One more day to go....

Well we took the tree down last evening.  I am amazed we put it up fast and took it down fast.  This was a strange Christmas.  IN the past I would have spent a day getting decorations up outside and that long again getting them down.  Since we had the house painted and trees removed, we didn't have time to get them up- which means I lucked out and don't have to take them down either.  New Year's Eve will be fun too.  This time we are only having one couple over and we are playing poker until the wee hours.

Today we took Max with us downtown and he was amazing good.  He also waited for us in the car twice.  What a good dog!

What an experience!

Wow!

Anticipation and Relief

Christmas is a funny holiday.  When kids are small, it is the greatest experience to provide them with much anticipation and happiness.  Later, it becomes more of a chore and a necessary task to get past that point.  It is really unfortunate.

Christmas should be more of the sharing of love and caring than managing to get the last of the year's bargain widgets!

Enough "wisdom" for today's post.  I can say that because I have finally posted my "Wanks" list.  I'll continue to add to it transparently.

Wanks

1. I hate "pushing 1 for English" for two reasons. One, if I don't pick one of the choices, what language are they going to review the menu in (English, right?), and two, the default should be English- if you want something else, then you can pick.

2. Why do cars push me out of the fast lane into the slow lane so they can pass me and then pull in front of me in the slow lane to get off at the next exit ?

3. Christmas shopping is tough this year:
The kids have grown up and I can't fill their stockings with Hot Wheels and chocolate kisses.
You can't put iPhone apps in a stocking.
All of my favorite "peruse" stores are gone. For the most part, if you buy on the web, you have to know what you want first.
Bookstores don't have enough stock anymore to look until you find something good.
Nobody wants DVDs or CDs anymore because they are available online electronically.
I'm tempted to replace the stockings with MyXmasStocking.com

4. My wife keeps telling me that we are not doing "much" for each other this year since we just got the house painted, paid taxes on three properties and had two trees removed.  I really can't read what "much" is, but whatever I interpret that as, I will be wrong!

5. This year my wife wanked on me that she has been putting up the tree for 29 years and wants absolutely nothing to do with it this year.  Ev and I went to Home Depot and picked out a tree, a seven foot Doug Fir.  It was a nice tree.  We had it up and partially decorated when my wife got home.  First, "It isn't a Noble Fir.  How come ?".  I explained that the Doug Fir was only $25 rather than the Noble's $80 price tag, and I though I was doing a good thing AND you didn't want anything to do with it.  Then, "It doesn't have the right garland on it.", but you said that you didn't want anything to do with it.  I put the other garland on it.  Since she says that it looks pretty good, for the price.  Why didn't she give me INSTRUCTIONS ?

6. Frequently people don't want to listen to my perspective and then just as often, they're sorry later.

7. How come some people can afford a gardener or having someone detail their new car in the driveway, but don't think painting their house is a justified expense ?

8. Why do we push to recycle glass and then spend the same amount of energy to sort colors, crush and remake the bottles instead of washing them ?

9. Why have the plastic bag recycle stations disappeared from the markets ?

10. Why does Kodak push the affordability of their new printer ink, but they only make it in containers that fit on their lousy printers ?  [Another recipe for failure.]

11. Why is it that there are a thousand holiday contests, plus Lotto, Mega and scratch-offs and I never win anything ?

New Year's Resolution

NO MORE WANKING IN THIS BLOG!

I promise to put only funny and happy stuff in here starting on 1/1/2010. [That gives me NINE more days to wank!!].

Much awaited

Much awaited pics of Max, the latest addition to our circus. Yesterday was a high-pressure runaround to get more shopping done. Later in the day I made some gingerbread and some cookie dough to be used later. The gingerbread is Emeril's recipe and uses Guinness beer. It was very good, AND I drank the balance of the Guinness that wasn't used.

This morning I am baking cookies before I venture out to shopping land. Ev and Terre are already at work and Tori is still asleep. The house is veritably quiet. This feels like my first day off.

