mind.probe

Blogger is teh suck

2006-06-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Blogger has been down forever and I'm not very happy with that. I've been looking at wordpress and have decided that I like it better. Move all them bookmarks on over to my new site with more goodness at http://bradytopia.wordpress.com

I'm a ...... daddy

2006-06-07T18:42:00.000-05:00

Didn't I just post a few weeks ago that we just found out that we were expecting? Now I'm already a daddy. That's just....wow.......that's freaky. As one gets older, each day and each month is proportionally shorter with respect to the rest of your life. It just creeps me out to think about all that has happened lately but seems like it's gone by in a flash.

But anyway...on with the good news. Noah was born June 2 so that makes me a dad now. It's entirely different that I ever imagined. I'll have to say that over the past few days, I have developed a new respect for single moms. It amazes me that there are people that do this by themselves. It takes a lot of adjusting to having to wake up periodically during the night rather than being able to sleep through the entire night. It's a lot of responsibility. Come by to visit and see the little guy for yourselves. Here are some pictures:

On the day of his birth

Yesterday

family website

2006-05-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

I've got a website going now you can check out that has a blog on it that I occasionally update. It's at http://webpages.charter.net/sbrady3090/bradytopia

Audio Test

2006-03-26T16:15:00.000-05:00

Audio File

I'm playing with podcasting on blogger a little so I just threw this audio file up. If you have iTunes and want to subscribe to my podcast which currently has only this one file, the feed is:

feed://feeds.feedburner.com/Mindprobe

Thursday Night Wonderings...

2006-03-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

If identical twin brothers married identical twin sisters and each couple had a child, would the children look the same?

Happy Fat Tuesday!

2006-02-28T19:21:00.000-05:00

This year for lent, I'm giving up ...... eh I dunno. I never really got into that whole lent thing. Happy Obese Tuesday though.

The List

2006-02-24T22:42:00.000-05:00

My friend Dusty has this list of 100 things he wants to do/accomplish before he dies. The more I think about it, the more it becomes a great idea to do that myself which is why I mention him: to give credit where it is due. I have a few things on my list and it is slow going so far. It is a much more duanting task than I had first imagined. Once I get about 20 or so, I will start posting some of them. As of now, I am up to 9.

My break this week from school has been a great opportunity for us to work on our house some. We were able to do some painting, and I have done some minor repairs around the place. It is starting to come together quite nicely. There are an endless list of things that I would like to do to the house. When I am working on things in the house, I really enjoy that tool manly power feeling I get. I think I could actually do construction work for a living. Maybe it's just how I was brought up and my work ethic, but I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I do something with my hands that has a visible result. Often in my current profession, the result isn't easily observable. I can teach for days and days and sometimes not see a result which makes it frustrating at times. In home improvement however, you can see results happening before your very eyes. Quite rewarding.

Will work for food........or will you?

2006-02-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

I had this epiphany the other day... For some reason I was thinking about government and social programs and just had this thought that seems almost stupidly logical and I'm not quite sure why this isn't in place. I was thinking about welfare and how it could be improved and I simply thought why not have these people collecting federal and state money actually WORK for the feds or the state? There are thousands upon thousands of state and federal jobs that welfare recipients could be doing! Need some money from the government? Well get out there and pave a road! This seems almost too perfect of a solution though. Why has this not been implemented? Why can't these people do this kind of work to receive money? Government/State jobs span a huge range from cleaning up roadkill or litter to working at the DMV issuing licenses to working in a local school cafeteria! All of these jobs (although some may not be directly) are services that are provided by government and paid for with tax money. I'm really and genuinely curious as to why this isn't currently in place? Anyone have some insight on that?

Home Improvement: Brady Edition

2006-02-13T18:56:00.000-05:00

Well I suppose it's about time for my monthly post. I really need to start posting more often, but it seems like I always have something else to do or want to do instead of get on here and post. Things are coming along pretty well here in northern Georgia. We finally got moved into our house, and I actually did my first bit of home improvement the other night. There was this pretty gross ceiling fan in our bedroom that had dust all over it and looked like it was from the mid-70's. Ashley and I were at Home Depot (quickly becoming my favorite place to shop alongside Lowe's) and spotted a 2 pack of light fixtures for just $18. The were brushed metal along the top rim with a fogged glass dome to attach below. Long story short, I trashed the fan and installed the light and it worked! No fires or anything! I really like the home improvement stuff. While I was growing up on the farm, I would have something everyday to work on and fix and all that, but now that I'm a big boy with a salary job, I rarely get to fix things which I have always loved to do. Home improvement gives me that opportunity to use my hands and build and fix things. I think it has something to do with that deep down caveman drive to build and dominate. This is my home...my lair...I will build and dominate! Fear the lair!!

Enough of that...

