This collection of entries is from January 2005.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Busy!?I've got to tell you, I've actually been busy at work recently. I mean, like, having a little overtime kind of busy.
I'm still not doing what I'm supposed to be doing yet, but being busy and contributing is a much better feeling than treading water, looking for help.
posted at 06:15 PM | Link | Work § |
Sunday, January 30, 2005
New Ice
The Hoffman Estates Park District Community Center Ice Arenas had their official ribbon cutting ceremony today. Carol and I went over there to check it out. It was important to us because: 1) it's literally just blocks away from our house (but it's not THAT close to walk it), and 2) it is the official practice facility for the Chicago Wolves!
The facility actually opened-up in November, but the Wolves offices, training areas and locker room weren't ready yet.
The place is gorgeous with two full-size rinks. It was packed - there was a time when both rinks were open to open skate and they ran out of rental skates. There were Wolves players available for autographs and out on the ice skating with the guests. The concession stand was in full swing.
I was able to see the actual ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Park District people, the mayor, and the Wolves executives.
posted at 05:14 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Friday, January 28, 2005
A Wrinkle in Bunny ParadiseAh-HA! I knew it was a matter of time. I think Chip pissed-off Indy.
Or something.
read more of this entry »
Carol gets up at least an hour before I do in the morning. She went downstairs and heard a commotion in the bunny condo. The two rabbits were both at the door, anxiously waiting to come out.
Well, we don't know what had happened, but Indy actually shoved Chip out the door.
The house gets a little cold overnight, and we've noticed over the past couple of months that Indy, whenever the furnace turns out, will go stretch-out by a register and warm-up. Unfortunately, it's the same register that I wrote about earlier this week. Chip came over and did his "Strong Bunny" routine and lifted up the air deflector and grate. Indy got pissed, chased him away, and tried to put it back!
I guess there was another time when Chip came over to Indy and she wanted to be left alone so she tried to nip him in the nose!
I think his little "Punk Teenager" routine is getting old with Indy. I am so happy to see that - maybe she'll help us keep him in line! « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:54 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Snow Sculptures
Carol saw this on the way to and from work yesterday, so I popped out at lunch for a few minutes to see what she was talking about.
Over at the old 3com building in Rolling Meadows (I guess it's called the Atrium Conference Center now. We just know it by the crazy architecture) by Golf Road (Ill. 58) and 53 (Ill. 53), a company called Snow Visions, Inc. is presenting the First Annual Chicago Snow Sculpting Competition. Not ice, snow. People use big 6' x 6' x 10' blocks of snow to carve/sculpt things. The competition is supposed to be over the weekend, but I guess it does take time to do these things. Some of the teams were working today. We'll have to stop-by this weekend and see what the finished product looks like.
posted at 01:46 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Betcha don't got one of these...
I've been looking for a watch for almost 3 years. I heard about it in 2002 and had to have one. The company kept delaying and delaying and delaying. Three years. then, when walking through Desert Passage at the Aladdin about two weeks ago I saw it. In the flesh, so to speak. My long three year journey had come to an end.
I bought a Fossil Wrist PDA FX2008. HUH? Yeah, it's a watch... but it also runs Palm OS® 4.1!
I've always liked the idea of having my contacts and schedule with me, but I just didn't like the idea of having to need a Palm or Pocket Windows PDA to do it. This was the perfect marriage of what I needed. It's got the normal apps that a Palm would have. Hell, it's even got Jot built-in so I can take notes right on the face of the watch. It's got a USB adapter for HotSync-ing and an Infrared port for beaming.
Downside? You better have damn good eyesight. The display is only 160 x 160 pixels, and the didn't rescale the type fonts for the form factor. Everything in the apps are there, it's just... it could be a bit "difficult to read" at times.
But you've got all your contact and schedule info with you on your wrist.
Between my watch and my Bluetooth phone with Bluetooth headset, I'm feelin' really geeky right now...
posted at 01:36 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
"...it'll change!"Growing up, I became very familiar with a saying that you hear around Chicago:
"If you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait a minute - it'll change!"
We've had wonderful 30°-40° days over this past week. I got out of my cubicle for a while and looked out a window - sure enough, it's snowing again. It's supposed to drop to at least 11° overnight.
posted at 03:35 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Worse than a whistler...I've written before about one of the things that just sticks in my craw and just gets under my skin is people that whistle. I can't explain it, it just bothers the hell out of me.
