Still reeling from yesterday's huge Democratic rally in Harrisburg. My feet are still hurting too.
Maureen came over this morning. I moved her time back to 11 am from 9 am because I was really diggin' the bed. She got here and promptly gave me hell for bad directions. I don't blame her, I hate to give bad directions. But, she comes from the opposite direction that I direct most people from. I'm not very specific from there and I should write some up so I can give specific ones.
We went over all the stuff on her laptop and new printer. Spent several hours, but I think she's gonna do just fine.
Deb and I ate a bit, then headed over to Selinsgrove for some badly needed sneakers on my part. Did I mention how much fun it is to try on sneakers with aching feet? :) We wandered around looking at grills and treadmills and refrigerators and the like. Then we headed up to DQ for my weekly treat, over to WallyWorld for a birthday card and then back home.
It's a quick one tonight. I'm gonna put some more photos of the rally up later.
Have fun.
Photoblog
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Wow!!! (Kerry/Edwards Rally in Harrisburg)
Come for the Photoblog, stay for the story.
Please leave comments folks, either here or on the picblog. Let me know how I'm doin.
The Kerry rally in Harrisburg. Incredible. This is gonna be a long one, folks. But let's start at the beginning.
I went to cardiac rehab this morning. Came home and got ready to go to the rally, but I had to stop at Margaret's studio first. She needs a font that I couldn't get to install. But I got her virus definitions up to date and headed out for the rally.
I called Chrissy. She wasn't going to be able to make it. They were short at work. Deb wanted to come down too, but they're shorthanded in her department as well. Oh well, today went so well that I'm sure John will be back again. I had to go in and pick up the ticket for the rally. You needed a ticket to get in. The tickets were red, white and blue. This is important people.
I head down to Harrisburg and park at the 2nd street parking garage. It's about 4 blocks from the Capitol. I walk down 2nd street, up to the Capitol and up the steps. I went around the corner and down the steps and, lo and behold, there's the line. And it's relatively short. It's about 4:15. Some volunteers come up and say. "This is the Blue and Red ticket line, the White ticket line is across the street". So I walk up past the entrance and down maybe a fourth of a block to the end of the White line. It's 4:20.
Lots of nice people around. Everybody is very friendly. In fact, this was kind of bizzare. It was in the 80's and very humid. People had a right to be grouchy. If you bumped into some one, it was "Excuse me, I'm sorry, etc." I was very proud to be from Central Pa. as well as being a Democrat the entire evening.
Volunteers did a great job of keeping people hydrated too. I must have been offered water at least a dozen times.
There was a news truck from ABC 27 about 50 feet further away from the entrance. Dennis Owens and Valerie Pritchart were covering the event. They kept walking by all afternoon. Owens comes up and is chatting to the volunteer standing right beside us. I notice the cameraman is set up on top of the van. It's a little after five, the line now extends to the end of the block and around the corner. People are 3 and 4 deep on the sidewalk.
Just before 5:30, Owens says "We're going to go live in one minute". The guy is literally 6 feet away from me. "I'm gonna be on TV...COOL" Then I think..."Not so cool, damn...I won't get to see it". I talked to my wife earlier and she said that we lost our local channels. DirecTV was doing a one month thing where you got the locals for free. She said that they weren't on today. Anyway, people start chanting Ker-ry, Ker-ry...and peter out in about 15 seconds. Then he says, when I start talking, we're on live!
Now, just to show that all the idiots are not in the Republican party. A guy right behind me (who's been reading "Dude, Where's My Country" out loud a lot) says..."So, when is this going to be on?" As one, everyone goes, "IT'S LIVE".
Doors we're supposed to open at 5. At 5:40 ish our line "the white line" starts to move. The red and blue line started about 15 minutes earlier. I was really surprised, we walked right in. No search, no screening. Then we get in and I realize why. We are across the street from the Capitol, about 250 feet from the street. I did have a view of the opening under the dome, another 250 feet from the street, and I figured that that's where they're going to speak from. I was wrong.
There is a very bad acoustic player/singer on stage, over enunciating away. That's when I figure out where the stage is. The news phalanx is set up across the street from the Capitol. On the other side of the street, on the street, at the base of the steps is where the stage is. I have to peer between railings to see the top of someone's head. Oh well, I get to hear the speeches and maybe get one good headshot. There was a woman about 5 people down from me who had one of those massive lenses on a monopod. I really wished I had that at that point. I had "Lens Envy". :)
Our "passionate" singer leaves the stage and says "there'll be some more good players out here soon". He should have dropped the more. There were two other bands, both uncompelling.
So, here I am, getting to know my neighbors. There was a guy behind me that sounded the only negative note I heard all day. "Cmon...we're democrats...there's gotta be some anarchy at some point". He was screwing around with the orange snow fence and managed to bust it. We were picking out the spotters and security on the roofs. I was hoping they wouldn't blow him away. They had a bunch of crew guys come over and take care of the fence.
There was a girl in front of me named Dawn (I hope that's right). She was very nice and we chatted about my "Cheers" shirt. She asked me if I went to the convention, I said I didn't. Anyway, fast forward a little. A friend of hers is walking about 75 feet in front of us, and she's yelling "Christine, Christine" (I hope that's right too). A couple of us help her yell and her friend comes up. I think nothing of it. The next thing I know she says, "Come On...You're coming with me". I'm dumbstruck. She says "Blue Ticket" and takes off.
I'm thinking COOL. While I'm thinking cool, she disappears, then I commit and take off, losing my spot. Then I'm thinking, SHIT. What if I can't find her. I do finally catch up. She got tickets for two ladies that helped her yell too. So we walk back out, against the wave of people coming in and I'm thinking, "Great, we'll just go to the security tent and get right in". WRONG. We get out and start walking down the street. And walking. And walking. The red and blue line was 3/4 of the way down the street. Dawn was a little upset. The two women that went with us we're going to leave. She went and talked them into staying. The event was supposed to start at 7. It was 7:40. As we were walking down the street we could hear cheering and speakers. A very depressing moment. We found out that they had pushed back the start time to 7:45. I tried to be optimistic. "Hey, the line will move fast, we'll be in there by ten after 8". For once I was right. We we're being searched before 8:10.
To backtrack just a hair, I saw an old friend from high school while we were in line. Actually, I saw this massive dog being walked by this woman down the street. Took a picture, then said "That looks like..." I yelled, but she walked behind a van. I asked Dawn and her finace to save my place and went after her yelling "Jeri, Jeri". We had a quick chat and I hopped back in line. Running after people and yelling is important, you'll see why later.
So, back to the story, we get in and move up. We were roughly 200 feet from the stage. There were three girls around me that work at the Capitol. I gave them the blog address and they told me later that "A lot of people will want to see these pictures".
I also saw some of the Union folks from work. They had the same spot that I did. I did pretty well for no connectivity, huh?
Then the blur started. Literally and figuratively. I couldn't get my camera adjusted for Ben Affleck's and Governor Rendell's entrance. Ben spoke briefly, then the Governor. Then he introduced Teresa Heinz Kerry. Of course the place went nuts. But this might have been a mistake. EVERYBODY came out. Kerry, Edwards and his wife as well. Rendell recovered nicely and the event continue.
Everyone spoke wonderfully. The atmosphere was electric and powerful. My first national rally and an incredible experience.
John Kerry spoke for about 45 minutes. He was articulate, self-effacing and funny. And the crowd ate it up.
At the end, they started "It's a Beautiful Day" by U2 and, on cue, fired up and lit up the beautiful fountain in the courtyard. For me, it was incredible.
So, a little after 10 it's over. My feet hurt, my back hurts, I got maybe 30 images left and I feel fantastic. So I start walking. Now, the street where we stood in the Blue line is cordoned off with a phalanx (there's that word again) of cops standing in front of motorcycles and blue "Kerry/Edwards" buses. I think, "Great...that's the shortest distance to my car and I have to go around...Wonderful". So I keep walking.
My feet REALLY hurt, and my legs. I see two women sitting down, then I start getting Wil Wheaton's mantra going in my head from the marathon he just did. "Just Keep Going, Just Keep Going". And I did. I go around the corner and head down toward the "Monolith" at the state museum. I get in the courtyard there and finally do sit down, but not really because of my feet. I need to get my cell phone out and call my niece. I had to drop some CD's off and I wanted to let her know I was still coming. This was probably the best decision I made all night.
I get up and start the plod. There's a guy in front of me talking to his friends. He says, "Ya know, I didn't really need Ben Affleck there...he didn't do a lot for me". I'm thinking, "Buddy, He wasn't there for you, he was there for the LADIES".
So I walk up to the steps that go down the street and look back up toward where I WANTED to come down the street. A few of the buses are there. I want a shot for the blog and start getting my camera out of the bag. There's a cop there who sees me getting my camera. He says...
"Hey, Ben Affleck is over there."
"Where?" I said.
"Right over there."
He points down the street, away from where I was looking and there, in the middle of the street he stands. Signing autographs.
"Well," I say..."I'm gonna go over and talk to him, because I haven't talked to him for a long time."
Now, you might expect a few (not a phalanx) beefy guys hanging around him. But this was just him, alone, talking to the crowd (of mostly teenage girls). :)
So I hover around the crowd getting pics. He starts walking away and I go Ben...Ben...BEN. I think at this point he's going to do the prick actor trick and just pretend he doesn't hear me. But, to my amazement, he turns around.
Me..."Are you guys going to do Greenlight this year?"
Him..."Yeah, we're in the middle of the third season now."
How cool is that.
I mean, he kept walking, but made eye contact and didn't totally blow me off. I was impressed.
To backtrack a bit, what also impressed me was his taking time to go over to a woman in a wheelchair to give her an autograph. But what impressed me the most was, and this was weird at the moment, that he took a long time to sign a paper for a woman. I mean, like a minute. In these situations, with a growing crowd making demands, a minute is a looong time. He didn't break concentration, but the woman he was signing for turned toward us and said "It's for my brother...in Iraq".
So I head off into the night. Past the buses. (BTW...Ben's is the really nice bus that doesn't have Kerry/Edwards written all over it) Down to 2nd street. Past the Coyote girls dressed like hookers. Showing everybody who cares to look that I took a picture of Ben Affleck.
I picked up a lemonade, got the car and headed up the street. Windows down, blasting the local X station and feeling pretty damn good about the world. I think we can do this people, I really do.
Stopped at my niece's, gave her the CD's and headed home. Then I started this.
I almost forgot. The crowd was estimated at 18 to 20,000. The news said it was the largest crowd for a political rally there that "anyone can remember". We did good.
I know this is long, but it was "A Beautiful Day".
