Omega19x

8:26am: I'm not used to this 'it works the first time' thing.
I've been working on a massive project at work, namely the project that required the actionscript class I took earlier this year. It's the biggest flash presentation I've ever built, and without a doubt, the most complicated too.

I turned it in for the first round of testing last week, and to my surprise, this is the conversation that followed:

"Works great. Good job. This is much better than last year's."
"Wait, so you're telling me that it worked like it was supposed to, there's nothing that needs to be fixed, and you liked it?!"
"Yes."
"You do realize that's an odd thing to hear. Considering how much we all had to go back and forth last year to troubleshoot."
"... If you want, I can find something for you to change so we can have a little back and forth?"
"No, I think I can learn to adjust."

No doubt about it now. Looks like the actionscript class was a wonderful investment after all!

In fact, I think I'll celebrate this accomplishment with a day at the State Fair of Texas. (Yes, that makes it sound spontaneous, doesn't it...)

Current Lips: black and white stripes

8:54am: abort, retry, program remote
Wow.

DirecTV updates their software at random times in the wee hours of the morning once every couple of months or so, and if you happen to be unlucky enough to be awake during that time, watching TV, and then decide to do something on the remote that might interfere with that software update (like turn it off, for example), you have to call DirecTV to manually send the re-authorization code for your satellite receiver.

Guess that means I know how late Mom was up last night...

Current Lips:black and white stripes

8:30pm: Our state fair is a great state fair
Howdy folks. I took a much-needed vacation day to go enjoy the biggest state fair in the country. And what a fun day it was. There was just so much to do! (And I would have stayed later and done even more, except 1) I have to go to work tomorrow. and 2) If I waited until that soccer game let out, it would probably be tomorrow by the time I got out of the parking lot. At which point, I might as well just drive to work.)

But here are the highlights of what I did do:

Let's have a looksee. A little look. And a little see.

I took in a lovely IMAX feature called Dinosaurs of Patagonia. It was a riveting documentary about the discovery of some of the world's largest dinosaurs in Argentina. And I toured the science museum afterward. It's probably the best IMAX feature I've seen at the fair in the past few years. It even featured a comic relief raptor. Yes... I swear, that dinosaur just seemed to be funny wherever it went.

There was the Pirates of the Caribbean Dive Show, which featured Olympic style dives from as high as eighty feet in the air. That was pretty neat.

I got a chance to see an exhibit on rock n' roll photojournalists. There were so many awesome pictures of rock stars, both on stage and candid shots. It was totally awesome.

The Birds of the World show was amazing as always. And this year, they had a bald eagle on display, in addition to Groucho, the singing parrot.

And of course, at the end of the day, we all gathered to watch the Starlight Parade.

No, I didn't try the fried butter.
Hell, you couldn't pay me to try the fried butter.

Most of what I ate was Greek food. I had a gyro for lunch, with a side of Jack's famous french fries. And I had spanikopita (spinach puff) for dinner. And even though, just like last year, I swore I was going to try alligator on a stick... I ended up not getting it. But I did get a funnel cake, complete with delicious baked apple topping... so I suppose that makes up for it.

I think the coolest thing I did get to try was Texas wine. I went to the wine tasting event, and sampled a wonderful cup of a blush wine from the Llano Winery. I asked for the sweetest thing they had, and they gave it to me. It was actually really good! And I'm not just saying that because they gave me enough to make me a little tipsy...

I won a turtle. His name is Karma.

The only ride I went on this year was the Tilt-a-whirl.
Well, unless you count the massage chair as a ride. Maybe I should. It lasted longer than most of the rides, and cost about the same amount as a ride...

Instead, I bought a game card for the midway, and played about $10 worth of games.

The first thing I did was a 'Guess your Age' booth. And I almost lost. Granted, I don't look my age. But there were several things I was doing/wearing that made it seem like I was older than I look. First, I decided to wear one of my old Trinity University t-shirts today. That dates me. Second, I had my own wallet and my own cell phone. Third, I was at the fair, by myself, on a week day, when, if I were a student, I should have been in class. At the same time, though, I wasn't at work either, which probably led him to think I had just graduated... Analysis aside, he said I was 23. He wasn't off by too much, but he was off by enough for me to win a prize! And I picked a cute stuffed tiger!

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the guy at the 'Guess your Age' booth charged me for two guesses instead of one, so I only had enough credits on my card for one more game (which I found out... at the next game...) And I chose a game of skill - darts.

Karma, though, was working on my side. Because I paid for three darts, but I ended up getting four. And you had to pop four balloons to win a large prize. I didn't get the fourth dart because of my sad story of getting ovvercharged at the 'Guess your Age' booth. I got it because I threw the dart, it hit the balloon, and then it bounced back. And it didn't just bounce off the balloon, either. It actually deflated it! The person running the game said he's NEVER seen THAT happen before. So I walked away with a stuffed turtle!!

I think that was the best part of the entire day.

Current Lips: black and white stripes