Today I found a whistling variant that hits me even worse: someone that whistles through their teeth.
Now, about this guy that I originally wrote about that whistled: that guy - even though the whistling just pissed me off - was good. It was a good whistle: rich with correct tone, tempo and warble. If I HAD to listen to whistling, this guy was really pretty good. I only say this now only because of my awareness of this other... "style".
Somebody that whistles through their teeth has no sense of style. It sounds like hell, it doesn't carry any sense of nuance that a lip-whistler has. I'm expecting formerly-wedged food particles to be vibrated out into the horrendous sounding airstream.
It sounds like hissing, like a animal, with no sense of class. I would spit on his sound. It's crass. It's lower working class. It's like the guy is missing teeth, so he's taking advantage of the situation to make him look better (oh, like THAT would help a guy's looks and not draw attention to his missing teeth). Oh, and you're doing this... why? TO ENTERTAIN ME? Puh-lease.
It's just CRAP. STFU... Get the hell away from me...
posted at 11:58 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Life with more than one bunnyIt's been a while since I've written about how we've socialized out two bunnies - "Indy" & "Chip". The last time I wrote, we had just put the two of them together in the cage for the night.
read more of this entry »
Now, they've become inseparable. They are wonderful together, as if they've grown-up with each other all along. We've never seen either of them fight.
It's really amazing.
The lay next to each other, something that Indy has never let anyone do for all her life. I've always tried to get her to lay next t me on the floor while I pet her, and she needed her distance. Now the two of them are slammed tight against each other.
They also like their time apart. When we let them out of their cage, sometimes they'll split-up, with Chip being the one that will usually go back inside later on to eat, while Indy will lounge underneath the bar stools at the kitchen counter.
Oh, and Chip is just an eating machine. He's going through food like you wouldn't believe. He's not growing much either, but he's becoming really "solid" compared to Indy.
They're bonding by grooming each other. It's pretty damn cute watching each of them take turns cleaning the fur of the other.
Today, when I came downstairs to go to work, I saw Indy intently grooming Chip. Chip was all stretched out on his stomach, ears back, looking like he was really enjoying it.
Then I heard a snapping sound. I realized that Chip didn't look content - he looked confused.
That's when I realized that Indy wasn't grooming him at all. She had reached over him and pulled a carrot out of the dish and put it on Chip's back. She was eating a carrot off of Chip's back. (I was really pissed that I couldn't get my camera ready quick enough to take a shot before the carrot rolled off Chip's back).
They're just goofy that way.
Since being paired-up, Indy is like a new bunny. Not only has she recovered from her illness, but she's running around and jumping like she hasn't done in a few years. It could be because of some of the weight she lost by not eating when she was sick, or maybe because she's just "happier" having a her own little friend.
She still comes running to greet "Dad" when I come into the room - something I am so thankful for. I've been worried that now that they have each other, they will turn away from Carol and me. She still "demands" time and "lovin's" (petting) from me. It really confuses Chip - he doesn't know what to do. Indy's been around for over 7 years - Chip only 5 months. Indy has a deep-seated relationship with her "parents". Chip is still learning who we are and how we fit into his life. All he knows when Indy comes running to get some "lovin's", he reacts like either he really wants some too (but he's not too convinced) or he's coming over just in sheer jealousy wanting whatever Indy is getting. He does show a bit of jealousy. He thinks he's the man of the pair and he does try to dominate Indy in any way possible, whether it's trying to avert our attention to him, or trying to nuzzle her out of his way as he's eating.
As part of this jealousy and domination, Chip has changed a bit too. He doesn't run and jump as often as he used to. He doesn't directly interact with us like he used to. He's acting more like a rebellious teenager, just getting into trouble. He even shows off his strength: he's picking up objects and trying to push them as high into the air as he can reach. Sometimes it's just newspapers that we're reading, where he'll grab a section and stand up and stretch into the air. He's been picking up and throwing an air deflector that we have magnetically attached to a heating vent in the family room. The other day he picked-up a heavy bunny statue - about his size - and stood up on his hind-legs and threw it around. I'm telling you, when you feel him, he's a solid bunny. He's strong.
I can't tell if he's really happy, although last night we saw him jumping around like we've never seen him before - maybe he's still learning how all of the relationships work.
