my day went a little something like this...

Woke up at 5, worked out, got to work a little before 8 and did not leave until 8:20pm. I don't know if I will be pulling another 12hr day tomorrow, but it is highly probable.

my weekend

Here's the breakdown:
After my Friday/Saturday marathon work"day", I went to sleep shortly after SNL started (I woke up at 5pm after going to sleep around noon-12:30). I woke up at 5am Sunday, was at church for 7:45am Mass, then got some Bucks & donuts (1/2 doz.) and made it in at 9:15am & started work @ 9:30. I only took a 20min break to get some Grandy's around 2:15pm and finally finished my day at 10:30pm. So, after finishing a 20hr day at 5am Sat (not including the 1.5hrs at 10am), I busted out a 13hr day Sunday. Yeah, I am a machine. This is what one has to do when they are solely responsible for an entire dept in a company. It helps out tremendously that I love what I do otherwise, I would not be so dedicated.


Today, I have to do laundry and clean up my neglected apt. I was going to go grocery shopping, but I am going to skip it. I just don't feel like dealing with that today. I'd rather relax by staying in and taking care of business here at home. I think I will have some Simpsons DVDs (3rd Season) playing while I do my thing. I hope everyone has a great day!

simpsons quote

Tonight was the episode where Ned opened up Praiseland in honor of Maude's dream after she died. In the opening scene, it is where Rev. Lovejoy held an ice cream festival and Bart & Milhouse are under a tree as they ate all the toppings and both boys are stuffed. Milhouse says, "ants are crawling in my mouth... and I don't care."

whew!

I am alive and... well, sitting. I was up for 24hrs yesterday. I worked from 8am Friday-5am Saturday. I transferred 38,140' of film this past week. I completed all I need to for jobs that are due Monday (funny, we're closed that day). I got home at 5:30 and slept until 10am. I went back up to my office, wrapped everything up & took everything over to the store around 11am (they opened at 10). I am taking the day off today, but I will be going in tomorrow to put myself in better position as I have a lot of orders due by the 1st.

Thank God for friends. A very close friend of mine came by around midnight & brought me a shake & conversation to help keep me company. She stayed with me until 3-something, I think. I really cannot remember what time she left, but if it was not for her I would have had a rough night. It helped out tremendously that I did not have to break my stride by leaving & getting something. She is truly a blessing and she knows who she is! Thank you! We had a great talk about her wedding stuff (congrats, Matt!), Friends, and The Simpsons. It was perfection- HAHA!!!

I am going to lay down now.

the ultimate nickname for a fat-ass like me?

Today @ Bucks I was dubbed... "Jabba". I guess that makes this pic me!

beat down

Sorry no "funny" posts. They are funny to me, but maybe not to you. :p
Working a lot this week and I am tired. I just did not want to get out of bed this morning, so I skipped my workout. I'll try & make it up Saturday. I am hoping to come home & go to bed at a reasonable hour. I'm gonna have to swing by Bucks this morning. Lots o'film to transfer today. Lots to get done by Friday. Completely forgot we are closed Monday. I've got a lot to do by next Friday, too. Why, hello my overtime. Hello paycheck (when it comes the 5th). Better get ready for work! Hope y'all have a great rest of the week/weekend.

my new nickname is...

Chunk-Monkey! Yes, the Starbucks crew gave yet another name to go by. Enjoy!


The ironic thing is my family call me Monkey Boy from time to time, so it seems like a natural transition in nicknames for yours truly.

i'm no super-genius... or are i? (pt.2)

I have an idea for the Apple Corporation; however, after reading the fine print on their website, I have decided to withhold the information I have stored in my feeble mind. It is an untapped market that I am shocked Apple has not embarked upon yet. It is money that would add... well, more than you can imagine- a lot of money to the bottom line and have many satisfied customers. This is what stopped me in my tracks from submitting my suggestion to them-

TERMS OF IDEA SUBMISSION
You agree that: (1) your ideas will automatically become the property of Apple, without compensation to you, and (2) Apple can use the ideas for any purpose and in any way, even give them to others.


Sorry Steve Jobs, but you just missed the boat. I know you have gobs of cash stored up under your name in far too many bank accounts than I can even count, but perhaps this is my boat. I am willing to share with you, though. Just think about it, Mr. Jobs.

i'm no super-genius... or are i?

