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About two months ago, my girlfriend Natalia surprised me with an early valentines Day gift. She had been poking and prodding my brain trying to find out what the perfect gift would be. One day we were having seemingly unrelated conversation about my Golden Retriever, Houston, who died of cancer at the young age of 5, while I was away at college. Not putting two and two together I didn't realize that the light bulb had just clicked on.

On February 1st, which was a Friday, I sat at home waiting for Natalia. She had phoned earlier that day saying she found my present and would be giving it to me that evening. As I anxiously waited her arrival I got another phone call from her, this one summoning me to the animal shelter about a mile away. At that point, the light came on for me too.

When I arrived, she walked out to greet me and gave me a big hug. I followed her inside and there I laid eyes on the most adorable puppy. The volunteer informed us he was a mix of German Sheppard and Labrador. He was part of a litter of 10 which was recently rescued from a house; no one could find the mother. Later that evening, after much searching and thought we settled on the name Rex. And looking back, the name fits him very well. On Rex's first vet visit, the veterinarian informed us that Sheppard's are very intelligent albeit slightly neurotic dogs and Labradors are very personable and loving dogs. A great combination I thought.

Fast forward two months and Rex has become an integral part of our family. On weekends Rex gets plenty of exercise wrestling with Natalia's grandfathers 7 month old basset/coon hound and during the week he tears up and down the stairs in my 3-story townhouse. He has been a lot of fun so far (except maybe those first few weeks spent potty training) and I look forward to many more years with him at our side (and possibly a few other pets as space permits).

Thanksgiving day, November 22nd this year meant a lot of things to a lot of different people. For some it was a time of joyous celebration, for others a time to reflect on their fortunes and misfortunes. I did a little of both. I've been very fortunate thus far in my life and have plenty to be thankful for. I have a loving family, a good job which allows me to pursue many of my interests, a group of great friends and an amazing woman I started dating a little while ago. I spent thanksgiving with my parents and sisters this year at my parents cramped, 1 bedroom apartment. Seven people in a barely 700 square foot apartment and a mother who loves to cook made for a lot of dancing around the kitchen and shuffling items around to make room for everyone.

But it also serves as a reminder that one year ago, on November 27th 2006 my parents house burned down with them narrowly escaping with barely the clothes on their backs. I can still recall that late night phone call from my frantic mother and it still sends chills down my spine. Over the past year the shock of the event has faded and been replaced by a feverish anxiousness to return home. The reconstruction of the house is finally near completion and while displaced, my parents have resumed their normal routine.

Since the house was almost completely destroyed, my mom (who had been wanting a new kitchen) took this opportunity to expand a little bit. In the new house, the kitchen/dining room area had it's back wall pushed an additional ten feet into the back yard, nearly doubling the size of the kitchen. Also, a walk-in pantry and half bath was added off the kitchen into what used to be the first bay in a two car garage. Off the back of the house a deck was built with a gas line run out to fuel the large natural gas grill my dad recently purchased. If I had to choose a phrase to sum up the results of this rebuild/remodel it would be "storage space". The kitchen and pantry have enough storage space to rival some homes I've been in that are twice the size.

These two pictures show the same area of the house, just from opposite vantage points. The first is of the kitchen the day of the fire, taken from the garage. The other was taken about a month ago, from the dining area looking out into the pantry (where the first picture was taken).  

This has been a very eventful year to say the least. In addition to losing my parents house, I bought a house, started an internet marketing business and started a new job. All things considered, I'm thankful for a great many people and things this holiday season.

A Department of Defense program, 'America Supports You', explains a quick way to tell the troops overseas that you appreciate the sacrafice they are making this holiday season. From the DoD website:

The program, which already has received nearly 4,000 messages, officially kicks off at 6 a.m. EST Nov. 17 and concludes at midnight PST Nov. 22. Between those times, people wishing to express gratitude to the troops for their service can text a brief message to 89279. Each text message sent will receive a response from an active-duty servicemember in return.
Major mobile wireless providers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile, will provide access to the Giving Thanks text messaging program.

Take a moment over the next day and send a quick note of appreciation those people serving our country who cannot be home with their loved ones.