So, with Chip eating what seems to be all day long, we go through food a lot faster and, correspondingly, the cage needs to be cleaned more often.
Still, they've been great. I still wish I got that picture this morning... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:29 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Free Spirit SpheresOK, lets forget about the fact that the trees I have on my property SUCK.
Now if I had trees, a lot of really nice, tall, sturdy, "old growth" trees, I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE getting one of these things and put it up in a tree. "It’s a marriage of treehouse and sailboat technology."
Don't know how I'd get up and down, but these look REALLY cool...
Of course it sounds a bit "New Age"-y...
posted at 02:14 PM | Link | Odd § |
Oscar NomsThe Oscar nominations are out. Not any surprises, (at least to me). In fact, on the Today show, they had a guy on from Entertainment Weekly who picked 24 out of the 25 nominations. My favorite category has only been around a few years, and really brought around by the successes of Disney and Pixar: Best Animated Feature. Hard category this year: The Incredibles, Shark Tales, and Shrek 2.
posted at 07:49 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 24, 2005
Fatter BandwidthLately, I've been hitting my 1Gb Bandwidth Limit around the 30th or 31st of the month. Today, I hit it early.
Time to grovel to the host and ask "may I have a bit more, sir?" in my best Oliver Twist voice. Turns out we struck a deal on an annual rate for a monthly 3Gb bandwidth rate.
I feel embarrassed sometimes when I see the site going Bandwidth Exceeded. It's not like there's a lot of people that regularly read my stuff, but I feel bad that I could keep the site alive for everyone that wanted to stop by here.
Anyway, that should be a bit better for a while...
posted at 04:28 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Worst DayDid you know that today is the worst day of the year?
No, I'm not saying for me - I'm saying that some scientist at Cardiff University actually came up with a bloody formula to calculate the worst day of the year!
And yes, it's today.
It seems to have some flaws, though... Christmas is a variable (what if you weren't Christian?) and you had to have attempted to quit a bad habit, like someone with a New Year's Resolution (like we ALL, do that, right?), and since weather is involved, it seams this only applies to people living in the Northern Hemisphere.
Oh, and it was coincidence that it fell on a Monday this year.
And I wonder if it has anything to do with being near National Pie Day, which was last Friday?
read more of this entry »
The formula is:
1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA.
Where:
W: Weather
D: Debt
d: Money due in January pay
T: Time since Christmas
Q: Time since the failure to quit a bad habit
M: General motivational levels
NA: The need to take action and do something about it « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:34 AM | Link | Odd § |
Sunday, January 23, 2005
So Long, JohnnyDamn... this is such a sad thing to hear...
Late Night television was never the same after he left. The guy had class. The guy was funny. They guy WAS television.
Only recently did I hear the words "emphysema", and, at 79, that's what took his life.
I felt really happy and warm inside when this other story surfaced this week: he had been sending jokes to David Letterman.
Damn it, Johnny, I've missed ya.
posted at 03:06 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Wait, still more?
I just looked out the window - the snowfall is getting worse. We have 30mph wind gusts and the flakes are huge. You can't tell that the sidewalk was shoveled and the driveway plowed.
It's getting worse - it should make for an interesting evening and morning.
UPDATE: an hour later, the snow stopped and the sun came out just before setting. And hour after that, the village called-out the heavy equipment - we've got a front-loader cleaning-up our street.
posted at 03:49 PM | Link | Mundane § |
10"
Barry & Buffy just called - they spent the night at their daughter's house, and it took them an hour and a half to get home, only to get stuck in their "virgin" alley - th Honda just couldn't get though the unplowed alley that no one had gone through before them.
It's not worth the hassle, not to mention possible dangers of trying to drive out here and do the dinner and a movie thing.
Went outside with a yardstick and checked the middle of the front yard - the snow is 10 inches deep out there and it's still coming down.
posted at 10:26 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, January 21, 2005
Rush HoursThis morning, the drive to work was fine until within a few blocks of the building. The was a traffic accident sometime overnight and there was a fatality (I don't have any specifics), so the police were routing traffic away from the area as they continued their investigation. It really screwed-up the morning rush hour traffic.
