Got up, went out and walked. Did about 2.5 miles. Got everything together and went to work. Worked. Came home. You get the idea.
Bonnee said a nice thing to me tonight. We were talking and out of the blue she says “When are you going on the radio?”. I was a little stunned. She said that I have all of the elements to make a good talk show host. I was very flattered. It is something that I’d like to do, but it’s very hard to break into.
Mike and Chrissy were up when I got home. We chatted a bit and Mike headed out. I was looking at some funny tshirts online. I want to get some when I lose a few more pounds. I think the funniest one was “Every time you download music on the internet. God kills a kitten.”
I’m gonna hit it, so this is a short one tonight. I spoil you people, I really do.
Republican convention this week. Tens of thousands of demonstrators in New York. The march stretched for 2 miles. It makes me feel good. Maybe they’ll wake some people up. I’ll let you know what’s going on this week.
cya
Monday, August 30, 2004
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Cleanin' Up
Got up today and got myself around. I wanted to head down and work on the basement, but Deb wanted me to call AT&T Wireless about the cell phone bill. I was waiting for a rep for ONE HOUR. They said it would be more than 20 minutes before I got a rep. They were half right. It took one hour and I still didn't get one. After 30 minutes I didn't want to hang up. "It'll be any minute" I said to myself. Anyway, I will try them again in a few days.
We came down here and busted ass. Took 3 trashcans full of crap to burn. It still needs about 2 hours of work tho, then I get to start ripping out walls. I'm putting everything in plastic containers and sitting them against the one wall. I broke down my keyboards and realized that I can't find 2 keyboard cases. So all the stuff we packed up today is kinda scattered near where it belongs. I think the cases out in the garage, buried under even more shit. I will find them....oh yes.....I will.
The kids went down to eat in Newport and got back around 4. They had a party night last night, so they wanted to crash out. Deb and I kept plugging away. We wrapped everything up. Got showers. Got the kids around and went to Lewistown.
We had to go to an auto parts store to get the brake hose for the van. It'll be in tomorrow. I also found some mudflaps for the Pacifica. The dealer wanted 80 bucks for 4 mudflaps. I don't know how much it would be to install them. We found 2 pair for 20 bucks. A significant savings.
We went to the Riverfront to eat. I'd never been there before, but Deb has said good things about it in the past. It took a long time to get stuff. Deb got a Pina Colada that wasn't right. Mike had Apple Martini's, his last one we had to send back. My steak was supposed to be medium well. Well, one side was, the further I went, the more medium rare it got. Still not bad tho. The food was good, it just took a while to get.
Yes I cheated again. And no, I didn't exercise. I'm going to make today my day off and do it tomorrow. I have to go get some barbells too. Chrissy's are too light.
We saw the Covert's (great name, huh?). They go to the same place in 1000 islands that we go to. He's a drummer. I keep wanting to talk to him about playing, but it never presents itself properly. I must try harder the next time.
We came home and watched some Olympics. Deb and Chrissy zonked out. Mike and I watched a few Family Guy's and the latest Dead Like Me. I want to hold off on the episode I want to try writing for that show till they go on hiatus. They're changing things around with the characters too much. But I shall do it. Too many good ideas.
Great scene tonight with Rube in the Post Office.
A woman comes in and cuts in line ahead of him to talk to a friend. He's waiting forever. He walks up to her and makes some small talk and then says....
Rube...Excuse me, but does everyone in this line look like assholes?
Woman...I beg your pardon?
Rube...All these people behind you, do they look like assholes?
Woman...No
Rube...Oh, so it must be you then.
Then he completely, quietly, rips her a new one. I love Rube. I wish I would have seen this before the little episode at the grocery store with the Faux Biker.
After the show, Mike crapped out. Then and I headed downstairs to type this.
BTW, if you see Mike, call him Marvin and tell him to get the pickles out of his ears.
We came down here and busted ass. Took 3 trashcans full of crap to burn. It still needs about 2 hours of work tho, then I get to start ripping out walls. I'm putting everything in plastic containers and sitting them against the one wall. I broke down my keyboards and realized that I can't find 2 keyboard cases. So all the stuff we packed up today is kinda scattered near where it belongs. I think the cases out in the garage, buried under even more shit. I will find them....oh yes.....I will.
The kids went down to eat in Newport and got back around 4. They had a party night last night, so they wanted to crash out. Deb and I kept plugging away. We wrapped everything up. Got showers. Got the kids around and went to Lewistown.
We had to go to an auto parts store to get the brake hose for the van. It'll be in tomorrow. I also found some mudflaps for the Pacifica. The dealer wanted 80 bucks for 4 mudflaps. I don't know how much it would be to install them. We found 2 pair for 20 bucks. A significant savings.
We went to the Riverfront to eat. I'd never been there before, but Deb has said good things about it in the past. It took a long time to get stuff. Deb got a Pina Colada that wasn't right. Mike had Apple Martini's, his last one we had to send back. My steak was supposed to be medium well. Well, one side was, the further I went, the more medium rare it got. Still not bad tho. The food was good, it just took a while to get.
Yes I cheated again. And no, I didn't exercise. I'm going to make today my day off and do it tomorrow. I have to go get some barbells too. Chrissy's are too light.
We saw the Covert's (great name, huh?). They go to the same place in 1000 islands that we go to. He's a drummer. I keep wanting to talk to him about playing, but it never presents itself properly. I must try harder the next time.
We came home and watched some Olympics. Deb and Chrissy zonked out. Mike and I watched a few Family Guy's and the latest Dead Like Me. I want to hold off on the episode I want to try writing for that show till they go on hiatus. They're changing things around with the characters too much. But I shall do it. Too many good ideas.
Great scene tonight with Rube in the Post Office.
A woman comes in and cuts in line ahead of him to talk to a friend. He's waiting forever. He walks up to her and makes some small talk and then says....
Rube...Excuse me, but does everyone in this line look like assholes?
Woman...I beg your pardon?
Rube...All these people behind you, do they look like assholes?
Woman...No
Rube...Oh, so it must be you then.
Then he completely, quietly, rips her a new one. I love Rube. I wish I would have seen this before the little episode at the grocery store with the Faux Biker.
After the show, Mike crapped out. Then and I headed downstairs to type this.
BTW, if you see Mike, call him Marvin and tell him to get the pickles out of his ears.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Lookin' Good
I got up late today. I wanted to get up a little early and start on the damn basement. But I wasn’t able to fall asleep till after 4 am. I headed up to the rehab thing. I forgot to tell you this yesterday…I turned up the detour to head to the doctors, and out of the corner of my eye I DIDN’T see a detour sign. I headed down the right way and saw them taking down the signs, so I was one of the first citizens to go over the new bridge.
It was pretty cool at rehab today. Louise started me on resistance training. I did a bit of that, then part of what I usually do. She made me feel good. She said that I’m on maintenance right now. Basically all they can do for me. They’ll probably refer me to a gym. She said she felt good about it because I have the discipline to make a go of this. That was cool.
I left my resistance booklet up there though. Sorta sucks. I can’t find Chrissy’s heavier weights either, so I’ll probably have to go pick up a set.
I came home, made a few calls and started on the basement. I put a pretty good dent in it too. Finally made it to my guitars. They are ok. My bass has yellowed from age, it’s kinda cool in a way. One case had a small cobweb in it, the other had a strap that was moldy. But the instruments look good. I’ll tell you how good my main axe is. The high E was a little flat, but the rest of the damn thing was in tune. That was another cool thing.
Mike showed up and told me that he’s ok with the points thing. So he won’t be needing an attorney. Deb came home and said she had a problem with the head of accounting. She was pretty pissed. Chrissy came home and hurried up and got ready. She and Mike we’re going to a friend of Mike’s for awhile and then over to the Coyote Hardware Bar.
Deb and I headed out for Sam’s. We got a bunch of stuff, then went over to the Olive Garden. I had an incredible meal that went way off my diet. I am not ashamed. :)
We got home and unloaded and I sat down and surfed a little.
I found the Death Clock on my surf of blogs. My personal day of death is Sunday, April 26, 2037. You can find yours by clicking on the link in my link list. I think I may be able to extend mine, the more weight that I lose. We’ll see.
My friend Jean told me last night that the protests in NYC are crankin’ up. Two guys scaled the Plaza Hotel and put a huge banner up with two arrows pointing left and right. The right one says “Bush”, the left one says “Truth”. Also a bunch of people got naked on 5th avenue. Ya gotta love naked protesters protesting practically anything. There is another huge banner at the Democratic rebuttal site that says “Mission NOT Accomplished”. And another group put a clock up that adds the cost of the war every second. I think that’s an excellent idea too. It’s gonna be interesting this week. Check the convention out, I will and let you know what’s up.
That’s all…I gotta move the tractor before it rains.
Cya
BTW…no answer to yesterday’s little trivia question until SOMEONE takes a stab at it. Except for Mike, I gave him the answer this afternoon.
It was pretty cool at rehab today. Louise started me on resistance training. I did a bit of that, then part of what I usually do. She made me feel good. She said that I’m on maintenance right now. Basically all they can do for me. They’ll probably refer me to a gym. She said she felt good about it because I have the discipline to make a go of this. That was cool.
I left my resistance booklet up there though. Sorta sucks. I can’t find Chrissy’s heavier weights either, so I’ll probably have to go pick up a set.
I came home, made a few calls and started on the basement. I put a pretty good dent in it too. Finally made it to my guitars. They are ok. My bass has yellowed from age, it’s kinda cool in a way. One case had a small cobweb in it, the other had a strap that was moldy. But the instruments look good. I’ll tell you how good my main axe is. The high E was a little flat, but the rest of the damn thing was in tune. That was another cool thing.
Mike showed up and told me that he’s ok with the points thing. So he won’t be needing an attorney. Deb came home and said she had a problem with the head of accounting. She was pretty pissed. Chrissy came home and hurried up and got ready. She and Mike we’re going to a friend of Mike’s for awhile and then over to the Coyote Hardware Bar.
Deb and I headed out for Sam’s. We got a bunch of stuff, then went over to the Olive Garden. I had an incredible meal that went way off my diet. I am not ashamed. :)
We got home and unloaded and I sat down and surfed a little.
I found the Death Clock on my surf of blogs. My personal day of death is Sunday, April 26, 2037. You can find yours by clicking on the link in my link list. I think I may be able to extend mine, the more weight that I lose. We’ll see.
My friend Jean told me last night that the protests in NYC are crankin’ up. Two guys scaled the Plaza Hotel and put a huge banner up with two arrows pointing left and right. The right one says “Bush”, the left one says “Truth”. Also a bunch of people got naked on 5th avenue. Ya gotta love naked protesters protesting practically anything. There is another huge banner at the Democratic rebuttal site that says “Mission NOT Accomplished”. And another group put a clock up that adds the cost of the war every second. I think that’s an excellent idea too. It’s gonna be interesting this week. Check the convention out, I will and let you know what’s up.
That’s all…I gotta move the tractor before it rains.
Cya
BTW…no answer to yesterday’s little trivia question until SOMEONE takes a stab at it. Except for Mike, I gave him the answer this afternoon.
Friday, August 27, 2004
You Won't Understand a Word That's In It...
Let's try a little game. The line above is from a song. Actually, it was the last vocal I heard at work tonight. You tell me "The Next Line" (it's copyrighted, don't even try it), Artist and song title. And if you actually knew it or cheated and looked it up on the net. I'll give you the thanks of a grateful nation.
Today was really messed up. I was going to walk, go up to the doctors to get my FMLA papers, then go to lunch with Margaret. Well, the lack of sleep caught up to me and I blew off going to the doctor. I got up finally and walked. When I got back in I called Margaret and she said she couldn't make it.
So I got a shower and sat here on the machine a little. Then I thought, I should head up to the doctor today instead of waiting till tomorrow. So I did. Then over to the store. And since I got some frozen stuff I had to head back home. And then back down to work. It was tight, but I made it. Thank god there were no problems.
The republican idiots were at it again around the time clock. I could go on about this, you know. I know that most of the country has decided already. But it’s very frustrating to hear these guys arguments. It’s like they have no idea what the actual issues are.
Things went pretty well till lunch. We’re sitting there and I look out the window and everyone is facing to the left. Very weird. Then the news starts to trickle in. There was a fight in the parking lot. Later we find out it’s two women. Evidentally this started in the lobby and worked it’s way into the parking lot. Hey…let the postal workers handle the violence people. :)
So we’re back at work and I’m coding some mail and I pick up a package and …HOLY SHIT. Freaked completely out for a second, then started laughing my ass off. The box was vibrating. It was from skin care company (yeah, right). Derma something or other.
We finished up the day and I headed home. I came home and fixed some chicken corn soup and started doing the blog thing.
Talk to ya.
Today was really messed up. I was going to walk, go up to the doctors to get my FMLA papers, then go to lunch with Margaret. Well, the lack of sleep caught up to me and I blew off going to the doctor. I got up finally and walked. When I got back in I called Margaret and she said she couldn't make it.
So I got a shower and sat here on the machine a little. Then I thought, I should head up to the doctor today instead of waiting till tomorrow. So I did. Then over to the store. And since I got some frozen stuff I had to head back home. And then back down to work. It was tight, but I made it. Thank god there were no problems.
The republican idiots were at it again around the time clock. I could go on about this, you know. I know that most of the country has decided already. But it’s very frustrating to hear these guys arguments. It’s like they have no idea what the actual issues are.