Quiet time

Thought for sure I posted yesterday, but I guess not. Even though Xmas shopping is not done, Tori is home and sleeping with Max. Ev is working at KJEE and Cost+ (keeps him busy). I'm home and keeping pretty busy and Terre is trying to tear herself away from those loans that just have to close before Xmas.

By the way, I haven't mentioned it before (it was a surprise to Tori), but we adopted a Chihuahua (or was it Max that apopted us?), [we had to, since we couldn't have one of our own]. We were looking for a larger dog, but Max is very pleasant, smart and easy to take care of. They told us at the DAWG shelter that he is a "PEE" dog. I asked if that meant that he pees on everything, but the response was that he needs to have one foot on grass to let go. That makes him a very nice addition to the inside of our house.

Also we are not really sure about his name. The shelter doesn't know where "Max" came from. Terre said that maybe we should change it. Maybe something that sounds similar. I suggested "cliMAX" but all I get are smiles about that one. Tori calls him "MAXiepad". I don't think that I like tht one and I know Max doesn't. At any rate, it appears as though he has found his way into our hearts and home.

FYI: The most common theory and most likely is that Chihuahuas are descended from the Techichi, a companion dog favored by the Toltec civilization in Mexico. Historical records indicate that the Techichi hunted in packs. They can only be traced as far back as the ninth century but it is highly likely that this is the Chihuahua's native Mexican ancestor. Evidence of this is that the remains of dogs closely resembling, but slightly larger than the average Chihuahua have been found in such places as the Great Pyramid of Cholula, which dates back to the 2nd century BC and predates the 16th century. There is also evidence to suggest that the Techichi may also predate the Mayans.

The Toltecs were conquered by the Aztecs, who believed that the Techichi held mystical powers. In terms of size, the present day Chihuahua is much smaller than its ancestors, a change thought to be due to the introduction of miniaturized Chinese dogs, such as the Chinese Crested Dog, into South America by the Spanish.

A progenitor of the breed was reputedly found in 1850 in old ruins near Casas Grandes in the Mexican state of Chihuahua from which the breed gets its name. The state borders with Texas, Arizona and New Mexico where Chihuahuas first rose to prominence and were further developed in the United States. Since that time, the Chihuahua has remained consistently popular as a breed, particularly in America when the breed was first recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1904. Genetic tests place the Chihuahua with other modern breeds originating in the 1800s.

The circus continues...

Tori bumped her head yesterday on the bunk bed above hers. She had a headache that wouldn't go away, so I told her to go to the medical facility on campus. They decided that she needed a cat scan. Today she took a taxi to Pasadena and was scanned. The results are in. She is swollen by her bump and needs to take it easy for a bit. NO BLEEDING. Great.

Work was a joke today as I prescribed workarounds to almost everyone that didn't have any money to get me to fix their problems. That seemed to work. The day drug out to a crawl. I didn't think I'd ever get out of that place.

Tomorrow I will go down to get Tori and her stuff to stay home for almost a month. She needs the rest and we need the break from drama...

SNAFUS'R'US

Both trees are now gone from the front of our house. They were lifting the walkways. It is like the front got completely re-landscaped, since now you can see everything so clearly.

Tomorrow is my last working day for the year. I am really ready for a vacation. Thursday I pick up Tori from Oxy for the holidays and I will be glad she is back home for a month.

Goats in Trees!

A frustrating day performing validation testing. Now after dinner, I am trying to satisfy Terre defining our holiday card by putting our picture on a design on Walgreen's website. It is a pain that only occurs at the holidays. It adds to the peeves that occur every year (or more frequently) like forcing one to "press 1 for English" on the phone or other seemingly small things which cause accumulated grief.

Today on the radio, I heard about the most popular calendar being sold for next year. Its title is "Goats in Trees". I Googled that and I was utterly amazed. Check these out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQev3UoGp2M

Dark and Rainy

Went down to Eagle Rock for a birthday lunch with Tori today. It rained lightly the whole way down, but rained very hard the whole way back. After one headlight burned out and my old wiper blades stopped doing a very good job, we were lucky to make 40-45 MPH all the way back. It was so dark and the windows so smeared that it was very hard to see where we were going. Glad we made it home safely.

