Wednesday
I am just getting back from the Rush 30th Anniversary Tour concert. I am quite happy: Three hours of excerpts from thirty years of music. It was a lot of fun. Thanks again, to
News and Stray Toasters will return tomorrow.
Pax.
Namaste.
Tuesday
Sissy seems to think that if she is up at 5:30 AM that we need to be up, as well. Both Jess and I disagree with this notion, but we are having a very hard time dissuading her of it. I need to find my spray bottle. That might help.
Went to work and waited for a new DSL router that was supposed to be there this morning. It wasn’t. Nor was it there early this afternoon. It will be there tomorrow. *twitch*
I left early because Jess and I (still) had errands to run. One of them included a trip to Home Depot. I discovered something: When you’re there because you actually need something, it’s not as much fun as when you’re there “just because.” We also stopped by Circuit City and picked up a wireless router and card for Jess’ puter. Now, I have a few less holes to drill. (Don’t worry,
We stopped by to chat with
After we got home, I fought with the wireless setup. I won. Jess’ computer is now in upstairs in her room (I don’t think that she has a name for it other than her “Crafts Room,” yet. I don’t know if she’ll come up with anything as snappy as “HALO Command Center,” though.) Now that her computer is there, I need to figure out where to put the mp3 server and the G3. That will still leave me with plenty of free ports on the hub for more computers.
NPR and Other News
Talk of the Nation: Drug Marketing
Talk of the Nation: Religion and Politics
All Things Considered: Herb Festivals Make a Splash
All Things Considered: Satirical View of FDA’s Approval of Marketing Leeches
The World: Global Hits – Janice deRosa
Stray Toasters
“Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea…”
Pax.
Namaste.
Monday
After the moving experience, waking up for work wasn’t a “big fun” thing. Add to that: Sissy deciding that 5:45 AM was a good time to start batting at the blinds. When the alarm went off, it wasn’t easy to get in gear.
Before heading to work, we picked up Jess’ nephew, Connor; Jess and he spent the day together. He also helped her find our new refrigerator, which will be delivered on Wednesday! (Thank you, Sears Grand!) They picked me up after work and we met Jenny (Jess’ sister) for dinner. We came back here and hung out for a while.
There was no gaming tonight, so I got in touch with
Quite the haul. Thanks, luv! We’ll do our best to give ’em a good home.
NPR and Other News
All Things Considered: ‘Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan’
All Things Considered: Court Warns Police on Miranda Procedure
Fresh Air: Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach (Friday)
Fresh Air: Cabaret Singer Bobby Short
Stray Toasters
Build Your Own KiteCam
from the sacrifices-necessary-in-the-cause-of-Science dept.
wally writes “Paul Mutton successfully managed to kill an expensive digital camera taking aerial photos using a kite, parcel tape and some bubble wrap. The geek explains the ups and downs (excuse the pun) of his attempt to take some aerial photographs with a friend using a Casio EX-Z3 digital camera attached to a kite in good ol’ Blue Peter style bubble wrap and parcel tape. Paul did however manage to take 2 or 3 pretty photos of Kent University before his precious camera speed to the ground at a speed with enough force to render it quite unusable. Out of bits left intact was the flash card and a 30 second clip leading up to the crash. Remember children: Don’t try this at home!”
I’m beat. Time for bed.
Pax.
Namaste.
Sunday
It’s all over but the shouting.
And the last of the cleaning.
And the arranging of furniture.
But, we’re here.
Thank you (AGAIN) to
We have boxes and furniture and… and… STUFF… everywhere!!! The new HCC is a mess of boxes and bins. (But the futon is together!) The family room… *ugh* The kitchen is coming together; Jess is working on that now. The master bedroom furniture is in place. Mostly. We still need to put the mirror on the dresser. The spare bedrooms will be “works in progress” for a while.
Thanks to Land and Catherine for stopping by… and helping me get the pilot for the water heater lit.
