I’ve yet again been inspired. This time by the Queue Three Networks and their review of my site.
I’ve owned the domain name phantomvoice.net for a long time (over 8 years) and it has been many things for me. But now it’s going to start housing all of my fiction and poetry. I’ve copied all of the fiction and poetry from this site over there. I’m keeping the copies here just for the sake of not having broken links. But form this point on, any poetry or fiction I write will be published over at Phantom Voice.
The reason for this decision was because I really wanted a place that focuses on my poetry and fiction. This blog does not do that. Phantom Voice will. So hopefully you’ll go check it out and read my older writing. I’ll be adding new stuff to it very soon.
I’m not one for letting videos talk for me very often. It’s kind of like staying in laughlin hotels instead of Vegas hotels. It’s just not the same. But I’m going to make an exception in this case. However, I will start with a few words:
I met my wife in November of 1995. We met at a local BBS event. We were dancing together on the dance floor for no other reason than to just have fun. As we moved from the dance floor, we sat together at the bar and talked for a long time. I watched her every smile. I loved listening to her talk. She has such a sweet voice. Before I left, I kissed her and fell in love.
A month later, I was standing in the middle of her family’s living room. I had a radio next to me. I put in the song “True Companion” by Marc Cohn. I sang it to her in front of her family as my marriage proposal to her. Since we’re still happily married, I guess it worked. She said “yes.” Every time I hear that song, it reminds me of everything I love about my wife. So, without further ado, here’s a You Tube video with the song and the lyrics. The lyrics are important. I hope you enjoy.
(This post was inspired by “Music and Driving,” a blog post by Ken Armstrong.)
You know. Making changes to a blog can be like washing dishes in glass sinks. I’m serious. Sure, everything looks all nice and shiny, but cracks can appear in the system. So if you guys happen to find any bugs with my new theme, please feel free to let me know.
Oh, I guess I didn’t mention that first, but I’m figuring you saw it. Yep. New theme. Took me longer than I expected, but it’s finally done. Let me know what you think. This one should load up really fast compared to the other one I had. I also chose colors that went with the logo I use all the time. So I hope you like the new look. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share those too.
(Notice the little Saph faces on the right? I couldn’t help myself with those.)
I know. I know. I’ve written a bunch of posts today. But I just wanted to share so much information. And there’s another one I want to share (can you tell I’m jonesing for Spore to come out?). The following is a picture of a unicorn/pegasus I designed for my wife over the last hour using Spore Creature Creator (click it for full size):
Some people have too much money. So I’ve decided to compile a list of some items that I think are just right for those kinds of people. I know I couldn’t afford them. Might be nice if I could for a few of the items. But here it goes:
Ironkey Thumb Drive - Ok. I understand military applications. I also understand corporate applications. But if someone in the real world (meaning those of uss in the middle income bracket and lower) have that valuable and secret of data that they ened to spend the extra bucks on the extra security, then I’m guessing that the data should be sold so you can afford the darn drive.
Wendy Culpepper’s handcrafted jewelry - A lot of famous people wear this stuff. I mean some of it’s nice, and if she does custom work and I had tons of cash, I’d look into getting a fairy pendant designed for my wife. Or maybe I’d work on world peace. Hmmm.
14 MPH Cooler - That’s right. It’s a cooler and scooter all in one. Doesn’t look very comfortable to sit on. And it costs around 500 bucks. Sheesh!
Remote Controlled Caddy - Speaking of weird things that move. 2000 dollars for a remote controlled golf caddy. Wow. I think I’d rather just pay some guy a few bucks to do it instead. Or maybe, just maybe, carry them myself? While riding around in my solar powered golf cart?
I can’t look for more. Some items in some of these places actually catch my attention and bring out the consumer in me that wants to spend money on an animatronic roommate for my daughter (cause I would have loved one when I was a kid). So feel free to look around the Internet and show me your own ideas for items that would fit this list.
Ok. So I have to admit something to you guys. I gained 5 pounds about a week ago. Don’t know exactly how but I think I had too many calories. That’s the reason I decided to start using Diet Power as I mentioned in an earlier post. I decided I needed something that would tell me what I’ve done wrong and I truly didn’t know who I could trust to tell me this. I’m a fan of math formulas and Diet Power has that handled.
Now, as for my experience with Diet Power so far, it’s amazing to have a diet coach that can fit in your pocket (Well, that is if you copy the software to a memory stick, but you get the point). The Nutrient Quotient (basically an IQ for food) truly helps me determine what kind of foods I should be eating. It also tells me if I’m eating bad foods. And all of this is done with a quick glance at some color coding on the entries.
So how has it done for me so far? I’ve lost those 5 pounds I gained. And I’m on track to be at my ideal weight within another year. I figure I’ll take it slow this time compared to the 70-80 pounds I lost within just a few months. The slower it’s lost, the easier to keep it off. Diet Power is doing a great job. It’s data won’t be perfect until I’ve used it for 30 days, but so far, I have to say I’m much more impressed with it than I was when it was version 1.0.