Please leave comments folks, either here or on the picblog. Let me know how I'm doin.
The Kerry rally in Harrisburg. Incredible. This is gonna be a long one, folks. But let's start at the beginning.
I went to cardiac rehab this morning. Came home and got ready to go to the rally, but I had to stop at Margaret's studio first. She needs a font that I couldn't get to install. But I got her virus definitions up to date and headed out for the rally.
I called Chrissy. She wasn't going to be able to make it. They were short at work. Deb wanted to come down too, but they're shorthanded in her department as well. Oh well, today went so well that I'm sure John will be back again. I had to go in and pick up the ticket for the rally. You needed a ticket to get in. The tickets were red, white and blue. This is important people.
I head down to Harrisburg and park at the 2nd street parking garage. It's about 4 blocks from the Capitol. I walk down 2nd street, up to the Capitol and up the steps. I went around the corner and down the steps and, lo and behold, there's the line. And it's relatively short. It's about 4:15. Some volunteers come up and say. "This is the Blue and Red ticket line, the White ticket line is across the street". So I walk up past the entrance and down maybe a fourth of a block to the end of the White line. It's 4:20.
Lots of nice people around. Everybody is very friendly. In fact, this was kind of bizzare. It was in the 80's and very humid. People had a right to be grouchy. If you bumped into some one, it was "Excuse me, I'm sorry, etc." I was very proud to be from Central Pa. as well as being a Democrat the entire evening.
Volunteers did a great job of keeping people hydrated too. I must have been offered water at least a dozen times.
There was a news truck from ABC 27 about 50 feet further away from the entrance. Dennis Owens and Valerie Pritchart were covering the event. They kept walking by all afternoon. Owens comes up and is chatting to the volunteer standing right beside us. I notice the cameraman is set up on top of the van. It's a little after five, the line now extends to the end of the block and around the corner. People are 3 and 4 deep on the sidewalk.
Just before 5:30, Owens says "We're going to go live in one minute". The guy is literally 6 feet away from me. "I'm gonna be on TV...COOL" Then I think..."Not so cool, damn...I won't get to see it". I talked to my wife earlier and she said that we lost our local channels. DirecTV was doing a one month thing where you got the locals for free. She said that they weren't on today. Anyway, people start chanting Ker-ry, Ker-ry...and peter out in about 15 seconds. Then he says, when I start talking, we're on live!
Now, just to show that all the idiots are not in the Republican party. A guy right behind me (who's been reading "Dude, Where's My Country" out loud a lot) says..."So, when is this going to be on?" As one, everyone goes, "IT'S LIVE".
Doors we're supposed to open at 5. At 5:40 ish our line "the white line" starts to move. The red and blue line started about 15 minutes earlier. I was really surprised, we walked right in. No search, no screening. Then we get in and I realize why. We are across the street from the Capitol, about 250 feet from the street. I did have a view of the opening under the dome, another 250 feet from the street, and I figured that that's where they're going to speak from. I was wrong.
There is a very bad acoustic player/singer on stage, over enunciating away. That's when I figure out where the stage is. The news phalanx is set up across the street from the Capitol. On the other side of the street, on the street, at the base of the steps is where the stage is. I have to peer between railings to see the top of someone's head. Oh well, I get to hear the speeches and maybe get one good headshot. There was a woman about 5 people down from me who had one of those massive lenses on a monopod. I really wished I had that at that point. I had "Lens Envy". :)
Our "passionate" singer leaves the stage and says "there'll be some more good players out here soon". He should have dropped the more. There were two other bands, both uncompelling.
So, here I am, getting to know my neighbors. There was a guy behind me that sounded the only negative note I heard all day. "Cmon...we're democrats...there's gotta be some anarchy at some point". He was screwing around with the orange snow fence and managed to bust it. We were picking out the spotters and security on the roofs. I was hoping they wouldn't blow him away. They had a bunch of crew guys come over and take care of the fence.
There was a girl in front of me named Dawn (I hope that's right). She was very nice and we chatted about my "Cheers" shirt. She asked me if I went to the convention, I said I didn't. Anyway, fast forward a little. A friend of hers is walking about 75 feet in front of us, and she's yelling "Christine, Christine" (I hope that's right too). A couple of us help her yell and her friend comes up. I think nothing of it. The next thing I know she says, "Come On...You're coming with me". I'm dumbstruck. She says "Blue Ticket" and takes off.
I'm thinking COOL. While I'm thinking cool, she disappears, then I commit and take off, losing my spot. Then I'm thinking, SHIT. What if I can't find her. I do finally catch up. She got tickets for two ladies that helped her yell too. So we walk back out, against the wave of people coming in and I'm thinking, "Great, we'll just go to the security tent and get right in". WRONG. We get out and start walking down the street. And walking. And walking. The red and blue line was 3/4 of the way down the street. Dawn was a little upset. The two women that went with us we're going to leave. She went and talked them into staying. The event was supposed to start at 7. It was 7:40. As we were walking down the street we could hear cheering and speakers. A very depressing moment. We found out that they had pushed back the start time to 7:45. I tried to be optimistic. "Hey, the line will move fast, we'll be in there by ten after 8". For once I was right. We we're being searched before 8:10.
To backtrack just a hair, I saw an old friend from high school while we were in line. Actually, I saw this massive dog being walked by this woman down the street. Took a picture, then said "That looks like..." I yelled, but she walked behind a van. I asked Dawn and her finace to save my place and went after her yelling "Jeri, Jeri". We had a quick chat and I hopped back in line. Running after people and yelling is important, you'll see why later.
So, back to the story, we get in and move up. We were roughly 200 feet from the stage. There were three girls around me that work at the Capitol. I gave them the blog address and they told me later that "A lot of people will want to see these pictures".
I also saw some of the Union folks from work. They had the same spot that I did. I did pretty well for no connectivity, huh?
Then the blur started. Literally and figuratively. I couldn't get my camera adjusted for Ben Affleck's and Governor Rendell's entrance. Ben spoke briefly, then the Governor. Then he introduced Teresa Heinz Kerry. Of course the place went nuts. But this might have been a mistake. EVERYBODY came out. Kerry, Edwards and his wife as well. Rendell recovered nicely and the event continue.
Everyone spoke wonderfully. The atmosphere was electric and powerful. My first national rally and an incredible experience.
John Kerry spoke for about 45 minutes. He was articulate, self-effacing and funny. And the crowd ate it up.
At the end, they started "It's a Beautiful Day" by U2 and, on cue, fired up and lit up the beautiful fountain in the courtyard. For me, it was incredible.
So, a little after 10 it's over. My feet hurt, my back hurts, I got maybe 30 images left and I feel fantastic. So I start walking. Now, the street where we stood in the Blue line is cordoned off with a phalanx (there's that word again) of cops standing in front of motorcycles and blue "Kerry/Edwards" buses. I think, "Great...that's the shortest distance to my car and I have to go around...Wonderful". So I keep walking.
My feet REALLY hurt, and my legs. I see two women sitting down, then I start getting Wil Wheaton's mantra going in my head from the marathon he just did. "Just Keep Going, Just Keep Going". And I did. I go around the corner and head down toward the "Monolith" at the state museum. I get in the courtyard there and finally do sit down, but not really because of my feet. I need to get my cell phone out and call my niece. I had to drop some CD's off and I wanted to let her know I was still coming. This was probably the best decision I made all night.
I get up and start the plod. There's a guy in front of me talking to his friends. He says, "Ya know, I didn't really need Ben Affleck there...he didn't do a lot for me". I'm thinking, "Buddy, He wasn't there for you, he was there for the LADIES".
So I walk up to the steps that go down the street and look back up toward where I WANTED to come down the street. A few of the buses are there. I want a shot for the blog and start getting my camera out of the bag. There's a cop there who sees me getting my camera. He says...
"Hey, Ben Affleck is over there."
"Where?" I said.
"Right over there."
He points down the street, away from where I was looking and there, in the middle of the street he stands. Signing autographs.
"Well," I say..."I'm gonna go over and talk to him, because I haven't talked to him for a long time."
Now, you might expect a few (not a phalanx) beefy guys hanging around him. But this was just him, alone, talking to the crowd (of mostly teenage girls). :)
So I hover around the crowd getting pics. He starts walking away and I go Ben...Ben...BEN. I think at this point he's going to do the prick actor trick and just pretend he doesn't hear me. But, to my amazement, he turns around.
Me..."Are you guys going to do Greenlight this year?"
Him..."Yeah, we're in the middle of the third season now."
How cool is that.
I mean, he kept walking, but made eye contact and didn't totally blow me off. I was impressed.
To backtrack a bit, what also impressed me was his taking time to go over to a woman in a wheelchair to give her an autograph. But what impressed me the most was, and this was weird at the moment, that he took a long time to sign a paper for a woman. I mean, like a minute. In these situations, with a growing crowd making demands, a minute is a looong time. He didn't break concentration, but the woman he was signing for turned toward us and said "It's for my brother...in Iraq".
So I head off into the night. Past the buses. (BTW...Ben's is the really nice bus that doesn't have Kerry/Edwards written all over it) Down to 2nd street. Past the Coyote girls dressed like hookers. Showing everybody who cares to look that I took a picture of Ben Affleck.
I picked up a lemonade, got the car and headed up the street. Windows down, blasting the local X station and feeling pretty damn good about the world. I think we can do this people, I really do.
Stopped at my niece's, gave her the CD's and headed home. Then I started this.
I almost forgot. The crowd was estimated at 18 to 20,000. The news said it was the largest crowd for a political rally there that "anyone can remember". We did good.
I know this is long, but it was "A Beautiful Day".
Friday, July 30, 2004
...Reporting for Duty.
John Kerry, next President of the United States, DNC speech.
Final night of the convention. The pundits all seem to agree that the Dems hit this one out of the park. A well organized and unified week. I think we can actually pull this one off.
Speeches. General Wesley Clark gave an excellent speech. One of the wags said that he was hitting the wrong emotional points. High when he should be low, etc. I don't think it came across that way. Another guy that would have made a great president, and may in the future. The real surprise of the evening was the Kerry daughters. Very articulate and very good speakers. I think people will be talking about the "hampster" for awhile. And, of course, the man himself. He spoke about 45 minutes. I thought he got his points across and had a lot of energy. And...I get to hear him again in less than 24 hours, LIVE. Chrissy says that Ben Afleck will be there, maybe I can give him my Project Greenlight script...A simple tale of a boy and his blog.
A point. GOP pundits are saying Kerry will get a double digit bounce from the convention. 15 points or more. I don't look for it. I think they're making a setup to say. Well, he didn't do that well, not very good, blah, blah, blah. I think a 5 percent bounce would be great. It's going to be a very close election folks, stay tuned.
