Sunday, October 30, 2005

Love makes no sense





My Son has kept me up the past couple of nights, well I help my wife out on the weekends since I don't have to go to work...Friday night he woke up at 3:30 and didn't go back to sleep, last night same thing, after spending time changing his diapers, feeding him, changing him, changing him again after I put on his diapers wrong and he peed all over himself, after burping him, and basically being deprived of sleep I feel that I love him more now than ever before, this morning when I took him I went to the living room so his Mom would get some sleep, he smiled at me! Like he knew that he was spending time with Papa so life is allright, it's all worth it, I don't know how, if anyone else on this planet made me lose my dear resting time, I'd wouldn't be saying how much I love that person, but I love my Son so much.

Wow, I guess sleep deprivation makes me all sappy, hmm, this is dangerous, I better stop before I start writing more emotional, sensitive stuff.

J.V.

My Sister is funny!






She posted this in her space, and I thought it was worth repeating, once again Florida is such a um, "unique" place to live:

South Florida was battered by Hurricane Wilma this last Monday. Below is some of the wisdom I've gathered in the aftermath of the storm.

1. If the tree branches are making cracking noises, its because they're breaking, now is not the best time to go check them out.

2. If one window breaks in an enclosed area, ALL the windows are going...get away...fast.

3. Witnessing an enclosed balcony implode is not as cool as the movies make it seem.

4. The weather man did not lie, the worst part of the storm is after the eye.

5. Syphoning gasoline out of a vehicle is not as simple as it sounds.

6. Gasoline burns your mouth.

7. Swallowing gasoline will make you puke.

8. If you think cold showers suck, try taking one in the dark

9. The world is filled with stupid people, and they all come out after the storm passes.

10. I am not a nice person untill after I have my daily cup of coffee.

11. Driving with out traffic lights at night is not fun when you have a small car and all the crazies have trucks.

12. Rode rage comes in handy when you need to get somewhere fast.

13. A full tank of Gas is priceless.

14. Having cell phone signal is useless when your battery is dead and you cant charge the phone.

15. complete meals are overated.

And most important of all... Having friends and family close to you during and after the storm can give you some of the comfort that you thought the hurricane blew away.



That was pretty good sister, keep us updated on Wilma.

J.V.

What Book Am I Reading Now?






George's Poyla's Book, "How to Solve it". I heard that book mentioned a lot in the Programming circles, I even heard it was required reading at Microsoft. So I'm checking it out to see what the hype is about.
It is a little Problem-Solving guide, it's supposed to teach you how to aproach any problem...and solve it, hence the name! the author is a famous mathematician, but the content can be applied to all kinds of problems, in fact, I think that formal leadership training in the Marines includes the techniques described here.
One old Engineer at work told me that to be good in this business you don't necessarily have to be super-intellingent, you just have to know how to solve problems, I think that applies to life in general. I'll let you know how it went once I'm done with it, so far I give it a thumbs up.

J.V.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Hurricane Wilma update







Hurricane Wilma was the worst hurricane to hit Broward county in 50 years. Luckyly it wasn't as strong or slow as other storms that have hit our country in the past couple of years. Nevertheless My parents and most of the people I know down there are still without power, I only know one person that lost their roof, and that's a co-worker whose parents live in North Dade County.

Things are slowly improving though, Thankfully all my folks are ok, and my house did not get that much damage, for what I hear.


J.V.

Sunday, October 23, 2005


Oh Boy, I am actually a little worried...








The worse of hurricane Wilma is actually predicted to go trough Broward County, My Townhouse, my parent's house, My In-Law's and about 20 other family members are there, I am praying that they make it through this ok, I know it wouldn't make things any better, but I wish I was there with them. Watching the news from Minnesota actually makes it worse.



J.V.

Saturday, October 22, 2005


What was he Thinking?




Once again another fine citizen of South Florida makes the news, This guy broke into an apartment, raped a lady, and then forced her to write him a check. He was arrested minutes later two miles from the victim's apartment at a check cashing store. He's probably trying to figure out what went wrong with his fool-proof plan. I wish I din't have to say it, but...Only in Florida.