This is for you PC peeps...

I had enough of not being able to access Hotmail at home. Yes, I was running an illegal copy of WinXP Pro, but I had a legit copy. I never wanted to use it until I built my new PC. But, in light of recent findings (having decided to get a laptop this fall), I decided to wipe my harddrive clean and do a fresh install of my legal copy of WinXP Pro (which I have had since '02). I am now running that with SP2 and all the updates. It has taken me 3 days to complete all the downloads & installs, but I am now lawsuit-free! I am only using this PC for Internet & nothing more- no PhotoShop, no Illustrator, no nothing else. Hell, I am not even paying my bills with this thing as I don't have anti-virus on it (not going to re-install it). It is just strictly for email, Internet, and blogging. It was sure frustrating, but I did it. Running IE 7 Beta, too. It just feels good being legit & legal and all that jazz.

As for the laptop- I did decide to go wireless Internet on it. I think it'd be kinda nice to sit on the couch, sans cable, and surf if I so desired. I just hope me waiting until this fall will allow the PC makers enough time to crank out "Vista-Ready" laptops. I really want to be able to use that new O/S. I know- geek. I just have to stay up on things to be able to help others out.

my week's deep thoughts... by tab

Has anyone seen the new promo for Family Guy this Sunday? It is touted as being something-tabulous! Is it freaking-tabulous? I cannot remember the first part, but it's the 'tabulous' I wanted to bring attention to. Yeah, my name is part of the word. I rule!

Ok, onto my week. One word- crazy. I had 3 interviews for assistants this week. Began training a guy. Have a 40-something order to combine VHS & VHS-C tapes to DVD. I am currently working on a big 16mm project to DVD plus the 13k foot order. I am currently 90 reels into it which means I have transferred exactly 5 hours worth of footage which comes out to about 4,500' of film. I stayed late on yesterday as there was one order due today at Richardson that consisted of 22- 50' reels. Took me about 4 hours to do. Whatever the runtime is of the order is going to take double that to complete. For example- if an order will come out to 2 hours of viewing time, it will take about 4 hours to complete that project. Well, it all depends on what size reels of film I have to work with. If they are big 400' reels, then it will take much less time. But, when it is a bunch of little 50' reels, it does take that long.
The training right now is not really fair to this guy as I have to concentrate solely on this huge order. It has to be done flawlessly. Why? Cos I want it that way. The client is paying good money for this & I want them to have the absolute best possible product- period. I take great pride in my work & representing this company.

My workouts have been good. My truck has been better. On the way home yesterday, about halfway into my commute, I was no longer able to get it into 2nd gear. But, as I pulled onto the last street (of course) I was able to finally use it once again. Weird. Oh yeah, and it sucked not being able to crank on the A/C. I think cos it revs the engine a bit higher than normal is why I cannot run it- it prohibits me from getting the transmission in gear at all. The A/C is perfect- ice cold air blows from it, it is just the transmission acts a fool when I do run it. Yeah, I was soaking wet when I got home & it absolutely sucked ass. Come the first week in June I will be in a financial position to take it in & have it checked & hopefully fixed. If not, then it will be sometime in June when I will be able to cover it. I'd like to get on with my life, but right now this transmission is a 'gold-digging whore'. I dumped $2,000 into the truck on Valentine's Day weekend, now I am estimating another $1,000 for transmission work & probably a new clutch. I am hoping it won't be that much, but I want to over-estimate and be prepared for sticker shock.

What sucks about my transmission is that I am going to miss a wedding cos of it. The wedding is in Rowlett, and I just don't feel comfortable in driving out there with the truck acting like it is. Heck, I hate driving around town cos of it.

On a happy note- The Simpsons is 90-minutes long tomorrow as is Family Guy. The Simpsons is probably 3 episodes (one being the season finale), but Family Guy is the Stewie movie, "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story."

Is there anything else you'd like to know vigilant readers?

what is their purpose?

Why are gnats on this planet? What purpose do they serve, other than to annoy us? They appear as if from nowhere, as though they are created out of thin air. They are so tiny, yet are so distracting. I loathe them. Unless someone can prove to me that they do serve a significant purpose that no other insect can accomplish, then I will continue to despise & disrespect them. At least flies serve a purpose, as nasty & filthy as they are. If it weren't for flies, then this planet would smell ripe with death. Yuck!

