Here's John

I just found out last week that someone I used to work with has started his own blog. John Goacher and I started out sharing an office 17 years ago. During that time we not only worked together but we also became drinking buddies and eventually I became his groupie/roadie as he started playing at various open mikes and then started providing entertainment at several places around town.




Now there are several things you should know about John. First, he was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. As a result of proper upbringing in England John takes a lot of things series such as his ale and his grammar. Don't get him started on Get, Got, and Gotten. Second, John is an entertainer. Not only has he played in England and the United States but he has recorded an album and several tapes. John is very personable and regardless if he is playing guitar and singing or just telling a joke he just pulls you right in. That is why I refer to him as an entertainer. I loved what he shared with the audience between songs every bit as much as the songs themselves. Finally John is a writer and painter and I am sure much more than I realize.

I suspect that John will be an interesting blog to check in on. If you wish to see what he is up to you can find him over at Tykonia. Looking forward to seeing you around John.


I was born in 1936 in Castleford, Yorkshire. You'll find it on the map - I'm the bugger that put it there. Where we lived, all the fellers were coal-miners. Except me dad - he was a full-time, fully-paid-up, fully-fledged bastard.--Spend Spend Spend

Torture Chamber

Today was a day that I have been dreading. It is the worst. I got up a little late and then I remembered what I had to do. Like it or not, it was time to vist


The Dentist!

The funny thing is I have never had a problem with my dentist, Dr Guckey. He has always been great even when I did not do what I should have done. You see, I hate flossing and sometimes I get a little lazy on the brushing. Of course all good things have to some to an end.

As of January 12 he has officially retired and now I have a new dentist, Dr Scott-Hetchler. Now she has been around for a year probably and I think she is going to be a good dentist for me. Still, I can not help but be concerned about dentists.






Well the good new, at least for me, I had the best checkup I have had in a long time. The last time was terrible. My mouth hurt for days, but not this time. Well I guess I best try to do better next time. My teeth are about impossible to get floss in between, even the hygienist has problems but that is just and excuse.



Of course there is always an upside to a visit with the dentist...

Now while this is not my dentists staff, still they are a good bunch of people. They take care of me. Well until the next appointment on June 5th ... brush, brush, floss, brush...






I was reading the other day, a dentist in New Jersey has topless nurses. --Cactus Flower

Howdy ... time for my first audo blog

Warning to Men

I feel compelled to give you the following warning: Check out the video at the end........


Police are warning all men who frequent clubs, parties and local pubs to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman. Many females use a date rape drug on the market called "Beer."

The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large "kegs". Beer is used by female sexual predators at parties and bars to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a guy to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex.

Men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with horrific looking women whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that "something bad" occurred.

At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship." In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage." Men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females.

Please! Forward this warning to every male you know. If you fall victim to this "Beer" scam and the women administering it, there are male support

groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up "Golf Courses" in the phone book.

For a video to see how beer works click here:

http://www.brackenspub.com/beer.swf


What? You want to see me self-defend myself? Go over there and pretend you're a sexual predator! Go on! I dare ya! --Friends

Monkey Love

Today I finally did it. I went to the show to see King Kong. Oh my but I loved that show. Now there were a few slower periods in it but for a 3 hour movie that does not surprise me. I so love the actors especially Naomi Watts. Oh my, where have you been or more importantly why didn't I see you sooner? Of course there was also Jack Black. I enjoyed him in School of Rock and I though he did a good job once again.

I so got into the characters and found myself talking to the screen, don't do that, run, she is not going to like that. Kong was great, the effects where nice and they had so many things. We had running with the bulls, well maybe not bulls. We also had circus clown entertainment. There where bugs, dinasaurs, and violance (but not the real gorry kind). Just a few tears here and there, a little love story mixed in, and so much more not to mention monkey love. Well not porno monkey love (shame on you) but you could tell there was such a connection between Kong and Ann Darrow. In general I loved the movie. I must admit I was surprised IMDB only gave it a 7.8 out of 10.

One more thing, so what did we learn in King Kong? A guy can so have everything going his way and be the king of everything and what happens??? A blonde brought him down. Men just seem to have weak spots for blondes.

By the way, I almost missed the movie, what a loser. When I got home from work I was tired so I decided to take a mini nap. When I opened my eyes it was almost 7:00 pm and the show starts at 7:15. I had a few minutes to get out the house and a 10 to 15 minute drive. Well it was 15 minutes at least. I almost gave it up but then I noticed something very strange. The clock on my car radio said it was 6:16 pm. How could that be? I opened my cell phone and it agreed about the time. WTF? Then it hit me what I had done. I have two alarm clocks by my bed. One that I never touch. It goes off at 6:00 am M-F. I hate to fool with that clock so if I feel I need some more sleep in the morning or if I want to get up in the middle of the night, etc, than I use the other clock. Now here is the stupid part. The main clock sets itself for Daylight Saving Time on it's own, the other clock does not. Well in an ultimate demonstration of lazyness I did not change the clock. It still is one hour ahead. What I must have done is looked at that clock when I opened my eyes and then got ready and bolt out of there without paying attention to anything else. Well nedless to say, I have never been so early to a show. Time to rest that puppy now!

I decided to take the back roads home and for some reason I really did enjoy the drive. Lots of winding roads, small hills, and little traffic. The curve that says you have to slow to 30, I of course decided to keep going 45 like the rest of the road. It's a guy thing but I must admit that was fun. Sad thing is that is not the first time I have done that. Boring!

When I got home I ran inside, got out my tripod and camera and ran outside. The stars were to die for tonight. I pointed the camera at the sky and snapped a picture. Unfortunetly it would only allow the shutter to be open for 3 seconds which was not near enough. To bad, I so wanted to post that.