Just in time for the evening rush hour, we're under a Winter Storm Warning. It's supposed to start to snow and the current warnings are for 9"-16" of snowfall. We're supposed to do a dinner and a movie with B&B tomorrow and that's looking like that might be jeopardy.
posted at 08:11 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Darth Tater
How can you not love Darth Tater??? As seen in this photo released in New York by Hasbro, Inc., Friday, Jan. 14, 2005, Hasbro, Inc.'s Playskool division is launching a new Mr. Potato Head figure, Darth Tater. Available at stores nationwide in February, kids will be able to have all kinds of mix 'n match,Mr. Potato Head fun with this wacky spud dressed as the infamous Star Wars saga villain, Darth Vader. (AP Photo/ Hasbro, Inc., HO)
posted at 01:33 PM | Link | Odd § |
I. DON'T. CARE.I think the Inaugural of a 2nd Term President DOES NOT NEED all of the pomp and circumstance as his first Inaugural. Do we need all these damn parties? (Oh sure, let's raise some more friggin' money for your party. Jeez.)
Do we NEED an elaborate parade???? IS THAT NECESSARY????
I got really pissed this past weekend when I heard Bob Schieffer on Face The Nation. This will be the first time DC taxpayers have to foot the bill for the damn parade (in the past, the federal government reimbursed DC for its expenses). Not only that, they had THE GALL to suggest that DC "use federal funds that had earlier been earmarked to fight terrorism"
WTF?
To quote Bob: "Why would an administration, already under severe criticism for sending soldiers into battle without enough armor, put itself in a position where it appears equally indifferent to equipping those charged with fighting terrorist at home?"
The Anti-terrorism President wants DC to use Homeland Security money to pay for grandstands at his parade so his supporters can sit in them????
All this with a friggin' war going on????
SCREW THIS. I ain't watching the "festivities".
God Bless America.
posted at 08:33 AM | Link | Current Events | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
BUZZNET MOBLOG!Well, since I now have a cell phone with a camera, I might as well join in and get myself a Moblog.
Go over and visit My Mundane Photographic Mid-Life at Buzznet!!!
I'll try to get a link to the moblog in my sidebar by the weekend.
UPDATE: It's there! (It doesn't have the fancy opaque transition rollover thingy, though)
posted at 10:59 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Wolves 3 - Hamilton 6
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Crazy, crazy game.
Almost 9 minutes into the game, Hamilton scores two goals within 19 seconds. 25 seconds later, the Wolves wake up and score, then score a minute later and score two minutes after that. Steve Maltais got his 600th goal of his professional career - he's only one away from scoring 450 just for the Wolves.
9:48 into the second, a Bulldog player, while attempting to score, apparently got too close to goalie Kari Lehtonen, and Kari popped him. This led to a mêlée in front of the net, leading to 9 penalties. The Wolves - because they are on a 4-minute power-kill, only get 5 shots in the 2nd. In the 3rd, the Wolves don't get a shot off for at least half the period. The Bulldogs tie it, go up by one, and then get two empty net goals, while the Wolves only manage 5 shots.
Things happened so quickly that you couldn't look away or even blink.
Things sucked. What's with our shooting? How can you win if you don't shoot? (We're out-shot 37-20).
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:43 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Balmy snowWe got another 1"-2" of snow overnight. Wind was blowing hard again, so my DirecTV dish was moving a little (I HATE that).
But with the snow comes warmer temperatures - it's 34° outside and I'm loving it.
posted at 07:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Big mother planeAirbus rolled-out their brand new A380 today.
What the hell?
It's a monster: it has two full decks of seating and is designed to carry a minimum of 550 passengers, with room for expansion to nearly 900.
All I hear around the U.S. is Airline bankruptcies. All you see is the downsizing of aircraft to make them more fuel efficient and cheaper, allowing the airlines to go to more "regional" airports. But you are also seeing airlines pulling out of airports because of financial problems, and bankruptcy. Fuel costs are going up - could you imagine what it will cost to fly this thing? Is the passenger/mile calculation based on 550 passengers or 900?
It still has problems before it takes its first flight sometime in March: it's 5 tons over its spec of 560 tons maximum takeoff weight. 1.45 euros over budget , putting it at 12 billion euros.
Its 262-foot wingspan and 239-foot-long fuselage means it can't land just anywhere - airports have to spend millions of dollars to modify the taxiways just to allow the airplane to move around, let alone spacing at gate areas.
Seems like companies that are buying the planes won't operate them at that high-capacity figure, so what are they going to put into all of that space? Virgin Atlantic will offer a beauty therapist area, a gym, a casino and double beds.