I heard a woman on the radio tonight that really scared me though. It's scary that this type of thinking is still around. (Very whiny voice)..."Well, I just think that George Bush has his convictions and he stands by them, right or wrong." Do you believe this crap? I mean, right is good, right is wonderful. Wrong is ok too, initially. But if it's continuous in the face of the truth, it's absurd. When you screw up, admit you screwed up, fix it and move on. George won't admit he screwed up. That will contribute greatly to his downfall.
I started walking today. Did 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad. It was really humid and around 82. It was kinda funny, I did more sweating in that 15 minutes than I have the whole time at rehab. Felt a little weird toward the end, but everytime I start doing anything anymore I feel a little weird.
Reasonable night at work. This week has gone really fast because of the convention. Something interesting to look forward to. And don't worry, I'll be listening to the Repubs as well and giving you my two cents about that.
The convention is coming on again. I'd really like to see the speech. I may Tivo it so I can get some sleep.
Kerry tomorrow. They'll be blog pics.
Cya
Final night of the convention. The pundits all seem to agree that the Dems hit this one out of the park. A well organized and unified week. I think we can actually pull this one off.
Speeches. General Wesley Clark gave an excellent speech. One of the wags said that he was hitting the wrong emotional points. High when he should be low, etc. I don't think it came across that way. Another guy that would have made a great president, and may in the future. The real surprise of the evening was the Kerry daughters. Very articulate and very good speakers. I think people will be talking about the "hampster" for awhile. And, of course, the man himself. He spoke about 45 minutes. I thought he got his points across and had a lot of energy. And...I get to hear him again in less than 24 hours, LIVE. Chrissy says that Ben Afleck will be there, maybe I can give him my Project Greenlight script...A simple tale of a boy and his blog.
A point. GOP pundits are saying Kerry will get a double digit bounce from the convention. 15 points or more. I don't look for it. I think they're making a setup to say. Well, he didn't do that well, not very good, blah, blah, blah. I think a 5 percent bounce would be great. It's going to be a very close election folks, stay tuned.
I heard a woman on the radio tonight that really scared me though. It's scary that this type of thinking is still around. (Very whiny voice)..."Well, I just think that George Bush has his convictions and he stands by them, right or wrong." Do you believe this crap? I mean, right is good, right is wonderful. Wrong is ok too, initially. But if it's continuous in the face of the truth, it's absurd. When you screw up, admit you screwed up, fix it and move on. George won't admit he screwed up. That will contribute greatly to his downfall.
I started walking today. Did 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad. It was really humid and around 82. It was kinda funny, I did more sweating in that 15 minutes than I have the whole time at rehab. Felt a little weird toward the end, but everytime I start doing anything anymore I feel a little weird.
Reasonable night at work. This week has gone really fast because of the convention. Something interesting to look forward to. And don't worry, I'll be listening to the Repubs as well and giving you my two cents about that.
The convention is coming on again. I'd really like to see the speech. I may Tivo it so I can get some sleep.
Kerry tomorrow. They'll be blog pics.
Cya
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Hope is on the Way.
Future Vice President John Edwards, DNC speech.
Some great speeches again tonight. Al Sharpton had some great zingers, but he went off teleprompter and threw them off schedule. They were able to get it back together though. John Edwards gave a great speech as well. It's sounding like these guys will be able to pull it off. I'm really looking forward to Friday. I've never had an opportunity to actually touch history before.
Had rehab today. After I was done they went over my food diary. Told me that I have to eat more. Never thought i'd hear that. :) They want me to start walking. Fifteen minutes to start, working up to an hour a day. They said I could do the bicycle thing too. I need a seat that doesn't make me feel like I'm being butt raped, though.
Another reasonable night at work. I'm not used to it. It's throwing me off.
Mike was up tonight and showed Chrissy how to change the oil in the Jeep. I offered to show her before, but I guess I'm not cute enough.
Gotta go. Vote, people.
Some great speeches again tonight. Al Sharpton had some great zingers, but he went off teleprompter and threw them off schedule. They were able to get it back together though. John Edwards gave a great speech as well. It's sounding like these guys will be able to pull it off. I'm really looking forward to Friday. I've never had an opportunity to actually touch history before.
Had rehab today. After I was done they went over my food diary. Told me that I have to eat more. Never thought i'd hear that. :) They want me to start walking. Fifteen minutes to start, working up to an hour a day. They said I could do the bicycle thing too. I need a seat that doesn't make me feel like I'm being butt raped, though.
Another reasonable night at work. I'm not used to it. It's throwing me off.
Mike was up tonight and showed Chrissy how to change the oil in the Jeep. I offered to show her before, but I guess I'm not cute enough.
Gotta go. Vote, people.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
The Only Thing We Have to Fear...
...is four more years of George Bush as President. (Ted Kennedy, DNC speech)
More convention tonight. They say that Tuesday is usually a wash, but some of the speakers were very good. Barack Obama, the new guy, was a standout. Howard (Everybody wants to call him John) Dean and Ted Kennedy spoke to the heart of the party. Ted was having some voice problems and blew a few lines. I got a chuckle out of "The shirt heard round the world". Gephart didn't do much for me. Carol Mosely Braun was having throat problems as well.
I wanted to hear Ron Reagan's speech, but a friend at work kept talking to me and I missed it. I don't think I'm going to be up long enough to hear it. That is what we need though. More Republicans coming to their senses.
All in all a good night. Not much at work. Always good when there's minimal bullshit.
I need to be on alert tomorrow. I taught my friend Lori how to maintain a website for the Port Royal Speedway. They are racing tomorrow, but she's not going to be home and it may rain. They have a little warning system for folks in case they call the race because of rain. So, I get to make the changes if they decide to change.
I'm gonna hang it up here. Talk to you tomorrow.
Photoblog
More convention tonight. They say that Tuesday is usually a wash, but some of the speakers were very good. Barack Obama, the new guy, was a standout. Howard (Everybody wants to call him John) Dean and Ted Kennedy spoke to the heart of the party. Ted was having some voice problems and blew a few lines. I got a chuckle out of "The shirt heard round the world". Gephart didn't do much for me. Carol Mosely Braun was having throat problems as well.
I wanted to hear Ron Reagan's speech, but a friend at work kept talking to me and I missed it. I don't think I'm going to be up long enough to hear it. That is what we need though. More Republicans coming to their senses.
All in all a good night. Not much at work. Always good when there's minimal bullshit.
I need to be on alert tomorrow. I taught my friend Lori how to maintain a website for the Port Royal Speedway. They are racing tomorrow, but she's not going to be home and it may rain. They have a little warning system for folks in case they call the race because of rain. So, I get to make the changes if they decide to change.
I'm gonna hang it up here. Talk to you tomorrow.
Photoblog
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
The Kids want a Saviour and don't need a Fake.
I headed up a little early (finally) to get to the doctors. They were supposed to have my paperwork ready for me. They didn't. So I do the rehab thing and head home. Then I go to work.
The day was pretty uneventful. Almost asshole free. Notice I say almost.
I'm working in the manual cases now. The case is about 4 feet wide and there are cross supports about 1 foot up. Great place to prop your feet every now and then. It helps to move around alot to relieve the pressure in my chest. Now, you have to understand that they switch supervisors in the middle of my shift. I'm about 20 minutes from wrapping up for the evening and this "genius" says to me, "You have to put your feet on the floor". I look at him with my best "You've got to be kidding me." face. He says "You have to keep one foot on the floor." I'm still looking at him with my dumbstruck face. He says "Please don't do that." in probably the most condecending way imaginable.
So, one of two things are going to happen. One, I will have the doctor write me a note that says I can prop both of my feet up. The idea behind this is that, when I see him, I'll put both feet up. Then when he comes over to give me shit, I'll just hand him the note without looking at him and keep working.
Two, if the doc won't give me the note. I'll just disappear every time I have discomfort from this shit. I CAN get a note for that. God I hate useless bullshit.
Anyway, just radio tonight. Listened to the DNC tonight. Some really good speeches tonight. I was pleasantly surprised with Al Gore's speech. Self depricating, funny, powerful. A few more of those four years ago and we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today. Bill Clinton was electric. Like there was any doubt. The reason for tonight's blog title is hearing a two second clip of "Elected" by Alice Cooper, just in case you didn't get it.
Photoblog
The day was pretty uneventful. Almost asshole free. Notice I say almost.
I'm working in the manual cases now. The case is about 4 feet wide and there are cross supports about 1 foot up. Great place to prop your feet every now and then. It helps to move around alot to relieve the pressure in my chest. Now, you have to understand that they switch supervisors in the middle of my shift. I'm about 20 minutes from wrapping up for the evening and this "genius" says to me, "You have to put your feet on the floor". I look at him with my best "You've got to be kidding me." face. He says "You have to keep one foot on the floor." I'm still looking at him with my dumbstruck face. He says "Please don't do that." in probably the most condecending way imaginable.
So, one of two things are going to happen. One, I will have the doctor write me a note that says I can prop both of my feet up. The idea behind this is that, when I see him, I'll put both feet up. Then when he comes over to give me shit, I'll just hand him the note without looking at him and keep working.
Two, if the doc won't give me the note. I'll just disappear every time I have discomfort from this shit. I CAN get a note for that. God I hate useless bullshit.
Anyway, just radio tonight. Listened to the DNC tonight. Some really good speeches tonight. I was pleasantly surprised with Al Gore's speech. Self depricating, funny, powerful. A few more of those four years ago and we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today. Bill Clinton was electric. Like there was any doubt. The reason for tonight's blog title is hearing a two second clip of "Elected" by Alice Cooper, just in case you didn't get it.
Photoblog
Monday, July 26, 2004
I Love Playin' with...
I'm still not pain free at work. I had a hell of a headache tonight, even after the Tylenol. But, we march on.
Radio at work tonight. I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" twice within two hours. Dontcha just love originality in programming?? Which brings us to our next paragraph...
I found out that a local pair of disc jockeys have "left" the air. Coffey and the Jammer are no longer on the local classic rock station. They've got Bob and Tom now, who are funny, but so were the other guys. More homogenizing of radio. That's how we put the suck in it!
John Kerry this friday in Harrisburg. Big convention this week too.
Burnt my index finger making eggs tonight after I got home. And I screwed up the omelet too.
This is gonna be a quick one. Got to pick up notes at the Dr. and hit the rehab in the morning.
Have fun people.
Photoblog
Radio at work tonight. I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" twice within two hours. Dontcha just love originality in programming?? Which brings us to our next paragraph...
