Bennard's Blog - How Do You Find This Stuff?

Holy cow! It has been a long time since I updated this space, and a lot has been going on. Expect some new posts soon, with some big news.

I got a new cell phone today, and I'm stoked. Not only is my new toy super-cool, it has style all over.

I got a Cingular 3125. It's a Windows Mobile Smartphone, so I can synch my phone with my Outlook e-mail, calendar and contacts (and hopefully my Gmail e-mail, calendar and contacts). Some other cool features are:

- I can just copy MP3 or other audio files to the phone and it will use them as ringtones
- It can take videos (with audio)
- The version of IE embedded on it runs really smooth and quick
- External controls, so I can listen to MP3s on the phone (it has a MicroSD slot for storage)

But by far the coolest feature is that it can act as a modem using Bluetooth Dial Up Networking. This provides a superb boost in functionality to my Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. Now I can pair
my phone and the 770, and I can access the Internet anywhere I am! Whether it's in an airport, on a long road-trip, or chilling at the pool, I can be connected to the web (at pretty good speeds (2.5G)). Not only will this work with the 770, but any laptop or computer with Bluetooth connection.

Thanks to Bitpim and a USB cable, I was able to transfer not only my contacts from my old phone, but also the ringtones and pictures. I was able to convert my info from Bitpim to Outlook with a little bit of difficulty. I was also able to transfer some of my old ringers to the new phone!

Here's a tip: Outlook won't read in more than the 1st record from a vCard file, even though it's valid to have more than one. However, you can use the Windows Address Book to import the contacts (go to Start->Programs->Accessories->Address Book). Windows Address Book will read the vCard file and import all of the contacts. From there, you can export a .CSV file from the Address Book, and import that file into Outlook.

Finally, we switched carriers, and that necessitated a change in phone numbers. I'm giving up the 504 area code after 4 years of a 504 number. If you can't reach me, send me an email and I'll hook you up with the new digits.

I've embarked upon a new project. This one involves consuming lots of beer. Check it out here:
www.beerforben.com

I was listening to Zydeco music today on Live365. Zydeco is the music of Creole south Louisiana. It is sung mostly in French, is usually up tempo and played with instruments like the accordion, washboard and fiddle.

Listening to Zydeco reminds me of going hunting with my Dad. We'd get up really early in the morning and drive about an hour to my grandfather's house. One of the few music programs on at that hour was Mick Abed's Cajun Fais Do-do. So we would listen to Mick's program as we drove out to go hunting. Mick played Zydeco music and hosted the entire program in French. Mick no longer does his program on WYNK in Baton Rouge, but does contribute to Radio Louisiane, which is an internet based Cajun Music station.

I was very impressed with two bands I heard today. One of them is Kevin Naquin & The Ossun Playboys, and the other is Zachary Richard. If you're at all interested in Zydeco music, check them both out. You can buy the music of both on iTunes.

It's been over a year since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, flooded New Orleans, and changed our lives forever. We never spent a night in our house in New Orleans after the storm hit. We were completely moved out within a month.

We've lived in one hotel and three different apartments in two states (none of them Louisiana) since then. We lost two pets who survived in a dark, hot, flooded house for a week. We found out that we weren't insured for flood damage. We had most of our belongings in a storage unit for six months. We moved to a new state and a new city. We both took new jobs.

We've been very fortunate to have been through the storm with only minimal damage to property. We're thankful to be where we are, for our families who helped us out so much, to have recovered from the event, and have be able to continue our lives in a new place (hopefully not vulnerable to hurricanes).

But still, one year later, we're constantly reminded of the storm. I can be reminded just by opening a door. The odors of mildew have been ingrained into some of our objects, and wafts out at times. There are still things at our house that have been in boxes since last September. I have been greeted by mold more than once when I have opened these boxes and ache when I come across one more item that I have to throw away because of that storm.

I made my first solo flight today! This means it was the first time I flew the plane without the instructor with me. It's a big milestone in my flight training. Even though I'm not a licensed pilot yet, I can start to take the plane up by myself soon.