J.V.




GO WHITE SOX


A Dialoge



Two good friends meet in the park.

Jose: Sgt V.?

Stg V: Jose?

Jose: Hey how are you? Man, it's been a while, How's it going? what are you up to?

Sgt V: Well, I am doing good, I just came back from Iraq, my reserve unit got called up and we went on deployment. And you?

Jose: You went to Iraq? Holy Crap! Well, I've been in school, you know, a couple of semester and I will graduate. I've been reading a lot about Iraq you know? this is one of those subjects that really bother me.

Sgt V: Well, I have to tell you, what you see and read in the media is a lot different from what you see over there. It is never the complete picture. Don't be fooled by the bias, every message is biased somehow, even this one.

Jose: Yeah well, I don't know, you may be right about a couple of reporters, but everyone? I don't think so.

Sgt V: I think that for the most part you can tell when a certain newspaper or magazine is biased, but I have read stories about my own unit, reporting events that I have witnessed, and those reports don't match my recollection, I don't think that the make those reports wrong, but two different people will percieve the same event different ways, it's always like that. Like we used to say Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder

Jose: That's deep man, but I think there is one serious flaw with the war, shouldn't we be going after Al Queada instead of the Iraqis? Last time I heard, it was them, not Saddam, the ones that attacked us.

Sgt V: First, let me tell you that I am not really allowed to critize my commander in chief, it is punishable under the UCMJ. And the last thing I want is to get in trouble...

Jose: So you are agreeing with me! The war in Iraq is wrong!

Sgt V: Hold your horses buddy! I have not said such thing. What I said is that I don't want to get in trouble. But I've had a lot of time to think about this, When I was there I wanted to know why I was there.

Jose: So you questioned the war yourself?

Sgt V: I wouldn't call it that. But I, like everyone in our unit, wanted to know what we were doing, and what we were doing it for. So of course I thought about it, but you might be surprised.

Jose: Well, I'll tell you what I think, Our Goverment made a grave mistake going over there....

A stranger suddenly walks up to them and butts in

stranger: Of Course Bush made a mistake, he's a f@#king idiot!

Sgt V: Excuse me stranger, what's your name? Do I know you?

stranger: Uh, you don't know me, but just call me Jon for the sake of argument, that's not my real name, but that doesn't matter

Sgt V: Very well Jon

Jose: Nice to meet you Jon

Jon: So like I was saying, Bush in an idiot, He's in it for the Oil only, we should get out. At least they should be honest and call the war Operation Tyranny or Operation Cliche Description of a Malevolent Dictator's Oppressiveness, or Operation Earthfucker, or better yet just call it Operation Blow'em'up...

Sgt V: So is this what everyone thinks? That we are there to blow up people? That we enjoy that crap?

Jose: I don't know, I guess there's always going to be people that you don't agree with, and that is their Constitutional right. You should learn to respect other people's opinions

Sgt V: Don't you see! we are over there fighting for this nation and this is the apreciation we get! This is so much B.S.!

Jose: That's not Jon's point! I am not sure what his point is, oh yeah, that we don't live in a democracy, and that he loves Unicorns

Sgt V: WTF?

Jose: Never mind, I was going to tell you that I think we are not putting our efforts in the right theater of operations, We should be hunting down Osama and his cronies instead of some "insurgents" in some nation that doesn't matter anymore

Sgt V: What makes you think we are not? Remember, just because you don't read it in the news doesn't mean that is not happening..

Jon: You actually trust this goverment to do it's job! Dude you are defenetly on more drugs than me! I'm jealous.

Sgt V: This conversation is so unfair, it's two against one!

Suddenly another stranger walks by and stops

stranger: This Nation must repent! repent! repent! We must spread the word! Pray for the President! God Loves you!

Jose: Excuse me sir, but who the heck are you?

stranger: Well, of course I won't tell you my real name, but you can call me Pat R.

