Happy Holidays

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate this holiday season or even if you do not celebrate it...





I hope we can all join together in a wish for peace for all of our nations.


Have a wonderful and safe holiday everyone.

Half Nekkid Christmas Gifts

I do not participate in Half Nekkid Thursday (other than visiting others) as I am just not comfortable with doing that. I must say, however, that many people have proved to me that it is possible to tackfully and gracefully partcipate as I have seen done week after week. I do admire everyone for how creative you are. Anyway the gifts.

Susie who is now on her way to annual trip to India gave me a gift of my choosing. I could probably think of a lot of things I would personally love for me or my family but you know, I think I would enjoy giving even more than receiving. So I am going to follow through with the request of Oz, the king and creator of HNT. His request was that people, rather than posting an HNT picture this week, they would take the time to give virtual Christmas gifts to three other HNT participants and don't forget these are virtual so there is no limit. Pictures are welcome.

Well, I am afraid I am breaking all the rules as I am not an HNTer unless you count the one time I wore the HNT shirt. So the three people that I am leaving a gift for are also not HNT participants, sorry.

The first one there are so many things I could give her. I would love to give her the love of her life. I would love to give her some money so she can afford to go to school and not have to worry about money so she can get a wonderful job. I am sure there is much more things that would be appropriate but to Strumpet I would love to give her a pussy. And not just any pussy, but a special cat that will not make her allergic. I think that a little something like a kitty would be wonderful for those times when she is feeling her lowest. And I can not help but think it would brighten all her days. So to Strumpet I give you a Siberian cat. Now not everyone agrees that it is possible to have a hypoallergenic cat but I say we give it a try.

Now my second person I would like to give a virtual gift to is Suzie friends Mom. She wrote about her when she sent a virtual wish out to her. Her friends Mom has brain cancer. She wished it would not be so difficult for them. Well not knowing them and their situation I will wish the impossible and that would be for a cure of remission. If that is not possible than I Second Susie's wish.

The third person I would love to send out a wish to is a friend of Jillies, Cay. She has breast cancer and it spread to her liver. Jillie has not mentioned her in a while so maybe I should not even mention her here but to Cay of course I would wish the best doctors that hopefully could prolong her life. Falling short of that then I wish her a little more time on this earth and I hope that her and Jillie and anyone else in her life can all share a few special moments and laughs and tears and each others wonderful company. I am afraid that this wish is a little selfish because I wish it as much for Jillie and I wish it for Cay.

Well there you have it, my three wishes. I would love to actually give out things to a lot of other people too but we were suppose to limit it to three people and I thought these were three worthy people.

There you have it, my non HNT HNT post.

Help Me Pick the Winners

We are doing a College Football Bowl pool this time around. We normally only do a March Madness Basketball pool but this is new. So what is at stake??? Mainly braging rights.

How about giving me a hand picking out my choise of who will win each bowl game. Even if you only pick 1 or two games I would love to hear what you think.

Jillie, I have you down for Wisconsin to win. Crabby and Manny, I have you down for Ohio to win. Galen, of course I have you down for Michigan to win. Anyone care to share your thoughts. Oh and even if you do not watch football or at least do not watch American football I would still love to hear from you.

The following is extracted from a linup on ESPN sports...



2007-08 College Football Bowl Schedule

1) San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Utah vs. Navy

2) R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic

3) Papajohns.com Bowl
Southern Miss vs. Cincinnat

4) New Mexico
Nevada vs. New Mexico

5) Pioneer Las Vegas
UCLA vs. BYU

6) Sheraton Hawaii
Boise State vs. East Carolina

7) Motor City
Purdue vs. Central Michigan

8) Pacific Life Holiday
Arizona State vs. Texas

9) Champs Sports
Boston College vs. Michigan State

10) Texas
TCU vs. Houston

11) Emerald
Maryland vs. Oregon State

12) Meineke Car Care
UConn vs. Wake Forest

13) AutoZone Liberty
UCF vs. Mississippi State

14) Valero Alamo
Penn State vs. Texas A&M

15) PetroSun Independence
Alabama vs. Colorado

16) Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
California vs. Air Force