Things went pretty well till lunch. We’re sitting there and I look out the window and everyone is facing to the left. Very weird. Then the news starts to trickle in. There was a fight in the parking lot. Later we find out it’s two women. Evidentally this started in the lobby and worked it’s way into the parking lot. Hey…let the postal workers handle the violence people. :)
So we’re back at work and I’m coding some mail and I pick up a package and …HOLY SHIT. Freaked completely out for a second, then started laughing my ass off. The box was vibrating. It was from skin care company (yeah, right). Derma something or other.
We finished up the day and I headed home. I came home and fixed some chicken corn soup and started doing the blog thing.
Talk to ya.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
I Can't Drive (65)
Today was really busy, and tomorrow will be worse, so I'm gonna make this quick.
I had rehab today. They are going to start easing me into resistance training. So I'll be pumpin' the iron here pretty soon. We also talked about the reduction surgery if I'm too "flappy" from the weight loss. Louise said that there are ways to get insurance to pay for it. That made me feel really good that it may not be an out of pocket expense. I wasn't able to get my FMLA stuff from the doctor, so I'll probably have to go up tomorrow morning, after my walk, before my lunch with Margaret.
I came home, packed a lunch and threw some clothes in the wash. Then I headed on down to the grind.
I got a paper in the cafeteria and one of the girls said "Give me your blog address". I asked her why and she said, laughing, "I hear that you VENT on there, I wanna see it." I said, "Yes I do, and it save me hundreds of dollars in small weapons purchases a year."
I headed in and Jean was asking me all about the blog thing. I was telling her how easy it is to start and how nice it is to have a record of stuff. I don't think I convinced her to start one, but she said she had some friends that would love it.
We did our little work dance then. Paulette and Jean were in my rotation, so I knew that my local stress level would be minimal. EGCW cut in line in front of me at the time clock. I let it go...I always let it go...
I had a long conversation with Willa about rehab and losing weight and the like. She says that my complexion looks better. I said it's because I have to go out in the sun to walk. Large glowing ball in the sky is evil.
I had a message from Chrissy at lunch. It appears that Mike was going a little too fast at the wrong place and Officer Friendly gave him a love note. He wanted my attorney's number. I was a little upset with my family. They were at J.P. Edwards getting dinner. They all had nice stuff. I had a salad. :) (Bastards) I told Paulette after lunch where they were and we were trying to figure out if they would get some takeout and bring it down to us. She says "How far away is it?" Like it's a viable option for me to just run up there quick and grab a salad or something and bring it back.
The rest of the night was pretty painless. We got done 30 minutes early and they didn't make us schlepp over to the other machine for a change. I was told that Sid has been pretty magnanamous lately, that's cool.
Ran into union steward S. Graybill before I left. He got me some docs on 5 minute leeway rule and we talked about computers a bit.
I headed home. Mike was still here and we talked about his ticket a little. I made some Chicken Corn soup and a few BBQ sandwiches. I was starvin'. I got on Deb's machine to scan something for Cat. Pulling up Yahoo Messenger, Cat left me a note that said the drummer (Bobby Rondinelli) for Blue Oyster Cult is leaving the band. Hate to see you go Bobby, good luck with The Lizards.
Chrissy came in and hung out a few minutes, then went to bed. I'm gonna wrap this up and do the same.
Cya
I had rehab today. They are going to start easing me into resistance training. So I'll be pumpin' the iron here pretty soon. We also talked about the reduction surgery if I'm too "flappy" from the weight loss. Louise said that there are ways to get insurance to pay for it. That made me feel really good that it may not be an out of pocket expense. I wasn't able to get my FMLA stuff from the doctor, so I'll probably have to go up tomorrow morning, after my walk, before my lunch with Margaret.
I came home, packed a lunch and threw some clothes in the wash. Then I headed on down to the grind.
I got a paper in the cafeteria and one of the girls said "Give me your blog address". I asked her why and she said, laughing, "I hear that you VENT on there, I wanna see it." I said, "Yes I do, and it save me hundreds of dollars in small weapons purchases a year."
I headed in and Jean was asking me all about the blog thing. I was telling her how easy it is to start and how nice it is to have a record of stuff. I don't think I convinced her to start one, but she said she had some friends that would love it.
We did our little work dance then. Paulette and Jean were in my rotation, so I knew that my local stress level would be minimal. EGCW cut in line in front of me at the time clock. I let it go...I always let it go...
I had a long conversation with Willa about rehab and losing weight and the like. She says that my complexion looks better. I said it's because I have to go out in the sun to walk. Large glowing ball in the sky is evil.
I had a message from Chrissy at lunch. It appears that Mike was going a little too fast at the wrong place and Officer Friendly gave him a love note. He wanted my attorney's number. I was a little upset with my family. They were at J.P. Edwards getting dinner. They all had nice stuff. I had a salad. :) (Bastards) I told Paulette after lunch where they were and we were trying to figure out if they would get some takeout and bring it down to us. She says "How far away is it?" Like it's a viable option for me to just run up there quick and grab a salad or something and bring it back.
The rest of the night was pretty painless. We got done 30 minutes early and they didn't make us schlepp over to the other machine for a change. I was told that Sid has been pretty magnanamous lately, that's cool.
Ran into union steward S. Graybill before I left. He got me some docs on 5 minute leeway rule and we talked about computers a bit.
I headed home. Mike was still here and we talked about his ticket a little. I made some Chicken Corn soup and a few BBQ sandwiches. I was starvin'. I got on Deb's machine to scan something for Cat. Pulling up Yahoo Messenger, Cat left me a note that said the drummer (Bobby Rondinelli) for Blue Oyster Cult is leaving the band. Hate to see you go Bobby, good luck with The Lizards.
Chrissy came in and hung out a few minutes, then went to bed. I'm gonna wrap this up and do the same.
Cya
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Hey Hey…
I forgot to mention yesterday that I had a conversation with my niece Darlene. She said that her and her boyfriend were up riding around the Millersburg area. They were trying to find where they make Middleswarth potato chips. Anyway, they stopped in the local watering hole and sat at the bar. She said there was a guy sitting behind them talking to a woman in an odd accent, but they paid no attention to him.
They struck up a conversation with the the barmaid and asked about the chip factory. She indicated where it was and they made some small talk. My niece mentioned something about hearing that Davy Jones from The Monkees lived in the area. The barmaid said “Yeah, in fact, he’s sitting right behind you”.
Anyway…today was a walking day. For fun, I weighed myself sans clothes before I went out and after I took a shower. It showed that I lost 3 pounds. I was pretty amazed. It also showed 288. That just blows my mind. My regular weights will be higher because of having to wear clothes at the hospital. But the fact that it’s starting to drop again is just really, really cool.
Work was drudgery. I feel like I’m waiting for another shoe to drop. I don’t think we’ll make it through an entire week without any bullshit, but stranger things have happened.
Came home and chatted with Cat a little. Made a nice big sandwich (within my diet, of course). And started to type this little missive.
My horrorscope says that people will enjoy my writing, which I thought was really bizzare. But I hope you do.
cya
They struck up a conversation with the the barmaid and asked about the chip factory. She indicated where it was and they made some small talk. My niece mentioned something about hearing that Davy Jones from The Monkees lived in the area. The barmaid said “Yeah, in fact, he’s sitting right behind you”.
Anyway…today was a walking day. For fun, I weighed myself sans clothes before I went out and after I took a shower. It showed that I lost 3 pounds. I was pretty amazed. It also showed 288. That just blows my mind. My regular weights will be higher because of having to wear clothes at the hospital. But the fact that it’s starting to drop again is just really, really cool.
Work was drudgery. I feel like I’m waiting for another shoe to drop. I don’t think we’ll make it through an entire week without any bullshit, but stranger things have happened.
Came home and chatted with Cat a little. Made a nice big sandwich (within my diet, of course). And started to type this little missive.
My horrorscope says that people will enjoy my writing, which I thought was really bizzare. But I hope you do.
cya
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Fat Broad and the Faux Biker
Today was rehab. It looks like they're gonna keep me at 50 minutes of exercise. I thought it would keep increasing, but I guess not for at least a few weeks.
I came home and got ready for work. Chrissy didn't go in today. She was playing Baldur's Gate when I got home.
Work was once again relatively painless. We all know what that means, don't we kids? Another shoe shall fall soon.
I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home for a few items. There is an old guy, an old woman and a pseudo biker guy in line.
It looks like the old guys got a shitload of stuff, the woman has 3 things, and the faux biker is just standing there.
Then he leaves.
And when I say leaves, I mean leaves the store.
I move up.
The fake biker comes back. I'm standing there and this asshole actually says "Would you PLEASE excuse me?" and moves in front of me.
I don't know what it was...the wind?...something in my eye? But the fucker got by me. I wanted to say "No, you left, you wait". If I would have been thinking clearly I would have said it too.
It turns out the old man and old woman were together and Mr. Biker (Masterbiker? Masterbator?) belonged to the 3 things on the belt.
I hate rude, ignorant people most of all.
A woman from work came in. I call her Fat Broad. The reason is, if you look at the B.C. comic in the paper? She looks just like the one they call Fat Broad. Only, the Fat Broad in the paper is much better looking than this woman. She gets into line behind me. "Great", I think, "surrounded by assholes".
I headed up the road and stopped at Sheetz for gas and some food. I came home and saw that Mike was here. Him and Chrissy are crapped out in the living room. So, I get to write this on my downstairs machine with the maladjusted desk. I can't wait to get my office built.
That's all for now kids.
I came home and got ready for work. Chrissy didn't go in today. She was playing Baldur's Gate when I got home.
Work was once again relatively painless. We all know what that means, don't we kids? Another shoe shall fall soon.
I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home for a few items. There is an old guy, an old woman and a pseudo biker guy in line.
It looks like the old guys got a shitload of stuff, the woman has 3 things, and the faux biker is just standing there.
Then he leaves.
And when I say leaves, I mean leaves the store.
I move up.
The fake biker comes back. I'm standing there and this asshole actually says "Would you PLEASE excuse me?" and moves in front of me.
I don't know what it was...the wind?...something in my eye? But the fucker got by me. I wanted to say "No, you left, you wait". If I would have been thinking clearly I would have said it too.
It turns out the old man and old woman were together and Mr. Biker (Masterbiker? Masterbator?) belonged to the 3 things on the belt.
I hate rude, ignorant people most of all.
A woman from work came in. I call her Fat Broad. The reason is, if you look at the B.C. comic in the paper? She looks just like the one they call Fat Broad. Only, the Fat Broad in the paper is much better looking than this woman. She gets into line behind me. "Great", I think, "surrounded by assholes".
I headed up the road and stopped at Sheetz for gas and some food. I came home and saw that Mike was here. Him and Chrissy are crapped out in the living room. So, I get to write this on my downstairs machine with the maladjusted desk. I can't wait to get my office built.
That's all for now kids.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Pussy Vietnam
I must have missed something. I thought there was only one Vietnam that all the kids went to. It turns out that there must have been two Vietnam's. There must have been a "pussy" Vietnam and a "tough guy" Vietnam. That way, if you got wounded in "tough guy" Vietnam you were a real hero, but....wounded in "pussy" Vietnam wasn't a big deal.
You mean there wasn't a "pussy" Vietnam? I didn't think so.
All of the assholes were absent today at work, so it was pretty relaxed. They'll be back in full force tomorrow though.
Talk to you tomorrow.
You mean there wasn't a "pussy" Vietnam? I didn't think so.
All of the assholes were absent today at work, so it was pretty relaxed. They'll be back in full force tomorrow though.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Gimme Dat 'Ol Time...
I’d like to thank God. I don’t do that too often, I’m not a really religious person. But this has been a fantastic summer for me. I know that sounds weird. I’m a guy that likes rain and snow. It’s rained a lot this year. When it hasn’t rained the weather has been very reasonable, very cool. So thanks buddy.
I got up and ran into town today for Deb. I had to pick up her contacts and get some cat food. We are experimenting with different foods for the cat. I got the regular food and a weight loss food. Then there was a 3rd that I HAD to get. It’s has a drawing of a dead ringer for our cat on the box. The cat actually went for it at first. I haven’t checked to see which one is preferred. We really spoil this animal.
I got back and Mike was down in the garage checking the van. He wasn’t able to complete it, but he’s got it narrowed down to one of two things. I’m very glad that it’s not something major and I still have something to move my gear with.
We got into a good conversation about politics which we continued up in the house with Chrissy and Deb. He’s not really committed yet, so I’m hoping to bring him into the light. He wants to do research and ask questions. That’s all I ask of anyone. If you think rationally before going into this, you couldn’t possibly vote for Bunnypants.
Deb left for the festival. Chrissy finished up some pies and then she and Mike came in and we watched a few episodes of Unscrewed. The coolest segment was fun things you can do with Super Soakers. They hooked a stun gun up to one. Another was rigged with pepper spray. The third was converted to a flamethrower. Fun!
I went over to the festival and ate and completely blew my diet. BBQ sandwich, Hot Dog, Ham Bean Soup, Ice Cream and Pie. I came home and walked for 40 minutes. So that made up for it a little.
I had Chrissy rolling on the floor at one point. They had a track act singing christian songs and doing their little preaching thing between songs. I said to Chris. “Ya know, A lot of these people aren’t really paying attention…I bet you could get away with saying almost anything…And verily I say unto thee, Fords are Better than Chevy’s. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Mopar’s kick both their asses. Amen."
And… ”As is written in the Bible….Find a penny….Keep a penny….Have a penny….Share a penny….in his holy name….Amen” Just a joke folks. :)
I got a shower and started typing this while watching The Capital Gang.