I found out that a local pair of disc jockeys have "left" the air. Coffey and the Jammer are no longer on the local classic rock station. They've got Bob and Tom now, who are funny, but so were the other guys. More homogenizing of radio. That's how we put the suck in it!
John Kerry this friday in Harrisburg. Big convention this week too.
Burnt my index finger making eggs tonight after I got home. And I screwed up the omelet too.
This is gonna be a quick one. Got to pick up notes at the Dr. and hit the rehab in the morning.
Have fun people.
Photoblog
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Belted
Got up late this morning (afternoon). It was nice to sleep in.
I went out to mow the lawn with the tractor. Well, guess what? The blade drive belt was so slack that it just won't engage anymore. So I checked out the adjustment and it was never moved when the belt was put on, so the belt stretched out faster than it should. I didn't put it on, so you can't blame me.
The inlaws called and wanted to take us out for our anniversary. We missed it cause Deb was on vacation. So we headed over to Ruby Tuesday's on the strip.
This was my last day of writing down everything I eat, which is lots of fun in a restaurant.
We came back home and pretty much vegged out and watched tv. Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Last Comic Standing.
Then I decided to talk to you fine people. So there you are.
I went out to mow the lawn with the tractor. Well, guess what? The blade drive belt was so slack that it just won't engage anymore. So I checked out the adjustment and it was never moved when the belt was put on, so the belt stretched out faster than it should. I didn't put it on, so you can't blame me.
The inlaws called and wanted to take us out for our anniversary. We missed it cause Deb was on vacation. So we headed over to Ruby Tuesday's on the strip.
This was my last day of writing down everything I eat, which is lots of fun in a restaurant.
We came back home and pretty much vegged out and watched tv. Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Last Comic Standing.
Then I decided to talk to you fine people. So there you are.
Doors of Perception
Photoblog
Another rehab day. Up to Lewistown a little late again, and of course, the construction decides to slow me up. I do the exercise thing and come back home.
I get my act together here and get ready to go to Harrisburg. I did get a cool little program for the wife's XP machine (which she doesn't like, because "stuff is always changed on my machine, leave it alone"). It's called Kapsules and it puts widgets on your desktop. Widgets are little applets that Mac users are familiar with. They're free and there is a development community making all sorts of stuff. There is a weather widget, a calendar, a photo album. If you have XP or 2000, check it out.
The "Wellness Co-ordinator" from Blue Cross called and wanted to know how I was doing. I filled her on what a wonderful guy I am and she's doing her cheerleading thing. "You're doing so goood....isn't he a good boy.....yes he is......yes he is.....mmmmm". My tail was wagging furiously.
I head to the Burg and hit some rain on the way down. They had a lot of flooding, roadsides washed out, etc. I head to pick up some printers and find out that my local supplier raised the price. So Maureen's gonna get hers from where she works. It sort of cheeses me off because I think I could have sold 3 at the old price. The client may still buy them, but I was almost positive they would get them at the old price. I head over to Target and pick up a grill brush and a little key chain light. I love Target. The thing I had to walk by was a Lava Lamp on steroids. Very cool
Then to Circuit City. I got a mini USB port multiplier for my self, but the buy of the day was a Dazzle multi-card reader. Some are 4 in one, a few are 8 in one, this one was.....wait for it......10 in one.....TEN IN ONE. AND...a 20 dollar rebate. I also got a cheapo webcam to hook up to my laptop.
Maureen showed up late. With all the flooding and rerouting and everything however, it's no wonder. She decides to finance through them and gets a massive line of credit. I wanted her to get me a couple of Laptops, the salesman had his eye on a plasma screen tv. No dice in either direction. :) We pick out her new machine and head out to the vehicles. As we walk down the parking lot, her son pulls up beside us. Kinda spooky, huh? She talked to him and his wife and the two (adorable) little ones. We hang out and shoot the shit in the parking lot and then head for home.
I call home and see what Deb wants to do for dinner. She said to call her back at Newport and she'd order some Chinese. Not to get into the specifics, but there was something I wanted to tell Maureen. I was pretty sure she was behind me, so I pulled off just before Newport and figured I'd wait 5 minutes. If she didn't come by, I'd head on home. I hop out and then figure I'll get my cell and THE DAMN DOOR IS LOCKED. Of course, I said a few kind words and, thank god, Maureen pulled in. She went up and stopped at the State Police barracks for me. It took them almost 45 minutes to get there. Actually, the Newport cop was the one that opened it up for me. So now I have a nice scratch on my door. It was kinda funny. He's got that long wire in and I'm thinking "How in the hell is he gonna get to the door lock like that?" He keeps going lower and I say, "Those are the window switches.." And the window opens on my side. Hell, I thought, that'll work too. :)
But what I failed to mention above is that THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING. Ya see, If the engine was off and the key was in the ignition, the door will not lock. However, if the car is running.... Well, we learn something everyday, don't we. :)
Headed toward home and called the wife, who wanted to know where the hell I was. I told her I saw her call every time. Geez, even the cops called to say they were coming, I saw the phone ringing that time too.
Got the food, went home, ate and broke out Maureen's new machine. It's a Toshiba Satellite A65-S1064. Very nice. Very peppy. Lots of bloatware, I got rid of most of that. First thing off was the damn Norton. It's a real shame about Norton, they used to be the best and now they pretty much suck. Besides, AVG is much better, and FREE.
The only complaint about her machine so far is that the built in speakers SUCK. I mean, hardly any volume at all. I'm gonna look for an updated driver tomorrow, but I don't hold out much hope. If it was mine it would go back. But she will only need them for system alerts. Not a big deal for her.
I put on AdAware, ZoneAlarm, MyIE2 and set up a Yahoo account for her too. I had to switch back to old faithful here for this entry though. Just a little more comfortable.
Something I forgot. I was watching one of my Tivo'ed "Screen Savers" shows and they had this guy on showing how you can do all this hacking stuff on Google. Very interesting indeed.
Gonna hit it soon. Have fun people...and remember...Lock your car...Take your keys. Now lets be careful out there. :)
Another rehab day. Up to Lewistown a little late again, and of course, the construction decides to slow me up. I do the exercise thing and come back home.
I get my act together here and get ready to go to Harrisburg. I did get a cool little program for the wife's XP machine (which she doesn't like, because "stuff is always changed on my machine, leave it alone"). It's called Kapsules and it puts widgets on your desktop. Widgets are little applets that Mac users are familiar with. They're free and there is a development community making all sorts of stuff. There is a weather widget, a calendar, a photo album. If you have XP or 2000, check it out.
The "Wellness Co-ordinator" from Blue Cross called and wanted to know how I was doing. I filled her on what a wonderful guy I am and she's doing her cheerleading thing. "You're doing so goood....isn't he a good boy.....yes he is......yes he is.....mmmmm". My tail was wagging furiously.
I head to the Burg and hit some rain on the way down. They had a lot of flooding, roadsides washed out, etc. I head to pick up some printers and find out that my local supplier raised the price. So Maureen's gonna get hers from where she works. It sort of cheeses me off because I think I could have sold 3 at the old price. The client may still buy them, but I was almost positive they would get them at the old price. I head over to Target and pick up a grill brush and a little key chain light. I love Target. The thing I had to walk by was a Lava Lamp on steroids. Very cool
Then to Circuit City. I got a mini USB port multiplier for my self, but the buy of the day was a Dazzle multi-card reader. Some are 4 in one, a few are 8 in one, this one was.....wait for it......10 in one.....TEN IN ONE. AND...a 20 dollar rebate. I also got a cheapo webcam to hook up to my laptop.
Maureen showed up late. With all the flooding and rerouting and everything however, it's no wonder. She decides to finance through them and gets a massive line of credit. I wanted her to get me a couple of Laptops, the salesman had his eye on a plasma screen tv. No dice in either direction. :) We pick out her new machine and head out to the vehicles. As we walk down the parking lot, her son pulls up beside us. Kinda spooky, huh? She talked to him and his wife and the two (adorable) little ones. We hang out and shoot the shit in the parking lot and then head for home.
I call home and see what Deb wants to do for dinner. She said to call her back at Newport and she'd order some Chinese. Not to get into the specifics, but there was something I wanted to tell Maureen. I was pretty sure she was behind me, so I pulled off just before Newport and figured I'd wait 5 minutes. If she didn't come by, I'd head on home. I hop out and then figure I'll get my cell and THE DAMN DOOR IS LOCKED. Of course, I said a few kind words and, thank god, Maureen pulled in. She went up and stopped at the State Police barracks for me. It took them almost 45 minutes to get there. Actually, the Newport cop was the one that opened it up for me. So now I have a nice scratch on my door. It was kinda funny. He's got that long wire in and I'm thinking "How in the hell is he gonna get to the door lock like that?" He keeps going lower and I say, "Those are the window switches.." And the window opens on my side. Hell, I thought, that'll work too. :)
But what I failed to mention above is that THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING. Ya see, If the engine was off and the key was in the ignition, the door will not lock. However, if the car is running.... Well, we learn something everyday, don't we. :)
Headed toward home and called the wife, who wanted to know where the hell I was. I told her I saw her call every time. Geez, even the cops called to say they were coming, I saw the phone ringing that time too.
Got the food, went home, ate and broke out Maureen's new machine. It's a Toshiba Satellite A65-S1064. Very nice. Very peppy. Lots of bloatware, I got rid of most of that. First thing off was the damn Norton. It's a real shame about Norton, they used to be the best and now they pretty much suck. Besides, AVG is much better, and FREE.
The only complaint about her machine so far is that the built in speakers SUCK. I mean, hardly any volume at all. I'm gonna look for an updated driver tomorrow, but I don't hold out much hope. If it was mine it would go back. But she will only need them for system alerts. Not a big deal for her.
I put on AdAware, ZoneAlarm, MyIE2 and set up a Yahoo account for her too. I had to switch back to old faithful here for this entry though. Just a little more comfortable.
Something I forgot. I was watching one of my Tivo'ed "Screen Savers" shows and they had this guy on showing how you can do all this hacking stuff on Google. Very interesting indeed.
Gonna hit it soon. Have fun people...and remember...Lock your car...Take your keys. Now lets be careful out there. :)
Friday, July 23, 2004
When the Rains Came...
When I was heading to work I called my buddy Margaret (see photoblog). She need some fonts transferred to her office machine, so I may run down and do that tomorrow. Anyway, send her all your good mojo. She's got a thing in the works that I can't talk about, but it will be very good for her if all of her ducks line up.
Got to talk to Boogaloo at work. Found out that he's been reading the blog, so it was hard to fill him in on anything new. But he told me that their local rugrat has been playing Lineage II. A lot. Like, going on 33+ hours straight. I saw a review on the game and it looks great.
