I heard about StackOverflow.com back when it was launched but never really checked it out. I went back about a month ago and realized just how awesome it was. The idea of the site is it's Q&A for programmers. You ask a question and get answers in minutes from multiple users. Then other people come in and vote on which answers they agree with or add their comments. You then mark which answer is accepted. There are points awarded to everyone based on their input which is displayed by your name. It feels like a video game and you find yourself desperately refreshing the page so you can answer somebody's question and score some points. The whole thing is free and just works.

They also have ServerFault for system admins and SuperUser (general computer questions, coming soon).

I just started my first open source project by publishing a little helper app I wrote over the weekend. I was a little overwhelmed with which open source site to publish it on. I ended up going with code.google.com. My app scans a directory and finds folders that don't have sub-directories or mp3's in it. Itunes will "organize" your library but doesn't clean up the old directories it creates. This will let you know what they are and delete them if you like.

MP3 Folder Scrubber

I spent about a week trying to find Punch Out for the Wii at Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. I ended doing a 10 day free trial of Gamefly and got it from there.

The graphics are pretty cool and there is a ton of voice acting in it. I think I like the new system of rounds instead of just 3 knockdowns and you are out. I'm currently stuck on Don Flamenco but I knocked him out in practice so I think I can win that belt tonight.

I think I'm going to have to buy this after I send it back, I'm not even halfway through yet and there are supposed to be a bunch of new features as well as Balance Board support.

I'm getting really bad about updating this.

On the 15th, my company had NASCAR Day which was a fundraiser as well as our annual kart race. A guy in our department welded a frame out of tube steel and the graphic designer painted it to look like the Scooby Doo van. I was won of the "engines" and we just barely managed to win the gold medal.

I'm back on the summer hockey team and got a shutout last week. It was a pretty game, our defense kept the quality scoring chances low. I'm actually playing twice this week so that should help with burning some fat. I took last weekend off from the diet to enjoy the No Doubt concert but I need to lose another 15 pounds or so before the end of the summer.

I hope Hollywood Video has Punch Out in stock. It looks like fun but not $40 worth.

Cousin Jeri got married last Saturday in Angola, IN and we were there. Our flight to Detroit was excruciating because I had a middle seat in a different row from Rachel and only slept for 1 of the 4 hours in the air. I figured I would sleep the whole time so I didn't bother to bring any books. I just sat there, cramped in my seat, and stared straight ahead like some sort of lunatic.

We spent a day with Rachel's family and then another with my family before heading to the wedding. The reception was a blast as we both consumed way more alcohol than we have in a long time. Our flight back was better because I bought and read a Michael Crichton book. It would have been better if the monotone idiot behind us would have taken a breath instead of droning on for 4 hours about the same crap.

We are going back again in July for Rachel's friend's wedding. She is going to spend almost 2 weeks there while I'll just go back for 4 days again. I might have to get some extra hockey in during that bachelor time. It's also looking like a great summer for movies with Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Harry Potter 6, GI Joe, Angels and Demons, and Transformers 2.

Labatt's hosted the Arizona Adult Hockey State Championship here in Phoenix this weekend. We signed up and figured we had a decent shot at winning it. The first game was Friday night against a team I beat last weekend when subbing at Polar Ice Peoria. They really only had 2 good skaters and for some reason neither of them were there that night. We won 19-2. Normally we would have stopped running up the score but goal differential was part of the tiebreaker rules.

The next day we had 2 games, one at noon and the other at 7:20 PM. The morning game was close but one of our better skaters was ejected and suspended from the night game and we let it slip away in the final minutes. The final score of that one was 5-3. I came home, ate Chipotle and played Mario Kart with Rachel, and watched a movie before it was time to go back for the night game. We played the Stars and it was a massacre. We ended up losing 8-2. If we would have won that game there was a 90% chance we would have been in the championship. Even with the loss, we could have still made it if the later games finished a certain way because of our huge goal differential Friday night.

As it turned out, we had to play the Stars again this morning to see who got 3rd place. We had our suspended player back but still lost 7-1. We only had 10 skaters for the tournament while most of the other teams had the full 16 player rosters. We were so tired going into each game that we just couldn't keep up. I lost track of how many breakaways I faced today. I think only stopped 2 or 3 of them.

So I ended the weekend with some fresh bruises, a twisted knee (not hockey related), and gear that I could wring and have water drip out of. All and all I had a really good time.