Talk you ya
I got up and ran into town today for Deb. I had to pick up her contacts and get some cat food. We are experimenting with different foods for the cat. I got the regular food and a weight loss food. Then there was a 3rd that I HAD to get. It’s has a drawing of a dead ringer for our cat on the box. The cat actually went for it at first. I haven’t checked to see which one is preferred. We really spoil this animal.
I got back and Mike was down in the garage checking the van. He wasn’t able to complete it, but he’s got it narrowed down to one of two things. I’m very glad that it’s not something major and I still have something to move my gear with.
We got into a good conversation about politics which we continued up in the house with Chrissy and Deb. He’s not really committed yet, so I’m hoping to bring him into the light. He wants to do research and ask questions. That’s all I ask of anyone. If you think rationally before going into this, you couldn’t possibly vote for Bunnypants.
Deb left for the festival. Chrissy finished up some pies and then she and Mike came in and we watched a few episodes of Unscrewed. The coolest segment was fun things you can do with Super Soakers. They hooked a stun gun up to one. Another was rigged with pepper spray. The third was converted to a flamethrower. Fun!
I went over to the festival and ate and completely blew my diet. BBQ sandwich, Hot Dog, Ham Bean Soup, Ice Cream and Pie. I came home and walked for 40 minutes. So that made up for it a little.
I had Chrissy rolling on the floor at one point. They had a track act singing christian songs and doing their little preaching thing between songs. I said to Chris. “Ya know, A lot of these people aren’t really paying attention…I bet you could get away with saying almost anything…And verily I say unto thee, Fords are Better than Chevy’s. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Mopar’s kick both their asses. Amen."
And… ”As is written in the Bible….Find a penny….Keep a penny….Have a penny….Share a penny….in his holy name….Amen” Just a joke folks. :)
I got a shower and started typing this while watching The Capital Gang.
Talk you ya
Friday On My Mind
I was out the door by 7:30. I had to take the car up to the dealer for an oil change, tire rotate, warranty check and wash. All that stuff and all I had to pay for was the rotation. Sweet.
I hung out in the waiting area and played Scrabble on the palm.
Then I headed to rehab. I had some time, so I ran my errand to Radio Shack to get some new work audio gear. I have to recommend the Shack for their extended warranty. 15 bucks for 3 years. You can take the device and smash it into the ground every day and they will gladly give you a new one. I usually go through 4 devices in 3 years. You do the math.
I went to rehab and did my thing. An obviously gay guy brought cake in for everybody. I thought that that was extremely rude. A lot of people in there are dealing with weight loss issues and waving cake in front of them is just wrong. I was nice and accepted the offer, but he left before I was done so I didn’t have to worry about it.
I headed home. There was a traffic backup at the construction. I didn’t think it would be too long. I was wrong. I sat there for more than an hour. Some folks turned around. I was going to , but I decided against it. I plugged in my Fountains of Wayne “Welcome Interstate Managers” and enjoyed the time I was stuck.
I got home and ate. I was so wiped out that I took a nap. My legs have been bothering me and it helped to take a little nap.
I got back up and installed Mozilla Firefox on my system. It has some very cool extensions and so far, it’s not too bad. Although it did crash on me when I tried to write this the first time.
I chatted with Cat for a little. Her husband’s uncle came home from the hospital. She was having trouble downloading the Staples commercial featuring Alice Cooper. I downloaded it for her here (about one minute) and sent it to her (about 15 minutes). Broadband people, it’s the wave of the future. Deb came home late. Chrissy went into her dad’s. They were getting together to deal with John’s death.
Then I sat here and watched Stargate (Atlantis and SG-1). I’m really looking forward to the Farscape miniseries in October too. I got to delete a lot of stuff off of the Tivo.
I’m going to drop Netflix. This is no reflection on Netflix, they have been wonderful. I just have so much stuff on the Tivo and I can get most stuff when I want that I just don’t have the time to watch the Netflix stuff. But if you go to Blockbuster, you’re wasting your money. Go Netflix.
On the political front. The Kerry camp has filed suit against the “Swift Boat” people due to their extensive connections to the Bush camp. It sounds like they may have a case. It will be interesting to see what happens on this front.
The “Swift Boats for Bush” people have another ad coming out. CNN did a piece on it. They have a quote from Kerry saying (approximate) “they raped people, cut of ears, cut off heads”. What the “Swift Liars for Bush” fail to do is add the beginning of the sentence. Kerry is quoting testimony from soldiers and the full clip clearly shows that.
Don’t believe the hate.
Vote Kerry, Save America
I’m gonna try to post this in Mozilla. Let’s see what happens.
cya
Friday, August 20, 2004
A Quickie
I have an early appointment tomorrow, so I'm gonna make this quick.
I walked today. Then I went to work. Sid wasn't there, so it was relatively peaceful.
There was one thing in the news about "The Swift Boats for Bush" people. One person in particular has been insistent that Kerry is lying about being shot at while rescuing his crew mate. In Kerry's report, I believe the actual words are "under heavy fire". This shill says that there was no fire. The New York Times has pulled this guys report of the incident and in his report it says "under heavy fire". It just shows you how desperate the Reps are.
3 guys were talking at work about it. This one guy says "I wanna know the TRUTH". No he doesn't. He wants to know the spin. He wants to hear bad stuff about Kerry so he can go "See?...See?" I really wanted to engage these guys, but I'm holding off until October. I can't change their minds, but maybe some of the undecideds will be ready to listen by then. Besides, the media and candidates are doing plenty of slugging. I want to summarize it all and wrap it up for people.
The difference between the candidates is that the Reps have to make up shit about Kerry. All the bad stuff I need about Bush he's managed to do in public. And there's plenty more if you dig a little.
Vote for Kerry. Save America.
CYA
I walked today. Then I went to work. Sid wasn't there, so it was relatively peaceful.
There was one thing in the news about "The Swift Boats for Bush" people. One person in particular has been insistent that Kerry is lying about being shot at while rescuing his crew mate. In Kerry's report, I believe the actual words are "under heavy fire". This shill says that there was no fire. The New York Times has pulled this guys report of the incident and in his report it says "under heavy fire". It just shows you how desperate the Reps are.
3 guys were talking at work about it. This one guy says "I wanna know the TRUTH". No he doesn't. He wants to know the spin. He wants to hear bad stuff about Kerry so he can go "See?...See?" I really wanted to engage these guys, but I'm holding off until October. I can't change their minds, but maybe some of the undecideds will be ready to listen by then. Besides, the media and candidates are doing plenty of slugging. I want to summarize it all and wrap it up for people.
The difference between the candidates is that the Reps have to make up shit about Kerry. All the bad stuff I need about Bush he's managed to do in public. And there's plenty more if you dig a little.
Vote for Kerry. Save America.
CYA
Thursday, August 19, 2004
5 Minutes More...
I had a doctor's appointment with my GP today. Primarily, I went for a blood letting to get new cholesterol and sugar numbers. After that, I headed up to rehab. It went quite well. I went back home to get ready for work.
Chrissy was home when I got home. She came out of the den and I asked her "What's up?". She said, "John's dead, he committed suicide...He hung himself..." And she broke down crying. John was a cousin by marriage. They met playing D&D and dated for a little. He was having problems back then as well. He had attempted suicide while dating her (during the breakup phase) by trying to drink washer fluid.
I did my best to console and make sure that she wasn't blaming herself for this. We have no control over other's actions and I'm pretty sure she understands that. She's a lot better now. Mike and Joann are talking to her in the den as I type this.
Anyway. I was fixing my lunch and the phone rang. It was Cat. She had a colonoscopy today. She was dreading it yesterday. I told her that it's not the most comfortable thing to do. But it's not too bad either. And if they offer, take the drugs.
I had to head back into the doctors office and pharmacy before I went to work. So I did that.
I got to work and punched in RIGHT ON TIME. Of course, Sid played hooky today. So I didn't have that satisfaction. But other things happened that made up for it.
I went to the union office and got copies of the documentation that specify the leeway part of yesterdays blog discussion. I also got documentation to back up the “clocking out 5 minutes early” part as well. I am loaded for the bear. Let the bear approach.
The rest of the evening was ok. I think I may be allergic to something on the machine. My stomach pains were back tonight. I’m going to switch the type of glove I wear. I’m also going to ask the gastro doctor if I may be allergic to rubber or something.
As promised yesterday, the cast of characters on the machine I work on.
The Forces of Good
Bonnee. A good friend. Very well read and what I would call an amateur librarian. We have wonderful conversations about a wide range of topics.
Jean. I always discuss politics and technology with her. We get along very well. Very easy to work with.
Paulette. (I should say something nasty ‘cause I know she reads this) A lot of fun. Another easy person to work with who happens to have a great personality as well.
The Forces of Evil
HPB. Caused trouble in the unit before she even got here. And incredibly annoying as well.
EGCW. The most evil of all. Could either meltdown and kill himself, or take a few of us out with him. Completely untrustworthy. Was a 204b (babyboss) for a short time and now belives that he can order anyone around with impunity. He’s wrong.
The rest fall into the grey area. Good sometimes, Evil sometimes. I’ll fill you in on them as they rear their somewhat ugly heads.
Mike is staying here tonight, so I have to vacate the couch.
Talk to you…
Chrissy was home when I got home. She came out of the den and I asked her "What's up?". She said, "John's dead, he committed suicide...He hung himself..." And she broke down crying. John was a cousin by marriage. They met playing D&D and dated for a little. He was having problems back then as well. He had attempted suicide while dating her (during the breakup phase) by trying to drink washer fluid.
I did my best to console and make sure that she wasn't blaming herself for this. We have no control over other's actions and I'm pretty sure she understands that. She's a lot better now. Mike and Joann are talking to her in the den as I type this.
Anyway. I was fixing my lunch and the phone rang. It was Cat. She had a colonoscopy today. She was dreading it yesterday. I told her that it's not the most comfortable thing to do. But it's not too bad either. And if they offer, take the drugs.
I had to head back into the doctors office and pharmacy before I went to work. So I did that.
I got to work and punched in RIGHT ON TIME. Of course, Sid played hooky today. So I didn't have that satisfaction. But other things happened that made up for it.
I went to the union office and got copies of the documentation that specify the leeway part of yesterdays blog discussion. I also got documentation to back up the “clocking out 5 minutes early” part as well. I am loaded for the bear. Let the bear approach.
The rest of the evening was ok. I think I may be allergic to something on the machine. My stomach pains were back tonight. I’m going to switch the type of glove I wear. I’m also going to ask the gastro doctor if I may be allergic to rubber or something.
As promised yesterday, the cast of characters on the machine I work on.
The Forces of Good
Bonnee. A good friend. Very well read and what I would call an amateur librarian. We have wonderful conversations about a wide range of topics.
Jean. I always discuss politics and technology with her. We get along very well. Very easy to work with.
Paulette. (I should say something nasty ‘cause I know she reads this) A lot of fun. Another easy person to work with who happens to have a great personality as well.
The Forces of Evil
HPB. Caused trouble in the unit before she even got here. And incredibly annoying as well.
EGCW. The most evil of all. Could either meltdown and kill himself, or take a few of us out with him. Completely untrustworthy. Was a 204b (babyboss) for a short time and now belives that he can order anyone around with impunity. He’s wrong.
The rest fall into the grey area. Good sometimes, Evil sometimes. I’ll fill you in on them as they rear their somewhat ugly heads.
Mike is staying here tonight, so I have to vacate the couch.
Talk to you…
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Remember When?
Remember when I said this?
Remember when I said it’s been too quiet at work? Remember when I said it’s been creepin’ me out? Remember when I said it’s only a matter of time before there’s some bullshit directed my way? Remember when I said it’s been like waiting for the other shoe to drop?
Today was my last day in the mail cases. Tomorrow I go back to the sack lifting and keying. I’m not looking forward to it. Coming tomorrow I’ll give you a synopsis of the players. First names only, abbreviations for the truly evil ones. If I can 100 percent verify who you are in person, and I trust you implicitly, I’ll tell you what the abbreviations mean.
I have been reporting to that work area ever since I’ve been back, then they send me upstairs. Today we had a meeting. Our supervisor, Sid, handed out these strips of paper with our clock rings printed on it. Every year they do this thing where they try to take away one of the few rights we have, and every year they screw up and drop it after a few weeks.
You see, we have something called an LMOU (Local Memorandum of Understanding). It delineates finer points that the national contract doesn’t cover. One of these is a 5 minute leeway when you clock in or out before they charge you as late. Management screwed up when they signed off on the wording of this. The way it’s worded, we can punch in 5 minutes before or after the designated clock in time. Management always tries to contend that it means “after only”. They always lose.
We have our little meeting and go back to be assigned to machines. I don’t quite know how it started, but I mentioned that the LMOU says “leeway” nothing about before or after. Of course, this sets Sid off, (Sid is very easy to set off) and he proceeds to tell me how I’m wrong and he’s right.
If I’m wrong and I know it, I’ll back down. If I’m pretty sure, but not positive, I’m right, I’ll back down until I have all of my facts. But if I’m right, I’ll hold my ground as long as it takes.
We go back and forth and it comes to this…
Sid (very riled)…Well, if you think that you can do that you just go ahead and see what happens….now…that’s not a threat…..
Me….It sure sounds like one to me.
Sid….No, that’s not a threat, that’s a Promise!
I turn to my friend Bonnie and go “Oh great…semantics”.