Time to get back to moving things.
Pax vobiscum.
Namaste.
Saturday
After a full day of moving, we’re here.
“Thank you very much” to those who helped out.
I’m beat.
Time for sleep.
Namaste.
I don’t remember who offered to help us move on Saturday (tomorrow), so I figured that this would be the fastest way to find out and to coordinate plans.
We’re getting started at noon – for the convenience of those who enjoy sleeping in.
If you have any questions or problems, give me a call or text message me.
Thanks!
Thursday
Apparently, Barry Manilow never visited Utah in the summer.
In a house with the air conditioner or swamp cooler turned off.
Because, in the words of Nelly: “It’s gettin’ hot in herre…”
(And, no, the double “r” isn’t a typo.)
The Sprint technician moved the antenna today, so I will be scarce until Saturday night. *twitch* What am I going to do without instant access to the Internet at the apartment?!?
Pack.
That’s what I’m going to do.
Catch up with everyone on Saturday or Sunday.
Namaste.
Wednesday
Midweek. And all is well.
I should get some more packing done. I really should. But I’m feeling reeeeeally lazy. If the Olympics had a lazy competition, I’d take the gold. If someone brought it to me.
I got a call from the Sprint Broadband installer yesterday. He said that they could do the installation at the house on Thursday. GREAT! I asked him about uninstalling the antenna from the apartment. *silence* (Just for the record: Hearing nothing from the other side of the phone… not a good sign.) He said that he’d have to get back to me about whether they could do both on Thursday. If not, they could uninstall the antenna on Friday, as scheduled… and possibly install it at the house next Friday. *sigh* At this point, I was considering Comcast as a viable option. He called today: They are removing the antenna between 8:30 and 9:00 tomorrow morning and doing the new installation immediately after.
NPR Stories
Talk of the Nation: Library List
Talk of the Nation: Police and Personal Identity
Talk of the Nation: Diversity on Campus
Talk of the Nation: Idiot Proof
All Things Considered: Return of Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’ Stories
All Things Considered: Wal-Mart Faces Largest-Ever Sex-Discrimination Suit
All Things Considered: N.E.R.D. Brings Rock, Hip-Hop on Tour
All Things Considered: Remembering Mattie Stepanek
All Things Considered: Marketing Milk as a Diet Aid
Stray Toasters
A.D.A. Southerlyn: Send Briscoe and Green to pay Mellers a visit.
Lt. Van Buren: Briscoe and Green… That ought to push his buttons.”
For those who don’t watch the show: Det. Briscoe is half-Jewish, Det. Green is African-American.
I should stop being lazy now.
Really, I should.
But it feels good.
Oh, well…
Namaste.
Tuesday
We took Xena to the vet this morning to have one of her teeth pulled; it had been problematic for a while, but with the other problems, the vet didn’t want to do it until she got better. She hadn’t been eating (much) lately and this seemed a likely reason.
The vet called an hour later to say that she couldn’t do the extraction because Xena’s liver had failed and that she attempting to sedate her could kill her. She also said that despite all of the treatments that she’s undergone in the past six weeks, nothing had any effect – the liver damage was too far gone.
She had been in pain for the past couple of weeks and to prolong it would have been cruel, so we had her euthanized. I never had pets (except for fish) growing up, so this is my first experience in losing one. I’m doing all right with it… she was “Jess’ cat,” but I’m not sure that I’d be so “fine” if it was Sissy. Jess took it as well as could be expected. I asked
Xena could be a holy terror (oxymoron, but apt). I remember when Jess would bring her over to my apartment and she would run laps from the living room to the bedroom and back. It wasn’t a big apartment, so they were very short laps. She would also jump on the bed and climb the rug that I had on the wall behind it. When she got to the top of it, the concept of “I have nowhere to go” would dawn on her. She’d hang there for a few seconds before dropping to the bed. Fortunately, she never landed on us.