Simpsons quote-

While watching The Simpsons, season 2 during lunch, this quote popped up. I'll set the scene... Miss Hoover was talking to Dr. Hibbert (I think) commenting on the painting Marge did of Mr. Burns. It's the episode where Ringo contacts her & thanks her for the painting she did years ago. She also enrolls in a painting class. At any rate, Miss Hoover says this, "he's bad. But he'll die, so I like it!" Are you kidding me? I laughed so hard. It was great I was alone in the office today. That is just priceless writing.

kneel before zod!

Here is the order I have been cleaning & repairing. It consists of 139- 50' reels, 3- 200' reels, and 15- 400' reels. They are not all full, but if you did the math the total would come out to 13,550' of film. This will take several days to transfer and I look forward to it. I absolutely enjoy getting these huge projects. Each 50' reel runs about 3 to 3.5 mins long. The 200' reels run about 12 mins long. The 400' reels run between 20-25 mins long. All film is transferred in realtime and it takes longer than one would realize. I did a test run on another order. I ran two 400' reels in about 1.25 hours. There is downtime between reels due to having to switch them out & everything.

shenanigans are a foot

Now that I am at work, I can see how my blog looks on a PC at a smaller resolution than I have at home and on IE instead of Safari. At home I have a 17" LCD that displays at 1280x1024. Here, it is much smaller. The only thing that is really different is the sidebar graphics. At home they are right up under the blogger button. Here, there is a lot of real estate between the button & the first iTab ad (the pink one). I know that has to be one of the differences between IE & Safari.

Well, it is time to get to work! Word! *throwing up the duece* Yeah, I did it. Yeah, I know I am not a teenager. Yeah, I don't care so much! I'm crazy like that- HAHA!!!

hello monday

Yes, it is Monday. There was actually someone else in the apt weight room this morning. It was a dude, so I did not do the thigh machine for fear of losing face. I don't need to worry about losing fat, or else I could have substituted that for face. But, that's what most people want to lose, right? Ramble, ramble, ramble...

About the iPod ads- I did anything that is not Apple- such as the screen, iTab logo, Bono holding the can & bottle, etc... I did not do the models. Does that make sense?

I hope everyone has a great day! Have a Tab on me!

Here is what I have come up with so far. It is nothing really. It's a couple of fonts combined. I am kinda mentally wiped out. I have been designing these fine pics all day long... um, since about 9am.

i am so proud

I've really been tweaking my banner & other things on here. You know you love it. I am no pro, but I am showing my creativity. I am not taking credit for the iPod ads, but you can tell what little things I've done. Yes, I did make that Tab can glow.

who is your favorite Simpsons character?

If you don't know this little boy, then you are not a Simpsons fan. I'm not even gonna post his name. Obviously, he is my fav. I am glad they use him sparingly so he remains fresh.


On another note. Do you like my new banner? How about my mad PS skills? No, they are not enough to pay the bills. That's why I transfer film instead.

i just have to say this

I've been up since 6am. I am posting this after I have checked out some sites & my email (nothing there 'cept junk).


I tried to update my music selection, but it only lists a certain number. I put like twice as many bands/artists in there and they don't show. Bummer. I guess I'll have to figure something out... and I will! Tally ho!

it's almost 6:30

and I am gonna hit the shower. I want to get a move on (lil' doggies) so I can get my fix of Bucks. To quote Ice Cube, "Today is gonna be a good day."

I had another great workout. I see a pattern- working the legs & I am pumped. I did skip one set of exercises cos I left here late- 5:45 & got there about 5:55. It's not a big deal I skipped it- the one where you sit down & work out the inner/outer thighs. It's stereotypical of a more "woman's" exercise, but I still do it cos I'm a man. I've gotten up to 90lbs. at that station, so I am proud of how much weight I've worked up to.


Hope y'all have a Smurfy Friday!

do you likey?

I spent over 2 hrs (close to 3) messing around with the HTML here & the sad thing is I completely forgot to save my changes, so I had to go back & try to remember every little thing I did & find where it goes. Well, I tried to get it back to where I had it. I hope y'all like it! The changes are subtle, but they are there.