It was raining during my lunch. And when I say raining I mean torrential. It was funny to watch all the smokers (addicts) run outside to hack away. I went out to the patio before I left and it looked like a rainforest. Very foggy, damp, etc.
So, I finally finish a semi full week at work (4 days). Things are getting better slowly, but I still have pain when I sit too long. Hopefully this will get better. It's gonna be a real pain in the ass if it keeps up.
Some thing I forgot yesterday. It looks like John Kerry will be in Harrisburg next friday. Our preliminary plan is for Chrissy and I to go down and check it out. I've never been to a political rally before, so it ought to be pretty cool. Plus, it's the day after the end of the DNC, so everybody ought to be pumped.
I'm starting another fun thing. I get to write down everything I eat for the next 3 days. They have a preparation column. It was fun to write in the preparation for water.
Music at work....Veruca Salt's, "Eight Arms to Hold You" / Everclear's "Sparkle and Fade"
Just saw an interesting segment on "Unscrewed". A website called TickleKitty that carries, among other things, covert vibrators. Now all you older girls go run and look. :)
Going to the burg tomorrow. Getting Maureen her laptop and I get to go to my favorite French store...Target.
cya
Got to talk to Boogaloo at work. Found out that he's been reading the blog, so it was hard to fill him in on anything new. But he told me that their local rugrat has been playing Lineage II. A lot. Like, going on 33+ hours straight. I saw a review on the game and it looks great.
It was raining during my lunch. And when I say raining I mean torrential. It was funny to watch all the smokers (addicts) run outside to hack away. I went out to the patio before I left and it looked like a rainforest. Very foggy, damp, etc.
So, I finally finish a semi full week at work (4 days). Things are getting better slowly, but I still have pain when I sit too long. Hopefully this will get better. It's gonna be a real pain in the ass if it keeps up.
Some thing I forgot yesterday. It looks like John Kerry will be in Harrisburg next friday. Our preliminary plan is for Chrissy and I to go down and check it out. I've never been to a political rally before, so it ought to be pretty cool. Plus, it's the day after the end of the DNC, so everybody ought to be pumped.
I'm starting another fun thing. I get to write down everything I eat for the next 3 days. They have a preparation column. It was fun to write in the preparation for water.
Music at work....Veruca Salt's, "Eight Arms to Hold You" / Everclear's "Sparkle and Fade"
Just saw an interesting segment on "Unscrewed". A website called TickleKitty that carries, among other things, covert vibrators. Now all you older girls go run and look. :)
Going to the burg tomorrow. Getting Maureen her laptop and I get to go to my favorite French store...Target.
cya
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Drunk Web Surfing
Lots of stuff today too...
I got up late and went to rehab. I wanted to head up early so I could go to the doctor and get some forms filled out, but it didn't happen. When I'm finishing, an older lady asks me..."So, what do you plan on doing after you finish rehab?" I say..."Eating an entire cheesecake." I finish rehab around noon and have to wait till 12:45 when the doctors office opens. I head up to the Weis store for some pasta salad and a huge bottle of Evian. I get in the car and eat, put on the sunglasses and they break. Great. There's a CVS store next to the Weis. I go in and a woman I went to High School with is working there, Peg Luck. Actually, she's the manager. I knew that she worked there before and I had been in a few times, but she's never been there. We caught up a little and I got my sunglasses and headed to the doctors.
I go in and hand my forms over and I tell the nurse I've been having a lot of pain since I've been back to work. They say a nurse will come out and talk to me. Next thing I know, they're doing an EKG. The doc sees me and says that this is probably just normal pain from getting back to work. He wants me to monitor it and if it gets worse, come back.
Well, this scene takes longer than I thought it would, so I'm pushing it to get to work. I figured I'd go home and get my Palm and then head to the pharmacy. This doesn't happen. Chrissy covers me and picks up my prescription. Since it's the pain pills, I'm very glad that she does.
Since I don't have the palm, I don't have the stuff in the wallet it's in. No plastic, so I had to pay cash for the sunglasses. No key for my locker at work, so no music, no gum, etc.
I couldn't get a steward at the beginning of the night, when he wanted me, so I had to wait until around 7. He seems to think the MDO will capitulate and he may not even have to grieve it. That would be cool.
BUT, the coolest thing of the whole day was my cell phone. The only piece of tech I had with me. Before, I would have to go out of the cafeteria and across the courtyard to get any signal. Well, I just happen to turn the phone on at my usual table in the cafeteria and, lo and behold, SIGNAL!!! So I wander around the building a bit. Practically everywhere in the building has coverage. AT&T has finally added the Cingular service to their network. Thanks AT&T, your soulless, monopolistic dominance is working for me. :)
Tomorrow will be the conclusion of my (almost) first full week back. So far so good.
Photoblog
I got up late and went to rehab. I wanted to head up early so I could go to the doctor and get some forms filled out, but it didn't happen. When I'm finishing, an older lady asks me..."So, what do you plan on doing after you finish rehab?" I say..."Eating an entire cheesecake." I finish rehab around noon and have to wait till 12:45 when the doctors office opens. I head up to the Weis store for some pasta salad and a huge bottle of Evian. I get in the car and eat, put on the sunglasses and they break. Great. There's a CVS store next to the Weis. I go in and a woman I went to High School with is working there, Peg Luck. Actually, she's the manager. I knew that she worked there before and I had been in a few times, but she's never been there. We caught up a little and I got my sunglasses and headed to the doctors.
I go in and hand my forms over and I tell the nurse I've been having a lot of pain since I've been back to work. They say a nurse will come out and talk to me. Next thing I know, they're doing an EKG. The doc sees me and says that this is probably just normal pain from getting back to work. He wants me to monitor it and if it gets worse, come back.
Well, this scene takes longer than I thought it would, so I'm pushing it to get to work. I figured I'd go home and get my Palm and then head to the pharmacy. This doesn't happen. Chrissy covers me and picks up my prescription. Since it's the pain pills, I'm very glad that she does.
Since I don't have the palm, I don't have the stuff in the wallet it's in. No plastic, so I had to pay cash for the sunglasses. No key for my locker at work, so no music, no gum, etc.
I couldn't get a steward at the beginning of the night, when he wanted me, so I had to wait until around 7. He seems to think the MDO will capitulate and he may not even have to grieve it. That would be cool.
BUT, the coolest thing of the whole day was my cell phone. The only piece of tech I had with me. Before, I would have to go out of the cafeteria and across the courtyard to get any signal. Well, I just happen to turn the phone on at my usual table in the cafeteria and, lo and behold, SIGNAL!!! So I wander around the building a bit. Practically everywhere in the building has coverage. AT&T has finally added the Cingular service to their network. Thanks AT&T, your soulless, monopolistic dominance is working for me. :)
Tomorrow will be the conclusion of my (almost) first full week back. So far so good.
Photoblog
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Simply Amazing
I don't believe it. I actually got my CD's back! I walked up to the area that I'm working in now and there they were. (I still think the guy oughta retire though.)
It's a little weird talking to everybody now. I mean, I'd really like to talk to them, but I feel like I'm blowing a lot of people off because there just isn't time to explain the gory details of what happened. I'm sure that's just my insecurity though.
Another strange thing happened at work tonite. I was talking to my friend Paulette (Hi Paulette!!!). I was talking about some mundane detail of what's been going on with me the past month or so, and she says "Oh yeah, I remember you said...". I keep talking and then it hits me. I didn't say it to her face to face, I said it on here. It was a little weird, but very cool at the same time. So I guess this isn't as boring as I thought? :)
I'm filing a grievance to get my Sunday pay. This whole nurse fiasco is a mess, but the steward thinks I have a chance of winning. So what the hell.
Music at work...Derringer's "Derringer", The Presidents of the United States of America's "II", and The Living End's "Modern ARTillery".
Random at work thought...Todd Rundgren, in the 70's, used to put streaks of color in his hair. I remember one time in particular he had a bright blue streak on the left. If you walked up to him, put your mouth at the base of that color and said "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck" as you moved your mouth toward the top of his head, you'd be.....
...wait for it...
Cussing up a blue streak. :)
This is why your mail is late people.
I talked to my niece Darlene (see Photoblog)on the way home. She's in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend and was having a rough time of it tonight. I called her earlier in the evening because I wanted to find out how much the KISS cd's are. One of my friends at work is going to see them at Montage. KISS is doing a thing at their shows where they record the show that you're watching and then selling the cd's afterward. Twenty-Five bucks for a 2 cd set doesn't sound too bad. She said my brother went nuts at the show buying stuff. This is the brother on the Photoblog about halfway down.
BTW...if you do happen to read this stuff. Leave a comment with your name. I don't think there's too many folks looking in, but I'd appreciate a shout. I will do some promotion at some point, so you don't have to be alone.
So, another day, another blog entry. Dontcha just love it.
It's a little weird talking to everybody now. I mean, I'd really like to talk to them, but I feel like I'm blowing a lot of people off because there just isn't time to explain the gory details of what happened. I'm sure that's just my insecurity though.
Another strange thing happened at work tonite. I was talking to my friend Paulette (Hi Paulette!!!). I was talking about some mundane detail of what's been going on with me the past month or so, and she says "Oh yeah, I remember you said...". I keep talking and then it hits me. I didn't say it to her face to face, I said it on here. It was a little weird, but very cool at the same time. So I guess this isn't as boring as I thought? :)
I'm filing a grievance to get my Sunday pay. This whole nurse fiasco is a mess, but the steward thinks I have a chance of winning. So what the hell.
Music at work...Derringer's "Derringer", The Presidents of the United States of America's "II", and The Living End's "Modern ARTillery".
Random at work thought...Todd Rundgren, in the 70's, used to put streaks of color in his hair. I remember one time in particular he had a bright blue streak on the left. If you walked up to him, put your mouth at the base of that color and said "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck" as you moved your mouth toward the top of his head, you'd be.....
...wait for it...
Cussing up a blue streak. :)
This is why your mail is late people.
I talked to my niece Darlene (see Photoblog)on the way home. She's in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend and was having a rough time of it tonight. I called her earlier in the evening because I wanted to find out how much the KISS cd's are. One of my friends at work is going to see them at Montage. KISS is doing a thing at their shows where they record the show that you're watching and then selling the cd's afterward. Twenty-Five bucks for a 2 cd set doesn't sound too bad. She said my brother went nuts at the show buying stuff. This is the brother on the Photoblog about halfway down.
BTW...if you do happen to read this stuff. Leave a comment with your name. I don't think there's too many folks looking in, but I'd appreciate a shout. I will do some promotion at some point, so you don't have to be alone.
