How was your day? Part 8

[Cloud23465]

Well... The other page reached it's 500th responce so I'll get the new page ready for work.
As far as how things went? Spent half the night coughing... not fun.:dubiety:

[GoTeamGirl]

I was at a retreat all day to learn about Christian service. Then some girl on my bus who I dislike greatly tried to upstage me while I was talking to my friend about the Live Earth concert. She said, "I was there. It was amazing!" I rolled my eyes and then she said to him, "You know, it was on 8/8/08." She got off the bus and we both looked at each other and and at the same time went, "That didn't even happen yet!"

Now I might go to a concert in January. I hope it works out.

[Cloud23465]

I was at a retreat all day to learn about Christian service. Then some girl on my bus who I dislike greatly tried to upstage me while I was talking to my friend about the Live Earth concert. She said, "I was there. It was amazing!" I rolled my eyes and then she said to him, "You know, it was on 8/8/08." She got off the bus and we both looked at each other and and at the same time went, "That didn't even happen yet!"

Now I might go to a concert in January. I hope it works out.

Ok... that's just creapy! 8/8/08 will be my 25th birthday. Sorry to seem random but, that just kinda stuck out to me.:laugh:

[kyojikasshu]

It's been kind of a slow day at work. Currently, the newbie - who, at this point has been here for four weeks, so I'm promoting him to "probie" (probationary) status - is in the other room, training on print work.

And, right now, I'm doing my darndest not to get sick before Youmacon this weekend. But, with high temps dipping into the low 50s, it's going to be tough.

... and I just got a call from Sprint at work. One, I don't recall ever leaving them my work phone number, and two, my debt-managment program is supposed to be paying that bill. So, now, I'm just a little bit cross, as I have to figure out why my phone bill is late.

[GoTeamGirl]

I was at a retreat all day to learn about Christian service. Then some girl on my bus who I dislike greatly tried to upstage me while I was talking to my friend about the Live Earth concert. She said, "I was there. It was amazing!" I rolled my eyes and then she said to him, "You know, it was on 8/8/08." She got off the bus and we both looked at each other and and at the same time went, "That didn't even happen yet!"

Now I might go to a concert in January. I hope it works out.

Ok... that's just creapy! 8/8/08 will be my 25th birthday. Sorry to seem random but, that just kinda stuck out to me.:laugh:

Really? That is pretty funny! :laugh:

I think everyone I know is at a football game, and I don't really like football, so I'm writing a little story for fun and waiting for someone to get back.

[campy]

I was at a retreat all day to learn about Christian service. Then some girl on my bus who I dislike greatly tried to upstage me while I was talking to my friend about the Live Earth concert. She said, "I was there. It was amazing!" I rolled my eyes and then she said to him, "You know, it was on 8/8/08." She got off the bus and we both looked at each other and and at the same time went, "That didn't even happen yet!"

Now I might go to a concert in January. I hope it works out.

Ok... that's just creapy! 8/8/08 will be my 25th birthday. Sorry to seem random but, that just kinda stuck out to me.:laugh:That's a good date. My daughter turned 20 on 4/4/04.

[GoTeamGirl]

I was at a retreat all day to learn about Christian service. Then some girl on my bus who I dislike greatly tried to upstage me while I was talking to my friend about the Live Earth concert. She said, "I was there. It was amazing!" I rolled my eyes and then she said to him, "You know, it was on 8/8/08." She got off the bus and we both looked at each other and and at the same time went, "That didn't even happen yet!"

Now I might go to a concert in January. I hope it works out.

Ok... that's just creapy! 8/8/08 will be my 25th birthday. Sorry to seem random but, that just kinda stuck out to me.:laugh:That's a good date. My daughter turned 20 on 4/4/04.

And we can't forget 7/7/07. That was an eventful day...

[mangafangirl]

School.. I think that says it all :P

[kyojikasshu]

Well, the evening went a little better...

I made my best effort to repair an old NES, but this particular console may be unsalvageable. Too bad, but it only cost me $20, including a bunch of games. I'll have to see if my cousin's still got his NES, and if it's still working, so I can at least test these games....

[TransWarpDrive]

Today was a mixed bag for me. This morning, I had a boatload of stuff to do at work - supervise the vending guy as he loaded the machines in the lunchroom, meter a couple hundred padded envelopes to be mailed out to customers (had to label them by hand; they were too thick to run through my big postage meter); and sort and deliver all the incoming mail from both Saturday and today. I managed to get it all done before I left work at 2:15 this afternoon (doctor's appointment - see my thread titled "Black Ice + Gravity = Fractured Elbow" for details).
At home, my mom finally got her new laptop. I helped her set the time on it (she confused the minutes part with the hour, until I got a close look at what she was doing and pointed out her mistake). After dinner, I tried to run a game program on my computer that was giving me trouble. After uninstalling then reinstalling the software with no success, I ran a series of diagnostics on my computer only to find it's running OK. My brother and I agreed that the software's probably gone bad after all this time.
After that, I tried running my copy of "Sim City 2000" to make sure it worked - it did. Spent a little time starting a new city on the game. Guess what I named it? :D You got it - I called it Middleton!

(Wonder why? :innocent:)

[jeriddian]

Errrrrrr.........Fourten hour day. not good.................I'm posting a few posts, get a little more ahead on the transcript work, then go to bed.:dubiety::ohwell: More of the same tomorrow.....

[canuck31003]

Not a good day.

Every once in a while my dad, on behalf of friends, asks me for information on new drugs, cancer treatments and clinical trials. My first question always is, “have they talked to their doctor?” My second always is, “did you tell them that *I’m* not a medical doctor?”

All I can do is skim abstracts to get a clearer idea of what they’re talking about (there’s a language barrier so I get everything through my dad), search the NCI database for ongoing clinical trials (a great website, btw, with tons of information) and pass on whatever seems appropriate, reiterating that they should talk to their doctor.

I’m totally unqualified and inadequate but it’s not like I can say no. By the time they ask standard treatments have been unsuccessful and I understand what they’re going through.

Ugh. If I sound like I’m complaining I’m not, really. I just need to vent—my dad just told me his friend’s son’s cancer has metastasized to his lungs and kidneys. 8 years old.

[Cloud23465]

I'm going to be hurting later...:laugh:. I wen't out and spent like 2 hours splitting wood to burn in our fire place. Most of these pieces had bad knots in them and I let them age for a few years... and though they would split fairly easy. My hand and wrist are not to happy right now.... I'm sure more pain will come later.:errr:

[lunchmeat]

You forgot to sing "The Lumberjack Song" http://www.jumpstation.ca/recroom/comedy/python/lumberjack.html

[GoTeamGirl]

More retreat today. And we were supposed to prepare our school newspaper for publishing this morning, but no announcement came, which really annoys me for some reason.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Most of these pieces had bad knots in them and I let them age for a few years... and though they would split fairly easy.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't wood a bit easier to split when it's green?

Did you use an ax or a maul? My dad used those up until two seasons ago, when we started renting a hydraulic splitter. Those things can go through anything. :biggergrin: :thumbup: Place a length of tree trunk under the blade, and after only a moment's hesitation as the edge meets the wood, the wedge demurely waachunks all the way through, splitting this massive trunk down the center. It's nearly impossible not to cackle like a schoolgirl. :laugh: :happy:

[Cloud23465]

Most of these pieces had bad knots in them and I let them age for a few years... and though they would split fairly easy.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't wood a bit easier to split when it's green?

Did you use an ax or a maul? My dad used those up until two seasons ago, when we started renting a hydraulic splitter. Those things can go through anything. :biggergrin: :thumbup: Place a length of tree trunk under the blade, and after only a moment's hesitation as the edge meets the wood, the wedge demurely waachunks all the way through, splitting this massive trunk down the center. It's nearly impossible not to cackle like a schoolgirl. :laugh: :happy:

It is when there are no knots in the wood :P. I use an maul, I'm not going to pay all the money for a hydraulic wood splitter when I can do it myself. I really need to figure a way were I could do some year around splitting. That way I could keep in shape and it wouldn't be so rough vs. doing this a few times a year. To be honest... it's more satisfying to do it by hand then by machine or letting someone else do it.;)

[Cloud23465]

Well... It was an intresting end of the day today. My sister-in-law came by with about 4 old computer towers, and a bunch of components. Including an wireless range expander, and external water cooler, and an unexpected and just discovered expensive... Iomega Rev drive. Its a small 35gb disk drive with one of the disk. I didn't recognize the plug type at first, but then I realised it was SATA format. I did some digging and found out this thing sell for around $380 :surprised:. Now... what to do. Do i keep it and put it in my computer... or do i sell it and help build my nephiews a better computer? My
S.I.L asked if I could build or fix one of the towers... the problems is that all of the towers are missing there ram. I'm having a hard time finding out what type and specs the ram need to be to get the system to boot. what to do what to do...:hmm:

[jeriddian]

What a day. First twelve hours doing rounds, and thirty minutes aftre I finish and settling in to dinner, I get an emergency call to see a patient for emergent dialysis. Took me another four and a half hours. And so, I'm just now getting home.....going.... to.....bed.......:confused::ohwell:

[Cloud23465]

Seems awfully quiet for holloween. Or is everyone just out doing there T or T-ing?:laugh: I'm to old and don't have kids so I don't get to go :cry:
:laugh:

I'm working on these 4 computers to see which one will run... oh so much... fun.

[jeriddian]

Not a good day.

Every once in a while my dad, on behalf of friends, asks me for information on new drugs, cancer treatments and clinical trials. My first question always is, “have they talked to their doctor?” My second always is, “did you tell them that *I’m* not a medical doctor?”

All I can do is skim abstracts to get a clearer idea of what they’re talking about (there’s a language barrier so I get everything through my dad), search the NCI database for ongoing clinical trials (a great website, btw, with tons of information) and pass on whatever seems appropriate, reiterating that they should talk to their doctor.

I’m totally unqualified and inadequate but it’s not like I can say no. By the time they ask standard treatments have been unsuccessful and I understand what they’re going through.

Ugh. If I sound like I’m complaining I’m not, really. I just need to vent—my dad just told me his friend’s son’s cancer has metastasized to his lungs and kidneys. 8 years old.

Very sorry to hear that. Of course, it depends on the kind of cancer, but childhood malignant cancers are usually very bad. And if it has metastasized to lungs and kidneys, that is also very bad. Hate to say it, but it sounds like the prognosis is poor. The NCI web sites are a good source of information, but sometimes have to be taken within context.

Another loong, arduous, stressful, tense day. Will actually go to bed soon to catch up on lost sleep over the last three days.

[GoTeamGirl]

Halloween was interesting. My Religion teacher of last year came up to me and said, "Hey, look! I'm a philosopher!" He was dressed as what looked like a Greek philosopher, which was funny because last year some kid called him Socrates. My Chemistry teacher was an M&M, and my Math teacher was a priest.

I think I'm going to fail Math by the year's end.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, today was busy, but not particularly interesting.

Of course, by this time tomorrow, I'll have my badge for the convention this weekend. ^_^

[Cloud23465]

Had fun this evening, I took apart an old P-II desktop computer. I've always wondering what the connection on that particular processors looked like and now I know. May do a P-III tomorrow or and AMD... haven't decided yet.

