Ponderings and Musings

I’ve adopted a new stance on driving while using your cell phone. In the past, I’ve always scolded people for yakking on their cell phone while they’re driving, mainly because they become major asshats while doing it. But I’ve found something worse.

A person scrambling for his/her headset to connect to said cell phone to talk while they’re driving.

I now say that if you’re going to talk on your cell phone while you’re driving, go ahead and do it. I’m still going to terrorize you on the road, but at least you’re being practical about it and just holding the phone up to your ear instead of trying to look like Madonna with a ridiculous headset wrapped around your noggin.

The “handsfree cell phone law” in New York State is pure, unadulterated bunk that does nothing to make the gabby driver safer. I believe the law states that you can’t have a cell phone up to your ear while driving. Apparently you can be typing in a text message on the tiny keypad, take a photo of the cop chasing you with your cameraphone or talk on your speakerphone, the one that you still have to push buttons to dial on.

I think talking on a cell phone while driving is dumb. Yes I do it myself, but I don’t have any friends so it’s not like I’m constantly yakking on the phone. And no, I’m not bitter. However, I think it’s less safe to be talking on your cell phone while simultaneously keeping an eye out for Mr. Trooper so you don’t get caught. So I’ve adopted the “pay to play” philosophy.

Politicians can’t stay out of our bedrooms. Apparently they can’t stay away from our ears either.

I’ve recently abandoned using “My Yahoo!” as my start page for my web browser. There were too many pop-ups and it was just too busy. I’ve opted to use Google instead, with the personalized option turned on. While quite functional, helpful and well suited to my needs, it’s missing two key ingredients.

Garfield.

Close To Home.

I can’t seem to get my day started without a peek at these two cartoons. I always enjoy the artistry of Close To Home, and the sense of humor behind the ink. And Garfield… well, as a cat lover I always appreciate the humor in Garfield’s thought bubble and as a fan of food and naps, I always appreciate a cat that can carry both off so well.

I need to find a new outlet for both, without the aid of a newspaper. The challenges we face during work.

I just read that tonight it’s suppose to drop to 56 degrees after a nice, refreshing cold front passes through. I am so excited about this that I am almost giddy with anticipation.

It has been so hot and sticky for the past couple of nights that I feel like I haven’t slept in a week.

To celebrate the cold front, I think I’ll run around naked in the driveway and drink it all in tonight. I hope the neighbors don’t mind.

Then I’ll take a nice nap.

As I type this short little blog entry, there’s an beautifully breathtaking thunderstorm in progress. The rumble of thunder is shaking the house right down to the foundation and lightning is lighting up the sky more spectacularly than any human fireworks display can do.

I love storms like these. It’s awe inspiring and humbling all at the same time. Mother Nature is reminding us who is boss.

And she does it with such a flair.

While Earl and I were out making new friends this weekend, we ran into a couple of guys from Buffalo. They’ve been together for a while and while were making idle chit chat, one of them mentioned that they were from Jamestown. I mentioned that I had lived in Jamestown once upon a time. Come to find out, he and I used to work together for The Resource Center.

He doesn’t work for The Resource Center anymore, but he was able to catch me up on the people I used to work with and such. It was a fabulous trip down memory lane, and I always did enjoy his company when we were working together.

I sometimes find it so amazing that people’s paths cross repeatedly in life. Absolutely fascinating!

While I was cycling tonight I spent some time on a new stretch of the local canal trails. The New York Thruway Authority is doing a bang up job on building recreational paths along the Erie/Barge Canal through New York State. When completed, it’ll be a continuous trail that extends from Buffalo to Albany, with spursto various points throughout the state.

Anyways, the trail wanders through the woods along this new section, and the serenity allowed my mind to wander.

If you have a thought, savor it.
If you have an opinion, voice it.
If you have a vision, pursue it.
If you have a dream, realize it.
If you have a passion, embrace it.
If you have a life, love it.
If you have a love, live it.

Those words just floated right through my mind and brought a smile to my lips, a warmth to my heart, and the will to pedal a little bit harder.

I thank the Universe for the privilege.

What an absolutely gorgeous day. After baking through stifling heat for the past couple of weeks, Mother Nature has blessed us with temps in the mid 70s and low humidity. “And a welcomed sigh of relief was heard across Central New York…”

I must say that I feel cute today. I don’t know if its the weather or my mood or what, but I feel confident, handsome and energetic today. Earl and I are going camping at a gay campground this weekend and I admit that I am a little nervous about the upcoming experience. I don’t know why I get nervous, I’ve been to other gay campgrounds before, but its been a good number of years since we’ve been to one. Yeah, like around eight years since we’ve been, but its all good. At least it’s a bear event so we won’t have to deal with the stereotypical “put on a show” attitude that can be rather common in the bars and such. Plus, we’ll see a couple of the guys we met in Danbury this past spring, which I’m sure will be a good time.

The beautiful day has inspired me to dust off my bike and go for a bike ride after work. I’m looking forward to the ride; I’ll have to take cell phones pictures along the canal trails.

“Save Me”, Lisa Fischer.