She was a good pet and companion.
We’ll miss her.
NPR and Other News and Stray Toasters will return tomorrow.
It’s late and it’s been a long day.
Pax vobiscum.
Namaste.
Monday
Oy. Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat; this morning, congestion joined in. After night of poor sleep, “waking up” this morning was not pleasant. Fortunately, the rest of the day was good.
NPR and Other News
Talk of the Nation: Blogging: A Web Diary Tour
Talk of the Nation: Terrorist Web Sites
All Things Considered: Court Rules on Privacy of Personal Identity
All Things Considered: Building a Town on Sign Language
All Things Considered: Jesse’s Story: Beyond Myself
I remember listening to the May 2002 story that introduced ATC‘s audience to Jesse. I don’t say this often, but these segments make up an excellent motivational/inspirational story; I highly recommend them.
Stray Toasters
– eBay, Nintendo Cereal and Captain N.
It’s Game Night.
I’m ghost.
Pax vobiscum.
Sunday
Happy Father’s Day to all LJ fathers out there.
Today has been a good day.
I called my father and stepfather this morning to wish them a Happy Father’s Day; all is well with both of them. One of my stepsisters and her family went to NC to spend the weekend with the folks; I spoke with her, too. I haven’t talked with her in a very long time, which isn’t good because we have always gotten along well. But, she works for Northwest Airlines and has apparently flown through here a couple of times, so the chances of me seeing her in the not-too-distant future are pretty good.
NPR and Other News
Weekend Edition – Sunday: Sunday Puzzle
Weekend Edition – Sunday: Aimee Man: Summer Books for the Road
Weekend Edition – Sunday: Making One Movie in Two Days
Stray Toasters
It’s fairly early and I can’t decide what I want to do now. I could play a game (which one?!) or have a cup of tea (Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.) and read while relaxing in a hot bath or both or… something else.
Namaste.
Saturday
I got to bed at 5:00 and woke up a little after 9:00.
Those are the makings of a long day.
I was going to help
I came home and did nothing for a while. The lack of caffeinated beverage intake began to hit me. Rather than take a too-brief nap, I got 10 boxes of assorted items to the new house. Speaking of which: The pictures are now posted. I still intend to make a gallery for them, but this will have to do for the moment.
I picked up Jess from work, came home and took a much-needed shower, ate and then headed off to 2-D Physics.
A hearty “Happy Father’s Day” to all of the fathers and father-figures who may read this.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Park City for brunch and hanging out.
But for now, I am in search of a path that leads to the wildways of The Dreaming.
<edit>
I remembered that CompuPic generates a decent thumbnail gallery… and so, there is actually a gallery there.
</edit>
Namaste.
Friday
We picked up the keys for the house a little after 3:00 PM. We walked through and I took pre-moving pictures (while we can still see the floor); I should have them posted sometime tomorrow. I talked with the ‘rents again (to let them know that we had the keys) – all’s well on that side of the country. I called Sprint and DirecTV to get the broadband and satellite services uninstalled here and reinstalled at the house. DirecTV was a breeze. Sprint is a different issue:
They can disconnect service here on the 25th, but “the earliest available installation date” that they had is
20 July 04 . Yes, a month away. *braincramp* The CSR that I talked to said that it had to go to the Area Manager and from there to a dispatcher who could then check for an earlier date. Right. I find that amusing because Sprint Broadband isn’t accepting any new customers nor have they for about a year. You would think that for a service that isn’t expanding, they would be able to unmount, move and remount an antenna fairly quickly. AND… since they already have someone coming to take the antenna down, doesn’t it make sense that the same person could install the antenna a couple of miles away? It does to me. Maybe that’s just the way I’m wired. *shrug* Maybe I’ll start looking for a new broadband provider. I’ll wait to see if they get back to me by Monday.
