Sunday, December 23, 2007

Vacations and Quarterly Report

Sort of became a quarterly blog, huh? Oh well, it's not like I'm committed... as far as you know.

So here's the scoop on vacations... never, ever ,ever plan them. Because of a new policy at work, I was asked to shed over 160 hours of vacation time between September and January. First week I took off was cool, although it rained. My boss, however, realized my employees were being taken advantage of during that week and asked me not to take week long vacations anymore this year. There goes that master plan.

Next scheduled time off was to balance out Thanskgiving weeked by taking the three days off before then. Lucky me, I end up with double pneumonia the Thursday before... flat on my back my entire vacation.

Next, first week of December. My boss and I mutually agreed I couldn't take that time off.... and now, Christmas.

FINALLY, I have a week off... I'm not on my back, no definite plans, and the rest of work isn't working, so no way to be called.... So what, you may ask, do I do with the valuable time? Why spending my time online, of course. Talking to what has become some of my closest friends. After some of these most satisfying conversations, I have to say I'm very relaxed and as happy as I've been in awhile. Sometimes, no talking is necessary... just being online with others you've become close to is enough. We're sharing our days, and sometimes our lives, in ways never before possible.

Probably the busiest day for me (other than Saturday when the entire world was shopping where I was shopping) is going to be the Big Day... as I'm sure it will be with you. Oddly enough, I will be surrounded by real people... family... people I love and who love me.... and I will welcome the return home that evening to my laptop and my online world. You guess what will be more relaxing.

Puppycat wants to play and is walking across my keyboard to make a point. I won't make it so long between posts next time for the six or so of you that actually read this.


Merry Christmas.

Monday, September 3, 2007

All right, so I don't claim to be the smartest person the Third Rock has spawned. But really, I've seen this done before.... with success.... and without pain....

The beginning? Okay. Yesterday, the planets aligned, the clouds parted, the air was just right, and I had the day off.... all at the same time. I was actually able to bring down the jungle.. er,, mow my lawn. I have a decent push mower (cleaner cut) with a bag on the back, and things were going so well. A swath of freshly mown lawn was waking behind me, the see of waving green was in front of me, awaiting it's demise, audiobook was unfolding from my iPod/phone. Now, I usually lift the seat from the yard swing and set it on the part I've completed so I can get to the grass beneath it, but yesterday I was feeling just a bit lazy so I simply pushed the mower under the swing, pushing it back. The air beneath the swing bloomed brown..... buzzing brown.... seems a fresh wasp's next was nestled snugly on the underside of the swing. Thank god for laziness. That one little piece of the lawn was going to have to wait.

Fast forward to today. Rummaging beneath he kitchen sink, I found my weapon of choice. You see, I love sitting on that swing in the cool evening, and I wasn't letting a bunch of insects take it over solely on the virtue of possessing sharp weapons strapped to their butts. The can said "Kills on contact" and "27 ft stream". I've seen my friend use this very formula when persuading hornets to shed the earthly coil when we were moving his hot tub. No kidding, the beasties fell in mid-flight when struck by the oily poison. I was confident. I was cocky. I was wrong.

Kneeling low so I could see the mass crawling over their nest, I took aim and fired... seems it was just enough to piss them off. Moving back across the lawn quickly, I was still under the delusion they would fall from the sky,,,,any minute now.... and one of the bastards snuck in behind me and impaled my arm. This brought reality into focus. These things were strategically surrounding my dumb ass. Luckily, my flash of innocence (and stupidity) was short-lived. I raced to the door and got inside before any others could find flesh. Thus began the day-long stand-off. The swing is within 27 feet of the door, so the day progressed with me waiting for the fervor to die down, then I would crack open the storm door and fire another volley of poison, quickly closing the door. I admit it; I took great pleasure watching the infuriated insects slam against the glass of the storm door in attempt to get to me. Does this make me bad?

Oh well, who cares. Their all dead now..... I hope.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

iPhone and Home Improvement

Told you this would be sporadic.

So, I own the iPhone. Lots of people do. It's nice. I love it. Not really interested in trying any other phone out any time in the future which, for a geek like me, is an extremely high compliment. You've heard enough about the iPhone, so I'll stop. That's it. That's my review.

