New Addition To The Family

I’ve wanted to get Reba, my third child, a playmate for some time now. She’s very playful and can just play for hours if you have the energy to keep up with her. Problem is, I just don’t have the energy to keep up with her play needs. I contemplated about getting another dog, but two dogs in an apartment would be a little cramped.

So the next best thing would be a cat, I thought. Cats are low maintenance and can be very playful. Sounded good on paper, but every time Reba sees a cat she wants to eat… err play hide and go seek in her mouth with them, so that could pose a problem.

Wait! I got it! Kitten. She wouldn’t eat a kitten (so I thought), and then they could grow up together and get used to one another. Man I’m a super genius!

So me and the girls set off to find a kitten for Reba to ea… play with. This was back in Jan/Feb time frame, and unbeknownst to me it wasn’t kitten season yet. We would stop by the SPCA now and then to check and see if any came in, but each time we either was too early or missed the last batch of kittens, so eventually we just gave up. Plus it was getting risky making that many frequent trips to the SPCA. With all those puppies also needing a home, who knew how many I would bring home.

Then, back in early July, my daughter Aletha and her friends found a kitten near the freeway hiding under a car. Knowing that I was in the market she called me, and Amanda and I went to have a gander. By this time the thought of getting a kitten had lost my interest, and I was secretly hoping it would be a flee infested feral mongrel so I wouldn’t have to bring it home. Foiled again!

Daisy ~8 Weeks old.

She was just adorable, and very loving. I was very surprised considering where she was found. Although she was pretty frail, with very little meat on her tiny frame, her fur was soft as an angora sweater. We named her Daisy.

Reba and Daisy's first meeting. Feel the love!

So we took her home for the Reba test. And much as I expected, Reba tried to eat her. Reba would just stare intently at Daisy, drooling and licking her lips. I had never seen Reba act like that before, and it was rather scary. Funny thing was, Daisy wasn’t the least bit scared of Reba. She might as well have been a giant throw pillow as far as she was concerned.

Amanda displays Daisy's single white toe.

Well after about a week or so, Reba finally got used to Daisy and now they are the best of buds. They chase each other around the house, and Daisy loves playing with Reba’s tail. She also loves to torment Reba when she’s in her cage. Sometimes they sleep together and Daisy will curl up between Reba’s legs. Ok, everybody at once… “Awwwww!”

Reba and Daisy napping during a recent road trip.

I’m glad things worked out. In the early stages it was a bit touch and go. Especially the first day when Reba tried to swallow Daisy’s head… while it was still attached. Daisy is growing fast, and she is just a little terror around the house. And much like Reba, is full of nonstop energy. They were made for each other. Can I get another… “Awwwww!”

Daisy now, aprox 16 weeks old.

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

~Michael

Bad Business

So it’s been a rather depressing week here at TI Corporate HQ, for me at least. They announced Tuesday that they will be shutting down the entire DLP manufacturing test area (DMA/T), leaving 75+ people out of work, and transferring another 130+ people to other facilities. Why? They are moving the test operations overseas to Taiwan and Malaysia (no surprise there). More on that later.

While the loss of 75 people doesn’t seem like a lot for a big corporation like Texas Instruments, it’s yet another cruel example of corporate greed. Thankfully my job won’t be effected (at least not short term), since I’m on the R&D side of the fence. But it still hits me hard seeing people, especially my friends, loose their jobs. Worse, loosing their jobs, too foreign countries.

This is a growing and alarming trend that corporations are going these days. Yes, I understand that it’s a business, and a company is in business to make money, but that wasn’t the case here. Our division has been very profitable the last few years. No, the real reason was greed. They saw an opportunity to increase profits, and they went for it. Kudos to them and the upper management that will reap huge profits from this move. On paper, it makes perfect sense. Why not? They’re not the ones loosing their jobs.

The problem lies in the future. You see while moves like this may help companies in the short term, you can’t keep sending jobs out of the country and not expect it to negatively affect our economy. You keep laying off people, and forcing them into retirement or to take lower paying jobs, and no one will be able to buy your products. Certainly not $1500 TV’s.

