This collection of entries is from August 2006.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
75the weather - in my opinion - has been great lately. After such a friggin' hot heat wave, the temperatures have been cooler that the average temperature for that day. It's been around 75 degrees (average is supposed to be 80).. and you know? 75 - in my opinion - is perfect. 75 and sunny. Perfect temperature. Perfect environment.
Just perfect.
posted at 01:17 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Home Depot Slow MoI love hearing/reading/watching things like this.
I've always been intrigued about flash mobs and that kind of mass demonstrations of oddities.
This is the best I've heard of recently - Slo-Mo Home Depot
Imagine 225 people.. in a Home Depot... that all of a sudden - in unison - start moving in slow motion for 5 minutes, then go back to normal speed for 5 minutes, then freeze in place for 5 minutes, then resume their normal activities... and then disperse.
What if, totally by random chance, When it came time for the "shoppers" to freeze, over the store's PA came Jewel's 2001 hit, "Standing Still" ?
What would yo do if you saw this happening?
posted at 01:18 PM | Link | Odd | § |
Monday, August 28, 2006
Indication of the beginning of the endI left the house this morning and saw something that I didn't realized i hadn't seen in a few months... kids waiting for a school bus.
All over the neighborhood.
That - to me - signals the beginning of the end of summer.
posted at 08:18 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, August 27, 2006
White Sox 6 - Twins 1posted at 04:30 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, August 26, 2006
White Sox 7 - Twins 8 - 11 Innings
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It's been a while since we had one of these - a rain delay. Before the game started, the skies opened and it rained these huge friggin' drops. It completely soaked anybody not protected in just seconds. It wasn't a lot of rain, just huge friggin' drops. I... ummm... actually enjoyed it. I had brought my rain slicker with me to the park, anticipating this happening. Sure enough, it did. And I thought it was cool.
OK, I have named my Official Whipping Boy of the team. I knew when I saw the lineup that this would b a problem. Sure enough it was. culprit (in my estimation?) Rob Mackowiak. He defense is a detriment to the team. He continues to mis-play balls, not being able to judge a ball coming off the bat, which has him breaking late for a ball, having most of them sailing over his head or falling in front of him.
Sorry. Get rid of him. He better not be with the club next year.
Jermaine Dye had a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, but we lost the game in the 11th by one run. one stinking run.
We should have had this game. If it weren't for Mackowiak's playing, we may have been able to stop them from getting a foothold in the first place.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:48 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Friday, August 25, 2006
CPAPCPAP - Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
I spent the night at a hospital's Sleep Disorder Clinic, sleeping (or trying to) while somebody watched my on TV, monitored my breathing, my snoring, my eye movements, my jaw movements, my brainwaves.
So I have sleep apnea. My guess - pretty bad. Solution? Wear a mask to sleep every night for the rest of my life. And in my case, a full face mask (nose and mouth), not just a nose one like everybody else could use. My nose just doesn't work the same. Hasn't for years. It's perpetually blocked, stuffed. I haven't breathed through my nose in years. The normal nose-only CPAP doesn't work for me.
CRAP.
CPAP.
posted at 07:46 AM | Link | Health | § |
Thursday, August 24, 2006
9... oops... 8 planetsGood bye, Pluto... nice to know you as a planet...
Pluto gets the boot
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The IAU therefore resolves that planets and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:
(1) A classical planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.
(3) All other objects orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar System Bodies".
The second resolution, the one that demoted Pluto offcially reads:
The IAU further resolves:
Pluto is a dwarf planet by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects. This category is to be called "plutonian objects."
With these resolutions, there are now the eight classical planets. In addition to these eight, there are (currently) four dwarf planets including Pluto, Charon, Ceres, and 2003 UB313 (a.k.a. Xena), bringing the total number of planets (classical and dwarf) to twelve. This new definition also leaves open the possibility
for even more known celestial bodies to become dwarf planets, leading contenders at this point are the asteroids Pallas, Vesta, and Hygeia.
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:09 AM | Link | Space | § |
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
One Month Follow-UpGot a phone call from my dietitian for a one-month follow-up (late). Had to answer a bunch of questions and I seem to be doing well (based on the answers to the questions). And I think I'm starting to feel better now, too.
posted at 09:10 PM | Link | Health | § |
Monday, August 21, 2006
BackSpent the weekend at my sister Diane's house up in Michigan with B&B.
