Merry Christmas Everyone!

I was holding off posting because I wanted to have some good news to post, but the house purchase is dragging on much longer then I or the seller hoped. I was able to extend the purchase agreement till the 15th of January which will give me the time to finish the loan approval and title work. Assuming the seller stops chasing the surveyors off the property. By the way does anyone out there have a liquid 70 to 90 thousand I can borrow as a backup funding source? Just in case my mortgage company is not ready by the 15th? If so drop me an email at dddienst@usa.net and we can talk about it.

On other fronts, I have been very busy this month. With the holidays, home, the house buying, work, church, and Christmas carroling at the hospitals, This has been the most stressful and busiest December I can remember.

My (Hopefully) New House
I am in the process of buying the house I have a purchase agreement in place, I have had an inspection done, I have had the Banks 203K consultant inspection done, and all that is left is the appraisal, title search, land survey, closing, and finding and hiring contractors. According to the purchase agreement, I should have the closing on or before December 1st but that is looking a little tight, however, it is the goal to shoot for.

The New Shop.DienstNet.Com Store
I have opened a new section to DienstNet.Com. It is a place where, if you want, you can purchase the results of my little projects. Currently they are all DVD's so I recommend you check out that section of the store.

The latest DVD project was The Full Throttle Computer game video walkthrough. Full Throttle was a computer game that came out in 1995. I enjoyed watching the game more then playing it because it was so cinematic and had a good story. So at some point I video taped me playing the game from beginning to end. Just recently I took that footage and edited out all my mistakes and "deadtime for user input" to make this 94 minute Video Walkthrough of the game. Unfortunately the tape ran out a little early in the credits sequence so that is only partial. I may be on thin ice with this one so grab it while you can.

The Rebirth of my Saviour Machine (PC)
I got my PC back up and running. This time with (2) 120Gig hard drives set in a raid mirror. Hopefully now I am done with self destructing hard drives. Since I lost just about everything I took this opportunity to purchase the software I was planning to buy. Thanks to eBay I was able to get most of it at a great discount. I bought:

SonicFoundry (now Sony Video) Vegas+DVD - The best Video editing software package out there! It can do anything and is easy to learn and use.

Microsoft Visual Studio Pro - Being a programmer this is an absolute must.

Adobe Audition - This is actually the upgrade to my CoolEdit2000 audio editing software. Since CoolEdit was bought by adobe and they were discontinuing my version I really had no choice.

New Toys
I bought a Camcorder on eBay. I got a Panasonic L750 camcorder paying just under $100 including shipping and it came with all the extras, nothing missing or damaged even though it was a camera only open box auction. I guess I just lucked out. Overall eBay is great even though I have been burned in the past by a couple of people.

Well I am in the process of buying a home.
Yes, A home of my own. I am approved for the FHA203K loan which includes some fix-up money to get the house into shape. Now all thats left to do is: have a home inspection done (so I know all the neccecery repairs), Meet and inspect the house with an FHA203K consultant (who will work up the fix-up estemate), have the house appraised (as if the works been done already), Title search, Land Servey, closing, and then hire the contractors and get the work done within the stipulated time limit. Now, Doesn't that sound like fun! (Image above is the house simulated in the sims game. )

The curse still holds true!
I have not yet completed my Fallout2 game (although I was so very close this time) and my Hard Drive suffers a catastrophic failure again! Loosing everything I had been working on for the past few months! I had made some DVDs and whereas I still have the end product all of the support design files have been lost and I will have to remake them in the future - labels, case artwork, etc. It think next time I will buy 2 drives of the same size and ghost the primary drive to the other one as a backup.

Summers' Over! I turn my back for just a second and it is gone! NOOOO!

Jesus Ad (Broadband)           Jesus Ad (Dialup)

Anyway here is the update on what’s been happening since my last post. When I returned from my vacation in MI my Sister, Nephew, Mother and their dog all came with. Packed in my Jeep like some form of canned fish. They stayed out here for a week and a half. I went back to work and they visited some old friends and that weekend we went down to wildwood. I unfortunately forgot my camera at home so no pictures but my mother was able to enjoy a bit of the ocean.

After they returned to MI I was offered an opportunity to make some extra income at work by developing a program to augment our sensor line and make them more usable to more people. PeopleMetrix which is gearing up for a public release and marketing push. This effort took all my free time during its development but from my efforts I stand to make $15 from each copy sold and once sales reach a certain point my base salary will be restored to what it should be. What does this software/hardware package do? It uses our people sensors to collect and store information on how often and long the sensor it is connected to is active. It then generates graphs and reports from this information that people can use to make educated business decisions based on traffic and usage patterns. www.irnj.com

I then got busy working on turning some old family video footage from the mid 80's into a DVD and "The Cow and Dog Show" was born. It has a 30 minute running time and is basically Some Muppets, my sister and her friend dancing and acting out Novelty songs and such. After it was done I sent a copy to my sister and her friend who really enjoyed it. I may make the DVD available on line for a price but as some of my friends have pointed out who would pay for your old home movies. Then again people will buy anything and I think there may be people that find it entertaining.

