Max Power's waste of (your) time
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| 9/26 We're moving...the blog. My new webpage is located 9/24 Well, she finally moved out saturday, and my brother is getting his own place soon. Hopefully, this chapter of family history is now closed.
9/21 Given the events in my family over the past 20 or so months...it would be nice if...I don't even know where to start. My mother has been through enough, give her time and some personal space to accept everything that has changed, without having to deal with the constant drama from my brother's girlfriend, who feels she is entitled to live at my mother's home indefinitely. With free room and board. And food, and house supplies, and utilities, and on and on. Well, my older brother was kicked out because he lived like that in the house, and the girlfriend totally agreed with the rest of us that he needed to go as he was not contributing anything and causing extra stress on my mother. But now that it's her who's not contributing anything and causing extra stress on my mother, apparently it's different somehow. Sigh. And by giving my mother personal space, I don't mean forcing her to be holed up in her bedroom to avoid the constant bickering and door slamming from the other house occupants. If you want to live like you're in your first college apartment, then do it in your own apartment, not my mother's home. I type this here in the futile hope that my brother will read it, as he has not answered the home telephone for several months and has severed contact with his blood relations.
9/4 Scary things begin to happen when you hit the late thirties. For example, I'm starting to develop a really bad itch, and I fear the only remedy for it is a VW camper van. Have no idea how we would swing it, but something about them is really fermenting in my mind. We want a second vehicle, soemthing with cargo space, and something we could take on our road trips. Soemthing with real stretch out room. Plus, with a VW camper, we could have a nice cup of tea every few hours.
8/06 I discovered a little bit of my dad's childhood over the weekend. I was looking for some new music, and found a cd of his that I nabbed shortly after the funeral. It was an Ernie Kovacs cd, who my dad was a junkie for. His tv show was one of the original sketch comedy shows. His humour was not aimed at the mainstream, and was apparently lost on most tv audiences. The cd is a collection of music from the show. Believe me, you haven't heard "Mack the Knife" until you've heard it in German. 7/19 Jack Odell passed away this past weekend, at 87. Who the hell is that? He was the inventor of Matchbox Cars. Sleep well Jack! 7/13 And so on and so on...what time is 5pm again? I'm not superstitious, but today has been extraordinarily sucky by almost any measure. Can't wait to go home, have a steak, and wash it down with a beer. The simple life. 7/5 My answer to your question 'how was your 4th of July?' is to refer you to my entry from 7/5/06. Only later and louder. 7/2 layout shots under the RR page has been updated... Do I even want to get into what happened last weekend with the tree? Here we go... - Tree falls thursday. Corey calls the city to try and get it cleared from the road. City gets off their azz and does this around 8pm. - Shaunn and I go up on friday to help with cleanup. Patrick had borrowed a chainsaw from neighbor. this worked well for about an hour, until it started falling apart. Shaunn and I leave to go rent one. We try two places, one has 4 saws that are all broken, the other one doesn't rent tools at all. We return home. - Chainsaw we borrrowed is now working for 5 minutes, and then needs to be repaired for 10. No one has any ideas. Shaunn suggests (to me) calling Pat's ex girlfriend, whose dad has an arsenal of tools. We arrange to get a chainsaw from her, and leave to go get it. This upsets Corey. - Turns out the chaisaw is not Celina's dad's but her boyfriend's. Whatevs. Tools is tools. At any rate, we take it home and can't get it to start. After another hour of no progress being made, we decide along with mom to go buy one and call it a night. - Next morning, I am woken up by my phone ringing around 8:30. I then hear voices outside, I look and it's Celina and (turns out) her boyfriend. I wake up and stagger outside. They'd stopped by to pick up the saw, I guess he needed it for the day. I explain that we couldn't get it to run yesterday. he shows me the trick to starting it, and starts it right up. - So he's standing there with this chainsaw, and says 'well, as long as it's running, do you think the neighbors would mind?" I said it's gotta be done, and he goes over to the tree and starts hacking away. - Even better, he has a coworker in his truck with him. He asks this guy to get out, assemble our new saw, and join him. - About this time, the saw has woken everyone inside. Patrick comes out and is understandably confused. I pull him aside and expl that I wasn't really planning this, but here they are, cutting up the tree. Shaunn asks if we can use the truck to load some wood. Patrick goes back inside. About 10 minutes later, he and