Well if anyone else out there has not seen Kong yet you may want to think about seeing it or at least rent it when it comes out to a video store near you. I think it has a little bit for everyone.


The beast looked upon the face of beauty. Beauty stayed his hand, and from that moment he was as one dead --King Kong

Did I ever mention what I do for a living?

This name was just to fun to pass up.

Your Porn Star Name Is...

Biggus Dickus

What's Your Porn Star Name?

I've dabbled a bit in porn. In fact, I was known as the underendowed Ron Jeremy, if ya know what I mean. --48 Hours to Romance

Triple Play... Hot Girl tagged me

Ok, here goes!

3 Names answer to:
Bryan
Barman
Bar/Bry

3 Parts of your heritage:
French
Polish
American Indian (just a little)

3 Things that scare me:
Heights
Extreemly tight spaces - I hope I never need an MRI
Public Speaking

3 Of your everyday essentials:
Internet
music
meat - I die on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Fridays in lent

3 Things you are wearing right now:
a tie (at work you see...)
dress Shirt
slacks

3 of your favorite songs:
"No Frontiers" by Mary Black
"25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago
"Sunday Papers" by Joe Jackson
(many, many more including lots of 70s and 80s rock)

3 Thing you want in a relationship:
humor
throughtfulness
honesty

2 Truths and 1 Lie
I love working with computer for a living and where I am working now
My middle name is Alger
I am an awesome singer
(Oh my, I copied this from Hot Girl and almost forgot to do this section. I almost said I was married to my husband for 14 years ... yikes)

3 Things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
A head on her sholders
Someone who, while being a girl, is not all girlie
a nice butt!

3 of your favorite hobbies:
taking photographs
music
working with computer

3 places you want to go:
Alaska
Australia
New Zeeland

3 Things you want to do before you die:
Make it into space
Find someone to share my life with (it has been a while)
Make a difference

3 ways you are stereotypical female/male:
Love my toys
Love my science fiction
More concerned with being dressed rather than what I am wearing

3 or four people you would like to take this survey:
Lets leave this open if anyone else would like to do it, feel free

What did I do wrong?

All right, blogger and I are not speaking and here is why.

I tried to post something on Monday and somehow I guess I never saved it. There was nothing there, no where, not even a draft.

OK, take two on Tuesday. I spent about 1 1/2 hours typin in my post. I was about to copy the post and and post it. Somehow the system selected everything and DELETED IT. Recovery only got back about a 1/4 of it. I do not know if was me or my machine or somehow the Internet but I really hate to redo things.

So a question. When you are putting together a post do you do it using the dashboard editor and then post it or do you do something else like I was thinking of. Draft in something else like a work processor, spell check (a must for me), copy and paste into the Dashboard editor and then make changes like adding links, changing font or font size, color, etc. using the controls in the editor and then post.

When you are putting together a post do you save drafts as you go or just do it in one shot and not wory about losing things? Do you use something else as a tool?

I was just hoping for a little advice. These last few days have been very dissapointing to say the least. Anyway thanks for any help.


Well, 'under consideration' means we've lost the file, 'under active consideration' means we're trying to find it. --Yes, Minister

Sunday Papers

OK, trying to catch up with a quick post. I finally returned home Sunday early evening. What did I return to? A broken garage door, a broken washing machine (soon to be fixed) and a driveway full of heavy compacted snow. No fare...

An hour later I had most the snow off except for the approach so I guess things are not all that bad after all. It does like nice to see snow back again, I mean it is winter and all.

Sunday I watched my Niece in a basketball game. It was fun. She has improved a bunch but she will never be one of the super stars. I think she just likes to be social with all the kids anyway. Being a super star is to much work.

Other than watching my niece there was something else that I was enjoying watching. On their team there is a person that has to be everything. Now don't get me wrong, she is talented but she can not be a team player. She is anywhere she wants to be and seldom in place. If you get to close to her she will lash out and either grab the ball right away from you or force a jump ball that results in a possible possession change. It is fairly common for the other team to come up to her since she is playing the top of the key, and pass to a team mate to get beyond her. Now here is what I found amusing. The other team that they played had a player on their team that was just like her. Good old (young) player 5. I think she must have been 4 foot tall, she was so short to the other girls on our team (my niece is 10 to give you an idea what we are talking about). It did not matter, she hustled to get where she wanted to be. She could steal a ball as if you where standing still. She was involved in almost every play. Yes, she was a clone, although shorter clone, of our player except for one thing. She was always giving about 150 percent and, well, somehow she ended up on the floor a lot with her feat kicked out from under her.

Anyway one time I found it priceless. Our player was advancing to the other end lazily dribbling away not really paying attention to anyone else, why would she need to. Then, all of a sudden player 5 came out of no where from behind and STOLE THE BALL. To much fun. I wanted to make a comment but I choose to be quiet as the people next to me turned out to be her family. That could have been ugly. Anyway I was amused the rest of the game watching player 5 and seeing the way our player had to adjust for that.

I know, I am easily amused. Well that kind of capped my weekend. It was nice to get away but at the same time I have so much to get done.

I hope you had a nice weekend and lets see what we can do to end the month on a high note.


PA: Due to the number of people bored last Sunday, next Sunday will be cancelled. --M*A*S*H

Saturday, in the Park

Do you have a favorite movie? Do you have a movie you like that others just think is weird? Well that is the case with me but you know what, I just don't care.

One of my favorite movies is Xanadu. I have seen references to how terrible people think it is just yesterday. It also came up at my brother's house tonight. It seems one of my cousins thought this was a pretty good movie when he was in high school mostly because of Olivia Newton-John. Of course my SIL thinks this is a horrible movie.