Oh, puh-lease.
How long is that going to last? Does anybody remember the Piano Bars in the back of American Airlines DC-10's? They didn't last long. Airlines soon wanted the space to add more passengers. It's been tried before (not on this kind of scale) and people just won't pay for it.
posted at 08:58 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Damaged?Maybe the second day of work after a vacation is worse than the first. I think on the first day back you just reach down inside and try to get caught up and try to get through the day. The second day, you're caught up and now you're just still exhausted and perhaps a little less motivated.
Well, it's not 4 degrees outside, it's 10. Whoopee.
I'm starting to think that all of the walking I did last week in Las Vegas, though good for me, screwed up my left foot. My heel is killing me this week, but I don't remember any pain there last week. My toes on the left foot don't hurt as much, and that hip pain I had in my right hip just sort of disapperaed (Carol thinks it had something to do with sitting in the airplane - I'm thinking "no").
posted at 07:42 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 17, 2005
No partyTonight is the Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party at Gameworks in Schaumburg. In fact, it's in a few minutes.
Not motivated enough to go - last year was too crowded, didn't get any food until the end of the evening, really difficult to see the players.
Too fatigued. Gonna stay home.
posted at 06:23 PM | Link | Wolves § |
*groan* back to work...4 frickin' degrees outside (wind chill, oh, about 15 below). After complaining about being in the 40's and 50's in Las Vegas, I am now well aware of being thankful for what you have. This cold sucks.
Work should be fun - MAJOR re-org. Wonder where I fit?
posted at 07:38 AM | Link | Work § |
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Freezing in my own houseIt may be 68 degrees in the house, but it sure feels colder than that. It's pretty damn dry, too. Carol threw a pot of water on the stove to boil just to get some humidity into the air. The bunnies keep zapping each other and all of our humidifiers are dead.
Still recovering from a bit of sleep depravation from the flight home and some of the other late nights.
Crap, I'm gettin' old...
posted at 10:41 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Wolves 4 - Maple Leafs 1
read more of this entry »
Only our second game we attended since October 30th! Most of it was scheduling, and then we had to miss a few games due to other commitments (oh, like being in Las Vegas for a week - we missed 3 games just because of that).
Since we've been gone (December 12 was the last time we were here), the rear-screen projection systems in the scoreboard over center ice were replaced with matrix boards. Since the lighting was changed in here, you couldn't see anything on the video boards. Now, it's very bright - though the resolution sucks a bit. Hey, it's the minor league - can't afford to get the real good stuff.
This week the Wolves were wearing special Armed Forces jerseys that are being sold at silent auction today. (I actually bid on one... last time I looked the jersey was up to $1,200 - waaaaayyyy out of my financial reach.) When I heard about this, I thought the jerseys would be in the olive-green cammo, but they were in the beige cammo and it actually looked better (perhaps the green would be too close to the annual St. Patrick's jersey auction coming up in March).
It was good to see the boys playing pretty well. Being tied for First Place in the division is a good thing.
I just wish that when they're on a power play that they'd stop this god-awful passing drill and just shoot the damn puck!
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Monday, January 10, 2005
Time shiftedI hate the first few days of a time change. Our bodies are still on Central Time out here. It's pitch black outside, but we're up at 5am - because at 7am back home we've showered and had breakfast already.
Don't know what we're doing today. There's no water on the window, so maybe it'll start to dry-up. Carol's getting into the shower and is going downstairs to hit the tables.
posted at 07:09 AM | Link | Las Vegas § |
Sunday, January 09, 2005
ConnectedIt turns out that the Luxor has high speed Internet connections in the rooms. Cost: $10.99 for 24 hours of access. Looks like I'll be connected after all! Unfortunately, I'm having some FTP problems to one of my boxes, so I won't be able to "embellish" my entries. (Update: Crap. I lost the server itself and I can't get at it remotely - no more live webcam shots. Oh no! We can't watch Indy & Chip while we're gone! We can't see them get fed when my sister Diane comes over! Maybe I can get her to go upstairs and reboot a machine...)
Well, after some napping, we went next door to Mandalay Bay and had a quick dinner at Red White and Blue. Didn't feel like anything extravagant.
Haven't gambled yet. Well, throwing money into a Wheel of Fortune machine on the way back doesn't really count - I never sat down.