Everett worked his first day at Cost Plus. I've yet to hear how it went.

TGIF

The day didn't start too well. First my paper didn't show up. Then Terre got a call about someone making an additional charge on her debit card so it got canceled. I took my newly acquired (yesterday) debit card over tyo the credit union and got a PIN, so that one of us would have one that worked.

We just got back from lunch and the sky opened up. Today is Tori's birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. She comes home next Thursday for the balance of this year.

This is the kind of day I'm having at work....

Christmas Sprit

Dear friends and family,
With Christmas almost upon us, I'd like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed and healthy.

Extra thanks to whoever sent me the email about rat crap in the glue on envelopes - cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
Because of your genuine concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because I know it can remove toilet stains, which is not exactly an appealing characteristic.
I no longer check the coin return on public phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a wild boar on a hot day.
I no longer go to shopping centres because someone might drug me with a cologne sample and rob me.
I no longer eat KFC because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer worry about my soul because at last count, I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.
[Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl on the internet who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).
I no longer have any money at all in fact - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special on-line email program.
Yes, I want to thank you all so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

If you don't copy this text and send an e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00PM (EST) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

MERRY CHRISTMAS





Ok if this doesn't get you in the Christmas "spirit" I don't know what will!!!

Crazy?

Today was an interesting day as well. It brought to mind parts of the song "Crazy":

I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place.
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space

And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much

Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Possibly

And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice

Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,
Ha ha ha bless your soul
You really think you're in control

Well, I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me

There are a whole long list of people that fit the category that that song describes... I guess much of the frustration comes from having to resurrect some old code that I thought had long died. Maybe I was crazy to perform the resurrection!

Looking Up

We had a nice "end-of-the-year recognition" luncheon today. We couldn't call it "Christmas Luncheon" or "Holiday Luncheon" as the powers that be in the big R thought that we might get sued for discrimination or anti-PC or who knows what. It is tiresome.

One of my biggest pet peeves is that I make a call and the automatic answering computer wants me to hit "1" for English. How about if I only have to hit something if I want non-English? The other one, is when the machine does not give me the option to talk to a human. I usually just hit zero anyway, thinking that they didn't list it. I would probably get someone in India anyway, which certainly is only marginally better.

Monday Blues Again...

I've been thinking about how I can get away from here...




I must have the end-of-the-year 'tude. I guess I really don't care much anymore. Too much to do and no money or time.

Vacation is on the horizon...



.

Not enough days in the weekend anymore...

The days seem to be very interesting lately. Last night we watched "G.I.Joe", and experiment to see how many special effect w/o plot connections could be put into a movie. I guess it was still better than the crap that is available on Cox this time of the year.

Today we worked around the interior of the house decorating for the holidays, and doing some light yard work in preparation for the rain that is expected all week.

Terre took me to DAWG today to look at some of the cast-offs that are available for adoption. [Do you know why we are adopting a dog ? Because we could have out own!] We started with Apollo-- boring and way too much patience to get him back to trusting anybody [scared shitless- we'll almost]. Then there was Taz - cute but a bit too reserved and quiet [no spirit left]. Max, on the other hand was good spirited and ready to go. He just needs a home and a family. We shall see how this all works out. I have to admit that these miniature doggetts are not what I predict are my cup-of-tea, but as far as keeping your lap warm- sa'rite!

I had planned to take the Vette out this weekend, but I just didn't get to it. Rain is on the way and it is way-cold out here now. Once again, I just started it up a bit to keep the battery charged. I hope I get to enjoy it a bit during my vacation.

This Tuesday is End-Of-The-Year Recognition luncheon day at work [they can't call it Christmas or even "holiday" any more. I bought my toy to bring in for Toys-For Tots (sic) today as well.

