Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Probable Cause

First off, I would like to know what probable cause the Harris County Sheriff deputy pulled me over.  The "reason" he gave was complete BS.  He said that while I was turning right (in a turn only lane, by the way), I did not use my turn signal.


Let's start off by saying that I, in 99.9% of cases, use my turn signal and I am positive that I did this time as well.  Next let's talk about the fact that I saw him as I made the turn, and he was on my left, on the road I was turning on to.  There is NO way he could see whether or not I had actually used my signal.


Now then, I understand that what he was PROBABLY doing was pulling me over to make sure that there wasn't anything shady going on.  But, really?  What could I possibly be doing at 5:15 AM EXCEPT going to work?  If I was out at 2 or 3 AM, and not driving a brand new TOYOTA station wagon, then MAYBE I would understand.


To top it all off, he didn't even give me a ticket, OR a written, or even a verbal warning (not that I am complaining about that really).  He handed my license and insurance back to me and told me to have a nice day.  The only thing that he REALLY accomplished was pissing me off and making me late for work.  Thanks HCSO, for protecting the medical center from a new-Toyota-driving-web-developer-heading-to-work-at-5:15-in-the-morning.  


Carry on.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

This is why I am a web developer

So I am a part of the IT department here at UTSPH, as opposed to a public-relations-type department like most other places do it.  It works for us, but it also affords me some mildly funny conversations:

I just saw my boss in the hallway and he mentioned that they (the rest of the IT folks) are going to be very busy today and tomorrow.  When I asked "how so" he said "they have over 40 desktop moves to make this week."  My response: "This is why I am a web developer"

Ok, I said "mildly funny"...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I'm Drowning

Funny conversation with my pal Greg:

(1:37:41 PM) Aaron Wagner: has the background on apple.com always been textured?
(2:12:37 PM) Greg Laurent: NO
(2:12:49 PM) Greg Laurent: wtf
(2:13:15 PM) Aaron Wagner: i thought it was my monitor, but I looked at it on my macbook and it was the same way

Monday, November 8, 2010

Back to NH

So I am officially booked on a plane to New Hampshire for another round of training. I have come to really enjoy the North East, but something tells me that this time it's going to be very different.  This is due to the fact that I will be flying out on December 13th.  That's right; heading up to New England in the dead of winter.  Luckily, here is the rental car that I have booked:
Aside from staying warm and not trashing the rental, anyone got any ideas on what I should do while in the Nashua/Boston area?  Don't say Cheers, because I did that already.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Get off your can and vote

This will be a short post.  I just want everyone that sees this to know that you NEED to go vote. It is your responsibility as a citizen of this country. If you do not vote then you deserve the tyranny heaped upon you.

It is no secret what my political views are, but I am not going to talk about those here (we'll save that for later).  I won't tell you WHO to vote for, only that you MUST vote.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Weekly posts coming your way!

So, with my transition into a full time position, it's leaving me with some more free time to blog and otherwise be awesome.  To that end, I am going to start writing regular posts.  Now, I can't get away from what I do for a living, so perhaps some of them will be related to web/technology, an others will be related to everyday life (like this), and still more will be related to my wife and daughter.

So get ready for the awesomeness, cause here it comes!

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Squirrel Saga

The common squirrel... Nature's little saver, or beast of the devil? I contend that it is the later, and here is why.

First, I need to say that this is coming from my (Aaron's) perspective.  The opinions in this post, while widely accepted and known to be fact, may not represent the opinions of my wife, dear, sweet, Melissa.

Now that that's out of the way, on to the saga.

For those of you who don't know already, Melissa and I purchased our first home back in November of last year.  It was an exciting time in our lives, one we looked forward to with great anticipation.  We got all moved in and settled and life began to take on an air of normalcy. That is until the day we heard a noise.

The noise we heard was coming from several locations, above the bed in our room, in the living room above the recliner, behind the fireplace, and in one of the exterior walls in the living room.  My initial investigation revealed mouse-like droppings in the attic, so I began a multi-month campaign of mouse hunting with both snap and glue trap.  This campaign was fruit-less however, and I began to get frustrated.

As a last-ditch effort to both preserve my sanity, and rid my abode of the vermin, I took one of the glue traps and placed it gingerly in a soffit vent that is on our patio, which was very near where we had heard one of the vile creatures happily chewing away at my investment.  I left the vent open for easy access since it was in my screened in patio.  This proved to be both a blessing and a horror.

The next day I take a phone call from my bride while at work.  She proceeds to inform me that something had gotten into that glue trap and had fallen through the vent, and landed on the porch.  She also informed me that the rodent that had fallen into my trap was not a mouse, but in fact was a tiny squirrel.

So I left work to go home and deal with the squirrel problem.  Upon my arrival, I snap this picture.  Yes, it's a tiny squirrel, sitting on my patio, looking adequately freaked out.

Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I set about the task of sealing up the possible entry points.  While working my way around the house, I notice that there is yet another squirrel traipsing about in my attic.  I left, what I felt to be the main entry point partially sealed off, so that the trespasser may leave, but not return.  As a safety precaution, I put another glue trap in the same spot and hope that the eviction would soon be complete.  Squirrels: 0, Aaron: 1

Fast forward to the next day, and while at work, I take another call from my baby-momma, informing me that there was now, not 1, but 2 squirrels on the patio.  Apparently the small one had fallen through again, and, what we presume to be the parent of the small squirrel had jumped down to its aid, and they were both trapped on the patio.

This time it was not as pleasant; the vermin were climbing on the screens, the walls, and our patio furniture in hopes of finding a way out of the patio.  By the time I arrived home, the bigger of the two had made a break for it, leaving the smaller to fend for himself.  I set about sealing up a hole under the patio where I suspected they might be hiding, sealing up the other hole where I knew they were getting into the attic.  I turned the small one loose, and called it a night.  Squirrels: 1, Aaron: 1

Now, if you think this story is over, it is not.  The patio, which had been the scene where so much squirrel-related drama had played out, had been reclaimed.  I could now enjoy my evenings on the patio, with my now 9-month pregnant wife.  We were doing this exact activity last night, enjoying dinner and the mild weather, when my nose caught an aroma, as did my wife.  We looked at each other, exchanging knowing glances.  We talked about it, dancing around what I knew I was going to have to do.  I tried to talk her into letting me just let it rot and turn into dust.  Oddly enough, she did not seem to keen on that idea, so I gather my tools and proceed to pull up the boards on the patio floor.  Well, I found what you think I found; the momma squirrel, and the source of the smell.  Squirrels: 2, Aaron: 1

Well the battle is lost, the squirrels win, right?  No!  I am on top of the food chain here, so I automatically win...   Squirrels: 2, Aaron: 1,000,000.  It's been happily quite in our walls/attic as of late. So yes, I win.