Looks like it's raining like hell outside - I can tell by the amount of water flowing down the pyramid windows.
posted at 08:26 PM | Link | Las Vegas § |
A very wet VegasWell, nothing much to report other than we're here in Las Vegas.
We flew out on Ted and I would highly recommend flying them. Yes, they're cheap, yes, you don't get a lot of amenities (hell, on our flight today we had no food even tough we were supposed to be able to purchase snacks). We left pretty much on time around 7am and immediately climbed into a cloud deck. The clouds were with us almost all the way across the country. We had some pretty good headwinds and even a bit of turbulence over the mountains. We landed about 10-15 minutes late.
But we're back in Las Vegas. We grabbed the Hertz shuttle and got a car from the #1 Gold members pavilion. When we landed, the sun was out. By the time we walked to the car, it was drizzling. We drove to Bellagio and carol treated me to the Champagne brunch buffet, which is one of our favorites in town (though I didn't enjoy the champagne this time around).
After brunch we walked through the casino and the shops and went outside to walk to Caesars across the street. The drizzle was getting a bit heavier. We went to Caesars for two things 1) see the expansion to the Forum Shops (and WOW! very impressive as well as all of the new restaurants! and who would believe circular escalators!) and 2) pickup our tickets for a show Thursday night.
Yes we're going to see a show, one that is actually pretty critically acclaimed.
We got 9th row Center tickets for Celine Dion. Say what you will about her (we're not fans of hers), but the production of the show itself is supposed to be OUT OF THIS WORLD.
By the time we were ready to get back to the car (still parked at Bellagio), the rain was really starting to come down. The travel down Las Vegas Boulevard in the car was tricky - the right-hand lane was flooded most of the way.
Carol went through registration at Luxor and got us a room on the 18th floor. As we were walking to our assigned "inclinator", we were greeted by the fire alarm going off (for no reason). We get upstairs to find out that our room was LEAKING from all of the rain outside, so we had to change rooms - down one floor.
We're both exhausted - Carol has been napping on the bed making all kinds or snoring noises. I'm watching the air traffic at McCarran Airport - right across the street. We need to rest and find some place simple for dinner.
posted at 04:05 PM | Link | Las Vegas § |
Thank God for two alarmsFortunately, both Carol and I have our own alarm clocks.
When we REALLY have to be up and going somewhere, we both set our alarms, just to make sure we get up on time.
Thank God for that because, while I set my alarm to go off at 3:30, I never turned the alarm on.
And then - fortunately - Carol actually set hers correctly. Hers went off at 3:30. And it kept going and going and going - Carol slept through it!
Anyway, we're up and getting ready.
Viva Las Vegas! *yawn*
posted at 03:35 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, January 08, 2005
How early?Running around doing last minute things today - shopping, laundry, cleaning the house and packing...
Let's see, the flight tomorrow morning is at 7am... they say to be at the airport 2 hours before the flight - that's 5am... the drive to O'Hare at that time of morning is under half an hour, so leave the house no later than 4:30am... that means we have to wake up at...
3:30am.
Oh, Christ...
posted at 04:49 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, January 07, 2005
Snow in the wrong placesWell, if you saw my audio entry, Carol and I will be in Las Vegas all next week.
Warm, sunny Vegas, right?
GUESS WHERE IT SNOWED TODAY? Las Vegas.
I've never been there at this time of year, but, damn, it better get better than that.
posted at 08:04 PM | Link | Mundane § |
70?Hard to believe that Elvis would have turned 70 today (and I guess who's to say that he's not?)
Harder to believe that it's Katie Couric's Birthday, too (though I'm guessin' she ain't 70...)
posted at 08:10 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, January 06, 2005
So, I had this idea...2Mb MP3 File Audio Blog Entry
read more of this entry »
Transcript: "So, I had this idea. I'm not really sure how this is going to work out, but I thought I'd give it a try.
Next week, Carol and I are going to be in Las Vegas all week. Carol is working at a trade show - I'm just going along for the ride (and hopefully some enjoyment), but since we're going to be out there it may be very difficult to for me to try to Blog. I'm not sure if the hotel we're staying at is going to have any good Internet connectivity, and dial-up could be a bear.
So I thought maybe I could just find a way to record what was happening and I thought of these little digital voice recorders that happen to have USB interfaces on them, where you can download the individual records in them as WAV files and maybe post them to the Blog and see what people think.
