NickGailfus.com

Nooooooo!

2011-09-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

In three days the complete Star Wars saga will be released on Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, I will not have the $80 to spend on the complete set so I will not be buying it when it comes out. (Note: Nick’s birthday is coming up and Christmas is shortly after). With the release of the Blu-Ray discs there is been news about changes that were made to the movies yet again.

One of the changes that got a lot of buzz was the addition of Darth Vader yelling “Noooooo” at the end of Return of the Jedi. When I first heard this I thought it was a joke. Simply because Darth Vader’s “Noooo” at the end of Revenge of the Sith became as much of a joke to Star Wars fans as Jar Jar Binks. If you are even in a dire situation nooooooooooooooo.com comes in handy. Of course I turned to the Internet for the answer. Was it true? Did George Lucas yet again ruin another piece of my childhood? Of course no one can truly rape one’s childhood like Michael Bay and his Transformers movies but that is another issue. So, I turned to YouTube for the answer. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Other changes I have heard of is that they made the Ewoks blink, replaced the puppet Yoda in Episode I with a CG Yoda, and replaced Obi Wan’s dragon call that scares away the Sand People in Episode IV.

Now to the main reason for my post. With all the changes that have been made to the original trilogy Nolan may never see the original trilogy in its original release. Now I may have the original released versions of Episodes IV – VI on VHS, but who the hell has VHS player now a days? Also, I wouldn’t even know if they would still play years from now. I do have the DVD release of Star Wars but that is the “enhanced version.” I’m sure and hope that Nolan would still appreciate and love the movies. The special effects used when they made the movies were ground breaking for the time. However, now a lot of it was replaced with CG effects. So now instead of explaining to my son how they did it all with models, I will be explaining how it was with models but George Lucas felt it still wasn’t good enough.

Wake Up Call

2011-06-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today I had a wake up call. It was not a wake up call from Nolan. Though he did wake me up this morning. My wake up call was when I went back to Weight Watchers to see what the damage has been. I say damage because over the course of the last two weeks I have not tracked or ate the least bit on the healthy side. This morning at Weight Watchers I found out that I gained nine pounds. I need to get back into the swing of things if I am to keep this weight off. Today I went back to tracking every thing I ate. I got back on the bike and went mountain biking this morning. I hope to ride more over the next week since I am taking a week off of work.

To hold myself accountable I will be tweeting my point use for the day (http://twitter.com/nickgailfus).

Our New Addition

2011-01-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday January 9, 2011 at 9:55 PM we welcomed to the world Nolan Bart Gailfus. He was 9 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long. He came home from the hospital on Wednesday the 12th and we are loving every minute with him.

My Android Review

2010-02-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I upgraded from a Blackberry Storm to the Motorola Droid running Google’s Android mobile operating system. I would have to say that I am very impressed with the interface that Android has. The phone itself is fast. The Blackberry Storm I had would sometimes be unusable for a few minutes after unlocking the device. The Droid is very quick and responsive. The web browser loads pages very quickly even on when using the Verizon 3G network. The phone also has the capability to connect to an 802.11g Wi-Fi network.

My favorite part of using an Android phone is how it integrates with my Google account. I use a lot of Google’s products such as Gmail and Google Calendar. Any appointment on my calendar or any email in my inbox is always in sync between the phone and my account. The Blackberry Storm required a plug-in or order to sync the calendar with Google and would always duplicate or mess up the events on my calendar. I tell people that if they use Gmail and want a smart phone that they should get an Android phone. Android can pull email from other sources and will even sync with Microsoft Exchange server.

My Favorite Applications (Apps)

Here are some of the apps I use the most on my phone.

Astrid

Astrid (weloveastrid.com) is a task list manager that I have been using as my to do list. You can set up reminders, set priorities and even sync with RemembertheMilk.com if you have an account with them. Right now Astrid hosts my ever growing list of things to get done around the house.

Locale

Locale can change settings on your phone based on conditions you set up. You tell Locale that when it sees you are at the movies it can silence your ringer. I also use Locale to turn off alerts and leave on only the ringer at night so that new emails do not wake anyone up. Ringer volume is not the only setting it can change. I also have it turn the Wi-Fi on based at home and at work but have it off when I’m away from either location. Note that this app was free when I first got it as it was in beta. It is now $9.99.

Google Sky Map

Google Sky Maps uses the camera, GPS and compass in the phone to show you what constellation you are looking at. I do not use this app a lot. However, it is an app that I show off the most to people. The rare times I do use it are when I am trying to see what planet is shining brightly in the night sky.

Twidroid

Twidroid seems to be the most popular Android app for Twitter. I admit that I have not used any other ones but I find that Twidroid does everything I need for posting to and reading from Twitter. They have a paid pro version but I find the free version to be more than enough.

DroidLight

DroidLight was made by Motorola for use on the Droid. It does one thing: turns the LED camera flash on so you can use it as a flash light. The interface is simple, just turn tap the light bulb to turn the light on and off. I find this a lot better than the flashlight apps out there that just make your screen all white.

50 Pounds and Counting

2010-01-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Today I did my weekly weigh in at Weight Watchers and passed a new milestone. I have lost a total of 51 pounds since joining in August. Today the meeting leader referred to me as the “results not typical” member given how fast I lost 50 pounds. I feel so much better than I did back when first joining. Yesterday I wore pants to work that were 2 sizes smaller than what I used to wear. Even though they were a little tight I figure that I will “shrink” into them.

Though I still have a ways to go before I obtain my goal I am looking optimistic and hope to be a lot closer to that goal by my 1 year anniversary with Weight Watchers.

Another Year Comes to a Close

2010-01-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

Another year has come and gone. 2009 has had its share of ups and downs but all in all it has been a good year. Terra and I have been in our new home for a little over a year now and have been making it more and more like home. The sprinkler and drip system has been fixed so now we have landscaping that is alive. I am amazed how well the lawn came back without having to seed it. It is hard to believe that we have been in this house for over a year.

This past year I have finally strived to lose weight. I have joined a gym and in August joined Weight Watchers. I have been going every week December 26th I have lost 45 pounds. I have to say that I also feel 45 times better than I did before starting.

For 2010 my main goal will be to continue to lose weight and reach my goal of losing over 100 pounds. This year I should also work more to help Terra as she works towards her master’s degree. Not necessarily helping with homework but by helping her deal with the stress of work and school.

Here is to a new year and hopefully a good one.

A Week of Public Transit

2009-03-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

This past week I had to go to training for Microsoft's Systems Center Configuration Manager. The training location was at Central Ave and Thomas, right next to a Valley Metro light rail stop. I decided that I will use the bus and light rail system to get to the training center. This took a load off of having to deal with traffic and navigating downtown Phoenix. Having a park and ride center near my house also made this an easy choice. Valley Metro had an express bus route that ran from that park and ride non-stop to downtown Phoenix. From there, I would get off the bus near the Central Station at Van Buren and Central Avenue, cross the street and hop onto a light rail train to ride it up Central Avenue. The whole trip took roughly 45 minutes in the morning and a little longer in the afternoon.

The experience was something that I would not mind doing everyday to get to work. I got to see how the light rail works, and got a good impression on using public transportation in order to commute to and from work. The light rail basically just require you to have a pass to ride but they do not make you go through any turn stalls. Instead it is more of an honor system. However, they do perform random checks. Three times this week I witnessed Phoenix police coming onto the train to perform one of these random checks. Just today in fact, a police officer stepped into the car I was in, waited for the doors to close and the train to start moving and said, "Ticket check." After this week's experience I would not hesitate to use the buses and light rail to get to downtown Phoenix in the future.

Purchasing a Home

2008-07-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Terra and I are currently in the process of buying a new home. We recently placed an offer on a bank owned property near Sossaman and Guadalupe in Mesa. The bank has accepted the offer and the home in now in escrow. We just had our inspection today and there is not any major issues for us to be concerned with as we move forward. The downside is that the home is being sold as-is as the bank will not make any repairs. Luckily for us, there are no major repairs to be made that would cost us a lot of money. However, the home does need to be treated for termites but that is something that is common in Arizona. We hope to be into the home by the time our lease is up in September. We posted some pictures at our website: http://nickandterra.com/photos

New Blog Site

2008-06-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have not posted to this site in quite some time. I almost feel guilty neglecting this blog while I work on creating a new one. That is right, Terra and I have set up a new joint blog. First a joint apartment, then a joint bank account and now a joint blog. I ended up purchasing a domain and hosting from GoDaddy.com. I then used WordPress to set up and publish to the site. I was quite impressed with the fact that I went from purchasing a domain to having a website up in two days. The site will mainly be used to post information on our upcoming wedding and anything else that is going on in our lives. You can find this at http://nickandterra.com

Eye Surgery: 6 Days Later

2008-03-24T22:00:00.001-07:00

A couple months ago, after getting completely frustrated with trying to find a eye glasses prescription that will correct my double vision, I decided to go ahead with surgery that was recommended by my optometrist. The surgery consisted of moving the muscles that align my eyes. Six days ago on Tuesday March 18th, I had that surgery. It was quite stressful at first. I was not supposed to wear any glasses with prism and allow my eyes and brain to adjust to the new position of my eyes. I would periodically have moments of single vision throughout the week but those periods resulted in my eyes becoming fatigued and strained. However, the periods of single vision would last longer and longer and more frequently as my eyes healed. Today I had a break through that has be grinning from ear to ear. Today I returned to work and boy did my eyes have a workout. I would have much longer periods of single vision then I did sitting around the apartment recovering. Tonight I must have given them the workout they needed. I still end up seeing double if I were to completely relax my eyes. However, not seeing double is a piece of cake right now. My eyes are currently not straining as they were before. I'm not taking this as the moment in which my double vision is completely gone. I'm sure I'll have moments tomorrow. I plan on giving my eyes the rest they need when they are strained in order to get through the day. If my vision has come this far in less than a week, I am excited to see how it turns out after my eyes have completely healed.

A Country Divided

2008-02-08T20:59:00.001-07:00

I don't know about everyone else but it is only February and I am starting to get a little politiced out. With nine months left until the 2008 Presidential Election we on the Democratic side a black man and a crazy lady. On the Republican side we have an old man who apparently has to move both his arms at the same time in order to stay alive, a Walker Texas Ranger fanatic and a man who's only supporters are 20 something's who probably don't even bother getting off their butts to vote. I honestly at one time thought the Ron Paul Revolution was a band.

Now the reason I may be so burned out on politics already could be how divided everyone is. Before I thought the two party system was a little whack but now it is more than ever. I live in Arizona which I believe is still a primarily Republican state. Back when I was 18 and filling out the form to register to vote I decided to choose Democrat as my party. Now at the time I did not really now what each party stood for. Honestly, I picked Democrat because at the time Clinton was in office and I thought, "Hey, I like what he's doing." As a Democrat, however, I am afraid to speak my mind or even mention I am a registered Democrat. It is hard to when you work with people who use the word liberal as if it is a swear word. Republicans hate Democrats, Democrats hate Republicans. In the mean time this country is going down the tubes.

This year I actually watched a good part of the President's State of the Union Address. I thought I would check out what state of denial he was in. In watching the speech I started to realize how much of a tool everyone in Congress is to their party. I seriously thought I heard hooting from the Republicans. Was I watching Arsenio Hall Show? I was waiting for them to start pumping their fists in the air. The division of this country was quite clear during his speech. It was quite evident in when only half of Congress would stand to applaud while everyone else sat. All the while he pushes for the party walls to come down and for everyone to work together except he's the biggest party tool of them all.

Each party hates each other so much that nothing will pass except maybe bills pushed by lobbyists. Congress may be made of up two parties bickering but they all seem to be tools of lobbyists. While bills about stem cell research and child health care get shot down, bills backed by the Motion Picture Association of America pass. Lobbyists manage get what ever they want slipped into bills. The latest, requiring colleges and universities to put in place anti-piracy measures or possibly lose federal funding. All because they are losing so much money to piracy. Perhaps, the MPAA could stop throwing your money into making crap movies and maybe people will pay to watch them. Which brings me to the realization that Congress doesn't make laws, big business makes laws. Until Senators and Congressmen stop slipping in little revisions for a little kick back, we are doomed.

Whoever wins this election will have their work cut out for them. We were once a country who's currency was the standard for international trade. Now we are becoming the laughing stock of the world. The person who takes over as President of the United States come January 2009 will have a lot on their plate.

Looking Back on 2007

2008-01-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

When looking back on the past year, I cannot help to think about how unique and special 2007 was. First, I should look at the resolutions I posted last January and see if I held up to them.

Lose Weight

I thought this one would be a no brainer. The reason - I wasn't working for McDonald's. The problem with that is with my new job I'm sitting down most of the day at a computer. When I worked at McDonald's I was on my feet all day. However, now Terra and I are working out with a personal trainer so this resolution is being extended into 2008.

Graduate College

Done! I took part in the University of Phoenix commencement ceremony in April and I finally finished all my courses in June. Of course I was set to be on course for graduation when I made this resolution so one can say that I cheated on this one.

Financial Stability

With a new higher paying job this was a simple one as well. I can easily make my student loan payments and have been putting a little more into savings than I was before.

Organization

For 2007 I looked to become more organized. I tend to not put things away when I should at let clutter build up. Now I still think I am not as organized as I can be. However, Terra believes that I am the most organized person she knows. Of course I believe she is referring to my mad digital organizational skills. I tag email in Gmail as it comes in, I organize my files and music so I know exactly where it should be. I just have a hard time keeping physical things organized I guess.

Self-Confidence

Last year I vowed to be more self-confident. There are still times where I don't speak my mind when I should. I believe I am more self-confident than I was one year ago. One year ago I was 5 months into my new job and my first job as a computer/network tech. Now I am kicking some tail at this job and know a lot more than I did before. I suppose one can say that I have become more self-confident, just in a way that I did not intend.

Social Life

My last resolution from last year. I told myself I was going to have a social life. I wasn't going to sit at home and chat online or surf the web on Friday nights. Lately I have been going out every weekend. It is usually with Terra and just out for dinner and a movie or what ever we feel like doing. However, it is something...right?

Resolutions for 2008

Now to lay down the resolutions for 2008. First, loose weight is going to remain up there on the list. Second, be closer to possibly purchasing a home. I'm not necessarily saying that I want to buy a home this year, just want to be on track towards buying one. Third, convince the higher-ups at my job that 36,000 miles on my personal vehicle in a year and a half is not cool. Work truck please. Finally, marry Terra. That one will be explained in a moment.

2007 - What happened there?

2007 was a unique year and it is hard to believe all these things happened. The first being that it snowed in Mesa, Arizona. That's right, it did. Don't believe me? The proof is in the post, Snow?! In Mesa?!. It is hard to imagine that it went from snow in January to record number of days that it was 110 degrees or more.

After seeing that snow, one would think "what else happened in 2007?" Well, as I mentioned before I graduated college with my bachelors degree in Information Technology. I took part in the commencement ceremony in April and finally finished in June.

The year 2007 is also the year I met my now future wife Terra. We met care of eHarmony, are currently living together and are now engaged. I asked her to marry me shortly after one in the morning on Christmas after returning from my mom's house. Christmas also happened to be our nine month anniversary. We are going to hold out until November to be hitched so that my brother Andrew should be able to attend. He is currently serving in Iraq until September.

That about sums up 2007 for me in a nutshell. This also makes the longest blog post I have made. Even longer than my rant against the towing of my car.

It Has Been Quite Some Time

2007-10-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last blog posting. In fact, I can't even remember what the subject of my last blog posting was without looking it up. Ah yes, what to do with myself now that I'm done with school. Since then a lot has changed in my life. My former roommate Geoff sold his house prompting me to move on and move in with my girlfriend Terra. Of course this move was the best thing that I could have done. Everything has been great. I tend to be the type of person that fears change. However, this has been the best change I could have made. It is hard to imagine that we have only been together for seven months. We feel like we have been together for a long time and at the same time, feel as if our relationship has just begun. I look forward to what the future holds for me and hope Terra will be along for the ride.

Done With School, What Am I Doing Now?

2007-06-25T21:08:00.001-07:00

It is a great feeling to be done with school. To have accomplished something that has literally taken my whole life to achieve. Now it is time to ask, "What am I going to do now?" Well for starters I have decided to read more. Not that getting a degree from University of Phoenix did not have enough reading. In fact it had too much. I mean that I want to read more books that can be enjoyable. However, who am I to say that reading about Active Directory schemes are not enjoyable.

After years of college courses it is good to finally be able to relax to a good book. Right now I am reading a book I borrowed from my girlfriend, Clear and Present Danger. I have seen the movie starring Harrison Ford but the book has covered far more in just the first half than the movie did in its entirety. Next up I have The Ultimate Hitch Hiker's Guide which is all the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy books rolled into one. I cannot wait to read start that book which is why I'm trying to get through the book I'm on as quickly as I can. So, if those of you who actually read my blog can recommend any books, let me know.

Done at Last

2007-06-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today I took my final test to finish my final class for my final three credits that I needed to graduate. I am done at last. In a couple of weeks, maybe a month from now I will have my college degree in a nice new frame to hang on my wall. It is a great relief to finally be done.

Deployed

2007-06-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

By now my brother has arrived in Iraq. We knew this was bound to happen since Andrew made the decision to join the Army. Unless something changes he will most likely be there for the next 15 months. That would put us about 6 years since President George W. Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" on a deck of an aircraft carrier. I pray for your saftey Andrew. Come home soon.

New Photo Albums

2007-05-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

With my recent move to using Gmail as my main source of electronic mail service, I have decided to check out the other fantastic stuff Google has to offer. I mean why not, I have blogger, Gmail, and I have started using the Google Calendar. I have played with using Flickr for photo sharing but I really didn't like the interface. So recently I have started using Picasa Web Albums. You can edit your comments and everything in the Picasa client and upload them to your web album. I don't have many pictures up now but I will be adding more as I take them. So check it out yo!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Nick.Gailfus

Um...What?!

2007-05-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

What kind of society do we live in that requires a stroller at the mall to have this warning?

To have that kind of warning on there, someone must have done it.

10 Reasons Why it Doesn't Pay to be "The Computer Guy"

2007-05-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

I came across this on Digg and just had to post this.

http://www.digg.com/tech_news/10_Reasons_Why_It_Doesn_t_Pay_To_Be_The_Computer_Guy

Reason #10 - Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible

The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know … everything is working fine!”

The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.

As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.

Reason #9 - Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same

When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer…”

Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.

Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to reinstruct the user of this same process — indefinitely.

Reason #8 - You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?

The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.

“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”

Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.

If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat — “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”

Reason #7 - Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued

Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.

That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”

Reason #6 - You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace

The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:

1. Computers never sleep.
2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
3. Every problem takes time to diagnose.
4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.

Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.

Reason #5 - People Ask You To Perform Miracles

The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:

“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”

Reason #4 - Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down

There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.

This is somewhat related to the next reason:

Reason #3 - You Possess Unlimited Responsibility

The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.

Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:

1. Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
2. Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
3. Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.

Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.

Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem — and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.

Reason #2 - A Life Of Alienation

People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something — as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.

The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour — he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.

Reason #1 - You Have No Identity

It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him — it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.

The Perks of Working in IT

2007-03-11T16:01:00.001-07:00

This weekend I decided to have a geek weekend. The company I work for has Software Assurance with Microsoft on a few programs they license such as Office and Windows. This weekend I downloaded Windows Vista Enterprise from Microsoft and gave it a shot. I said goodbye to Windows XP and hello to Windows Vista. It installed basically without a hitch. Firefox does not seem to work very well with it but I will assume that will be fixed in due time. So for now I'm using Internet Explorer. So my geeky weekend went as follows. Friday I installed Vista and I have spent the rest of the weekend so far playing with its features. Last night I experimented with the voice recognition. It worked a lot better than I thought it would. I had a hard time having it write an email but if I want to spend more time on it I will. For now I don't think it would be something I would use that often. However, it is fun to say "Start Internet Explorer" and it launches. I haven't blogged in a while but I figured my geek weekend was blog worthy.

Snow?! In Mesa?!

2007-01-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

I know I do not post that often but this event deserves to be told. IT SNOWED! That is right, it snowed. Snowed in a place where just six or so months ago it was 1oo degrees at night. Last winter there was a freak storm that caused it to snow up in parts of North Scottsdale and those foothill areas. Places where it probably is a good 3000 feet above sea level. Mesa is a good 1500 feet at the most. So, I was sitting around watching the Phoenix Suns issue another beating to another unsuspecting team when my roommate Geoff calls me. Here is how it played out.

Geoff - "Dude is it snowing there?"
Me - "What?! No. Why?"
Geoff - "Grab your camera and come to Higley and McKellips it's coming down here!"

So off I went. I was already all geared up to go grab some grub so I hurried off with camera in hand to go meet Geoff. Here are some images from the extremely rare snow fall.

New Year's Resolutions

2007-01-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while but I figured I'd put down my resolutions for 2007 and see if I can hold to them. If I'm still blogging in 2008 I can look back and see how I did.

Lose weight - I don't work for McDonald's anymore so this should be easy....right? I need to develop some will power to do so.
Graduate college - I actually will be graduating this year in 4 months!
Become more financially stable - Right now I feel that I'm just getting by. However, with student loan payments more than likely coming up this year, I want to be more stable.
Be more organized - I'm looking at my desk and wondering where the surface of it went.
Be more self-confidant - I need to not be afraid to tell people what is going on or how I feel...to an extent.
Have a social life - Stop sitting at home on a Friday or Saturday night...GO OUT!

I think that is enough for now. If I have more I suppose I can add them to the list.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

2006-11-23T22:09:00.001-07:00

Today is the great day of stuffing one's face. Yet for some odd reason I eat less on Thanksgiving then any other day. I have never been a big turkey fan. I got overly excited when I saw that we were having ham as well. Enough about the food. This Thanksgiving was the first one at my Grandparents new house in Payson. Prior to this year, a Thanksgiving gathering meant driving 10 minutes to their house in Mesa. Now it is a fun drive up to the mountains. I actually had to bring a coat. There were a lot of people there. Every year there are more and more. Damn cousins getting married and having offspring. When there are that many people there is no other way to have Thanksgiving but buffet style. Otherwise know as "get it yourself."

After eating we went to the park by their house. The park has a couple lakes and a whole lot of ducks and geese. Just look at them all!
We were giving the ducks and geese some bird seed since they are birds. They started to get aggressive so we ran away. After the park it was back to the house for pie. The funny thing about pie was that since there was so much leftover pumpkin pie last year, no one brought any. We had cheesecake and banana cream. After all that it was time to go home and pack for tomorrow.

Tomorrow my mom and I are flying to North Carolina to see my brother Andrew. I'm taking my old laptop to give to him. I think that's enough blogging until I get back. I better go sync my iPod up for the 4 hour flight.

Prop 103: Arizona's Official Language is Now English

2006-11-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

The people have spoken! Prop 103 has been passed and English is now Arizona's official language. What does this change? Due to this being passed the following changes will be made:

Mesa, Arizona will now be Table, Arizona
Casa Grande, Arizona will be now Big House, Arizona
Aqua Fria Freeway will now be known as the Cold Water Freeway
Estrella Mountain will be Star Mountain.

This is a joke by the way, but what exactly does this accomplish? I am sure the claim is that it will save the state money in that they do not have to print everything in English and Spanish and have to have translators. However, I think these laws get proposed and passed because people believe it will stop or slow down immigration.

Someone is going to read this and think "No Nick that's not what it's all about." That, however, is assuming people read this blog. Think about this: we make these laws that make it harder for them to get into this country and laws that make it harder for them to even live in this country but what about the people who came here legally and have yet to learn English? Do they think that a family down in Mexico thinking about coming north to the US is going to think "Arizona is out of the question. We won't be able to read any government documents" or "Screw that, we have to show ID to vote there." They are not going to stop coming until Mexico fixes its economy and government. This concludes my random rant.

Car all fixed!

2006-10-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

My car is back after a week at the body shop and it looks brand new again. After $1300 in repairs, the dent is gone. Unfortunately, the insurance company could not determine liability on it. I was forced to pay the $500 deductible on the repairs. However, they did cut me a check for $250 to cover half of the liability. I guess their logic was that he was "half responsible." In the end, I am just glad my car is back.

It Has Been Awhile

2006-10-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I surely has been awhile since my last post. On top of that a lot has happened since my last post. The new job is fantastic. My stress level surely has dropped. I finally get to do what I love and that is work with computers. In my first month and a half at this job I have amazed myself. Before I started, I did not know if I can work with computers in a company environment. Sure I have fixed my own or a friend or family member's computer, but to do it for a company is different. For one thing, these computers do not get maintained as well as someone's personal computer would. They get beat up by the high school kids, files get deleted, all sorts of fun. An entire campus was still running Windows XP with Service Pack 1. I spent half a day just getting their computer lab up to Service Pack 2. I have also enhanced my troubleshooting skills thanks to Googling things, coworkers, or just trying stuff out. Finally the best part of it all, I work less hours, get paid more, and have weekends off. I now know what it is like to look forward to Friday. With McDonald's it was "Damnit it's Friday. I hate the weekend."

With ups, there are eventually downs. Early last month someone backed into my new car. I was at Fry's Electronics trying to pull into a parking space. I couldn't quite make the turn so I stopped to prepare to back up and adjust. I throw my car into reverse and just when I am about to start backing up, I look in my rear view mirror to see the horrifying sight of a pickup truck backing up into me. The claim has not been settled yet because of many reasons. For one thing, everyone that saw it happen kept right on walking. Two, they will not claim it to be their fault because they say I was backing up too on the basis that they saw my reverse lights on. Finally, no police report because it was in a parking lot. Right now I need to go to a body shop so they can do an estimate and send pictures to State Farm. The State Farm rep states that they can tell if I was moving from the damage. The sooner I get that done the better. However, I have found it hard to schedule appointments when I work Monday through Friday and get off work when places like that are closed. I may just have to take an extended lunch.

In other news, I am close enough to finishing at University of Phoenix (The Official University of the Arizona Cardinals...*sigh*) that I recieved a summary of what is left for me and to start planning for graduation. YAY! Soon I will be a college grad long in the making.

So Close to Leaving McDonald's...

2006-07-27T22:54:00.001-07:00

I can almost taste it. The sweet, sweet taste of finally getting a new job. Not just any new job, an IT job. Today, I spent part of my day off from McDonald's to go be orientated with my new job. It was the fun paper work type stuff that just makes you finally realize that it is really happening. One might think "So what? What's the big deal of changing jobs?" Well it is a big deal to one that felt that he was stuck going no where and felt he was wasting his money on getting a degree. Today just finally kissed that feeling goodbye. As of today I have 13 more shifts at McDonald's, a little over two weeks. Not only will I be making more but I will also be working less and for the first time in my life, a regular schedule with weekends off! I only have two more weeks of hating weekends. Two more weeks of 50 hours per week, 10 hours per day. Two more weeks of "Hi, can I help you?" Two more weeks of "Excuse me are you the manager?!" Two more weeks of being over worked and underpaid. I can't wait.

Paid Time Off, Time With Girlfriend, and New Job

2006-07-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a little more than halfway through the time off I took from work. It has been a nice productive time off. I haven't yet gone anywhere during this time off. I believe I might try to go up north this weekend. I have yet to decide. I would really like to get out of this 110 degree heat and I think this is the last chance I have this summer.

My time off started out nice. My girlfriend, Kim, spent the weekend at my house. She volunteered to help me organize my room. Just to make a point on how unorganized my room was, I had boxes that were still unpacked since I moved in here over 4 years ago. Organizing my room took quite some time. Kim also introduced me to Ikea. I didn't get much there but there are some neat things I could use. Now I can find things in my room. My room also now reminds me of how fantastic my girlfriend is.

While I've been off from work, Geoff, my roommate, landed me an interview at his job. It went really well. It was the most relaxed interview I've ever had. Mainly because it was with my roommate but the neat part of it was it was also with a teleconference with the head of IT in Michigan. I guess that made it easier because she was not in the room with me. I'm excited. I'm excited to finally get out of working for McDonald's but also this job will help me learn more then what school could ever do in terms of computers and IT. I have yet to start my new job let alone put in my notice at McDonald's but I am very excited.

Las Vegas Trip

2006-06-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to attempt to blog about my trip again. I made a previous attempt while in Vegas and I lost it. No, I didn't lose my mind or the shirt off my back. I lost the blog entry and it was a long one too. Oh well, here we go again.

This was a trip paid for by my work. Just when I think my job sucks, I get crazy benefits like trips to Vegas and no working involved during the trip. The trip was for store managers, assistant managers, supervisors, and their spouses. Unfortunately that meant my girlfriend Kim couldn't go which was a bummer. Well, I toughed it out but it made it so now I want to go on a trip with her to Vegas. Now more about my trip.

Day 1
The first day was an interesting day. To start out with, I only got a couple hours of sleep. On top of that, I was traveling on June 6, 2006, 06/06/06. That alone made it an interesting day. While waiting for my flight, I was watching CNN in the airport. It wasn't my choice, that was what was on. Anyway, all CNN talked about was that it was 06/06/06 and how people think the world is going to end, blah blah blah. I didn't think the world was going to end but it sure delayed my flight. We get told the plane was broken and they needed to get one from the hanger. Best of all, they already loaded the luggage, so off with the luggage before switching the plane. Fifty minutes to an hour later, we are in the air.

After getting to Vegas and then to the hotel, I met up with other people from McDonald's. We decided to walk around and check out this Las Vegas Hilton we were staying in. In walking around we came across an iPod vending machine.
Quite odd but my friends say they have seen those before. My roommate Geoff said he has seen them in an airport. What better but the buy an empty iPod before your flight. I guess you can play solitaire on your new iPod. I think it would be better if you can get the iPod Shuffle in a little plastic ball.

After walking around the hotel, I went up to my room and crashed. I slept for a good couple hours before having dinner. What kind of dinner was it? But a buffet of course! You can't do Vegas without eating at a buffet. That would just be wrong. After eating we walked 800 miles or so to check out the Wynn Hotel. Okay, it wasn't 800 miles but it was a long walk in the heat. The Wynn Hotel was neat but we felt a little underdressed just to stand there. So back the "800 miles" to the Hilton and to bed.

Day 2
The second day in Vegas started out with some expensive breakfast and some free wi-fi surfing. Since the Hilton charges $11 a day to use internet in the room, I was forced to find some free wi-fi at a cafe by the lobby. The breakfast was expensive. I spent $8 on a cinnamon roll and an orange juice. I didn't realize that little bottle of OJ was going to be $4. Oh well, it's internet time. That was my first attempt at blogging about my day. Since Blogger seemed to have gone down while I was in a middle of posting, that first attempt failed. Since that didn't work out I decided to do some homework. That's right, I did homework in Vegas. However, while I was in the cafe I found another manager and we got an all day monorail pass and hopped around to different hotels.

We then came back to the Hilton and relaxed before setting out again for the "O" show at the Belagio, another part of the trip paid for by work. That was an interesting show. Acrobatics and water, what more can you ask? After the show, we went back to the Hotel. After a little conversation with my girlfriend, I went to sleep, concluding day 2.

Day 3
Day 3 was a simple day. I got up, had breakfast and went to the airport to fly home. One interesting part of the flight home was Las Vegas Airport security. They had one of those bomb sniffing machines. It blows air on you and smells you. Good thing I showered.

That basically concludes my trip. You can fine more pictures on my website. http://www.nickgailfus.com

Nick vs The Tow Company 2

2006-05-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

The following is a complaint I made to the Phoenix Better Business Bureau about Absolute Impound.

This is mainly a complaint on how they handle customers. On May 11th my car was towed stating that it was in a fire lane. The fire lane was on the other side of the road. When trying to contest this with the tow company they told me to go to the Homeowners' Association (HOA) which is Brown Property Management. The HOA stated that the tow company is required to take a picture of the violation. When I contacted Absolute Impound the second time the person who answered the phone took my name and number and said someone would call me back. This occured within less than a week of the tow. I never recieved that call. I called 2 days later due to the weekend and I was told the person I needed to speak to was on vacation until Monday the 29th (today). That put it off for another week. I called and got a hold of the person to complain to and I was told it was too late to dispute it. It would not have been too late if I was taken care of when I called originally. This is inapproriate and I feel my complaints were ignored until it was too late. I was also told when contacting them today that the picture is disposed of after the car was picked up. No where was I told that my ability to dispute the claim was waved when I picked up my vechicle.

I made this complaint after I finally got a hold of someone there to complain about the tow. I then left an angry message with the Property Manager for Homestead 1 at Brown Property Management. I told him that the tow company refused to let me dispute my claim and that if I was in a fire lane, their storage bin is in violation (see previous post).

Nick vs The Tow Company

2006-05-21T02:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I came home from my weekly night of education to find very little parking on my street. Now let me give some background to this. I live in a "subdivision," I guess it can be called, with narrow roads. Now this subdivision is maintained by Brown Property Management as the homeowners' association (HOA). The neighborhood has narrow roads and because of this, one side of each road is designated the fire lane.

Now since there was very little parking due to a neighbor having company, I was forced to park down the street and around the corner in this dead end. The left side of the dead end was marked "No Parking." The right side was not and I was not the first person to ever park here. Here's a picture of the dead end street for reference. The white barricade says not parking and is clearly on the left side of the road.

I got up for work the next morning and walked out to find my car gone. Angry beyond belief I called the police to see what was going on. They said that the car had been towed for being in a "Fire Lane." Still pissed off, I had my roommate Debbie take me to the tow place to pick up my car. Being already late for work, I payed the $190 to get my car out.