It was hot today, around 98. We got started about 5:15 pm, we took off from Adams Field in Little Rock and proceeded west to Stuttgart Municipal Airport. We made 3 trips around the pattern at Stuttgart, at which point Jeremy, my instructor had me stop and he got out. I taxied back out to runway 18, took off and entered the pattern. The plane climbs suprisingly well with just one occupant.

I made 3 takeoffs and landings at Stuttgart with no incidents and we loaded up and flew back to Little Rock.

The flight was great. The solo was relaxing, just being up there by myself, not many distractions, just you and the plane. It all went very well.

Back at Little Rock, Jeremy cut off the back of my shirt, which is a long-standing tradition for student pilots.

I brought my camera and had Jeremy take several pictures and even got one video of my first landing, which you see at the top of this post.

You can see the rest of the pictures here: Ben's First Solo Pictures

I turned 26 this weekend.

As a celebration of my birth and continued existince, I was offered gifts and pie. We'll talk about the gifts first. My wonderful wife got me some hardcore nerd stuff. From her I received a Sanyo PLV-Z3 projector and a tensioned pull-down screen. In my opinion, these are most awesome gifts.

So, I spent my two days off rearranging the living room, setting up the projector, and installing the screen. The screen required a bit of construction and a few trips to home depot, but I was able to manufacture some mounts for it.

I finished with everything Tuesday afternoon, and am damn pleased with the results. The picture below shows off the setup in all its glory.

The screen is approximately 50" x 80", for a 94" diagonal screen! The picture is beautiful. Watching movies is just like being in the theater. It is most excellent.

I took my Private Pilot Written Exam this week and passed! Now that that's out of the way, I can get ready for solo. Where I train, you either have to pass a set of pre-solo test, or take the FAA Written Test. I opted for the written exam, just to get it out of the way. I've still got a ways to go, but I'm hoping by the end of the summer I can have my license.

Say hello to our latest addition.

Lil? Red arrived last Saturday, after much delay and irritation. I thought I?d share the story with you.

We have been looking for a vehicle to replace our trusted Jimmy, which was the target of another moving vehicle about 2 months ago. Jimmy was unable to recover from the accident, and had to be put down. We were sad to lose such a reliable vehicle; Jimmy was over 13 years old. And the best part, he was all paid for.

We identified the target of our vehicle search early on. We wanted to get a used Jeep Wrangler, between 97 and 2002. After several weeks of looking in the local classifieds and at dealerships in the area, we were unable to find a vehicle that met our requirements for price, quality, and the search parameters. So, we turned to another source: eBay.

All the while, we had been riding to work together, and only using one vehicle. It made things complicated at times, but we were able to work through it.

There were plenty of Jeeps listed on eBay, including ones that met our parameters. I placed a bid on a few, but was outbid, and finally won an auction for a Jeep that was at a dealership in Memphis. Memphis is a 2 hour drive from my location. I thought that I?d be able to pick up the vehicle in no time.

I spoke to the dealership the next day, and they informed me that the paperwork was on its way for me to sign. The paperwork came the next day, I signed it and sent it back, along with the loan check. When the dealership called the next day, they said that they didn?t know I was using a loan, and had to modify part of the purchase agreement to include that information. By the time the paperwork got corrected and back to the dealership, a week had passed.

While I was upset that I wasn?t able to get the vehicle the preceding weekend, I figured that with all the paperwork in, the turnaround time would be minimal. After all, you can close the deal on a car in an afternoon if you walk into the dealership. I was making preparations to go get the Jeep sometime during the week. We?d leave right after work, and head to Memphis, pick up the vehicle, turn around and come back.

Well, after calling every day to get an update on the vehicle, they finally called on Friday afternoon to let me know the vehicle was available. This particular day was the Friday prior to Memorial Day weekend, and the wife, dog and I had plans to travel to Baton Rouge this weekend. I knew I could drive back through Memphis on Memorial Day, and pick up the Jeep on my way home.