So, another day, another blog entry. Dontcha just love it.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Surrounded by Idiots
I didn't post this last night because I was too mad.
I went back to work yesterday. They finally let me in and it was just like I said in yesterday's post. The nurse sent an email to the mucky-mucks quoting the doctor's excuse. She didn't see me or anything. What a joke. So I will go to see the union today and see if I can get a little satisfaction.
I was put in the letter cases, which is the easiest job in there on the floor. You grab a letter, look at it and put it in the slot. It was not easy. I was sore a lot and wound up taking nitro on the way home. But there were other reasons involved.
I put 3 cd cases in one of the letter slots. Unbeknownst to me, this guy comes through and taps (takes) the mail. The idiot took my cd cases and SENT THEM OUT. Now, this guy is the oldest guy in the building. I am absolutely serious when I say this. I KNOW that he started working there 6 months after I was born. I couldn't say anything to the guy because he would probably crap out on the spot. So I held it in as usual, thinking that I was gonna crap out on the spot. On top of this I had to make 2 trips to the truck terminal to look for my stuff. This is an extremely long walk when I'm feeling good, let alone in some pain.
What pisses me off is that this guy shouldn't even be there. Hell, a 47 year pension from anywhere ought to provide a good living. So some young guy just starting out, building a family, can't get a decent job because this geezer "just has to work". Quit and work at McDonalds for Christ's sake. That's where all the old people are SUPPOSED to work.
They make you use these "Stand/Sit devices" which have you at an angle. They're hard to describe because you don't really stand or sit. The put a lot of pressure on the back of your calves, and I made sure I worked the back of my calves at Rehab earlier in the day. Yes Virginia, Rehab continues and is just fine. So I had to change it to a seat, which supervisors have given me hell for before. That, for some odd reason, applied pressure to the abdomen area, just under the heart. Then I figured "fuck it" and started standing. The floor is concrete. So that started working on my ankles. My right ankle felt like it swelled up and was still giving me problems today. I got several twinges at the stint site too. All in all, It was a really, really sucky day.
I wanted to make it through though. I figured if I could, the next day would be easier, etc.
I got home and just collapsed on the couch. I looked at the laptop long enough to make sure the XP machine downstairs was working. (It is ...yaaa!!!!) and crapped out on the couch. The cat missed me very much and was very vocal when I got home, so we got into a little heavy petting. :)
On the music front, I listened to Shonen Knife "Let's Knife" and XTC "Oranges and Lemons" last night. I always forget what a great, great album "Oranges" is. If you've never heard it, you should definitely check it out.
So today I will go to work and shove my CD's up my ass and do as absolutely little as possible. By the way, there was a woman sitting next to me and I swear, everytime I glanced at her she wasn't doing a damn thing. Guess I have to get with the program. :)
Photoblog
I went back to work yesterday. They finally let me in and it was just like I said in yesterday's post. The nurse sent an email to the mucky-mucks quoting the doctor's excuse. She didn't see me or anything. What a joke. So I will go to see the union today and see if I can get a little satisfaction.
I was put in the letter cases, which is the easiest job in there on the floor. You grab a letter, look at it and put it in the slot. It was not easy. I was sore a lot and wound up taking nitro on the way home. But there were other reasons involved.
I put 3 cd cases in one of the letter slots. Unbeknownst to me, this guy comes through and taps (takes) the mail. The idiot took my cd cases and SENT THEM OUT. Now, this guy is the oldest guy in the building. I am absolutely serious when I say this. I KNOW that he started working there 6 months after I was born. I couldn't say anything to the guy because he would probably crap out on the spot. So I held it in as usual, thinking that I was gonna crap out on the spot. On top of this I had to make 2 trips to the truck terminal to look for my stuff. This is an extremely long walk when I'm feeling good, let alone in some pain.
What pisses me off is that this guy shouldn't even be there. Hell, a 47 year pension from anywhere ought to provide a good living. So some young guy just starting out, building a family, can't get a decent job because this geezer "just has to work". Quit and work at McDonalds for Christ's sake. That's where all the old people are SUPPOSED to work.
They make you use these "Stand/Sit devices" which have you at an angle. They're hard to describe because you don't really stand or sit. The put a lot of pressure on the back of your calves, and I made sure I worked the back of my calves at Rehab earlier in the day. Yes Virginia, Rehab continues and is just fine. So I had to change it to a seat, which supervisors have given me hell for before. That, for some odd reason, applied pressure to the abdomen area, just under the heart. Then I figured "fuck it" and started standing. The floor is concrete. So that started working on my ankles. My right ankle felt like it swelled up and was still giving me problems today. I got several twinges at the stint site too. All in all, It was a really, really sucky day.
I wanted to make it through though. I figured if I could, the next day would be easier, etc.
I got home and just collapsed on the couch. I looked at the laptop long enough to make sure the XP machine downstairs was working. (It is ...yaaa!!!!) and crapped out on the couch. The cat missed me very much and was very vocal when I got home, so we got into a little heavy petting. :)
On the music front, I listened to Shonen Knife "Let's Knife" and XTC "Oranges and Lemons" last night. I always forget what a great, great album "Oranges" is. If you've never heard it, you should definitely check it out.
So today I will go to work and shove my CD's up my ass and do as absolutely little as possible. By the way, there was a woman sitting next to me and I swear, everytime I glanced at her she wasn't doing a damn thing. Guess I have to get with the program. :)
Photoblog
Sunday, July 18, 2004
....an Infinite Haystack (of stupidity)
Yesterday I met with Maureen to discuss her laptop. Looks like she's gonna check prices at work and we'll get her set up this week. I took a bunch of pics of her and I'll post a few later this week.
Everybody came home a little after 5. We hung out for a little and then the kids took off down to Harrisburg. Deb and I caught up on Stargate. I've been working on my machine for the last several days. Major blue screen problems. Chris and Mike came back and Mike stayed here last nite. We started talking about the machine and he offered his help. He used to do tech support at Earthlink. It was a big help because my XP skills are lacking. Everything is ALMOST the same, but you really have to dig for it.
Anyway...I've got it back about 90%...the last little bit looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun (insert sarcasm here).
So it's Sunday. I go to work. I head out early, because I'm sure there's gonna be a little bullshit involved in going back. Someone, usually a MDO (Manager of Daily Operations) has to approve you to come back. Well...I find him. He's a "Sunday" guy, so he's not really sure. But it turns out if you're gone for more than 21 days a nurse has to approve you. I didn't even know we had a medical unit at the facility anymore.
So I come home. Now tomorrow, I'll call the nurse, who'll look at the paper I have from the doctor and she'll say "OK, you can come back". More PBS (Postal BullShit)
So we had a little cookout here this evening. Our power dropped a few times and the net went out. It just came back, so here we are!!!
Photoblog
Everybody came home a little after 5. We hung out for a little and then the kids took off down to Harrisburg. Deb and I caught up on Stargate. I've been working on my machine for the last several days. Major blue screen problems. Chris and Mike came back and Mike stayed here last nite. We started talking about the machine and he offered his help. He used to do tech support at Earthlink. It was a big help because my XP skills are lacking. Everything is ALMOST the same, but you really have to dig for it.
Anyway...I've got it back about 90%...the last little bit looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun (insert sarcasm here).
So it's Sunday. I go to work. I head out early, because I'm sure there's gonna be a little bullshit involved in going back. Someone, usually a MDO (Manager of Daily Operations) has to approve you to come back. Well...I find him. He's a "Sunday" guy, so he's not really sure. But it turns out if you're gone for more than 21 days a nurse has to approve you. I didn't even know we had a medical unit at the facility anymore.
So I come home. Now tomorrow, I'll call the nurse, who'll look at the paper I have from the doctor and she'll say "OK, you can come back". More PBS (Postal BullShit)
So we had a little cookout here this evening. Our power dropped a few times and the net went out. It just came back, so here we are!!!
Photoblog
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Up and Down and Up and....
Had to go to rehab today....afterward I went to the Cardio doc to get my back to work excuse. Got there at 12 and , of course, they were closed until 12:45. So I went down to Ollie's to kill some time. They were having a book blowout, but I passed. I do want to pick up "Drumming for Idiots". I wonder if Bobby Rondinelli would be pissed if I put it on stage at a BOC concert?
So...back down to the doc's. I gave them my stuff and they were like "well...he's not here and I don't know if he can do it today...maybe Monday?" No good. I want to go back to work on Sunday. So she says to call back in a few hours and we'll see. So I go home and hang out.
Fast Forward...I call.."OK, it's ready". So I drive back up. Now, you have to understand that they are doing major construction for all of about 5 miles of the trip. Plus, I have a detour to deal with right by my house.
Anyway, I get the excuse. She has to take it back to him so he can indicate light duty for the next month. So I head back home...more construction.
I put in a DVD I got from Netflix. It's very cool. They're going to send me all 39 episodes of "Stingray" from the mid 60's. It was one of the "Super Marionation" shows. That means puppets, which is kinda lame. But the miniatures that they use are incredible. Anyway, watched all 8 today and put the disc in the mail so I can get the next one. I have "Supercar" coming and "Fireball XL5" too. I actually own the first "Thunderbirds" DVD, and I will get all of those as well.
The live action "Thunderbirds" will be out the end of the month. Directed by Jonathan Frakes. The previews look like a lot of fun. I think we'll be checking out "I Robot" and then "Thunderbirds".
Been helping Darlene online tonite. Watchin' the tube and enjoying my final day of freedom. Deb and Chrissy come back tomorrow.
Photoblog
So...back down to the doc's. I gave them my stuff and they were like "well...he's not here and I don't know if he can do it today...maybe Monday?" No good. I want to go back to work on Sunday. So she says to call back in a few hours and we'll see. So I go home and hang out.
Fast Forward...I call.."OK, it's ready". So I drive back up. Now, you have to understand that they are doing major construction for all of about 5 miles of the trip. Plus, I have a detour to deal with right by my house.
Anyway, I get the excuse. She has to take it back to him so he can indicate light duty for the next month. So I head back home...more construction.
I put in a DVD I got from Netflix. It's very cool. They're going to send me all 39 episodes of "Stingray" from the mid 60's. It was one of the "Super Marionation" shows. That means puppets, which is kinda lame. But the miniatures that they use are incredible. Anyway, watched all 8 today and put the disc in the mail so I can get the next one. I have "Supercar" coming and "Fireball XL5" too. I actually own the first "Thunderbirds" DVD, and I will get all of those as well.
The live action "Thunderbirds" will be out the end of the month. Directed by Jonathan Frakes. The previews look like a lot of fun. I think we'll be checking out "I Robot" and then "Thunderbirds".
