http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrcgoose/4117465176/

Yeah, totally cool getting to be able to see him.

Steve-

To those who haven't been following the drama, the short version of events so far:

So, the last laptop died in March.  To replace it, I decided to join Club Mac and ordered a Macbook Pro from Apple.  First problem was that Apple will not ship directly to an APO (Overseas military) address, so I had the package sent to Dad in LA to forward here.  The package got there all right, and was mailed to me here in Korea on July 11th.

That was the last anyone has seen of it.

USPS states that no claim may be made on insured mail going to an APO until 45 days after the package was mailed.  This was done and we're awaiting to hear back from them on the claim being paid out.

Now today's fun and games:

So, seeing as how Dad's going to be the one receiving the claim money, he went down to the Apple Store at our local mall and got the replacement machine today.  After carefully hiding it in the trunk of the car, he went to the gym to do his daily work out.  As he came out of the gym, he found the gym security surrounding the car and the punched out rear window of it.  The briefcase and two fancy cameras were untouched.  The only thing missing was of course the carefully hidden laptop.

These guys were real pros.  They knew exactly where it was.

Best guess is that they followed Dad from the store and simply waited for their moment.

To LAPD: You're useless.  They refused to come out even to take a report.  Forget the fact that there were supposedly clear fingerprints on the side of the car to look at.

To the folks who stole the laptop: BURN IN HELL, MOTHER FUCKERS.

Steve-

If you've seen the movie 'Alpha Dog', then you know the story of Nick Markowitz. In short, he was kidnapped in August 2000 and murdered above the hills above Santa Barbara.

I knew Nick since elementary school. He was one of my first buddies when I moved to West Hills. So, I was so happy to hear this today: Jessie James Hollywood Convicted of Kidnapping and Murder

Of course, it will spend the next twenty years in appeals court. But, none the less, justice is served.

Steve-

Last post tonight, I promise!

Can someone please identify the following song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scfDKe-d4w

And no, it is NOT a Rickroll for those of you who might be concerned that it might be.

Steve-

To understand today's story, I first have to retell the story of last year's Korea trip...

( To spare you the fine details... )

Steve-

Tags: rant

Arrived in South Korea last night, and damn am I tired.  It's a 12 hour flight from LAX, and I've never been able to get much sleep on an airplane.

Steve-

I have left St. Louis!

Moved out of the house Tuesday after a hectic weekend of packing and cleaning.  I was hoping then to spend Wednesday taking care of all remaining outprocessing items, but Mother Nature decided it amusing to throw an additional four inches of snow at us Tuesday night adding to the four inches from the previous night.  This of course caused the base to close out of the interest of safety.  So, everything got compressed into a hectic dash on Thursday.  After some road bumps tracking people down to get signatures and approvals (Enter: Dr. Jane's 'Anthem to Burocracy'), I left the base about 4pm.

The road trip itself was rather nice. Ended up in Jopin, MO on Thursday night, Grants, NM on Friday night, and am home as of last night.

It's good to be home.

Steve-

The house is empty, save for the trash and things that need to get loaded in the car.  Now I have all weekend to do that and clean up the place before the carpet cleaners come on Monday.

Steve-

The house is very empty now.  The cat left on Tuesday night, and the furniture left yesterday.  I'm currently waiting for the next round of movers to come and take the stuff going to my next assignment.  It turns out that there's not a whole lot of stuff going.

At work, the paperwork I've been dreading began it's sluggish trek through bureaucracy on Monday.  Much to my surprise, everyone seems to be supportive of pushing this through and getting me out of here.  But, ultimately that decision lies at the top of the chain and there's no telling what their decision will be.  But, all I can do is keep moving forward with the move until told otherwise.

Steve-

Just got home from the long road trek from GAFilk.  Thankfully, it appears as if all of the snow and cold is still several hours away, though there were small spots of rain starting just before Mt. Vernon.

This GAFilk was one of the best filkcons I've been to during my time in the Midwest.  Thanks to all the people who made this one special!

Steve-