The Iced Coffee Blog

Getting home from work this morning was not a real joy.

I kept bumping up against 'road closed' signs as I made my way south through town. Lots of water over the roads, a few places with mud over the road and general slowness travelling as I had to backtrack a couple of times to try another route. Eventually I made way to the east side of town which is higher in elevation and had a clear road home. By clear I mean that there were no more of the closed signs to turn me around.

I drove much slower than usual as my brakes had gotten a bit wet and when I did have to use them it took a longer distance for me to stop than normal. Mini-lakes abound! In fact, water is entirely over the road just a couple of blocks from here but at least that is at a lower elevation. Where I'm at there is no worry about being flooded but there is the concern of being able to get out of here later on.

At this time I'm not too sure that I'm willing to even try to make my way into work tonight after the drive home this morning. I just cannot see the road conditions improving anytime soon, and most likely they will worsen. With luck Clear Creek won't demolish any roads this time around like it did back in 1997. That year I couldn't get home as that creek had washed away the main road into my neighborhood. This time it's still a big question whether or not it will wipe out the road, but the road was still there below the water when I drove over it just over an hour ago.

Posted by Linda at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, Fedex finally came last night around 9 p.m. I never heard them so I assume they simply placed my package on the doorstep and left. Never a knock on the door. It was dark outside so I couldn't see them either. I found my package just a little before I had to leave for work so I didn't get to do anything with it. I'll have to save that for this afternoon after I stack some Z's.

You shoulda heard me when I read the tracking line that said it was delivered at 9 p.m. I didn't believe that they'd been here at all until I went and looked out the door. I was spewing out unladylike words and thinking that they had left it at a wrong address. Oops.

Posted by Linda at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So I'll eat cake.

Seriously, after all my total frustration earlier with Fedex here and here I decided to take it out on my stove. I put the broiler pan on the bottom shelf, then disassembled all four burners and put all of their parts on the top shelf. Then I put the oven into self-cleaning mode. I went ahead and cleaned the cooktop while I was at it. Now, since the oven is out of commission for a few hours and the stove burners are also out of commission, I can't cook unless I nuke everything. I was going to make some spaghetti for dinner but cooking the noodles in the microwave is a pain. At least there is plenty of cake to be had. Eggnog too.

Posted by Linda at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, Fedex is a no-show and they'd best show up tomorrow. I just cannot understand why they did not deliver my package when tracking says that it was on the truck early this morning to be delivered. I can assure you that I will never use Fedex for anything that I ever send anywhere. This is not good business in my opinion. In fact, it sucks big time! Very undependable.

Posted by Linda at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Might I say FedSlug?

My NetObjects Fusion shipment is supposedly on the Fedex truck coming from Reno this morning. The day is nearly gone and the truck has yet to arrive here. Reno is only a 45 minute drive from here.

Come on guys, I've got things that I need to go out and do! Today! Soon! With this unstable weather I want to be here when it arrives. I don't want it to get wet. Or be blown away should it be left on my doorstep.

Yes I'm impatient now. Yes I'm getting ticked. The USPS is definitely a lot faster in my own experience of shipping packages, even during holiday season.

Posted by Linda at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today is Danny's birthday. I know he doesn't expect anything, but I got him accessories for his new shop vac, a german chocolate cake, and a very, very mushy birthday card. Oh yeah, I think he'll be pleased.

Posted by Linda at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Danny is thinking about squeezing in a nap before he has to head off to work. When he announced this plan, I had to ask him when he planned to get up and if the lady who rides to work with him on most days will be coming by today. He said that she is off today, it's only Tuesday. I'd thought it was Wednesday today since I have to go to work tonight, a result of cutting a deal to have Sunday night off. Boy, did I get messed up. Weird hours, weird weekends add up to confusion.

Now that I know it is only Tuesday, I have to get the trash and recyclables out. Dang. I'd best do it soon too as it is starting to rain. Dang!

From reading a weather advisory over there on Joe's site, it sounds like we're in for some wet weather this week. All week long. There's supposed to be some wind coming, but right now we're having one of those rare windless moments. Seems it is always windy here except when it is supposed to be windy. Hmmph.

I also have to do a bit of shopping today, or tonight. Danny's birthday is tomorrow and I must get him something. Accessories for his brand new Shop Vac might fit the ticket, and my budget. A cake is a maybe item since he'd do nothing but complain about all the calories while he gobbles it down. Who needs complaining on a birthday? He might complain if he didn't get a cake too. Can't win. I can buy one at work on my way home in the morning. Just a small one.

I'm still wondering why my NetObjects Fusion order has been sitting over the hill in Sacatomatoes since the 23rd. It's only a two hour drive in good weather and a four hour drive in bad weather. Fedex has lost their express. I want it and I want it now! Guess I'm being cranky today.