Tree Hunt

Last night's Christmas parade was okay, I guess. It really is a family thing, especially for little kids. I did get reminded, though, about my instant dislike of crouds.

This morning, after other chores (like grocery shopping), I went with Everett to pick up a Christmas tree. Terre said she wants nothing to do with it this year. She says that it is always up to her. What that REALLY means is this year it is my turn, but I'm supposed to do everything like she was in-charge ('cause she still is). At any rate, Ev and I picked a reasonably good looking tree (a Douglas fir) for a great price. When we got home, we got wanked on for not getting a Noble fir. Oh well, it WAS up to us.

The tree is up and it looks pretty good (if I do say so myself).

TGIF

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES (That Really Work!)

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU SLICE. 2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK. 3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER. 4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON. 5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH. 6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE ~ WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE. 7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

DAILY THOUGHT: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

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With that said, this week has been a stressful bear. I'm glad it's almost over.

Ev was on the air as a ghost on KJEE yesterday. Too bad I couldn't hear him.

Tonight is the Christmas Parade down State Street. I guess we are going. I hope to ignite my Christmas spirit somewhat. Tomorrow I go to get the tree. It just doesn't seem like Christmastime.

Can't Get Warm Today

<---- Wish I was here.

The sun was shining, but the wind was icy cold. I nursed a headache most of the day because (I think) I couldn't get warm.

Another day that I lost the Lotto drawing.

Painter is doing a good job on our house trim so far. He painted the garage door today. Since it is a multi-piece door, I didn't know if we'd have problems if it dried while closed. All was okay.

Had a wonderful pizza from Costco tonight. How do they do that for only $9.95 ?

Looking forward to watching Fringe tonight!

Strange Day

Today was a strange and stressful day. First I addressed yesterday's catastophic failure during testing. After discussing the problem, we figured out what was the issue and then rebuilt the test set. Everything appeared fine and then we were given the go ahead to release the new software and deploy. That was a two hour plus mouthful.

While this was going on, I was attempting to upgrade the computer in my office, which took all day. Now I am fighting license issues.

At lunch time I had to go to Costco and get a prescription for Tori, box it up and mail it at the post office and then come home to get my lunch. Whew! I'm tired just describing it.

It's That Time Of Year

Last night, while perusing our checking account online, Terre noticed numerous charges out of town which neither of us made. It caused our account to overdraw. We called the number on the backside of our debit cards and canceled the cards. This morning I am making a police report and then I have to call the card company back with a police report. Then I'll go over to the credit union and file a dispute form to get our money back and a new card ordered. The girl at the credit union said that the skimming might be occurring at the 7-11 on Calle Real. I buy gas there often. but only recently did I buy it once with a debit card rather than credit- and apparently they were after my PIN.

I guess it is that time of year. If you are not threatened by road rage over a parking spot, or get stuck waiting in a long line to pay, or have your credit card scammed... it really isn't Christmas!

Monday Blues...

Today was sort of a bizarre day. First I met our plumber this morning to replace the pressure relief valve on our solar panels. It wasn't leaking to badly, but that could change at any time.

Work was a bit weird, as validation of our latest release is moving very slowly. I haven't got a lot to do, but that will change quickly. I've been looking at phones and cell companies lately. I think we want to change at the beginning of the year. AT&T has been pretty expensive and their customer service is greatly lacking.

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet. The fact that it is here already is surreal. Maybe I'll luck out and prices will drop before I buy.

We had lunch yesterday at King's Fishhouse in Calabasas on the way to drop off Tori at Oxy. It was wonderful as usual. I wish we had one in Santa Barbara.

Return

Today we have to take Tori back to Oxy. She does not want to return. She always wanks about having to do everything herself. She doesn't eat well at school because she has to walk down to the cafeteria. We will miss her.

Last night we rented "Angels and Demons". This show was by far better than the previous attempt at Dan Brown. I liked the book "Da Vinci Code" better, but this movie was definitely better.

Back to work for Terre and I, bright and early tomorrow morning. Oh joy!

Revisiting the Last Trek

Last night we rented Star Trek. It was very good to see it again. Still the questions it rose are the same as before. Who was the guy speking to young Jim while he was riding the Vette ? Did he destroy the Vette because he hates this person ? How is it that you can still get gas for this antique ? Why are Uhura and Spock romantically involved in this movie and not in the earlier (but later in life) shows ? Why wouldn't she tell Jim her first name (Nyota) ? What was the result of Jim's last attempt at the test at Star Fleet Academy ?

Today it was supposed to rain, but all we have is a clear sky and much sunshine. I hope to takethe Vette for a ride. Somehow I will probably be very busy, but I don't know what I will be doing. Perhaps moving the plants around the tree out front [it has to be taken out due to roots lifing the hardscape].

Black Friday

Thanksgiving went pretty well. I actually found myself lost at times. We are definitely used to serving a much larger crowd. Having only the five of us made almost everything so much easier. The turkey and stuffing came out great. Tori made a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. Then Terre made some persimmon bread (from the persimmon tree in the back yard). After dinner, we went to see "The Road". It was an interesting movie. You couldn't really tell what was going on half the time and then it ended. I heard it was true to the book. It was very anti-climatic and just ended. I wanted them to find some real civilization before the end, but it didn't happen. The acting was superb, but unusual. Robert Duvall just appeared and then he was on the screen for a few minutes and then gone. I have no plans to shop today, as I have no idea what to buy yet. We spent an inordinate amount of time taking a family picture yesterday, as well.

Thanksgiving Morning

I got up very early, too early. My problem is that I wasn't as organized as I wanted. I looked again at the recipe that I was going to follow in Bon Appetite magazine. Everyone wanked on me: "You are not putting clementines in the turkey. You can put giblets in the turkey. You can't put celery in the stuffing. ..." I was frustrated and decided to make the same-o same-o plain traditional turkey again. Where is their sense of adventure ? I don't see them getting up at o-dark-thirty to cook it. I guess I feel constrained and unappreciated this morning. I can't forget though, to be thankful. Thankful for the meal we are going to eat. Thankful that Tori is with us today. Thankful that we have jobs. Thankful that we all have our health. [Knock on wood a few times]. At least my blog doesn't talk back to me [yet]. Well, this could [is] going to be a great day. The bird is in the oven. I only have mashed potatoes and gravy left to do. ...And carve the roast beast.... We are going to a movie this afternoon, as a family. It should be fun.

First Day of Vacation

I had to get up early to take care of last minute Thanksgiving shopping. Also, had to deal with an Ebay no-pay clown that bought something a month agao and would not communicate or pay. Terre decided that buying a new flat screen TV at this time wasn't probably wise. It is just the visible portion of a large iceberg. Our technology is outdated and all needs to be replaced. First: the an LCD backlit with LED at 240 Hz. Next a new AV Receiver that supports HDMI. Replace the DVD player with Blue-Ray. Replace the VCR with a DVR. Get more HD service from Cox or get a Dish. It all adds up and is not easy to be sure that you are not buying some technology that will very soon be outdated. I depend a lot on the Home Theater Magazine reviews which I have found to be very honest and informative. Yesterday, I made Terre an example webpage, since she is wanting to do some advertising. I guess she was too busy to appreciate it. Really, though, I think she needs to make a daily (or almost daily) blog. Those realtors that think that they want to hear what she has to say, will subscribe. Well, enough for now. I have my grocery list and I can go now that it is late enough.

The Day Before Vacation

I've been trying to keep busy and still do the things I get paid for. The disorganization around here is dizzying. Requirements come together while one is creating the next release. The reliance on our part to create a good product is amazing when there is nothing to test it against. I am SO looking forward to being off for the rest of the week. I have to cook a turkey on thursday, so I hope that it is totally thawed. Tonight I will be making cornbread for the stuffing. I'm also looking forward to the family getting together without being rushed about.