[TransWarpDrive]

Another fun day of inserting month-end invoices, and sorting mail... :dubiety:
Our company had a tabletop scarecrow contest. Employees were invited to build a miniature scarecrow using wooden craft sticks and other materials, and submit them today for judging. Only three people entered the contest, however.
At home, we had a good number of kids stop by for trick-or-treating. After a pizza dinner (we ordered out), I managed to balance my checkbook. I discovered why I had a ten-dollar discrepancy when I did it last night; early this month, I withdrew $30 from the ATM, but logged it in my checkbook as $20 (oops...:o). Once I corrected that, my checkbook balanced to the penny (again). :D

[kyojikasshu]

Well, I had to take care of the usual end-of-month data gathering for reporting, and I also continued with training our new guy. Finally, I had to make certain that everything would go as smoothly as possible while I'm off for the next business day and a half.

Then, I drove up from Southfield to Troy (encountering random construction along the way), and picked up my Youmacon badge at the hotel. Now, I'm home, getting ready (read: doing laundry), so I have my stuff to wear for the 'con. No outright costumes, although I do have the clothes to resemble my current Gaia avatar... XD

Anyway, after I log off tonight, the next time I'll be on is Sunday night, home from the 'con. I'm actually taking a half-day on Monday to recover, so I don't have to go in to work until 1 PM.

It's gonna be great.

[Cloud23465]

I think whatever I had is starting to relapse... I've got that awful feeling again.... time to break out the cold medicine again.:sick:

[campy]

I went to two concerts today. This afternoon it was the Springfield Symphony's "Lunchtime" concert to preview their Smetana, Bernstein & Beethoven concert tomorrow night. Then tonight it was the US Marine Band playing Sousa, Dvořák, Ives, and others. Both concerts were great, and they didn't even cost me anything, except $2 for parking at the symphony. :D

[GoTeamGirl]

I got proven wrong by my friend and teased (about it) by my previous Religion teacher (this wouldn't be the first time). Then my volleyball team had a pizza party, and now I'm exhausted because I barely slept last night.

I'm pretty sure my math grade for the quarter, which ended today, is bad, or much worse than last year.

[TransWarpDrive]

Busted my hump at work today getting the month-end invoices mailed out - it didn't help matters any that both my inserters and my big postage meter kept malfunctioning (the meter had a broken piece that one of the guys in the shop had to repair for me). But I made good progress, and got a lot done.
Had hot dogs and French fries for dinner; then I read some more of my book about the American spies in East Germany. Watched tonight's KP ep - "Clean Slate" - and now I'm on-line with you guys. :D

[GoTeamGirl]

Apparently, its National Novel Writing Month. Hmm, this could be a good chance to write more...

[jeriddian]

Well, it has been a horrible week. Got two hours of sleep on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, managed to get eleven on Thursday (somehow I didn't get beeped......), got no sleep Friday night, worked pretty much the entire time otherwise. I managed to snag five hours sleep and just got up, feeling half way human again. I'll be glad to get off call tomorrow,:dubiety::ohwell:...............

EDIT: Speaking of novel writing month. I have GOT to find time to finish "Magi" and post it for Christmas.

[TransWarpDrive]

Got up after ten this morning; went outside to help my brother prepare some Christmas decorations for this year. About a month ago, we used some chemicals to strip the red paint off some old metal movie-marquee letters we hang on the front of our house to spell out the words "Merry Christmas - Happy New Year." Today, I got the fun job of using the wire brush wheel on a motorized grinder to finish the stripping job and smooth out the surface of each letter for repainting. It took me about two hours to do each of the 26 letters, plus two extra letters (I stripped them with the goop last month along with the others; might as well repaint them too).
Then, after a nice hot shower and a light lunch, I sat in front of the TV and watched a couple of episodes of "Mythbusters."
Went to the store late this afternoon for a case of Coke and the Sunday papers; later we ordered out for Chinese food. I had sweet and sour shrimp and an egg roll.
After dinner I worked on getting some wish lists ready for family and friends to use this Christmas season; and now here I am on-line with you guys again! :D

[Cloud23465]

Trying to battle this virus. Its been rough coughing all night and not sleeping to well. I got some good cough medicine so I got some sleep last night. Anyways.... the countdown is on on closing on this house were looking to get. The uhh....I forgot the exact word of what it's called.... but some guy is going to check the house out and tell us what it's worth as far as the value goes. My brain isn't working to well (like it ever did sometimes) :laugh:. but were looking to close on the 28th of this month and start moving early december. Chirstmas is going to be pretty much uh.... yeah.

[GoTeamGirl]

I've decided to try and write a novel. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

[campy]

We had a visit from the younger daughter tonight. The MIT Ultimate Frisbee team she coaches had a tournament nearby, so she stopped for dinner with us before heading back to Boston. We hadn't seen her for a while, so it was good.

[kyojikasshu]

I made it back from Youmacon... but I'm pretty tired. And even though I have a half day, I still do eventually need to actually go in to work. so I'll be going to sleep soon.

I will say that I enjoyed myself. It was arguably the best one so far, despite the fact that a number of the attendees were just a bit inconsiderate (not showering/using deodorant, leaving trash everywhere, putting a hole in one of the pillars in the lobby hallway...)

[cpneb]

Apparently, its National Novel Writing Month. Hmm, this could be a good chance to write more...

Nation Novel Writing Month?

COOLIO! My novel has a great reason for getting near to completion, now!

My Best Friend, I Never Met is the working title, and I'm about 120 pages into the planned 300-400 pages of the first book.

let the words flow....

[Not The CrimpMaster]

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, had a book signing today at a nearby bookstore. The only books of his I haven't read are the two newest Redwall novels, High Rhulain and Eulalia! My sister bought a hardcover Eulalia! and got that signed, and I bought a paperback High Rhulain for him to sign. The thing is, the book I bought had already been signed on the title page at some point before I bought it, to give the bookstore a supply of pre-signed books. When I brought it up to him, I asked him to sign the map page instead, saying that I really liked those maps, especially since they changed with every book. :laugh: So I ended up having one book with two signatures. I'm such a scammer. :P

[GoTeamGirl]

Apparently, its National Novel Writing Month. Hmm, this could be a good chance to write more...

Nation Novel Writing Month?

COOLIO! My novel has a great reason for getting near to completion, now!

My Best Friend, I Never Met is the working title, and I'm about 120 pages into the planned 300-400 pages of the first book.

let the words flow....

I think I've started a novel... Now hopefully I can finish it.

[lunchmeat]

Well, it has been a horrible week. Got two hours of sleep on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, managed to get eleven on Thursday (somehow I didn't get beeped......), got no sleep Friday night, worked pretty much the entire time otherwise. I managed to snag five hours sleep and just got up, feeling half way human again. I'll be glad to get off call tomorrow,:dubiety::ohwell:...............

EDIT: Speaking of novel writing month. I have GOT to find time to finish "Magi" and post it for Christmas.

The glamorous world of medicine, not quite the way they make it look on TV (that's OK, Fighter Weapons School doesn't consist of volleyball and dates with hot instructors, either, ala Top Gun, nobody has that much free time).

I've been watching the traditional Monday-after-the-time-change folleys with people drifting in at various hours due to clocks being mis-set or disruptions of sleep patterns. Changing time zones pretty much daily (or more often) at sea has given me an edge in this regard.

[Fireand'chutes77]

I've been watching the traditional Monday-after-the-time-change folleys with people drifting in at various hours due to clocks being mis-set or disruptions of sleep patterns. Changing time zones pretty much daily (or more often) at sea has given me an edge in this regard.
I guess you're a bit like my dad, then. "Oh.... It's dinnertime here? OK, where do I get a plate?" :laugh: :rolleyes:

[GoTeamGirl]

I got a good grade on my Math test. I knew I liked those circles! And another good one in Spanish, though most of the class either failed or got pretty close. The mood in class was not pretty.

I also renewed my hatred for my Religion teacher. He's the issue, not the class.


Soon I have to go to the doctor's and get a shot. I don't really like Mondays.

[campy]

I had to bring my cat to the vet for her annual checkup & shots. Poor baby, she hates riding in cars, and she really hates the vet. :( At least there were no dogs there today.

[jeriddian]

Well, it has been a horrible week. Got two hours of sleep on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, managed to get eleven on Thursday (somehow I didn't get beeped......), got no sleep Friday night, worked pretty much the entire time otherwise. I managed to snag five hours sleep and just got up, feeling half way human again. I'll be glad to get off call tomorrow,:dubiety::ohwell:...............


The glamorous world of medicine, not quite the way they make it look on TV (that's OK, Fighter Weapons School doesn't consist of volleyball and dates with hot instructors, either, ala Top Gun, nobody has that much free time).

Which is why I hate programs like "House" and "Grey's Anatomy". They so distort the way medicine is really practiced.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, taking the morning off from work (using my last four non-holiday hours off) to recover from Youmacon was a great idea. And I was busy at work (we have lots of stuff to ship out this week), so the day flew by pretty fast.

And I'm still riding high from Youmacon. While I only got four hours' sleep in a 67-hour period (around 6 AM EDT Friday to about 12:05 AM EST Monday), I still feel pretty wired. I'm wondering if the twelve cans of Red Bull I downed between Friday night and Sunday afternoon had a cumulative effect... :laugh:

I'll probably be posting a full report on my experiences at Youmacon on my LiveJournal, but not just yet. (There'll definitely be some material that's not exactly PG-13...)


On a less happy note, my 7-year-old nephew Sam is spending the night in the hospital, with a case of appendicitis. He was feeling all right this weekend when the kids stayed with my parents, but this morning he was complaining of pain, so my sister took him to the doctor, and they went from there to the hospital.

[GoTeamGirl]

I ended up with two shots and two hurting arms...

[Fireand'chutes77]

Well, it has been a horrible week. Got two hours of sleep on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, managed to get eleven on Thursday (somehow I didn't get beeped......), got no sleep Friday night, worked pretty much the entire time otherwise. I managed to snag five hours sleep and just got up, feeling half way human again. I'll be glad to get off call tomorrow,:dubiety::ohwell:...............


The glamorous world of medicine, not quite the way they make it look on TV (that's OK, Fighter Weapons School doesn't consist of volleyball and dates with hot instructors, either, ala Top Gun, nobody has that much free time).

Which is why I hate programs like "House" and "Grey's Anatomy". They so distort the way medicine is really practiced.
Granted, I don't exactly look to "Grey's Anatomy" as a wellspring of medical expertise. :laugh:

(That's what you're for. :P :thumbup:)

"House," on the other hand, is able to slip and drift into seeming "factual" much easier because it takes itself a lot more seriously.

[jeriddian]

Well, it has been a horrible week. Got two hours of sleep on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, managed to get eleven on Thursday (somehow I didn't get beeped......), got no sleep Friday night, worked pretty much the entire time otherwise. I managed to snag five hours sleep and just got up, feeling half way human again. I'll be glad to get off call tomorrow,:dubiety::ohwell:...............


The glamorous world of medicine, not quite the way they make it look on TV (that's OK, Fighter Weapons School doesn't consist of volleyball and dates with hot instructors, either, ala Top Gun, nobody has that much free time).

Which is why I hate programs like "House" and "Grey's Anatomy". They so distort the way medicine is really practiced.
Granted, I don't exactly look to "Grey's Anatomy" as a wellspring of medical expertise. :laugh:

(That's what you're for. :P :thumbup:)

"House," on the other hand, is able to slip and drift into seeming "factual" much easier because it takes itself a lot more seriously.

