"Sandwich in a box" written by Paul on estrip.org

12/11/08 09:35 - ID#47033

Sandwich in a box

We had our union holiday party today. This year the food sucked. It
was subway sandwiches in a box. Every person got their own
environmentally disastrous, personal box. It was like one quarter
full. I am not even sure what they were for because my coworkers
sandwich was smooshed paper flat, although the box was unharmed.

Then after it all I am having a horrible crohns flareup crampimg
sypmach paims drama, which I attribute to the lunch and the ice tea -
the first caffeine I had in over a year.

Permalink: Sandwich_in_a_box.html
Words: 96
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: work

12/09/08 11:13 - 47ºF - ID#47011

Work Exam

I had to take this ridiculous exam at work about corporate compliance, safety, etc. i understand the purpose, but the questions are so dumb. If you get less than 70% you can take it over till you get it right. I am going to be honest and say I didn't watch all the popwerpoints that com with it, because the questions were so easy.

Here is one of the more serious questions as an example:

Which of the following is statements is true?
a. Compliance with HIPAA is optional
b. Noncompliance with HIPAA is a federal offense.

Without knowing much about it, it seems obvious that choice b. is right. You never would phase anything with compliance as optional.

But then I got this crazy one.

Dirty Bombs, although dangerous, are more of a scare tactic rather than a health hazard.
a. true
b. false

I picked false, and ... I was wrong!

It seems pretty crazy to bother with that question. What is it teaching the workers? If someone calls for radioactive materials and says its only for a dirty bomb, then its not a big deal. it just seems like such a stupid question to ask on this type of exam. The exam took about an hour and I was paid to take it. GLad they carefully thought about the important questions like:

It is acceptable for employees to wrestle with their friends on Roswell property, so long as it is break time?
a. true
b. false

fing writes at 02:52:23 12/11/08 - Comment #43170: What they mean is the wrestling is frowned upon however boxing or mixed martial arts is fine.

tinypliny writes at 07:56:34 12/10/08 - Comment #43154: Hah! (e:james), nice try! I have sticks for forearms. Seriously, my wrists measure 5.25 inches in circumference.

tinypliny writes at 07:52:53 12/10/08 - Comment #43153: Hahaha... I took this test on Monday and I couldn't help laughing all the way through. I don't understand the dirty bomb question though. Since when is being mentally and psychologically harmed NOT a health hazard??!!

metalpeter writes at 05:43:39 12/10/08 - Comment #43143: First of all Wrestling is all ways OK, and should be encouraged more I think, HA. The thing I find odd about that question is it says friends like it implies they visit you, then you go out to lunch and they same something to you and you put them in a headlock, it doesn't say employees so........

lilho writes at 11:12:22 12/10/08 - Comment #43136: it's def always ok to wrestle during break time, in fact i think that's what roswell prefers.

zobar writes at 12:32:20 12/10/08 - Comment #43130: You know somebody totally got reprimanded for that, and he was all: 'What? It was break time!'

- Z

james writes at 12:30:36 12/10/08 - Comment #43129: damn it. I was hoping to someday get a job at Roswell and wrestle (e:tinypliny). Arm-wrestle, of course. I am a gentleman and she is a lady after all.

mike writes at 11:53:13 12/09/08 - Comment #43127: we have to do stupid quizzes like that all the time, and you can retake them as much as you need to pass too. For example,

What happens if you sell alcohol to someone underage?
A. Immediate termination
B. You win a prize
C. Nothing as long as you only sell it to your friends

This is actually one of the harder questions .

libertad writes at 11:43:34 12/09/08 - Comment #43126: Those were really easy. When I first started it I did the power point things first but then I realized I could answer the questions without having read anything about corporate compliance. My favorite question was something like:

It is OK to have a beer on your lunch break so long as you only have one.

Permalink: Work_Exam.html
Words: 249
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: friends

12/07/08 08:56 - 11ºF - ID#46992

Hanging out with dave

It was awesome hanging out with our friend dave today. It's the first time we had him at our house since his accident. He can go up steps now which is kind of a pre-requsite for visiting us since we removed the downstairs bathroom. (e:terry) made turkey enchiladas. I have now eaten Turkey for like 10 meals in a row. I still haven't tried a turkey milkshake and all the jars of broth I made have to be frozen because I only have a water bath canner and not a pressure canner.