So I thought about that and I thought I'd give it a try next week. Hopefully it'll work out. It could be entertaining - it may not be. But I thought it would add a little more "spice" to a blog entry by being able to hear what was going on.
I normally would use Audblog, but that means I have to use a cellphone and I have to have a good cellphone signal to be able to do it and that could be problematic.
So, look to the blog next week and see if there's any audio entries and see if this actually does work... AND OH BY THE WAY...
I'm talking about this on the way home from work from work today. Yeah, I'm on my way home, the roads are dry, there's not a cloud in the sky - the sun set already though, and I am HAPPY AS ALL GETOUT because I'm just passing my Mobil station and the price of Premium Gasoline - which I use in my car - FINALLY dropped below two dollars and it's at $1.97 and that makes me happy.
So anyway, check the blog next week and see if this works out. " « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:17 PM | Link | Audblog § |
First big snowSo, I just got to work.
My driveway has not been plowed yet, but I didn't have any significant problems getting out. My 4.8 mile commute took 35 minutes and I saw 2 spinouts on the way. Traffic moved at a snail's pace, but no one was being an idiot.
The parking lot at the office sucks - I'm not sure they really plowed. We're in the middle of another band of snow that can give us up to another 2 inches. I think we're in the 6"-8" range right now. The sun's supposed to come out later and it's going to be in the high 20's.
Looks really cool out there, though!
posted at 08:14 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
WhiteIt's been snowing since last evening, and there's a Winter Storm Warning out until AM tomorrow. Driving is crap (although I don't know this firsthand, as I'm still at work and I think things are going downhill as the day progresses - I can tell you that driving to work this morning wasn't fun). It's also blowing and drifting out there.
Looks like hell.
UPDATE: Looking at my Back Yard Cam (That's over in sidebar with the thumbnails of all of my webcams) and the snow is now drifting on the window, covering most of the camera's viewing angle. *yech*
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A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE FROM AR TO S. IN THIS AFTERNOON WILL INTENSIFY & MOVE NE TO CNTL OH BY THURSDAY MORNING. N. IL WILL RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. AREAS IN NW IN & LOCATIONS SO. OF INTERSTATE 80 IN IL WILL RECEIVE A MIXTURE OF SNOW.SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN.
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-060300-
BOONE-COOK-DE KALB-DUPAGE-KANE-LAKE-LEE-MCHENRY-OGLE-WINNEBAGO-
316 PM CST WED JAN 5 2005
HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST THURSDAY.
A STORM TOTAL OF 8 TO 12 INCHES IS EXPECTED ALONG & NO. OF A LINE
FROM AROUND DIXON TO DEKALB TO ST CHARLES TO EVANSTON. 6 TO 8 INCHES IS EXPECTED ACROSS DUPAGE & COOK COUNTIES.
PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL OCCUR OFF & ON THROUGH EARLY EVENING WITH A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW FROM ABOUT 800 PM TO 200 AM. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS AFTER 200 AM.
NORTHEAST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW.
ANY TRAVEL IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
$$
ILZ019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019-060300-
BENTON-FORD-GRUNDY-IROQUOIS-JASPER-KANKAKEE-KENDALL-LA SALLE-LAKE-
LIVINGSTON-NEWTON-PORTER-WILL-
316 PM CST WED JAN 5 2005
WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST (7 AM EST) THURSDAY.
ALONG & NO. OF INTERSTATE 80.FROM MENDOTA TO YORKVILLE TO JOLIET TO GARY.PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE OFF AND ON INTO EARLY EVENING. A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR FROM AROUND 800 PM UNTIL 200 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE 4 TO 7 INCHES.
FROM INTERSTATE 80.SOUTH TO A LINE FROM PONTIAC TO THE KANKAKEE RIVER.A MIXTURE OF SNOW.SLEET.& FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO BECOME ALL SNOW BY MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALL WILL BE 2 TO 4 INCHES ON TOP OF UP TO ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE.
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM PONTIAC TO THE KANKAKEE RIVER.INCLUDING GIBSON CITY.WATSEKA & RENSSELAER.PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN & SLEET WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MIDNIGHT. SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE HALF INCH MAY CAUSE TREE LIMBS & POWER LINES TO COME DOWN.AS WELL AS CAUSE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT & ACCUMULATE AN INCH OR 2 BEFORE ENDING.