ComputerWorld is running an article listing 20 must have extensions for the Firefox web browser. Extensions for Firefox are small add-on modules, written by the Firefox team or independent developers, that (usually) improve the behavior of Firefox.

The extensions from the article I already use are:

• GreaseMonkey -  Allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript.  Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of poular sites, are already available at Userscripts.org. I recommend the HTTP-> HTTPS redirector.
• IE Tab - Once installed, it places a small icon in your status bar. Clicking this icon swaps out the rendering engine from Firefox's to Internet Explorer's.
• FireBug - Allows you to examine and tweak the HTML, CSS and JavaScript contained in a page, all on the fly. This is a great tool for any web developer.

One of the extensions I've come to love that is not listed in the article is TabMixPlus. This add-on enhances the tabbed browsing experience of Firefox with features like controlling tab focus, duplicating tabs and a full-featured session manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

With features like these and the ability to add pretty much any feature you can dream of, it's no wonder that IE is feeling the heat from Firefox.

I spent alot of time during the day chatting with friends and co-workers using instant messaging. Whether I'm catching up with friends half the US away or asking a co-worker in the next office about something (yes, we programmers are pretty lazy), IM has become something I utilize heavily.

Recently I discovered that Microsoft launched a new initiative, called I'm, to aid various social causes through the use of their Windows Live Messenger service. The premise is simple, everytime you start or join a conversation, Microsoft will donate a portion of the advertising revenue to a social cause of your choice.

There are quite a few causes to choose from too:

To join, follow this link or click the 'I'm Join Now' link in my left side bar, download the Windows Live Messenger client, choose a social cause to support and get chatting, Microsoft takes care of the rest.

This is a great way to support a social cause you belive in by doing something we all do anyway.

Recently I've been having some trouble sleeping. Mostly it's waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. Occasionally it's not being able to get to sleep as my mind races a mile a minute. I attribute it to various stresses like work and things going on in my personal life (I'm getting ready to buy a house for example, which is a BIG stress right now). To be honest, on weekends I don't mind a little insomnia. I usually get up, play some video games or read and go back to sleep. But during the week it really sucks.

I'm not a big fan of using chemicals to fix what ails me such as sleeping aids or even aspirin (unless I'm really miserable). Today I stumbled upon an article listing the top 10 sleep inducing foods. Some of the items listed are pretty obvious (like Turkey, according to the article it works differently than most people expect). The nice thing about this list is it's so simple, there is even a recipe for some sleep inducing muffins.

Some of my favoriate items from the article:

Bananas. They're practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

Honey. Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that's linked to alertness.

So the next time you have trouble sleeping go fix yourself a midnight snack and avoid the sleeping pills.

Read the article here.

Where I work, especially around deadlines, there is a lot of profanity thrown around. For what ever reason people get frustrated and then swear. Whether it is because a co-worker drops an unexpected task, or their computer simple will not cooperate with them, all those naughty words you were taught never to say flow freely like champagne on New Years.

My friend Brent and I, after realizing that we might have a problem with profanity, decided to hold ourselves accountable for every word we uttered in the form of a check marks on a white board worth twenty five cents. That lasted a few weeks and things did get better, but as with all schemes of that nature, we got busy again and started swearing again and said f**k it to the check marks.

Well, since going cold turkey isn't the way to change anything I've stumbled across a game that could help alleviate your potty mouth while still giving you that feeling of satisfaction you get when you vent (and it could help your typing skills too). The object is to type in as many swear words as you can think of in the allotted time period and the game awards you points.

Next time you feel like launching a verbal assault on your cellphone for dropping a call with your signifcant other, give this game a try instead and maybe your co-workers won't look at you funny anymore. (Unless you're a bad typer, in which case this will just make you more pissed off and start swearing at my blog. Please don't swear at my blog.)

When I opened my email this afternoon I noticed an email entitled "RED FRIDAY". I get a lot of chain letters in my email, most of them I read and a few I forward on. After reading this particular message I wanted to forward it on to everyone I knew, but thought it more reach more readers if I posted it here.

The message was written by an airline passenger. On this flight he noticed a US Marine carrying a folded flag. The man inquired of the soldier if he was heading home or if he was heading out. The Marine replied that he was escorting a soldier home. "Going to pick him up?" asked the passenger. The Marine responded "No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq. I'm taking him home to his family."