Been helping Darlene online tonite. Watchin' the tube and enjoying my final day of freedom. Deb and Chrissy come back tomorrow.
Photoblog
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Tornado
We had an F3 tornado just east of Harrisburg yesterday. Winds around 200 mph. About 30 people hurt, one is critical. Fortunately, so far, no deaths. Just amazing pictures. A house on the corner looks untouched and the next two down the street are flattened. And I mean COMPLETELY flattened.
This happened around 3 in the afternoon. I went to my rehab in the morning. Then headed to Betsy's to finish up her trojan cleaning. Then down to Harrisburg to help Maureen shop for her laptop. On the way down I was hitting rain with the sun shining. Ususally this happens maybe once a year. It happened to me 3 or 4 times that day.
We were in Circuit City around 5 or so. Probably 100 feet or so from the front. All of the sudden this noise came, just a loud drone. I thought it was the train sound that they always talk about. Turns out it was just really, really heavy rain, but it had me really concerned for a few seconds.
Anyway, we ran around town and got prices. It looks like we're gonna pick stuff up Saturday.
Today I had to pick up Deb's check and deposit it, then head down to the burg again to make the payments on our loans. I killed a little time, then headed over to Darlene's to work on her machine.
I'm gonna post a pic of Maureen and Darlene on the photo blog.
This happened around 3 in the afternoon. I went to my rehab in the morning. Then headed to Betsy's to finish up her trojan cleaning. Then down to Harrisburg to help Maureen shop for her laptop. On the way down I was hitting rain with the sun shining. Ususally this happens maybe once a year. It happened to me 3 or 4 times that day.
We were in Circuit City around 5 or so. Probably 100 feet or so from the front. All of the sudden this noise came, just a loud drone. I thought it was the train sound that they always talk about. Turns out it was just really, really heavy rain, but it had me really concerned for a few seconds.
Anyway, we ran around town and got prices. It looks like we're gonna pick stuff up Saturday.
Today I had to pick up Deb's check and deposit it, then head down to the burg again to make the payments on our loans. I killed a little time, then headed over to Darlene's to work on her machine.
I'm gonna post a pic of Maureen and Darlene on the photo blog.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Tuesday afternoon...
Well, lets digress. Yesterday I had a rehab appointment. Everything went real well. Headed out to WalMart to exchange a set of seat covers that didn't fit. Then I came back down to work on Betsy's computer. She managed to get 15 virus files as well as one of those browser hijackers. I'll do the research today and go work on it tomorrow.
I was supposed to help Maureen get her laptop, but she cancelled. We'll have to go do that Wednesday. I hung around the house for awhile. I put in the new drive on my new machine, it was pretty painless. Deb called, they were in Alex Bay and wanted to see if I could see them on the web cam up there. It didn't happen. I went into town and shot the shit with Margaret for awhile, then headed out to Sheetz for a Chef Salad. Not too bad.
Today I had to go in to pick up my prescriptions. Holy Shit!!! Let me put it this way. If I didn't have a good prescription plan I'd be shelling out over $250.00 a month. Not good. Looks like they want me to take this stuff for awhile too.
Anyway, me and the cat are sitting here looking to get into trouble...any suggestions???
Go to Pics
I was supposed to help Maureen get her laptop, but she cancelled. We'll have to go do that Wednesday. I hung around the house for awhile. I put in the new drive on my new machine, it was pretty painless. Deb called, they were in Alex Bay and wanted to see if I could see them on the web cam up there. It didn't happen. I went into town and shot the shit with Margaret for awhile, then headed out to Sheetz for a Chef Salad. Not too bad.
Today I had to go in to pick up my prescriptions. Holy Shit!!! Let me put it this way. If I didn't have a good prescription plan I'd be shelling out over $250.00 a month. Not good. Looks like they want me to take this stuff for awhile too.
Anyway, me and the cat are sitting here looking to get into trouble...any suggestions???
Go to Pics
Monday, July 12, 2004
Sunday, my I don't have to run day.
Hung out and watched some tv today. Toby and Amy came over and we had a very cool visit. Watched a little of "Dinner For Five" on IFC. They didn't want to go home so I offered to drive and get up dinner. We went up to their new A frame and took a look at it, getting ideas on design.
Then headed to subway for some subs and back home. Watched a \couple of my Netflix rentals "L.A. Confidential & Stuck on You. Both pretty good films. I hope to check out "In America" tomorrow.
Gotta go work out tomorrow, then down to the burg to help my friend get her laptop.
pics here
Then headed to subway for some subs and back home. Watched a \couple of my Netflix rentals "L.A. Confidential & Stuck on You. Both pretty good films. I hope to check out "In America" tomorrow.
Gotta go work out tomorrow, then down to the burg to help my friend get her laptop.
pics here
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Free at last, free at last....
Photo's here...
Well, everybody left. Came and said a blurry goodbye to me around 4:30am. I got up and called around 1 and they were at the 1000 Islands Bait Shop, getting their fishing licenses. I headed down to Newport to clean up my brother's machine. Needed about 20 Microsoft critical updates. I don't miss dialup at all. Took about 2.5 hours to get everything downloaded. I installed myie2 on his system as well.
We went down to Duncannon to see Darlene where she works. She bought me dinner, Pork tips. Way too much food, and very good food as well. We ate and headed up to Darlene's apartment. Took about 2.5 hours to put her desk together and about an hour or so to hook up her computer. She got the "A Focus and A Dell" deal. Very nice. 2.4mhz processor, 40 gig HD, VERY nice scanner/printer/fax/copier, 15 in. flat screen. She is stylin'.
Anyway, we stopped back at the bar to tell her everything was done and headed back up the road.
That was my day.
Well, everybody left. Came and said a blurry goodbye to me around 4:30am. I got up and called around 1 and they were at the 1000 Islands Bait Shop, getting their fishing licenses. I headed down to Newport to clean up my brother's machine. Needed about 20 Microsoft critical updates. I don't miss dialup at all. Took about 2.5 hours to get everything downloaded. I installed myie2 on his system as well.
We went down to Duncannon to see Darlene where she works. She bought me dinner, Pork tips. Way too much food, and very good food as well. We ate and headed up to Darlene's apartment. Took about 2.5 hours to put her desk together and about an hour or so to hook up her computer. She got the "A Focus and A Dell" deal. Very nice. 2.4mhz processor, 40 gig HD, VERY nice scanner/printer/fax/copier, 15 in. flat screen. She is stylin'.
Anyway, we stopped back at the bar to tell her everything was done and headed back up the road.
That was my day.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Valhalla, they are coming...
Yesterday we got stuff ready for the beeg vacation up north. I've been tweaking my one machine downstairs, getting it ready for a new HD. It will then be a .2 terabyte machine. Internet was out last night, I think it was because of the construction on the narrows. Anyway, it was on this morning and I was able to get everything up and running by mid afternoon.
Today was the first day of cardiac rehab. They had to stop me about half way thru, I was having neck pains that they think may be heart related. The cardiac staff at the hospital does an excellent job and I feel very relieved to be in their hands. They are going to come up with an assessment for me to return to work. Deb went shopping for some last minute trip items while I was in working out. We came back to town and picked up some contacts for her, then headed home.
Mike, Chrissy's boyfriend, came up and lent a hand to the yard work. That was great, Deb was freed up to do some things, she had to run into work for a bit. We got the pacifica loaded up and took it over to Bill and Betty's to stuff everything in the van. This oughta be good, a full conversion van carrying 5 people, full of crap, towing a boat that's also full of crap. Can't wait to see that gas mileage.
Hope for some visits and to do some visiting this week. A few clients to see. Praying for moderate temps and blue skies
Today was the first day of cardiac rehab. They had to stop me about half way thru, I was having neck pains that they think may be heart related. The cardiac staff at the hospital does an excellent job and I feel very relieved to be in their hands. They are going to come up with an assessment for me to return to work. Deb went shopping for some last minute trip items while I was in working out. We came back to town and picked up some contacts for her, then headed home.
Mike, Chrissy's boyfriend, came up and lent a hand to the yard work. That was great, Deb was freed up to do some things, she had to run into work for a bit. We got the pacifica loaded up and took it over to Bill and Betty's to stuff everything in the van. This oughta be good, a full conversion van carrying 5 people, full of crap, towing a boat that's also full of crap. Can't wait to see that gas mileage.
Hope for some visits and to do some visiting this week. A few clients to see. Praying for moderate temps and blue skies
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Let's get Physical...almost...
Yesterday was a trip to the pharmacy, which is turning into my second home. Then, on the return, I stopped by the inlaws to hook up the tv in their van. Ya see, they bought this used custom conversion van and there's a 10" color set that came with it that wasn't hooked up. They tried it and it only flashed for a second, so it was my turn. We finally got power to the back of the tv, but no action. I figured it was the jack on the back. Took off the cover and everything looked good, so we put it back together and hooked it up. Finally got it to come on, but it was just static and none of the controls worked in front. Oh well, they can get a 9" with a vcr built in and front a/v jacks for nintendo or whatever. The balls in their court.
Today I started cardiac rehab. Of course, I overslept, but they were nice and took me when I got there. Had a class covering angina and some other stuff. Looks like it won't be too bad.
I'm not going up to 1000 islands with the rest of the family. It's considered that, in order to get in shape for work next week, it would be best for me to have my butt at the rehab. Oh well.
Then I headed over to Walmart for some fuses and stuff for the trip. And back home I now am.
Today I started cardiac rehab. Of course, I overslept, but they were nice and took me when I got there. Had a class covering angina and some other stuff. Looks like it won't be too bad.
I'm not going up to 1000 islands with the rest of the family. It's considered that, in order to get in shape for work next week, it would be best for me to have my butt at the rehab. Oh well.
Then I headed over to Walmart for some fuses and stuff for the trip. And back home I now am.
Monday, July 05, 2004
That's the Night that the Lights went out in.....
...my little corner of the world. Did some posting last night. I was chatting with my stepson in the army. He WAS scheduled to get out later this year. They told him this week that they're 99% sure that they will be deployed to Iraq under stopgap. We kept chatting and then...THUD.
No power.
We lose power a lot out here, so I thought..."Ok, give it a few seconds, it'll come back." It didn't. I found all the candles and shut down the machines on battery backup and hung out. Finally I called PPL. They had an estimate of 4 am, it finally came back close to 5.
Deb came back from camp today. Chrissy headed down to Mechanicsburg to work on her armor. We headed up to do a little shopping. Picked up a few things at Ollie's and Wally World. Came home and that's where I am now.
Lots of holiday weekend pics here.
No power.