Corey come out, make a beeline for the truck, and leave. - We continue working for about 2 hours, until all the limbs have been cut, and all that's left is the trunk section. Shaunn and I pay these guys $100 for their trouble. As no one is around, and I have little faith that they will return for several hours, we leave for home. Before leaving, I wrte Patrick and Corey a note apologizing for the confusion earlier, and explain that I didn't intend for anyone to be upset by what happened. Nothing heard from them. - I talk to mom a few days later. Apparently the version she got from Pat and Corey was vastly different. How different, I don't really care, but suffice it to say we were asked to not allow Celina to ever appear at the house again. I didn't get into our version of events, because mom has other shit to contend with, and really doesn't have the time to care who did or said what. - These guys showed up unannounced, did all this work, and asked for nothing in return. In what universe does it make sense to turn them away? - So everyone is mad at everybody, over a selfless act by two guys we didn't know. Lovely. 6/29 Health care sucks...and not just because Michael Moore says so. Shaunn is on a plan thru Medicare Part D, where he has prescription coverage thru a company, not the government. Listen to how the rules for these plans work... - In February, a sales rep came to the house, explained to both of us how the plan would work. Basically, he would have copays of $5-15 or so for covered drugs. Once his spending reached about $2250, he would fall into what is called a 'donut hole', where nothing is covered until you have spent about $1500 out of pocket, paying full price for medications. Once that amount is covered, you're just paying your copays again (it's confusing, look up 'medicare donut hole' for detais if you want) Well, the way we figured, he would fall into this donut hole probably around August, based on his copay amounts. Wrong. - The companies are allowed to count the entire cost of the drugs to put you in the donut hole. So, if we paid $15 for a $400 drug, they counted that as $400 towards the gap. We didn't know this until suddenly Shaunn's drugs weren't being covered. How long did this take to get to the gap? About a month. well, we figured with the cost of his medication, at least we would get thru the gap fairly quickly. Wrong again. We're still paying full price for everything. Shaunn called the insurance provider to find out why, because we figured we've spent at least twice what we should have to to cover the donut hole. Here's the lovely part. The insurance comany is only counting 20% of what we pay towards the gap coverage. So, when we pay $400 for that drug, the company records $80 towards the $1500 gap. So, instead of having to cover about $1500, we have to pay $7500 out of pocket. I'm pretty sure we would have remembered that if the insurance sales rep told us. The system is gamed to entirely benefit the insurance company. Apply this to say auto insurance. If you had a $500 deductible, and you paid that, and the company told you, 'well, we only count 20% of what you've paid towards the deductible, and just pocket the remaining 80%', So, they count their total cost to put you in this insurance gap, and then only count 20% of your money paid to get you out of it. What a system.
6/7 Holy cow...my student loans are almost paid off, only about 10 months to go. When did I graduate, you ask? 1994. And they say nothing lasts forever anymore. Anyone who says that obviously didn't go to college. Sunday, father's day. Not sure at all how it's going to feel. I think pulling out the yard ale glass and raising one to him would be appropriate. 5/30 From the Onion: Model Railroading A Harsh Mistress UTICA, NY—Tom Collins, a 49-year-old data technician and father of seven, announced Monday that model railroading is a harsh mistress. "Model railroading, like the Sea, can be a kind lady, but make no mistake, she can also be a cold and angry harpy," Collins said. "In times of yore, men tested their mettle against the Sea, but in these modern times, a man proves his virility one way only: building, maintaining and running a model-railroad set-up in his garage or den." Collins advised using Testor's-brand epoxy glue for miniature trees and letting them dry for at least 24 hours. 5/29 Little George/Poopy was baptized on sunday, picutres to follow. Had a nice weekend up in Cleveland seeing the Barkers and hanging out with some of our family. We had a nice Simpsons/Flanders moment with the neighbors yesterday. Louie came over with a cooler of beer he no longer wanted, so he was going to leave it with us. The cooler in question? Our cooler, which evidently got tired of life in our basement. We didn't even know it was gone, or how they came to have it. Louie stressed 3 times that he 'wanted his cooler back once we get the beer out'. At this point, no way to establish that it is ours...but now the question of how they got it lingers. Took it home after a cookout? Helped themselves to it while we were out of town? Of course if this makes them the Simpsons, then we are...Ned Flanders.