We decided (meaning she wanted for her birthday) to pull up the carpet in our living room, master bedroom and master bath, and replace it with something else. After several trips to Home Depot, Lowe's, everywhere on the Internet, etc., we decided we couldn't' really afford to do it. Then, like magic, here comes an offer for a Home Depot card. Please understand, my credit rating is,,, ummm,,, less than stellar. So when she said "Let's see if we can get it", I said "Sure, I'll waste 5 minutes applying.... a week later we purchased flooring at Home Depot with the temporary card number they sent. I'm not sure if it was Karma or Murphy or something else entirely, but I want open season on it.

We started with the living room, and I have to say, it really looks nice. Finished it up over a week ago, and now things are back to normal in the living room... except for the quarter round molding that I haven't put down yet.... and those 2o empty flooring boxes by the TV... and the 4 full ones.... and the hand truck.... and the fish tank that's still in the kitchen instead of in the living room where it belongs..... and the book case that's outside in the portable storage unit.....

........quit laughing.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Tee Ball, Sportsmanship training for everyone.

Keep your MLB, go ahead and watch the Minors, play softball if you must...... nothing beats Tee Ball. When my boys were young, Tee Ball was a new thing and they didn't play. I got to help coach Little League for my oldest (the youngest wasn't interested), and I learned many disturbing things about adults. We, as coaches, strove to teach the kids teamwork, sportsmanship and that having fun is what baseball is all about. We were mostly successful during practices. Then, the games started. There was name-calling, jeering, belittling, anger, and the occasional physical altercation..... and all of this among the parents attending the game. I saw father's of sons that I had known for years, father's who doted on their boys and always had nothing but praise for them any other time turn into hecklers and nay-sayers to their own sons on the field. It was sad to watch the embarrassment in these boys as what should have been a fun day of baseball invariably turned into an agonizing chore of falling short of expectations and disappointing their real-life heroes. Don't get me wrong, there were some good days, and not every parent acted this way but believe me, it only takes a few to ruin the day. What we really needed was Little League practice for parents teaching teamwork, sportsmanship and how to have a good time.

Fast-forward to present day. My oldest granddaughter joined Tee Ball. I have to say, this game brings out the best in all of us. Think about it... there is one set of bleachers at the Tee Ball diamond. Both sides sit together, cheering on ALL of the kids on both teams. Everyone gets to bat every inning, everyone takes all of the bases and everyone,,, EVERYONE has a good time. In one particular game we had to pause for a train-delay; my granddaughter, playing "pitcher" began jumping up and down, pointing and yelling "TRAIN COMING, TRAIN COMING" (the tracks run ride beside the diamond). The coaches stopped the game and every player turned to watch the train go by, jumping up and down with excitement while the engineer tapped the horn as he went by. Then, back to the game; no complaints, no eye rolls. How cool is that? At the end of the game, everyone congratulates everyone on a game well played, parents praise other parents' children, regardless of team.

I look forward to the time real Little League rolls around for her. If she decides to play, it is my hope that all of the goodwill learned by the kids AND the parents at Tee Ball level moves with them all to the ball field. Seems that training I was talking about is taking place after all, huh?

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Old Days vs New Days

Sometimes when I'm thinking about nothing, everything comes to mind. I can remember listening for the ice cream truck just before bed in the fading light of a summer day, and I suddenly taste the Mint Chocolate Chip tucked away in the freezer twenty feet away. The first time I rode a two-wheeler melds with the first time my oldest rode one. The birth of my second son when I was 22 somehow collides with the death of my grandfather when I was 3, probably because they both looked so peaceful at rest. Every job I've ever had has just become one long employment, each position naturally flowing to the next until I reach present day. I'm also painfully aware that I don't have as much lung capacity as I did when I was younger. The good news is, it's more than I had two years ago, since I stepped into the modern age where medication was concerned. All this just serves to tell me how short a time my 46 years has been, and how fast it can go.