For me, yes I really liked Olivia Newton-John and I suppose I still do but it is more than that. I also happen to enjoy the somewhat sappy type of movie. Add in the fact that one of my favorite bands is ELO which was prominently features in this movie and it is a big winner for me. Having Gene Kelly in it too, although odd, was fun too.

Of the 2,499 people that cared to vote for this movie on IMDB, it received an average vote of 4.5 out of 10. So not a lot of people liked it but you know what, maybe I do not care. What is so bad about being different?

Another movie I really enjoy, but I think it is to an obsession is Groundhog Day. At least this one did a little better on IMDB getting 52,917 votes with an average vote of 8.0. Maybe there is hope for me yet.


Kira: In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree...
Danny McGuire: "Where Alph, the sacred river, ran through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea." Yes, Xanadu.
--Xanadu

Black Friday

I am afraid I have been busy but I wanted to post something so how about a light subject. I do not have a signifcant other at the moment but in some ways it still applies to me. OK, well let me make it a little more generic to include more.

Do you tell family and/or friends about you blog? How about let them read your blog? Origionally I was just going yo ask about your significant other which I am actually very curious about. I have seen several that know it exists but they do not read them. Some that they read but most likely do not comment on and finally I see a few that I do not think they even know. I know several people have said that if anyone found their blog, especially if it were the kids, they would dump the blog right away.

Anyway, I was kind of curions and thought I would toss it out to see if there was any interesing comments.

I will probably post Saturday and Sunday but they will probably be just as shallow as this post is until I am back in town again. Everyone have a nice weekend.

Don't be so hard on yourself, Bud. I bet there are plenty of cool guys who sit home on Friday night watching 'Star Trek' reruns hoping to catch a glimpse of Klingon cleavage. --Married... With Children

Thursdays Child

Wow, I think I am liking it. I have been involved with computers for some time. As a matter of fact 27 years earning a living ... yes they had computers back then!

But for all that I was so behind. I used to use email and usenet news and several other things I have since forgotten. But oh my gosh when I discovered the WEB in its current form. And wow when I put in a cable modem.

It was not all that long ago and I had no idea what a blog was. The only IM I had ever used was at work and that was limited. But now, now I have talked with a small handful of people on IM. Today I carried on a fun little conversation from my friend in Kentucky. I had no idea what I was doing and I must say, she taught me a few trick! WOW, IM is fun. Also I can not believe it. Here I am typing and sending a message to someone that is about 6 1/2 hours away by car (probably 4 hours if one of you where driving, I tend drive the speed limit). There was just a little lag but, at least for a little while we had on the same channel on TV. Silly I know but still, kind of fun. I think we are going to have to go online while Idol is on next Tuesday for instant feedback. I think I am going to like this. I might need to checking into how to break me from my addiction that I am sure I am well on my way to.

Yep I am enjoying IM and getting to know my friend a little bit more.

What else don't I know about IM or what ever else is out there. Why just last night I shot a picture out the back of my house and sent it to a friend in a different continent since she said she liked the snow. I do not believe she has ever seen snow in person before. Today I sent her 4 more pictures and pointed her toward SignGurl from last November since she had some nice snow picture from back than. She could have seen the pictures I sent in minutes if she had been awake (7 hours difference in time you see). I think I need to get me a WEBCam and play with that. I would love to connect between my house and my sisters. I have a niece that is going on 11 and it would be nice to see her more ... oh and my sister too. Well that and maybe a little bit of that chatting I noticed Lara and Top Cat doing. Hummmmmm. The possibilities are endless.

So what else have I missed while I was snoozing? Is there anything else I should know about? Help me out here.


Bridget: Daddy, can our boyfriends come over on Thanksgiving?
Paul: No!
Bridget: Okay, Daddy, can they come over Thursday?
--8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter

Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m

Road Rally?

I just had a rather strange idea when I was looking at Sabatkes blog. Have you ever participated in a road rally? You start out at one location. You are given your first clue that points you to a location. You then drive there and find another clue which you solve and then move on to where that points, etc. You do this over many hours and in an area that’s set aside. There may also be some special credit also. The last clue points you back to where the party is. You are judged on how many things you got correct and how fast you did it. Points are added up and a winner is declared.

What if we were to try something like that in the blog world? I have not thought out the details as it is late but I thought I would post it and see if anyone can help think it through.

I think what we would have is one person starts it all out like lets say SignGurl. She has a clue as a Post that is put up about the same time everyone else (5 to 10 people) puts up their clue. Everyone goes there to start. Now you figure out the clue and that points you to the next blog site. I think when you visit the site you post something on the comment to prove you where there. On the last site you post (or possibly email) your worked out clues so people can be sure you did not just wander around and not actually be following the clues. There would not be any winner other than just the fact that you participated.

Now I do not have it all worked out. I do not know if anyone would want to try that. If not, I had a fun time thinking of the possibilities. Even if we do not do this, how about some ideas how it could be done?


Yeah, Blue Monday. Followed by Broke Tuesday, followed by Disasters Wednesday. From there the rest of the week go DOWN HILL. --Good Times

Ruby Tuesday

OK, here I am sitting in front of the computer near the TV doing something I thought I would never do. I can not believe I am being so weak. I so said I would never do it. I am proud of that fact and now I am compromising myself. What am I doing?

WATCHING A REALITY SHOW!!!

I promised a friend that I would give American Idol a try tonight and see what I think. So far I am not sure. It kind of remains me of the Olympics. You know where you see 2 hours of events and 6 hours of personal information, information about countries, information about prior records, you name it and it is there but very little actual sporting events.