5/23 Want to know one of my favorite words? 'kapusta' It's a Polish dish that is some kind of pork/sauerkraut/cabbage concoction. Not my cup of tea. Er, cabbage. But the word just rolls off the tongue, almost like a whole sentence in itself. ----- I've been having a lot of dreams about dad lately. At least they've been good ones, where we just talk or hug. It's funny how the mind works on this stuff on a subconscious level, just kind of filling in the background details. 5/16 So, as you probably know, I am a Star Trek geek. If there was a 1-10 scale, with 1 being "William who?" and 10 being "At our wedding, we dressed as a Klingons and drank blood wine at the reception!" I'm at least a 6. But I realize that the show is entertainment, a tv show, about as real as Jan Brady's boyfriend. With that disclaimer out, I can now say that I am enjoying the show 'Enterprise' on a second glance. The first time, it was contrived, annoying, and reeked of contractural obligation. I've been soaking up the last severl episodes of season 3, very good sci fi. At least as good as anything else, except Battlestar. 4/22 We've all seen the tips on driving habits to improve your gas mileage, but are they any good? I put one to the test when I came home from Toledo saturday... I decided to really slow down, and set the cruise control at 62 mph - about what the semi trucks were doing, so I wouldnt have to pass them. I did this on I-75, from Toledo to the Findlay exit for Columbus...I'll put up a picture I snapped of the display, but the car's trip computer said I got 39.8mpg on this little experiment. And the mileage figure kept increasing the longer I did it. That's probably because I had filled up about 20 miles prior and reset the computer then. If I had reset it at the start of the 'test' it would have been in in the low 40s. At any rate, it was almost a 20% improvement from what I normally see on that drive. But it felt like it was taking forever, so I drove like I normally do for the rest of the way. I still got over 35mpg for the entire trip. At least I know it can be done. Enjoy your Earth Day.
4/9 No cure for cancer yet, but...(from the UK's Sun) SCIENTISTS believe they have come up with a formula to create the perfect bacon buttie. The two most important aspects are crispiness and crunchiness, according to a new study. It revealed the crunching sound while eating rashers should ideally measure 0.5 decibels. They should also break when 0.4 Newtons of force is applied through chewing, the researchers said. Butties were tested using a high-tech computer that measures food texture, while panels of 50 volunteers judged the butties for taste, texture and flavour. Four scientists at Leeds University spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variations of the traditional bacon buttie. Variants included: different types and cuts of bacon (smoked, unsmoked, streaky, thick cut); cooking techniques (frying, grilling, oven cooking or microwaving); types of oil (sunflower, olive, vegetable); and a range of cooking times at different temperatures. Dr Graham Clayton, who led the research team, said: "We often think that it's the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive. "But our research proves that texture and sound is just, if not more, important." British households spend more than £1bn on bacon every year and it remains the UK's most frequently eaten meat. The Formula N = C + {fb(cm) . fb(tc)} + fb(Ts) + fc . ta
4/3 France (AP) -- A French train with a 25,000-horsepower engine and special wheels broke the world speed record today for conventional rail trains, reaching 357.2 mph as it zipped through the countryside to the applause of spectators. Roaring like a jet plane, with sparks flying overhead and kicking up a long trail of dust, the black-and-chrome V150 with three double-decker cars surpassed the record of 320.2 mph set in 1990 by another French train. It fell short, however, of beating the ultimate record set by Japan's magnetically levitated train, which hit 361 mph in 2003. The French TGV, or "train a grande vitesse," as the country's bullet train is called, had two engines on either side of the three double-decker cars for the record run, some 125 miles east of the capital on a new track linking Paris with Strasbourg. 3/12 Cate and Don welcomed their child on March 8...