My grand daughters were here today, and I marvel at their energy. As I talk with friends who still have kids at home, some 10 years old and under, I'm reminded that the chaos I perceive in their homes isn't chaos when you're in the moment... it's life, and it can't be traded for all the gold in the world. I sometimes miss those times, as uncomfortable as I tend to get nowadays with too much activity around me (I call it sensory overload). Don't get me wrong, spoiling children and sending them home to their parents is a wonderful experience. But, there's something about tucking them in, knowing that your guidance and teaching took them through another day and has adding another piece of the puzzle that is their personality. It really is what we live for.

The point is, I guess, if you're in the moment, stop and breathe. Take it in and savor it. It passes quickly, believe me. Before you know it, everything runs together.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Past (Fast?) Ten Years

My phone is buzzing in my pocket with a text message waiting. Seems my friend is prepping to move from one State I don't live in to another State I don't live in. We know and have communicated with each other's spouses, directly or indirectly, we've played board games together, card games, bowling, 8 ball, bingo. We know each others kids and their interests. She knows about my grand kids and I know about her parents and siblings. We've shared work stories, given and accepted advice, told jokes, eaten together. We're very good friends...

...and we've never laid eyes on each other. Ten years ago, this would not have been me. I'd have to say I pretty much only talked with people at work, my family, and my best friend on the rare occasion that we'd visit. Then I got online. I've met some very good people here (and a few that I don't care to speak with again), and with Web 2.0 and the Social Networking craze, this world really has become a tiny place is a very short period of time. I take the optimistic view of the phenomenon. All of this interaction must lead to greater sharing of intellect and innovation benefiting science and sociology, and furthering the progress of our civilization as a whole.

So tell me: At this rate of development, what will the world possibly be like when my Great-Grandchildren are growing up? I think the possibilities are, for the first time, truly endless, don't you?

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

A Milestone

Let it be known that I was right today......




..... and a woman said so.



Life is good.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Rest, Travel and Indecision

I told you this thing would be sporadic. I tend to be about as consistent as the weather here; which, by the way, is driving me CRAZY. winter winter winter, summer, summer, summer, fall, winter, summer..... ugh. We're finally having some semblance of spring. Okay, I'm done with the weather.

So, I took a vacation recently. Interestingly enough, this coincided with my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Being the good husband, I asked her what she wanted for her anniversary. She wanted to see her family. All right. Since her family is basically in North Carolina (she see the ones she wants in Delaware whenever she wants to), I scheduled my vacation around our anniversary. Two weeks. Then, I gained more responsibilities at work, and my new boss haggled with my Better Half until I was down to 10 working days. ...All right... Then, it's decided we're also going to meet another family member after we go to North Carolina. ......All .. right...... Day 1 was the drive to between East and Central NC, just below the border. Day 2 was the drive to the middle of the State. Day 3 took us to West Virginia, just before the Ohio border. Day 4 was spent sightseeing and catching up. Day 5, back to the middle of NC. Day six was computer fix-it day (which was quite relaxing and enjoyable..... sue me). Day 7 back to the NC border. Day 8, the drive home. Day 9 was the actual anniversary (we slept). Day 10, back to work................................. I need a vacation.

I've officially become completely indecisive. My folks have offered to get me an iPhone (actually placed me on the list) in return for all the work I do to keep their computers running for their business. I want it. I really do. So I get this bout of guilt for costing them more money than I would spend on a phone, or an ipod. See, now it's closer to the release of the thing, and I know my name is somewhere around fifteenth on the list. I just can't help myself. I've waffled back to letting them get it. I'm not sure if that makes me a bad son, or just a very lucky one. The only thing that could make this suck is if I hate the phone. I don't think I will, but who knows, right? On the upside, there are a lot of people who want to see this thing once I get it. It's like coming home with a newborn and everyone wants to hold the baby. You really don't want to let them; yet, at the same time, it's kind of nice showing off what you've got.