It does detail factual medical knowledge more accurately, although even there it has made some glaring mistakes only a medical professional would know (like the microscope lab slide stained with Congo Red stain pictured on a viewer with cells stained red. The problem with that is that even though the stain is called Congo Red, it appears an apple green in color on the slide.) However, the side details of how 'House' deals with staff and the patients, simply are not done in any way shape or form to the extreme they show. In the real world, he wouldn't last five minutes.

[TransWarpDrive]

More fun in the mail room...:errr:
Busy, busy, busy with inserters and postage meter this morning. Took a few minutes on my lunch hour to do some minor cleaning of my car's interior prior to Windycon this coming weekend.
(I found that once again, the accumulated dirt and crud from the fallen leaves made my trunk lid stick shut - the crud acted like a "glue" to cause the rubber gasket around the perimeter of the trunk lid to stick to the trunk opening until I opened it with a mighty heave. Anybody know a way to prevent that from happening in the future?)
After work, I did some shopping. I bought some stuff at Walgreen's, then went over to the local Jewel-Osco (Illinois-based grocery chain) to pick up an inexpensive electronic keyboard. I'm trying to learn how to read music and eventually learn to play an instrument, and the book I have (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, Second Ed. by Michael Miller) recommends getting such a keyboard so I can perform some of the examples and exercises in the book. I need to get six "AA" batteries; I can pick them up on the way home from work tomorrow night. Right now I'm doing my laundry so I have clothes for the convention this weekend.
Oh, and I also put gas in my tank. Seven gallons, just under twenty-one bucks. Ooh, that really grinds my beans... :angry:

[jeriddian]

More fun in the mail room...:errr:
Busy, busy, busy with inserters and postage meter this morning. Took a few minutes on my lunch hour to do some minor cleaning of my car's interior prior to Windycon this coming weekend.
(I found that once again, the accumulated dirt and crud from the fallen leaves made my trunk lid stick shut - the crud acted like a "glue" to cause the rubber gasket around the perimeter of the trunk lid to stick to the trunk opening until I opened it with a mighty heave. Anybody know a way to prevent that from happening in the future?)
After work, I did some shopping. I bought some stuff at Walgreen's, then went over to the local Jewel-Osco (Illinois-based grocery chain) to pick up an inexpensive electronic keyboard. I'm trying to learn how to read music and eventually learn to play an instrument, and the book I have (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, Second Ed. by Michael Miller) recommends getting such a keyboard so I can perform some of the examples and exercises in the book. I need to get six "AA" batteries; I can pick them up on the way home form work tomorrow night. Right now I'm doing my laundry so I have clothes for the convention this weekend.
Oh, and I also put gas in my tank. Seven gallons, just under twenty-one bucks. Ooh, that really grinds my beans... :angry:

If you have any questions about music theory, I'll be glad to answer them. I just about have a minor in that from college.:)

[lunchmeat]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

[jeriddian]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:

[lunchmeat]

There are a lot of folks out East and other places who are picking up the tab for the "peace dividend"....

[GoTeamGirl]

The grammatical debate between my friend and I is finally settled. Well, if the educated guess that settled it is true.

Report cards tomorrow. I'm happy about every class except Math and Keyboarding.

[campy]

The grammatical debate between my friend and I is finally settled. Don't you mean, between my friend and me? ;)

[GoTeamGirl]

The grammatical debate between my friend and I is finally settled. Don't you mean, between my friend and me? ;)

That always gets me! :laugh:

I have concert tickets to a concert in January.

I also have free time, so I think I'll continue work on that novel...

EDIT: I think I heard something I shouldn't have....

[TransWarpDrive]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:
Yeah - if the enemy ever attacks, I'll just let 'em have it with a blast from my tuba....
FWOOOMPH!!
That'll teach 'em... :P
:laugh:

[jeriddian]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:
Yeah - if the enemy ever attacks, I'll just let 'em have it with a blast from my tuba....
FWOOOMPH!!
That'll teach 'em... :P
:laugh:

Bass guitars and 700 Watt amps out of sixteen ten inch speakers would kind of have the same effect.....:laugh::P

[GoTeamGirl]

I am in such a philosophical mood today. And I stumped my Religion teacher.

[TransWarpDrive]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:
Yeah - if the enemy ever attacks, I'll just let 'em have it with a blast from my tuba....
FWOOOMPH!!
That'll teach 'em... :P
:laugh:

Bass guitars and 700 Watt amps out of sixteen ten inch speakers would kind of have the same effect.....:laugh::P

Like what happened to Michael J. Fox at the beginning of the first "Back To The Future" movie? :laugh:

[Fireand'chutes77]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:
Yeah - if the enemy ever attacks, I'll just let 'em have it with a blast from my tuba....
FWOOOMPH!!
That'll teach 'em... :P
:laugh:
I am laughing rather inordinately about that.... Maybe it has something to do your tuba onomatopoeia? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[jeriddian]

I had a friend, in college, who majored in music. He ended up in Special Forces :rolleyes:

Yeah, they wouldn't let me into Ranger school. Some nonsense about their docs being too valuable to risk. Didn't matter. By the time I finished my schooling and was ready to serve, they were downsizing and let me go anyway.

There's something about musicians and military service, you know.......:cool:
Yeah - if the enemy ever attacks, I'll just let 'em have it with a blast from my tuba....
FWOOOMPH!!
That'll teach 'em... :P
:laugh:

Bass guitars and 700 Watt amps out of sixteen ten inch speakers would kind of have the same effect.....:laugh::P

Like what happened to Michael J. Fox at the beginning of the first "Back To The Future" movie? :laugh:

:laugh::laugh::laugh: Yeah! but I actually HAD the 700 watt amp with sixteen ten inch speakers!:biggergrin: (Ampeg SVT)

[GoTeamGirl]

Today was pretty cool. I had a discussion with one of the teachers about value, and we finished our trial in English. Victor Frankenstein was torn into by the Prosecuting side, so the verdict for the jury (including me) was a no-brainer.


Then I had a talk with one of my friends on my bus about heaven, which prevented my ex-friend from dropping into the conversation (like she usually does). Actually, I think we kind of scared her, which is nice to know, if we actually did. Our form of passive aggressiveness...

[kyojikasshu]

My boss is sick as a dog. He stayed home yesterday, and today he stayed in his office.

Which was too bad, since we had a Thanksgiving luncheon taking place today. Our ex-co-worker even came in, and it was nice to catch up with him.

And even though it's been several days now, I think I'm STILL recovering from Youmacon!

[Fireand'chutes77]

...And even though it's been several days now, I think I'm STILL recovering from Youmacon!
Yeesh, how much sake did they *put* in those mecha giveaway cups? :blink: :P :laugh:

EDIT: Nice avatar. ;)

-----

My dad went the doctor's today; he's been complaining about a "tweaking" feeling on the inside of his thigh. He'd worried he'd damaged something playing a basketball game. My scout troop, he, and I are going on a really tough backpacking trip next weekend, up The Priest in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He wanted to make sure he was up to it.

As it turns out, once he explained his symptoms to the doc and had some quick x-rays done, the pain wasn't from a muscle; he has a pretty serious case of inflammation-class arthritis in his right hip joint. :ohmy:

This was rather sobering news to my dad, as he still tries to stay active, even at 56, by playing basketball, running, and backpacking with the Scouts. When he told us at dinner about the checkup, I worried his activity days were done. He said the doc had given him some high-strength Tylenol, designed for arthritis sufferers, along with some other pills. He'll still be able to do stuff, but I think he's a bit unsettled and dampered by the prospect that this pain isn't something that will heal. He'll have to start taking pills now to get rid of the tweaking, and the pain is likely to intensify as he gets older. :(

[GoTeamGirl]

I just correctly guessed the date for my friend's grandparent's anniversary. Date and year. Weird.:blink::unsure:

[TransWarpDrive]

Returned home from Windycon today. This convention was the 34th Windycon our local Sf organization, ISFiC (Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago), has put on. This was the last year in our current hotel, the Wyndham O'Hare in Rosemont, IL. Next year's will be held at a brand-new Westin Hotel in the suburb of Lombard.
I helped run the Dealers' Room, where convention members could buy SF-related merchandise (books, T-shirts, toys, CDs, gaming supplies, etc.). Our media guest of honor was none other than Mr. Richard Hatch, who played Apollo on the original ABC "Battlestar Galactica" TV series in the late 70's (he also plays a crooked politician, Tom Zarek, on the new "Galactica" series on the SciFi Channel). He's a very nice man - gracious, down-to-earth, fun-loving; he really seemed to enjoy himself while meeting fans at our convention over the weekend.
All in all, I had a good time. Things ran fairly smoothly this year, although one of my friends, who was supposed to run a book discussion panel on Saturday, had to reschedule it for Sunday because he got mugged outside his apartment building last Wednesday (he lives in Chicago). The punks broke his nose and gave him a nasty scar under his right eye when they jumped him. He showed up today just long enough to run his panel, then went home with his wife afterward. He told me he's scheduled for surgery on his nose on Tuesday (broken in two places, IIRC). Other than those injuries, he looks OK; although Lord only knows what kind of emotional trauma he suffered as a result of the attack.
BTW, I want to apologize for not telling you guys in advance of my absence this weekend - especially since I'm the moderator for the General Discussion forum. I promise I'll let you know in advance of any future "time-offs" I'll be taking, so we can arrange to have someone moderate GD for me (don't we have an "Official Vacation Thread" anymore?).
Anyway, I'm sorry I forgot. It's my fault for not telling you and nobody else's.

[jeriddian]

Thou art forgiven, good sir! To err is human, to forgive, yada, yada, yada........

Anyway, ten lashes with a wet noodle for the next offense! And the floggings will continue until morale improves!!!.......:blink::errr::rolleyes:

[kyojikasshu]

Returned home from Windycon today. This convention was the 34th Windycon our local Sf organization, ISFiC (Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago), has put on. This was the last year in our current hotel, the Wyndham O'Hare in Rosemont, IL. Next year's will be held at a brand-new Westin Hotel in the suburb of Lombard.
I helped run the Dealers' Room, where convention members could buy SF-related merchandise (books, T-shirts, toys, CDs, gaming supplies, etc.). Our media guest of honor was none other than Mr. Richard Hatch, who played Apollo on the original ABC "Battlestar Galactica" TV series in the late 70's (he also plays a crooked politician, Tom Zarek, on the new "Galactica" series on the SciFi Channel). He's a very nice man - gracious, down-to-earth, fun-loving; he really seemed to enjoy himself while meeting fans at our convention over the weekend.
All in all, I had a good time. Things ran fairly smoothly this year, although one of my friends, who was supposed to run a book discussion panel on Saturday, had to reschedule it for Sunday because he got mugged outside his apartment building last Wednesday (he lives in Chicago). The punks broke his nose and gave him a nasty scar under his right eye when they jumped him. He showed up today just long enough to run his panel, then went home with his wife afterward. He told me he's scheduled for surgery on his nose on Tuesday (broken in two places, IIRC). Other than those injuries, he looks OK; although Lord only knows what kind of emotional trauma he suffered as a result of the attack.
BTW, I want to apologize for not telling you guys in advance of my absence this weekend - especially since I'm the moderator for the General Discussion forum. I promise I'll let you know in advance of any future "time-offs" I'll be taking, so we can arrange to have someone moderate GD for me (don't we have an "Official Vacation Thread" anymore?).
Anyway, I'm sorry I forgot. It's my fault for not telling you and nobody else's.