No such luck. Apparently this is the only car dealership in the world that isn?t open on Memorial day. This set us back to Tuesday being the winning day. We?d have to leave after work and drive 4 hours to get the vehicle.

On Tuesday (2 weeks + 2 days from end of auction), I called the dealership to let them know I wanted to pick the vehicle up. This call was placed before noon. The dealership personnel informed me that they would look into it and call me back. I went ahead and made my arrangements to leave after work and pick the vehicle up.

The time for leaving the office came around, and I still hadn?t been called back by the dealership. I picked Lee up and we started heading towards Memphis while I called the dealership and asked to speak to the management. I informed the manager that I was on my way to pick up the vehicle, and that they should have it ready when I arrived. He said that they weren?t expecting me to pick up the vehicle until Thursday or Friday, because that was the impression they got from the salesman. They would check into it and call me back. Anger level: 2

When they called back, they informed me that the Jeep was in the shop, getting the air conditioning looked at, and that I couldn?t pick up the vehicle today. I not-so-politely informed the manager that this did not make any sense, since they told me I could pick it up last Friday. The conversation became heated as I let loose on this guy. I had made the payment, they had cashed the check, I had been told the vehicle was ready, and so on. I also wanted to know how the air conditioning was broken, because it was advertised as working, and what else was wrong with the vehicle that I wasn?t being told. Anger level: 7.

The manager was apologetic, assured me that the vehicle was OK, and we struck a deal that they would deliver the vehicle to me as soon as it was ready. This didn?t do much to calm me down at the moment, as I was so pissed off I could hardly see straight. We turned around, and headed back home, stopping off to get something to eat, and quite a few beers were required to get me back to a sane state.

Well, it turns out they had to replace the evaporator on the Jeep, due to a small leak. So, overall a good thing that it took a few extra days. However, it ended up being Saturday before we actually got the Jeep, almost 3 weeks later.

So, the good news is that it runs great, air conditioning works, it drives good. The bad news: the top needs to be replaced. The zippers don't hold on the rear window and the driver and passenger windows.

All in all, I like it. I just wish it would have been less of a pain in the ass to get.

Well, it's been a while since I rapped at ya, so here goes. We're still looking for a new (used) vehicle. The model we have in mind is a Jeep Wrangler. However, they seem to be going for a premium these days, so we've been looking on eBay. I've got a winning bid in on one right now, so hopefully that will go through and we can get back to having 2 cars.

Since the accident, we've been riding to work and back together. Which isn't bad, because we only work about a mile apart. But there will be days when one of us needs to stay late, and it's a less than optimal situation with one car. Also, I'm begining to travel a lot more with my job, and I've gotten told about expensing taxi fares to the airport. Apparently, they'd rather I drove my own car and parked there.

Speaking of airports, I've been flying almost every weekend lately. I've been trying to master the Diamond DA-20 lately, and doing pretty well, except for the landings. But that's getting better. The instructor hardly yells, "oh shit!" anymore, and I see that as a sign of progress. I think some of the difficulty comes from changing airplanes in the middle of training. I had just learned to land the Cessna properly when we were flying in Jackson. The Cessna and Diamond are completely different aircraft close to the ground. The Cessna has little ground effect, due to the high wing, and it's a much heavier plane, so it just settles down on the runway without much fuss, and stays there. On the other hand, the Diamond has prodigous ground effect, and will just float all the way down the runway. And it won't just settle when it lands, you really have to concentrate on keeping control of the aircraft once it's on the ground.

I was in Vegas for work several weeks ago. I had a good time, drank a few $6 beers, ate at some buffets, and watched Avenue Q. Avenue Q is a fantastic show, and I recommend anyone who's not easily offended to check it out. I also came to an important revelation while in Vegas. That is, gambling by yourself is not fun. It's always a fun time when Lee and I go to the casino together, whether we win or lose, but playing by yourself (and losing), tends to be less enjoyable.

Anyway, I guess that wraps it up for todays addition. Check back soon, and hopefully we will have news of a new vehicle! Later on peeps, thanks for reading.