If you haven’t heard of Spore, then you’re either really not into computer games, or you’re hiding under a Craygor. What’s a Craygor, you ask? I’ll show you:
It’s a dragon creature I created using Spore Creature Creator. What that screen doesn’t show you are the creature parts options on the left that remind me of wine refrigerators, except in this case you’re picking noses, eyes, ears, etc.
I went ahead and purchased the full version of the creator. The trial version is available at the Spore.com website. My daughter and I have made over 30 creatures so far. Here’s a few:
Yes. I put Craygor in there too. Wanna know why? Because those PNG files that you see are actually saved creatures. You can literally right-click on them and save them on your computer and put them in your own copy of the game right now if you have it. The data used to create the creatures is saved right in the image file.
If you’ve got kids who love to play with clay, this is a really easy and non-messy way to do so. I know. My daughter loves it. Her hands don’t turn colors and there’s not bits and pieces of clay stuck in our carpet.
This stuff goes out in the family newsletter so I sometimes forget to let my readers know. At least those who are actually interested in what goes on in my life. My daughter had her tonsils removed this past Wednesday.
She’s doing good now although it was a rocky road for a bit there. We found out that she’s sensitive to Codeine. She’s not allergic, but it messes up her stomach bad and that was the pain medication they got her. We finally got her off it a couple of days ago and everything got much better.
Oh, and while she’s around the house getting all nervous about her tonsils coming out and I’m minding my own business doing some “window shopping” at a sale, I suddenly got an abscessed tooth. But the soonest appointment is the Friday after she gets her tonsils out. So last week was a rough week for all of us as although my wife was not suffering from painful experiences, she had to deal with two very grumpy family members.
Have I mentioned I love my wife?
So there you have it. Sorry I forgot to mention this stuff. But everything is cool now.
Ok. Not a real one. But I’m now using Diet Power. I’ve used it in the past and did not like it much, but that was back when it was version 1.0. Now it’s 4.4. And wow, it’s good at what it does. It does all the math needed to let me know how many calories I should eat each day. It also tells me how much water I need. It lets me know if my nutrients are balanced well enough. And all of this for only 40 bucks.
So far I’m pleased. It’s doing an excellent job. But I won’t know how good it does until about 30 days after I start using it. So I’ll update you guys about it then.
Oh, and notice there are no links to Diet Power in this post. I don’t want people to think I’m using an affiliate link for it. I actually do like the software. If you’d like to purchase it or read more about it, feel free to Google “Diet Power” and it will be the first result in the list.
I’m doing my best not to have to look over diet pill reviews. I want to do this naturally. Come my next weekly update, I’ll elt you know if there’s any weight change since using it.
I’m not the perfect husband. Nobody can be. It just doesn’t happen. Why do I mention this? Because I am one of those guys that “hears all, sees all, but doesn’t know anything.” (Actually, I normally say that differently, but the wording doesn’t matter as much as the sentiment). What I mean is, I listen to people, but I stay out of stuff and never repeat things. This tends to let me hear all kinds of stuff as people tend to vent to me because they know they are safe doing so. After years of this, I have come to a sad conclusion: Husbands suck.
To explain what I mean, I’ll go through a few “A real husband…” statements. I don’t know how many I’ll do, but hopefully you’ll get my point. In the comments, feel free to add more. So without further ado…
A real husband…
… does not use his wife as a punching bag. And I mean this in every metaphorical way also. No hitting your wife. No screaming at your wife. No abuse of your wife in any way. It’s wrong. Pure and simple.
… takes the Bluetooth headset out his ear and listens to his wife instead. Phone conversations are a necessary part of today’s world. But communication in a marriage is extremely important.
… buys feminine products at the drug store without whining about it. They also know which products to buy.
… carries his wife’s purse when she needs him to.
… holds his wife’s hair when she’s puking in the toilet. He also gets a wash cloth and wipes her face for her.
… doesn’t complain about the money spent on a woman’s hair unless a) he actually notices the new hair and b) he learns to do it himself for her. If you’ve never done your wife’s hair (or your husband’s), then you’ve never experienced a truly personal experience.
… learns more about his wife than he knows about sports.
… puts down the game controller and does the dishes and laundry every once in a while.
… doesn’t get upset if his wife makes more money than he does.
… compromises and shares with his wife.
… trusts his wife and makes darn sure he is trustworthy. Without trust, there is no relationship.
Now, to be fair to the husbands who do these things, I have to say this:
A real wife does not get spoiled or take advantage of their husband when they do things like this for them. (That’s right ladies. Don’t give your husband a reason to regret being a real husband.)
So, does anyone have any others they’d like to add? Maybe the guys out there feel left out and want to do some “A real wife…” comments. Feel free to reply and add as many as you’d like.
Saphrym.com is the kind of blog you want to read everyday. He does not write sparingly and you can always expect quality. He is also a friendly guy that you can actually have a conversation with. — Fromtheold
