July 2008

And So It Begins.

This morning Earl was off to work early. He preceded his usual good-bye morning kiss with a loud, booming announcement, “You don’t look a day over 40!” Since it was 5:30 in the morning I was still very much asleep when he shared his observation.. It was then that I remembered that I’m 40 now. And I’m pretty much over it. Let’s get on with it.

I’m using the occasion as a launchpad for a couple of ideas that I’ve been floating around in my head again. I’m attempting to be a vegetarian again. This is my third attempt at being a vegetarian; I’m hoping that the third time is a charm. Becoming vegetarian is an attempt to better my eating habits though we all know that a vegetarian can easily eat unhealthy by doing things such as eating an entire bag of Doritos and a pound of potato salad for supper.

Not that I’ve done that before or anything.

I’m thinking of trying a recipe for a barbecue salad. It was basically a tossed salad that you barbecued, hence the name. I saw it on the Food Network years ago and I jotted it down somewhere. I just need to locate my notes or Google it again.

We spent yesterday at a family reunion of sorts, my cousin’s daughter graduated from high school and it was her graduation party. It was very enjoyable; we hung out with all of my city cousins and the rest of the family. Even though it was raining like crazy for much of the afternoon we still made the best of it under the tents my uncle had put up earlier in the morning.

So now I’m doing to work thing with a good attitude. Life is good. Regardless of the number attached to the year.

14 July 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 0

A New Decade.

Today is my birthday. And I am going to type this with a strong, confident voice: It was FORTY years ago today that I made my first appearance. That’s right, as of today I am officially 40 years old. My parents were young when I was born: my Dad had just turned 21, my Mom was 20. I am the oldest of two. My sister is two years and five days younger than me.

Back when I was in my early 20s I thought I was on top of the world and knew everything. Looking back, which was halfway to this moment, I realise that life has only gotten better as time has moved on, because NOW is when I feel like I’m on top of the world. Life is grand and I have no complaints. I complain from time to time, but that’s all trivial stuff. It’s bellyaching that I really shouldn’t indulge in.

Looking through pictures last night I found a couple of shots from various birthdays. I thought I would share them. First up is 1974. This is my sixth birthday party and if memory serves correctly I was sharing the party with my sister, who was celebrating her fourth. We had a few friends and distant cousins over for the festivities. I’m the one with red hair. My sister is sitting to my left. My mom is taking the picture, that’s a cousin once removed on my father’s side helping out with the festivities.

Next up is 1978. In the late 1970s my father was taking lessons to become a private pilot, so most of our Sunday afternoons in the summer were spent at the local airfield. If you look closely you can see a Cessna 172 parked in the background. We’d have a picnic with the pilots association and my sister and I would join our airport friends climbing trees or scaling the wall between airplane hangers or picking wild strawberries along the runway. The woman making sure I’m not falling off the picnic table is named Lavinia. We called her Vinnie. I always thought that her named implied an southern accent, but I don’t recall her having one. There’s felt tip marker marks all over the photo. That sometimes happens.

In 1991 I worked for The Resource Center in a community residence for developmentally disabled adults. I worked on my 23rd birthday and then went out to the local bar that night alone. The folks at Hunt Road CR had a little birthday cake for me; here I’m given my birthday kiss by one of the ladies that lived there.

In 1997 Earl and I drove to Walt Disney World that July. We ended up at his folks on the way home right around my birthday. I was turning 29 years old. We were a little more than a year into our relationship and still getting to know each other. The honeymoon lingers on today.

I feel great as I start this new decade of my life. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.

13 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept Ponderings and Musings 9

Gig.



Gig., originally uploaded by iMachias.

I found the perfect t-shirt for my mood tonight.

11 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 1

Another Saranac Thursday Night.


Flickr Link.

Earl and I are back from our weekly outing to Saranac Thursday night. It’s actually after 2:00 in the morning and I have just awoken from several hours of sleep. I was apparently put to bed immediately after supper, around 9:00 p.m. That should give you an idea of how the evening went.

It is Boilermaker Weekend in these parts plus the weather was picture perfect, so the brewery was packed to the gills with people. Earl and I hung out with friends, where we discussed everything from Obama to sex to work stuff. Earl didn’t do a lot of talking as his voice is pretty much shot from a “lively” discussion he had with one of his employees earlier in the week. He still takes a good picture though.


Flickr Link.

I let Earl play with my iPhone for a few moments during the evening. When I was downloading the photos from it I noticed a photo of someone I didn’t recognise. Earl was apparently taking stealth shots.

I always enjoy the people watching on outings such as these. I noticed that there aren’t as many people wearing the trendy, big sunglasses found elsewhere. Most of the guys have aviator or ‘biker’ sunglasses and many of the women are opting for the modern looking sunglasses rather than the aforementioned big, bulky retro glasses.

The music wasn’t bad. I don’t know who the band was but they focused on country music. They were in tune for the most part, which is always a good start when you’re singing on stage. Unfortunately the lead singer had a really bad habit of whistling into the microphone between phrases of any given track he was singing and it was making my ears hurt. We had to go to the outer limits of the crowd to keep me from doing the Pavlov’s dog trick. I don’t find it appropriate to drool in public.

After a few beers we headed over to Zebb’s, where I apparently ordered a delicious meal. Much of it is in the refrigerator in a take away box. I guess I’ll have it for lunch tomorrow.

11 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Candid Camera.

Ekiga

As I continue to revel in full out geek mode this week, I take great delight in getting a webcam working on my Linux computer for the first time in my computer history. Naturally I made a goofy face for such an occasion.

The addition of this webcam will certainly make it easier for the warrantless wiretappers to keep track of my conversations online. Perhaps I’ll moon the new camera repeatedly to make it interesting for them. I hear my ass is quite identifiable.

I joke about the bill that was passed by the Senate today but in truth I am saddened by it all. I feel like our great democracy is crumbling before our very eyes. Most think that 9/11 was the greatest crime against the United States; I believe the greatest crime is her citizens willingly giving up their freedoms, all in the name of freedom. It’s interesting to note that last October Obama said he would filibuster this bill, today he voted for it. (Kudos to Clinton and Schumer for their ‘nay’s.)

My choices in November are increasingly feeling like “the lesser of two evils”, once again.

9 July 2008 by Geek Political BS. Why. 0

Steamy Night.

It is currently 79 degrees fahrenheit. I should be in bed, I have to get up early tomorrow. I feel tired. I’m "fading" somewhat in front of the computer. Still, sweat beads on selected spots on my body. This has kept me from hitting the hay.

Tomorrow a cold front should make an appearance in our area. It will be preceded by thunderstorms starting around 2:00 a.m. This will make for a busy day as Mr. Telephone Man tomorrow.

I should get some sleep.

Someday we’ll buy an air conditioner.

8 July 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 1

Market This.

As a person that used make his living by writing ad copy for radio commercials I occasionally feel hypocritical for having no tolerance for marketing ploys. I’m not a fan of clever commercials of any type; I don’t feel inclined to buy a car from a man that can belch out the word “huge”, I don’t feel the need to add two blades to my razor just because Tiger Woods swung a ball at it and I certainly don’t find my work day infinitely cheerier because one of the Baby Bells has populated their software interface with pictures of happy people.

Now, I don’t mean to sound like a crank but is it really necessary to put all these smiling, fake, airbrushed people throughout a software application? I’ve been asked many times why I don’t use Microsoft products and while I’m not a fan of their products I don’t hate them to the point of disuse. I just don’t like the fake happy people on their packaging. Their boxes always have pictures of people nearing orgasm over the data in a spreadsheet. Now I know every office has interoffice hanky panky going on but how often is Microsoft Excel included in the fun? I hope not very often.

The aforementioned software interface has pictures of people staring at you no matter what screen you are on. Most the models are of Asian decent and I often wonder why this is the case. Are they reinforcing a stereotype that Asians are more “techy”? Once in a while a white man will pop up on the screen, he’s grinning from ear to ear next to his ancient Sperry text terminal. I hope he’s not saddled with that clunker today! The pictures rotate in a seemingly random fashion, today I had three Asian women staring at me seductively, as of if my attempts to add “speed dial” to a customer account was actually one click away from a steamy session on X-tube.

I think I’m offended by the fact that marketing folks try too hard to make the picture balanced. There’s a token black, a token woman, a token Asian and a token man. Why not just have a group of “people”? Where’s the Native American? Where is the Russian? Where is the Irishman? Where is the Indian? Where is the lesbian? Where is the gay man? The fact that they are trying not to offend me by including an unlikely cross section of people in these photos offends me. If you have to include pictures of people on the site, just make sure they’re human. That’s all I ask.

Now, back to my date with PowerPoint.

8 July 2008 by Why. 0

Test Post.

So I’m in pure geek mode this week. I’m relatively obsessing on my armada of computers at the house. I have an excuse, it’s coolest in the cellar and I can’t think of a better way to beat the heat than to spend time in the cellar doing things I love to do.

This is a test post from my Linux computer to see if the free software Drivel fits the bill. So far, so good.

8 July 2008 by Geek 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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