If anyone has a pressure can they don't want or I can borrow - that would be awesome.

We watched Wall-e and man did I think it was stupid. Cute but stupid. Was there a message? Yesterday, we worked on the downstairs appartment at the rental prop some more. It's just about totally ready now. We also spent the evening hanging out with James and Robert from work. I drank quite a lot of wine that they brought from a wine tour they were on. On top of that I got a bunch of programming done.

Permalink: Hanging_out_with_dave.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: nfta

12/06/08 12:15 - 25ºF - ID#46984

NFTA schedule made easy - Paul Visco

I noticed this morning that my NFTA schedules made easy

was broken and fixed it. I hope it wasn't down very long. I don't think it was as I used it one day last week.

While I was in there I fixed a bug that caused route 20 jpg based schedule to show up with route 20 and route 200 schedule data. I think people find it useful because they keep visiting. It is always up to date because it is reading the data directly from the nfta site.

Oops, I accidentally deleted my visitor log, but it get like 200 uses a day.

Permalink: NFTA_schedule_made_easy_Paul_Visco.html
Words: 108
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: buffalo

12/05/08 08:02 - 25ºF - ID#46979

Frozen Street Crazies

I feel bad admitting it but one of my favorite parts of winter is that the street crazies go away. I am not sure where they go but wherever it is, it makes walking around Allentown a lot more pleasant.

I was walking home from the gym the other night and I didn't have to cross the street to avoid people begging for (insert wish here) even once. I think it might be the first time ever.

Permalink: Frozen_Street_Crazies.html
Words: 77
Location: Buffalo, NY

12/04/08 11:57 - ID#46964

The turkey is cooked

I think the processing part will be much harder.

Permalink: The_turkey_is_cooked.html
Words: 14
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: food

12/04/08 07:28 - 29ºF - ID#46959

Cooking the turkey

I am trying to cook a turkey right now. Wish me luck. I am following the instructions found at

I still can't believe what a deal it was so such a quality bird.

The separate the skin from the breast slide butter in stage was such a weird thing to do, but I suppose it will probably taste that much better. Turkey skin is so stretch I am surprised there are not turkey skin condoms.

Permalink: Cooking_the_turkey.html
Words: 83
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: housing

12/04/08 02:17 - 44ºF - ID#46947

Being Broke Sucks

Its not often that i am totally broke but right now I am mega super broke. One of our rental appartments bathroom and kitchen cost like $3000 unexpected dollars to fix. Hopefully, now after working on it a bunch this weekend, we can actually rent it out again. Having two apartments rented will be a big help to the brokeness. I feel like that place sucks the life out of me.

I wish we just had our house to deal with. Even after all the problems were fixed at the rental prop I found an attic window that was rotting out. Should be a fun weekend of painting, fixing and cleaning. It should be great as I am still sick.

It really sucks to be broke. Luckily, I bought a turkey on super clearance at the lexington-coop

so even though we have no more grocery money, we will have 20 pounds of turkey once I get a chance to cook it. It was like $16 instead of $70, the original price but it was frozen and I had to defrost it for 3 days now. The turkey comes from Stonewood Farms In Vermont

On the work front
I worked way late into the evening twice and still have two hours of personal leave I have to use right now before it expires so I figure that tomorrow, I am leaving early in order to cook the Turkey, ya right. We will see how that goes.

I have been programming like mad but its never enough to keep up with the crazy number of requests we have now. I am supposed to be working on one new project but everyday its something else. I hope we et new people before there is a hiring freeze.

Permalink: Being_Broke_Sucks.html
Words: 296
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: marriage

12/01/08 01:45 - 41ºF - ID#46906

Valuable Wedding Rings

For me personally, a $55 wedding ring

is too cheap. By me personally, I mean if I got one. I don't have one so I am not an expert. I am not trying to cheapen anyone's else's rings or anything but before everyone just decides that I am purley a materialist, I thought I should explain myself.

I feel like a wedding ring should carry more of a investment than say an mp3 player or cell phone because it shows that the person purchasing worked hard for it and frankly working hard for something equates caring to me.