Sgt V: (to the author) This is what you sent to help me? Jeez, Thanks a lot!

Pat: You should be grateful son, I want the president of your country dead! We should Kill Chavez! New Orleans had it coming too! That's what they get for being so sinful!

Jose: Well, I don't think it's right to shove religion down everyone's throat! I have the right to believe whatever I want.

Sgt V: Jose! you are an atheist?

Jose: No I am not, I consider myself a Christian, I come from a Christian family, but I think that the state and church should be separate!

Sgt V: I agree with that, I have seen what happens to a society when church and goverment are the same thing. It is a sad thing

Jon: Dude You are so right! I am going to take a sleeping pill and write that on my blog!

Pat: Son, you should repent right now! what happened to your Faith! Is this what Jesus would do?

Sgt V: Anyway, Jose, we have strayed from the point, let me tell you what I think, you already made your point clear, that a dogmatic arguement for the war does not stand, and that we are going after the wrong group of people, and you have not said anything about the bad image the US has worldwide, which I don't want to get into, but I must point out that the hate EVERYTHING about the states, and that includes the people, not just the goverment, but anyway

Jose: Anyway

Sgt V: I think we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Jon: Nope! we should leave Iraq right now!

Sgt V: I wish we could, but that would make matters worse, I am not a foreing policy expert, but I don't think that would be a good idea,

Sgt V: When we first got to Iraq we were thinking that we did a good thing, getting rid of Saddam's goverment, and all that, but when the Weapons of Mass Destructions failed to appear...boy was that a blow, then the insurgency...funny enough, things did not get bad until 4 or 5 months after we got there, around September or October

Jose: What do you mean?

Sgt V: I think that the outcome of the whole operation was not what we expected and now is too late to get out, we did not get the support of other countries so we are pulling most of the weight, so now the plan is to rebuild the nation and get out as soon as possible, but the nation rebuilding is not an easy task, and of course, security is a big issue, so, I don't see an end to this.

Jon: I told you, our president is stupid

Jose: I don't think he's stupid, of course he is not an intellectual either, but the US is facing a hard time, and I guarantee you that he would be critized if Saddam was still there. There were some mistakes made, but I don't think that they deliberatly put us in this position, remember, we did not ask to be attacked,

Sgt V: Exacly, but we were not attacked by a nation with clear defined borders, we were attacked by a small group.

Jose: What amazes me is the amount of people that hates the U.S for so many reasons

Sgt V: I know, I know, and no matter what, nobody can please eveyone at the same time
I hope that all of those that died over there...Well I want to think that they died for a good cause, but what is good cause to die for?

Jose: Good question, I mean, to die for an ideology? That is alomst as bad as dying for religion

Pat: Jesus died for you in the cross! and the Martyrs died in Rome for Him!

Jose: Also, a bunch of people died in the Crusades for God, and a bunch of people died during the Inquisition and the witch hunts, and during the Great Schism, etc etc
I would say more people have fought and died for God that for anything else, but what do I know?

Sgt V: The thing is, Religion is what unites all those extremist that are fighting us, Islam is a rotten disease that is killing our world

Jose: Oh boy, you just opened a can of worms

Sgt V: You know what, is getting late and I have to go

Jose: whatever man, we are not finished here, there's too much left to discuss.

Sgt V: I gotta go

Friday, October 21, 2005


Only in Florida






A 93 year old ran someone over and drove for 3 miles with the body in the windshield,
he got a warning from the cops, next time, they said, they will give him a ticket.

Read the article


J.V.

Thursday, October 20, 2005


Another Hurricane....







Here we go again, another hurricane going to Florida, I talked to my parents, they seem a little concerned, I have hope that it will not mess up our house and our lives.

J.V.

Sunday, October 16, 2005


GEEK UPDATE







I am about to put Linux on my new IBM ThinkPad, the thing is, I don't know what I am doing, so if you don't see any posts in a while, you know what happened.


J.V.


Congratulations to Elimir and Jenri!



Elimir my little cousin had her baby today at 4:00 AM.