Posted by Linda at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is currently a problem with the comment preview template. Nothing to really be concerned over, it just displays the comment in the wrong column. Something I can fix later when I feel bright enough to wrap my head around it.

Bottom line --> it works just fine but simply looks odd.

Posted by Linda at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas!

Posted by Linda at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

German scientists dug 50 meters underground and discovered small pieces of copper. After studying these pieces for a long time, Germany announced that the ancient Germans 25,000 years ago had a nationwide telephone network.

Naturally, the British government was not that easily impressed. They ordered their own scientists to dig even deeper. At 100 meters down, they found small pieces of glass and they soon announced that the ancient Brits 35,000 years ago already had a nationwide fibre net.

Irish scientists were outraged. They dug 50, 100 and 200 meters underground, but found absolutely nothing..... They concluded that the ancient Irish 55,000 years ago had cellular telephones......

Posted by Linda at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night around 9 p.m. I happened to look out the window here by my desk. Just an odd chance that I'd look out at the right time to see a falling meteorite, glowing a bright green as it dizzily danced its way down to the ground somewhere within a block or two of my house. I have to guess that the sagebrush was too damp from the rain that we'd been having since no fire broke out, or that it landed on a street or on clear dirt. Not often do I see such stuff. The last time was in 1998 while I was driving up Highway 50 on my way to work at Caesars Tahoe in the MIS Department. I was going up for a graveyard shift, hit the road around 11 p.m. and hadn't gone more than about a mile up from Highway 395 when one came down on the road just a little ahead of where I was. I'd sure hate to be hit by one of these things.

On to other strangeness...

I'm tempted to say that the Wal*Mart that I work at is haunted but I just can't be sure. It is a brand new store, recently opened only two months ago. During the month before the store opened more stuff went on than has happened lately, but who knows when something will happen again. One night I was watching the front door to make sure that only employees or construction workers came in as we were still setting up the store and stocking the shelves. I was facing the counter of the portrait studio, not thinking of anything when I saw a wispy dark but transparent figure pass by that counter. Enough of a glimpse to determine that whoever or whatever it was wore a long coat or perhaps a long dress. In about the same time it would take anyone to walk the distance from that counter to the front door, the front exit door opened then closed as if someone had gone through it. There was noone but myself anywhere near those doors, either inside or outside the building. I wasn't near enough to the doors to trigger the opening mechanism, besides I was seated behind a table basically being motionless.

Others have seen similar things. There is a sign that hangs above the portrait studio counter that has been seen spinning without any wind to drive it. Others have seen the doors open and close with nobody anywhere around. There have been other sightings of the wispy figure elsewhere in the store. Some have felt as if someone was watching them when noone was around in the back storage areas. A couple of times each week the doors on one of the ice storage machines will start opening and closing rapidly, faster than you or I could open and close them if we tried. Those doors are not easily opened when you want to open them so it's not likely to be some sort of air pressure effect of the cooling system or an effect of any vibration.

The strangest thing that has happened has to do with a pile of fecal material that appeared in one of the aisles. Yes, it was sh*t. There was a big ruckus over that as the assistant managers thought that one of the stockers had done it intentionally. They played the tape, then replayed the tape at normal speed then again at slow speed. The pile appeared on the floor out of nowhere. Nobody was around. They're stumped.

Word has it that the location might have been an old indian burial ground. It definitely was part of the old wild west. Perhaps it still is. Perhaps it is still wild.

Posted by Linda at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ever wonder who else shares your birthday? I share mine with these folks. Yes, even Nostradamus!

Posted by Linda at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I finally broke down and ordered NetObjects Fusion 9 after having a big debate with myself over it. It has shipped and I should have it soon.

Why NetObjects Fusion? Well, simply put, I understand it. Over the years that I've used it, beginning with version 4, it has been a "love - hate" arrangement. I've thrown one heck of a lot at it and it has spit up on me just as often. We get along. It's like a marriage. I probably know it as well as anyone out there.

I've tried Dreamweaver but couldn't get my head wrapped around it. I avoided Front Page like the plague since it has had the worst reputation of any WYSIWYG package on the market. Hand coding in any text editor is just too time consuming for someone with little time, although it is truly the best way to create a site. I do like being able to keep my hands on the code, and Fusion allows me to do that if and when I want.

So what am I going to do with NetObjects Fusion? I've got two sites that currently are running Mambo. I'd convert them to Joomla but I can't find a gallery package that is really ready for Joomla yet (and that I like), and these sites have photographs. So, I will likely recreate them with NetObjects Fusion. They aren't large sites so they don't really need a database. I might just take the Icy Owl back to being a NetObjects Fusion site again too, although it is currently running under Joomla. Shoebox Recipes really needs the database functionality so it will remain using Joomla, although it was my first NetObjects Fusion site.