I was perusing one dealer’s site for used cars today and came across some interesting ads. Here are a choice few:

2002 Subaru Impreza WRX

THIS THING IS SO FAST I HAD TO HAVE MY SISTER HIT THE BACK OF MY HEAD JUST TO MAKE MY EYEBALLS POP BACK OUT. THIS IS A LITTLE MONSTER!!!!

2001 SAAB 9-5 Wagon

ROLLIN, ROLLIN, ROLLIN, KEEP THEM KIDDIES GOIN, LOAD'EM UP, MOVE'EM OUT RAWHIDE!!! WELL IT DOES HAVE LEATHER SEATS AND A LOT A ROOM FOR ALL THAT STUFF YA NEED TO HAUL AROUND!!!!!

2003 Toyota Matrix

IT'S KINDA FUNNY LOOKIN, BUT CUTE ALL ROLLED IN ONE!~!!! XR PKG!!

2004 SAAB 9-3 Linear

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNIN HEAD OUT ON THE HIGHWAY LOOKIN FOR ADVENTURE THEN THE TURTLE COMES MY WAY!! YA IT LOOKS LIKE A TURTLE, BUT IT RUNS LIKE A RABBIT!!!

2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport

TALK ABOUT GREEN!!! THIS ONE IS G R E E N!!! KINDA REMINDS ME OF GREEN EGGS AND HAM

2004 Mercury Grand Marquis

TALK ABOUT LOADED!!! IF YA HAD A BAKED POTATO YOU'D THINK YOU WERE AT THE LARGEST POTATO BAR IN THE WORLD! TAKE A LOOK!

2002 Isuzu Rodeo

GET YOUR BOOTS ON AND YOUR FAVORITE PAIR OF WRANGLERS CAUSE WE'RE GOIN IN A RODEO!!! WELL ANY ATTIRE WOULD DO I GUESS. AS LONG AS YA DON'T SHOCK ANYONE! IT LOOKS GOOD! TAKE A LOOK!

2003 Ford F250

IT BE STROKIN!!! YEA, THAT'S RIGHT IT'S A POWER STROKE DIESEL!!!! 4 WHEEL DRIVE, EXTENDED CAB, AND BEST OF ALL IT HAS A LONG BOX!!!! NO SHORT BED HERE; A REAL BED!!!!

2001 Ford Escape

SPORTY, SMALL, ROOMY, KINDA SEXY, WELL MAYBE NOT SEXY, BUT IT DOES LOOK GOOD AND IT IS SMALL. TAKE A LOOK!

2003 Honda Element

WELL, WHAT DO YA SAY ABOUT A BOX ON WHEELS? YA IT'S BOXY, BUT, IT'S GOT A SUNROOF, ALLOYS, AWD, CD, AND IT'S A HONDA!!!! BUT IT IS KINDA UGLY.

2002 Chevrolet Tracker

THIS LITTLE BOOGER IS CUTE AND I MEAN CUTE AS A BUTTON!!! UNLESS YOU'RE A MAN LOOKIN AT AND THEN IT IS TOUGH! TOUGH AS NAILS!!!

So, besides being in incidents involving trips to the hospital, things have been going well.

We finally got all of our belongings up to Little Rock. This has been a long time coming. After the storm, we placed most of our stuff in storage in Mississippi. We kept a few vital bits in our apartment in Jackson. At our arrival in Little Rock, we were in a temporary apartment for a month that was furnished, so we didn't need too many things.

Now that we've moved into our permanent apartment, we needed some things like beds, couches, chairs, cooking supplies, a microwave, washer and dryer. Some of these things were in storage, the others we had to acquire. We used a moving service to relocate the contents of our storage unit to our apartment. Apparently there were enough boxes in the storage unit to fill one whole room, and part of another, excluding furniture.

We spent most of last weekend unpacking and arranging our things. Some of which we hadn't even seen since last September! Some of the things that we took for granted earlier, like having an office big enough that we could both be on the computer at the same time, have been desparatley missed.