He then used a line something to the effect of “I’ve been here 33 years, don’t tell me what is and what isn’t” Well, it’s like this Sid. If you were here 333 years, wrong would still be wrong. And besides, 33 years is about 13 too many. Give a young guy a chance that needs the money to start a family. Don’t stay in a job because you want a new Caddy every other year and need money to blow at the casinos. And don’t stay in it because you have no life outside of work. Get one.
Just my opinion.
I go upstairs and do my thing in the cases. I see one of the stewards go by (who shall remain nameless in this telling) and lay out my case. He says “Just keep doing what you’re doing, we’ll let them make a move and then we’ll stick it up their ass!” Good times….good times.
At the end of the night I run into a friend who, I found out the other day, has been a steward for a year. I tell him the tale and we talk. Then he says, “Ya know, if you punch in on time and keep your lunch right at 50 units, you can punch out 8 units early and they have to pay you for the full eight hours.”
Huge fucking grin on my part.
So, all this time I’ve been struggling with keeping exactly 8 hours and I don’t have to. This will placate the boss and make me even happier cause I’m getting 25 minutes free a week. See, I’m there early all the time. I don’t give a shit when I punch in, I just don’t want any problems. Well, now it’s time for Bobby to get a lil’ sompinsompin. :)
Another thing that bothered me during the meeting is new “security” measures. I could go very deeply into this, but I’m getting conflicting reports. There is a turnstile system going in at our main entrance. But the Big Brother aspect of it is worse. They will know whether you’re in or out of the building at all times. Also, I hear that entering the building activates your time badge, and leaving deactivates it. So what happens if I need something from my car? Lots of questions.
But the BIG thing that bothers me about this “security” stuff is that two exit doors have new labels on them. They are going to be for emergencies only, but if you need to use them in an emergency, they’ll take 15 seconds to open.
15 seconds can be a very long time.
My scenario is like a movie. They find the bomb, it’s right inside the door, they open it up and the clock says 10. I can cover a lot of ground in 10 seconds, but instead, I’m gonna be 5 seconds dead before the door opens. In the movie, I can see the dust settling and then a CLICK and the door swings open….with my arm dangling from the handle.
Music at work…Jellyfish’s “Bellybutton” / Smithereen’s “Especially for You”
Dead Like Me update….I’ve come up with a story arc involving 3 or possibly 4 characters to start. I’ve come up with lines and a few scenarios for other characters as well. I thought it would be a little more difficult to get the first ideas, but it came to me pretty quick. I may start putting stuff on paper this weekend. I have nowhere near enough stuff to do the whole thing, but I have a lot more than I thought I would just a day or two into it. Lots of notes on the Palm. I think, hell, I know that it’s a lot easier to come up with stuff for established characters than to create those characters yourself. Who knows, maybe some sort of fiction thing down the road.
cya
Remember when I said it’s been too quiet at work? Remember when I said it’s been creepin’ me out? Remember when I said it’s only a matter of time before there’s some bullshit directed my way? Remember when I said it’s been like waiting for the other shoe to drop?
Today was my last day in the mail cases. Tomorrow I go back to the sack lifting and keying. I’m not looking forward to it. Coming tomorrow I’ll give you a synopsis of the players. First names only, abbreviations for the truly evil ones. If I can 100 percent verify who you are in person, and I trust you implicitly, I’ll tell you what the abbreviations mean.
I have been reporting to that work area ever since I’ve been back, then they send me upstairs. Today we had a meeting. Our supervisor, Sid, handed out these strips of paper with our clock rings printed on it. Every year they do this thing where they try to take away one of the few rights we have, and every year they screw up and drop it after a few weeks.
You see, we have something called an LMOU (Local Memorandum of Understanding). It delineates finer points that the national contract doesn’t cover. One of these is a 5 minute leeway when you clock in or out before they charge you as late. Management screwed up when they signed off on the wording of this. The way it’s worded, we can punch in 5 minutes before or after the designated clock in time. Management always tries to contend that it means “after only”. They always lose.
We have our little meeting and go back to be assigned to machines. I don’t quite know how it started, but I mentioned that the LMOU says “leeway” nothing about before or after. Of course, this sets Sid off, (Sid is very easy to set off) and he proceeds to tell me how I’m wrong and he’s right.
If I’m wrong and I know it, I’ll back down. If I’m pretty sure, but not positive, I’m right, I’ll back down until I have all of my facts. But if I’m right, I’ll hold my ground as long as it takes.
We go back and forth and it comes to this…
Sid (very riled)…Well, if you think that you can do that you just go ahead and see what happens….now…that’s not a threat…..
Me….It sure sounds like one to me.
Sid….No, that’s not a threat, that’s a Promise!
I turn to my friend Bonnie and go “Oh great…semantics”.
He then used a line something to the effect of “I’ve been here 33 years, don’t tell me what is and what isn’t” Well, it’s like this Sid. If you were here 333 years, wrong would still be wrong. And besides, 33 years is about 13 too many. Give a young guy a chance that needs the money to start a family. Don’t stay in a job because you want a new Caddy every other year and need money to blow at the casinos. And don’t stay in it because you have no life outside of work. Get one.
Just my opinion.
I go upstairs and do my thing in the cases. I see one of the stewards go by (who shall remain nameless in this telling) and lay out my case. He says “Just keep doing what you’re doing, we’ll let them make a move and then we’ll stick it up their ass!” Good times….good times.
At the end of the night I run into a friend who, I found out the other day, has been a steward for a year. I tell him the tale and we talk. Then he says, “Ya know, if you punch in on time and keep your lunch right at 50 units, you can punch out 8 units early and they have to pay you for the full eight hours.”
Huge fucking grin on my part.
So, all this time I’ve been struggling with keeping exactly 8 hours and I don’t have to. This will placate the boss and make me even happier cause I’m getting 25 minutes free a week. See, I’m there early all the time. I don’t give a shit when I punch in, I just don’t want any problems. Well, now it’s time for Bobby to get a lil’ sompinsompin. :)
Another thing that bothered me during the meeting is new “security” measures. I could go very deeply into this, but I’m getting conflicting reports. There is a turnstile system going in at our main entrance. But the Big Brother aspect of it is worse. They will know whether you’re in or out of the building at all times. Also, I hear that entering the building activates your time badge, and leaving deactivates it. So what happens if I need something from my car? Lots of questions.
But the BIG thing that bothers me about this “security” stuff is that two exit doors have new labels on them. They are going to be for emergencies only, but if you need to use them in an emergency, they’ll take 15 seconds to open.
15 seconds can be a very long time.
My scenario is like a movie. They find the bomb, it’s right inside the door, they open it up and the clock says 10. I can cover a lot of ground in 10 seconds, but instead, I’m gonna be 5 seconds dead before the door opens. In the movie, I can see the dust settling and then a CLICK and the door swings open….with my arm dangling from the handle.
Music at work…Jellyfish’s “Bellybutton” / Smithereen’s “Especially for You”
Dead Like Me update….I’ve come up with a story arc involving 3 or possibly 4 characters to start. I’ve come up with lines and a few scenarios for other characters as well. I thought it would be a little more difficult to get the first ideas, but it came to me pretty quick. I may start putting stuff on paper this weekend. I have nowhere near enough stuff to do the whole thing, but I have a lot more than I thought I would just a day or two into it. Lots of notes on the Palm. I think, hell, I know that it’s a lot easier to come up with stuff for established characters than to create those characters yourself. Who knows, maybe some sort of fiction thing down the road.
cya
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Interesting....
The toolbar at the top of the page searches this blog. So if you want to see your name, or a specific topic, just type it in the search engine.
Not so much Better Late...
Rehab today, almost at 50 minutes of exercise. Only gained one pound from the weekend when I weighed in, and I was only up .5 pounds when I checked at the end of the session.
Came home and got ready for work. The detour is still up, I hope they get that fixed this week. It's getting very old.
Tomorrow is my last day in the letter cases. Then it's back to my regular job. So I figured today would be relatively painless.
Wrong.
We have a PTF as a 204b today. Thats postalese for a relatively new employee being a temporary supervisor. These people are easily manipulated. Do you remember last week when I told you about the black woman that was sticking her nose into stuff. Well, she's been going thru my case when I go to break. Isn't that special. She's got somebody now that she can tell what to do and she runs and does it. So this woman gives me a 5 minute training speech on where this mail goes. I let her babble, then I said, "This is really great, thank you, this will come in real handy for the rest of the day and tomorrow.....and after that I'm back to my regular job, real handy, thanks a lot". These people really annoy me.
Tomorrow I'm going to sort stuff the way it is supposed to be. Then, when I go to break, I'm gonna stuff the mail back into the other slot. Just so she has something to bitch about. I like to please people, ya know. :)
Then later on, somebody had to point out something about another type of mail. And little miss important had to give me another 3 minute talk. What a mess that place is.
So I head home, make a salad and blog, blog, blog.
Music at work...Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" / The Living End's "Roll On"
I've figured out a way to tell the weather at work when I look out the window.
If people are smoking, it's sunny.
If people are smoking and wearing a coat, it's cold.
If people are smoking and wet, it's raining.
If people can't get their cigarette lit, it's windy.
If I can't see anyone smoking, it's dark.
:)
cya
Came home and got ready for work. The detour is still up, I hope they get that fixed this week. It's getting very old.
Tomorrow is my last day in the letter cases. Then it's back to my regular job. So I figured today would be relatively painless.
Wrong.
We have a PTF as a 204b today. Thats postalese for a relatively new employee being a temporary supervisor. These people are easily manipulated. Do you remember last week when I told you about the black woman that was sticking her nose into stuff. Well, she's been going thru my case when I go to break. Isn't that special. She's got somebody now that she can tell what to do and she runs and does it. So this woman gives me a 5 minute training speech on where this mail goes. I let her babble, then I said, "This is really great, thank you, this will come in real handy for the rest of the day and tomorrow.....and after that I'm back to my regular job, real handy, thanks a lot". These people really annoy me.
Tomorrow I'm going to sort stuff the way it is supposed to be. Then, when I go to break, I'm gonna stuff the mail back into the other slot. Just so she has something to bitch about. I like to please people, ya know. :)
Then later on, somebody had to point out something about another type of mail. And little miss important had to give me another 3 minute talk. What a mess that place is.
So I head home, make a salad and blog, blog, blog.
Music at work...Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" / The Living End's "Roll On"
I've figured out a way to tell the weather at work when I look out the window.
If people are smoking, it's sunny.
If people are smoking and wearing a coat, it's cold.
If people are smoking and wet, it's raining.
If people can't get their cigarette lit, it's windy.
If I can't see anyone smoking, it's dark.
:)
cya
Monday, August 16, 2004
Don't Fear the Reapers
No exercising today. I just got up and went to work. It was really light.
I left late and realized that I didn't have time to get gas, so I risked it. Made it to work, came back and pulled into the gas station with "2 miles left" showing on the computer.
I'm making a tape for the nutritionist, a copy of the video I made last week.
My XP machine downstairs seems to be behaving.
I had to do a quick proposal for Deb's boss to hook up a streaming netcam.
And I'm going to try to write an episode of Dead Like Me. I have an ending that will be perfect if they can get the music rights. And I came up with a basic story tonight. Hell, the least they can do is say "get lost".
cya
I left late and realized that I didn't have time to get gas, so I risked it. Made it to work, came back and pulled into the gas station with "2 miles left" showing on the computer.
I'm making a tape for the nutritionist, a copy of the video I made last week.
My XP machine downstairs seems to be behaving.
I had to do a quick proposal for Deb's boss to hook up a streaming netcam.
And I'm going to try to write an episode of Dead Like Me. I have an ending that will be perfect if they can get the music rights. And I came up with a basic story tonight. Hell, the least they can do is say "get lost".
cya
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Bacchus and Neptune
Got up and walked for 30 minutes. While I was walking Mike pulled in. My inlaws got here and we went down and looked at the old van. It’s been slipping out of gear. Now, we had it looked at recently. We told them specifically that there was a transmission problem. So I thought that everything was cool in the fluid area. Mike pulled the tranny fluid dipstick and it was bone dry. We put one quart in and it ran fine. So the kids headed up the road to get some fluid and we started throwing stuff out in the garage.
We did it for a long time. Roughly 5 hours. Burning trash and moving stuff around.
We wrapped it up around 7. Everybody wanted pizza so we called into the local shop. It turns out that they won’t deliver here because of the construction on the bridge. So, since the geniuses that drive for them can’t follow two orange signs, we had to drive in and pick it up.
Yes, I blew my diet again. But I’m back on it tomorrow. I told everybody tonight that I only want 1 night of “naughtyness”. So I’m saving up for next Saturday. That’s the church festival.
Well, after we ate we hung out and watched some movies. Most notably “Under the Tuscan Sun”.
I've been catching up on some tv lately. One of my favorites is "Dead Like Me". Two characters are having an exchange in a waffle house. One, Rube, is probably hundreds of years older than the other, very literate, in charge, and doesn't suffer fools kindly. The other, Mason, is younger, British, an alcoholic, and as he was called in a recent episode "A fuck up".
Rube..."Well you know, They say that Bacchus has killed more men than Neptune."
Mason..."Uhh...Ahh...Bacchus???"
Rube..."Well, Bacchus is the Greek god of readafuckinbook."
And then I started this, and now I’ve finished it.
We did it for a long time. Roughly 5 hours. Burning trash and moving stuff around.
We wrapped it up around 7. Everybody wanted pizza so we called into the local shop. It turns out that they won’t deliver here because of the construction on the bridge. So, since the geniuses that drive for them can’t follow two orange signs, we had to drive in and pick it up.