Ah, so you had a con too, eh?

Well, I don't see any smoldering ruins here, so I know I won't hold a grudge...


Today was kinda slow, and I was able to keep myself just busy enough throughout the day. We've got a couple of projects coming up, though, prior to Thanksgiving, so things should be a little more interesting.

Tonight, my new toilet gets installed! Whoo-hoo. Extra hoo.

[GoTeamGirl]

I've had an interesting day of fighting with my computer. I feel more or less accomplished, though. It probably won't last through this time tomorrow.

[Ultimate Naco Topping]

Discovered a new site today called vimeo.com. Just like YouTube only with interconnected, active, and helpful forums, the ability to upload High Def footage, and no illicit anime or South Park tributes.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Discovered a new site today called vimeo.com. Just like YouTube only with interconnected, active, and helpful forums, the ability to upload High Def footage, and no illicit anime or South Park tributes.
And yet my laptop internet filters still block it under the heading of "R-Rated." :ohwell:

Geeze, do the admins have this massive list somewhere of "known evil websites?" :mad:

[Ultimate Naco Topping]

Discovered a new site today called vimeo.com. Just like YouTube only with interconnected, active, and helpful forums, the ability to upload High Def footage, and no illicit anime or South Park tributes.
And yet my laptop internet filters still block it under the heading of "R-Rated." :ohwell:

Geeze, do the admins have this massive list somewhere of "known evil websites?" :mad:

Really? I haven't seen anything barely approaching PG13 on that site.

[TransWarpDrive]

Thou art forgiven, good sir! To err is human, to forgive, yada, yada, yada........

Anyway, ten lashes with a wet noodle for the next offense! And the floggings will continue until morale improves!!!.......:blink::errr::rolleyes:
:laugh::laugh:
I'll consider myself chastised - er, noodled...:P
And to respond to Rob's message:Ah, so you had a con too, eh?

Well, I don't see any smoldering ruins here, so I know I won't hold a grudge...

:laugh::laugh:
Yep - had a con. Got another coming up over Thanksgiving weekend. It's Chambanacon 37, held in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Looking forward to that one, since it's a "relaxacon (not much programming; just a gathering of fans who want to unwind)," and I'm not helping run it like I was at Windycon. :D

[GoTeamGirl]

I barely had any classes today, but a lot of study halls. And rumors are going around that the teachers are going to have a "sick out".

[kyojikasshu]

Well, it's been slow as heck at work today. But, we got our annual Thanksgiving turkeys from our boss!

And, from now until the holiday, I'm in charge, as he's left. He's actually going to be working remotely the next couple of days, but he's officially on vacation next week.

[GoTeamGirl]

Well, other than half of the teachers in my school picketing for 15 minutes, the day was pretty normal. I'm excited for Friday; there's a meeting for my school newspaper that has been canceled three times so far. Hopefully it'll actually happen.

[jeriddian]

Spent the day dealing with AT&T again, trying to get my internet turned back on, after they messed it up in the first place. Having to go the office to do all this stuff. :mad::rolleyes:. Work is light at the moment. But it's going to get very hellacious starting next week.:dubiety::ohwell:

[Cloud23465]

Rare quite relaxing moment...:surprised:. Got called for work for the next two days. Supposed to get windy, wet and cold tomorrow:ohwell:. It's going to go from 70's today to 40's tomorrow. Packing for the move you never realise how much stuff you have till you have to move it. :laugh:

[kyojikasshu]

Last night was fairly crazy, as my nephew Sam joined the Cub Scouts; the pack at his school had a late enrollment period, but the Cubmaster was MIA last night, so the meeting was rather disorganized. Then, I had to watch Sam for a while as my sister had to do some running around, including going into work to fix a computer problem.

Today's already been pretty busy at work, although I now have a few minutes to relax and sneak on... I've already had to put out a few fires, so to speak, and one turned out to be of my own making :unsure: ...

[GoTeamGirl]

Some of the teachers in my school are so frustrating. And no matter how hard I try in Religion I never do very well. I think the book is boring, really boring, but that wasn't a problem last year the times I used it.

On another note, I tutored my friend for a Spanish test we're having tomorrow and now I'm pretty well prepared.

[jeriddian]

Another horrible day dealing with AT&T trying to get my internet turned back on. I've had three different people tell it would be on by now, but it still isn't. They keep telling different things, and nothing which seems to be true. I was able to use Motorola phone tools to connect through the internet on my Razr V3, and all of a sudden, I can't do it anymore. They're trying to tell me that was never a function I had access to, yet I had been doing it all this time, and they charged me for it. Looks like they decided to take that away for some reason.:mad: Now I got to go back to the phone and get bills paid that way......:dubiety:

[cpneb]

Another horrible day dealing with AT&T trying to get my internet turned back on. I've had three different people tell it would be on by now, but it still isn't. They keep telling different things, and nothing which seems to be true. I was able to use Motorola phone tools to connect through the internet on my Razr V3, and all of a sudden, I can't do it anymore. They're trying to tell me that was never a function I had access to, yet I had been doing it all this time, and they charged me for it. Looks like they decided to take that away for some reason.:mad: Now I got to go back to the phone and get bills paid that way......:dubiety:

Call back and ask to speak to a supervisor; explain that you have had access and paid for it in the past and want to understand why your access was removed: suggest to them that they pull up previous bills and service order activity to see what was changed on your account.

If they can't find it on previous bills (you paid for internet access), they have a semi-legitimate excuse: it means that they were giving away the service before. Not your problem, but that's the case.

If they can find it on previous bills, they need to justify why your service was changed. Make sure you ask them what they are going to do for you to 'make you whole' after taking up your time to resolve this problem that you didn't create.

Get the feeling that I've worked in the industry before? :alumnus:

[jeriddian]

Another horrible day dealing with AT&T trying to get my internet turned back on. I've had three different people tell it would be on by now, but it still isn't. They keep telling different things, and nothing which seems to be true. I was able to use Motorola phone tools to connect through the internet on my Razr V3, and all of a sudden, I can't do it anymore. They're trying to tell me that was never a function I had access to, yet I had been doing it all this time, and they charged me for it. Looks like they decided to take that away for some reason.:mad: Now I got to go back to the phone and get bills paid that way......:dubiety:

Call back and ask to speak to a supervisor; explain that you have had access and paid for it in the past and want to understand why your access was removed: suggest to them that they pull up previous bills and service order activity to see what was changed on your account.

If they can't find it on previous bills (you paid for internet access), they have a semi-legitimate excuse: it means that they were giving away the service before. Not your problem, but that's the case.

If they can find it on previous bills, they need to justify why your service was changed. Make sure you ask them what they are going to do for you to 'make you whole' after taking up your time to resolve this problem that you didn't create.

Get the feeling that I've worked in the industry before? :alumnus:

Unfortunately, my bills are still in the D/FW area. It'll be a while before I can get back to them. But it's a moot point. I'm going to change providers for all my communications needs and tell AT&T to go to hell. That's basically how bad they've treated me these last five days. They insulate themselves behind an almost impenetrable wall of useless voice menu systems before you can ever get to a real person, and those are an entrenched system of people who are simply unable to help you with much of anything and simply switch you back and forth helplessly, because they're pretty much clueless about doing much for you anyway. I don't have the kind of time needed to mess with that kind of idiocy.

Of course, that's exactly how AT&T wants it. They don't give a damn about the customer, knowing they can just outlast you this way. I'm going to satellite, but it'll take me a couple of weeks to get that arranged. For my wireless, I'll have to see how I handle that. It depends on what's available out there. Unfortunately, I've dealt with just about all of the wireless phone companies out there over the years, and they're all pretty much trash when it comes to service. But these last five days trying to get AT&T to live up to their end of the agreement and correct their mistakes has taken way too much out of me. I'm just not going to go through that with them again.

[TransWarpDrive]

Sorry to hear about your internet troubles, jeriddian. Hope you get things all worked out soon.
My day was a mix of the good and bad. At work today, we ordered out for Chinese food like we always do on Thursday. I only ordered a pair of egg rolls since I brought a sandwich, which worked out well because the delivery man was late getting to our office with the food. And once he did arrive, somebody forgot to tell me the food was here and I almost didn't get my egg rolls. Later this afternoon, one of our more pushy managers roped me into driving a late express package containing a postage meter to the post office, even though I'm still on a medical restriction vis-a-vis heavy lifting, and even though it's no longer my job to drive things to the P.O. any more. So, I (grudgingly) got my coat on and got the package from one of the shop supervisors who got roped into preparing this last-minute shipment by Miss Pushy (he was cussing her for dropping this order in our laps, then leaving for home and leaving us to do it for her). Since I didn't know who had the truck keys and I didn't feel like driving that ugly tin box anyway, I put the package in the back seat of my car and drove it to the post office (hey, the truck doesn't have heated seats or a CD player - might as well enjoy the ride while I'm at it). I made a note of the mileage to the P.O. and back so I can fill out a form tomorrow and get reimbursed for using my car for company work - I think I earned it.
After work, I stopped at Hobby Lobby to pick up some more craft supplies. I've begun work on my annual hand-made Christmas ornaments, and I needed just a few more wooden clothespins so I'll have enough ornaments for everyone on my list.
I took my CD boombox into the spare room where I've got my craft table set up, and I discovered that although it still plays CDs OK, the motor driving the cassette player seems to be dying. It's playing the tapes at a slower-than-normal speed, which means that in order to listen to Patrick Stewart's dramatic reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, I had to dig out one of my Sony Walkman cassette players and put fresh batteries in it. So that's what I did while working on my ornaments. (I must remember to pick up a new box of latex gloves at Walgreen's tomorrow, as well as get some plain brown paper for use as an additional covering on the table. The ink from the newspapers gets smudged on my hands after a while.)

[cpneb]

Another horrible day dealing with AT&T trying to get my internet turned back on. I've had three different people tell it would be on by now, but it still isn't. They keep telling different things, and nothing which seems to be true. I was able to use Motorola phone tools to connect through the internet on my Razr V3, and all of a sudden, I can't do it anymore. They're trying to tell me that was never a function I had access to, yet I had been doing it all this time, and they charged me for it. Looks like they decided to take that away for some reason.:mad: Now I got to go back to the phone and get bills paid that way......:dubiety:

Call back and ask to speak to a supervisor; explain that you have had access and paid for it in the past and want to understand why your access was removed: suggest to them that they pull up previous bills and service order activity to see what was changed on your account.

If they can't find it on previous bills (you paid for internet access), they have a semi-legitimate excuse: it means that they were giving away the service before. Not your problem, but that's the case.

If they can find it on previous bills, they need to justify why your service was changed. Make sure you ask them what they are going to do for you to 'make you whole' after taking up your time to resolve this problem that you didn't create.

Get the feeling that I've worked in the industry before? :alumnus:

Unfortunately, my bills are still in the D/FW area. It'll be a while before I can get back to them. But it's a moot point. I'm going to change providers for all my communications needs and tell AT&T to go to hell. That's basically how bad they've treated me these last five days. They insulate themselves behind an almost impenetrable wall of useless voice menu systems before you can ever get to a real person, and those are an entrenched system of people who are simply unable to help you with much of anything and simply switch you back and forth helplessly, because they're pretty much clueless about doing much for you anyway. I don't have the kind of time needed to mess with that kind of idiocy.

