In case nobody told you, it is inadvisable to drink while blogging. You might end up offending family, friends or a loved one. This is my little contribution to the din of blogdom. I promise nothing. But it will soon be obvious as you read that I am the most intillegint person ever. Just remember, DON'T DRINK AND BLOG!
I recently stumbled across what may be accurately described as one of the most delicious hamburgers in memory. At this place called Smashburger. It's incredible.
Went today and grabbed a classic on whole wheat and for a side I had iceberg lettuce with 'maters and blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, onions and, of course, bacon. The salad was huge. Size of my head huge. I'm thinking that maybe they felt bad for me as I have lost weight.
Anyway, if you have one nearby, check it out. You won't be disappointed.
I'm a convert. No more Windows. I quit. Cold turkey. I now am surrounded with computers, tablets and handheld devices emblazoned by symbols of fruit.
Well, fruity computers and the carcasses of former Ready for Windows(tm) computers running some version of Linux.
But every one of them has Firefox loaded. Pretty much anything these days can be accomplished by logging into a program via browser anyway. So my choice is usually Firefox.
But lately, Firefox has experienced numerous problems. Crashing, XOrg pegged at 100% plus and now this.
So it's off to Chrome for Mr. Magoo.
Google is simply amazing. I'd estimate that with the sun setting on the Windows empire, there are good things in store for the consumer in the future.
Many years ago I participated in the tribute to the 2996 people that died in the Militant Islamic Terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Lots of changes in my life, a scouring of my blog (I deleted it and started over) and somehow this tribute was lost. Well, I dug it up again and would like to remember Thomas Pedecini's life cut short. Thomas would be 40 now. Rest in peace Mr. Pedecini, hopefully they play guitars in heaven.
Thomas E. Pedicini, age 30 died on September 11, 2001.
Place killed: World Trade Center.
Resident of Hicksville, N.Y. (USA).
Thomas Pedicini never strayed too far from a guitar. His brother-in- law Raymond Morace's earliest recollection of him is as "a skinny 13- year-old kid jumping around his room playing air guitar" to Van Halen. In his mother's last memory of him, he is teaching his 11-year-old cousin how to play, a few days before his death.
In between, Mr. Pedicini, 30, an easygoing sort and seemingly effortless golfer, studied business and had been working as a trader at Cantor Fitzgerald since 1998, a job he got through another brother-in-law, Mark Colaio, who died with him.
After Sept. 11, in Mr. Pedicini's apartment in Woodside, Queens, one of his roommates found a tape of him strumming and singing his way through some of his favorite tunes. "He was too shy even to show it to me, but I could hear him in there singing and playing so I knew he was up to doing something," said the roommate, Jordan Zed. He gave the tape to Mr. Pedicini's parents. More musical memories.
But Mr. Zed remembers Mr. Pedicini mostly as a decent human being whose life was going somewhere. "You'd sit around and talk about where you see yourself in five years," he said. "He had dreams and goals. He wanted to eventually find the right girl and settle down and have a family and work his way up in the firm. It seems so sad."
As September 11th nears, I suggest we all take a break from the business of politics and remember the victims, Americans and Muslims (and I'm not referring to the terrorists) and Jews and Blacks and Whites and most of all PEOPLE who died in this terrible attack.
She walked over and asked me if I needed anything.
"I'm good, thank you. I like your glasses." (she did have pretty nice glasses, being a glasses wearer, I appreciate a good pair of peepers)
She then tells me that she got her glasses for free (she was very proud of her free glasses).
Now, glasses cost money. I've never heard of free glasses. Unless maybe her parents purchased her some glasses in a two for one deal? Sorry, somebody says this kind of thing to me and I must know.
"Really, free. How did you manage to acquire nice glasses like that free?"
She then responds, "Medicare."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Oh lord. I pointed out, as nicely as I could, that when she received her very nice glasses at no cost to her, they still cost someone money. That someone is likely someone like me. And I told her that she could thank me, by picking up the cost of my breakfast (it was only $8.43).
She then responded that she didn't even have five dollars to her name.
So class, let's recap:
Girl doesn't have any money
Girl gets "free" glasses that likely run $150
Medicare pays the bill
Girl still doesn't have any money
But the real cost of those glasses, when you factor in the amount of money that it takes to run the government is a lot more than $150
And girl has to live with the knowledge that someone paid for her glasses. Just not her.
I do not think that this is a good thing.
The young lady with the nice glasses agreed with me. She said she would rather have a good job and make the money to pay for her glasses herself.
When will politicians learn?
free (fre)
adj. fre·er, fre·est
1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty.
2. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another: felt free to go.