Yes, I blew my diet again. But I’m back on it tomorrow. I told everybody tonight that I only want 1 night of “naughtyness”. So I’m saving up for next Saturday. That’s the church festival.
Well, after we ate we hung out and watched some movies. Most notably “Under the Tuscan Sun”.
I've been catching up on some tv lately. One of my favorites is "Dead Like Me". Two characters are having an exchange in a waffle house. One, Rube, is probably hundreds of years older than the other, very literate, in charge, and doesn't suffer fools kindly. The other, Mason, is younger, British, an alcoholic, and as he was called in a recent episode "A fuck up".
Rube..."Well you know, They say that Bacchus has killed more men than Neptune."
Mason..."Uhh...Ahh...Bacchus???"
Rube..."Well, Bacchus is the Greek god of readafuckinbook."
And then I started this, and now I’ve finished it.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
This Just In...
We're Googleized!!!
Finally!!!!
If somebody wants to find the site, just tell 'em to Google "fitzlandia"
...Finally!!!
Finally!!!!
If somebody wants to find the site, just tell 'em to Google "fitzlandia"
...Finally!!!
Friday, August 13, 2004
Whoopsie
Set the alarm nice and early for today. The furnace guy came. I think we’ll be getting one in the next few weeks and then get the central air hooked up in the spring.
I went up to rehab and did my thing. I had an appointment with the nutritionist today after the workout. I called earlier in the week and she said it was ok to bring my vidcam to tape it. I took my still camera as well.
So I get on the treadmill and, genius that I am, I take the camera with me. I’m doing ok, but then I try to line up a tight shot.. I have taken pics while walking before, but I forgot something. Usually when you’re walking, you slow down just a hair to take the bounce out of your step. So I do that…and go right off the treadmill.
Well…the nurses started to FREAK out. “Are you alright? Are you alright?” They both run over toward me and I’m saying “I’m ok, I’m ok”. Actually, a small strawberry burn on my left ring finger and a slightly larger one on my right middle knuckle. You see, the roadie/gear instinct kicked in and my mind just started going “camera, Camera, CAMERA!!!!”. I cradled it like a newborn and my hands rubbed against the moving belt before I could push myself back up.
The guy on the treadmill in front of me said, “They don’t understand that it’s more embarassment than pain.” And he’s absolutely right. I told them, “Please don’t make any signs that say ‘No picture taking on the treadmill’. That would just be too much.” They assured me they wouldn’t.
So I finally finished up and went across the hall to the nutritionist. Very informational meeting. She wants a copy of the video. They may do something like that for people.
I came down here and stopped at The Little Store to get some food and water. Then I headed into one of my clients to fix a network problem. I wish they were all like this. He moved his computer and, for some reason, when he moved it back, he put the network cable into one of the routers we have as a spare. Took me 5 minutes to move the cable and reboot. It’s fine.
I went over to see Margaret then. We’re gonna hook up for lunch next week at the restaurant I was to yesterday. (I will get the name, I promise)
I headed home and hung out for a bit. Deb and Chrissy came home and we headed down to Harrisburg to eat. After dinner we went across the road to the CD Warehouse. I picked up Velvet Revolver and an older The Living End cd. Chrissy picked up a couple of New Age cd’s. We headed home. Deb is having a lot of tension in her back and shoulders. Chrissy was trying to work on her shoulders on the way home. I want her to set up an appointment with a masseur. She’s gotta lose some of this tension. For my sake, if you know what I mean.
So, we watched Stargate Atlantis and we’re watching Stargate SG1.
And I’m blogging this to you.
cya
I went up to rehab and did my thing. I had an appointment with the nutritionist today after the workout. I called earlier in the week and she said it was ok to bring my vidcam to tape it. I took my still camera as well.
So I get on the treadmill and, genius that I am, I take the camera with me. I’m doing ok, but then I try to line up a tight shot.. I have taken pics while walking before, but I forgot something. Usually when you’re walking, you slow down just a hair to take the bounce out of your step. So I do that…and go right off the treadmill.
Well…the nurses started to FREAK out. “Are you alright? Are you alright?” They both run over toward me and I’m saying “I’m ok, I’m ok”. Actually, a small strawberry burn on my left ring finger and a slightly larger one on my right middle knuckle. You see, the roadie/gear instinct kicked in and my mind just started going “camera, Camera, CAMERA!!!!”. I cradled it like a newborn and my hands rubbed against the moving belt before I could push myself back up.
The guy on the treadmill in front of me said, “They don’t understand that it’s more embarassment than pain.” And he’s absolutely right. I told them, “Please don’t make any signs that say ‘No picture taking on the treadmill’. That would just be too much.” They assured me they wouldn’t.
So I finally finished up and went across the hall to the nutritionist. Very informational meeting. She wants a copy of the video. They may do something like that for people.
I came down here and stopped at The Little Store to get some food and water. Then I headed into one of my clients to fix a network problem. I wish they were all like this. He moved his computer and, for some reason, when he moved it back, he put the network cable into one of the routers we have as a spare. Took me 5 minutes to move the cable and reboot. It’s fine.
I went over to see Margaret then. We’re gonna hook up for lunch next week at the restaurant I was to yesterday. (I will get the name, I promise)
I headed home and hung out for a bit. Deb and Chrissy came home and we headed down to Harrisburg to eat. After dinner we went across the road to the CD Warehouse. I picked up Velvet Revolver and an older The Living End cd. Chrissy picked up a couple of New Age cd’s. We headed home. Deb is having a lot of tension in her back and shoulders. Chrissy was trying to work on her shoulders on the way home. I want her to set up an appointment with a masseur. She’s gotta lose some of this tension. For my sake, if you know what I mean.
So, we watched Stargate Atlantis and we’re watching Stargate SG1.
And I’m blogging this to you.
cya
Lunchin' with Bill
Got up and walked 30 minutes. I got ready to take a shower and, of course, the doorbell rang. I looked out and thought it was Chrissy at first. It was a green Jeep. Then I looked closer and saw that it was a newer vehicle. It was Deb’s cousin Dave. He returned a radio that they used when everybody went up to 1000 islands.
I finally got the shower and headed down to meet Bill Magill. He’s an old friend from forever. We went to this new restaurant in Newport. It’s a very nice coffeehouse with really great food. All natural and organic stuff. I got a salad with chicken and homemade raspberry vinigrette. Yum.
We shot the shit about a lot of stuff. I’m not gonna go into great detail, but it was a great conversation. The owner of the place graduated 3 years ahead of us. Her sister, Heidi, was a few years behind us. Heidi came in and joined us. It turns out that she does aerobics training. She asked me if I needed a personal trainer and I may just take her up on it. One of her sons is an aspiring musician, so I gave her some info in that area too.
Another classmate, Jeanette Clegg, and her sister Teresa stopped by our table on the way out. She filled us in on her life and told us that Shiffer Bros.is closing this Saturday. The place has been around almost 60 years, selling and repairing appliances. One of the brothers is the father of yet another classmate, Robin Leidy.
I finally had to head down to work. It had started to rain, so that’s always fun. I got almost to work and it hit me. I forgot to pay. We had such a good time I just completely forgot. I’ll give Magil a call tomorrow morning and see if I owe him one, if not, I’ll take Deb down on Saturday and settle up.
Work was ok, but one thing really cheezed me off. I was getting stuff out of my locker and overheard a conversation started up between a black guy and a white guy.
BG…Ya know, up here the graffiti on the bridges is “F this” and “screw that”….but you go down south and it’s “God Loves You” and “Jesus saves”.
WG…Yeah….that’s because all the conservatives are down there….
BG…Yeah….(I start walking away)
WG….Yeah….I’m tired of all this Liberal Fag shit up here.
BG…(silence)
Liberal Fag….
Real nice…
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of the conservative core voter. I’d also like to thank the Republican party in their obviously successful effort to turn the word Liberal into a dirty word. I bet the guy was upset that he was talking to a black guy because he couldn’t work the word Nigger into the conversation.
I hate redneck assholes, and there are a LOT of them that work at the P.O. I hope he gets to go back with all his redneck buddies so we know EXACTLY where they all are. Ya know, I never worry about a Liberal using a gun to make his point, but with Conservatives your never quite sure.
Anyway, I came home and started this. I jotted some notes at work, but I left them in the car and it’s raining. So maybe tomorrow.
I did find it interesting that the California supreme court nullified over 4000 marriages of gays and lesbians. And on the very same day, the Governor of NJ came out of the closet. Resigning from office because he cheated on his wife with a guy.
The music at work was MP3’s. Too many bands to mention.
cya
I finally got the shower and headed down to meet Bill Magill. He’s an old friend from forever. We went to this new restaurant in Newport. It’s a very nice coffeehouse with really great food. All natural and organic stuff. I got a salad with chicken and homemade raspberry vinigrette. Yum.
We shot the shit about a lot of stuff. I’m not gonna go into great detail, but it was a great conversation. The owner of the place graduated 3 years ahead of us. Her sister, Heidi, was a few years behind us. Heidi came in and joined us. It turns out that she does aerobics training. She asked me if I needed a personal trainer and I may just take her up on it. One of her sons is an aspiring musician, so I gave her some info in that area too.
Another classmate, Jeanette Clegg, and her sister Teresa stopped by our table on the way out. She filled us in on her life and told us that Shiffer Bros.is closing this Saturday. The place has been around almost 60 years, selling and repairing appliances. One of the brothers is the father of yet another classmate, Robin Leidy.
I finally had to head down to work. It had started to rain, so that’s always fun. I got almost to work and it hit me. I forgot to pay. We had such a good time I just completely forgot. I’ll give Magil a call tomorrow morning and see if I owe him one, if not, I’ll take Deb down on Saturday and settle up.
Work was ok, but one thing really cheezed me off. I was getting stuff out of my locker and overheard a conversation started up between a black guy and a white guy.
BG…Ya know, up here the graffiti on the bridges is “F this” and “screw that”….but you go down south and it’s “God Loves You” and “Jesus saves”.
WG…Yeah….that’s because all the conservatives are down there….
BG…Yeah….(I start walking away)
WG….Yeah….I’m tired of all this Liberal Fag shit up here.
BG…(silence)
Liberal Fag….
Real nice…
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of the conservative core voter. I’d also like to thank the Republican party in their obviously successful effort to turn the word Liberal into a dirty word. I bet the guy was upset that he was talking to a black guy because he couldn’t work the word Nigger into the conversation.
I hate redneck assholes, and there are a LOT of them that work at the P.O. I hope he gets to go back with all his redneck buddies so we know EXACTLY where they all are. Ya know, I never worry about a Liberal using a gun to make his point, but with Conservatives your never quite sure.
Anyway, I came home and started this. I jotted some notes at work, but I left them in the car and it’s raining. So maybe tomorrow.
I did find it interesting that the California supreme court nullified over 4000 marriages of gays and lesbians. And on the very same day, the Governor of NJ came out of the closet. Resigning from office because he cheated on his wife with a guy.
The music at work was MP3’s. Too many bands to mention.
cya
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Perseid Tonight
I couldn’t post this when I wanted to because the net is down. Looks like we had a lot of storms here.
Headed up to Lewistown this morning and went to the cardiac doctor. Gave them the continuing FLMA paperwork. They said he won’t be back to the 23rd. I headed over to the rehab and did my thing. Finally under 300. It’s getting a little depressing, I wish it would go faster. But I didn’t put it on in one day, so I won’t be taking it off in one day either.
Work was ok. I guess yesterday was a double dose of bullshit, so today could be an off day.
I wanna talk about whiney farmers. Aren’t you just sick of whiney farmers? Whine, whine, whine. A few years ago it was…”It’s so dry, we can’t grow anything when it’s dry, we need rain, please let it rain.” This year?….”It’s too wet, it’s drowning the crops, it needs to dry off, please let it dry off.” Get the picture? It’s amazing we have any food at all. So your heard it here first folks. Rain or lack of it doesn’t grow crops. Massive whining does. :)
I got home tonight and Mike’s car was here, but Chrissy’s Jeep wasn’t. So I headed into the house and the door was locked. I go around front and finally wake up Deb and she let’s me in. It turns out that someone was found murdered in McAlisterville along the road. No other information yet, but remember, you heard it here first.
Chrissy, Mike and their friend Joann pulled in right after I got home. They went out to Mt. Pisgah Altar to watch the meteor shower. I guess it was too cloudy, so they came here to watch it. I hung out for awhile and told them the story about the rock star that’s in love with Chrissy…she loves that story.
Bush’s minions “The Swift Boats for Bush” are being employed by the pres for a hate attack in the weeks before Bunnypants loses his personal money. Don’t believe the hate. Listen to the guys that were actually on the boat with him.
Gotta go, lunch with Bill Magill tomorrow.
Cya
Headed up to Lewistown this morning and went to the cardiac doctor. Gave them the continuing FLMA paperwork. They said he won’t be back to the 23rd. I headed over to the rehab and did my thing. Finally under 300. It’s getting a little depressing, I wish it would go faster. But I didn’t put it on in one day, so I won’t be taking it off in one day either.
Work was ok. I guess yesterday was a double dose of bullshit, so today could be an off day.
I wanna talk about whiney farmers. Aren’t you just sick of whiney farmers? Whine, whine, whine. A few years ago it was…”It’s so dry, we can’t grow anything when it’s dry, we need rain, please let it rain.” This year?….”It’s too wet, it’s drowning the crops, it needs to dry off, please let it dry off.” Get the picture? It’s amazing we have any food at all. So your heard it here first folks. Rain or lack of it doesn’t grow crops. Massive whining does. :)
I got home tonight and Mike’s car was here, but Chrissy’s Jeep wasn’t. So I headed into the house and the door was locked. I go around front and finally wake up Deb and she let’s me in. It turns out that someone was found murdered in McAlisterville along the road. No other information yet, but remember, you heard it here first.