With the game Fallout I am finally in the endgame the Enclave. But not finished yet.

Currently, I am in the process of buying a house. An opportunity came my way which I first offered to my Friend Kim who after initial consideration felt she didn’t need the additional stress of buying a house at same time she was starting a new job. So I am going to try and buy it for myself. I am sure more on this is to come as the situation develops.

VACATION! Yes I am now on vacation visiting my Mother, Sister, and Nephew out in MI.
Saturday - This was a travel/Driving Day. Not very eventful.
Sunday - We stared the week off right with church in the morning (even though we were very late) In the afternoon Pat, Gabriel, and I set off to take a dirt road driving tour that someone had posted on the internet. After that we headded off to the west coast of MI to find the roomered musical fountian of Grand Haven. And a very beutiful fountian it is. Just after sundown everynight it plays Hymns and while displaying a water and light show. The fountin then continues silently on till about midnight. On the way back we stopped in the middle of nowhere to set off some fireworks.


Monday - This was Detroit Day. We went to the Detroit Science Center, Rode the people mover, Ate at the Greektown Casino, then walked down to and along the waterfront.


Tuesday - Pat had to work and since where she works has a pool Gabriel and I went swimming.


Wednesday - We spent the day at the Four Bears water-park. Then we went to the Ford & Wyoming Drive-in. A very large driving with many screens. We saw "The Hulk" which I didn't like. ( and didn't expect to) and "Bruce Almighty" which I highly recommend . It is both funny and has a positive message that is theologicly accurate. My favorite line is when God first pages him and he looks at the number and comments "Don't know ya and wouldn't call ya if I did." Which is funny and sad because it is true of many people that the Lord is trying to page.


Thursday - Today I spent on the house. We went and got a new Craftsman lawn mower, cut the grass, trimmed the bushes, and cleaned the gutters. In the evening I went out to Goth night at the Star bar where I played some pool, enjoyed the music, and had some Diet Cokes. Luckaly the most disterbing behavior didn't start untill I was getting tired and ready to leave anyway.

Friday (Independance day) - We went to the Kellogs Air-show festival for the fourth. In addition to the Air-show they have a carnaval, balloon launch (been twice and cancled twice due to wind) and the best firewooks show to be found in MI.


Saturday - A Free Boston Concert! Patty had some free Lawn tickets to the Boston Concert at the DTE music center. Funny thing though... I was lying on the grass listening to the music and starring at the sky thinking about how blessed the week was and that it was nice of God to bless me like this. Then I thought "wait a second, Maybe it is patty he is blessing and has his favor after all She is living in the nice house I bought and I am living in a shack." No sooner then I thought this then a Good-ole Michagan boy leaned over my face and screamed 'GREAT CONCERT HUH! WHOOO HOOO' and sat down right next to me with his other drunk friends. To which I thought.... "Ok God, your very funny"

Since my last posting, my video card did in fact die and at the first financial opportunity I replaced it with an even better VIVO card. Although I have yet to get this new card to record video my Fallout game is still uncorrupted!

It happened again! Just this past weekend the church came out to help with the house and this time we got all of the sheetrock up on the ceilings!!! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures this time. Sorry. This means that everything that needed sheetrock is done and I / We can focus on just spackling and painting next.

Drive-In Excursion! I also got a chance to visit the drive-in and see "2 Fast 2 Furious" with my friend Dorothy. I was going to go alone because I was planning to go mid-week but when I mentioned it to her online she volunteered to come with. Drive-In's are always best with friends. We took the scenic route and arrived early enough to do an impromptu study of the first too chapters of the book of James. A real blessing.

Coming up next. Next week I am on vacation and off to MI to visit my Mother & Sister. The current plan is for me to go out their for a week them bring them all back to NJ for a week. So things might get interesting.

Well the latest set of news is Memorial Day (weekend) was full of picnics including an unexpected DDial reunion picnic where I ran into old acquaintances Storm and Datastream. I guess the rain kept most others away. This of course prompted me to take a short walk down memory lane and post some old pictures from that period of my life in the photos area. The following Wednesday my previous church New Life Christian Fellowship finally closed it's doors for good. I was with that church almost from the beginning and even though the Lord had me become involved with Resurrection fellowship I also had stayed with them until that final vote. I have now been a part of 3 young start up churches and have watched the fist grow Hugh the second start grown and now die and am at the beginning again with yet another. Ironically in the same building that the one that just ended had began in. Last weekend we rather uneventful and I am now up to the secret military base of Naverone in Fallout 2. This is the farthest I have ever gotten in the game. I may actually get to finish it. But I shouldn't speak too quickly because my Video card is having a lot of trouble and causing my system to reboot. Well, that’s the news for now.