I am not saying that someone who is poor should have to spend $5000 and go broke, that is ridiculous. And in reference to (e:thelli) I am definately not suggesting it need be diamonds. In fact I don't really like diamonds - I am an emerald guy, lol. But in my opinion it should be somewhat relative to your income and should involve a bit of saving up. Even someone at minimum wage could save $10 a week for one year and get me a $500 ring. Thats like barely a couple beers.

Plus, more valuable rings also appreciate in value over time so that they become things that you can put in your will and pass on to other people.

Now (e:matthew) says he wants this one

tinypliny writes at 09:22:33 12/04/08 - Comment #42941: Here are my demands. If you give me a ring, you sincere person, I want it made out of either:

a) Cheerios (yeah, its going to be tricky getting a one that fits that finger. Start sorting through boxes or bake one for me. hehehe)

OR

b) Sour jello-candy.

I won't accept any compromise deals. I want to eat the ring. Let's be completely clear on that! ;-)

ladycroft writes at 04:20:11 12/04/08 - Comment #42932: After reading all the comments, I think maybe it boils down to "do you and your significant other agree that saving up for a more costly ring equates the commitment/effort in your hearts". If it is important to both of you, then go for the big tag. But, as other have put, if the symbol of the ring itself is equates the commitment/effort in your hearts, then stick with the low budget. It doesn't mean people with big rings are all superficial.

When asked what I wanted, I requested small, sapphire, and inexpensive. Of course it is his prerogative regarding the engagement ring.

iriesara writes at 05:13:54 12/02/08 - Comment #42880: I've been thinking about this post for a couple of days. Jim and I are the in the process of becoming "betrothed", technically, that is. (he asked my father for his blessing in September when my folks came to visit). I want a ring because, although anyone who knows me would use the word materialistic LAST among adjectives to describe me, it just shows that the person has invested themselves in the question, in the proposal. Plus I never buy anything nice for myself, so if a man really loves me, he'll see that I deserve more than I would ever do for myself. My man is not rich, the two of us together struggle to make the old ends meet in the middle, and maybe have a few left over for a couple cocktails or tokes at the end of the month. I've been leaving him the jewelry ads which come in the mail since last valentines (I'd never really ever gotten actually "jewelry" before that, other than beaded hippie businesses). I circled a very modest yet cute ring, which was $150. I keep telling him, it's not the ring, it's the man, it's the relationship, but seriously I'm over 30 now, so let's go. I don't want to wait the 7 years for him to save up, ya know? He said, and I quote "Do you know how much that ring costs?!?! - $100!!!" and I said
"It's $150". to which was replied "Do you think I'm a fucking asshole? What kind of man would I be to buy the woman I want to marry a $150 ring?!?"

oh, the struggles we have.....wow, I sound very obnoxious...really I'm just blessed.

The whole price thing is just retarded. Woman with huge real rings and huge fake boobs and big successful fake husbands have only one real thing, and that diamond won't keep her warm at night.

I don't care what anyone thinks when they look at my small get-the-magnifying-glass-out-ring that I'll eventually get, I'll know it's mine because I'm loved. That's all that matters.

paul writes at 09:51:19 12/01/08 - Comment #42835: Oops I copied the wrong link :::link::: from the chat. Both were in there. The self-insemination site is insane because its about trying to predetermine the gender of your baby with all these tricks.

I am fixing it.

theecarey writes at 09:39:50 12/01/08 - Comment #42833: So I click the link to the $55 ring, and I'm brought to a forum about "at-home self-insemination". LOL

gardenmama writes at 08:49:40 12/01/08 - Comment #42831: I get the sense that you feel the ring should be more of a reflection of someoneâ€™s commitment rather than simply a symbol of their commitment - I believe many other people feel that way too. However, I sometimes think people who have already been married a while (or who are divorced) often have a different take on the ring thing. As for engagement rings, many women stop even wearing an engagement ring some years into their marriage - here I think a bigger ring just says someone has more money (or less sense), not that theyâ€™re more committed.

My husband and I had very simple, unadorned 14K gold wedding bands. They were quite inexpensive (not $55 but close enough) and I did not want an engagement ring - it felt unnecessary to me (of course we were only engaged for a month before we got married). It was his commitment to me that I most valued not the symbol. I donâ€™t think I could have ever found a ring that would have been a true reflection; everything â€" no matter the cost â€" would have seemed cheap in comparison.