17) Roady's Humanitarian
Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State

18) Brut Sun
South Florida vs. Oregon

19) Gaylord Hotels Music City
Kentucky vs. Florida State

20) Insight
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State

21) Chick-fil-A
Clemson vs. Auburn

22) Outback
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee

23) AT&T Cotton
Missouri vs. Arkansas

24) Konica Minolta Gator
Texas Tech vs. Virginia

25) Capital One
Michigan vs. Florida

26) Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Illinois vs. USC

27) Allstate Sugar
Hawaii vs. Georgia

28) Tostitos Fiesta
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

29) FedEx Orange
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas

30) International
Rutgers vs. Ball State

31) GMAC
Bowling Green vs. Tulsa

32) Allstate BCS Championship Game
LSU vs. Ohio State

What a Great Day...

I had a real nice lunch yesterday. They put on a luncheon for us for the Holiday season. The food was nice, the conversations nice, all and all it was a good time but that is not why I had a good time. Let me explain.

When I walked in there were already people there. First thing I saw the people, next I smelled and saw the food. I headed for the line and filled up my plate with goodies. Once I got that and the drink under control as I was headed back to take a seat when I noticed it.

First I saw two microphones set up on mike stands. One of the mikes was the old style but still very good microphone. The other was a little more modern. By them was a music stand which sat near two chairs. Just beyond that was a mixer board (now were talking) which must have also doubled as a power amp. That was then hooked into a couple of nice looking speakers.

OK, now that was enough to get me very excited. I have always like the tecky side of things and that includes audio/visual as well. But the other thing this reminded me of was Open Mike night. Back 10 15 years ago I used to attend many an open mike night many of which my coworker was playing and singing at. Actually to just say he was doing that is an understatement. I think one of the things I enjoyed about him is he would entertain, not only with the music but also in what he said as a introduction to his different songs. He was a true entertainer. Let me clear something up before I go further. I say was because A) he retired and B) he moved to Florida. It kind of makes it hard to do Open Mike nights anymore.

So after a while one of the people I work with stepped up to the mike and brought his brother with them. They played soft Christmas music in the background and they were pretty good. I would be curious to see what else they can play. Someone kept yelling Free Bird but they were not bighting. Anyway that brought back a lot of memories. The only thing that would have made it better would be if they played Streets of London, Poverty, Poverty, Knock, Boothferry Bridge and a few others to name names. I sure did enjoy those days GoGo...

Anyway that was my highlight of my day. How about you, how did your day go?

Oh and one more thing, time to wish my friend SignGurl a happy birthday. She is one of the most super people I am so fortunate to know. She is always willing to lend a hand and also ready to kick butt and take names if the situation calls for it. She is very creative and turned into quit the tech savvy person too. She is always fun to be around and and ... well and a lot more. I got to stop this because it is starting to sounds line a eulogy. Anyway don’t forget to stop by and wish her a happy birthday.

Snow Day

My School district joined about 20 to 25 other school districts in the area and closed today which really surprises me. Now it does not affect me as I do not work for the school system and I do not have any kids. Still it amazes me. The next school district over is open and we are very similar in nature.

Over the weekend we received about 9 inches of snow but it finished snowing by about noon Sunday. What little I was out yesterday people seemed to be doing fine and most of the sidewalks seemed to have been cleared by people. Note the picture below is just for fun. We do not have that much snow but it felt like it when I was clearing the snow away.



Now for this area 9 inches of snow is a lot of snow but certainly not unheard of as we usually can handle 4 to 6 inches no problem. If we were a rural school district I could understand that as plows may not have made it everywhere and there is always the blowing and drifting. Many of the other districts that are also closed are very much rural so that makes sense.

Where I live the roads are still somewhat snow covered although they seem to have been plowed so if you take your time it is no problem getting around. Speaking of plows I have heard one come through twice as I type this. My poor driveway!!! Anyway I get the feeling they should be saving these snow days as I think we are going to see a bit more snow than normal this year. I don't want to see the chilens going to school in July. Oh well, I am sure they will enjoy their extended weekend.