So what is the big deal about watching a reality show anyway? Well I started out by watching the original survivor. I watched every week faithfully. I had one time I was driving into the gym for a water aerobic class and I turned the car around, set on a VCR and went back to the gym, of course a little late. That is a little silly. As it progressed I got more involved in the show and when several of the people I hoped would go all the way get eliminated it was very disappointing. Then to see them set up Jarvis as a lazy bump week after week and then finally present him one week as this very lovable person only to have him voted off. Slick editing. There was more of that too. In the end I decided I needed to give it a rest.

I tried several others. A little Apprentice. At first I thought it was pretty good and maybe even something I could learn something from but then as far as I was concerned it just became to commercial. I tried The Great Race. Now that was different and I enjoyed it until the end of the second season I saw. There was someone that was terrible that kept complaining that they wanted to quit right now. I wanted them out from almost the beginning anyway. Of course they completed the round and then went on to win. To me that was a case of editing again that I hated in Survivor. No they did not rig the contest but yes they edited it all knowing what the final results were and I did not like what I saw. There were some others too but I did not even make it through the first few episodes. At that time I swore them off.

So now, here I am watching. It is getting better. Three groups have now made it and I found myself getting excited. I also find myself not liking this Simon character. What a jerk he seems to be. I would have through there could have been at least a little advice that could be passed on to some of them. I am not sure about this show but yet I still watch. I hope this does not lead to me being addicted yet again. help me...


You know, when I was cleaning out our attic the other day I found an old calendar called "The Week of Love." It had Monday for Meeting, Tuesday for Talking, Wednesday for Wishing, Thursday for Touching, and Friday for some reason had been torn out. --Are You Being Served

Monday, Monday

MONDAY'S CHILD IS FAIR OF FACE
by Mother Goose (and many other references)

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.


I was a Monday baby. Fair of face, gee I don't know about that. I think Mother Goose needs an update, especially for Sunday. Sorry but gay has not been used to mean happy for some time. I suppose I would not mind being a Fridays Child.

So where do you fit in? If you are not sure what day of the week you were born on click here.

Solomon Grundy, by Henry Gibson; Solomon Grundy born on Monday; went to school on Tuesday; grew a beard on Wednesday; expelled on Thusday; protested on Friday; arrested on Saturday; drafted on Sunday; and this was the end of Solomon Grundy. --Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in

Describe yourself using one band and song titles from that band

I found this survey at bzoink.com. It looked like fun so here goes my attempt.

Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band: Chicago

Are you male or female: I'm a Man

Describe yourself: The American Dream

How do some people feel about you: Happy Man

How do you feel about yourself: Must Have Been Crazy

Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend: Woman Don't Want To Love Me

Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend: I've Been Searching So Long

Describe where you want to be: Paris

Describe what you want to be: I'd Rather Be Rich

Describe how you live: Free

Describe how you love: Anyway You Want

Share a few words of wisdom: No Tell Lover

Splish, Splash I was Taking a Bath

Could someone pass me a towl?

I finally took apart my washing machine to see what was going on. I cleaned the floor up and the inside of the machine to make sure I could tell what was going on. I carefully made sure everything was dry. Then the test. Set the washing machine on a small load, cold water and just let it run.

The machine filled up, around and around it went.

kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk...

A ha, there is a tiny little puddle forming so I dried it up. Then there was another which was promptly dried up. Then another and more of the precious ones. It kept me busy but this was all trivial. By the time the whole load was done I think I would only have seen maybe a couple of ounces of water so no real big deal.

kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk...

The cycle just would not end. Why did I pick the long cycle.

kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk...

Well no need to build an arc here. But I just do not understand. That is not what I was seeing when I was doing the laundry. And then it happened. The machine came to a load thunk and stopped, getting ready for what was next. For some reason I felt like when you are ridding a roller coaster and you are coming to the top of that first hill, just about to go over the top. Well I was not disappointed.

The machine loudly started the next stage. I had my head right there next to the heart of the beast. My flashlight was on as I looked at all the various locations, the tub, the belt, the motor, the floor under the machine... and then it happened. I was wet. Not just a little wet but very wet. I thought I was taking a shower. Water was flying everywhere. I think the basement was quickly filling up. It must have gotten a good 4 inches deep before I got over the shock and tried to figure out what was going on. How could this be?

Every time I tried to see what was going on I was hit in the eye with water. I used to wear glasses most of my life. The glasses sure would come in handy now. Maybe I should see if I could find some safety glasses.

Somehow I managed to block most of the water and get a look see what was happening. Surely one of the large water hoses that carry water around the washing machine must have completely fallen apart. So what did I see? A little nib coming off the water pump, probably no bigger than 1/8 inch. How could something that small cause me all these problems? Of course the water was coming out under pressure but that was not what was making it bad. The water was falling on some strange looking do-hicky (technical term) that connected the motor to the water pump. It was something designed to help isolate the movement of the machine. It also was perfectly designed to fling the water everywhere and I do mean everywhere!

For a little while I had thoughts of what I was going to do. If I could just run some power and water out to the front yard I could build a nice little reflector pond and use the washing machine as a water fountain. I always thought it might be nice to have a water feature... OK, back to reality... I would only be able to use it half the year anyway living up her in the great white North. Well that and I think the neighbors and the local government might not be amused.

Well after stopping the machine, drying up and cleaning up everything that I could it was time to see what else I could do. The Internet to the rescue. The manufacture had a web site that was not very helpful. After poking around what seemed like forever I managed to get the system to accept the model of washing machine I had. Their search engine was so unforgiving. I typed in the model, WWA5600VCLAD and it did not find it. After playing with it I finally found the machine as WWA5600VCL. I located the part number but of course the manufacture did not carry that part, the water pump assembly. Luckily I did a little more searching and found a company just the next state over that had my part. It is on the way. Now I need to find my way to the local laundromat. I am sure that will be an adventure in itself. Oh and by the way, I may just have exaggerated the problem just a little...