Things are returning to normal for us for the first time in a while. We've got our own place, we both have good jobs, and we now have all of our stuff (and then some). It great to finally have our own place, somewhere we know we'll be for a while.

So I was going to meet some friends today at Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a hike, and was preparing to make a turn into the park, when another driver strikes my vehicle from the rear - and hard. My truck is totalled (not that it was worth much in the first place).

My neck and back hurt. Lee came and took me to the hospital, and I had my neck and spine checked out. Fortunately, the x-rays didn't show any damage, but I am sore as hell. So, it's pain pills and taking it easy for a while.

We have to shop for a new vehicle now, we will probably look into a used car. In the meantime, we'll have to commute to work together. It's not too much of a challenge, since we only work a mile or so apart, and our schedules are similar.

Although the weather was poor, we made it to Little Rock with no issues. The company is putting us up in temporary housing right now. The place we’re staying is very nice, but we can only occupy it for a month, so we have to get looking for a new place soon. One limiting factor is that we don’t have Internet access at our apartment yet. We rely heavily on the internet for just about everything we do, and it is crippling not to have it. Anyway, the cable people are supposed to come by Monday and hook us up.

We are slowly learning our way around the area. What I like to do to learn a new area is to drive around until I get lost, then attempt to navigate my way back to a known area. I find that this works very well. We’ve been mainly cruising around the West Little Rock area, but we’ll start expanding our search area soon.

I started my new job this week. Things are going pretty well, just trying to process through all the paperwork. Right now, I’m sitting in a corner desk in the operations center, which is on a different floor than the rest of my group. They assure me it’s only temporary, but I’ve heard that before. The current estimate is that I’ll be down here until May, then I can move back in with the rest of the group.

I want to continue my flight training, so I’m looking for a flight school in the area. It seems there is one based out of the Little Rock airport (KLIT), which has its good and bad points. Bad points are that it’s a very busy airport, so there would be long taxi and pattern waits. This equals more money (in a plane, it’s like being in a taxi, the meter’s running as long as the engine is on). On the other hand, they do have nice, new aircraft, and it’s nice to get the experience of operating at a large airport. The other field in the area is the North Little Rock Airport (K1M1. North Little Rock is an untowered general aviation airport (though it’s unicomm, not multicomm). Flying out of an untowered is a completely different experience that requires a tremendous amount of awareness. Either way, it will be different than flying out of Hawkins (KHKS), and that’s a good thing.

Summary: we’re trying to find a place to live, we currently have no internet, we’re trying to learn the layout of the area, my job is going well, and I’m trying to find a flight school in the area.

Little Rock, to be exact. I recently accepted a position with the Southwest Power Pool in Little Rock.

My last day in Jackson will be Friday, and I start in Little Rock the following Monday. Actually, correct that, I start on Tuesday. Monday is President's Day, and I have that day off. The best way to start a new job is with a paid holiday!

We're still trying to figure out where we're going to be living. We want to buy a house, but we realize that it will take a few months to find one and actually make the purchase. So, we're going to have to find an apartment in the meantime.

My wife and I are very happy to be moving to a new area and be stable somewhere. We've been without a place to call home since the hurricane hit last August. It'll be good to get there. I'll keep you updated.

I turned in my resignation at my job last week. Things haven't been the same since Katrina hit. Our home in the New Orleans area received significant flood damage, and we were forced to move out of it.

We visited our home less than a week after the hurricane hit. Although I had seen satellite photos of the area, I underestimated how deep the water was. When we arrived, the water was waist deep in the street. The truck we were driving wasn't able to make it all the way to the house. We had to park down the street and wade into the house. Here's what the view from our front door looked like.

We returned several weeks later, after the flooding abated, to move out. We threw away what we couldn't save and moved the rest into storage. We had quite a pile going at the end of the day.

Since then, we've been living in Jackson, MS. My wife quit her job in New Orleans. We've been living without somewhere to call home for a while, and with no certainty as to where we will be in the future. Being in this situation, we decided it was time to move on.