Of course, that's exactly how AT&T wants it. They don't give a damn about the customer, knowing they can just outlast you this way. I'm going to satellite, but it'll take me a couple of weeks to get that arranged. For my wireless, I'll have to see how I handle that. It depends on what's available out there. Unfortunately, I've dealt with just about all of the wireless phone companies out there over the years, and they're all pretty much trash when it comes to service. But these last five days trying to get AT&T to live up to their end of the agreement and correct their mistakes has taken way too much out of me. I'm just not going to go through that with them again.

Your statement about 'service' is, unfortunately, correct: they're all focused on the large businesses and totally ignoring the consumer, and not doing a very good job at that, either.

However, jeriddian, you can take this opportunity to get a month or 3 of free service by simply calling (or email) them, telling them why your'e leaving, and informing them that you're sending a letter to the Texas Public Utilities Commssion (PUC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): you'll be surprised how fast you get some sort of response; if they don't respond, you'll at least feel better by dropping a load of freak on them.

[canuck31003]

Jumping in with my two cents regarding telecoms. I'm a steadfast GSM person, so I used to switch between Cingular-AT&T-T-Mobile whenever one of them inevitably got me angry enough. Right now it's got to the point where I'm willing to pay more upfront rather than enslave myself to a 1-yr or 2-yr contract.

I've heard that in Asia (and Europe?) there are no contracts like in Canada/U.S. I wonder how prices there compare to ours.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, today's been a drag. Nobody's contacted me back, so it seems like they've abandoned their projects for the weekend...

On the plus side, last night I got to watch a very funny episode of Scrubs. I also watched The Office, but I didn't find it quite as amusing. (The stuff with Michael and Jan was pretty decent, but the whole ping-pong thing was kinda meh. And I want to send Kelly on a deep-space probe... black hole deep! I freakin' hate her...)

On top of that, I updated my Gaia profile! One of my friends had a custom Azumanga Daioh theme, and I took the source code for that theme, modified it, and made my own versions of the images, all featuring a certain villainess... so, if you want, you can go check it out! (http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/?u=295599)

[GoTeamGirl]

Only two people aside from the teacher showed up to the school newspaper meeting. Not good. The teacher was fairly optimistic, though. Still, he had made announcements all week. (The best was this morning's in which he started it by saying, "Hi. I'm Mr. (insert name) and...you are not.")

Still, I have a bigger part in the paper, which is good. And I'm so tired. Thank goodness for weekends. I have no clue what I'd do without them.

[jeriddian]

Well, this weekend, I'm working on getting the house packed up. I'm meeting the realtor tomorrow to see about what I need to do to get the house listed for sale. I've been packing dishes, glassware, books...... I hate moving....:mad:

[Fireand'chutes77]

On top of that, I updated my Gaia profile! One of my friends had a custom Azumanga Daioh theme, and I took the source code for that theme, modified it, and made my own versions of the images, all featuring a certain villainess... so, if you want, you can go check it out! (http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/?u=295599)
Excellent! :laugh: :D

Is your Shego pic for "Mutlimedia" actually from the Lilo and Stitch episode? (For "Multimedia," that'd be a nice touch, BTW. :laugh:) I don't quite remember that pose on any KP episode (but then, I'm not EP. :harhar:.)

I wonder what show "Beryllium" likes... :rolleyes: :happy:

-----

As for my day, I survived Friday and I've been packing for a backpacking trip this weekend with the Scouts. Looks like it will be bracingly chilly. The format for this outing is somewhat unusual, as in we're splitting the participants into two groups. The "low" group, made up of less experienced Scouts, is hiking up Crabtree Falls. The "high" group, which includes me, is hiking up the AT along The Priest. The Priest is a *very* notorious section of the AT, forming a near-continuous incline all the way up the mountain's spine, and it's the last 4,000+ footer until you hit Maine. The hike is consistently ranked in the top-three hardest in the state. Another in the top three is Three Ridges... I did that hike (for the second time) last June. :biggergrin:

Bring me that horizon! :cool:

[kyojikasshu]

Is your Shego pic for "Mutlimedia" actually from the Lilo and Stitch episode? (For "Multimedia," that'd be a nice touch, BTW. :laugh:) I don't quite remember that pose on any KP episode (but then, I'm not EP. :harhar:.)

I wonder what show "Beryllium" likes... :rolleyes: :happy:

Well, the screencap came from the aforementioned EP. I don't have any particular way to immediately identify this one, as it was in my general Shego folder. I mainly picked it because it showed her operating the console, which I felt appropriate - as though she's starting up the video.

As far as Beryllium Phoenix goes, well... she's one of my mules. That Green Chick and Kyoko Kasshu are my other ones. The name spoofs some of my friends, and also sneakily pays homage to a certain anime series' evil queen... meanwhile, it should be pretty obvious who inspired me to create That Green Chick.

__________________________________________

I did a little Christmas shopping this evening, and then I ran into my brother-in-law at the grocery store; he was there with his mother, who's in town from Maryland.

[GoTeamGirl]

My aunt, uncle, and cousins came over for lunch and we watched a movie. Then I watched "A Haunting". Now I'm trying to come up with an advertisement for a certain aspect of my school's newspaper.

[TransWarpDrive]

I didn't have a chance to log on at all yesterday, so excuse me while I go back in time 24 hours...
I had "the Friday from Hell." The modem on my big postage meter chose that morning to die on me just when I needed to download postage via telephone line. The technician working on one of my folder/inserters ended up spending 45 minutes searching through the warehouse for a part he needed to fix my machine. And, the folks from Marketing and Billing each dropped a huge stack of invoices and letters to be mailed out! :angry: Needless to say, I was not amused...
I still managed to get a decent-sized load of mail out in the afternoon, however. And since I'm taking Monday off as a vacation day (time to wash the windows at our house before the Christmas decorations go up!), I inserted and metered several trays of mail to send out that day as well - I even filled out a form in advance for the presort service when they come to pick the stuff up. All my substitute has to do is run what little mail there is on the small meter, and be sure the mail gets out to the loading dock before 1:30 PM on Monday. (Pre-planning rocks! :D)
Friday night, I borrowed my brother's miter box (the one with the Dremel Moto-tool in it) to cut the parts for my hand-made ornaments. I got them all cut, producing a good pile of sawdust in the process. However, it was an easy clean-up - just put the miter box inside a plastic trash bag and shake all the sawdust out of it. And now the cutting's all done - quickly, too. I used to cut all those parts by hand using a coping saw and boy, does that smart after a while! My fingers began to ache from the pressure of gripping both the saw and the wooden craft stick being cut. Certain fingers felt like they had hollow spots in them for hours after I was done cutting, that's how sore they were. Not fun, let me tell you...
After all the cutting was done, I watched last night's "Kim Possible" episode. IIRC, it was a repeat of "Cap'n Drakken" - not one of my favorite Season 4 eps. But hey, it gave me my daily "Kim" fix...
Today, I did some cleaning and reorganizing in our spare bedroom. I managed to consolidate the contents of several boxes into one, emptied two more, and took three boxes off to my storage cubicle. I also put several models back on an upper shelf in my room. I'd removed them and boxed them up before we had work done on replacing all the windows in our house about a year and a half ago, so they wouldn't get accidentally broken. The box they were in was kind of "in the way" in the spare room, so I thought I'd empty it before it got crunched (and the models inside with it). Now the spare room looks a little neater (although my mom wants me to haul still more stuff off to the cubicle...:ohwell:).
So here I am now, catching up on things on-line. After while, I'm going to work some more on those ornaments. I've got to get those done as early as I can before Christmas.

[GoTeamGirl]

I was writing a novel but it won't let me edit it anymore for reasons unknown, so I have to start over. :ohwell:

[jeriddian]

I was writing a novel but it won't let me edit it anymore for reasons unknown, so I have to start over. :ohwell:

What do you mean, it won't let you edit it any more? I may be able to help.:D

[GoTeamGirl]

Well, every time I try to type something or click on an icon that could be used to edit the document, Microsoft Word tells me that the document has been locked and cannot be edited, even though I never locked it. I did try to unlock it but when went to the site and followed the directions, the icon didn't respond. Hmm...

[jeriddian]

Well, every time I try to type something or click on an icon that could be used to edit the document, Microsoft Word tells me that the document has been locked and cannot be edited, even though I never locked it. I did try to unlock it but when went to the site and followed the directions, the icon didn't respond. Hmm...

Can you send me a copy of the document? I'll get it into an unlocked condition and send it back. I use Wordperfect mainly, but I also have Microsoft Word.

[GoTeamGirl]

Well, every time I try to type something or click on an icon that could be used to edit the document, Microsoft Word tells me that the document has been locked and cannot be edited, even though I never locked it. I did try to unlock it but when went to the site and followed the directions, the icon didn't respond. Hmm...

Can you send me a copy of the document? I'll get it into an unlocked condition and send it back. I use Wordperfect mainly, but I also have Microsoft Word.

I'm thinking that was the problem-the computer came with WordPerfect and as a result might not like the use of Microsoft Word. I actually restarted my story and it came out better, since I never really liked the beginning last time. Thank you for the offer, though. :)

Today I have to sign holiday cards. 150 of them.

[jeriddian]

Well, every time I try to type something or click on an icon that could be used to edit the document, Microsoft Word tells me that the document has been locked and cannot be edited, even though I never locked it. I did try to unlock it but when went to the site and followed the directions, the icon didn't respond. Hmm...

Can you send me a copy of the document? I'll get it into an unlocked condition and send it back. I use Wordperfect mainly, but I also have Microsoft Word.

I'm thinking that was the problem-the computer came with WordPerfect and as a result might not like the use of Microsoft Word. I actually restarted my story and it came out better, since I never really liked the beginning last time. Thank you for the offer, though. :)

Today I have to sign holiday cards. 150 of them.

Well, that is certainly true. Wordperfect and Microsoft Word are virtually incompatible formats with each other. Microsoft did that intentionally.

[campy]

I was in Boston for the afternoon. We finally got to see our daughters' new living quarters, then went out for brunch. After that we walked around the city for a while. Daughter #1 showed us a "secret" hip-hop shop. You walk to the back of this dusty little food market and a hidden door slides open. Very strange.

[kyojikasshu]

I spent most of yesterday in bed, because of my cold. I watched some more KP (Day 2, Volume 1 of my megathon tapes), and then I caught up on Ninja Warrior, in which two contestants were selected by G4 to participate in the 19th Sasuke tournament. It was a record-shattering tournament, with 98 of the 100 contestants knocked out of the first round, and neither of the remaining two got past the second obstacle of the second round. It was the worst showing ever, but it's pretty much what the producers have shot for in continuously upping the difficulty of the course.

[GoTeamGirl]

I am pretty happy today. Not much was done in school other than sitting around and taking tests. And I'm in charge of part of my school's newspaper. Tomorrow's only a half day.

[Fireand'chutes77]

I am pretty happy today. Not much was done in school other than sitting around and taking tests. And I'm in charge of part of my school's newspaper. Tomorrow's only a half day.
Lucky... you get out a day earlier than us. :dubiety:

[kyojikasshu]

Today was extremely slow at work, which worked out pretty well for me and my cold. Tomorrow, though, is going to be very busy, as for one thing, I've got a mail merge project to work on. We've also got a major print project coming in....

[campy]

I had a quiet day. I skipped the health club and just stayed in the house all day. I managed to make a little progress on my fanfic.