Lovely, ladies, lovely. Now turn. Take the body with you. Lovely. Now let's have a try at our Grecian Urns. One Grecian Urn......Two Grecian Urns..........and a fountain.....trickle, trickle, trickle. Splendid, ladies. I predict that our Del Sarte display will be the highlight of the Ice Cream Sociable. -- The Music Man

Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

Oh no, what is going on? Some of my favorite blogger are missing. First there was Steph the Attention Whore who just went up in smoke with no clues as to what happened.



Now we have GiGi who we at least know a little about what happened.



Who is next? I am afraid to make the rounds.



I sure do miss Steph. I hope GiGi makes her comeback to sold out audiances real soon. I miss her already and she had such a fine HNT this week too.


Am I missing something? -- Daria

I Was Pinned Today

Nope, I was not wrestling. No I did not have my airline tickets pinned to me (long story but the general idea, I lost my tickets on a business trip once and the next time work pinned them to me). I didn't get forced to take the rap for something. I did not join a fraternity or anything.

Work decided it was time to recognize the employees for their amount of service. It was nice enough. They had some nice fruit, veggies, sweets and other interesting things to snack upon. The bosses boss made a speach about what was happening. The bosses, bosses bosses (is that bosses twice removed?) were there to make a nice speech about being thankful for the service everyone has provided and then they proceeded to take the employees that had been there between 5 and 32 years (she must have been a baby when she started working here) in reverse order, presented a pin representing the amount of service 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25+ years, had our pictures taken with the bosses, bosses, bosses after shaking their had and receiving their thanks.

It is a silly little thing. I know at first there were a lot of gripes from people. Of course everyone would always like to have a bonus or a raise or maybe a gift or real nice plaque but it still was a nice gesture. I am actually looking forward to getting that picture framed and placed on the wall at work, why not?

Well that was it, a short ceramony, a bunch of people were recognized, I placed my pin on that represented the 17+ years I have been there and the event was done in less in an hour and a half. We will see if they follow up on this in 3 years when I should be getting a 20 year pin.

So I thought I would share a picture of me dressed up. That never happens. I really do not like ties and I avoid suits as much as possible but just this once. What an interesting day all and all. I hope everyone had a nice day.



What's that on your chest mister?
It's a Pledge Pin sir.
A Pledge Pin, on your Uniform?
--Animal House

I Hear You

I have a problem. I love to help people out if I can. It gives me a nice feeling inside. If I can make a difference in even one persons life maybe my existence on this tiny planet is not for nothing. My problem is there are times when I either can't or should not even try to help out. I will give you an example of course but that seems to be my thing.

I got to know someone online a handful of years back. Things went well but then one day she told me about how she was molested by her mothers boyfriend. She went on to say her own Mom did not believe her and did nothing about it. She told me about how her relationship with her Mom has been terrible ever since. She went on about her different fears and some of the problems she has had ever since. I so wanted to help. I so wanted to be her white knight to save her from it all. Of course she did not need it as she was getting married soon and he would be there for her. For the first time in a long time I held back. I was concerned, what if I say the wrong thing. I could really make an unfortunate situation worse. As much as I wanted to help my friend I just knew the best thing I could do is just listen and be supportive of my friend. I did, however, get a book and read up on the situation so I felt a little more comfortable talking with her after that making sure not to do or say the wrong thing but still being there for her.

Fast forward 11 years just because I hate to leave the story hanging. Her and her hubby are doing great. Her relationship with her Mom is not so good but her Mother in Law is the best. We still keep in touch every now and then. I so wanted to say some wise things but maybe the best thing I could possibly have done is what I did. I was supportive of my friend. I said a few things here and there but they were mostly words of encouragement.

I have had that happen before but I did not keep to myself. A friend who was pregnant came to me and said she was pregnant and had not told anyone. In the end I ended up telling her that she should talk to the father as he would be there for her. Embarrassingly that talk happened that night while I was near by at the bar. Luckily things turned out. They had the kid, got married and last I heard were doing very well but what if I was wrong?

So why bring this up? Am I trying to leave around little articles hoping someone will nominate me for saint hood? Hardly. I guess it is just something I needed to put in writing. I just need to remind myself from time to time the world does not always need saving. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a friend is just listen.


You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don’t you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you’ve got to do is call.
Lord, I’ll be there, yes I will.
You’ve got a friend.
You’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
You’ve got a friend.
--James Taylor: You've Got a Friend (lyrics)

Boing

I don't know how you have your blogs set up but there is the abililty to have an email sent to yourself when someone leaves a comment. Well lately I have noticed that blogger has been getting slow sometimes, really slow. Then everything seemed OK.

This evening I had something interesting happen. I had several email message sent back to me undeliverable from several different people. The first one was a surprise and I was not sure I wanted to open it. After all I did not rememeber sending something that should be being returned. I chanced it and open the email. There was something I had posted to someone elses blog. That was followed by another message from the same person. Not to long after that I received yet another message only this time from someone else. Now the thing that these had in common is both people were using aol for email. But when I loooked that did was not true for one of them. She seemed to be using hotmail. Why was I getting something from aol about a bounced message for someone that does not have an aol account? Is it blogger? Is it me somehow?

Anyway I thought I would mention it in case you notice something strange to. Blogger, got to love it when it works but sometimes it is just plain weird.


The wonderful thing about tiggers / Is tiggers are wonderful things / Their tops are made out of rubber / Their bottoms are made out of springs / They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun, fun, fun / But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is I'm the only one
-- The Tigger Movie

Guitar Hero Revisited

Sorry for this post but I rushed it. A little while ago I talked about being a guitar hero. Well this past friday my equipment arrived. I opened it up, plugged it in and got started.