J.V.

Saturday, October 15, 2005


WTF? Toyota develops New Plant Species






Yeah, the japanese car maker. It has engineered a new species of Cherry Sage that "performs" better than the original. Read about it here.

Is this a good thing? Is it ok to mess with nature to get our goals? We've been doing exactly that for centuries, but each time it looks like we are getting a little closer to...I don't know.

This plant absorbs pollutants faster than the original, so maybe that's a good thing after all.

J.V.

Thursday, October 13, 2005


Anthony is doing good







I am still amazed at how good Martha handles being a mother. She has the power of multitasking. I am working on two projects at once at work and it takes me a little effort to allocate time to both of them. Martha can take care of Anthony, Cook a full meal and be on the phone all at once, I don't know how she does it.

During the day I am so inspired to write stories in this blog, I think of at least three different articles to comment on, anectdotes to tell, people to make fun of, all kinds of good stuff..by the time I get home I am so tired that I can't think straight, and all clever content just vanishes away after dinner. Right now all I want to do is lay down and read a good book. Which is exactly what I will do.

To all my friends and family who actually read this blog, you know who you are, thank you so much for all the emails and the phone calls, I wish I was closer to home, but soon enough I will be back in good ol' FL. Then you can all meet Anthony and have fun with him.

Until the next time

Love

J.V.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005


Congrats Ross and Jen!



Today my friend and Co-worker Ross is having his baby, hopefully everything will go well.
Also my cousin Elimir is due anytime now, My friend Ileana just had her baby, this weekend, man is like everyone I know is having kids.
Anthony is doing good, I am enjoying every second of it. I can't believe how fast time goes by.

J.V.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005


The Yankees Crash






Now that the Yankees are out, I am left with no baseball team to hate, I am actually sad now, why couln't they fall apart in the World Series like in 03? Oh well, there's always next year.

J.V.

Monday, October 10, 2005


What You'll Wish You'd Known







I often wonder what my life would have been like if I would have known then what I know now, my outlook in life has changed a lot since the summer of 1997. When I was 18 I thought I was destined to be a Marine Corp Officer. To me there was nothing more exciting than leading people into battle. I had my whole life planned out, I was so sure about it that I never had an alternate plan, I was going to enlist first, since I was not a US Citizen, then as soon as I got my citizenship I would go to college to get my lieutenant bars. That was the plan, foolproof, to me college was just another step towards that commission in the Military.

Four years in the Marine Corps made me look at things a different way. I saw why it is called "the service" there is much more work involved. Service men definetly give more to the goverment than what they get back. The Marines didn't really promise me anything other than the GI Bill and the right to be called part of one the best fighting forces on Earth. I worked hard and I had pride in my work, but I realized that the lifestyle of an Active duty serviceman is not for everyone, it was defenetly not for me.

The point I am trying to make is that it is hard to know what one wants to do early in life. Later on I realized that I only went to the Marines because I wanted to prove myself.
I'm glad I did though.


This article I read does a good job of talking about the things I wish I had known when I went to high school. I have no regrets about my life. But I could have used this advice.


J.V.

Sunday, October 09, 2005


Anthony






I have had a busy week, My Mother in law came up to see us, I had to go away this weekend to train with my National Guard Unit. Just got back today.

I just found out the Red Sox got eliminated, unbelievable....I don't know what's up wiht the Yankees, Martha dressed up Anthony with a I Love NY shirt, hopefully it will have the desired effect.

J.V.

Monday, October 03, 2005


Anthony latest pic





Anthony is growing a lot.

Sunday, October 02, 2005


The World has another Yankee fan







I apologize people. But Anthony's Mother insists in corrupting our only son into liking the most hated baseball club in history. The only good thing is that every time he wears this jersey the Yanks lose. This picture was taken Friday as New York lost to Boston, today she tried again, and the Yankees lost 10-1. Haha!

I am disapointed in the Marlin's performance this season, they had all the right stuff to get into the post-season and yet, they managed to fall apart when it mattered.