Okay, I've lost it. I've just compared the iPhone to a newborn. Time to end this for the day. I'll try to be more sporadic in the future just to spare all two of you who actually read this thing.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Internet Radio

Okay, boys and girls, I know you've been hearing and reading all about the injustice perpetrated by the Copyright Royalty Board (and it's subsequent refusal to appeal) against Internet radio. Seems the RIAA and it's minions have struck again convincing certain facets of government to join them in destroying any chance that indepent music, new music, and even custom play events of established music be heard without them getting a significant cut of the deal. At least there are a couple of Senators willing to take up the fight, even though it means congressionally controlled fees. If you're lost on this, catch up here:

I'm a huge fan of Pandora, one of the sites that will be devastated if the fees imposed truly come due in July. Pandora is one of the most innovative music outlets I've every experienced. Created by the Music Genome Project, this site creates a station that's taylor-made to your tastes, quickly and progressively more accurate, letting you enjoy your favorite music while introducing you to some fantasic music you would never have discovered on your own. This Project is developed by and for Musicians and musical professionals.

Who believes the RIAA and their ilk has the best interest of artists at heart? This site, and others just as significant and legitimate, will simply disappear July 15 if the Bill introduced by Senators Wyden and Brownback does not get through Congress beforehand. Essentially, on the books, these folks are bankrupt now as the ruling is currently in effect. If you care, if you agree, if you don't want to see this happen to Internet Radio (what next, video?, podcasts?), please click this link, then contact your Senator. Ask him/her to support the Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007. Help keep sites like Pandora alive.

Friday, March 23, 2007

You know, I've lived in Delaware all my life, most of it in Slower Lower. One thing about this state that can't be denied........ we have chickens. I mean everywhere. Even our state bird is a chicken. Somewhere in our past it seems cock fights were popular, and the toughest bird of all was the Blue Hen Chicken. Hence, the mascot for the University, the Fighting Blue Hen. Now, don't get me wrong. I like chicken as much as the next guy. Fried, baked, grilled, cordon bleu.

Two doors down and across the road are chicken houses. The property next door used to have chicken houses. Next to tourism, I think chicken farming is our number one industry; at least, it seems that way. And, of course, along with the benefits of rural life we sometimes have to deal with the natural by-product of raising livestock.....olfactory speaking. Okay, usually it's only bad when the wind blows in our direction. I'm all right with that, everyone has to make a living, and it's part of local color that certain... odors... have to be dealt with once in awhile. I grew up here. It's fine, really.

However, too much of a good thing is, well... too much. Today, it was warm. Short sleeve shirt warm. Gorgeous day warm. Slight breeze. So naturally, this is the time when the local farmers decide it's a good idea to spread all the aforementioned by-product that's been fermenting in the chicken houses all this time all over the fields... . all of them... everywhere. And hey, let's not stop at simply packing it up in a truck and spreading it. Let's liquefy it and spray fifty feet or more in every direction. Tonight would be a great night to open the windows and let the breeze blow across the bed. Tonight would be a great night to slumber in the yard swing. If only the stench that surrounds us wasn't so damn tangible. I swear, the air seems to have physical properties that can be touched. I've been in this county almost my entire life and I never remember it being this bad. It's like someone had a wholesale event on the stuff, and every single farmer in the county decided it was manure spreading day.

I went to WalMart tonight and bought air conditioners. Vive' la controlled environment.... and clothes pins for the nose.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Looking Back at the Future

So, when I was a kid I had this vision of the future. It was the '60's and I lived in a college town, which meant my babysitters were basically hippies. My friends and I would watch Route 66, Daktari, Gilligan's Island, Laugh-in, and if we were good we got to stay up for Star Trek. We'd go to the community pool, play in makeshift forts, write and deliver a block newspaper (only one edition as we had to hand-write each one), and look forward to the wonders of our future. We knew there would be flying cars by the time we had kids, and that there would be a button for everything. We even designed streamlined cars that looked like bubbles with wheels, some of them retractable for flight. We dreamed of three dimensional television (in color, no less), communicators and transporters, not to mention computers that talked. We also were absolutely certain space travel would be something the common man would do when we were adults.