On another note- Paris Hilton is so stupid that when she was promoting her new video game for cell phones, she called it by the wrong name & it wasn't even close. Because she is so stupid, it makes her unattractive. Just thought I'd throw that in. I don't care what a woman looks like, if she is as dumb as a bunch of rocks, then she can keep walking.

poor thursday. poor, poor thursday...

Unfortunately, the person who used to work for me was let go today. I won't say why, but it was a very legit reason and I back the person who had to let him go 100%. The person who is no longer employed is now in a tough situation as he has no income which places me in a tough situation, too. I now have to come up with a new gameplan in which to accomplish my goals without him working for me. Here is a list of my projects:
1. Finish cleaning & repair the estimated 10,000' film order.
2. Complete several other projects due by Monday while only having tomorrow to meet that deadline.
3. Begin one client's project of transferring VHS & VHS-C to DVD while combining as many of them, in the order the client specified, within the 2 hours per DVD spec. There is an estimated 18 hours of video to transfer.
4. Start & complete another client's project of transferring Betamax to DVD.
5. Prepare to receive another DVD project & a 16mm film project consisting of an estimated 5,000', if not more.
6. Set up 3 interviews for prospective employees.


While keeping these tasks organized, I must also complete all current film transfer projects in addition to training a new person who will be working for me. I am in a little over my head, but this is what I look forward to- seeing just how much I can multi-task while completing my projects prior to their deadlines while doing the best possible job and maintaining the highest possible quality. The more efficient I am in completing my tasks, the better I look and the easier I make everything on me & my new technician who will be working for me starting tomorrow.
I know it sounds hokey, but I do sincerely enjoy my job. It is amazing that going on two years in my present position as the film dept. manager that I have never once not wanted to go in. There are so many people who despise going into work. I am the complete opposite- I look forward to going in. I do appreciate my job, my responsibilities, and my accomplishments I have succeeded in attaining.

what's tha dealio, yo?

Ok, I think I figured something out. It's when I workout my upper body that I am least enthusiastic about my workouts. I took my sweet-ass time once again between exercises. Felt this way Tuesday & here it is Thursday & I am feeling the same way.


Ok, so it's either that theory or the fact that I am just tired. I think it's just that I am tired. I just need to get some sleep tonight. I plan on going to bed early. Like 9pm early. Tomorrow's Friday & I want it to be a great Friday. So, after I watch "Smallville", I will start to wind down. I'll do some blog stuff, primarily here. Well, it is late, 6:50am, so I need to hit the shower. Have a good Thursday, asses!

Catch Family Guy on Sunday?

There was a great Phil Collins joke when Stewie was trapped in the TV. Priceless.

just under the wire...

Whew! I made it with one minute to spare. I hate being "on time". I prefer to be early, but this morning just was too lazy for me. Anyway, Nic @ Bucks told me to, "hold off on those (meaning my drink) Fatty, Fatty, McFatty." Damn. Now that's good stuff!

I forgot that disc 3 of The Simpsons, Season 1 has only one episode. I guess after I listen to the commentary, I will just play the episodes through sans commentary. I will try to remember to bring Season 2 up tomorrow.
"Do or do not- there is no try."

"You ask the impossible."

"That, is why you fail."

Well, it's time to clean film!!! Peace out!

what do you want to know?

Since y'all are just aching to discover what I listened to when I worked out today, here is my playlist:
"Rigor Mortis"- A Split-Second
"Precious"- Depeche Mode
"Last"- NIN
"My Hero"- Foo Fighters
"Take Me Out"- Franz Ferdinand
"You Know What You Are?"- NIN
"Scum of the Earth"- Rob Zombie
"The Hand that Feeds"- NIN
"Hero"- Chad Kroeger feat./Josey Scott
"Living Dead Girl (Subliminal Seduction Remix)"- Rob Zombie
"Connection"- Elastica
"Only"- NIN
"Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)"- Rob Zombie
"Ready to Go"- Elastica
"Wish"- NIN
"Beautiful Things (Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix)"- Andian
Now, I don't get to hear them all, but it is a nice mix. Some are inspirational/motivational (not in a religious sense), some are just pure energy (no, not that crap by Information Society).