Two and a half hours latter I looked at the clock. How could it possibly have gotten so late. I must admit I had a fun time. These pictures are staged, and poorly done at that. But it will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

You have a guitar controler. Notice the five fret keys (green, red, yellow, blue, and orange). You watch the TV and it tells you which note or notes to play. There are 4 or 5 difficulty settings, I choose the easy setting for now which means only green, red and yellow and only one note at a time most of the time.

Now my other hand is where you strum the note. There is also a wha wha lever for the long notes.

You start out with 10 songs to play and, once you go on a carrer track you can unlock locations and songs. I have 25 songs now since I am a Guitar Hero on the easy setting.

You are not actually playing. What happens is they have you play something that is very simular to the notes that are playing. If you hit the right note at the right time it plays that part of the song, otherwise it flubs the note. After a little you really feel like you are playing. Let me say once again, I had a lot of fun with this. One of these days if I get my hands on some real pictures I will include them but being rushed and taking self pictures I just did not do such a good job here.

This is how I spent many hours on Saturday which did not help my arm. I don't know if it was the game or the fall from earlier but wow. I have to get back into this at the medium setting. One of my favotite songs still has to be More Than a Feeling.

OK, so maybe my carrer is on hold for a little while I get some practice in. I think the band should be available sometime this summer if anyone is interested.

Oh and I just had to do this one for Top Cat. Sorry for the cheap knock off Top Cat.



It’s more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
’till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin’ away

When I’m tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped awa y. she slipped away.

It’s more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
’till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin’ away
-- Boston: More than a feeling

It’s Funny Until Someone Gets Hurt

Boy that title changed fast, here is why.

Today was going OK. I was running just a little late to make it to the phone store when they opened. I got outside and noticed it had been misting or very light rain. I stepped off the porch and took my first step on the wet cement. Holly cow, it was black ice. I could not believe how slick it was. My car was outside so I needed to scape it. Now that was amusing. If anyone was watching I am sure they were cracking up before I drove away. I took my scraper and scrapped a few swipes before I was pushed away from the car (no traction an all). Then I went back to the car, took a few more swipes with the scrapper, was pushed away and had to stop and find my way back to the car. This happened for the whole driver side of the vehicle (I drive a mini van with lots of glass) and part of the windshield. The other side of the car was next to a dirt planting bed and that provided me with much needed traction. To bad I did not have some curling stones. This surface was a perfect sheet for curling, well accept for the stress relief points on the cement.

After amusing everyone I got in and pulled cautiously away. Throughout the journey I kept checking the roads by applying the breaks ... I slid pretty far. Once I got going I think I could have turned the car off, hit the breaks and slid to where I was going. Thank goodness there was not to much traffic on the road.

Lets shorten this up a little. I got to the phone company and ended up with a 15 minute wait. The gentleman that helped me was fantastic. Not only did he get the phone situation straightened out for me, he also told me how I could take the phone apart and switch a few parts and have a working phone without having to go back to where I bought it. Of course that was after he tried to sell me a new phone but hey, that is part of his job.

Going back out to the car I took a spill and I came down hard. I landed on the right side of my body. My arm already hurt some, now it hurts more. I am sure my hip will be fun over the next handful of days and my wrist is a little sore. I don’t think I did any permanent damage but I am going to be feeling this for a while to come.

When I got home I took the phones apart and played surgeon, or was that God? I had to decide who lived and who died. Well now I have one completely working phone and one more or less dead phone. I will take a look at it to see if I can at least use it to charge my second battery I have. If not, I will take it apart and see what I did wrong. The good new is, I have a working phone. Yeah!


[Fred has just fallen down after taking a swing at Barney] Whale on the beach! Whale on the beach!
-- The Flintstones

Can You Hear Me Now?

Let me vent just a little. I will keep it short because who wants to hear this.

I broke the hinge on my flip phone. Although it still works I really needed to replace it. Now I could not replace it with any phone. I wanted one of the tri-mode phones that could still do Analog because parts of the area near me really can not receive Digital. Forget most of the phones these days as they only do Digital. So I decided to replace the phone with the same model.

I looked on eBay and eventually won a phone. Once I received it I upgraded to the new phone with using the phone and all appeared to go well. I made two calls and all seemed to be OK. But then, then I looked at the dumb phone. It was going insane. It was bouncing between Analog and Digital, over an over again. I had either no bars or one bar of service and then it would switch to the other mode. Darn, I got a lemon.

I contacted the seller and they said return it to them and they would take care of it. My problem, how do I get the service turned off on that phone? I tried to upgrade back to the old phone, got an error and said I needed to contact them on a land line. I tried that this evening and they said that the old phone was active (no it isn't) and the new phone was not.

They called me and neither answered. I figured I would place a phone call with the old phone, it did not have service. I tried to place a call with the new phone and I could not receive a signal but eventually was able to connect with it after I hung up with the tech. The tech said that was not possible and the other phone was active. I asked can I go in to a store and have them handle it and they said yes but I should have the phone repaired. Talk about clueless. Then they asked if they had solved my problem and I said no way but I would take it in to the store.

Granted I probably did something that they did not anticipate but the person on the line should have been able to handle this, shouldn't they? What a waist of my time. Well off to the store tomorrow morning when it first opens because that store is terrible. I probably would need to wait 30 minutes to an hour at least for service.

I promise to be happier tomorrow, honest.

I miss my cell phone.

help me...