We left on Saturday morning, drove up to Harbert, stopped at Falatic's Meat Market (butcher.. for meats for our meals, since Carol shopped for other groceries on Friday and packed them into the VERY crowded trunk)
The weather wasn't great when we got there.. we were there early enough for pool-time, but no sun.. and it had been raining, so we went to Redamak's for lunch. Took off for Indiana.. stopping first at Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets mall for Buff to do some quick shopping, then over to Blue Chip Casino, where I sat down and played Blackjack for the first time since... well, first time this decade, I think...
Had a Prime Rib dinner at Skip's. Crashed at home, pool the next day with fresh chicken brats and hotdogs. B&B took the car and went to New Buffalo to get some fresh corn on the cob for dinner and some Sweet Baby ray's barbecue sauce... for the ribs that Barry prepared for dinner. Great meats, great cooking, great meals, great company.
Today, B&B took the car and went back to Lighthouse and Blue Chip, Carol bobbed in the pool and I did some podcasting.
The drive home late this afternoon was a breeze, with the exception of the hour we spent on Lake Shore Drive from Soldier Field north.
We love going up there just to "get away"... and we acually travel well together...
posted at 08:09 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, August 18, 2006
Spoke too soonWhen I got on my new machine this morning before work, I found out that I was missing one of the drives I had extricated from the carcass of my old machine and installed in an external enclosure. I have it attached through FireWire, and when it mounts, one volume is OK, the other throws some kind of a write error and the whole drive goes offline.
I don't want to lose any data... but I MAY be too late...
posted at 08:05 AM | Link | Computing | § |
Thursday, August 17, 2006
6 lessI know this isn't a big deal for anybody out there... but it's a big deal to me...
Carol shortened a band new pair of pants for me to wear today. (yeah, my legs ar just REALLY friggin' short...)
Big deal? Well, yes, when the waist is 6 inches less than my biggest pair that I used to wear...
posted at 01:51 PM | Link | Health | 1 comment | § |
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
I feel better now...Went out to CompUSA and got some external 3½" USB/FireWire enclosures to put my old hard drives in... and plugged them into the new machine and... fully operational - no data loss!!!!
woot!!!
Now I've got a ton of reinstalls to do...
posted at 09:20 PM | Link | Computing | § |
How dare youSo, after a WONDERFUL weekend of sweeping the Detroit Tigers, and LOSING to the Kansas City Royals (UPDATE: We lost EVEN WORSE tonight!). what come in the mail today?
THE INVOICE FOR POSTSEASON TICKETS.
Damn you!
Have our seat assignments.. still downstairs but out toward the right field foul pole. Included - parking for all ticketed events, seats to all 3 (possible) American League Division Series, Home Game 2 of the American League Championship Series and Home Game 2 of the World Series.
Excited? Well... yes... if the team would just PLAY a little better..
posted at 05:13 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
A great sidekickI really enjoyed the characters he played in his movies, especially the friend/buddy parts in "When Harry Met Sally," "City Slickers"...
Bruno Kirby died of complications related to leukemia.
posted at 10:23 AM | Link | Current Events | § |
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Oh, yeah... the replacement finally arrivesSo, after working from home for the day to be there to sign for the signature required UPS shipment, the 63 pound box from Dell showed up - at 4:38pm. I ALMOST could have worked from work and got home quick enough to accept the delivery.
So... the 19" LCD monitor is awsome. I am really amazed at the color and clarity... not to mention the "bigness" coming from a 15" panel to a 19" panel. Sweet.
The new machine looks nice, boot fast, but upon opening the case, it's really tight inside. I had forgotten that the old machine was an Optiplex and had the great quick release drive mounts, lots of room. Not so in this case - no quick releases, really tightly packed. I pulled the drives out of the old machine... but I don't have a place for both of them.
I'm thinking about external drive enclosures... I just hope the drives are intact.
posted at 07:03 PM | Link | Computing | § |
Sunday, August 13, 2006
White Sox 7 - Tigers 3
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The weather is almost as good as yesterday, but not quite...
There wasn't as many Detroit fans Friday night as Elvis fans.. in fact, I think the Elvis fans may have locked-out the Detroit fans from getting tickets. MANY Detroit yesterday, very vocal... today, not as many, but still there. There had to be more fights in the stands than during the Cubs series.
