sjamesho.v3

this is what my car looked like at one point today. i had purchased a fog light kit a while back and finally had some time to install it with my dad. at first i was surprised at how my car looked after removing the front bumper but a quick comment from my dad helped me realize real quick that this is what is to be expected. i guess my initial reaction stemmed from always seeing my cars and other cars with their front bumpers attached. its kind of crazy that for the most part, the bumper is mostly cosmetic since the real “bumper” that keeps you safe is the structure behind the pretty bumper. because there were many steps in the installation and the fact that my dad takes off in the mid-afternoon back to Springville, i figured we would just install the fog lights today and then deal with the electrical portion next week. we still have a step to go before reattaching the bumper but our socket wrench extension wasn’t long enough to get to a bolt that we needed to loosen. so we were forced to reattach it until next week when my dad brings back the longer extension from Springville. this is what it looks like now.

there’s nothing like something small that grows into massive, pulsating monstrosity that demonically cackles at you slamming insanity from your forehead to the back of your skull. you want it to stop but until you deconstruct what the small thing is to begin with, this incessant mockery of your deciphering skills will continue to plague your every thought and after-thoughts. of what vulgarities do i speak of? it is code. stylesheets to be exact.

i found this small “glitch” by accident. in fact i was assisting my cousin Shelley via IM to adjust her monitor to at least 1024×768 whereby she can view the larger layout i had recently implemented on this site. as i was doing so, i happened to be using a computer with that resolution setting and Internet Explorer since my favorite browser Firefox wasn’t installed. then i saw the dreaded flaw. apparently Internet Explorer processes stylesheets differently than Firefox or Safari for that matter. and its poo. yes, its poo. i’m not going to tell you what or where it is. but i can tell you is that the discrepancy is three measely pixels. THREE FREAKIN’ PIXELS! i will be the first to admit that i’m not web developer in the true sense of the title. i’m more of a web “manipulator” because i visually design the interface first and then massage the code to make it do just that.

for the past four hours in troubleshooting this absurdity, i’ve assessed what the problem is and have found some clean code as basis to refresh my existing stylesheet so that Internet Explorer can get a clue. you know if i wasn’t so particular about how my website is presented, i wouldn’t give two poos as to how IE renders stylesheets… because IE sucks and IE is lame and IE is all snooty because it thinks it doesn’t have to comply with W3C standards. what a punk!

i’ve been back from NY for six days now and my entries has significantly become less frequent and less robust. the obvious reason being that my week, like most people in the workforce, doesn’t always consist of an ever-changing routine… unless of course your profession allows for an ever-changing routine. for the most part though, its pretty much the same day-in and day-out. with this in mind, this makes for a rather uninteresting read or storytelling. sometimes i find it difficult to catch up with friends, even on a weekly basis, because unless they find that a schedule of “wake up, commute to work, work, commute home, sleep, repeat” is exciting there really isn’t that much to catch up on. it might appear that this schedule of mine is mundane. it can be, but i never see it that way. because without a workforce schedule and the seemingly boring routine, vacations may not be as sweet… and i do like my vacations! so please be patient with me if i don’t seem that revealing if you ask me “how was your week?” for the most part it was like every other week. but don’t let that stop you from asking. every now and then something will be different and i’ll probably can’t wait to tell someone and i hope you’re able catch me that week!

i’m sure there are other “costs” of living in the U.S. that do not fall under the category of money, but i’m guessing that’s not what people are thinking right about now. did we overpay the “man” and hopefully get a refund this year? or would we have to shell out more of our hard-earned money to the system? i think as long as we vote or pay our taxes we have the right to complain to our government. if our attitude then becomes one of continual governmental complaints then perhaps the U.S. isn’t the right country to live in. for each seemingly idyllic attribute of one country, there is bound to be an attribute that is sorely lacking. yes our U.S. government has its shortcomings. but have you taken a look at other governments and compared them? for the most part i think i’d still want to live here. so i’ll go ahead and pay my taxes and try to live each day gratefully. and if complaints are warranted i’ll do it but not ad nauseam because to have a complaining attitude would make living in the U.S. cost too much let alone anywhere else.

at the Port Washington Diner i had the number 14 breakfast special recommended by aunty Mag which consisted of an omlette (with lox and onions), hash browns, and bagel. uncle James dropped me off at Islip where i caught my flight back to Milpitas. this time there were no disruptive babies on either connecting flights so i was able to sleep all the way to San Jose.

my mom picked me up and we went to The Chessecake Factory for dinner. it was a fun trip but it is also very good to be home.