No! See, you need to be taking her in for impersonating a customer service representative. -- Third Watch

It is all Relative

Isn't it funny how things work out? Just short of two months ago winter hit Michigan with a vengeance. One week we were in the 50s and 60s for a high and over night we were into the 30s. Then we received a pile of snow and slipped below freezing for a few weeks. I was freezing my ass off. I had on my best winter coat, winter gloves, a hat and I was thinking about long johns. Fast forward to this morning. It was about mid thirties and I had my coat on but not closed in any way. Now granted there is no snow on the ground as, for the second time this season, we had a complete thaw but there is snow on the way. But still what a big difference a few weeks have made.

Now take someone from Florida. As a matter of fact I visited friends in Florida in December for a week a bunch of years ago. Part way through the week I froze as the high only reached about 61. We went to see the mouse house on that day. Now I love Disney but I think I took a whole day to thaw out. If I were in Michigan at the moment I would simply love the weather.

Another example, March time frame in Michigan. Usually it reaches the 40s and you see people out in shorts and skimpy tops, forget the coats. I don't think I have seen any swimwear that time of year other than catalogs but it would not surprise me. All this because it got probably 10 degrees warmer than it had been in ages.

Weather, it is all relative. I would imagine the winter we have had here in Michigan would seem like a piece of cake to someone in Minnesota. Oh, one more thing … they expect we will see the sun for the first time in almost a week tomorrow. Yes!!! So, tell me, what is the weather like where you are today?


Good is relative. Beauty's relative. Everything's relative. Except for me. I'm absolute. -- Joan of Arcadia

Sold to Bidder Number...

Have you ever been to an auction before? I attended an Estate Auction on Monday. It was the most unusual thing. I did not bid even once. There were coins and baseball cards, firehouse memorabilia, paintings, furniture, brass beds, chairs, lots of dishes, knifes, electronics, a piano, lamps, vases, a car, a couple of items of clothes, books, and a lot of other STUFF.

We got there 45 minutes before the auction was to start so we could look things over. I looked at everything there was and there were probably 4 items I considered bidding on.

First there were two pictures that were tributes to Princess Diana. Now I was fascinated with Diana. She had a kind sole and seemed to be a truly lovely person. She was born on July 1 which also happens to be my birthday. I saw her wedding and it was unbelievable. As I soon found out there was a bit about Diana I did not know but all and all I still have a lot of respect for her. But know I looked at this. What would I do with these pictures? Also, at least the one looked like it would be expensive. I thought a while about this one and kept waffling about what to do but in the end I just could not justify it.

I also saw some nice dishes. They had a nice blue pattern on it. I thought they were china but I really do not know these things. When they called it I am not sure what they said but it did not sound like china. Anyway it looked like the kind of plates you might get if you went to a nice Chinese restaurant. There was about 4 different groups interested in this and I think I probably could have got it for 65 to 75 dollars (the winning bid was 45 but I think they would have put up a fight still). Before I go and bid on something like that I think I need to do some shopping and research so I understand what I am bidding on. It would be nice to have some china however.

The final item I considered was a table. Not to big with a couple of drawers in it. I was not sure if it would work for what I was after. I want a small table to put by the entrance door so you have a place to set things down when you get in. I prefer that people take off their shoes before coming into the house and I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to set things down while you take off or put on the shoes and the coat. There were a couple of tables with one being promising but you know, I really do not know what I want at the door. I think I need to do some measuring and see what I think would work so when I attend an auction I at least have guidelines as to what I am looking for. I also need to know a price for something like that because the item went for much more than I would have liked.

The auction was run by Dennis Beals and he had a second Auctioneer to help out. I have been to one of his auctions before. He is a great person. He is firm about how he calls things but also very fair. He is real easy to understand and also has a charming personality. He takes care of people and does not seem to be there just to nickle and dime you to death unlike one other auctioneer I have been to in the area. He has free coffee and hot water for tea cocoa. He had maybe 5 large boxes of donuts, again free and two thirds of the way of the auction (which lasted almost 6 hours) he came running out with a case of orange juice, but wait, there it more. He then ran out with a case of V8 juice. The more I see of this guy the more I think he is super. I can not wait to attend another auction of his but maybe bid next time.

The second auctioneer gave Dennis some backup. After he had been at it for 4 hours the other person took over for a while. Also while Dennis handled the main items the other person auctioned off the firehouse memorabilia and the coins and cards. He has a very different style. he is constantly yelling something. We have a five, five, five, five, do we have a ten, ten, ten? He just constantly was going on and on. He is your typical auctioneer. Now Dennis move you through also but he is much more clear and you just feel comfortable with him.

The both of them were very fair. If they saw anything like chips or thought something was a reproduction they would mention it to make sure people were aware. They even held back some baseball cards they felt were reproductions until someone said they wanted to bid on it just the same since they though they were original.

I had to stand about the whole time which was a killer on my feet. I am not used to that at all. So what did I do for the auction. Why I took part in my favorite things these days. I people watched. First I spent a lot of time getting a feel for how the auctioneers worked. Dennis in particular would let you know as much as he could in 3 to 4 seconds what it was and would add it is a sleeper or this is mighty fine or not add much of anything. He then would ask if he could get let say $50, 000. Now that was a joke but usually the amount he tried to start at was roughly where it sold at. Typically he might start at 50, drop to 25, and then to 10 where he got his first bid. We have 10, do I hear 15, 15, 15? He would get 15 and then he would start the bidding war between the two bidders. Some bidders would make large gestures to signify they were bidding, others barley moved their head but the auctioneer seemed to do fine what ever you did. They also confirmed as they went to make sure there was not hard feelings.