I don't like seeing people tempt fate by bringing brooms to the park on the last day of a series. The guy next to Carol had a tiny wheat broom in the adjustable band in the back of his basebal hat, and that seemed acceptable.
Freddie Garcia had a good outing with 6 strikouts, but giving up all three runs. And this time Detroit had onl 1 error.
SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP
NEVER thought we'd do that... that's a 3-game swing, chipping away at Detroit's lead...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:59 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, August 12, 2006
White Sox 4 - Tigers 3
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What a great day for a game... THIS was the day... high 70's... blue sky... clean air... nice breeze, oh baby... Best Weather.
Mark Buehrle. 7 strikeouts, no walks, but 3 runs and no decision. Bleh. But, Detroit has 3 errors (2 errors last night as well..) and we struggle and play small ball and get back on top and win by one.
Oh, man... two in a row... against Detroit.. can't get too cocky... it's giong to be hell ltomorrow...
(Boxscore)
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:57 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Friday, August 11, 2006
White Sox 5 - Tigers 0
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Central |
DET |
76 |
38 |
.667 |
--- |
SOX |
67 |
46 |
.593 |
8½ |
MIN |
67 |
47 |
.588 |
9 |
CLE |
49 |
64 |
.434 |
26½ |
KAN |
41 |
73 |
.360 |
35 |
That's the standings as of this morning. Doesn't look anything like last year. And we're playing Detroit at home for three games.
Oh, and baby - It's Elvis Night.
Yes, it's time for the annual pilgrimage. We're not even Elvis fans... we just love this night at the park. On the way in, we met my cousin Jane, her husband Richard, her Dad, my Uncle Jim, and her neice (and our goddaughter) Sam, as the stood in line waiting to get in when the gates opened. We stayed outside for a while to see some of the acts in preshow concerts on stages outside the park. In the past few years, we had as the headliner, a great guy called Shawn Klush. This year, we have a young newcomer named Jamie Aaron Kelley. He would be classified as a really young Elvis. He had the stage outside before the game, the National Anthem, and the post game concert inside the park. (His claim to fame is he is the very first person in history to memorize every song that Elvis EVER recorded in his career and then sing them all in public to prove it (and there's a LOT of songs)). I have to admit... bring back Shawn... met-up with my friend and former cowerker Peggy, whose family is always at this event... (she had 18 people in her group this year... sitting behind the plate!)... man I miss her.. she's just great to talk to...
Now, let's get back to the game. This series is SOOOooo critical. And I had NO IDEA that Jose Contreras would pitch the game he did. First career complete game shutout. 101 pitches, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts. Detroit helps with 2 errors... Yes, let's start something...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:52 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Not a winner0 – 7 – 2 – 8 – 3 – 1
0 – 1 – 5 – 6 – 2 – 3
0 – 2 – 0 – 8 – 6 – 7
Chicago White Sox Charities 2005 World Series Ring Raffle. 3 fans get a REAL World Series Ring... with their name on it.
Nuts. Didn't win.
posted at 07:14 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
The world became a strange place.. .againThe first pieces of my morning ritual: - alarm clock goes off
- shutoff alarm
- turn on satellite receiver
- turn on tv
- watch local news on NBC affiliate
I hate hate hate the feeling of dread when - reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen - something major has happened in the world.
Welcome to our morning.
A new terror plot against US Airflights from the UK.
posted at 10:05 AM | Link | Current Events | § |
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Eewwww... I didn't need to see that...Why the hell am I even sharing this with you?
Just went into the men's room at work...
and it looked like... someone... didn't make it to the urinals in time....
eeeewwwww..
posted at 03:55 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
New DellBroke down and ordered a new Dell to replace the old machine. I REALLY didn't want to do this, but I don't have a choice. It's doesn't even boot anymore... it would show the Safe Boot menu and then.. never boot. Now, it's not even getting that far. New machine doesn't ship until next Wednesday.
I HOPE TO GOD THE DRIVES ARE STILL OK.. OH, PLEASE LET THEM BE OK...
posted at 03:17 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, August 07, 2006
$2,134The total costs of car repair - $2,134.
OK, that wasn't just to fix the electrical problem..