Chrissy, Mike and their friend Joann pulled in right after I got home. They went out to Mt. Pisgah Altar to watch the meteor shower. I guess it was too cloudy, so they came here to watch it. I hung out for awhile and told them the story about the rock star that’s in love with Chrissy…she loves that story.
Bush’s minions “The Swift Boats for Bush” are being employed by the pres for a hate attack in the weeks before Bunnypants loses his personal money. Don’t believe the hate. Listen to the guys that were actually on the boat with him.
Gotta go, lunch with Bill Magill tomorrow.
Cya
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
I must not think bad thoughts.
This extremely venting, very good post just disappeared on me. I am switching to Microsoft Word to do my editing from now on.
I was brilliant. I tied everything together. I am now almost as pissed as I was when I wrote it.
I will attempt to recapture the magic. Later. Let's just say for now that it was not the greatest of days.
Here's the thing...hope you like.
Remember when I said it’s been too quiet at work? Remember when I said it’s been creepin’ me out? Remember when I said it’s only a matter of time before there’s some bullshit directed my way? Remember when I said it’s been like waiting for the other shoe to drop?
I go up to the mail casing area that I have to work in for the next week or so. There are two sections that we work in, 030 and 043. Every case in 043 is full, except for two. One has a pile of somebody’s crap on a chair. The other is completely empty. No chair, the light is off, no personal effects. So I take a seat.
This woman, who is not a boss, takes it upon herself to come over and tell me that “(so and so) is sitting there, you can’t sit there.” I think “Excuse the FUCK outta me?” But I say, “Well, there’s nothing here, I’m gonna sit here.” She says “No, (so and so) is sitting there, you can’t sit there.” We go back and forth, I vent a little to Cindy who usually sit’s next to me. But to no avail. So, steaming, I swallow my anger (as usual) and go to the 030.
Less than 10 minutes later, supervisor Joyce comes up to me. Supervisor Joyce is one of several “non-confrontational” supervisors that we have. She says “I need you in 043.” I say, “Well, one of you boss wannabe’s over there told me that I couldn’t sit at the empty case”. She goes away and comes back in a minute or two. “Oh”, she says, “the two that were sitting at the end moved when they came back from break. There’s 4 cases open now.” In a “Ha-ha, isn’t that funny, please move…” sort of tone.
Most people wouldn’t have, but not me. I go back. Set on simmer and left to stew for the remainder of the day.
Before my last break I have another supervisor. This one comes up to me and says, “Uh, you have to get your badge out so it’s visible”. I pull my time badge out and he says “And THAT’s supposed to be in the rack.” So I do this mundane little idiocy. You see, I understand the guy has a job to do. The point of this is, everytime he’s talked to me, he’s told me that I’m fucking up in some way. (Can you say harrassment? Sure you can!) And that wouldn’t be so bad, but I don’t even know the guys name. I mean, the first time could have been something like, “Hi, I’m (I have no idea), sorry to bother you but…” Just a little common decency, is that too much to ask?
The facts we hate…
We’ll never meet walking down the road
everybody yelling "hurry up, hurry up!"
But I’m waiting for you
I must go slow
I must not think bad thoughts
When is this world coming to?
Both sides are right but both sides murdered
I give up why cant they
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
And this whole badge thing takes me to another point. President Bunnypants is running around saying….”We don’t know when it’s going to happen, we don’t know where it’s going to happen, we don’t know what’s going to happen. But something is…so BE REALLY SCARED…at least until I get re-elected (or, in his case, elected the first time).
Here’s a news flash for the Harrisburg P&DC. Terrorists are NOT going to attack the Harrisburg Post Office intentionally. If we do get a package bomb or ricin, it won’t be intended for us. It will probably be something on it’s way to DC. Quit overreacting.
And here’s another thing. With all due respect to those 3000 or so who lost their lives on 9/11, 15,000 people died in France because of a heat wave. I saw no outpouring of sympathy here. Primarily because some people are pissed at them because they had a little more sense when it came to Iraq.
What happened the moment the second airplane hit the WTC is that the terrorist’s DID win. With all this bullshit that’s being done now in the name of security, it’s time to stop. Yes, we need to be alert. Yes, we need to teach our kids to be alert. Welcome to what the rest of the world, especially Isreal and Ireland, have been dealing with for decades. So George, WE’RE PAYING ATTENTION, stop scaring us to death.
The civil wars and the uncivilized wars
Conflagrations leap out of every poor furnace
The food cooks poorly and everyone goes hungry
From then on its dog eat dog dog eat body & body eat dog
I cant go down there
I cant understand it
I’m a no good coward & an American too
A North American that is not a South of a Central or a Native American
Oh I must not think bad thoughts
I’m guilty of murder of innocent men
Innocent women innocent children
Thousands of them
My planes
My guns
My money
My soul
My blood on my hands
It’s all my fault
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
Music at work…Sheryl Crow’s “Tuesday Night Music Club”/ X’s “Unclogged” (Thanks to X for our little theme today.
The facts we hate…
You’ll never hear us
I hear the radio its finally gonna play new music you know
The British Invasion
But what about The Minutemen
Flesheaters
D.O.A.
Big Boys and the Black Flag
Will the last american band to get played on the radio please bring the flag?
please bring the flag!
glitter-disco-synthesizer night school
All the noble savage drum drum drum
Astronauts go back in time to hang out with the cave people
It’s about time
It’s about space
It’s about some people in the strangest places
Woody Guthrie sang about
b-e-e-t-s
not b-e-a-t-s
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
I did 25 minutes walking and I’ve been sticking to the diet, my weight now has a 2 in front of it…in clothing. Yaaaaa!!!!!
Thanks for lettin’ me rant people….BTW….Word works a hell of a lot better.
I was brilliant. I tied everything together. I am now almost as pissed as I was when I wrote it.
I will attempt to recapture the magic. Later. Let's just say for now that it was not the greatest of days.
Here's the thing...hope you like.
Remember when I said it’s been too quiet at work? Remember when I said it’s been creepin’ me out? Remember when I said it’s only a matter of time before there’s some bullshit directed my way? Remember when I said it’s been like waiting for the other shoe to drop?
I go up to the mail casing area that I have to work in for the next week or so. There are two sections that we work in, 030 and 043. Every case in 043 is full, except for two. One has a pile of somebody’s crap on a chair. The other is completely empty. No chair, the light is off, no personal effects. So I take a seat.
This woman, who is not a boss, takes it upon herself to come over and tell me that “(so and so) is sitting there, you can’t sit there.” I think “Excuse the FUCK outta me?” But I say, “Well, there’s nothing here, I’m gonna sit here.” She says “No, (so and so) is sitting there, you can’t sit there.” We go back and forth, I vent a little to Cindy who usually sit’s next to me. But to no avail. So, steaming, I swallow my anger (as usual) and go to the 030.
Less than 10 minutes later, supervisor Joyce comes up to me. Supervisor Joyce is one of several “non-confrontational” supervisors that we have. She says “I need you in 043.” I say, “Well, one of you boss wannabe’s over there told me that I couldn’t sit at the empty case”. She goes away and comes back in a minute or two. “Oh”, she says, “the two that were sitting at the end moved when they came back from break. There’s 4 cases open now.” In a “Ha-ha, isn’t that funny, please move…” sort of tone.
Most people wouldn’t have, but not me. I go back. Set on simmer and left to stew for the remainder of the day.
Before my last break I have another supervisor. This one comes up to me and says, “Uh, you have to get your badge out so it’s visible”. I pull my time badge out and he says “And THAT’s supposed to be in the rack.” So I do this mundane little idiocy. You see, I understand the guy has a job to do. The point of this is, everytime he’s talked to me, he’s told me that I’m fucking up in some way. (Can you say harrassment? Sure you can!) And that wouldn’t be so bad, but I don’t even know the guys name. I mean, the first time could have been something like, “Hi, I’m (I have no idea), sorry to bother you but…” Just a little common decency, is that too much to ask?
The facts we hate…
We’ll never meet walking down the road
everybody yelling "hurry up, hurry up!"
But I’m waiting for you
I must go slow
I must not think bad thoughts
When is this world coming to?
Both sides are right but both sides murdered
I give up why cant they
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
And this whole badge thing takes me to another point. President Bunnypants is running around saying….”We don’t know when it’s going to happen, we don’t know where it’s going to happen, we don’t know what’s going to happen. But something is…so BE REALLY SCARED…at least until I get re-elected (or, in his case, elected the first time).
Here’s a news flash for the Harrisburg P&DC. Terrorists are NOT going to attack the Harrisburg Post Office intentionally. If we do get a package bomb or ricin, it won’t be intended for us. It will probably be something on it’s way to DC. Quit overreacting.
And here’s another thing. With all due respect to those 3000 or so who lost their lives on 9/11, 15,000 people died in France because of a heat wave. I saw no outpouring of sympathy here. Primarily because some people are pissed at them because they had a little more sense when it came to Iraq.
What happened the moment the second airplane hit the WTC is that the terrorist’s DID win. With all this bullshit that’s being done now in the name of security, it’s time to stop. Yes, we need to be alert. Yes, we need to teach our kids to be alert. Welcome to what the rest of the world, especially Isreal and Ireland, have been dealing with for decades. So George, WE’RE PAYING ATTENTION, stop scaring us to death.
The civil wars and the uncivilized wars
Conflagrations leap out of every poor furnace
The food cooks poorly and everyone goes hungry
From then on its dog eat dog dog eat body & body eat dog
I cant go down there
I cant understand it
I’m a no good coward & an American too
A North American that is not a South of a Central or a Native American
Oh I must not think bad thoughts
I’m guilty of murder of innocent men
Innocent women innocent children
Thousands of them
My planes
My guns
My money
My soul
My blood on my hands
It’s all my fault
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
Music at work…Sheryl Crow’s “Tuesday Night Music Club”/ X’s “Unclogged” (Thanks to X for our little theme today.
The facts we hate…
You’ll never hear us
I hear the radio its finally gonna play new music you know
The British Invasion
But what about The Minutemen
Flesheaters
D.O.A.
Big Boys and the Black Flag
Will the last american band to get played on the radio please bring the flag?
please bring the flag!
glitter-disco-synthesizer night school
All the noble savage drum drum drum
Astronauts go back in time to hang out with the cave people
It’s about time
It’s about space
It’s about some people in the strangest places
Woody Guthrie sang about
b-e-e-t-s
not b-e-a-t-s
I must not think bad thoughts
(X’s “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”)
I did 25 minutes walking and I’ve been sticking to the diet, my weight now has a 2 in front of it…in clothing. Yaaaaa!!!!!
Thanks for lettin’ me rant people….BTW….Word works a hell of a lot better.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
We're Number 1!!!
The rollover data for SUV's came out today and my little Chrysler Pacifica is numero uno! I feel so much safer.
I had rehab today. Afterward, I went over and picked up my FMLA paperwork (finally!) The doctor is on vacation AGAIN. Christ, I wish I got a month off. I went to the union to fill out the papers and found out that I need to put in ANOTHER FMLA form.
I paid some bills at work and generally had a good day. It's creepin' me out man.
Music at work...Alice Cooper's "Brutal Planet"/Alice Cooper's "Dragontown"/Alice Cooper's "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" I sense a theme. :)
I wanted to tell you about a tv show I happened onto last night. There is a channel on the 'ol satellite called Trio. It's a Canadian arts and entertainment channel. I see the title of the show is "Good Clean Porn". The movie they're showing is "Debbie Does Dallas". Being a fan of the Porno oeuvre, I just had to take a look.
They keep all of the scenes with dialogue ("Best Children's Announcer's Voice"...Yes children, back in the old days, porn films actually had dialogue!) and when it gets to the good stuff they put in a still frame with text, like an old silent film. The writing for those was very funny. It's a very clever idea. I hope to see more.
Not much news today. I have a client to see early tomorrow, so this is another short one.
Talk to ya!
I had rehab today. Afterward, I went over and picked up my FMLA paperwork (finally!) The doctor is on vacation AGAIN. Christ, I wish I got a month off. I went to the union to fill out the papers and found out that I need to put in ANOTHER FMLA form.
I paid some bills at work and generally had a good day. It's creepin' me out man.
Music at work...Alice Cooper's "Brutal Planet"/Alice Cooper's "Dragontown"/Alice Cooper's "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" I sense a theme. :)
I wanted to tell you about a tv show I happened onto last night. There is a channel on the 'ol satellite called Trio. It's a Canadian arts and entertainment channel. I see the title of the show is "Good Clean Porn". The movie they're showing is "Debbie Does Dallas". Being a fan of the Porno oeuvre, I just had to take a look.
They keep all of the scenes with dialogue ("Best Children's Announcer's Voice"...Yes children, back in the old days, porn films actually had dialogue!) and when it gets to the good stuff they put in a still frame with text, like an old silent film. The writing for those was very funny. It's a very clever idea. I hope to see more.
Not much news today. I have a client to see early tomorrow, so this is another short one.
Talk to ya!
Monday, August 09, 2004
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Pretty boring day. The weather's been great. It's supposed to go down to the 50's tonight. But it looks like it will be up in the 80's tomorrow.
It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop at work. No bullshit for over a week. This does not bode well. That means it's gonna be REAL stupid when it finally happens.