SNOW SHOULD TAPER OFF TO LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS FOR ALL OF NORTHERN IL & NW IN AFTER 200 AM.
HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW & ICE WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY & CAUSE ROADS & WALKWAYS TO BECOME HAZARDOUS. AVOID TRAVEL.
$$
ALLSOPP
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posted at 12:36 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Half Mast
I came out of my office building today and was startled at the sight of the flags being at Half Mast. I just can't imagine what it must be like to be out in those areas affected by the Tsunami. You just can't quite put your arms around it. Indigenous tribes possibly wiped off the face of the earth. Towns losing 2/3's of their residents. 140,000 dead and so many missing. There's 4,000 Americans alone that are missing.
Message? Pray and Give. Pray for the survivors to give them strength, prey for those who were lost. Give to charities trying to make a difference in the region.
NOTE: I am getting HAMMERED with people coming to my website looking for information about designer Nate Berkus and photographer Fernando Bengoechea. I only wrote about what I have read online and in the papers. Thank you for visiting my site, but I have no information. Nate is home safe - if you are interested, Oprah has a message from Nate at her website.
posted at 05:51 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Not bad for a 90-day warantyDo you belive that the Spirit rover is still up and about, driving around Mars after one year? (I guess NASA is even going to have a rover birthday cake today... HEY! MAYBE I CAN SHARE!) And just to show you how well these little guys are doing - their original mission was for ONLY 90 DAYS.
posted at 12:38 PM | Link | Space § |
4848
OK, it's my Birthday - I just turned 48. I can tell you that I don't feel it. In my head, I'm at least 10 years younger. My body tells me otherwise.
But something tells me that I might feel a bit different on the next two birthdays...
posted at 06:33 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Monday, January 03, 2005
Roomba R.I.P.
Our Roomba Discovery has stopped moving about very well. OK, it's really barely moving. The brushes aren't turning and we had heard a plastic grinding noise. So - WHILE I WAS OFF TODAY - I called IRobot Technical Support and I'm getting a brand new Roomba under warranty - all I have to do is send them the cage that holds the brushes in place. So, no automated vacuuming for a while.
posted at 10:05 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, January 02, 2005
84?
Went over to Mom's house for dinner. They celebrated my birthday early (Since we'll be out of town starting next week... did I mention that?)
Well, mom got some kind of fruit-topped cheesecake from Eli's and - somehow - managed to put the candles on the cake WRONG.
I'm turning 48 on Tuesday.
The candles spelled "84".
I knew I felt older, but...
posted at 10:19 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Bluetooth
I didn't like my plan that I was on with Sprint and I'm tired of my phone, so I went to the Sprint Store on Barrington Road and got me a new phone and new plan. It's an LG PM325, one of the ONLY phones that Sprint offers that has Bluetooth. I need to start looking at that to see how crippled it is. Anyway, the display is so much easier to read compared to my old monochrome, poorly backlit screen. And then there's that whole camera in the phone thing (even though I carry my Canon camera with me EVERYWHERE I go).
posted at 02:09 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, January 01, 2005
2005HAPPY NEW YEAR!
and " Rabbit, Rabbit!"
So, last night we drove into the city to our annual celebration at Barry & Buffy's house with Debbie and Kenny & Pat. The drive was great - except you had to be alert for all of the idiots speeding, tailgating, and slaloming down the tollways and expressways. It took me half an hour to find a parking spot in their Wrigleyville neighborhood. Let's just say the area was jumpin'. I wound up getting a parking place 2 doors down from B&B. Go figure.
*sigh* We're getting old.
I think everyone fell asleep at one point or another during the evening - and this was before 11:30! Poor Debbie is just absolutely wiped-out from working overnights at Fields from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We ate like fools again. This year it was all appetizers and desserts and there was a lot to go around. For some strange reason, though I had every intent to do it, I didn't take any pictures this year. Did we stay long? I think we were on our way by 12:30.
Yes, we're all getting old.
*sigh*
P.S. I got an early birthday gift from Barry and Buffy (they always try to do something for me since my birthday is just in a few days - the 4th - and Buffy just had her birthday on the 30th).
Anyway, it's a really cool little radio controlled Mini Cooper. Wonder if Erin would be jealous? (even though it's a little plastic RC car and not the convertible Mini Copper that she wants...)
posted at 08:01 AM | Link | Mundane § |
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