Sometimes peoples bids were missed or there were multiple bids at the same time and Dennis took the other persons bids. He was trying to be fair but he was firm. When an item was done he would close with item sold your way to bidder number, bidder number 154, bidder number 154 for 12.50. At that point it was over. If you missed it, you missed it. Also items where as is and he mentioned that at the beginning of the auction. One person bought a bunch of china for a certain amount and then after 30 minutes or so they complained because they did not realize it was so chipped up. Dennis stood pretty firm on that but he said we would work things out. At the end I heard hive give here a deal to mark it down some but he said the person was responsible to the bid and he could charge the full amount. There was hard feelings there but come on, you have at least an hour before the auction to check everything out and everyone knows it is as is.

The people were interesting. I saw a bunch of people I recognized from the first auction I had been to. One lady in particular I hoped would be there was not. That was a shame as I was fascinated with her. I got to know the types of things she would bid on and saw her fine little moves she made. I also found I had no idea when she was ready to drop out, she just did. She ran an antique shop.

The people there were there were just as interesting. There was one heavy set gentleman, what a super person. He seemed to be interested in collectable items although I think I remember a previous auction him bidding on several boxes of porno that was there. There was this one kid, about 16 years old, who was there with her mom and possibly aunt. Her mom looked like she had done a lot of sun worshiping in her days as her face was a bit dried out. They did not do a lot of bidding at first but several of the items were obviously for the daughter and she was tickled to win them. They were a little slow on two bids in a row and did not get one of the brass beds which they were disappointed about but an auction is fast paced. They did end up with several large pieces of furniture and it was interesting seeing them handle that at the end of the day. They could handle their own.

There was this little black kid running around here and there. Very polite and well mannered. At one point he was helping move the box lots and other items down the table toward the auctioneer and he was really very helpful. He also was running around the place playing with a few toys. At one point they one a cowboy hat and he enjoyed that. What a pleasant distraction he was.

There was a couple of cats running around although only one of them was an attention whore. It ran from place to place to get what attention it could. Then time to move on to the next person. When people picked it up the cat allowed it but hung on to make sure it was not dropped. Obviously this cat had experiences a lot before. So yes, even the mousers were entertaining.

My friends I went with won many an item and filled up the back of the vehicle they brought. It was a pretty good day for them. They would keep some of it but auction most of it off on eBay.

All and all, even though I did not bid, it was a most enjoyable day. I know I will be back. By the way, I was bidder number 154, my friends were 149. I believe there were almost 300 bidders there in the end.

Well that was my first half of Monday. If you have never been to an auction before, you really should try at least one. It can be addictive however so be careful.


Item 157... Global Domination. Enslave the human race. Do I have any bids?

I'll take any bids. $1. Enslave the human race for $1?
-- Family Guy

Bedlum: The Agony of Defeat

Something started to go wrong with this teams bed at the start of the race. By the time they came out of turn two it was all over... or was it?










Aren't wheels suppose to be round?












Forget about it! Let's just carry the bed.












GO












TEAM












GO












PEACE OF CAKE!













































































Oh dear. Looks like the right front "tire" blew out.

























An here we go again. Talk about persistance.












I don't know about you but I do not think I would wan't to be the gal going for the ride.

























Here we go again. The Right Front "tire" is about to blow out again only this time he is going to flip and get run over by the bed. Wait for it...



















































...and they are going to keep going.













And they finally finished.

Welcome to the New Year

2005 was fairly good to me. I had a tendency to friiter away the year, something I hope I can improve upon this year. I also had a health scare that, after many tests, turned out to be nothing they could explain. I also had a health problem that I will do something about in 2006.

It was in 2005 that I first heard about blogs and in September I started a blog ID and finally my blog in November. I have gotten to meet many super people this way and have never regetted it.




2006 will be an interesting year. Besides making the usuall resolutions to lose weight and exercise more (something my doctor says I really need to do) and taking better care of my teeth I am also just hoping to do for me. Get out and do stuff more often. Take a real vacation this year. Visit with the folks more and see if I can't lend a hand. I would love to say I will do more but I think I need to be more realistic. This is a good start.






This time of year is a perfect time to reflect upon where we have come from and to set goals for where we are heading. At the same time, however, we must never forget to live in the here and now. Never forget family friends and loved ones. Always remember that there may not be a tomorrow and make sure everyone knows how you feel about them. Should the end come tomorrow, try to make sure you will have no regrets. It is something that is easier said then done but at least strive for it.

It all starts by seting some goals and making some decisions.

Some decisions will not be easy to make.

Sometimes it will mean chosing the path less followed.

Sometimes there will be many obsticles in the way.

It will not always be easy going.

Sometimes no matter how much you plan and how hard you work toward it some goals will not be possible.

But always set your sights on what is ahead and keep striving for it because

in the end it will be rewarding to you and to those you care most about.

Best wishes to you and yours for a safe journey filled with pleasant surprises. Make 2006 a wonderful year, one you will never forget.


Well, the past is gone, I know that. The future isn't here yet, whatever it's going to be. So, all there is, is this. The present. That's it. -- Broken Flowers

A question if you do not mind

While I am gathering my thoughts for a proper New Years day entry I thought of a question. If I were a little more savy I probably could put up one of the instant polls but I guess I will do this instead.

Does anyone pay attention to the little odd ball thing I stick at the end of most posts? Sometimes it is a quote from a movie or TV show, some times it is from lyrics of a song, etc. I am just curious because some times it takes me more time to come up with something that in some way or another ties in with something in the blog entry then to write the rest of the entry. I guess I am not sure why I am asking as, at least for now, I am finding it amusing but...


Champ here. I'm all about havin' fun. You know, start a fire in someone's kitchen, maybe go to SeaWorld, take my pants off... Anyway, I've become kind of famous for my signature catch-phrase ? whammy! Like, Gene Tenace at the plate... and whammy! -- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy