I caught an article on MSN a few days ago while loading a browser at work which had the six most underwatched shows. One of them was Arrested Development. And after Monday night's episode, I really don't understand it. I really can't remember laughing out loud as hard as I did Monday night during the "Godzilla" scene for a long time. And to top it off, Charlize Theron is still guest starring.

But if you watched the show on Monday, you'll know what MRF stands for (and it's not Mr. F like Michael Bluth thought it was). And if you know what MRF stood for, you'll understand why the license plate I saw yesterday was so funny:

THE MRF

I'm not sure if the person driving was going for "The Merf" or what it was supposed to stand for, and before Monday night, it probably had only one meaning. And although MRF probably won't be in common usage because a) it's politically incorrect and b) Arrested Development is still one of the most underwatched shows on television, the license plate just made me crack up. Since I don't want to give away what MRF stood for since it'll ruin a good part of the preceding story arc, I'll leave it in a comment in case you're curious.

And watch Arrested Development on Mondays!

URL: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT :: FOX Broadcasting Company

Last night, voters in California overwhelmingly rejected four measures sponsored by the governor in order to reshape California. The four measures would have slowed the growth rate of spending in California (hmm...makes sense since we're in a deficit), redrawn the legislative and congressional districts (not a great idea, since it could be redrawn pretty much any way three people wanted in order to turn the state red or blue), a plan to lengthen teachers' probationary period from two years to five (which makes all the sense in the world, but was opposed by the huge Teachers' Union), and one to require public employee unions to get members' permission before dues could be used for political purposes (another one that makes all the sense in the world, but had $100 million in negative campaigns run against it BY the unions WITH their members' dues).

Now, while these measures didn't pass, I commend Governor Schwarzenegger for having the guts to put them up for a vote. He knew that he'd be taking on the unions who could easily outspend him. He knew that he might not have the majority needed for them to pass, and he knew if he failed, he could easily lose the next election. But he tried. He tried to actually do something in Sacramento. He didn't sit back and let California go to hell in a handbasket like Grey Davis did. He put his political future on the line for the good of California. And even though his measures failed, I give him credit for trying.

No matter what happens, I'm with the Governor. He's working to change California for the better. Which is more than I can say for most politicians in their respective states.

"Tomorrow, we begin anew," Schwarzenegger said, his wife Maria Shriver beside him. "I feel the same tonight as that night two years ago ... You know with all my heart, I want to do the right thing for the people of California."

I do know. And thank you for doing it.

URL: My Way News

I know I haven't talked much about my new job (though it's not that old any more) and I'm not sure how much I'll go into it (especially since at least one person at work knows about this site), but I'm really enjoying it there. Each day at the bank, I watched the clock, counted down the minutes, maximized every break, and, in general, just loathed the actual job itself. Granted, most of the co-workers were great people and the customers were awesome, but just the job itself sucked.

My new job, however, is quite different. I wake up in the morning actually looking forward to the day. I put in the long hours because I like what I'm doing. And I go in on weekends not because I need the extra hours (like I did at the bank), but because there's work to do and I don't mind going in on my day off to get it done.

And, of course, as in any job you're going to enjoy doing, the people there are great. At times, it doesn't even feel like work. Everyone's got their own little nickname (in fact, I've changed the title of the blog for a while to one of the few that I have - either Blade, Blaze, or Blazer - just depends on the mood other people are in - most notably my boss). Whether it's The Senator, Spoonarelli or Sha-nene, we all have fun around the office, get the work done, and enjoy doing it.

I've been slowly moving on up in the ranks and hopefully I'll get my own project to work on soon. I've already been given extra responsibilities with the server management (gee...wonder why they picked me), and once our expansion upstairs is complete (just a few more weeks hopefully), I'll finally have my own desk and computer (they're just sitting in the lobby, waiting for space to occupy).

And, as you can tell, I've been updating less frequently because of my new job - I'm probably averaging 10 hours a day over the past couple weeks and since last week, I've been trying to kick a cold that just won't go away (though getting 10 hours of sleep last night and some antibiotics helped a good deal today). I'm going to try and update more, but I can't guarantee anything. In fact...I'm about to start a new post right now.

URL: :::: Developers Research ::::

Man, that's just gorgeous. 838 gigs of storage. 69.2 gigs of high-speed main drive capability. Now...what to fill it with?

URL: Maxtor.com - MaXLine III

You know, you might have a problem when you have an 18+ page topic on your forums about your "state-of-the-art" sound card creating popping or static noises.

You might want to do something about it when so many people complain, contact support, and still get no answers.

If you're going to sell sound cards that cost from $100-$300 and claim they're the best ever, you just might want to make sure they work.

Oh yeah, while they don't work with motherboards with the nForce4 chipset, they also don't work with Windows XP 64-bit edition either. You might want to fix that.

Unfortunately, when I bought the sound card, I didn't take the time to check to see if it worked with 64-bit Windows. That was my mistake. I assumed that a brand new sound card these days would be compatible with all Windows versions. But when they don't work with a whole line of motherboards, motherboards with what is probably the most popular chipset out there today, then that's not my problem. I didn't think that I'd have to check to make sure the soundcard worked with my nForce4 chipset. It should work automatically. There shouldn't be a problem. There shouldn't be an 18+ page thread on the official Customer Support forums with no word from Creative on how to fix it.

So here I am, still sitting with a worthless soundcard in my system after taking the time and effort to convert back to Windows XP 32-bit edition (which I did have to buy for $180...). What a joke.

URL: X-Fi Fatal1ty Popping/crackling noises - Sound Blaster - Creative Labs