George (aka lil' Homer) was 7 lbs 15 ounces, and 22 inches tall.
2/20 Happy Birthday to Don and Chance!
Best birthday cake ever. 2/16 I bought a new camera last night, and took some photos of the train layout...you can see them here on the construction photos page. 2/12 Here's the strangest VW bus you will ever see.
2/6 Astronaut. Diaper. 900 miles in a wig. And you thought your ex was unstable. 2/5 Here's a really cool photo from NASA of Saturn. This is taken from a perspective we never see - looking back at Saturn towards the sun. http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/162056main_PIA08329.jpg Nice. But here's the kinda goose pimply part - if you click the photo to enlarge it, on the left side, above the rings, you'll see a small pale dot. That little dot is Earth. Us, all the deserts and oceans and strip malls and mountains, all our history, is on that little speck. ----- You know what really sucks? When someone at work wanders up to you and asks - after numerous department emails explaining what has happened - "How's your dad doing?" Well, he hasn't complained of any pain in a few weeks, thanks for asking. Schmuck. -- I heard this word at work, and it has been driving me nuts all day. Here we go... People who use the so called word 'conversate' must be stopped at all costs. -It is not a word. Go and try to look it up. - People who use this word must pat themselves mentally on the back for pulling out the classy English. I'm sorry, but you sound like an unschooled moron whenever it comes out. No, really, you do. - There are plenty of other nice words out there...'speak', 'talk', etc. This bastard child of converse is simply stupid. Yes yes, I know they use it on Judge Judy all the time. That doesn't make it correct. Any questions? Feel free to ax. 2/1 THREAT LEVEL: AQUA
Behold, our nation's new enemy. 1/25 Dad passed away at 7am on January 17. We love you, dad.
1/4 And you thought working in sales would be easy... (nsfw language) 12/27 The Dart bought 'Little Miss Sunshine' for us to enjoy over our Christmas Baileys&Coffee (Irish egg nog)...Anyone who has had a VW Bus in their lives will feel a nostalgic connection to the movie. We had a Bus for about 6 years, from roughly summer '78 until our infamous trek to DisneyWorld in '84. The brown-on-brown with brown interior 'cornflake box on wheels' gave us memories of the psyche-scarring kind that will last a lifetime.
- The heater - if it actually ever produced any heat, it went unnoticed by us. - The horn with a mind of its own. Usually would malfunction while doing the paper route at 8am, on cold mornings. So you had to fumble with your numb fingers to try and extract the fuse before people started throwing rocks at you. - The starter that wouldn't work if you had driven more than 30 minutes when the outside temp was over 65 degrees. Luckily, the Bus was light enough to be push started - which we all became experts at doing. - The sliding door that liked to, well, fall off. - The flimsiest jack ever made. It was a a gear driven thing, basically a glorified window crank mounted on a stand. The jack was made from metal that a 5 year old child could bend into a pretzel. I have fond memories of it givng out halfway through a tire change on a rainy morning in Georgia. - The parking brake that would give up every once in a while. We'd hear a car honking, look out, and see that the Bus had rolled down the driveway, and was blocking the street. We would joke and say it was running away. Old VW's do that to you - you can't get mad at them. But the damn thing, once you persuaded it to start, would keep running through anything. It never really left us stranded that I can recall. Oh, there was the broken axle that turned a 4 hour beach visit into a 14 hour adventure. But in fairness, that axle had been making that clunking noise for 1000 miles. And when you're 12, getting to ride 3 hours in a tow truck is a good day.