I wonder if I can get the people that shut my district down to call off work for me? Hopefully, if you were affected by this latest storm that blew through the mid west and hit the east seaboard, you faired well. So I think it is time to make snow angels, snow man (people?) and maybe have a quick snowball fight. I bet skiing is outstanding right about now. Anyone up for some hot chocolate? I think I have some of those little marshmallows.

I found this and loved it. If you do not like the Star Trek series or Rocky Horror, you probably should skip this.

55Flash Fiction Friday

The big day is here
This has been your dream job most of your life
You did your research and prepared for every
possible question they could ask in your interview
From the moment you arrive to when you leave you own them

Upon leaving you notice your zipper has been down the entire time


Sometimes things just do not work out the way you want. The above is all fiction but somehow I could just see me doing that, well the zipper part anyway. It could have been worse, you could discover the zipper half way through the process and then have to finish the interview with that little fact on your mind.

I have never liked interviews. I think I could do a little better at them now as it dawned on me. The person on the other side of the desk is just another person doing their job. With a few exceptions this is not even their normal job. Heck they probably wish they were not there either. They may even be nervous about the interview too. At least I know I am when I get dragged into interviewing a new candidate. Of course that is probably just me.

There is one good thing about interviews... I have had my worst interview I will ever have in my life. It is out of the way. When I showed up for the job I found out it was for something I could do but I was not all that good at. It was not at all what I expected the job to be so I was so unprepared. When they asked the first serious question they phrased it in a very strange way and threw me off. I assumed I did not know what they were talking about but I really did. Anyway that set me up for doubting myself throughout the entire interview process. I should have been filmed in that series of interviews. I was the poster child of what not to do in an interview. So you see, should I ever need to go on a job interview again it will be a piece of cake, My worst interview ever has already happened. It is all up hill from here.

Should you want to participate in the 55 flash fiction Friday or just want to find out more, click on the badge in my side bar for more info. It really is fun. And if I can manage I am sure you can too.

Only 11 shopping days ‘till Christmas... have a wonderful weekend.

55Flash Fiction Friday

Today I‘m not feeling all that bright
I just can’t think of anything to write

Try as I might
There’s no theme in sight

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight

I wish I may, I wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight

No theme seems right
I just say goodnight

What can I say, sometimes you just can not think of a thing to say or write. Now while the above is sort of cute, and it is 55 words, it is lacking the character and it really has no plot other than writers block. Oh well, I will do better next week.


Yesterday I went to see a movie, Fred Clause. Now people do not rate this thing all that well. On the IMDB site they only give it a 5.5 (or something close to that) out of 10. But you know what, I liked it. I walked out of the movie with more Christmas spirit than I have had in a long time. Anyway if you do not have the time to watch it at the movies (or the inclination) you might consider it a renter. I have seen much worse movies. Oh and Tony should you be reading this, there is this one woman in particular that is showing a lot of cleavage!!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

I Am Not Dead Yet!

Well close but not yet.

YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS. NO ONE NEEDS TO READ IT BUT I THINK I NEEDED TO TYPE IT.

Friday I worked, now get this, 21 hours straight. Man that is just insane. Add to this I only got 3 hours sleep the night before (my fault but still).

There was a problem with one of the processors that I look after at 4:30 in the morning. When I looked at it a turtle could run faster than it was running. So rather than try and reboot and wait an hour for it to shut down, I forced it down. I saw an error on it coming back up but chose to ignore it and hope all would be well. What do I get for my due diligence? A user said I need this out now, everyone is waiting. Unfortunately I semi blew up at the user, something I would never have done if I was not so tired. Now I apologized to the user and will be doing so at least once again but I feel bad this happened. The good news is I have never been able to get anyones help with this processor. I think management might listen a little more now.

Now to add to this all dayer, after I woke up on Saturday at the crack of noon I discover we had an ice storm and it looked like I best shovel it rather then wait for it to melt. Two hours later I was a very tired individual. I am getting so old. I just do not bounce back like I used to.


IT IS SAFE TO COME BACK. HOW ABOUT SOMETHING MORE HAPPY...

Lies your brain tells you at 3 AM on Monday

3:00 - Coffee? Check. Now I'll just let the caffeine sink in and get to work...

3:01 - This is a perfect time to text my ex-girlfriend!

3:07 - I'm not saving all my work until the last minute next weekend.

3:10 - CollegeHumor updates late-night sometimes, right? I should look into that.

3:11 - Man I'm starving. Cheese doesn't go bad, right?

3:12 - Right?

3:17 - If I keep hitting the "refresh" button, something will eventually update on facebook.

3:40 - K, time to work.

3:40 and 30 seconds - Lisa still loves me I know it... I'm texting her again.

3:42 - Checking out Lisa's facebook pics can't hurt.

3:43 - Whoa, what does this "In a relationship with Ryan Pellico mean?"

3:58 - 3:58, if I masturbate my head will be totally cleared up... Gotta be quiet though.

3:59 - Whew! Now I'm pretty tired, that was record time. I'll just set my alarm extra early and do it in the morning. I'll feel so much more refreshed at 7 AM. You, sir, are a genius.

Well even though this seems to be aimed at someone in college and it has been a while since I have seen anything college other than graduation ceremonies or sporting events ... I can so identify with some of these. I especially love the last one, go to sleep for a few hours and get a fresh start. That is what got me into trouble to begin with! But you know, my new local coffee house did just open and it is open 24 hours a day...

How about one more...

101 Ways To Annoy People

1. Sing the Batman theme incessantly.

2. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sensual massage."

3. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."

4. Learn Morse code, and have conversations with friends in public consisting entirely of "Beeeep Bip Bip Beeep Bip..."

5. If you have a glass eye, tap on it occasionally with your pen while talking to others.

6. Amuse yourself for endless hours by hooking a camcorder to your TV and then pointing it at the screen. <

7. Speak only in a "robot" voice.

8. Push all the flat Lego pieces together tightly.

9. Start each meal by conspicuously licking all your food, and announce that this is so no one will "swipe your grub".

10. Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper, 98 copies.

11. Stomp on little plastic ketchup packets.

12. Sniffle incessantly.

13. Leave your turn signal on for fifty miles.

14. Name your dog "Dog."

15. Insist on keeping your car windshield wipers running in all weather conditions "to keep them tuned up."

16. Reply to everything someone says with "that's what YOU think."

17. Claim that you must always wear a bicycle helmet as part of your "astronaut training."

18. Declare your apartment an independent nation, and sue your neighbors upstairs for "violating your airspace".

19. Forget the punchline to a long joke, but assure the listener it was a "real hoot."

20. Follow a few paces behind someone, spraying everything they touch with Lysol.

21. Practice making fax and modem noises.

22. Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and "cc:" them to your boss.

23. Make beeping noises when a large person backs up.

24. Invent nonsense computer jargon in conversations, and see if people play along to avoid the appearance of ignorance.

25. Erect an elaborate network of ropes in your backyard, and tell the neighbors you are a "spider person."

26. Finish all your sentences with the words "in accordance with the prophesy."

27. Wear a special hip holster for your remote control.

28. Do not add any inflection to the end of your sentences, producing awkward silences with the impression that you'll be saying more any moment.

29. Signal that a conversation is over by clamping your hands over your ears.

30. Disassemble your pen and "accidentally" flip the ink cartridge across the room.

31. Give a play-by-play account of a persons every action in a nasal Howard Cosell voice.

32. Holler random numbers while someone is counting.

33. Adjust the tint on your TV so that all the people are green, and insist to others that you "like it that way."

34. Drum on every available surface.

35. Staple papers in the middle of the page.

36. Ask 1-800 operators for dates.

37. Produce a rental video consisting entirely of dire FBI copyright warnings.

38. Sew anti-theft detector strips
into peoples backpacks.

39. Hide dairy products in inaccessible places.

40. Write the surprise ending to a novel on its first page.

41. Set alarms for random times.

42. Order a side of pork rinds with your filet mignon.

43. Instead of Gallo, serve Night Train next Thanksgiving.

44. Publicly investigate just how slowly you can make a "croaking" noise.

45. Honk and wave to strangers.

46. Dress only in clothes colored Hunters Orange.

47. Change channels five minutes before the end of every show.

48. Tape pieces of "Sweating to the Oldies" over climactic parts of rental movies.

49. Wear your pants backwards.

50. Decline to be seated at a restaurant, and simply eat their complimentary mints by the cash register.

51. Begin all your sentences with "ooh la la!"

52. ONLY TYPE IN UPPERCASE.

53. only type in lowercase.

54. dont use any punctuation either

55. Buy a large quantity of orange traffic cones and reroute whole streets.

56. Pay for your dinner with pennies.

57. Tie jingle bells to all your clothes.

58. Repeat everything someone says, as a question.

59. Write "X - BURIED TREASURE" in random spots on all of someone's roadmaps.

60. Inform everyone you meet of your personal Kennedy assassination/UFO/ O.J Simpson conspiracy theories.

61. Repeat the following conversation a dozen times: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, its gone now."

62. Light road flares on a birthday cake.

63. Wander around a restaurant, asking other diners for their parsley.

64. Leave tips in Bolivian currency.

65. Demand that everyone address you as "Conquistador."

66. At the laundromat, use one dryer for each of your socks.

67. When Christmas caroling, sing "Jingle Bells, Batman smells" until physically restrained.

68. Wear a cape that says "Magnificent One."

69. As much as possible, skip rather than walk.

70. Stand over someone's shoulder, mumbling, as they read.

71. Pretend your computer's mouse is a CB radio, and talk to it.

72. Try playing the William Tell Overture by tapping on the bottom of your chin. When nearly done, announce "no, wait, I messed it up," and repeat.

73. Drive half a block.

74. Inform others that they exist only in your imagination.

75. Ask people what gender they are.

76. Lick the filling out of all the Oreos, and place the cookie parts back.

77. Cultivate a Norwegian accent. If Norwegian, affect a Southern drawl.

78. Routinely handcuff yourself to furniture, informing the curious that you don't want to fall off "in case the big one comes".

79. Deliberately hum songs that will remain lodged in co-workers brains, such as "Feliz Navidad", the Archies "Sugar" or the Mr. Rogers theme song.

80. While making presentations, occasionally bob your head. like a parakeet.

81. Lie obviously about trivial things such as the time of day.

82. Leave your Christmas lights up and lit until September.

83. Change your name to "AaJohn Aaaaasmith" for the great glory of being first in the phone book. Claim it's a Hawaiian name, and demand that people pronounce each "a."

84. Sit in your front yard pointing a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down.

85. Chew on pens that you've borrowed.

86. Wear a LOT of cologne.

87. Listen to 33rpm records at 45rpm speed, and claim the faster speed is necessary because of your "superior mental processing."

88. Sing along at the opera.

89. Mow your lawn with scissors.

90. At a golf tournament, chant "swing-batabatabata-suhWING-batter!"

91. Ask the waitress for an extra seat for your "imaginary friend."

92. Go to a poetry recital and ask why each poem doesn't rhyme.

93. Ask your co-workers mysterious questions, and then scribble their answers in a notebook. Mutter something
about "psychological profiles."

94. Stare at static on the TV and claim you can see a "magic picture."

95. Select the same song on the jukebox fifty times.

96. Never make eye contact.

97. Never break eye contact.

98. Construct elaborate "crop circles" in your front lawn.

99. Construct your own pretend "tricorder," and "scan" people with it, announcing the results.

100. Make appointments for the 31st of September.

101. Invite lots of people to other people's parties.



May I personally say that I took number 11 one step further. In one of my stupid college days (you would think I would know better) we took packets of mustard, I think it was, and placed them in a paper cup and stomped it. You see that would focus the projectile. Let me just say the dry cleaning bill was not fun to pay. Number 23 is just not nice. I kinda like number 99. I think it has possibilities but then I always did like Star Trek.

Have a great week everyone.