When I hit 250 pounds I want to jump out of an airplane. I asked my buddy Boogaloo tonight if he wanted to join me. His woman (his term, not mine) is against it. But I'll keep working on him.
Just a little to let you know I'm still here. Lots of stuff to do tomorrow. Phone calls and the like.
Cya
It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop at work. No bullshit for over a week. This does not bode well. That means it's gonna be REAL stupid when it finally happens.
When I hit 250 pounds I want to jump out of an airplane. I asked my buddy Boogaloo tonight if he wanted to join me. His woman (his term, not mine) is against it. But I'll keep working on him.
Just a little to let you know I'm still here. Lots of stuff to do tomorrow. Phone calls and the like.
Cya
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Leave me a Lawn...
I got up and took a walk today. I did 25 minutes. Came in and stretched and we went out and mowed. It goes a lot faster when both of us use a mower. Deb ran the small one and I had the tractor. We moved some of her greenhouse parts into one of the sheds in back of the barn.
Then, Joe Outdoor Guy that I am, I cut up some of the tree limbs with the chainsaw. We may have a halfway decent looking yard by the time there's snow covering it. :)
Got a shower, put the gas cans in the van and headed into town. Before we started in, I measured my little walking track I've been using. It's a 1.2 mile loop, and that's exactly what I did today. Stopped at a local coffee shop and ate, then headed to Sheetz to fill up the gas cans. Deb mentioned something about going to one of the local carnivals, but she was having some back problems when we got home. So we bagged it.
At the coffee shop we overheard 4 oldtimers talking behind us. We're pretty sure that they were democrats. Which is a pretty amazing thing to find here.
Anyway, we came home and I worked on my XP machine downstairs. I took some software off and it might have helped it a little. But, I found an article that gives me some steps to take to fix the device driver problem. I'll try that before I throw in the towel and call Dell.
Came upstairs while the machine was doing a chkdsk. It did finally complete it check. I know because I heard the boot up sound up here.
There's no tv on, Deb's reading, and I'm leaning back on the recliner. I was very achy and the next thing to sleeping. It's so quiet with the A/C off. The doors are open and you can hear the crickets. Very relaxing, but I couldn't nod off. Must be because I had to get on here and do the blog thing.
So I did.
BTW...I watched "Dinner for Five" last night. It was the one with Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith. It was very funny so, in their honor, I watched "Clerks". Affleck's not in that, but Smith directed it. My favorite part was a little exchange about the Death Star's destruction in two of the Star Wars movies. Very funny.
Cya
Photoblog
Then, Joe Outdoor Guy that I am, I cut up some of the tree limbs with the chainsaw. We may have a halfway decent looking yard by the time there's snow covering it. :)
Got a shower, put the gas cans in the van and headed into town. Before we started in, I measured my little walking track I've been using. It's a 1.2 mile loop, and that's exactly what I did today. Stopped at a local coffee shop and ate, then headed to Sheetz to fill up the gas cans. Deb mentioned something about going to one of the local carnivals, but she was having some back problems when we got home. So we bagged it.
At the coffee shop we overheard 4 oldtimers talking behind us. We're pretty sure that they were democrats. Which is a pretty amazing thing to find here.
Anyway, we came home and I worked on my XP machine downstairs. I took some software off and it might have helped it a little. But, I found an article that gives me some steps to take to fix the device driver problem. I'll try that before I throw in the towel and call Dell.
Came upstairs while the machine was doing a chkdsk. It did finally complete it check. I know because I heard the boot up sound up here.
There's no tv on, Deb's reading, and I'm leaning back on the recliner. I was very achy and the next thing to sleeping. It's so quiet with the A/C off. The doors are open and you can hear the crickets. Very relaxing, but I couldn't nod off. Must be because I had to get on here and do the blog thing.
So I did.
BTW...I watched "Dinner for Five" last night. It was the one with Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith. It was very funny so, in their honor, I watched "Clerks". Affleck's not in that, but Smith directed it. My favorite part was a little exchange about the Death Star's destruction in two of the Star Wars movies. Very funny.
Cya
Photoblog
Friday, August 06, 2004
Just when I thought I was out....
Headed out from the house and the sky was beautiful. It reminded me of someone taking big hunks of cotton and placing them on a bright blue lake. It was very cool last night (no A/C) and today was cool as well. It really reminded me of what we call "Football Weather" around here.
I did rehab today and it went really well. I talked to Louise afterward and she gave me a bunch of handouts, as well as helping me make sense of the food diary.
So I head home. I get on the highway and pass a few cars right before the construction. I get into the single lane and head around the corner and BAM...Mr. State Police. He told me that he had me at 72 in a 40 with an Active Work Zone added. That's an automatic 15 day suspension. I pleaded with the guy a little. Told him that I recently had a heart attack (workin' on the sympathy) and was just coming home from cardiac rehab. I still had the adhesive contacts on for the heart monitor, that was a nice touch.
He gave me the ticket and said that he reduced it to 65 in a 40 and dropped the work zone. Well, it's still points and I don't need points. So, I have a call in to my attorney that usually handles this stuff. I tell you people, even if you're guilty as sin, talk to an attorney.
I stopped at the bank and then I went to meet Deb at the local chinese place. I called her and she said she couldn't make it, so I picked up some food and took it to her. I got her a cup of the free tea that they have, she really likes it. I thought that would make the ticket a little more palatable. It actually did. She needed the checkbook to take care of our Penn State tickets. I hung out and ate. I'll say this, she really earns the money. I was there maybe a half hour and she didn't have a moments peace to choke down lunch.
I headed out, picked up some prescriptions and went home. I gave the baby a bath. Looked really good too. Used the chamois and everything. And, just as I was finishing, it rained. I have really shitty luck some days. People think I make this up, but I don't. :)
So everybody came home. Chrissy is finally talking to me again. YAAAA!!!!! We headed up to Lewistown to see if I could get another ticket. Actually, we went into town to get some stuff for Deb. She hits the big 50 this year and has been invited to join the Red Hat Society. We headed out from there to J.P. Edwards to eat. I'm sure I had too much, but it was good. Pepper Salmon...a little fishy, but ok. Chrissy had an incredible looking BBQ sub and potato salad. Deb had Filet Mignon. I snuck a little bite of both, but I did write them down.
We went grocery shopping and had a lot of fun looking for lo carb stuff. I hate that I have to do it, but they want my intake at a certain level. I really have to pay attention to that stuff. Just a hundred or so pounds to go. :)
Came home, put stuff away, and started this missive.
Newswise...Rick James died. Some woman has had a towel inside her for 7 years. Terrorist chatter has dropped, which they think means they're gonna attack. (I'll wait and see) Kansas has banned 1600 CD's from public libraries because they don't think people can think for themselves. And the President is still and idiot.
I have to add this. The job report came out today. 32,000 new jobs were created. Sound good? Not really. It was projected that there would be 214,000 created this month. The same thing happened last month. George has lost us too many good jobs that are being replaced with lower paying one's. He's got to go.
On his stump speech he tells the crowd that Kerry wants to "raise your taxes". Not true. He plans on rolling back taxes on the wealthiest 2% to their "pre-Bush" levels. And that income figure is $200,000 and above. If you're making more than that, you probably should vote for him. Selfish bastard that you are. :)
And the final slap in the face from George. He's READING his stump speech. The man can't think on his feet, so he's got a paper script right in front of him. I heard John Kerry talk for 45 minutes plus. No notes, just a hand held mic, and he was great. Let's pick the president that can think people.
Back to you Dan....
later
I did rehab today and it went really well. I talked to Louise afterward and she gave me a bunch of handouts, as well as helping me make sense of the food diary.
So I head home. I get on the highway and pass a few cars right before the construction. I get into the single lane and head around the corner and BAM...Mr. State Police. He told me that he had me at 72 in a 40 with an Active Work Zone added. That's an automatic 15 day suspension. I pleaded with the guy a little. Told him that I recently had a heart attack (workin' on the sympathy) and was just coming home from cardiac rehab. I still had the adhesive contacts on for the heart monitor, that was a nice touch.
He gave me the ticket and said that he reduced it to 65 in a 40 and dropped the work zone. Well, it's still points and I don't need points. So, I have a call in to my attorney that usually handles this stuff. I tell you people, even if you're guilty as sin, talk to an attorney.
I stopped at the bank and then I went to meet Deb at the local chinese place. I called her and she said she couldn't make it, so I picked up some food and took it to her. I got her a cup of the free tea that they have, she really likes it. I thought that would make the ticket a little more palatable. It actually did. She needed the checkbook to take care of our Penn State tickets. I hung out and ate. I'll say this, she really earns the money. I was there maybe a half hour and she didn't have a moments peace to choke down lunch.
I headed out, picked up some prescriptions and went home. I gave the baby a bath. Looked really good too. Used the chamois and everything. And, just as I was finishing, it rained. I have really shitty luck some days. People think I make this up, but I don't. :)
So everybody came home. Chrissy is finally talking to me again. YAAAA!!!!! We headed up to Lewistown to see if I could get another ticket. Actually, we went into town to get some stuff for Deb. She hits the big 50 this year and has been invited to join the Red Hat Society. We headed out from there to J.P. Edwards to eat. I'm sure I had too much, but it was good. Pepper Salmon...a little fishy, but ok. Chrissy had an incredible looking BBQ sub and potato salad. Deb had Filet Mignon. I snuck a little bite of both, but I did write them down.
We went grocery shopping and had a lot of fun looking for lo carb stuff. I hate that I have to do it, but they want my intake at a certain level. I really have to pay attention to that stuff. Just a hundred or so pounds to go. :)
Came home, put stuff away, and started this missive.
Newswise...Rick James died. Some woman has had a towel inside her for 7 years. Terrorist chatter has dropped, which they think means they're gonna attack. (I'll wait and see) Kansas has banned 1600 CD's from public libraries because they don't think people can think for themselves. And the President is still and idiot.
I have to add this. The job report came out today. 32,000 new jobs were created. Sound good? Not really. It was projected that there would be 214,000 created this month. The same thing happened last month. George has lost us too many good jobs that are being replaced with lower paying one's. He's got to go.
On his stump speech he tells the crowd that Kerry wants to "raise your taxes". Not true. He plans on rolling back taxes on the wealthiest 2% to their "pre-Bush" levels. And that income figure is $200,000 and above. If you're making more than that, you probably should vote for him. Selfish bastard that you are. :)
And the final slap in the face from George. He's READING his stump speech. The man can't think on his feet, so he's got a paper script right in front of him. I heard John Kerry talk for 45 minutes plus. No notes, just a hand held mic, and he was great. Let's pick the president that can think people.
Back to you Dan....
later
It's the Death that's Worse than Fate
Definitely had a tornado here yesterday. There were several sightings, but it was just one cloud. Came down in Newville, went back up and came down in Lemoyne (two miles from where I work) skipped across the river and into Harrisburg. At least 250 trees down in Harrisburg. On to Hummelstown, back up into the sky, then back down in Elizabethtown and on to Manheim in Lancaster County. One more of these and they're gonna start calling us Tornado Alley.
What saved the city is that the twister came through at treetop level. So it knocked the trees down into houses. Thus sparing the houses themselves. Apparently, we average about 5 tornados a year.
A new craft is entered for the X Prize. That's the one where a private concern launches 3 people into space and does it again in 14 days. It's called the Wildfire. We'll see what happens.
I talked about the Walter Cronkite report on the Gulf of Tonkin a few days ago. It's going to be on "Morning Edition" tomorrow on NPR. It's definitely worth a listen. Very compelling and very contemporary.
It sounds like the Army is going to start buying their recruits. You can get a $10,000 signing bonus, $15,000 if you sign up for a specialty.
There was a comment on NPR that really got my hackles up. (Whatever hackles are?) They had a quote by a guy named Wendell Berry about computer's. This is it...
"...when somebody has used a computer to write work that is demonstrably better than Dante's, and when this better is demonstrably attributable to the use of a computer, then I will speak of computers with a more respectful tone of voice, though I still will not buy one."
WHAT......AN......ASS!!!
Oh, I see Mr. Berry. I guess your a charcoal and cavewall man. Although you look more like a stick in the dirt guy. Oh wait, I'm being facetious, of course you must use a pen. So, what type of quill do you prefer. What's that? A little more modern? It must be a calligraphic style pen, with the reservoir? No? A ballpoint? What a forward thinking modernist you are!
It's like saying a painters work is less inspired because he chooses to use acrylics instead of oils. Luddite's shouldn't be allowed any sharp objects, let alone a pen. Someone will write a work "demostrably" better than Dante's someday. They will probably use a computer. Get over it.
Now...onto my day.
I did 20 minutes walking today, up to 25 on saturday. Went in and picked up a prescription and headed into work.
Work was painless once again (I could get used to this, but I know it won't last). Headed home and got gas and some food at Sheetz. I've been getting wraps and I found out tonite that they have their nutrition info on their website. So I was able to dial in other ingredients that will be even better.
I pulled into the house and Chrissy was right in front of me. I don't know where she was because she hasn't talked to me since Tuesday. I would just like to know why a woman can torpedo you and you're just supposed to let it go. But if you do it back, you deserve the silent treatment.
I heard the new Velvet Revolver song on the radio today. They are really good and you should check them out. It's members of Guns & Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. So my question is, shouldn't they be called Guns & Pilots? :)
I felt pretty good today. I think there might be something to this exercise reducing stress thing. If I can just get my feet to stop hurting from last Friday, I'd be in pretty good shape.