I was cleaning out some junk in the basement this weekend and came across two huge Rubbermaid bins of CDs and 12-inch singles I had collected from the various radio and club gigs I’ve had over the years. When I was in radio, I always made a point to get multiple copies of CD singles for the station so I could keep one for myself. Radio is full of perks like that.

Anyways, I’ve been busily ripping all these early to mid ’90s tracks into iTunes to enjoy on my iPod. Who knew that I would enjoy records by artists like Stevie B. here in 2005? The folks that listen to top 40 music these days probably don’t even know who Stevie B. is.

Lisa Fischer is an awesome vocalist. Absolutely incredible. Where is she now? No one knows.

“Rescue Me”, Madonna.

One of the cool things of having promotional copies of these CDs is that they contain versions that could only be heard on the radio. Not too long ago I heard a teenager review to Madonna’s “Holiday” as an ‘old’ song. Wow, that comment certainly made me feel obsolete. I remember when Madonna was a new artist on the scene. I recall thinking that she must have a huge ego to be using only one name. Who did she think she was, using only ‘Madonna’ to identify herself.

“U R The Best Thing”, D:Ream.

I was lucky enough to inherent a memory that could remember obscure record titles that others quickly forgot. Flash in the pan artists that are probably working at a local burger joint now. For example, the record I’m listening to now. “U R The Best Thing” is from the movie “Naked In New York” with Eric Stoltz. I don’t think I remember that movie.

“The Right Time”, I to I.

Oh well. Listening to this older music has taken me down memory lane. It’s been a pleasant little trip. I wonder when the 90s are going to be trendy again, much like 80s music is now.

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We had a wonderful gathering with my mom, my aunt and uncle and my cousin here at the house today. It was a beautiful day with fabulous food, great company and good conversation. It’s nice to spend time with the family from time to time.

The man the invented the TV dinner, Gerry Thomas, passed away today. In his honour, Earl and I are going to enjoy a couple of Swanson Hungry Man TV dinners tonight while we watch a black and white episode of Bewitched and an early episode of The Golden Girls (gotta maintain our gay card).

There’s nothing like fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and an apple dessert in a tin foil pan that’s been heated up in an oven. No RadarRange for us tonight! We’ll probably chase it down with a beer.

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (July 21) – Gerry Thomas, credited with inventing the TV dinner more than a half-century ago and giving it its singular name, has died at the age of 83.

Thomas died Monday, Terry Crowley at Messinger Mortuary said Wednesday. He had a long bout with cancer, relatives told The Arizona Republic.

Thomas was a salesman for Omaha, Neb.-based C.A. Swanson and Sons in late 1953 when he had the idea of packaging frozen meals in a segmented tray.

“It’s a pleasure being identified as the person who did this because it changed the way people live,” he said in a 1999 Associated Press interview. “It’s part of the fabric of our society.”

He recalled that the inspiration came when he was visiting a distributor, spotted a metal tray and was told it was developed for an experiment in preparation of hot meals on airliners.

“It was just a single compartment tray with foil,” he recalled. “I asked if I could borrow it and stuck it in the pocket of my overcoat.”

He said he came up with a three-compartment tray because “I spent five years in the service so I knew what a mess kit was. You could never tell what you were eating because it was all mixed together.”

Since interest in television was booming, he added: “I figured if you could borrow from that, maybe you could get some attention. I think the name made all the difference in the world.”

The first Swanson TV Dinner – turkey with corn bread dressing and gravy, sweet potatoes and buttered peas – sold for about $1 apiece and could be cooked in 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

“We had the TV screen and the knobs pictured on the package. That was the real start of marketing,” Thomas said.

Ten million dinners were sold in the first year of national distribution.

They drew “hate mail from men who wanted their wives to cook from scratch like their mothers did,” but they got him a bump in pay to $300 a month and a $1,000 bonus.

“I didn’t complain. A thousand dollars was a lot of money back then,” he said.

However, he didn’t want to call himself the father of the TV dinner.

“I really didn’t invent the dinner. I innovated the tray on how it could be served, coined the name and developed some unique packaging,” he said in the 1999 AP interview. “If I’m the father of the TV dinner, who’s the mother? I think it’s ludicrous.”

After the Campbell Soup Co. acquired Swanson in 1955, Thomas became a sales manager, then marketing manager and director of marketing and sales. He left the company after a heart attack in 1970. He later directed an art gallery and did consulting work.

I’ve recently sharpened my skills in the area of catnaps. This week’s on call has been light, but unconveniently timed, so I’ve been trying to eek out some sleep during my lunch hour, between trouble calls and between peeing and showering.

It’s a skill that I’m becoming very good at.

In the past, when I’ve napped, they’ve been long, drawn out affairs that last an hour or two. This results in my feeling very groggy afterwards and not being able to sleep until 3 a.m. Not convenient for the work week. So I’ve been following Tom’s leading and taking these little five to ten minute catnaps when I can fit them in.

I think I’m becoming so skilled that I can fit them in between a period and a comma during a conversation with a co-worker.

I think the cats have the right idea. Now if I could convince Earl to scratch my tummy instead of just behind the ears.