One nice thing about the inexpensive rings - when my husband died, I buried his wedding ring with his ashes - and I can pretty much be sure no one would dig him up for it, nor did I feel any compulsion not to do it based on its (monetary) value.

metalpeter writes at 06:56:11 12/01/08 - Comment #42824: To expand on (e:James)'s Idea (assuming traditional weeding) The grooms men and bridesmades who are set up could just get naked together and have a blast of a time I would love to see the look 0n the camera crews faces.

Back to the point on rings. I do like rings but never really wear them and I have seen some cool looking rings for men not sure what rings for men look like but if they made them look like college rings or rings you get for winning some championship that would be pretty cool. But see with women the traditional rings look all the same mostly. Yes there are different sizes of diamonds. But unless you are up close you can't tell the difference. Not to mention if it is 14k or 24k gold it will look the same, if the diamond is worth 100 or 5000 bucks to the naked eye they look the same. What I think is more important is what the ring means. If two people met at The Lord of the Rings Then those rings with elfish writings on them is what you should get. To many people think that how much the ring costs is what makes it good or not, and that isn't true. Well unless of course that is what the relationship is built on, and a lot of them are so.... it makes sense that how much you spend equals how much you love to those people.

drew writes at 04:37:39 12/01/08 - Comment #42817: (e:james), I cannot wait until you get married. $1,000 does buy a lot of pizza and beer.

james writes at 04:26:21 12/01/08 - Comment #42814: There are demons at lose in our society and they work for the wedding industry. Apparently, you now need an engagement ring, a wedding ring, and another ring when you renew your vows every ten years. Then there is an engagement party, the wedding, the honeymoon... you could buy a house for what some middle class people spend on, what is essential, a large party.

A wedding could be just as memorable and fun with kegs of beer, gallons of whiskey, and pizza. Save the small well drink, the dry chicken marsala, and the crushing debt. Seriously, how much alcohol and pizza could you get for $1,000? For the money people spend on tuxedos and dresses you could have a whole drunken orgy of a wedding.

janelle writes at 03:56:59 12/01/08 - Comment #42813: Ugh, I am biting my tongue and trying not to rant about women who demand expensive engagement rings.

Not to mention the whole evils of the diamond industry that the ridiculous demand for expensive engagement rings supports.

My husband paid very little for my engagement ring and I still thought it was too much. Lol.

joshua writes at 03:22:41 12/01/08 - Comment #42812: I've had friends that got engaged to girls with ridiculous ring demands... like, for example, a $10,000 ring on a salary of $65k or $70k. If I ever have a future fiancee that pulls that on me, I'd have to reevaluate if I ever actually knew her.

Guys are easy though... our bands are modest and don't have to be super expensive. I can see what you mean though (e:paul) - I don't think you are hung up on the price of the item, but the value in terms of what it took to give it to you. I think there is room for compromise. Like you say, the ring doesn't have to be absurdly expensive. Especially for guys, since it isn't too hard to make a guy's wedding ring look cheaper the more you spend on it.

drew writes at 03:05:01 12/01/08 - Comment #42810: (e:janelle) and I have modest rings--not $55, but definitely not even one month's salary--likely not a paycheck.

We demonstrate our commitment in other ways.

theli writes at 02:27:01 12/01/08 - Comment #42809: The diamond comment was really just an aside. Diamonds just rub me the wrong way. I definitely agree that other gemstones tend to look better. And would definitely go for something like that if I ever felt the need to purchase a ring that was more than just a band. (Although for a symbol, I'd actually find a clean and simple band to be preferable.) And, as opposed to diamonds, you are less likely to have a forced monopoly driving up prices despite the actual lack of real rarity. (At least the kind of rarity that would warrant those prices. Cripes.)

jason writes at 01:58:17 12/01/08 - Comment #42806: I like the ring Matt picked out. Having excess bling is way too guido, way too chav, no diamonds for me.

Permalink: Valuable_Wedding_Rings.html
Words: 243
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: health

12/01/08 12:30 - 41ºF - ID#46904

Soar Throat

I am sick. I decided to stay home and recoup a bit as I have personal day that expires on 12/05. I hope it just goes away but I doubt it. I some how made it through the October sickness this year. Usually, I get sick in October and March. I was kind of hoping that by missing october I was good till march.