Have a Merry Merry christmas, and may you get the cha cha heels of your dreams.
12/20 If we had these motorized barricades in the US, think of all the hours of entertainment they would provide. In the UK, cities like to use these to control traffic in urban centers. Certain vehicles have sensors to lower and raise the barricades, allowing them through. Some other drivers think they can race through after them before the barricades are raised. Guess again. 12/13 Yes, it has been a while. A big thank you to our friends, the Kelmeister and Mr. Pickles, who came over on sunday and kept Shaunn company while I was in Toledo. From what I gathered, there was food, tv, and adventures with the trains. Note to self: leave instructions on how to operate the layout for future guests to enjoy.
11/9 Our digital camera is mia...no clue where it has gotten to. And with it, pictures I've been waiting to upload for weeks. Hopefully it will turn up soon. 11/7 We had a nice break last week...went to Chicago, where we managed to squeeze in a few visits with grandma, who is doing very well, and really enjoys the place she is living at now. Shaunn and I went to the Museum of Science & Industry which has a lot of cool exhibits, including a Boeing 727 that hangs from the ceiling, but the left half is integrated into the second floor, so you can board & pretend you're flying somewhere. The plane hangs over the new model train display, which was really stunning, even to a casual train person like me. They have a scale version of downtown Chicago, which has to be seen to be appreciated. Bethany and I also went to see The Beautiful South perform downtown - they are one of my favorite bands, but rarely tour in North America. Seeing them was awesome. 10/23 Paging Aunt Bethany... Schleswig Holstein, Germany (AHN) -- A 67-year-old woman of Rosdorf in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, accidentally sent her cat Felix, in the mail, after the animal snuck inside the parcel she was sending to her nephew. Edith Schonberg mailed the birthday parcel without realizing Felix was there. She said she believes the three-year-old cat must have entered the box while she was looking for some tape to seal the parcel. The error was realized only when a postman, at the central sorting office, heard the cat parcel and called police. Schonberg said, "I had not even noticed Felix was missing until they called. I thought he was asleep."
10/18
The worst part of getting older...your grandkids no longer fall for the 'pull my finger' routine, so you gotta do it yourself. This is my grandma, still going strong at 86.
10/17 Gurgle...gurgle...what's that sound? Water in the basement! We got dumped on again last night, and got water to spare. Luckily, we know where it goes, so clean up isn't that big a deal. 10/16 Well, after a brief cat-wrangling hiatus, I set the Havahart trap last night and caught the fifth - and final - cat. This strange chapter of our life is now closed. I highly recommend these traps, they are so simple to use, and don't harm the animal in any way. Of course, you can always borrow mine. But I'm like the A-Team - you have to find me first. But if you do, you can hire me. Then I'd pull up in a black van and jump out, chomping a cigar and cracking one liners about criminals getting what they deserve. We'd probably forget about the trap by that point, and talk on and on about 80's tv shows instead. 10/12 There has been an exciting twist in the flying bra story...here's the story headline: Dog gnawed on bra that led to crash, teen tells troopers What could I possibly add to that? 10/10 Alfa Romeo, that mystical car brand, has announced plans to sell cars in the US again, beginning in 2008. Their first new model will be this number, dubbed the 8C Competizione. If they will take teeth instead of cash, I will happily switch to an all-banana diet. Remember this car - in 2050, this will be seen as one of the last great automotive designs. And will sell for ungodly amounts of money.
Well, I can add cat-wrangling to my list of strange skills...I caught the 4th one last night (the original mother, who looked preggers again) Now the last cat will be rounded up and taken to the shelter, tonight if the nice weather holds up. 10/5 What is the latest danger facing motorists on the highways around Toledo? Rocks? Loose truck loads? Wrong again. The latest menace...flying brassieres! http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061005/NEWS03/610050407 (The car occupants) were hurt seriously when Mr. Campbell's car swerved to avoid the bra as it flew away from the girls' car.
10/4 Well, because the stray cat problem was obviously not going to fix itself, I bought a trap. One of the humane kinds that doesn't harm them, so don't send me nasty emails. We caught the calico last night, who has now been moved to an undisclosed location. 3 to go! 10/2
It's a boy! In the image, he's lying with his arms behind his head, and his legs crossed. All set for tv-watching! 9/28 Behold..french toast with bacon ice cream. Who said nothing good ever comes out of Cleveland? http://flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/253707867/in/set-72157594301326105/ 9/21 No shelter will take cats. Especially feral ones. Nice. 9/15 Thought it was hot this summer? You were right. the NOAA (National Weather Service’s parent organization) noted that the summer of 2006 (June – August) was the 2nd warmest on record for the continental US since 1895 when records began, slightly cooler than the 1936 “dust bowl” era record. NOAA notes that the January-August 2006 period was the warmest on record for the continental US. 9/13 Not having a good day. Nothing bad has happened, but just one fo those moods that makes you just want to scream for no real reason. 9/8 Okay, here's the short version of the cat saga: - We stopped feeding the cats once they were weaned, to encourage them to leave. We didn’t want them to be dependent on us for food indefinitely, plus they were transferring fleas to us, which we were bringing in the house. This was working, and they were all but gone until we got back from Toledo on monday, when we noticed they're back in our yard
– We discovered that our neighbor Sharon has been putting food out for them when we’ve been gone on weekends. Sharon apparently thought we were trying to starve them to death by doing this – we’re cruel people, you know
- When we explained why we were doing this, and that they appeared healthy and well fed, and were being fed by the other neighbor across the street from us... She said she understood...then placed more food in our yard for the cats.
- When confronted, she blew up at Shaunn, saying how we were starving these animals, etc.
- Since then, she’s been putting food out in her yard, which the cats are not eating. Why? Because she has dogs that do not take well to cats on their turf.
- Shaunn talked to her last night, she said that we need to catch them and take them to a shelter, because she’s now worried about fleas.
Which, of course, brings us back to the original reason why we've been trying to get them out of our yard.
Which will now be all but impossible, as the cats are hanging around again, waiting for more food.
Aren't neighbors great? 9/7 If you feed stray kittens, and then stop once they're weaned, you are a cruel person. But - if you never fed the kittens in the first place, and allowed nature to take its course, you are also a cruel person. These are the stray animal ethics according to our neighbor, who has turned 12 years old (down from 60) and is not talking to us anymore, and brought back her Christmas presents from last year. Really - just dumped them over the fence. Welcome to the West Side. Because we are cruel no matter what we do. Stand back. We might beat you up. Or scratch your eyes out. 8/28 Go ahead, call me unenlightened. Call me lowbrow. But the 2 minute scene in Caddyshack, when Rodney Dangerfield makes his appearance at Bushwood, has to be one of the top 5 funniest movie scenes ever. And even though I've seen the movie at least 7342 times, it still cracks me up. If anyone but Rodney had done that scene, no one would remember it. 8/22 The party couldn't have gone better...the weather was rainy until about an hour before the party, then it cleared up. Everyone had a good time, no big family blowouts, and it seemed like we had more food left over than we started with. Bethany Don and I made an effort to drain the keg, but gave up around 2:30am. Good times. 8/16 Well, we've got everything planned for the party, we think. Now it's a matter of buying and cooking and placing and hoping the whole damn thing doesn't get rained out. 8/10 And the one known as the Coyote did announce her upcoming visit, and there was heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth. But then this was added, and yea, the sky split open: Question: does anybody in the family have a parking No pressure, and such a meager request. Never mind that we almost all live out of town and are, you know, planning a party for a few dozen people. I just love how it's worded to imply that we're throwing her out in the street if we turn her down. Don't we want her to leave fresh? And I'm not sure what qualifies as a piece of floor...under the table? In front of the dishwasher? A carpet remnant out in the garage? 8/8 Our neighbors behind us have been getting a little weird this year...last night, I was just looking around the back corner of our house - just getting ideas for gardening. Shaunn noticed that everytime I moved around the back yard, she would get up and stand by her window to see what I was doing - as soon as I turned toward their house, she would sit down. This went on for a good 20 minutes, she had a Pavlovian response to every time I appeared. This am, she sent her live in boyfriend into our yard, to apparently scope out what I was looking at last night. Tonight I think I'll put a bucket on my head - that should really get them going. --- The plans for mom/dad's 40th anniversary party are coming along swimmingly. we've got tents, and now getting a truckload of meat and meat by-products to roast for all to consume. We should have 35-45 people showing up. I'm just glad it's not my house. 7/26 I realized this morning that my laugh is much like John Candy's little nervous chuckle. So from now on, just call me Barf. That is all. 7/24 So we've been trying to get one of the kittens inside the house, by luring it with cat toys on a string (and we're adults, good god) .We've gotten close...maybe this week. 7/19/06 Well, Shaunn had the misfortune of being part of a gang initiation last week. Confused? Well...we were at a friend's house to watch a movie last week. When leaving Shaunn went out to smoke and start the car, while he was out there, 3 people approached, and one pulled a gun and demanded everything in his pockets. All he had was his phone and a pack of smokes. They took those, and even the ciggie still in his mouth. Somehow, they didn't take the car, which was sitting there running and unlocked. Shaunn is still pretty freaked about this whole thing. 7/12/06 We've bought a bunch of plants for the yard finally. Now if it ever stops raining, we might get them planted. The little kittens under our shed are getting braver - this morning, they were all piled by the back door. Probably got flooded out by the rain last night. Anyone have a kitty carrier? 7/5/06 We made it through the holiday weekend intact. This was despite the efforts of our illegal neighbors and their seemingly endless supply of illegal fireworks. The fireworks I don't mind, but when they're in the hands of unsupervised kids who top out at about 14 years old...you get the idea. 6/26/06 The Season 2 premiere of the Venture Brothers was on last night. The deaths of Hank and Dean were resolved in a way that makes perfect sense. They're idiots. Never jump off the roof in your batman costume using an umbrella as a parachute. Go Team Venture! The best line: Dr. Orpheus: I'm a necromancer by trade - do you know what that means? Brock - You get off on having sex with dead people... Dr. Orpheus: No, that's 'phile' - necrophile! Evidently the boys have a habit of getting killed. There was a montage of the other 13 times this has happened - getting sucked into the X1's engines, blowing up the hangar when trying to smoke, getting crushed by a falling satellite... and a gas leak in the house, the silent killer. 6/14/06 Okay, so for the past coupole of weeks, we've been trying to eat healthier. This as opposed to a typical evening of a 12" sub, cheese stix, a bowl of popcorn, and washing it all down with a hershey bar. no more. Now it's salads, cold cut sandwiches, and less of a "Henry VIII" style of feasting. And I've lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks. Not bad for just changing the diet. 6/9/06 Happy birthday Shaunn! 6/2/06 We got hammered with rain yesterday...3-4" in about 5 hours. Our basement had water where we'd never seen it before. But I saw what the problem is: when it was pouring rain, I could see outside that water was coming up out of the connections where the gutter downspouts feed into the underground drain lines. Water was just gushing up and being dumped right against the house. So they must be partially clogged. I think we'll just run gutter pieces out into the yard for now, instead of digging up the lines. Fun. 5/30/06 Went home this weekend to help out with Pop. He's doing so much better, he's aware of what's going on around him, and he can talk using real words - as opposed to gibberish. He still gets fuzzy when he's tired though - after Bethny and I took him to the park, he was wiped out, so he and I watched Bonanza on tv. After a couple hours, (which is