Posted by Linda at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guess I managed to avoid coming down with a cold once again. There is something to be said for doing what it takes to head a cold off at the first signs. No symptoms today at all.

Danny returned his Mom's call yesterday. Her cold is nearly gone but she's still staying home. It's best.

There's supposed to be another storm heading in. It was raining north of us in Reno early this morning and chain controls went up on the Mt. Rose Highway. So far we haven't had a drop of rain or a flake of snow. It's just overcast outside with a mild breeze.

I have to go into work for a meeting today. There are two meeting times left and I suppose I'll go to the first one so that I'll have ample time to sleep when I get home. I need a nap right now but I don't dare go to sleep or I'll miss both meeting times. So much to do and little time to do it. I've got a load of laundry waiting to go into the dryer and it will just have to wait until after I get home from the meeting. Something else to cut into my sleep time. It's a wonder that I get any sleep at all.

The wind just kicked up and it's just starting to sprinkle.

Posted by Linda at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cold again today, but the snow has turned to slush during the day and ice at night. I heard we're now expecting rain and that it will probably rain on the ski slopes too. I also heard that Kirkwood got 2 to 3 feet of fresh powder. Hopefully the rain won't hit them. Not that I really care, haven't been skiing in years - my knees can't take it.

Bummer. It feels like I'm getting a cold, scratchy throat and all. Guess I need to go stock up on the Cold-Eeze since I'm sucking on the last one that had existed under my roof. I like the honey-lemon flavored ones, they taste just like a candy. None of that nasty menthol-lyptus crap for me. I ought to take an Echinacea pill too. Now that is one word that I can absolutely never properly pronounce - it usually comes out sounding like some sort of exotic itch that badly needs scratching. I just know that once in a while it seems to help, but maybe that depends on what variety of cold bug I've encountered. Anyway, it can't hurt.

Danny's mom called and left a voice-mail today. Seems she's caught a cold and at her age (upper 70's) it isn't something to mess with. Anyway, he's all bummed out because this means that she won't be coming up our way for Christmas. I hope he calls her back tomorrow, he didn't today because he was so unhappy. He'll get over it.

On other fronts...

Every once in a while I encounter a customer at work (Wal*Mart) that wonders about this whole Merry Christmas bruhaha that has been the talk of radio and TV folks like Bill O'Reilly. The best that I can figure is that the words might have only been omitted from advertisements. We most definitely have not been told that we can't wish the folks Merry Christmas or any other seasonal greeting. In fact, we do wish the folks a "Merry Christmas" as well as "Happy Holidays" or whatever else is appropriate. Merry Christmas to you too!

Makes me think O'Reilly is putting out a snow job to get attention. Flake.

Posted by Linda at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first real snowfall of the season started last night. When I had to leave for work there was only a dusting and it was snowing so lightly that if it snowed any lighter it wouldn't have been snowing at all. I got to work and within 15 minutes the snow really started coming down. It snowed all night and is still snowing this morning about an inch an hour. We have about 8 inches of the white stuff so far.

I had to work a little bit of overtime this morning as the day shift was either late arriving due to the snow or had called in. It was, and still is quite a mess out there on the roads.

Before I could leave the building I had to take a bit of time and purchase a pair of winter boots. The shoes that I normally wear to work are clogs and there was no way that I could get out to my vehicle wearing them. The deep snow would've gone right into them, and more likely would've just sucked them off my feet. After a bit of time I found a suitable pair of boots to wear. They're a little large but a good thick pair of socks should cure that problem. At least they fit, are comfortable, and keep the snow out and my feet dry.

I finally got out to my car, knocked a good load of snow off of it and began making my way home. I hadn't really gotten out of the parking lot and found that there was a car off the side of the road with a tow truck fixing to pull it out. Just a minor roadblock that I had to make my way around. The rest of the trip home was simply slow and uneventful although I did see one mini-van that had gotten itself stuck. The roads are a real mess and it is hard to see where the edge of the road is really at. I pity anyone out there that is not familiar with them. The plows hadn't plowed anything and only prior traffic had been able to make any distinction where the travel lanes might actually lie.

The skiers should be delighted. Most of the ski areas up at Tahoe should be getting about 3 feet of new snow from this storm. Maybe more from the looks of things around here.

Posted by Linda at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight I actually made a bit of progress working on the template. More to do as the 'category' template hasn't been touched yet. Simply out of time and must prepare to leave for work. Perhaps tomorrow, or at least in the coming days while I'm on a roll.

Just over one hour to go before I'm another year older...

Posted by Linda at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Danny gave me a Sobe bottle cap that says "I'm with you girl" Monday afternoon. I guess I've got a Sobe bottle cap collection going, but that was just the best! I've been keeping most of the Sobe bottle caps that I've gotten hold of for over a year now, not a clue in the world what I'm ever going to do with them. Perhaps make a wreath? Yeah, I could do that.