I've been looking for a new job in a new city, and am considering several things presently. We're both excited about gaining some permeanance back into our lives, and excited about the new opportunities that have been presented to us. It's sad to be leaving the fantastic people I've been working with for the past 5 years or so. but I feel that leaving is the best option for myself and my family at this point.

Once I've made a final selection, I'll give an update as to where we'll be located.

Google Video is hosting many of the commercials aired during the Super Bowl.

Nice article on iPods entering the office, and some advice on proper ettiquette. I use my iPod in the office regularly, along with my headphones. I find it much easier to concentrate when listening to music.

Apparently these people don't go to the Walmart I do.

Watch these guys perform a tune from Parrappa the Rapper in real life. Parappa was a great game, and so was its sequel, Um Jammer Llammy. A sequel in spirit, which I have yet to heck out is Guitar Hero.

I recently started taking flying lessons at Spirit Aviation here in lovely Jackson, Mississippi. I've been going every weekend to take lessons, and have logged a massive 3 hours flight time, plus an hour in the sim.

My most recent flight was on Friday. We practiced slow flight, stalls, steep turns, some hood work and a few takeoffs and landings. I got to try out my new headsets too. They're pretty sweet. Active Noise Reduction rocks! These join the other 2 ANR headsets in the house.

I want to get one of these, so I can convert one of my Bose sets into an avaiation headset.

We've been flying a Cessna 172N, N737NV. It's a very nice plane. Very stable and easy to fly. Our base of operations is Hawkins Field, not to be confused with Jackson-Evers (not so) International Airport.

Anyway, I'm making progress on my Private Pilot's license, but I'll need over 40 hours flight time in order to get it. I'd like to continue to get my Instrument and Commercial ratings as well. I'll keep you readers apprised of my progress, and once I get my license, I'd love to take you out for a spin!

Note: For those of you who doubt me, here is photographic evidence of me flying.

Another gadget that I acquired recently is the Nokia 770. The 770 is a wireless internet tablet. That is a device that allows you to browse the web anywhere there is a wi-fi hotspot.

Imagine having a computer about the size of a PDA, that can check email, browse the web, play media, and run other applications, all on a sharp 800x480 color display. That's the 770.

I love this device. As a matter of fact, I'm typing this post on it, sitting in the Barnes & Noble. It's great for checking your mail from the couch, or looking something up while you're out. Instead of bringing a laptop on vacation, I'll bring this. It covers everything I need while I'm away, and it fits in a pocket.

The 770 runs a customized version of Linux, so its hacker-friendly. There's a big community out there that are working on apps for the device as well.

For more 770 info, check out:
Internet Tablet Talk
Planet Maemo

If you're not already using del.icio.us, then you need to. del.icio.us is a social bookmarking application. In addition to storing your bookmarks on the web so they can be used from anywhere, you can see others who bookmarked the same page, and which pages are popular with other users.

The nifty Firefox extension integrates very smoothly, allowing you to tag your bookmarks without having to go to the site.

My bookmarks can be seen at: http://del.icio.us/bennard. I'm also going to add a feed to my bookmarks on the sidebar.

One of my Christmas presents was an Xbox 360. I've been enjoying it immensley. I don't yet have an HDTV, so to fully enjoy the graphics, I purchased the VGA cable, and hooked it up to one of my computer monitors. It is nothing short of amazing. I can't wait to see what they will be able to do with this system.

If you want to catch me on Live, my gamertag is: bennard.

Check out my gamercard below:

Although there has been a dearth of updates recently. I'm planning to get back in the blogging business. I've got lots of stories to tell, and plenty of new stuff as well.

Give me a shout out if anyone is reading this.

Ben

The newest, smallest iPod ever debuts - the iPod Flea.

I can't decide if this is a really clever headline or just a disturbing one.

While I can personally say that more than a few women know this from personal experience, the rest of you should catch up with the times. So now, besides having superior intellect, excellent jobs, and unparalled video gaming skills, we have being better lovers. All we're missing now is stunning good looks and physical strength.