Tonight’s coffee turnout was small (Jess,
NPR and Other News
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: Science Fiction Museum Co-Founder Paul Allen
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: The Interplay of Science and Science Fiction
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: The Red Planet in Fiction
All Things Considered: U.S. Struggles for World Cup Soccer Respect
All Things Considered: Tom Hanks Talks About His Role in ‘The Terminal’
Stray Toasters
Ever wonder why there weren’t any black people in The Flintstones? I mean we’re talking about an ancient society that predates the great Pharaohs in Egypt, surely there would be someone in town with darker skin. Bedrock must have been The Stone Age version of Salt Lake City.
I should get some sleep… especially since I’m helping
Namaste.
Thursday
One more day till we get the keys to the house.
And the weekend, too.
Today was a… “mixed”… day. On the whole, it wasn’t bad. But, I’m feeling a little… on edge/irritated. I think that it’s at least partly due to trying to figure out some technical problems earlier. But I am not sure that was all. *shrug* On the “plus” side, I talked with the parental units earlier.
The call to my mother was precipitated by a chat with a friend of mine last night; he wanted me to take a look at a drill that he wrote for his band. I did and it was good. He also informed me that my stepfather was offered – and accepted – a principalship at another school.
So… I called Mom to confirm it. It’s true. Verra cool.
NPR and Other News
Talk of the Nation: Summer Reading List
All Things Considered: NASA: Comets Richer Than Previously Thought
All Things Considered: Truth and Reconciliation in Neshoba County
All Things Considered: Chaotic Civilian, Military Reaction to Attacks Recounted and Gorelick: Agencies Were Unprepared for Attack
All Things Considered: Commentary: Reality TV Pushing Out Writers
Stray Toasters
Quote of the Day
[11:12]
: It’s morning. You know what that means?
[11:12]: Umm… time for a nap?
[11:13]: Nope. The world sucks and I want to blow it up right after at goes and does the anatomically impossible
[11:13]: That was my next guess.
[11:13]: you’re a smart man, Charlie Brown
This post has been brought to you by the letters “M” and “V” and by the number “2”.
Namaste.
Wednesday
I was up late again last night… and I can’t even blame Donkey Kong for it. How wrong is that?!
I went to the gym at 11:30 and got home around 1:00. It was good, but I can see that I still have a way to go before I’m back to where I was a few months ago. That’s fine – getting there is part of the fun. I’ll probably go again tonight. While I was working out, the video for Alicia Bridges’ I Love the Nightlife came on. Imagine my surprise not only to see Agent Smith Elrond Hugo Weaving in the video… but to see him in drag! (Note: I have never watched The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and didn’t know that he was in it.) It made me laugh. Quite a bit. I may have to rent the movie.
I came home and helped my self to a Hungry-Man® sized portion of Wasting-Time-Sitting-on-My-Lazy-Ass until 3:30. This, of course, meant that waking up this morning wasn’t fun. The early part of the day wasn’t bad, though. I even managed to be productive. Always a plus. After picking up Jess at work, we met up with
Then it was off to the title company! Matt, the title company agent/lawyer, was amusing. A seemingly nice guy, but definitely amusing. At one point, he was talking about his regular poker game with John (our real estate agent) and told him that he would love to take his money. He made another comment about someone else “cheating” at the last game. I corrected him and told him that it was “creative poker management.” He laughed at that. Forty minutes later, the deed was done: The funding should go through tomorrow (maybe Friday, at the latest) and we should have the keys no later than Friday! And then, we’ll begin the process of moving small items. The big move will be
And tonight’s a beer night. How cool is that?!
NPR and Other Stories
Talk of the Nation: Bloomsday
All Things Considered: Deep Suffocation and Climate Change
All Things Considered: Confederate Widow
Fresh Air: Interview with ‘Six Feet Under’ Producer Bruce Eric Kaplan
Stray Toasters
And, in the words of A Modest Destiny‘s Sir Hubert: Beer! Need Beer!
Namaste.