FYI- I do like taking care of dad & Nancy's dogs. It gives them peace of mind to know their house is being checked on a regular basis, the dogs aren't stressed out by staying away from home boarded outside of their comfort zone, dad saves some cash by not having a kennel take them in, and I get to make a little extra money. Heck, it's a win-win situation!


I am off to shower & get ready for work. I am going by Bucks this morning. My ass is draggin'!

ok, i admit it- i am tired

It hurts. I really want to crawl back in bed & sleep for another hour. I was up until 10:30 last night (if not later) doing a little Photoshop creating a banner after I finally found some pics I wasnted to use & that's what took the most time. Then, even though Ro provided me the code off her blog, I had to hunt down where my code was & through trial & error I finally found it. It is nothing special, just silly.


I'm off to workout now. Dang. Enjoy!

tuesday went down...

I only got to work 1/2 day on the film cleaning. I had to tend to other business priorities that were work-related up until 11:30. Sadly, I was hungry by then, but since I did not have any clean Tupperware(TM), I had to fetch lunch. I am so disgusted with my choice- Wendy's. Ok, I wanted to puke afterwards, but it is right down the road and inexpensive. I should have gone to Potbelly's and eaten healthier. Oh well.

The highlight of my day is since I am not running film, I do get to listen to commentary on The Simpsons, Season 1 DVD box set. Some things are interesting, while others... are irrelevant and just everyone yacking about stuff that is boring. Hopefully it gears up in Season 3. I am listening to Season 2 at home and it has gotten better. I figure since it is their first stab at it, Season 1 will lack some skills. I think the more into the seasons I get, the more they will have to discuss. At any rate, I am through the first two discs and on to the third disc. I cannot believe I have had every box set since they have come out & never listened to the commentary.

FYI- I am at home. I work Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. I am glad that dad & Nancy are home for two reasons- 1. I know they are safe & sound. 2. I can "sleep in" until 5am! Woo-hoo!

tuesday... ooooh oooooh, tuuueeesssdaaaaaaaay

I am here at work having got in from checking on the pups again. They're fine, but they do miss their owners.

24 was good last night. Sucks there is only 3 more episodes until the season finale.
I didn't have to call mom to remind her to watch it, she called me about an hour before it started.

I have to say, I did not want to workout this morning. 4:30 came too early. I drug my ass all throughout my exercises. I did each set fine, but it was going from one to another that I wasted the most time. I am not sure why. I was asleep before 10 as I remember the 2nd episode of Family Guy came on TBS. I am just yawning like a fiend right now. I have my Rock*, but no lunch. Forgot to wash my Tupperware(TM), so now I have to get out & buy lunch. Bummer.

Crush is happy she has fresh water. Got her tank cleaned out last night during the first episode of Family Guy @ 9.

It is so freaking humid this morning! Bah! And then they say it will hit 94 today. Are you kidding me?!?! Also said it would be possible for some place by Ft. Worth to hit 100. Yikes! This weather is ridiculous. But, that is Texas for ya'!

...back to the old grind... (stares at film while belting out some Johnny Cash, "I Hung My Head")

my day went down like this...

I cleaned and repaired about 3,000' of film today. I had no idea it would take as long as it did, but it is the repair work that requires a lot of attention. I am sure this is boring you, so I don't care. It took all the live long day! Plus, I have about 7,000' left- d'oh!


I then went by and checked on the dogs. Came home, showered. I have to change the turtle's water tonight. Over the weekend I got her & the fish new UV lights and some food to the tune of $70. Ouch! Good thing it only happens once a year.


I am so hungry & it's only 6:20. I better get some grub.


I wonder if the girl in the Chase commercial slid on her ass when going through the revolving doors cos she was running in heels after she got paid?

it's monday

Yep. I got my workout in. Woke up at 4:30, was at the weight room at 4:45. Left a little late for dad's- got there around 7:10. Made it into work at 7:45 and I have my iPod bustin' out some tunes through my JBL On Stage speakers while I kick back with a Rock* drink. It's just too much out of my way to hit my Starbucks when I am looking after dad's house & dogs.


Last week, I hit Bucks on Friday morning and Nic, one of the staff who knows me up there, made me laugh so hard. As he handed my drink to me, he said, "here's your drink, fatty!" It's funny cos it's ironic. Self-portrait:


Note the attention to detail. You cannot see the iPod earbuds & wire as they are white, just like the background. I am the shiz!

apple vs. pc

Last fall I purchased an Apple G5. It has dual 1.8GHz processors, 160GB HDD (internal), 200GB HDD (external firewire), 2GB DDR SDRAM.