As a country, we already import twice the amount of products we export. We import produce, dry foods, beef, oil, electronics, and automobiles to name but a few. All of which we are fully able to produce for ourselves. You factor in the hundred’s of thousands (maybe even millions) of jobs being outsourced to other countries (and more everyday), and the amount of illegal immigrants flooding into our country, and you got a recipe for disaster. And don’t get me started on how our country gives away millions and millions of dollars a year of free education to foreigners, when our own children are being turned away.

Pretty soon our only commodity to the world will be Entertainment. In a country where you have the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Vick and Paris Hilton, making millions of dollars and getting away with murder (literally), it makes me sick to my stomach.

Middle class will soon be a thing of the past. I don’t care how you try to spin it… its simply bad business.

~Michael

I'm A Big Looser

Ever since I graduated from High School and got married, which was 20 years ago, I've struggled with my weight. I weighed roughly 155 then, and since, have shamefully ballooned up to ~270 at my heaviest.

The question is why? Why such a drastic weight gain, and why haven’t I been able to get it off. The answers are varied, but the bottom line is poor diet and poor exercise. When you really think about it, loosing weight is a simple concept. You need to burn more calories then you take in. Yup, a simple concept, but not so simple to execute.

Our bodies are amazingly smart machines. If you’re like I was, I would only eat 2 meals, rarely 3, a day. Well, our bodies are programmed for survival. If you go too long between meals, your body will begin to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism, and storing what excess food you feed it as fat, since that’s the most efficient source for your body to convert to energy when it needs it.

Same with water. If you don’t take in enough water, your body will store any excess water you take in for later use, not knowing when it will get it again. Smart. Only, these are the kinds of things that lead to weight gain over time.

Oh I’ve tried dieting and exercise many times before in the past, but they always ended in failure. Why? Mostly because I didn’t stick with it. The key to loosing weight and keeping it off is combining change of diet with exercise. Oh sure, you can loose weight with diet alone, but rarely do you keep it off. You got to get that heart rate up to burn those calories! That, and the leaner you are the more efficient your body burns calories.

So I decided this time I would chronicle my progress to help me keep focused on my goals. My first goal is to get to 230 by the end of Oct. My niece Erika is getting married on the beach in So Cal, so I would like to look half way decent for that. My ultimate goal is to get to 200. According to health “experts” for my height, 5’9”, ideally I should be in the 175-185 range. But I have a “stocky” frame and broad shoulders, so I think 200 is a reasonable goal for now. Besides I’m less concerned with the actual weight amount, and more with health and overall appearance. Once I get to 200 I will reevaluate and see how I look and feel then before setting any new goals.


As of yesterday, 1 month after I started my diet and exercise routine, I’ve lost 15 lbs. I’m very encouraged by my results so far, which is really keeping me motivated to stick with it this time. I know in time the weight loss will slow down considerably, that’s why I think it’s important to stay focused on my goals.


As you can see from this picture, you can really see the difference in my face. A lot of that was “water weight”, as before my only real water intake came from sodas. Oh sure, I still have the face of a pit bull, that will never change, but at least it will be a lean pit bull face.

I’ve also gone down 2 belt notches, which even more exciting to me then the actual weight loss. I already feel so much better physically. I can’t wait to get to the point where I will need to buy new cloths. I’m getting close to that point now.

So why now? Why the sudden urge to loose weight? Well, as some of you might know I lost my father last year to complications from leukemia. My father was always concerned about my weight. Not because of my looks, but because of health concerns. So after he passed I promised myself I would finally do it. It took me a long while to get motivated, mostly because I was still very depressed about the loss of my father, and then my sister the year before that (also from cancer). But that’s behind me now. It’s the start of a new me!

California here I come!


~Michael

Start of Something New

Here we are... the start of something new.

I've been meaning to look into this whole "blog" thing for awhile, but it just never managed to crack my "Top 50 Things To Do" list, that seems to grow and grow everyday. My buddy Trey is the one who inspired me to finally get things going. He just recently made is 200th post. Nice!

I don't live an exciting life by any stretch of the imagination, so I doubt there will be much outside interest in my postings, other then maybe to a few friends and family, but if nothing else it gives me a creative outlet to put my thoughts down on paper. That and its a way to sort of chronicle my life as I venture forth.

An added bonus feature is my friends/family won't be subjected to near as many mass mailings of interesting things I find on the web, which I'm sure they will appreciate. :)

So sit back, relax and enjoy this adventure with me.

~Michael