The alternator had a bad diode that charged the battery - sometime. OK, that needed replacing. That fixes Saturday's problem.
I complained about road noise coming from the rear. Well, yeah.. the tires are cutup and cupped and have tread issues... OK, new set of tires
Well.. why did the tires degrade? Well, the rear struts were worn and shot. Replace the rear struts.
Braking seems week? Yep... rotors are fine.. but needs brakes both front and rear. Replace brakes.
Original belts on the car? Well, we're replacing the alternator so... replace belts.
$2,134 later, I have a car that rides better and quieter.
posted at 05:49 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Not moving itCarol and Diane were coming back home today, and I was to meet them at my mom's house.
I started to think about this as the time came closer to me leaving. I was totally ignoring the sick car in the garage. I started to think about the car - if it starts - dieing again, God knows where, on the way into Chicago, or in-town... I realized that this is a stupid thing to do.
So.. I talk to Carol for the first time... fill her in... talk to my mom, and let her know... then Carol calls back saying she doesn't want to go to my mom's, then... so I call my mom and let her know about Carol... and then my sister calls and YELLS AND BERATES ME about how I should have made the decision earlier and then if both Carol & I would go to my mom's, then she would have just stayed in Michigan (like I knew that was an option)
This weekend had all the earmarkings to be good... and turned into a private hell...
posted at 08:12 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Turned worse...I had a wonderful day, just goofing off, copying some things off of TiVo, exploring and playing in Second Life...
Then dinner time rolled along.. and passed... and I got hungry and I jumped into the car and drove to Portillo's to grab an Italian beef.
It was a gorgeous night, had the window open, and I pulled into the drive-thru. As usual, the place was hopping, so they had guys outside taking the orders and delivering food to the cars to help expedite the process.
A guy comes over and I complete step one of the process - give him the order, and in-turn radio's the order inside. He walks away to process other cars.
I'm sitting there, listening to the radio...
when I look down and see my ABS light go on.. I panic, yell "NOOO!!!" and start playing with the brake pedal.. I don't need brake problems now...
And then I realize... my tachometer is at zero. The car had died. No noise, no rumble, ... it just faded away. I never heard it.
I turn the key, only to hear "click...click...click...click"
Dead battery. WTF?
read more of this entry »
I see the guy walking down the line again, to service the cars behind me. Well, as the line moved, two guys working the line (the order guy and the money guy) push my dead car along... until we get close to the building where a second lane exists. Directly in front of that second lane - in the distance - an aisle and a parking space directly ahead. the guys start pushing and get up a good head of steam...and I roll past the other line of cars and stop in the parking space.
I try the key again. "rrr.... rrrrrrrr....click...click...click...click"
I grab my beef sandwich and go inside to get a drink and sit down to eat dinner. There was almost enough power to get the engine to turn over. Maybe the battery will recover enough after I eat.
It didn't.
I called Sprint 411 from my cell phone and got the number of a towing service in the area that they connected me to and even Text Messaged the name and phone number to my cell. The guy on the phone says it's probably the alternator.
He shows up 20 minutes later, jumps the car which turns over effortlessly, and I drive home... with the tow truck right behind me... just in case.
I made it into my garage... my lights never dimmed along the way. No electrical issues whatsoever.
Cost of the tow - $50.
I no longer like my weekend. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:52 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, August 04, 2006
Not as much fun as I had hoped...I was hoping to have more fun than this at home...
My computer has been Blue Screen-ing. The old BSOD. It's not software. It's not a driver.
It's hardware.
I can't keep the machine up and running for more than a few minutes at a time.
This could get expensive...
posted at 10:17 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Thursday, August 03, 2006
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year!Carol took off for my sister Diane's house in Michigan this afternoon for the Annual Summer "Club" function with the ladies... and isn't coming back until Sunday!!!!
Wooooo HOOOOOO!!!!
I'm alone for the weekend!!!! YES!!!!!
posted at 06:15 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
*nose wiggle* *nose wiggle*How can it be the First Day of the Month already? Again according to meme tradition..., you better say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck! (Now, if you blew it, before you go to sleep tonight, to still try to gain luck, your last words have to be "Tibbar! Tibbar!")..
And for other derivitives to this meme, check out the alternatives: "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!.
posted at 06:42 AM | Link | Memes | § |
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