Monday evening we went to his annual employee awards banquet at the Hyatt in Incline Village. The appetizers and drinks were good, so was the coffee and petit fours (??? - they were actually cookies, cream puffs and tarts) that were served after dinner. As usual, they managed to screw up what might've been very good food. The salad was a spinach salad with bits of duck and yam chips. I couldn't eat it without salad dressing, and the dressing they had was inedible. I gave my salad to Danny, but I did nibble a few of the yam chips by themselves. I also did taste the duck but it wasn't worth the time. They also served us some stale buns that I couldn't eat - again passed on to Danny. Then dinner came. It looked good - lobster tail, filet mignon, some sort of risotto and steamed vegetables. I tasted the risotto (it tasted awful), I tasted the lobster (they'd ruined it with some obscure vanilla sauce and it was tough to boot), I didn't bother with the filet mignon (I do not eat steak ever), and I was able to determine that the vegetables hadn't been cooked enough for me to eat. My entire dinner plate was passed to Danny. Dessert came - some sort of a cappucino mousse. I ate that, although it seemed quite stale. It had some sort of a dried out cake exterior, with an interior that was of two layers, frozen and hard to determine if either layer was pudding, ice cream, or a moister cake. Good thing that the appetizers earlier had been good, and edible. I just kept drinking lots of water throughout the whole dinner, probably drove them nuts refilling my glass everytime they turned around. After dessert, I stepped outside to have a smoke and found an urn of hazelnut coffee with all sorts of little desserts and cookies to go with it. I poured myself a cup of this delightful coffee, put a sugar crystal swizzle stick in it and topped it with whipped cream. I also had a few macaroons and a bavarian creme filled pastry. This was the best food they'd served all night long. Why can't they just serve food in normal fashion, which I would've eaten, and be done with it? I love lobster tail, cooked normally so that it is tender and served with hot, melted butter. Plain rice or a rice pilaf, and vegetables that have been cooked until they are nicely tender would've gone a long way toward feeding me. I shouldn't need a chainsaw to cut through a supposedly cooked carrot! Oh well, at least I somehow got full and wasn't hungry. Just disappointed. One would expect the Hyatt to serve decent food, but this is the third year in a row that they've managed to screw up what might've been really good food if cooked properly. Next time I'm taking a sack lunch.

Oh, and in about 4 and a half hours I'll officially be another year old. Whoopee.

Posted by Linda at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The weather is just yucky today. It's drizzling outside and there is no sign of blue skies anywhere. Just low riding gray clouds. Likely to be snowing up the mountain, but it might just as easily be raining up there too and ruining the snow on the ski runs. Wouldn't be the first time, and won't be the last.

It's been just about three months that I've been working the over-night shift and getting into a regular sleep pattern has not happened yet. The days are rare that I can sleep more than 5 hours straight, even rarer when I can sleep 8 or more non-stop. I did get to sleep for 9 hours on my last "weekend", but that was truly rare. Most of the time I'll sleep about 2 to 3 hours, get up for a little while (never long enough to accomplish anything) then go sleep another 2 or 3 hours. This pattern goes on day after day, and being fully awake doesn't seem to happen until evening when I'm running out of time before I have to take off for work. Then I get home in the morning and after about 30 minutes start the whole pattern all over again.

So what's been going on around here that is of interest? Hmmm...

About 10 days ago Danny took me shopping. He had about a dozen photographs that he'd been after me to scan so that he could email them off to friends, and I kept putting him off. The problem was my old scanner that I'd gotten back in the late 90's - try as they might, the drivers just were not fully compatible with WindowsXP Professional. It was a trick and a half to get it to scan anything. The scanner's software kept balking at the job, and I don't like the built in software that comes with WindowsXP. A vicious circle. Anyway, I'd been looking at a couple of all-in-one machines (scan, copy, fax, print) at work but they couldn't handle legal size paper. He took me out with the intent of getting me a new scanner at the very least. We first looked at what Costco had to offer and they had one that I fell in love with but was a bit more than he wanted to spend. We then went to Best Buy (which really isn't) and found a poor selection and none of those could handle legal size. After that, we drove over to Staples and found just about every possible machine available there. They really had a great selection, but no discount on the prices. They did have the same machine that I'd fallen in love with at Costco, but for about $40 more. He realized that he was going to have to buy me that machine, so back to Costco we went. So, after $385 out the door, I am the proud owner of a HP Officejet 7310xi All-in-One. I love it. It does everything I would ever want it to do, and it does it fast and with decent quality. I'm happy.

I've yet to find the solid length of awake time to work on this template. It's coming, and hopefully soon. I'd dink around with it right now, but I'm in need of another nap. Drat.

Posted by Linda at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)