Praise the Lord! This Saterday many people from Resurrection Fellowship came over to help me work on the house! Yea, I know your getting sick of reading about me and the whole house thing but this page is about what is going on in my life and for me this is a big thing. Not only because the house is closer to being finished but because I get to see people living out the word in concrete terms. They are planning to come out and help at least once a month which is a blessing almost beyond belief.

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. - 1 Peter 4:10
Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Gal 6: 2


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| A bus station is where a bus stops.
| A train station is where a train stops.
| On my desk I have a work station...
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I have been putting off this update because I haven’t found the time to post some pictures, so the above pictures may not work yet. In recent news, I got a new digital camera. A Fuji Finepics with which I am already straining the tolerance of all my friends by taking a lot of pictures. I have posted some of them on the RF-Church website.

We have also bought a lot more sheet rock and some spackling supplies in anticipation of this weekend. As this Saturday the 17th, Armed Forces Day, many of my church family will be coming over to give me some very much needed helping hands in completing the task of rebuilding the house. (All are welcome) From the day my father bought the shack 10 years ago, I have been working towards the vision I was given of its completion.



Yesterday, I got to go and see the Matrix – Reloaded. It is a good movie. The special effects and fight sequences alone are worth the price of admission, but the wild orgy seen was totally unnecessary. After seeing that seen you might think that only Brazilians were freed from the matrix.

As of today all the sheetrock that I bought for the kitchen walls are in place instead of on the living room floor. This just leaves, as far as the kitchen and drywall is concerned, the ceiling to do which as everyone knows is the harder part. What is behind this Drywall Incident? Well to start at the beginning I have been working on this shack since my father bought it like 10 years ago! And a lot of work has been done over these years. Leveling the floor moving interior walls, replacing all the exterior windows and moving an exterior door, roofing, etc. But for the past two years I have been really brought down by the amount of work that is left to do and that after such a long time I live in an unfinished shanty. A bit of advice; NEVER live in a house you plan to rebuild! Anyway, two things have happened recently that have started to rekindle my hope of a finished house. First the Lord brought my friend Mark Rambo back into my life and he has been a real help in encouragement and just being there to lend a helping hand. Second, my friend Trish from RF suggested and some of the others from RF were in agreement to have work days where they would come out and help with the house. Just the offer is even encouraging and I can almost see the light of day at the end of the tunnel after feeling so oppressed by the task left before me for so long. Sometimes we really do need some friends to come up along side and help us to lift our arms (Exodus 17:12) or to be able to run ahead when we have run out of the fortitude to look into the empty tomb. (John 20:4-8)

Conversely, I didn't get as far in fallout this past week, I finished reading and then started on my least favorite city in the game - New Reno. I also got to go and see the new X-Men movie with my friends Mark Fullerton, Dirt, and Dorothy. I highly recommend this movie especially if you used to read any of the x-men comics it really is the films we have been waiting for. Go Nightcrawler!

Well last week I made a good amount of progress in the game and so far this game has been going the best of all the times I have played before. All my NPC buddies that have joined my quest are still alive and I am rolling in goodies. I have done vault city, gecko, Broken hills, and just took out the raiders encampment. I have also found out that the makers of fallout have released for public use the game maker utility! Which has filled my head with notions of doing a fallout style post apocalyptic version of the pilgrims progress!


Other than that I did manage to find the time to put up one sheet of sheetrock in the kitchen. Also I got a chance to get my jeep quite muddy trying to find a "New" way home from work. Now all I have to do is find the time to wash it. :)

As you may be able to tell by the above image I have decided to attempt to start and finish FALLOUT 2 again. So far every time I have played this game, I get about half way done and am struck by some disaster that prevents me from finishing it. Corrupted save game files, crashed hard drive, accidental erasure, etc. I hope I will be able to finish it this time. For those who have played this game before I am just about done with the Den Quests and about to move on to the town of Modoc.


On other fronts this weekend was Easter or better named (Resurrection Sunday). So the weekend was kicked off with a joyous Good Friday service at New Life Christian Fellowship. Why Joyous? Joyous be cause NLCF came together and held the service as a body of believers. A confirmation of the faith and intent of the believers in that church to continue despite the hardships that have come our way since the loss of our pastor. Some of the folk from the other church of which I am a part Resurrection Fellowship came out joined in and helped out in the service. Saturday was my standard RF church service and Sunday was at their Church in the cemetery witch is/was appropriate on so many levels. Worshiping God on the day of our Lords resurrection in the cemetery and also because that is the same church building where NLCF started not so many years ago.

Welcome to the dawn of the new DienstNet website. Slowly over time I will be overhauling the look and feel of this site. But the first change I wanted to put into place is the ability to post updates and thus let my friends, family, and anyone know what is going on in my life. I hope you will check back here regularly. If you know of any good personal websites i could check out I am still looking for ideas. :)

This is my first post.