For those of you with $1600 laying around and need something to spend it on, I currently have my computer up for auction on ebay. I love it dearly but since moving to our new place, space is kind of tight, so I thought a new iMac would be more efficient.

Maybe you guys would like to see a picture of the new place eh? Well as soon as I take some, I'll post them. Until next time.....

I'm going to be a daddy!

2006-01-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Today Ashley and I went to the baby doctor and they did an ultrasound and found out that I'll be having a boy. I really haven't had a preference of boy or girl the whole time that we've know we were expecting. I knew I'd be happy with either one since it is my first and all. A boy is good to have though. There is of course having that benefit of knowing that we've got the boy on the way now and the family name can be carried on. If we had a girl we'd have to keep trying for boys and may end up with 12 girls before we ever had a boy so that worked out good. It will also be nice to have a scapegoat for the boyish things I still want to do but am too old to be doing without being weird like when my boy would want to play in the dirt with Tonka trucks and I'll be there playing along with him and I'll just be able to say hey I'm just playing with my son here getting some of that quality time in. Oh and I guess I should let you know about the name we've decided on. Noah Steven. We liked the name Noah but had some trouble coming up with a middle name so I thought hey why not be conceited and name him after myself? Is that conceited to do that?? I kind of feel guilty about doing that but it's kind of cool I guess. If you want to see the ultrasound pictures and try to make out what body parts you are viewing, you can go here:

http://webpages.charter.net/mrbrady/ultrasound/

Deep Thoughs with Steven

2005-12-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

Wow it's been way too long since I've updated. Today has been the first day it seems like since my Christmas break started that I've just been able to lay around and do absolutely nothing. It's been pretty good. Ashley and her best friend Julia have been downstairs watching girly movies all day and I've been up here catching up on my dork stuff online and watching some tv shows that I have downloaded. For those of you keeping up, Christmas was good and the baby is doing well. We will be finding out in about 3 weeks if it is a boy or a girl. Any ideas for names?

Lots of stuff been going on lately. Some good.......some not good. Some not even in my own life but in the lives of those that are close to me. While I was enjoying my day of vacation today, I began to watch some Joan of Arcadia (now off the air) episodes that I had never gotten to watch before. As I was watching this particular episode, I began to think about how God works in our lives and we often forget about all that He does in the background. One of my favorite scenes in the series is when Joan first meets God. To give you a little background of the show, God reveals Himself to Joan in the form of other people so she can physically see and talk to Him. In this part, Joan still isn't convinced that this person who claims to be God is really the Most High. Joan says "alright if you're God then prove it". Joan and God walk up to a tree and stand there. Joan looks around and says "This is it? It's just a tree!" God simply replies, "Let's see you make one." While I was thinking about that I began to think how often I take so much stuff for granted that I think I take care of and can control, but I often forget that all along, God is working in the background taking care of everything in my life. Sometimes things are smooth sailing, and sometimes the ride is pretty rocky. All along though, I know who takes care of it all and that gives me a sense of peace and comfort in knowing that all is taken care of.

Well anyway, I'll try to do better about posting more often, but for now.....more Joan!

Steven......out. (American Idol starts back soon eh?)

Grand Opening

2005-11-29T22:02:00.000-05:00

Wanna see my spiffy flash thingy I made? I don't even know how to use flash, and after playing in there a little, I hate it. So I created this in something else, imported it into flash and endured the app long enough to export it from there as a swf. ANYWAY...so here's it be.

Right here:
Brady Photo Logo

The Pope is Catholic? Craps in the woods? Wha??

2005-11-23T13:27:00.000-05:00

Ok real quick post. I ran across this joke and it made me chuckle. Thought I would share...

Catholic: Who do you confess your sins to?
Baptist: God. So, who do you confess your sins to?
Catholic: A priest.
Baptist: I heard about that, who does the priest confess his sins to?
Catholic: A bishop.
Baptist: Who does the bishop confess his sins to?
Catholic: A cardinal.
Baptist: Who does the cardinal confess his sins to?
Catholic: The Pope.
Baptist: Okay, who does the Pope confess his sins to?
Catholic: God.
Baptist: Oh, so the Pope is a Baptist!

Titlezilla

2005-11-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

Ever watch those movies where the guy goes into the diner, sits down at the bar, the night shift waitress comes up and asks what he'll have tonight, and without even looking up he says "I'll have the usual"? I am proud to say that last night, that man was I. Ashley and I frequent a chinese restaurant in Cleveland almost every time we are in town and order the same thing. Lately we've had the same waiter to take our order. You're going to think I'm full of it, but I have this....gift. A gift of being able to judge a person's character at near full accuracy. I could tell this waiter would be up to the challenge and play along, so last night when we stopped in to eat, he came up to the table and asked what we would be having tonight, I said the usual, and he knew exactly what we wanted. Somewhere in my mind, being able to say "the usual" is on a list and I've just successfully marked it as completed.