When getting my car out, I asked who I would complain about this to and they said the homeowners' association. The HOA told us that the tow company, which I should mention now is Absolute Impound, is required to take a picture of the violation. When calling the tow company on this the guy on the phone changed from "you need to take this up with the HOA" to "what was your name, phone number, ect." I have still yet to hear back from them and being that I have Monday off, they will hear from me some more. I should also mention that they scratched my door when breaking into my car in order to tow it.

Last but not least, if my car was in violation of a fire lane, surely this storage bin that is there now is.

Bloggin' it Up For Once

2006-05-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Holy Smokes! Nick is writing a blog entry! That's right...a blog entry. It's been a while (8 months or so) but I've never really thought about what I would want to write on something like this. So I'll try to sum up the last 8 months in one quick blog.

For the 8 months that I haven't been blogging I've been dating Kim :). It's the best relationship I've been in and I have so much fun with her.

I got into a car wreck the week before Christmas. A mechanic from Bill Heard Chevy rear ended me in a customer's car. That resulted in the first car I ever bought new to be totaled. I ended up getting a good chunk of change in insureance money and used it to get the car I've wanted for a while, a Vue. If it wasn't for gas prices I'd be driving everywhere in that thing....planning road trips whenever I can...mmmmm.

Another major event would be my brother randomly deciding to join the army. His basic training ends this week and then he's off to the Airborne and learning how to jump out of planes. I wish I could have taken the time off to see his graduation it's happening the same day as I have to be at school. That's what sucks about year round school...no break until graduation.

Which comes to another point...I am officially less than one year away from finishing school. I am set to finish in April 2007. I can't wait!

I think this is enough for my first blog in 8 months.

Dave Matthews Band Concert

2005-08-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

It may have been 110 degrees outside but that doesn't stop me from seeing my favorite band. Dave Matthews Band performed at Cricket Pavilion Tuesday night and they rocked. I can't say the same for the opening act, Slightly Stoopid. A bunch of white guys from San Diego trying to sing like they are from Jamaica. Plus they try way to hard to be like Sublime. I'm sorry but no one can be like Sublime. The humorous part of it all is that after they left the stage they were playing a Sublime CD while they were setting up for Dave. I found that amusing.

So out came Dave Matthews. My favorite member is the drummer Carter Beauford and he didn't disappoint. There was plenty of crazy drumming songs. Say Goodbye being one of them. Nothing like a song that starts with a 3 minute drum solo. The concert later turned into the Boyd Tinsley show. He's the violin player by the way. He was playing that violin so hard his sunglasses came off...twice. The songs they played from the new album made me feel better about the album itself. The new album sounded too manufactured and boring but seeing them perform the songs live and jam them out restored my faith in them. All I can really say is the concert was one of the best one's I have been too.

Set List:

Everyday
Dream Girl
Stand Up

Say Goodbye
Rhyme & Reason
Hunger For The Great Light
Crash
Smooth Rider
American Baby Intro
American Baby
Seek Up
Dancing Nancies
Louisiana Bayou
Ants Marching
__________________

You Might Die Trying
What You Are

New iPod / Back to School

2005-08-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here I go with my second Blog post. I don't post much but I figured I should start.

I'll start off with the new iPod. I should really say replacement iPod #2, making it my third iPod in less than a year. iPod #1 - the original lasted until about June. It started acting like a CD that was rubbed with sandpaper. Songs would skip or freeze resulting in the iPod giving up on them and trying the next song. Sometimes it ended up going through about 10 songs before finding one it can play. So hey, I'll restore it and upgrade its software and wow that made it worse. A trip to Chandler Mall and the Apple Store resulted in iPod #2. Keep in mind these are replacements covered by warrenty.

iPod #2 performed great. I didn't have any problems with it for about 2 months until last night. I was listening to it and it randomly decided to freeze on a song. The iPod decided not to respond to me hitting play and what not so I reset it. The reset came up with a picture of an iPod with a sad face. So iPod #2 slipped into a state of depression and didn't want anything to do with music or even just turning on. So I went to the Apple Store again and got myself iPod #3.

So far all I've done with iPod #3 is put music on it but I'll see how that one goes. I decided to extend my warrenty another year since replacement iPods are only warrentied 90 days or to the end of your original iPod's warrenty, whichever is later. Since the original iPod's warrenty ends in September making the replacement iPod only warrentied 90 days from today...I figured $47 is a lot cheaper than $100 or more for a new mp3 player.

On to first day back to school. Normally University of Phoenix is an all year school but I was randomly given a one month break. Being that it is possibly my last break all the way through Spring 2007, I tried to make the best of it. I surely enjoyed not having to write a paper or two every week, but now I'm back into it and this class looks like a breeze. Computer and Information Systems. There is one individual paper due for this class and it is to define components of a computer. That should be easy enough. Knowing how I do homework I'll end up putting it off until next week before class.

So that was my day today...of course I left out the oil change. I usually look at new cars at the dealership while waiting for my oil change but they were practically sold out. Crazy what giving people the employee discount can do.