When they landed, the pilot stopped just short of the gate and asked that all passengers remain seated while Sergent Steeley of the US Marines deplane and receive his fellow soldier. The passengers watched silently as the casket of the fallen soldier was unloaded from the plane, draped in the colors of the nation he gave his life serving.

I'm not a supporter of the war in Iraq, but I am a supporter of the men and women serving our nation overseas. The brave souls who risk their lives everyday so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we've grown accustom to.

Join me in showing your support for our nations troops by wearing red this and every Friday until each one of our service men and women is back with their families.

I'm bound my honor (and being an honorable person) to post 5 things you don't know about me. I was tagged by Greg to undertake this task. And now for the good stuff:

1. In 4th grade, I helped my grade school run enough miles to equal a trip around the planet. The PE teacher had this great idea to promote physical fitness where each kid would run so many laps at recess and record how many miles they equaled. This led to a broken foot, which despite my constant complaining, my mother did nothing about for almost 2 weeks.
2. I hate milk. I will have it on cereal, I will drink chocolate milk but I will not drink milk straight. Had powdered milk once when I was about 4 and have not touched the stuff since (much to the detriment of my bones - see #1)
3. I've seen the movie Hackers over 60 times (40 or so of the viewings were in the first 2 weeks of owning the film).
4. When I have dental work done, I refuse any anesthetic. Partly because I REALLY hate that topical stuff they use before they stick the needle in and partly because I really hate drooling all over myself for 3 hours after my cavity is fixed.
5. I'm a hopeless romantic. I love long conversations that go no where, surprising my significant other at work with flowers, leaving to be found and finding notes when I get home, I could go on and on....

Well now you have it. Unfortunetly I don't know any other bloggers that haven't already be "tagged" so.. Aaron & Scoble You're It!

I returned to my parents house recently to take survey of what progress has been made. It's been one month since the house I grew up in burned down. On the surface not much has happened. The carcass of the house still stands as it did on that fatefull day.

I walk through what little is left of the garage into the back yard. They have added some more tarps and plywood to protect the charred interior from the elements and any unscrupulous visitors. All the melted appliances and various bits of debris have been shovelled up into a dumpster leaving the garage floor slick and sooty. But other than that not much has happened. Inside the house items that escaped the fire have either been thrown away or taken to be cleaned and returned to my parents, including a casket flag that belonged to my grandfather when he was buried in Willamette National Cemetery.

We are waiting to hear what the structural engineers had to say about the surviving portions of the house, which will determine how long it will take to rebuild the house (I understand permits for existing structures are a WHOLE lot easier to get than permits for new structures). We are still waiting on the insurance to rule on my mothers Jeep and my parents travel trailer.

But underneath the surface, things are starting to grow again. Like a forest after a large fire, life begins anew. My parents have moved into a temporary apartment until their house is finished. They have purchased a new bed and lots of items for the kitchen (my mother loves to cook). And some other items, thanks to the generosity of co-workers, mothers, fathers and mine for their generous support, monetary and otherwise.

This year we had Christmas at my house. My parents and I went out and got a six foot Grand Fir, leaving the house smelling of pine, which I'm enjoying. Then I borrowed several boxes of decorations and some strangs of lights from a friend and purchased a few more to decorate the tree. We placed the presents saved from the fire under the tree right away (in years past, no presents were placed under the tree until after us kids had gone to bed).

Christmas Eve, my parents, both sisters and their respective significant others came over for dinner. our house is not the typical bachelor pad when it comes to kitchen utensils, but when my mother started cooking dinner I quickly realized our kitchen was lacking some basic items... But even without a potatoe masher and meat fork, dinner was excellent. So much so, that shortly after we all went to sleep, food comas in full effect.

Christmas morning brought a great breakfast and lots of joy as we all sat around the tree, opened presents, reminisced and watched christmas movies (and one visit from the neighbors when the movie got a bit too loud).

Overall, this was the best Christmas in recent memory. Not for what each of us received, but because we were able to enjoy it together. I've never been one for taking people for granted, but a tradegy like this really makes you stop and realize how short your time is with the ones you love. I'm eagerly looking forward to next Christmas and being with the one I love.