3.
a. Having political independence: "America . . . is the freest and wealthiest nation in the world" (Rudolph W. Giuliani).
b. Governed by consent and possessing or granting civil liberties: a free citizenry.
c. Not subject to arbitrary interference by a government: a free press.
4.
a. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance: a healthy animal, free of disease; free from need.
b. Not subject to a given condition; exempt: income that is free of all taxes.
5. Not subject to external restraint: "Comment is free but facts are sacred" (Charles Prestwich Scott).
6. Not literal or exact: a free translation.
7.
a. Costing nothing; gratuitous: a free meal...
So this morning my ex-wife texted me, "Zoe died last night!"
What do I say to the woman who cheated on me, refused the marriage counselors recommended treatment, took my dog and my house and my life and basically fucked me as thoroughly as she possibly could and then took Zoe from me without once offering to let me see her? Nothing. I'll focus on the good things in life. I've forgiven my ex and I hope nothing but good things for her. She needs it because she has a lot of problems. Good luck to you Jen and I'm better off without you.
There's a special place for Zoe in my heart. She was my ex's dog (Christmas present after Snoopy died) but she was crazy in love with me. And I with her. It was terrible how my relationship with my ex ended and it wasn't my decision to be estranged from Zoe. I hope she had a good life because she was a very sweet baby and she loved being with me.
My most vivid memory of being with Zoe was one summer afternoon. They were building a subdivision behind our house and had cleared a ton of land that was covered with the most beautiful grass. I walked up a hill and sat while Chloe and Riggs wandered around. Zoe followed me and sat right beside me and I could just feel the love from her. She didn't want to be anywhere else but sitting right there beside me. Honestly, I felt slightly guilty with her there (I wasn't prepared to accept good things in my life at that time) but she didn't care. She just sat there with me for about a half hour. I finally gave her a one arm hug and she wiggled down the hill to sniff. That's all she wanted.
I found a poem that I think conveys my feelings:
This is reprinted under Fair Use and I will reprint the entire poem once I receive permission. If I don't receive permission, there is a cold black heart behind it (and I'm not talking about my ex wife's cold black heart)...
Poem by Virginia Ellis
Oh, little friend, do you recall,
When you made my house your home?
You loved those walks we used to take,
You never left my side;
And if I got my car keys out,
You were ready for a ride.
You sensed when I was happy,
Or was feeling kind of low;
You'd rub up against my knee,
You always seemed to know.
You'd fetch a ball or get a toy,
Without even being told;
But, was your face crestfallen,
If I felt the need to scold.
You found the outside world exciting,
Do you remember your first snow?
You'd not come back inside the house,
Because you loved it so.
You were afraid of lightening, too,
And of booming thunderstorms;
You'd run and jump upon my bed,
Where it was safe and warm.
I never once felt lonely,
As long as you were here;
You were at my feet or on my lap,
You constantly were near.
You're going back to heaven now,
From whence long ago you came;
You'll be welcomed back by God, Himself,
Who knows your doggy-name.
I think there's Frisbees up in heaven,
And rubber, squeaky toys;
And angels who will play with you,
And little girls and boys.
But, there won't be any thunderstorms,
And no vets with shots up there;
You won't even need a leash,
You'll run freely in God's air.
And when my time on earth is done,
And at heaven's gate I'm near,
I don't want any harps or horns,
Just ... happy barks to hear.
So, see you later, little friend,
I'm glad you're now pain-free;
And I'm glad you're sitting next to Jesus,
Now ... you wait right there for me.
So my Sweet Girl wanted a disco ball. We were having a soiree of sorts and she thought it would be a nice addition. And, when she wants something, she gets it.
Off to the trusty interwebs whereupon I found a likely candidate. A dual ball with multiple led lights that sequence. Could be mounted on the ceiling or wherever. Under $40. Target has it. Right, off to Target.
Except they don't have it. And there is apparently no one employed at the store that has a measurable amount of sense. I was told variously that the disco ball would be in Electronics, Home Improvement and Toys... All of them were wrong. I got tired of the run around and called the store (while standing inside it). Turns out, the item was at another store, the *wait for it* "SUPER TARGET".
So whatever, off to the other store and I called ahead and asked them to pull it for me. Which they did. And I acquired my "Solar powered Disco Ball" (insert sound of needle pulling off record)...
What? Solar powered Disco ball? Is this a joke? I get it home and it's no joke. It's actually solar powered. Which is great except that:
1. People generally party at night
2. Night is generally lacking in sunlight
3. What, no batteries???
I cannot believe that someone would be stupid enough to think that a solar powered disco ball would cut it. It won't. So I grabbed a screw driver and with the help of Josh, modified it to accept battery power.
Here's the finished product.