For some time, I was disappointed throughout my twenties. No flying cars, no true three dimensional tv, no transporters or communicators... and no space flight for the common man. What happened to the future? Where did we go wrong? Now, of course, I realize it was happening all along. I'm typing this on a device smaller and at times lighter than the Trapper Keeper I used to carry around in school. I'm on the sofa, transmitting this data to the world, basically, without wires. On my hip is a flip phone, my own personal communicator, and people who don't have these are oddities around here. All I have to do is talk to it and it finds the person I want to talk with on the other end. I don't even have to push buttons. I don't have a flat screen television, but I could if I would spend the money on it. A device slightly thicker than a picture frame that I can hang on the wall and watch television programs, movies when I want to on demand, surf the world of information at my fingertips.

Earlier today, I was outside a department store waiting for my lovely to come out with less money, and I swear to you, one of the streamlined, bubbles I drew when I was a kid pulled into a parking space. The side doors slid open slowly without anyone touching them, and a family poured out and began walking toward the store. The doors to the vehicle deliberately slid closed on there own as the family happily made their way toward eliminating disposable income. At that point, my communicator buzzed me, and the device I had clipped to my ear, without wires, filled with the voice of a coworker.

Yup, the future happened while I wasn't looking. I'd like to live another 50 years, please. I bet those flying cars, transporters and regular space travel are right around the corner.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Twitter, Milk and Psycho-Fish

So I'm getting heavy into the Web 2.0 thing. Non-conformist that I claim to be, I'm such a damn follower. The latest thing I'm getting hooked on is Twitter (www.twitter.com). Listening to Leo too much, I guess. The way it works is, you just type in what your doing at that moment. Checking back from time to time you can see what others have been doing too. Sounds dumb, huh? Well, most addictive things are, I guess. But I don't care. You can see it here on the blog until I get tired of it. I've been playing around with lots of new things lately. I have Skype, as I said before, but no one else I know does. Guess that makes me an early adopter.... or just sad.

Have you ever noticed how calming milk can be? I have a self-proclaimed home-psychologist friend that will tell me I'm just reminded of suckling my mamma's teat, but then he thinks about that sort of thing all the time anyway. Think I'll discount that one. The house is in bed at the moment (except for this 46 year old geek), the TV is off, Alanis is playing in my headsets and I have a coffee mug full of milk. Seems to help soothe the abscess. And if you know that milk doesn't ease the pain of an abscess, just keep it to yourself. I enjoy self-delusional episodes. The mug itself is something my sister-in-law bought for me some years ago, and it's my favorite. It's a Bald Eagle soaring over a wetland landscape that she found at the zoo in North Carolina, and this thing has held coffee, hot chocolate, alcohol, tea, Thera-Flu, orange juice, water,,,,,,,,, and milk. I think milk is my favorite. Of course,,, this could be the Vicodin talking.

I'm house-sitting this week for some friends who are out of town. They have the absolute coolest felines. I mean it. These guys never tell on me when my friends come home. All I have to do is give them a little extra kibble and a scratch, then let the party begin. They even clean up after me. It's like I was never there. Now, the psycho-fish are a different story. These little demon-spawn appeared as though by magic one day in the fish tank. And they never die. I've never seen anything like it. When I walk past the tank, the follow me... in a school... all of them... all 12, no wait, 18,, jeez... 20 now. My friend feeds them blood worms (I think because they prefer human blood, and this is the only way to appease them) by actually squeezing them inside the tank. Not me, Jack. I sprinkle them from a height of 6 inches. The water fairly boils from the ensuing frenzy.

Tomorrow, I'm taking back-up.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Mouth Pain, Toy Anticipation and the Magical Properties of a Fish Tank

My mouth hurts. Seems I've developed an abscess in the lower right gum related to what's left of a doomed back tooth. It's ultimate demise is scheduled for 10 days from now. Meanwhile, I have some pain medication that's making me think twice about dealing with the pain. As long as I go to sleep, I'm fine, but I can forget about trying to actually function while under the influence of the evil drug. It seems to make my left leg shorter than my right, and causes the fluid in my inner ear to play whirlpool games. Think I'll stick with the Excedrin and antibiotic.