Music at work....Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "Armed Forces" / Josie and the Pussycats Soundtrack / Nina Gordon, "Tonight and the Rest of My Life"
Photobloggin' (gonna try to get the Ben Affleck pic up tonight)
later
What saved the city is that the twister came through at treetop level. So it knocked the trees down into houses. Thus sparing the houses themselves. Apparently, we average about 5 tornados a year.
A new craft is entered for the X Prize. That's the one where a private concern launches 3 people into space and does it again in 14 days. It's called the Wildfire. We'll see what happens.
I talked about the Walter Cronkite report on the Gulf of Tonkin a few days ago. It's going to be on "Morning Edition" tomorrow on NPR. It's definitely worth a listen. Very compelling and very contemporary.
It sounds like the Army is going to start buying their recruits. You can get a $10,000 signing bonus, $15,000 if you sign up for a specialty.
There was a comment on NPR that really got my hackles up. (Whatever hackles are?) They had a quote by a guy named Wendell Berry about computer's. This is it...
"...when somebody has used a computer to write work that is demonstrably better than Dante's, and when this better is demonstrably attributable to the use of a computer, then I will speak of computers with a more respectful tone of voice, though I still will not buy one."
WHAT......AN......ASS!!!
Oh, I see Mr. Berry. I guess your a charcoal and cavewall man. Although you look more like a stick in the dirt guy. Oh wait, I'm being facetious, of course you must use a pen. So, what type of quill do you prefer. What's that? A little more modern? It must be a calligraphic style pen, with the reservoir? No? A ballpoint? What a forward thinking modernist you are!
It's like saying a painters work is less inspired because he chooses to use acrylics instead of oils. Luddite's shouldn't be allowed any sharp objects, let alone a pen. Someone will write a work "demostrably" better than Dante's someday. They will probably use a computer. Get over it.
Now...onto my day.
I did 20 minutes walking today, up to 25 on saturday. Went in and picked up a prescription and headed into work.
Work was painless once again (I could get used to this, but I know it won't last). Headed home and got gas and some food at Sheetz. I've been getting wraps and I found out tonite that they have their nutrition info on their website. So I was able to dial in other ingredients that will be even better.
I pulled into the house and Chrissy was right in front of me. I don't know where she was because she hasn't talked to me since Tuesday. I would just like to know why a woman can torpedo you and you're just supposed to let it go. But if you do it back, you deserve the silent treatment.
I heard the new Velvet Revolver song on the radio today. They are really good and you should check them out. It's members of Guns & Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. So my question is, shouldn't they be called Guns & Pilots? :)
I felt pretty good today. I think there might be something to this exercise reducing stress thing. If I can just get my feet to stop hurting from last Friday, I'd be in pretty good shape.
Music at work....Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "Armed Forces" / Josie and the Pussycats Soundtrack / Nina Gordon, "Tonight and the Rest of My Life"
Photobloggin' (gonna try to get the Ben Affleck pic up tonight)
later
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Well Dorothy...
Very good possibility that 2 more tornado's touched down in Harrisburg. Storm damage from Carlisle to Lancaster. As of 11:00 there were roughly 30,000 people without power.
My wonderful employer, The United States Postal Service, when tornado warnings we're being issued. When a report of a funnel cloud was made less than 2 miles away did....NOTHING. I called my wife later on and told her that if I ever die at work she better get an attorney. Because I can guarantee that somebody fucked up somewhere.
Missouri took us a step back toward the stone age today. 72% of voters passed a referendum to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage. Nice move.
No work music tonight. I was to busy listening to the radio to see if I'd have an ass.
Watching Bill Maher and taping it for some folks at work
I gotta post some more rally pics, http://fitzlandiapics.blogspot.com
cya
My wonderful employer, The United States Postal Service, when tornado warnings we're being issued. When a report of a funnel cloud was made less than 2 miles away did....NOTHING. I called my wife later on and told her that if I ever die at work she better get an attorney. Because I can guarantee that somebody fucked up somewhere.
Missouri took us a step back toward the stone age today. 72% of voters passed a referendum to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage. Nice move.
No work music tonight. I was to busy listening to the radio to see if I'd have an ass.
Watching Bill Maher and taping it for some folks at work
I gotta post some more rally pics, http://fitzlandiapics.blogspot.com
cya
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
And so it goes.
Moved the walking up to 20 minutes. It's in the 80's today, so at least I'm not dead. I think that's a good thing.
Headed to work. Work has been pretty benign lately. That's a good thing, but don't worry, some asshole will fuck it up soon. I got to have a decent conversation with Jean today, talking about the rally and the convention. Talked to Bonnee a little too.
Headed home.
I'm watching the last half of "Real Time with Bill Maher". Michael Moore and Bill Maher just (literally) got down on their knees and begged Ralph Nader not to run.
Quick one tonight. You gotta love it.
Headed to work. Work has been pretty benign lately. That's a good thing, but don't worry, some asshole will fuck it up soon. I got to have a decent conversation with Jean today, talking about the rally and the convention. Talked to Bonnee a little too.
Headed home.
I'm watching the last half of "Real Time with Bill Maher". Michael Moore and Bill Maher just (literally) got down on their knees and begged Ralph Nader not to run.
Quick one tonight. You gotta love it.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
No use in letting some Prophet of Doom...
...get reelected.
Photoblog
Bush accepted most of the 9/11 commission's report today, 11 days after he said it would need a lot of study and take time to implement. Is that a flip, or a flop? :)
Kerry is releasing a book length detailed plan of what he intends to do after being elected. Hey, Kerry and Edwards wrote a book and George dreams about reading one. :)
The Reps were quick to jump on the fact that Kerry has gotten minimum poll bounce in the first polls since the convention. A Newsweek poll has him bouncing 4 or 5 percent. I told you it wouldn't be much. They commented that it's the lowest bounce of any candidate. Well spinmeisters, it's the earliest that a VP has ever been picked as well. It actually seems to show that the convention bounce is really the bounce from picking the VP.
Another day of rehab...they up the requirements every Monday. A little faster, a little longer. So far it's been the best exercise experience I've ever had. I'll be up to walking 20 minutes a day tomorrow. My weight is hovering just above 300, I'm down 45 pounds from my peak (there, I said it). In fact, the other day I weighed myself naked (you're welcome for the mental picture) and I was under 300. I've got some private and public goals. the next number is 275, at 250 I want to go skydiving. The next memorable weight is 230, that's what I was in the 80's. Then it's 210. If I hit that and I'm a little "flappy", I'm gonna get the tummy tuck. I think I'll probably be a little flappy, but if I can get down that far I want to LOOK like I got down that far. I haven't weighed below 200 since 9th grade, except for a brief time in college.
Work was nominal.
Music today: Me First and the Gimme Gimme's "Are A Drag" / Garrison Starr's "Eighteen Over Me" / The Sharks' "Live at the Empire Rock Club"
Happy "Gulf of Tonkin" anniversary everybody. I'm sure there's lots of parties today. :) NPR had a great report with Walter Cronkite that had original White House tapes of conversations between Johnson and Robert McNamara. Turns out the "torpedo" that was fired by the Cong was never really confirmed. So it looks like a whale may have been the catalyst for the Vietnam war.
Another comment on NPR about deceased Philosophy professor Sidney Morgenbesser. Attending a speech on language, the speaker says (paraphrasing) "In language, two wrongs can make a right, but never have two rights made a wrong". Sydney, in the back, mumbles "...yeah, yeah". You can search NPR, use keyword obituary.
And finally, a little thing that hit me tonight called.....
The Aeronautic Design Theory of Musician Interaction
Airplanes...gotta love 'em. Most old designs made them fly real safe and real steady. Some manuverability, I mean, they could turn pretty quick but not on a dime. Then they got fancy. They started, after computers came into the mix, doing something called fly-by-wire. A lot more control, very fast and precise. To take advantage of the control, they started making the airplanes more UNstable. Theory being that the more unstable something is, the quicker they can control it. Balance a pencil on the end of your index finger and look how fast you have to move to keep it on there.
I believe that most creative bands are essentially unstable, or have an element (member) that is unstable. They can still function without that X factor, but for true high performance there is usually that unstable element. I was thinking about the lead singer for my former employer The Sharks. Sam had talent and charisma with a capital K. That "It" factor they talk about, he's got it and he knows how to use it. But he's MIA right now. The band would still like to go out occasionally, but Sam's off the map somewhere. I hope that whatever's up with him, he comes back and we can see those guys together again. They're a lot of fun. Every other band I've ever been involved with that's had any success at all has had this element. I don't mean to pick on Sammy, he's just the one I was listening to tonight when this popped into my head.
Later dudes
Photoblog
Bush accepted most of the 9/11 commission's report today, 11 days after he said it would need a lot of study and take time to implement. Is that a flip, or a flop? :)
Kerry is releasing a book length detailed plan of what he intends to do after being elected. Hey, Kerry and Edwards wrote a book and George dreams about reading one. :)
The Reps were quick to jump on the fact that Kerry has gotten minimum poll bounce in the first polls since the convention. A Newsweek poll has him bouncing 4 or 5 percent. I told you it wouldn't be much. They commented that it's the lowest bounce of any candidate. Well spinmeisters, it's the earliest that a VP has ever been picked as well. It actually seems to show that the convention bounce is really the bounce from picking the VP.
Another day of rehab...they up the requirements every Monday. A little faster, a little longer. So far it's been the best exercise experience I've ever had. I'll be up to walking 20 minutes a day tomorrow. My weight is hovering just above 300, I'm down 45 pounds from my peak (there, I said it). In fact, the other day I weighed myself naked (you're welcome for the mental picture) and I was under 300. I've got some private and public goals. the next number is 275, at 250 I want to go skydiving. The next memorable weight is 230, that's what I was in the 80's. Then it's 210. If I hit that and I'm a little "flappy", I'm gonna get the tummy tuck. I think I'll probably be a little flappy, but if I can get down that far I want to LOOK like I got down that far. I haven't weighed below 200 since 9th grade, except for a brief time in college.
Work was nominal.
Music today: Me First and the Gimme Gimme's "Are A Drag" / Garrison Starr's "Eighteen Over Me" / The Sharks' "Live at the Empire Rock Club"
Happy "Gulf of Tonkin" anniversary everybody. I'm sure there's lots of parties today. :) NPR had a great report with Walter Cronkite that had original White House tapes of conversations between Johnson and Robert McNamara. Turns out the "torpedo" that was fired by the Cong was never really confirmed. So it looks like a whale may have been the catalyst for the Vietnam war.
Another comment on NPR about deceased Philosophy professor Sidney Morgenbesser. Attending a speech on language, the speaker says (paraphrasing) "In language, two wrongs can make a right, but never have two rights made a wrong". Sydney, in the back, mumbles "...yeah, yeah". You can search NPR, use keyword obituary.
And finally, a little thing that hit me tonight called.....
The Aeronautic Design Theory of Musician Interaction
Airplanes...gotta love 'em. Most old designs made them fly real safe and real steady. Some manuverability, I mean, they could turn pretty quick but not on a dime. Then they got fancy. They started, after computers came into the mix, doing something called fly-by-wire. A lot more control, very fast and precise. To take advantage of the control, they started making the airplanes more UNstable. Theory being that the more unstable something is, the quicker they can control it. Balance a pencil on the end of your index finger and look how fast you have to move to keep it on there.
I believe that most creative bands are essentially unstable, or have an element (member) that is unstable. They can still function without that X factor, but for true high performance there is usually that unstable element. I was thinking about the lead singer for my former employer The Sharks. Sam had talent and charisma with a capital K. That "It" factor they talk about, he's got it and he knows how to use it. But he's MIA right now. The band would still like to go out occasionally, but Sam's off the map somewhere. I hope that whatever's up with him, he comes back and we can see those guys together again. They're a lot of fun. Every other band I've ever been involved with that's had any success at all has had this element. I don't mean to pick on Sammy, he's just the one I was listening to tonight when this popped into my head.
Later dudes
Monday, August 02, 2004
Rally Update
I reported the other day that the estimated crowd size was 18 to 20,000. That has been updated to 25,000. I get more and more impressed by this event with each passing day.
I found out that they stayed in town and hit the bar at the hotel for a late dinner. The guy playing the lounge says "I understand we have the next President of the United States here tonight. Leave him alone everyone. Just go out and vote". There was a sizeable crowd waiting outside the hotel when he left in the morning. If he comes to town again, I'll try to check it out and get some closeup pics.
We had a family get together at Deb's cousin's cabin. I stopped out for some lunch and headed to work.
It was a pretty benign day. I did walk for 15 minutes at lunch. I don't want to do that anymore because they want me to do cool down stretching. Only one person walked by, thank god. It looks pretty gay doing leg stretches in the middle of a parking lot.
I keep getting these ideas for blog stuff at work and keep forgetting to write it down. I gotta start taking some notes.
Gotta post a few pics for the masses.
Talk to ya later.
I found out that they stayed in town and hit the bar at the hotel for a late dinner. The guy playing the lounge says "I understand we have the next President of the United States here tonight. Leave him alone everyone. Just go out and vote". There was a sizeable crowd waiting outside the hotel when he left in the morning. If he comes to town again, I'll try to check it out and get some closeup pics.
We had a family get together at Deb's cousin's cabin. I stopped out for some lunch and headed to work.
It was a pretty benign day. I did walk for 15 minutes at lunch. I don't want to do that anymore because they want me to do cool down stretching. Only one person walked by, thank god. It looks pretty gay doing leg stretches in the middle of a parking lot.
I keep getting these ideas for blog stuff at work and keep forgetting to write it down. I gotta start taking some notes.
Gotta post a few pics for the masses.
Talk to ya later.
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