Thank You!
To all of the Veterans out there I want to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart. You are all heroes.
November 11, 2007
October 09, 2007
Rolling right along
Yes, it has been quite a while since I took the time to scribble something down here. Sorry for that.
Danny is good. He's off to work right now so he can't get in my hair while I work on one of my projects.
I'm good too. Still keeping weird hours but that's all part of working the graveyard shift. Yes, work is going good too. Loads of printing nightly still. I think we went through 2-1/2 cases of copy paper last night plus all the other forms that we print. On the average we manage to keep three laser printers constantly busy for a solid 3-4 hours each night, a continuous form laser printer busy for 5-6 hours and a band printer busy for one hour. You could say that we do a lot of printer baby-sitting since we're constantly feeding them paper and forms. We do a whole lot more than that, but the printers are squeaky wheels and they get their attention.
More later, got to go check on a neighbors kitty cat now while it's still light outside.
July 12, 2007
Someday...
I'll once again find the time to keep up with this as I should (and used to do). As a catch-up, here's a brief summary of what's been going on over the last several months.
September 05, 2006
It's been a long, long time
Much too long. I've been busy, there are some things that must get done no matter what else is on my plate: gardening, reading books, building and rebuilding sites and work. And sleeping way too much. But mostly I was just spinning my wheels trying to deal with a schedule that is abnormal for me: day shift. Fortunately, that horrid shift is behind me now.
March 07, 2006
First pictures
These photographs have no real importance other than they're among the first group of photos that I've taken with my new Nikon D50.
Pardon the mess. Please. This is absolutely the very first photograph taken with the D50. I took this picture as soon as the battery had a full charge. At the time, I really hadn't read much of the manual so it was really just a point and click affair.
When I took this photograph I had made my way through the manual once. I'm still not quite sure of what I'm doing, but I am having fun. Notice how the camera essentially removed the background all on its own in "close up" mode. Yeah, those are mine.
Now, just to prove that my Danny wouldn't break the camera, I tried taking a picture of him in "portrait" mode. Yes, he is rather a pink man - it's not the lighting, the camera or anything else having an effect.
February 26, 2006
New Camera
I bought myself a new digital SLR camera yesterday, a Nikon D50. I have yet to finish reading the manual for it, but it appears to have many more capabilities than my old Kodak DX3600. Nothing wrong with the Kodak, I just wanted to be able to do more and things such as close ups aren't easy or very good with the Kodak. Anyway, once I get that manual read I'll be taking a whole lot more pictures more often.
Jack is out, Carl is in
And McDonalds, Wendy's, In'nOut and Burger King weren't even in the running.
February 17, 2006
Flip Flop
Yes!!! My life has changed and for the better. I now work for the State of Nevada as a Computer Systems Technician III and I'm happy as can be. This is the type of work that I love and have always loved. It's just been the hardest type of work to get into in this area without driving further than I care to drive.
I miss the folks at Walmart, but I'll be back over there to shop and at least to just go chit-chat with them on my weekends, which I plan to do - maybe late tonight. They have not been forgotten and I did gain a new skill while working there that I can fall back on if ever needed should we eventually decide to leave this area.
Life otherwise? My hours have definitely changed. This is now the start of my day instead of being the middle or end of the day. This schedule will last about 2 months while I'm being trained, then I will be on swing shift permanently which is my favorite shift. I like being awake several hours before heading into work and when those hours are entirely daylight hours it's even better. I just can't get much housework done in the night hours.
January 25, 2006
No Progress
Well I didn't get squat done around the house today except for making sure that the trash and recycle bin was out for the guys to pick up. I finished a load of laundry that I'd started yesterday and put that away, all in the midst of dinking around with one of my sites. I realized that I didn't have to do all the house work in one day, nor could I do it all in one day considering the size of this house and the quantity of Danny's little messes. Tomorrow I'll concentrate on the kitchen only after I've had my sleep and get back from another interview with the state, this time for a graveyard IT position.
January 24, 2006
Messy Man
My Danny is on vacation - and that means that I'm also on a vacation from him. Does that mean I do anything different? Not really, but...
I now have the time to clean up after a lot of his little messes without them being recreated within a couple of hours. I can get the kitchen back to looking like a kitchen instead of a junk drawer that has exploded. He has this bad habit of leaving everything on the kitchen island no matter where it actually belongs. He actually opens his junk mail and leaves it lying around instead of immediately tossing it into the trash. He has enough address stickers to last him for the next century spread out on the diningroom table and those are going to get filed away neatly. I can now vacuum the carpet and mop the floors and have them stay clean until he returns. That's the best part - a few days without mud being tracked in or his drinks being spilled on the floor. Oh joy! Oh work!
January 05, 2006
I'm in shock
I just got word that a friend's wife passed on today. I don't have more than a few details but it was likely due to a bad asthma attack. Totally unexpected.
January 02, 2006
New Tree?
I just saw that Dan has a new "night tree". It's certainly not the same tree that he'd taken a photo of some time ago. That one he printed out and mailed to me, and I enjoy viewing it everyday as it resides framed in a place of honor just above my monitor. :-) Of course, the new one is just as nice - although it is quite different. I do wonder if they are both in the same grove. Only Dan knows for sure.
January 01, 2006
Stovetop Sparkles
Just in case anyone wonders how my stove cleaning turned out, everything came out just great. I did have to rinse some ashes off of the burner parts, but all-in-all the stovetop now looks just great. Why I hadn't thought to put the burner parts in the oven during a self-cleaning cycle before is beyond me. Previously I'd just been putting them into the dishwasher and that didn't get them this clean. Something to remember for the next time that I need to run the self-cleaning cycle.
December 28, 2005
I Can't Cook
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.
Happy Birthday from Ms. Mushy
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.
December 27, 2005
Feels like Wednesday
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.
December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas!
Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas!
December 23, 2005
Strange?
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.
December 21, 2005
No cold here, no cold there
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.
December 19, 2005
Cold Colds in Carson City
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.
December 14, 2005
Bottle caps
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.
December 01, 2005
Under a gray sky
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.
November 02, 2005
The Boy Really Rocks
Today Danny and our neighbor Vince took off for about an hour and came back with a load of rocks. As I understand it, the job is to lay down some sort of plastic sheeting under our back deck, then lay all of the rocks on top of that, with the goal of preventing weeds from growing under there. Whatever makes him happy.
My job is going okay, but I'm finding myself sleeping most of my time off. I didn't wake up until about 5pm yesterday which was my "Saturday", and this evening I took a good long nap. Working graveyard is hard on my body so far but I still hope that I'll find a somewhat regular sleeping schedule -- eventually. The job itself isn't mentally challenging but some of our activities wear us out physically. We are in a constant state of cleaning in and around our registers, straightening up the displays of items, and taking items that customers decided that they did not want to purchase back to their separate departments. That last activity involves a lot of walking and some bending to place each item back on the shelf where it came from. Sounds easy, but it will wear you out. We call it 'Reverse Shopping', and it is harder than it sounds. We cashiers only know where a few of these items are actually kept so it involves a lot of walking, hunting and guesswork to get them back where they belong.
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In the Coffee Pot
Hazelnut Cream coffee, hot and ready to drink.
Make Iced Coffee
Fill a glass with ice. Pour in coffee until the glass is full. Add sugar if you like. Enjoy.
Word of the Day
Photography Store
What My Eyes Can See
A camera and video shop that carries an assortment of quality cameras and equipment.
A camera and video shop that carries an assortment of quality cameras and equipment.
Just another spot to catch some desert dust.