Well, sort of. Tonight, regaled us with tales of his college-esque cuisine (if one can call it that). I too embarked upon a return to my roots tonight and retrieved a fossilized package of Flavorite Noodles & Sauce from the back of my cupboard. This stuff is dehydrated beef and noodles, and it is FANTASTIC. There was a stretch of time in college when I ate it for two out of three meals, and only one store around here had it.

My mom used to buy them in bulk and send them along in care packages, however the supply started to run dry as time went on. I have no idea whether or not any stores around here still carry the stuff, but MAN was it great. I think I may have 4-5 more packages in the cupboard, I will have to resist the primal urge to eat them nonstop until they are gone. At least until I can verify that they can be re-supplied.

Here’s to eating like you’ve got $4.39 in the savings account!

Saturday was mini-gasshuku number two! It was a scorcher outside, and because of this I was not necessarily looking forward to being out there. I was really feeling ‘s warmup, the air seemed thick and impossible to breathe properly. We had a break and did some more combinations on the hillside which was very difficult.

After this, and I knocked out twenty Sochin on top of the hill. I counted two Sochin that I did in my basement last night at the prodding of . Its good to know that I have enough room in my basement to do Sochin, but I have to do a little “closet kata” along the back of the kata to make it fit. One of those kata was a mirror image kata, which I had to restart three times in order to get it done.

I really enjoy the trend of training outside more, but the heat sure does take it out of you! I’ve got to hand it to my brethren that were able to stick it out through this workout, it sure wasn’t easy.

Bachelor Party
Originally uploaded by dalcher.

This weekend I helped put on a bachelor party for my college buddy (fiance of ). It was pretty low-key for most of the proceedings. We had a cookout, this is part of the damage done: five of us put away 93 beers. Much fun was had by all!!

Next weekend’s the wedding! 🙂

I just got off the phone with Peoria Camera, the guy on the phone is willing to give me a written statement! I’ll go up there early next week and get a fax out to PayPal and hopefully be in business! w00t!

In my childlike glee, I installed Eclipse onto my laptop the first day that I got it. I haven’t really done much with it since then, until tonight. I am on a project at work exploring the different areas of AJAX and I need to get some demos together, and the Powers That Be will not afford me enough time during business hours to adequately explore these technologies.

Tonight, Eclipse, Tomcat 5.5, and the DWR toolkit collide! I’ve got Tomcat installed and running, and I’m dragging down the beast of a zip file that is the new version of Eclipse’s Web Tools. I have the required DWR jar file and soon it will be chop socky time!

Aside from this, I’ve been doing A LOT of coding around the office lately. I both love it and hate it at the same time, as my team lead seems to enjoy to pop in and interrupt me *just enough* to disrupt my thought processes but not enough to dissuade me from trying. That leads to some pretty interesting code. It’s not his fault… there’s been a lot going on lately but I wish I could just put up the PLEASE BOTHER ANOTHER COWORKER shield that would make people not call/email/drop by when I’m trying to code. I just need a Viking helmet to wear when I’m developing. That way nobody will mess with me.

I got some email from PayPal today:

In order to continue with the investigation of your complaint, we must
request documentation to support your claim that the item is damaged or
significantly not as described. Please obtain a document (such as an
estimate or invoice) from an unbiased third-party, such as a dealer, repair
shop, appraiser, or another individual or organization that is qualified in
the area of the item in question (other than yourself). This document
should detail the extent of the damage or clearly explain how the item
received significantly differs from the item advertised. Please do not
proceed with any repairs or alterations to the item, as doing so will limit
PayPal’s ability to successfully resolve your claim, and may result in the
cancellation of your dispute. If possible, the document should include a
serial number and description of the item, and the dollar amount required
to complete the repairs necessary to correct the damage. This document must
be on letterhead that includes the name, address, and phone number of the
individual, business, or organization so that PayPal may contact them if
necessary.

The documents should be faxed to PayPal at (402) 537-5760 (please note this
is a United States phone number, if you are faxing from outside the United
States, you will generally need to dial 00 1 before the number). Please
include a cover sheet with your fax that includes the email address
registered on your PayPal account and the ID number of your claim
(PP-180-599-802) so we may attach the document to your claim as quickly as
possible.

We must receive your fax within 10 days from the date of this message in
order to proceed with the investigation of your claim. If we do not receive
your fax within 10 days, your claim will be cancelled. We are unable to
grant extensions to this time period. PayPal is unable to reimburse you for
any costs or fees that may be incurred in obtaining the requested
documents. Any documents you provide may also be supplied to the seller in
your dispute.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience. We regret any inconvenience
this request may cause.

Sincerely,
Bill
Protection Services Department
PayPal, an eBay Company

I’m going to visit a few camera shops early next week to see what I can come up with, however what kind of quote do I ask for? The auction was for a camera with no signs of exterior damage. Do I get a parts quote for just the exterior pieces? Do I get someone from a camera shop to write a note saying that the thing is completely totaled? I plan on explaining myself to the repair department of Peoria Camera and see if they can write something up for me. Hopefully this won’t be a huge deal to get…

Mystery Pants
Originally uploaded by dalcher.

For mystical reasons unknown, the previously posted shoes have been replaced by this elegant pair of pants. Some mystery hobo is either very slowly undressing outside Swinger’s World in Peoria, or they thought it was in their best karmic interest to leave something behind for the shoes they took. Either way, this is highly entertaining.