[TransWarpDrive]

I took a vacation day from work so I could wash all the windows in our house before the holidays. Started around 9:30 AM; finished up between 3:30 and 4:00 PM. My mom was home today, and she spent most of her time trying to learn how to work the digital photography software she just installed on her new laptop. She was making herself crazy in the process because the instruction manuals, she said, were not as specific as she needed.
I also did my laundry tonight. I needed to - no clean stuff for work tomorrow; plus I have to pack for Chambanacon this weekend.

[campy]

We had a bit of snow this morning. It got kind of wet and slick on the roads. Driving home from the gym, I felt my ABS brakes working for the first time ever. That's so weird. If I didn't know what it was, I'd think there was something major wrong with the car.

Some day when I'm out in weather like this, I'm going to see if I can get the traction control and stability control to come on too. Hopefully I won't test the airbags while I'm at it. :laugh:

[GoTeamGirl]

I did nothing in school but ended up (just by being there, I guess) with more work for my school newspaper than I have homework. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. And for the school paper, it is a very desperate time...:ohwell:

On another, but related note, I had to ask my friend an important favor and he wasn't at school. Very bad timing.

[TransWarpDrive]

We had a bit of snow this morning. It got kind of wet and slick on the roads. Driving home from the gym, I felt my ABS brakes working for the first time ever. That's so weird. If I didn't know what it was, I'd think there was something major wrong with the car.

Some day when I'm out in weather like this, I'm going to see if I can get the traction control and stability control to come on too. Hopefully I won't test the airbags while I'm at it. :laugh:
No need to deliberately try - they'll work on their own. The first time my wheels spun on slick pavement, a little yellow light flashed on my dashboard telling me that my Electronic Stability Program was functioning. That's probably what'll happen on your car, too, especially if it has front-wheel drive like I think it does.
So play it safe, my friend. Your traction and stability controls will kick in when they're needed. :alumnus:

As for my day:
Hectic and busy. Had to restore the mail room to how I like it after the photographer changed things around for his @#$%*!! photo shoot (it's for a marketing campaign our company's doing). Mostly putting my charts, signs, and notices back up on the walls, retrieving my mail cart from the warehouse where someone left it; those sort of things. Sorted and distributed yesterday's and today's incoming mail; then spent the rest of the day inserting mail from three different mailing jobs in an effort to get caught up. Did some shopping on the way home from work; then after dinner, I worked on my hand-made Christmas ornaments some more.

[kyojikasshu]

I know I hate it when someone wanders off with my mail cart...

Well, that "major" print project turned out to be small and easy, and the mail merge project is done! So, we have a phenomonally slow remainder of the day ahead of us.

I have to figure out something to keep the rookie occupied!

At least I've nearly kicked this cold....

[GoTeamGirl]

I went out with my friends today and then we came back to my house and watched movies. It was pretty nice to not have school today.

[AinoMinako]

Today's my first day of Thanksgiving break. I had my birthday party last night, and today I went to lunch for a friend's going away party before she goes to Israel for two months. I may be going out later tonight.

[campy]

I had a quiet day except for running some errands. Now I have to drive to my sister's place in NYC for Thanksgiving. I'm bringing my laptop, so I might check in if she still has a network at home. (And since she and BIL are both big-time computer systems pros, that's likely.)

[GoTeamGirl]

Today's my first day of Thanksgiving break. I had my birthday party last night, and today I went to lunch for a friend's going away party before she goes to Israel for two months. I may be going out later tonight.

Happy birthday!

Google is great for boredom...I've been on it for a while.

[TransWarpDrive]

Yes; happy birthday, Aino! :D
I was super-crazy busy today. Ended up running both folder/inserters and the big postage meter at the same time after lunch in order to get all the invoices dated Nov. 15 inserted, metered, and mailed out today. Got them all done, too, except for a small handful that can go out with Monday's mail (I'm off work the day after Thanksgiving, so they won't go out then).
On the way home from work, stopped at Smarty-Mart to buy a new watch band (to replace the one I broke last night); and refueled the car. Had pork chops, potatoes,and carrots in brown sugar for dinner. Then I painted and glued my ornaments some more before watching some TV.

[jeriddian]

Today's my first day of Thanksgiving break. I had my birthday party last night, and today I went to lunch for a friend's going away party before she goes to Israel for two months. I may be going out later tonight.

Congrats, Aino. Many happy returns for the future.:)

[campy]

Happy Birthday, AinoMinako!

I'm in NY, where it's very warm today. Going to eat some turkey and duck later.

[Cloud23465]

Well... hopefully it all starts to go downhill from here. We're almost at the closing date... 6 more days to go and we'll start the improvements on our new house before we start to move in. New carpet is the biggest thing right now. We have about 15 grand to spend in extra money for improvements for the new house... the funny thing was the city and the government expected us to front the money for this stuff and then they'd pay us back. Who's got that kind of money laying around? The city has by all means NOT made this any easier then they should of for what there doing to us. But they did it to my native ancestors so I didn't honestly expect them to do any different with us. But there is a silver lining to this whole sitch... my dad will get the new computer and i'll be getting a new 24" monitor :biggergrin: and were finally going to get an HDTV, more space at this other house including the 2 story detached barn style shed. It will be all over with soon and the new page will begin... this should be great.

[jeriddian]

Good to hear, Cloud!:D

I worked today, as I always have when I was in this job before. I always worked the holidays, but....meh....it's okay.:rolleyes: Fortunately, my census is down. Got to eat some turkey dinner with all the fixins' (as we say down here in Texas) with my partner and his family.:biggergrin:

Now I have a little time to work some more on cleaning up more of the pages on the Main Page, while I field calls from the hospital and the office answering service.:ohwell::)

[canuck31003]

The past day or so I've been putting my Zune 80 through its paces. :) So far I'm pretty satisfied with it. This is my first experience with an mp3 player larger than 1GB, so it's been fun.

[campy]

Well, I'm back in Massachusetts after a visit to my sister, BIL and the nephews. We had a good dinner of turkey, duck and salmon plus some great side dishes and desserts. A lot of driving for two days, but worth it.

[AinoMinako]

Thank you for the birthday wishes, everyone! :)

I got to experience my first Black Friday today. I'm a cashier at Target; I got the morning shift, starting at 5:45 AM. I've never someone run so fast for a TV before. Before the opening, the line literally wrapped around the side of the store to the back end. :blink:

[GoTeamGirl]

Well, I'm doomed when it comes to finding someone to help advertise the school newspaper. I would ask my friends to help, but one is with family, one refused, and I think the other is in no mood to discuss anything.

I'm off to my aunt's house for a "tree trimming" party. Hopefully the tree doesn't fall on her cat like it did last time. :P

[campy]

Just watched my Eagles beat Miami for the first time in 16 games. Last time that happened in Chestnut Hill, I was on the field with the cheer squad. :ohmy:

[Ultimate Naco Topping]

I would like to be writing the script for my next short film. Instead, I'm watching Oklahoma whoop Oklahoma State.

[canuck31003]

Today I made a small start on my Christmas shopping. I was expecting the stores to be busier.

I also had a brief scare this afternoon. Walking to my car I was scared by the sound of squealing tires; I looked behind me to see a humongous SUV making a sharp turn pull in next to me. Anything that large shouldn't be going that fast making sharp turns on bald tires. :thumbdown:

[jeriddian]

Today I made a small start on my Christmas shopping. I was expecting the stores to be busier.

I also had a brief scare this afternoon. Walking to my car I was scared by the sound of squealing tires; I looked behind me to see a humongous SUV making a sharp turn pull in next to me. Anything that large shouldn't be going that fast making sharp turns on bald tires. :thumbdown:

You probably should add that line to your signature.....:P:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[cpneb]

Just watched my Eagles beat Miami for the first time in 16 games. Last time that happened in Chestnut Hill, I was on the field with the cheer squad. :ohmy:

campy, congrats to you and BC on their win today.
And, Jess, you don't need to remind him you're a 10: we all concur! :biggergrin: :innocent: :alumnus:

[jeriddian]

Just watched my Eagles beat Miami for the first time in 16 games. Last time that happened in Chestnut Hill, I was on the field with the cheer squad. :ohmy:

campy, congrats to you and BC on their win today.
And, Jess, you don't need to remind him you're a 10: we all concur! :biggergrin: :innocent: :alumnus:

Let me add my congrats to that, Campy. :D Looks like both our teams came out good this weekend.:biggergrin:

[GoTeamGirl]

I went to the movies today to see Enchanted, and it was such a great movie. Very cute, with a lot of funny moments, and many moments that just make you go "Awww..."

Now I'm talking to one of my friends about Christmas shopping.

[jeriddian]

I went to the movies today to see Enchanted, and it was such a great movie. Very cute, with a lot of funny moments, and many moments that just make you go "Awww..."

Now I'm talking to one of my friends about Christmas shopping.

I have yet to see the movie, but I wish to do so. I've heard a lot of good things about it. I never go to movies when I'm on call though . I invariably get beeped out of them whenever I do. But it sounds delicious.....though it's a shame KP won't be in it.......:dubiety::ohwell:

[Fireand'chutes77]

I went to the movies today to see Enchanted, and it was such a great movie. Very cute, with a lot of funny moments, and many moments that just make you go "Awww..."

Now I'm talking to one of my friends about Christmas shopping.

I have yet to see the movie, but I wish to do so. I've heard a lot of good things about it. I never go to movies when I'm on call though . I invariably get beeped out of them whenever I do. But it sounds delicious.....though it's a shame KP won't be in it.......:dubiety::ohwell:
My sister and mother saw it today. They liked it.

---

I broke a plate tonight carrying it from the table to the sink. I don't know how it happened, but I put a pretty nice gouge in my left pinky, a small cut on the knuckle of my left pointer, and the bulge on the back of my right hand that leads to your thumb. I don't know how it happened, actually; I didn't feel it, and I thought I picked the two big peices up by their unsharp sides.
Anyway, I'm glad I'm not one of those people that're squeamish at the sight of their own blood. My usual thoughts are detachedly surprised, consisting along the lines of, "My, what a vivid color." (Granted, I haven't yet lost enough of it in one setting to send me into shock. *taps wood*)

It's times like these I'm thankful for my BSA first aid training. I simply sighed, grumbling a bit as I made my way to the sink, washed the cuts off, applied pressure with a kleenex, and then wrapped a band-aid around the fairly deep cut on my pinkie. I was surprised how quickly that one bled. I'd press kleenex on it, open up the band-aid, and by the time I turned back to the cut, it'd welled up again and was running down my finger. Then I'd have to dab it again. Finally, I was able to dab and slap the band-aid on before the cut welled up again. I suppose the cut was deeper than I thought, or I'd nicked a shallow blood vessel. It's not going to need any stitches, though.

The cut on the "thumb bulge" actually hurt more than the deeper one did, oddly enough.

[TransWarpDrive]

The cut on the "thumb bulge" actually hurt more than the deeper one did, oddly enough.
That's because the outer layers of your skin contain a lot of nerve endings. Thus, the shallow cuts always sting worse than the deeper ones.
As for my day, I drove home today from my convention this past weekend, Chambanacon 37, held in Urbana, Illinois. The drive home took me a little over two hours, counting the stop for gas at the beginning of the trip. I left at noon, and pulled into my driveway between 2:30 and quarter to three this afternoon. I've gotten everything unpacked and the suitcases put away, had dinner (leftover turkey, of course ;)); and now I have to go check on my laundry.

[kyojikasshu]

As for my day, I drove home today from my convention this past weekend, Chambanacon 37, held in Urbana, Illinois. The drive home took me a little over two hours, counting the stop for gas at the beginning of the trip. I left at noon, and pulled into my driveway between 2:30 and quarter to three this afternoon. I've gotten everything unpacked and the suitcases put away, had dinner (leftover turkey, of course ;)); and now I have to go check on my laundry.

So, did you have fun hanging with the Captain Constellation and Space Passage fans? Did you get to say hi to Cousin Larry? :laugh: (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Today was pretty slow, and gave me a chance to rest up and pretty much get over this cold. Of course, snow came down tonight.... :rolleyes:

[jeriddian]

Not a bad day. The hospital service was not too bad. I didn't get hit too hard, and I had time to finish out the Commercials section of the main page. Not a bad day's work. I've started constructing the miscellaneous button pages now. It will be a work in progress for several days, I think, especially with the panoptic analyses.

[TransWarpDrive]

As for my day, I drove home today from my convention this past weekend, Chambanacon 37, held in Urbana, Illinois. The drive home took me a little over two hours, counting the stop for gas at the beginning of the trip. I left at noon, and pulled into my driveway between 2:30 and quarter to three this afternoon. I've gotten everything unpacked and the suitcases put away, had dinner (leftover turkey, of course ;)); and now I have to go check on my laundry.

So, did you have fun hanging with the Captain Constellation and Space Passage fans? Did you get to say hi to Cousin Larry? :laugh: (Sorry, couldn't resist.)



No, the majority of fans at this con are literary SF fans. Although many of them also enjoy the "media SF" (in other words Star Trek, Star Wars, Joss Whedon's Firefly, etc.), they're generally a bookish crowd.
We didn't have much programming at this con; it's what's known as a "relaxacon." Folks just come to this con to socialize, relax, and generally have a good time. We did, however, have a hospitality suite, or "Con Suite," where convention members could mingle and grab some snacks, as well as filksinging (that's where a bunch of musically-talented fans get together and sing songs having an SF- or related theme; usually accompanied by guitar or electric piano). No films this year (usually DVDs projected onto a standard home movie screen); maybe the move back to Champaign/Urbana cost the con too much?
Anyway, we had a good time, Cousin Larry or not.

[GoTeamGirl]

I didn't sleep at all last night. School should be interesting...

[campy]

I spent most of today on preparations for my upcoming cruise. I went to the bank for some Euros, did some packing and, most importantly, drilled myself on Blackjack strategy at Hit or Stand (http://www.hitorstand.net/game_l.html).

[Fireand'chutes77]

...I went to the bank for some Euros...
Was it painful? :P :laugh: :dubiety: :ohwell:

[campy]

...I went to the bank for some Euros...
Was it painful? :P :laugh: :dubiety: :ohwell:Spending them will be. :sick:

[kyojikasshu]

Today was a ridiculously busy day at work. I barely had time to breathe...

... and I only made it through the day by playing some ridiculously fast and obnoxious music in my head. Mindless Self Indulgence actually got me through the day... and that, my friends, is a pretty scary thought.

[GoTeamGirl]

Today was so long. I just need to sleep. I almost fell asleep in every class in school (and actually fell asleep three times in English). Ugh.

It annoys me that no one in my school gets involved in anything except sports.

[TransWarpDrive]

I got up late this morning because I forgot to set my alarm clock last night before going to bed. I literally jumped out of bed at 7:19 AM. But I managed to get dressed and out of the house by 7:35, and even managed to get to work on time. Better yet, I lucked out in the company parking lot and grabbed an open space right in front of the door I usually enter work through. Normally, that space is already filled long before I get there, but for some reason today it wasn't.
I managed to insert and mail out most of the remaining invoices dated November 19, then sorted and distributed all the incoming mail from Friday, Saturday and today.
Had a brief power outage around noon; the lights flickered, then the power went out - for about a minute! :laugh: Just long enough to make us all reboot our computers... :P
After work, I stopped at a local Walgreen's to pick up something for work. I also treated myself to a couple of die-cast model cars I saw in the store. One's a 1:24 scale model of a 1974 Ford Maverick, and the other's a Hot Wheels/Matchbox-sized 1978 Ford Thunderbird. Both are made by the Motor max toy company, and are part of their "American Graffiti" nostalgia-based line of classic cars.
what the hey, I might as well treat myself once in a while.
At home, I saw that some smart- a** had taken the wooden reindeer we had on our lawn, and placed them in an obscene arrangement. My brother fixed that when he got home from work, but still...:angry:
After dinner, I opened my birthday gifts from my mom (today's my 49th, in case anybody's counting :D). She gave me the newest Star Trek: Next Generation Christmas ornament, which is the "Future Enterprise" ship as seen in the series finale "All Good Things". I also got 2 new short-sleeved, blue sport shirts. They replace two I had - one got too ragged to wear to work; the other got cut off me in the ER back on March 6 when I broke my elbow.
All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good day. :):D

[campy]

Happy birthday, TWD! Just one more year before the big one! :D

[jeriddian]

Happy birthday, TWD! Just one more year before the big one! :D

And from me, too!:D:biggergrin::biggergrin:

[GoTeamGirl]

Happy Birthday TransWarpDrive! Hope you have a great day! :D

Today was pretty laid back school wise. I have lowered my Religion grade this quarter by a lot, which is so odd because Religion used to be my best (and favorite) subject. (Now it's my worst and I dread going to that class.) One of my teachers didn't show up for class, and a substitute didn't either, so we ended up going to the cafeteria.

[kyojikasshu]

Happy birthday, TWD! And congrats on the ornament!


Another majorly busy day at work for me today... we'll be back at full strength, though, for the first time in a couple of weeks tomorrow.

[cpneb]

Happy birthday, TWD! Just one more year before the big one! :D

And from me, too!:D:biggergrin::biggergrin:

It's not that bad, TWD: I crossed the magic barrier already, and you can still cause trouble at this age (case in point: campy and me).

[TransWarpDrive]

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes. :D
Today at work, my boss treated me to a birthday lunch. She would have done it yesterday, on my actual birthday, but she had some business matters to attend to so we postponed it until today. In our department, the birthday person gets to pick the food we order, so I selected pizza with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers on it. My boss ordered two of those Giordano's stuffed (deep-dish) pizzas - one with what I wanted, and one with just mushrooms and spinach ( I know, I know; that sounds weird, but spinach on pizza doesn't really taste bad). I ended up taking three big slices of the pizza-with-everything on it home with me tonight; I put them on a plate and covered them with tinfoil in the bottom of our fridge. They'll be my dinner tomorrow night.
I also got caught up with all my outgoing mail - even those dopey letters with two pages about the decertification of obsolete postage meters ( I finished inserting those faster than I expected to). :P

[kyojikasshu]

Mmm... Giordano's is pretty good pizza. I had it when I visited Go City back in October '05...

I've been working on a lot of cross-training with my teammates today, and that'll continue tomorrow. With three regulars on staff, it's vitally important that everybody can cover all areas that need to be covered.

This is the first chance I've had to relax at work all week... everything's finished for the day, so we're just waiting until 5:00 to get out of here. Then, since it's Wednesday, I'm going to my sister's house to watch my nephew Sam while his brother John goes to karate class (and to drop off the tape with this week's Heroes and House for my sister - they don't have cable, and get iffy reception on their rabbit-ears). Starting next week, Sam will have Cub Scouts on Wednesday nights, and my sister's adjusting her work schedule to help out periodically, although I'll still need to swing by (I may be taking John to karate more often, as Jen and I are going to push Bob to volunteer his services for the pack).

[Cloud23465]

I can finally say we have a home to move to. We closed on the house today and will start moving painting and geting ready for the carpet saturday.

[GoTeamGirl]

PSAT scores came in today, and for the most part no one was surprised (though I can't say everyone is happy). The teachers have started picketing in the morning after almost two weeks of not doing anything. My history teacher doesn't think there will be a strike, though. At most, a sick out (in which he won't participate).

[campy]

I took our cat to mrs. campy's mom's to stay during our trip. This cat really hates riding in cars. She meowed throughout the whole trip.

Just now we went online and tried to snag some exit row seats for our flight tomorrow, but no joy. :ohwell:

[GoTeamGirl]

My friend and I had a "deep discussion" on the bus for the purpose of ignoring someone else who didn't like that type of thing. Then I found out that she said something not at all nice about me and my best friend. I came to this conclusion: she is ignorant.

I have a bit of work to do this weekend for school. There's a weird math assignment, and a Global project that needs starting. And an English story that needs to be read and picked apart word-by-word...

[Fireand'chutes77]

And an English story that needs to be read and picked apart word-by-word...
Yuck, I always hate that. My English teacher last year was really bad about that; I would have enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo much more if I hadn't had to stop every three words for a question on her 20-page question packet... And she was something of a technophobe, too. Never used our laptops in her class more than 5 times the entire year.... :ohwell:

Comparatively, my English teacher is year is great; instead of question lists, we have discussions on the book in-class, interspaced with quizzes per-chapter-blocks and a final test. The ideal setup, IMHO. Best of all, he opens every class period with, "OK, computers out, let's go...!" :D

[jeriddian]

And an English story that needs to be read and picked apart word-by-word...
Yuck, I always hate that. My English teacher last year was really bad about that; I would have enjoyed The Count of Monty Cristo much more if I hadn't had to stop every three words for a question on her 20-page question packet... And she was something of a technophobe, too. Never used our laptops in her class more than 5 times the entire year.... :ohwell:

Comparatively, my English teacher is year is great; instead of question lists, we have discussions on the book in-class, interspaced with quizzes per-chapter-blocks and a final test. The ideal setup, IMHO. Best of all, he opens every class period with, "OK, computers out, let's go...!" :D

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god. Of course, back then, we had to deal with stone knives and bear skins for our computer equipment, which of course means none at all...... (and if you can quote me where that reference comes from, you get a big NO-PRIZE!!)

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)

[Fireand'chutes77]

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god.
Michael Smith got to you too? :P :rolleyes: :laugh:

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)
I was channeling my inner Fiske. :biggergrin: :laugh:

[GoTeamGirl]

And an English story that needs to be read and picked apart word-by-word...
Yuck, I always hate that. My English teacher last year was really bad about that; I would have enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo much more if I hadn't had to stop every three words for a question on her 20-page question packet... And she was something of a technophobe, too. Never used our laptops in her class more than 5 times the entire year.... :ohwell:

Comparatively, my English teacher is year is great; instead of question lists, we have discussions on the book in-class, interspaced with quizzes per-chapter-blocks and a final test. The ideal setup, IMHO. Best of all, he opens every class period with, "OK, computers out, let's go...!" :D

My English teacher is exactly like the one you described. We get those large question packets. I stopped doing them after awhile. And...we will be reading The Count of Monte Cristo later, and she'll be tearing it apart.

[kyojikasshu]

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god. Of course, back then, we had to deal with stone knives and bear skins for our computer equipment, which of course means none at all...... (and if you can quote me where that reference comes from, you get a big NO-PRIZE!!)

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)

Ah, yes... awfully tough to try to build a mnenomic memory circuit out of materials such as stone knives and bear skins... especially when your captain's being distracted by Joan Collins.

"City on the Edge of Forever"... the definition of classic Trek.

Speaking of classic, I had a pretty good experience with the Dumas classic when I was in school. It's all about the type of teacher you get... and I had a pretty awesome teacher that year.