Details on the surgery:
The solar cell output about 1v DC. Give or take. Apparently there isn't enough light to generate any appreciable power unless you're actually in a beam of sunlight. Seriously. Ambient light wasn't enough to turn on the electric motor. Which if you pause to think about that, all these people that think that solar power is a way to get off the oil teat are smoking crack. There's just no way you're going to generate enough power to replace the grid. But I digress.
We started by removing the cover for the motor and snipping the wires leading from the electric cell. I'm interested in gadgetry so I saved the solar cell. We soldered new wires approx 2.5" and insulated the motor with electrical tape.
Cover goes back on and the gap at the top of the motor housing is the perfect size to accommodate a single AAA battery. The AAA gives out 1.5v and that little battery spun the ball from about 6pm to 3am without a hiccup.
I want to add an on/off switch because we simply taped leads to the battery ends and that's pretty gettofabtabulous. And I'm thinking that it might be kinda cool to use one of these old remote controls from cars and helicopters that are gathering dust. Imagine, a remote control disco ball... Gives me shivers.
The link for the horrid product in case you want to see what not to buy is here.
I'm posting my daily weight loss and where did it go? Holy crap. I should visit this thing more often...
Doing okay. Weight is down. Muscle mass is up. I've been working like crazy lately on finishing up a big project. It's a feel good project, Georgia Baptist Children's Home (and family ministry) and we will put in some banging technology that will serve to help the ministry quite a bit.
I missed my Sister's wedding and my family thinks I suck. But there's lots of stuff that they do not know about nor understand and I'm at peace with everything.
I'm still crazy in love with my girl. There's troubles but life is, as always, good!
Blessings to all. Hope you experience wonderful things in your lives.
Busy lately. Big job that is wrapping up and lots of lessons learned. I've been incredibly busy, blessed, loved by my girl and it never ceases to amaze me this journey we call life. So much changed in such a short period of time after the divorce, I thank God every day for the wonderful girl that he brought into my life.
Gratuitous Stew-butt shot...
The big job was pretty stressful. And the amount of return for the work expended is completely disproportionate, but I'll end up on the winning side nonetheless. If nothing else, the lessons that I learned are worth it. Many years ago I was visiting with a friend who asked me to accompany him to a landscape job in progress. While there, the owner of the house being landscaped started in with the requisite 20 questions. He made some statement about VGA resolution (it was a LONG time ago) and he was wrong. I knew he was wrong but I doubted myself and didn't say anything. Which, actually, may have been for the best as sometimes it's better to simply keep your mouth shut even if you know you're correct. But the point is to have confidence in yourself. Repeating that error is disastrous in this economy. It's not always the best thing to keep the business if it costs you more than it's worth.
Perspective of large reel
I took a couple of photos of our fiber spools coming off the job. It was a HUGE relief to see this task completed.
I asked my Sweet Girl to go with me to provide common sense and assistance. To say that I needed her assistance on this task is a phenomenal understatement. There is pretty much no way that this could've been completed in a day without her assistance.
When we were in the middle of rolling the second reel on the trailer, I thought the job was licked. We had the confidence of doing the prior reel and even though this second reel was heavier, it seemed that it was going to go easily. And it actually was going pretty well. Until the reel rolled off the trailer. Serves me right for not securing the load immediately... But we got it done. Without arguing, harsh words or drama. Quite a departure from my previous life. I love my girl.
I have an opportunity to bid on an even larger job in the near future. We will see what happens...
Hasn't been very good week to stick to the diet, lots of stress. But I've maintained what I've lost at least. Will be under 200 next week (a week late).
It's amazing how much just simply walking will help lose the pounds.
And now I'm off to move several thousand pounds of fiber. Yay
I'm a convert. No more Windows. I quit. Cold turkey. I now am surrounded with computers, tablets and handheld devices emblazoned by symbols of fruit.
Thomas Pedicini never strayed too far from a guitar. His brother-in- law Raymond Morace's earliest recollection of him is as "a skinny 13- year-old kid jumping around his room playing air guitar" to Van Halen. In his mother's last memory of him, he is teaching his 11-year-old cousin how to play, a few days before his death.
"I'm good, thank you. I like your glasses." (she did have pretty nice glasses, being a glasses wearer, I appreciate a good pair of peepers)
When will politicians learn?
What do I say to the woman who cheated on me, refused the marriage counselors recommended treatment, took my dog and my house and my life and basically fucked me as thoroughly as she possibly could and then took Zoe from me without once offering to let me see her? Nothing. I'll focus on the good things in life. I've forgiven my ex and I hope nothing but good things for her. She needs it because she has a lot of problems. Good luck to you Jen and I'm better off without you.