The most traumatic event of my young life happened to me this past Monday. My parent’s house burned down. I got the phone call at 1:50AM Monday morning November 27, 2006. I answer half asleep to my mother yelling into the phone hysterically repeating over and over a terrible accident has happened. All the time my mind is racing trying to figure out what could have happened and filling with a primal dread. I was sure my grandmother had passed away as she is 94 and in failing health. Then my mom drops it like an atom bomb. Our house had caught fire and has burned down, and while I'm trying to wrap my mind around that statement she tells me that our dog died in the fire.

At this point I can barely speak and manage to stammer out the statement "Oh my God, are you guys ok?" My mom asks me to come over and bring my dad some shoes and a coat because he is standing outside in 36 degree weather in shorts, a t-shirt and bare feet. So I grab a couple coats and some shoes and socks and book out of the house. I can safely say I've never had a harder time keeping my car anywhere close to the speed limit. I was exhausted, shocked and shaking pretty bad. But I knew that crashing into the Willamette River wouldn't help my folks so I did my best to obey the law.

It took me 20 min. to get to my parents house and the scene that greeted me was almost as shocking as the phone call. I had to park over a block away because the street in front of my parent’s house was filled with fire trucks. I remember counting nine fire trucks with water hoses running all over the place. They say this was a five alarm fire and both Portland and Gresham fire departments responded. It was chaos.

I found my parents sitting in a fire truck staying warm as a few dozen men and women fought to save what was left of their house, which wasn't much by this point. So I stood there with my arms around my parents in shock as the carcass of our house smoldered. As reality set in we started asking the firemen on the scene and the investigator when could we go back in the house. They informed us it would be later that day at the earliest. A couple firemen were kind enough to retrieve my mother’s purse and my dads watch and keys. Not knowing what the state of the interior of the house was we figured everything was destroyed, including the few Christmas gifts my mother had purchased and wrapped. Then two firemen came up to us with the presents in their arms. They smelled of smoke and were covered in soot, but they survived, a small but consoling fact none the less.

At this point there is nothing left to be done so we load up in my parents remaining vehicle and we drive to Wal-Mart, as it is the ONLY store open at 4:30 in the morning, to get my parents some clothes that didn't smell of smoke. My dad, famous for talking, informs the greeter that their house had just burned down hence why they were dressed like they were. The store manager gets word and very kindly gives my parents 10% off their entire purchase.

We then proceed to my house so they could shower and try to get some sleep. Needless to say, none of us slept. A few hours later the insurance adjuster showed up and started talking turkey. After a few stops to get some new reading glasses and a clean coat we wound up back at my parents house. Shocking doesn't describe what the house looked like earlier that morning. With the daylight I can see how thorough the damage to the house is. There is nothing left of the garage except a few charred pieces of lumber. The Jeep and travel trailer are completely gutted but luckily the full propane tanks on the trailer didn't ignite or explode.

In the backyard is where I found the remains of our dog. The police had wrapped her in an orange survival blanket. My dad and I loaded her into his pickup as gently as we could. It was at this point my mother, who had been very calm through this ordeal, lost it and started crying. I secured our dog for her trip to the vet’s office while my dad did his best to comfort my mom.

While my dad was taking the dog to be cremated I took my mom to the house of some family friends so she could get cleaned up and changed. Shortly after, my dad shows up and I head home. It’s nearing 5 in the afternoon by this point and I have been up for nearly 30 hours. When I got home my friend and boss, Greg Hughes, called and said he was heading over with a gift from the department for my parents. I set about trying to stay awake long enough for him to show up. When he did he presented me with a VISA gift card for a large sum of money. I was floored. When I started to thank him for the gift he said "You're family is our family and we take care of our own." I almost started crying right there. Words cannot describe how much their offers of help meant. Thank You all!

And my thanks goes out to the Portland and Gresham fire fighters for their quick response and diligent work that saved other homes near ours from sharing the same fate.

It's very true what they say. A tragedy is just an event until it happens to you. I recall seeing at least one report of a house or apartment fire every holiday over the past few years and thinking how terrible it must be for the affected people, but then I change the station and life goes on. Never did I think that could one day be my house on the news and my family standing in the cold. And while we now have to deal with the task of rebuilding and piecing back together some sense of normality, I've very thankful to have my parents around to help with that.