Meanwhile back on the ranch, we are currently in the market for a house. It's going to be too crowded after adding a baby to the family in the apartment we are in now, so we're looking. We of course won't be able to afford much, but anything decent will do for now. We've always got the rest of our lives to move up to a mansion once I make my millions in education. I'm not sure where we are going to end up living yet. We are going to be looking in a pretty large area for houses in our price range. Chatsworth, Dalton, Chattanooga, and Southern Bradley County are all possibilities. I'd like to find a place with a tree and a sizeable yard for me to play in.

You're looking mighty fine this year Mrs. Clause...

2005-11-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but that time of year is here once again. The time where the weather begins to turn a little cold and everyone starts asking what you want for Christmas. Well, I have gone to great lengths to compile this year's ultimate Christmas wish list. Let me preface this list with the understood thought..nay....FACT that Christmas to me is less about what I get and more about the people I get to spend it with. I love spending time with my wife and family and eating and cousins and eating and it's just a great time of year. Mmm.....pie, but I digress. Superfluous thought it may be, it's always fun to make lists and wish that if perhaps some millionaire happened upon this humble sight and stumbled across this list and wanted to shower me with the fulfillment of my every wish....that would be cool with me. But then if I did in fact have everything on the list then wherein would my happiness lie and what would there be to look forward to? Ack...that's another discussion all together. On with the list! (in no particular order)

The all new Infiniti M

Any flavor of Apple's iPod. (full sized or the nano)

A Mac Mini or iMac or Powerbook. Mainly just having a second computer.

DVD: Office Space

DVD: Seinfeld Set

DVD: The StarWars Set of 6

DVD: Family Guy Presents Stewie The Untold Story

DVD: The collection of Pixar movies (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, etc)

Bose Lifestyle 48 Sound System

SAMSUNG LT-P468W 46" Widescreen LCD HDTV

New Canon, high resolution digital camera (Canon Digital Rebel XT maybe?)

Paper shredder

Old Fashioned Style Coat Hanger

Leather Sofa and Loveseat Set

One of those cool corner computer desks with the wing out (sort of like this)

Motorola ROKR cell phone

Fake Decorative Tree

A House with stainless steel appliances,dark granite counters, a foyer, and professional design

iTunes gift card with unlimitedness

My own personal donut shop to go to where everybody knows my name

Last but not least, I would like some red socks like the guy on the Diet Coke commercial wears

There are of course other things, but that's about all I can rattle off the top of my head at the moment.

Baby's First Picture

2005-11-01T21:29:00.000-05:00

We finally have the first picture and hard evidence that there is in fact a tiny person growing inside my wife's tummy. That big black hole is called the "baby hole". Inside the "baby hole" is where the baby grows. The small bean looking dot is called the baby (known currently as Steven 2.0). Yes, those sexy legs are from me.

Jack-O-Lantern Extravaganza!

2005-10-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. The time when we bring out our knives and carve faces into pumpkins. Where did that tradition come from anyway? This is of course our first year together as hubby and wifey carving pumpkins so we got online and found some stencils and carved away. The result....well, we'll let you decide. Envy and enjoy.

Chicken Pike!!

2005-10-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

I remember one day when Eric, Leslie, and I were looking for an apartment in the Smyrna/Lavergne area and we passed a peculiar sign for a road named "Chicken Pike". That alone is strange enough, but to add to the peculiarity, as soon as we saw the sign, we all in unison screamed "Chicken Pike!" in the same way. Why do I tell you that story? I tell you that story, my friend, because in the latest major upgrade to Apple's OS X, there is a new feature called widgets. These are mini-apps that can be called at any time on top of whatever you are working on. I find myself often pulling them up to check weather, to make a quick note, to look at a wikipedia entry, but when I pull them up I almost feel like I am summoning them. So when I push the f12 button that I have assigned for widgets, I audibly (or sometimes just in my head if Ashley is around) yell out "Widets!" in much the same way as I remember us all saying "Chicken Pike" that day.

Bad story. Ok here goes another one....

Last night we had our family fun night at school which I had to stay after and help with. It was going to end up being like 7:00 before I would get home that night so I went home and got Ashley and brought her along for the fun-tivities. I really don't know why or what it is about last night, but I just felt really proud of her and proud to have her as my wife. She came in with me and just jumped in and started helping out and was talking to some of the other teachers there and was a big hit. So here's to you sweetie for being awesome like you are.

Yay for blogger

2005-10-16T20:14:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to agree with Eric's move to blogger. As much as I like mobdlog, they have been down forever now and still haven't gotten everything completely back up! Argh!