the past couple of weeks due to traveling with work and working a boat ton of hours, so I wanted to catch up to where I'm at with my diet. I learned trying to be good one the diet while traveling is pretty difficult, but do-able. I didn't lose as much weight as I would have liked but at least I didn't gain any.

This week I was at home but worked a ton of hours, and the boss kept bringing in snacks and stuff, so it was extremely hard, in fact one day I actually put 3 pounds back on. I have been able to take it back off, so I'm happy about that.

Here is my weight by day and my measurements as of today:

Hips - 39 1/2"
Waist - 39 1/2"
Arms - 13"
Thigh - 23 1/2"
Chest - 41"

I wasn't able to weigh while on the road, so I picked up at day 15 with that.

Day 15
175.1

Day 16
174.5
Hips- 40"
Waist - 40"
Arm -13"
Thigh - 23"
Chest - 43"

Day 17
173.4

Day 18
172.9

Day 19 (this was the result of blowing the diet on day 18)
175.9

Day 20
175.0

Day 21
174.2

Day 22
173.1

So the total weight loss for 3 weeks is 11.2 pounds, and several inches. I'm pretty happy with my progress but would like to lose about 30 more. I'll get there! I've gotten into the habit of being very conscious of what I eat, and not putting a lot of junk in my body. I'm eating healthier and feeling better too!

It's been a week ago today that we started the HCG diet. I forgot to weigh the very first day, and the first 2 days are called loading days anyway and I probably didn't lose anything, so I didn't start tracking my weight until Monday. The first day on the strict calorie intake was a little rough, but Susan's been on this before and knows how to make lots of stuff with zero calorie items from Walden Farms and Miracle Noodle. I haven't been hungry or felt like I'm struggling at all. Ok...so I was craving some Blue Bell ice cream the other night but Susan broke out the strawberries and Walden Farms marshmallow cream and it was almost as good!

Since starting this, I've become a fan of the Walden Farms products. Everything is zero calorie, tastes great, and are regular items that I would eat anyway. They have lots of different salad dressings, spaghetti sauce, salsa, chocolate and caramel fruit dips, BBQ sauce, etc. They don't taste like diet food, which makes it even better! It really makes a difference in being able to stick to the diet. Food actually tastes good and not like bland diet food!

When I weighed this morning, I was happy to find I had lost another pound and a half! It's going to be a little tricky staying on the diet while I'm on the road next week, but I'm going to do my best to stick to it. I'm down just shy of 8 pounds and still have a ways to go. I want to reach my goal and be at a healthy weight again!

Day 5
177.8 lbs

Day 6
176.4 lbs

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did forget to take my drops after dinner, but I'm still down another 1.3 pounds from yesterday. I took my measurements last night and was surprised at how big I was. Hopefully the inches will start going down along with the weight soon. So, here are my stats:

Hips - 40"
Waist - 42"
Arms - 13"
Thigh - 24"
Chest - 43"

Day 4
178.1 lbs

It's still a little embarrassing to put this stuff out there publicly but hopefully it will keep me motivated to continue to lose more weight and get back to a heavy size.

Over the last several years I've gained a lot of weight just by purely being unhappy and having no outside activities. Since moving back to Texas, I've dropped about 30 pounds, but have put about 10 of those back on. Just being back in Texas, being happy, and being a LOT more active has helped me drop the weight without trying. That has motivated me to actually try to lose more weight and get healthier...well...that and a new girlfriend :D

So, this past weekend we started a new diet. At first I was skeptical, but in just the first 3 days I've lost almost 5 pounds and I actually like the food I'm allowed to eat. It's not really a big change in what I eat so it's even easier. I'm going to try and make regular posts to track where I'm at and how it's going. I guess I'll be brave and post my stats here as well. I was bad and didn't take any measurements when I first started so I guess I need to put that on my things to do tonight. Well...here goes nothing! :D

Day 1 Morning weight - 184.3

Day 2 Morning weight - 182.1

Day 3 Morning weight - 179.4

Boi's Don't Cry

We’re strong. We’re tough. We’re there when you need help moving, or building, or changing a tire. We’re there to hold you when you’re hurt, or protect you when you’re threatened. We’re there to lift you up and make you feel beautiful, wanted, and special. We’re your rock. We’re loud and rowdy with our friends. We like beer, baseball, football, and acting like teenage boys. We love to have fun, laugh, and joke. We love to smile and make you smile. But boi’s don’t cry. We don’t show emotion that would be considered weak. We show anger and happiness, but not sadness or fear or hurt. It’s not that we don’t feel these things, we just don’t show you. Why? Because we’re expected to be strong all the time. We have been trained by our lovers and our community that it isn’t acceptable to feel these things and/or show it as a butch woman. How can we be your protector and strength when we have a weak side as well? So, we keep it all inside. We don’t talk about how we feel. We keep everything buried deep. We learn to cry in the shower, or when we’re alone in the car, or quietly in bed at night when you’re asleep. We don’t open ourselves up to ridicule or disparagement. We don’t want people to know that we hurt or can be hurt. It’s just not acceptable. Our partners want us to talk to them, and have open communication, but how can you open yourself up to honest communication when you feel you aren’t allowed to have feelings of hurt, pain, or fear? Boi’s don’t cry. That’s what we’ve been taught. Most relationships fail because of lack of communication. Feelings get hurt, and then resentment sets in. Over time the resentment builds a chasm between you that cannot be breached, and the relationship comes to an end. It’s usually messy at the point because the boi has kept so much pent up inside, and lets it all out in a moment of anger. The partner feels completely blindsided at this point because there was no communication, and had no idea of all the hurt and anger until that moment. At the end, the boi doesn’t care any longer as the relationship is finished and finally spills everything that has been building up over the life to the relationship. There is nothing more to lose at this point, so everything comes out. How do you keep this from happening? Show your boi that it’s safe to truly be open and honest, that she doesn’t have to keep everything buried inside. When she talks to you about how she feels, don’t disregard those feelings, don’t laugh or belittle her vulnerability. Show her you care, try to understand things from her perspective. Listen to what she says, and work with her to find a resolution, or put your arms around her and hold her close and be her rock for a short time. She’ll love you more for it. But if you don’t, she’ll shut down and sink deeper into herself because boi’s don’t cry.