We're watching the grandbaby tonight, and I've made an amazing discovery. When the bottle doesn't work, the tv doesn't work, the annoying sing-along toy doesn't work, and pulling the puppycat's tail doesn't work,,,,,,, there are the fish. This child spent almost an hour talking to the fish tank, evidently resolving the important issues of the day. Tonal inflections indicate a very deep conversation between the finned ones and her, punctuated by the occasional pat on the glass for emphasis and camaraderie. A few jokes were shared, as evidenced by the polite giggles, and I'm pretty sure I was the butt of one or two since she looked askance in my direction once or twice with a knowing chuckle to her swimming friends. This wouldn't worry me so much if I wasn't going to be caring for some psycho-fish for friends who are out of town this weekend. I just know there's a tiny cellphone in the castle where the pleko hides.

Speaking of phones, I've decided I'm going to attempt to further decrease the long-distance bill (currently being handled with a prepaid card, but still a bill nonetheless). I've downloaded Skype and intend to teach my better half to use it to call her family three states away. Of course, first I'll need a headset. Hence, the latest excuse to purchase some geekwear. Enter the Plantronics DSP-400 Digitally-Enhanced USB Foldable Stereo Headset and Software. How's that for a mouthful. The cool part about this little transaction, other than the fact I got it for 90 bucks less than it was selling for last week... oh,, and the free shipping.... is the ability to use this dandy little toy while playing online video games. After all, with virtually free long distance she's not going to be on the skype phone all the time, right?.... RIGHT????

Stop laughing.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Farewell Astoles

Tonight, I came home to find my oldest son's cat, Astoles (pronounced Astahleez) resting peacefully in my front yard, just beside the road. He had been clipped by a car sometime earlier in the day. A phone call to my son, and he was here before I had his friend buried.

My son got Astoles from someone as a tiny furball when he was living in an apartment that was not, shall we say, pet friendly. At one point he ended up in our care while his new master found another place to live. One day, presumably in our driveway, someone ran over his tail. A trip to the vet and close to a thousand bucks later, Astoles came home neutered with a bobbed tail, and he had been here ever since. He already had the markings of a Manx, and the stub just completed the picture.

I'll forever believe this cat convinced the puppy she was a cat as well. He and the puppycat wrestled and played all the time. Just yesterday afternoon, when my son and grandkids were here, the two of them were in puppycat's crate, nipping and playing. The word "cagematch" was uttered. She's gonna miss the wannabe manx, sooner or later. The other cats just don't play like he did..... they whip her ass.

The epitome of cool, he had grown solid and was definitely Alpha in the pecking order; even if he chose not to lord it over the rest all the time. When he had enough, he let it be known. He was, however, generally very loving and very tolerant of his humans, despite our flaws and inconsistencies, and I'll never forget that. There's a hole in the family now that won't fill anytime soon.

Rest well Astoles............ and farewell

Sunday, January 28, 2007

The Crud, Vista, and a new fruit

*sniffle*......

The most dominant creature on the planet is The Common Cold. There's really nothing common about it anymore. I've had this one for about two months now. Sometimes it's there, kicking my ass and evident... *sniffle*...... and sometimes it's just under the surface, like a gentle undertoe you can't see. But it's still there, all the time, never goes away. Today, obviously... *sniffle*..... it's in full effect. Coincidentally, Winter has finally decided to make an appearance over the past week. Isn't cold weather supposed to kill bugs? On with the post.

I've used Microsoft Operating Systems and compatible hardware since I started this personal computing experiment some fifteen years ago, and I've always hungered for the latest and greatest updgrade for whatever I was using. This is no different for Vista. I've got disks around here with the ISOs for RC1 and RC2 that I played with on this laptop before tiring of the debugging software giving me dialup-like response time. It was okay. I mean, it was pretty. Umm.... okay, it's not pretty enough for me to shell out $400+ for a copy of the final release, but I'll be okay if ever and whenever I get a new laptop or PC, right? Of course, now I'm hearing about all these DRM measures in place that are a result of Microsoft's cooperation (grudging?) with the megalomaniacal Hollywood corporations to pander to their paranoia over High Def digital content piracy. Oh, and let us not forget the semireliable Windows Genuine Advantage. Probably the nicest thing I can say about it is the instant search and IE7. Oh wait, you don't really need Vista for IE7. And, the best thing about IE7 is that it has finally adopted the features I like in Firefox and Opera. Still, the next PC, right?