Why is it that Apple computers are so much more efficient than PC's? I know my PC is old- bought brand-new in '99. It has a P3 500MHz chip with 384MB RAM. The video card has 1/3 the RAM the PC has. How sad is that for my PC? The RAM is maxed out on the motherboard. I know how to maintain a PC & everything like that, but it just pales in comparison to the G5. No PC I have ever used boots up as fast, runs as smooth, and performs near as clean as my G5 does. If it was not for the fact that I need to stay up on PC's so that I can help my friends & family with problems, questions, etc... and for the fact that I rather surf on my PC than my Apple, I would drop the PC altogether.


That leads me to this- sometime this fall, hopefully in October, I will be purchasing my first laptop. I received a coupon from Dell (that expired) for 25% off of a laptop purchase even in the refurb area! This meant if I had the cash I could have bought a $419 laptop for only $314! How crazy is that?!?! All I want is a laptop that I can surf with. I won't do any graphics or any gaming with it, so there is no need for a killer machine. That's what I have my G5 for- graphics, video, editing, music, etc... and that is what I will eventually have an Xbox 360 for- gaming. I just want a laptop so I can have an all-in-one Internet computer that will not take up any desk space. I am tired of having to unplug the monitor, having two keyboards and two mice cluttering up my desk. I would much rather have a computer that I can effortlessly move around, take with me when it comes time to do things outside of my apt, etc... it would just be too convenient to have. The reason I want to wait until this fall is two-fold:
1. Need to tend to my transmission first.
2. Want to make sure that the laptop will be Vista compatible. I know that sounds geeky, but I need to stay on top of the Windows operating system for helping out friends & family who may have it.

my goals

I have a lot going on right now, but I am happy I do. I have a lot to share with anyone wants to read this.

1. Get my transmission checked and fixed ASAP.
2. Have my credit card paid off by the time I go on vacation late-July. (no problem there).
3. Have my sister & brother-in-law's tapes edited & on DVD prior to our vacation.
4. Visit Trey & Heidi who live in Colorado sometime in August.
5. Visit my cousin, his wife, and their baby boy in the fall as they live in Arizona.
6. Begin my research on laptops. My old PC is not what she used to be as. I bought it brand-new in '99.
7. Hopefully have a new laptop in October.
8. Keep selling stuff throughout the year on eBay cleaning out all the crap I have. My junk is another's treasure!
9. tbd...

The Simpsons, season 2

Got a laugh out of this line. The episode is where Bart cuts the head off of the town founder, Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield.
The boys are at the Kwik-E-Mart and Bart trails out after paying for some squishees and he asks the gang where they got all that neat stuff. Jimbo replies, "five-finger discount, man." Do you see what's wrong with what Jumbo said?

My schedule 1st half this week:

Monday: wake up no later than 4:30am. This has not been a problem since I had to last Thursday as I woke up at 4am Thurs & Friday morning.
I have to work out at the apt weight room, make my protein mix, breakfast, shower and check on the dogs before I have to be at work by 8am.
Once at work, I begin the long task of cleaning & repairing a film project consisting of an estimated 10,000' (yes, that is ten-thousand feet) of 8mm film. I will know the exact count once I have completed transferring the film to MiniDV.
Once 4pm hits, I will be off to check on my dad's dogs again on my way home. After arriving home, I will feed my fish & turtle (Crush) and then take a much deserved shower. Catch The Simpsons, check on my eBay stuff I'm selling, call mom to remind her to watch 24, decide on what to eat for dinner, watch 24- then I don't know what until it's time for bed.


Tuesday: same as Monday with the exception of watching 24.
Wednesday: the last day I will have to check in on the pups. So, I can then start "sleeping in" until 5am beginning Thursday.

S.N.U.H.

Any idea what this stands for? If you do, then please post! I know what S.N.U.H. stands for. If I were to post it, then you'd also know where it comes from & that would give it away.
Ok, here is a hint: it is not from this show-

changes-

I am going to pick this bad-boy back up, revamp it, and give it new life. I need to have fun with it, and that's what I intend to do. Stay tuned...