I forgot to post my weight last week. We lost the hockey championship in the shootout, so that was pretty disappointing.

One of the things we wanted to get with our refund check was a grill for the backyard. We've been at the house for over a year and just never got around to it because it always seemed like there was something more important to do. We got this at Lowes and I put it together in the garage yesterday with Lucy supervising. I need to pick up a propane tank after work today so we can grill some hamburgers stuffed with bleu cheese.

I just discovered that the Popcorn Hour has the first season of Jericho streamable from CBS' website. I never got into it when it was on because I couldn't start from the beginning. Now that I am hooked I find out it was canceled 7 episodes into the second season. Hopefully they saw it coming and tied up some loose ends.

Well I'm starting to come out of the tunnel of head cold snot I've been in for the past week. I could feel it starting last Wednesday before my hockey game and even stayed home last Friday because I was at the achy stage. We played putt-putt on my birthday but by the time we drove home I was ready to shower and hack up all the crap in my throat and just go to sleep.

Wednesday was the first round of our hockey playoffs and it got off to a rocky start. I tried to come out to the right to play a puck that the opposing team was going to get to but I whiffed on it and the guy was able to dump an easy one in right away. I let 3 more in during the period that I can 100% attribute to a lack of mental focus. We scored 3 ourselves before the period ended which helped my anxiety a lot by being down 1 instead of 3.

The 2nd and 3rd periods were like a completely different game. We came out and shutdown the other team. The final score was 9-4 and ended with a minute left because the other goal freaked out and speared one of the guys on her team when he was kicked or something. It was hard for me to see what was happening from the other end. Our next game is Wednesday against a team we were 2-0-1 against during the regular season. If we win that, we will be in the championship.

Sick. Can't talk. Will write more later.

I saw Watchmen on Saturday night and it was pretty good. It's not your typical super hero movie, all of the characters are psychologically broken in some way.

The Popcorn Hour is ordered and should be arriving tomorrow. I've got the jukebox set up, the speakers rewired, and an Ethernet cable installed in the entertainment center. The digital conversion of our dvd collection should also be done in the next few days. It's hard to believe that it's taken me over 2 months to do this. It's not like I was slacking, it just takes the computer that long to convert the video files. I'll post pictures after everything is installed.

Rachel's friend Chelsea has lent me a phone to use until mine shows up. It's hot pink and I'm not embarrassed to use it.

It's about one month until my birthday. My latest obsession is with digital video and I started it by ripping my entire dvd collection to the server in my office. I've got about 100 movies and a few seasons of TV shows on there now and can pull them up and start watching from any computer in the house. The target now is to get those working on the TV downstairs in the living room. I thik the best way for me to do that is to get a Popcorn Hour.

If you are planning on giving me a birthday present, the best one would be cash so I can save up and get it. Some people think cash is tacky but it's really a gift card that you can use anywhere. How convenient! If your policy is to only give physical goods, dvds are always good and are pretty easy to ship. I would like:

• Simpsons seasons 6, 7, 8, or 11
• Family Guy Volumes 3, 4, or 5
• Any season of Futurama
• Seinfeld season 5 or higher
• Transformers
• Iron Man

If you would like to get me a gift but can't/don't want to spend any money, there is an alternative. Go to ihasahotdog.com and find your favorite picture and email me a link. Any other pictures that make me laugh are also accepted.

The office is starting up another weight loss competition. The 3 prizes are a day of vacation given at 3.5% lost, 7% lost, and another day for the overall % loss winner. The deadline is Memorial Day so I have about 13 weeks to lose 17 lbs. Because I'm competitive and want the overall win, I'm going to hit the gym almost every day from now until then. I think if I can maintain 2 lbs. a week, that would be 26 lbs. and a little over 10% lost.

Last Monday I went to a 2 v 2 pickup hockey game on the mini rinks at Ozzie Ice. It was a blast, I was actually able to hit the other goal in the air from my own! I loaded up the washing machine when I got home because the jersey and UnderArmor was due for it. I also threw my jeans but forgot to take my cell phone out of the pocket. Needless to say, that phone is dead.

T-Mobile doesn't want to give me a discount on a new phone because I just signed a 2 year contract in December for their ripoff "free" flight program. I wasn't going to pay $130 for their cheapest phone that I didn't even really like that much. Luckily I thought to check eBay and bought the exact same phone that I destroyed for $40. Knowing my luck it will be dead when it arrives.