On the hardware front I decided I wanted to move my webcam from my PC to my laptop today. That's going to be a bit of a hassle. See, when the puppycat was more of a puppy, she thought wire and conduit was very very tasty, ableit a bit deadly. So, I spent an afternoon under my desk making some sense out of the rat's nest assembled there. There's the power cord for the PC, the power cord for the monitor, the DVI cable for the monitor, the USB cable for the mouse, the one for the printer, the power cord for the printer, the connector for the keyboard, the peripheral USB cable for the digital camera, the connector for the speakers, the connector for the mic, the network cables from the router to the PC, the work laptop, this laptop, power cords for each laptop, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, now they're all bundled and wrapped and tied off and safe from the puppycat........and I'll have to undo half of that to get the webcam. And, it's dusty under there which just... *sniffle*..... compliments my cold.

Tonight, I'm looking at Macs.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Perspective

So it was one of those days. The best part was walking my puppy tonight. This is one of the rare moments I'm forced to be patient. We have a 15 foot retractable leash (pink,,, hush, I didn't pick it out), and she's only an eight pound bundle of energetic fur. Seriously, I think she's a cat trying to pass, but that's another issue entirely.

Point is, the best way to handle this little chore (the dog as well as the walking of said dog), is to stand still and let her wander, ponder or run around me. I usually do this while listening to a podcast or some random music on my iPod. Tonight, however, I turned it off and just listened to the rest of the world. The first thing I heard was my own breathing, and it slowed while I stood. This brought the rushing of blood in my ears down to a trickling stream and expanded the realm of sound, allowing me to hear the wind through the trees behind our place. Some of these old pines protested softly as they gave in and swayed, leaning closer to my neighbor's yard to eavesdrop on a very soft conversation between two of the neighbor's kids over the fence, only recognizable as voices in casual dialogue. I recall a time when these voices were very soprano and imature; a startling contrast to the deepening tones now weaving into the growing symphony. The constant whisper in the background slowly solidified into traffic on the highway a mile away, adding a wash of rhythm reminiscent of waves on a shoreline. High above spreading a canopy of distant roar in it's wake, a passenger jet is carrying it's load of human baggage, spreading they're diversity to destinations unknown. I began to think if I stood there long enough, I'd hear the solar winds racing by this planet, and I actually looked forward to it....... but then the puppycat was bouncing around my feet, whining something about how cold she was. We came back in.

Amazingly, the 23 things I dragged home from work were no longer in my house, and the person I love most in life was waiting for me. Trading 23 problems for 1 joy is a good deal, I think. Of course, now she's in bed, the TV has some inane movie playing that I've seen a dozen times (I can't turn it off,,,, it's an evil device that demands constant power), and I'm blogging while AC/DC plays Hell's Bells in my ears. I wonder what I was so stressed about earlier?

Life really is good. Thanks puppycat....... I guess you can stay.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

So, this is a blog.....

Who knows how long I'll keep this up, but hey,,,, I've surprised my self before. Like the time I called my own cellphone and got an answer. Split personalities can be fun.

About me. I'm an aspiring adult. At 46, I think I may be ready in about 15 years or so. Wish me luck on the progress. I was born with the fragrance of seaspray and still find the sound and smell of surf the most calming drug in the universe. I've participated in the raising and development of two young men who could not be more opposite if one of them walked on his hands 24/7........ ((hmmm,, that would explain why we went through so many pairs of gloves)). I've been married to my lifemate for almost 25 years and have known her for 33. Oddly enough, she hasn't yet run away. No account for good sense.

This blog is likely to be a jumble of random thoughts, history (mine, it's the only one that counts), reflection, and maybe some fiction. If you begin this journey with me, be warned. I sometime change direction without notice, I tend to walk away from things like this for long periods of time, and I'm colorblind,,, so don't expect an accurate description of autumn leaves.

Welcome. And thank you for stopping by.