We lose power a lot out here, so I thought..."Ok, give it a few seconds, it'll come back." It didn't. I found all the candles and shut down the machines on battery backup and hung out. Finally I called PPL. They had an estimate of 4 am, it finally came back close to 5.
Deb came back from camp today. Chrissy headed down to Mechanicsburg to work on her armor. We headed up to do a little shopping. Picked up a few things at Ollie's and Wally World. Came home and that's where I am now.
Lots of holiday weekend pics here.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Yesterday, Today and....
My brother FINALLY came up to visit me yesterday. We hung out and talked from noon till 3, then we went down to the inlaws cabin and dropped some stuff off. Then we went up to Sue and Dale's cabin. Lots of food that I'm not supposed to have and lots of family hanging out. When it got dark, I had the kids write their names in the air with sparklers and tried to take pics of them. Then they set off some ground fireworks and we all split. I left Deb at the inlaws cabin and came back home.
Today was a different story. We had chicken and ribs at the inlaws cabin. Lots of the family showed up and we had a nice lunch. I think I made the mistake of drinking some iced tea. I got a splitting headache around 3 in the afternoon that kept coming and going all day. I laid down around 7 and that didn't help very much. So, I left at 9 and came home. I missed the kids playing with the fireworks tonite tho, and that's the best part of the 4th. The waiting for a major skin burn. :)
The neighbors across the road were setting off the "Good" fireworks. Some of these were going 80 to 100 feet in the air. They had a good amount of cool ones...I don't know how many I missed tho.
So, I took some pain pills and more Tylenol and sat down and wrote this.
I've got a lot of pics from yesterday and today and I'm going to post them now. Go check them out by clicking here.
Today was a different story. We had chicken and ribs at the inlaws cabin. Lots of the family showed up and we had a nice lunch. I think I made the mistake of drinking some iced tea. I got a splitting headache around 3 in the afternoon that kept coming and going all day. I laid down around 7 and that didn't help very much. So, I left at 9 and came home. I missed the kids playing with the fireworks tonite tho, and that's the best part of the 4th. The waiting for a major skin burn. :)
The neighbors across the road were setting off the "Good" fireworks. Some of these were going 80 to 100 feet in the air. They had a good amount of cool ones...I don't know how many I missed tho.
So, I took some pain pills and more Tylenol and sat down and wrote this.
I've got a lot of pics from yesterday and today and I'm going to post them now. Go check them out by clicking here.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Earth below us...drifting...falling...
I was watching "Robot Wars" today. A team from England had built a robot called "Major Tom". I always wondered about the origin of that term. Is it derogatory? Is it from a comic book? Anyway, I did a google search and found this little essay.
Here's a brief snippet...
I was then, as I am now, a horrific smart-alec know-it-all, ready to hold forth at a moment's notice on topics I barely grasp, chaining facts and half-facts, embellishments, and outright lies together with such casual assurance that I hardly smell the bullshit I'm shoveling.
My kinda guy. :) Here's the full story.
Here's a brief snippet...
I was then, as I am now, a horrific smart-alec know-it-all, ready to hold forth at a moment's notice on topics I barely grasp, chaining facts and half-facts, embellishments, and outright lies together with such casual assurance that I hardly smell the bullshit I'm shoveling.
My kinda guy. :) Here's the full story.
Boogiepop Phantom
Check the pics
Crazy busy day today. Up to Lewistown for a visit to the heart doctor, complete with a stress test. Then down to Harrisburg. A stop at the bank and Best Buy, then over to Sam's for some picnic/vacation stuff.
Deb and Chrissy got tix for Spiderman 2 online. The only show available was the 7 o'clock show. When we got there, the guy told us that was sold out too. So, got there at 20 after...enjoyed 20 minutes of commercials, then 10 minutes of previews. Then, a REALLY great movie that made it all worthwhile. Sam Raimi is a genius, and I don't throw that word around too often.
Rant Mode ON
During the commercials at the movie (which were bad enough) one of the employee's came in and made a little speech about how they were doing some donation thing for cancer. How you could buy this thing for a dollar and they would have a giveaway, blah, blah, blah.
I gotta get there early to see the movie and get a good seat. They are completely taking advantage and I am literally a "captive audience". I think it really sucks and we all should complain or they're gonna start doing this shit all the time.
....I feel.....better. :)
Rant Mode OFF
Also...I noticed that that theater is showing Farenheit 911. May make a trip down next week to see it. Maybe Cat will go with me. :)
I watch The Screen Savers on what is now G4/Tech tv. Leo Laporte, who I really like (and drove to York to meet) left the show a few months ago when the merger/sale went through. Yesterday, Patrick Norton announced that he won't be making the move to Los Angeles. This is 3 hosts that i've liked that have gone and I'm a little upset. There is some buzz that Wil Wheaton may be the new co-host, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that.
"Dead Like Me" is coming on, so I'm outta here.
Big weekend coming up....don't blow your face off.
Crazy busy day today. Up to Lewistown for a visit to the heart doctor, complete with a stress test. Then down to Harrisburg. A stop at the bank and Best Buy, then over to Sam's for some picnic/vacation stuff.
Deb and Chrissy got tix for Spiderman 2 online. The only show available was the 7 o'clock show. When we got there, the guy told us that was sold out too. So, got there at 20 after...enjoyed 20 minutes of commercials, then 10 minutes of previews. Then, a REALLY great movie that made it all worthwhile. Sam Raimi is a genius, and I don't throw that word around too often.
Rant Mode ON
During the commercials at the movie (which were bad enough) one of the employee's came in and made a little speech about how they were doing some donation thing for cancer. How you could buy this thing for a dollar and they would have a giveaway, blah, blah, blah.
I gotta get there early to see the movie and get a good seat. They are completely taking advantage and I am literally a "captive audience". I think it really sucks and we all should complain or they're gonna start doing this shit all the time.
....I feel.....better. :)
Rant Mode OFF
Also...I noticed that that theater is showing Farenheit 911. May make a trip down next week to see it. Maybe Cat will go with me. :)
I watch The Screen Savers on what is now G4/Tech tv. Leo Laporte, who I really like (and drove to York to meet) left the show a few months ago when the merger/sale went through. Yesterday, Patrick Norton announced that he won't be making the move to Los Angeles. This is 3 hosts that i've liked that have gone and I'm a little upset. There is some buzz that Wil Wheaton may be the new co-host, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that.
"Dead Like Me" is coming on, so I'm outta here.
Big weekend coming up....don't blow your face off.
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Pluggin' Away....
Photoblog here...
Had to go back to Paula's today to finish cleaning up the mess. If you do nothing I tell you, do this. Click on your Windows Update and download all of the critical updates. There were 13 gigs...GIGS...of system restore files. Completely chokeing the system every time you tried to do anything. Anyway, got the viruses off and everything looks good.
I have to go to the business tomorrow and look at their machine. Two Sisters is their website that I maintain, check it out.
Watched the new Peter Pan tonite. Very cool. Excellent effect work. I hope we get to see the new Spidey movie this weekend too.
Hope everybody has a good weekend. I'll probably post a couple of time. Don't forget to check.
Had to go back to Paula's today to finish cleaning up the mess. If you do nothing I tell you, do this. Click on your Windows Update and download all of the critical updates. There were 13 gigs...GIGS...of system restore files. Completely chokeing the system every time you tried to do anything. Anyway, got the viruses off and everything looks good.
I have to go to the business tomorrow and look at their machine. Two Sisters is their website that I maintain, check it out.
Watched the new Peter Pan tonite. Very cool. Excellent effect work. I hope we get to see the new Spidey movie this weekend too.
Hope everybody has a good weekend. I'll probably post a couple of time. Don't forget to check.
My Alcohorrorscope
GEMINI
Drinking style
Geminis can drink without changing their behavior much -- they're so naturally chatty and short-attention-spanned that it's just hard to tell sometimes. They can amaze you by conversing with finesse and allusion, then doing something to belie an extremely advanced state of intoxication, like puking in your shoe. Geminis possess the magic ability to flirt successfully (and uninfuriatingly, which is very tricky) with several people at once. They like to order different cocktails every round -- repetition is boring -- and may create a theme (like yellow drinks: beer, sauvignon blanc and limoncello) for their own amusement.
Trademark cocktails
Easily bored Geminis need some stimulation in their drinks -- those with two parts, like a black and tan (or just a double), are particularly appealing. Otherwise, they'll drink all over the map, ordering frou-frou drinks to add to their collection of cocktail monkeys or going for whiskey rocks because they're feeling rather noir. Gemini rules the herb anise -- make some home-infused anise vodka as a gift.
Drinking buddies
George Bush Sr., Johnny Depp, Rupert Everett, Boy George, Allen Ginsberg, Angelina Jolie, John Kennedy, Ian McKellen, Kylie Minogue, Morrissey
Frighteningly accurate. I usually wouldn't "show" until it was too late. Not much on mixing drinks during the night, just because I couldn't handle it. The anise thing was scary...I loved Ouzo.
Anyway...I'd love to do ANYTHING with Angelina Jolie. Funny thing is, she worked next door to where I work. Girl, Interrupted was shot at the old PA State Hospital, which is right next to the main postal facility in Harrisburg.
Check out the photoblog.
Drinking style
Geminis can drink without changing their behavior much -- they're so naturally chatty and short-attention-spanned that it's just hard to tell sometimes. They can amaze you by conversing with finesse and allusion, then doing something to belie an extremely advanced state of intoxication, like puking in your shoe. Geminis possess the magic ability to flirt successfully (and uninfuriatingly, which is very tricky) with several people at once. They like to order different cocktails every round -- repetition is boring -- and may create a theme (like yellow drinks: beer, sauvignon blanc and limoncello) for their own amusement.
Trademark cocktails
Easily bored Geminis need some stimulation in their drinks -- those with two parts, like a black and tan (or just a double), are particularly appealing. Otherwise, they'll drink all over the map, ordering frou-frou drinks to add to their collection of cocktail monkeys or going for whiskey rocks because they're feeling rather noir. Gemini rules the herb anise -- make some home-infused anise vodka as a gift.
Drinking buddies
George Bush Sr., Johnny Depp, Rupert Everett, Boy George, Allen Ginsberg, Angelina Jolie, John Kennedy, Ian McKellen, Kylie Minogue, Morrissey
Frighteningly accurate. I usually wouldn't "show" until it was too late. Not much on mixing drinks during the night, just because I couldn't handle it. The anise thing was scary...I loved Ouzo.
Anyway...I'd love to do ANYTHING with Angelina Jolie. Funny thing is, she worked next door to where I work. Girl, Interrupted was shot at the old PA State Hospital, which is right next to the main postal facility in Harrisburg.
Check out the photoblog.
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