enough time for it to start getting interesting - scary thought) he started getting fidgety. I asked him if he needed anything, and he said we had to do something to deal with 'the guys with six-shooters' who were coming after us. I changed channels, and the crisis was resolved. Shaunn and I have big plans for the yard, but it became summer on friday. Now it'll be too hot to bother with much for a while. I think we used that excuse last year too. Hey, stick with what you know. 5/24/06 Weeks ago, our house was attacked by some crazy people. They placed a wooden chicken on our porch, in an attempt to make us look 'country'. Well, the Pussy Willow will strike back at them soon. 5/16/06 I just got the call...our car is ready. Finally. And $1500 later. But it's the other person's money. I'm just glad to have it back! -------------Dad is coming home from the rehab center today, he's been getting around on his new hip just fine. I think we'll make him some clothes out of bubble wrap to protect his other one. 5/15/06 Saw everyone in Toledo this weekend, had a good time. Dad is doing a lot better lately with his mental abilities. He can't bend spoons or anything, but he can hold a conversation, and definitely knows who he's talking to and what's going on around him. Shaunn was going to take a trip home this past weekend. We had rented a car from Avis, but he felt too sick to drive anywhere on saturday. And then to make things better, Avis became a royal pain in the ass about helping him return the car. The manager would do nothing, except charge him for an extra day if it wasn't back by 4pm. Ass. Shaunn had a stroke of genius and called their roadside assistance; they took it back for him. Guess who we're never using again. Speaking of rental cars, I still have mine, which is killing me on gas. I figure I'm spending about 30% more on these trips than I normally would because of the sucky mileage the Taurus gets. Maybe I'll get my car back this week. It's now promised for monday or tuesday. 5/10/06 Some days, the gods smile on you. Okay, it's not the lottery, but I got a free car wash for the rental. The place I go has one of those programs where every so often you get a freebie. So it just cost me a tip to have the car cleaned inside and out. (I had to get the smoke smell out of it) And what is it? A beige Ford Taurus. The C student of cars. Does just enough to get by, and that's about it. Mom observed that the interior is "11 different shades of brown, but they all look like baby shit." ------------ I've bought the lumber for the train layout's benchwork, I hope to post the trackplan on here soon and track the progress, so to speak. Yes, who needs to plant a garden when you can build a time waster in the basement? We haven't bothered to plant anything outside this year, but the previous owners had a lot of perennials that are still coming up, so we have the illusion that we've been working on the yard. ----------- Shaunn and I went to Sam's Club last night to buy our annual supply of cleaners and paper towels. The store is such stupid fun - we needed bleach, but all they had was 3-1.5 gallon jugs sold as a unit. Who needs 4.5 gallons of bleach? And if you spill it, the whole neighborhood would need to be evacuated. But at least your whites are bright. We passed on that potential enviromental disaster. But we did get this...6.5 pounds of heart-stoppingly good stuff. Which will create a disaster all its own. ----------- The car is still out of commission, undergoing repairs thanks to the woman who backed into me last month at Sofo's. (Mental note: park far away from minivans with wheelchair lifts on the back) This is week 3 that it's been in the shop, hopefully I'll have it back in time for my weekly trip to Toledo. Not to sound like a whiny kid, but there's nothing like a rental to make you appreciate your own car! ----------- Well, I finally took the plunge and started a page. The Dart was making me look bad. Anyway, I'll be adding content about the homestead, Shaunn, my soon-to-be basement railroad empire, and life's little annoyances. Kind of like "Mary Worth" without the biting sarcasm and offensive humor. "Max Power" comes from the Simpsons, when Homer wanted a new name with more zing. He chose Max Power, after getting it off a hair dryer: Homer: Kids, there's 3 ways to do things - the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way! Bart: Isn't that the wrong way? Homer: Yeah, but faster! | Reading Ian M. Banks, The Algebraist Listening Ernie Kovacs, Ernie Kovacs' Record Collection Blogs: Train Stuff: |