Today was fairly slow at work, and it gave me the opportunity to train my senior teammate on shipping and receiving, an area she'd never worked in over the course of her time with the company. It went quite well...

[GoTeamGirl]

One of my previous teachers has a wedding website (his wedding was a few months ago) with pictures (and lots of student comments). None of my teachers look good dancing. :P:laugh:

[jeriddian]

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god. Of course, back then, we had to deal with stone knives and bear skins for our computer equipment, which of course means none at all...... (and if you can quote me where that reference comes from, you get a big NO-PRIZE!!)

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)

Ah, yes... awfully tough to try to build a mnenomic memory circuit out of materials such as stone knives and bear skins... especially when your captain's being distracted by Joan Collins.

"City on the Edge of Forever"... the definition of classic Trek.

Speaking of classic, I had a pretty good experience with the Dumas classic when I was in school. It's all about the type of teacher you get... and I had a pretty awesome teacher that year.


Today was fairly slow at work, and it gave me the opportunity to train my senior teammate on shipping and receiving, an area she'd never worked in over the course of her time with the company. It went quite well...

Well, of course, our resident Star Trek expert would know all along where it came from! :harhar:.........I should make you sure exclude yourself from all future Star Trek trivia questions.........hmmmmmmph!:rolleyes: Very well......the No-Prize goes to TWD!:D

[kyojikasshu]

Yeah, just give it to the guy who actually takes his username from Star Trek III! :P

:laugh:

[GoTeamGirl]

I have to go volunteer at a school event for my sister's school. I'm hoping that the girl I dislike strongly is not there. My best friend will be there, though, so that will be good.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, we've only got Sam staying over tonight, as John has a karate class sleepover event.

It's been a quiet day, and I've been resting up, not doing a whole lot. I've actually been contemplating my future, as there are a number of things in the works at work.

I actually went out for a walk earlier in the afternoon, and aside from being a bit chilly, it was pretty nice. But, when I went outside a little while ago to go get dinner, I had one reaction:

"It's snow! Snow in the same sector!"

[GoTeamGirl]

I just put some major thought into a question my friend and I had about thinking about the impossible. How is it that when you think you have a conclusion you also end up with more questions? I guess the answer to that one is that we can never know everything.

I volunteered with little kids today doing arts and crafts, then hung out with my best friends making Christmas plans and taking funny videos and pictures.

I hope it snows tomorrow.

[TransWarpDrive]

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god. Of course, back then, we had to deal with stone knives and bear skins for our computer equipment, which of course means none at all...... (and if you can quote me where that reference comes from, you get a big NO-PRIZE!!)

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)

Ah, yes... awfully tough to try to build a mnenomic memory circuit out of materials such as stone knives and bear skins... especially when your captain's being distracted by Joan Collins.

"City on the Edge of Forever"... the definition of classic Trek.

Speaking of classic, I had a pretty good experience with the Dumas classic when I was in school. It's all about the type of teacher you get... and I had a pretty awesome teacher that year.


Today was fairly slow at work, and it gave me the opportunity to train my senior teammate on shipping and receiving, an area she'd never worked in over the course of her time with the company. It went quite well...

Well, of course, our resident Star Trek expert would know all along where it came from! :harhar:.........I should make you sure exclude yourself from all future Star Trek trivia questions.........hmmmmmmph!:rolleyes: Very well......the No-Prize goes to TWD!:D

:blink:??!?
It should go to Rob, as he answered the question, not me...
Good answer on the trivia, Rob. Let's pool our knowledge and dazzle the rest of 'em with our mad "Trek" trivia skills...:thumbup:
I actually went out for a walk earlier in the afternoon, and aside from being a bit chilly, it was pretty nice. But, when I went outside a little while ago to go get dinner, I had one reaction:

"It's snow! Snow in the same sector!"
:laugh: Ah yes, the scene aboard the U.S.S. Grissom where David Marcus and Saavik run a sensor scan on the newly-formed Genesis Planet...
I'd forgotten about that scene, until you used that quote. But having experienced snow - and a bit of an ice storm - myself today, I must admit your use of that particular line of dialogue is quite appropriate.
So you get a No-Prize from me, too! :D
As for my day, we celebrated my mom's 75th birthday today (Saturday). My younger brother came up with the idea of buying her a necklace that contained among its jewels the birthstones for myself and my three siblings, as well as those of Mom's five grandchildren (my nephews and nieces). My sister found a suitable necklace and pendant and did the purchasing (my sibs and I each chipped in $80 apiece for the thing); and she, my brother-in-law, and my second-oldest niece Sarah, drove up from Cleveland on Friday so we could surprise Mom with the necklace and take her out to dinner. Needless to say, Mom was completely surprised by this, and everything went off without a hitch. We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant, and Mom absolutely loves her necklace. She didn't suspect a thing, which proves how well my sibs and I can keep a secret... ;)

[jeriddian]

Sounds cool, 'chutes. I wish my English teachers were as good, although I would have to say my high school senior English teacher was pretty god. Of course, back then, we had to deal with stone knives and bear skins for our computer equipment, which of course means none at all...... (and if you can quote me where that reference comes from, you get a big NO-PRIZE!!)

BTW, it's The Count of Monte Cristo..........:P...just fyi............:)

Ah, yes... awfully tough to try to build a mnenomic memory circuit out of materials such as stone knives and bear skins... especially when your captain's being distracted by Joan Collins.

"City on the Edge of Forever"... the definition of classic Trek.

Speaking of classic, I had a pretty good experience with the Dumas classic when I was in school. It's all about the type of teacher you get... and I had a pretty awesome teacher that year.


Today was fairly slow at work, and it gave me the opportunity to train my senior teammate on shipping and receiving, an area she'd never worked in over the course of her time with the company. It went quite well...

Well, of course, our resident Star Trek expert would know all along where it came from! :harhar:.........I should make you sure exclude yourself from all future Star Trek trivia questions.........hmmmmmmph!:rolleyes: Very well......the No-Prize goes to TWD!:D

:blink:??!?
It should go to Rob, as he answered the question, not me...
Good answer on the trivia, Rob. Let's pool our knowledge and dazzle the rest of 'em with our mad "Trek" trivia skills...:thumbup:
I actually went out for a walk earlier in the afternoon, and aside from being a bit chilly, it was pretty nice. But, when I went outside a little while ago to go get dinner, I had one reaction:

"It's snow! Snow in the same sector!"
:laugh: Ah yes, the scene aboard the U.S.S. Grissom where David Marcus and Saavik run a sensor scan on the newly-formed Genesis Planet...
I'd forgotten about that scene, until you used that quote. But having experienced snow - and a bit of an ice storm - myself today, I must admit your use of that particular line of dialogue is quite appropriate.
So you get a No-Prize from me, too! :D
As for my day, we celebrated my mom's 75th birthday today (Saturday). My younger brother came up with the idea of buying her a necklace that contained among its jewels the birthstones for myself and my three siblings, as well as those of Mom's five grandchildren (my nephews and nieces). My sister found a suitable necklace and pendant and did the purchasing (my sibs and I each chipped in $80 apiece for the thing); and she, my brother-in-law, and my second-oldest niece Sarah, drove up from Cleveland on Friday so we could surprise Mom with the necklace and take her out to dinner. Needless to say, Mom was completely surprised by this, and everything went off without a hitch. We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant, and Mom absolutely loves her necklace. She didn't suspect a thing, which proves how well my sibs and I can keep a secret... ;)

Sounds like you all had a wonderful time with your family on your mother's birthday, with a very nice touch in that present you gave her. Wonderfully done, I will say. :thumbup:

Also my apologies to you and Rob. As usual, my brain turned to mush when I was awarding the No-PRIZE, which in truth you both deserve for your well known command and mastery of Star Trek trivia.:alumnus: I am so used to you anwering the questions and I was pretty tired from the coding work I had been doing on the Main Page sites, that I didn't see it was Rob who had answered it so expertly. Major mybad on my part. Mea Culpa.:o but hopefully all's well now. :D

EDIT: I've been spending the weekend getting things done around the apartment.....all the laundry. I also set up two metal poles in five gallon buckets filled with cement to mount the satellite dishes for my TV and internet access which will soon be coming. (I've had it with AT&T and I detest cable TV with a passion) I swung around town and picked up two actuator assemblies for the rear side doors of my 1996 Suburban as the two I have are going out and need to be replaced. I also picked up the two dome light sensors that are activated by the two front doors as they are getting stuck a lot and accidently setting off the car alarm in the truck (usually at the most inconvenient times like 2 AM or something like that.:ohwell:).

At some point I have to replace the multimedia center in the Suburban as it is now, unfortunately, archaic. It's still a great system, but it's eleven years old and won't read mp3 and other formats which came out after it did. So I've been researching what to replace it with. It's an old Alpine CVA-1005 model, which really was excellent for its time. I'm leaning towards the Clarion Max 775 VD to replace it.

I retuned my electric grand piano, see picture below:
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3664/yamahacp80ks8.jpg
I've also been working on some of the music I plan on using in my video production that I am getting done. I still have to get the instrumentation down for the orchestration of that music on Protools, as soon as I download their Gold package of instrument sounds.:rolleyes:

I still have about ten transcripts to do for the Main Page and I've got to go through the archival pages from ARA and rip the ARA links out. Then I can put them up on the site in our archive section.

I've got to fine tune the next four chapters of my ff.net story and get them ready for posting. The last few chapters have also been written, but now I have to fill up the middle. So there's a whole lot of writing I have to do in the next two to three weeks.:dubiety:

And I have to start studying for my boards next month......

So much to do, so little time...................:P

[Fireand'chutes77]

How do you retune an electric piano? :huh: There aren't any totally physical music-making components to get out of whack - it's all electronics.

[kyojikasshu]

How do you retune an electric piano? :huh: There aren't any totally physical music-making components to get out of whack - it's all electronics.

Well, I had an old Casio keyboard that I got over 20 years ago, and it was actually tuneable - you had to use a flathead screwdriver to turn a small screw-like dial recessed in a hole in the bottom of the keyboard. The sound could be knocked off by nearly half an octave.

[jeriddian]

How do you retune an electric piano? :huh: There aren't any totally physical music-making components to get out of whack - it's all electronics.

Not this one, my young friend. :biggergrin: Behold!
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5982/cp70b2om5.jpg
This is a picture of my electric grand's smaller 76 key cousin the CP70B. As you can see, there is a real harp, a real piano keyboard action, and real piano strings. So why would anyone go to the trouble of doing this? Because in 1981 when I bought mine, there were no good electronic keyboards that sounded like a piano. Electronic technology still hadn't gotten that far.

Bands at that time who wanted a real piano sound and responsiveness had to lug around a spinet or similar weight hog of a piano. So what Yamaha did was create this one. What's the difference? The difference is that there is no heavy surrounding wood cabinet and no soundboard. This removed 75% of the entire weight of the piano. In addition, the piano came in two pieces. The keyboard and action was in one case, and the harp and strings in another. This made the pieces very much more portable as the action only weighed 90 lbs. and the harp only 115 lbs. These were each easily carried by two roadies.

Without the soundboard there was very little actual physicial sound that emitted from the piano itself, but every single string has a pickup on it and you can see from the picture where the electronics are located in the front of the piano, and the jacks are located there to plug the signal they produced into an amplifier or PA system. So yes, it is an Electric Grand Piano, because like an electric guitar, it has pickups that fed the electrical signal of the string vibrations into an amplifier into which it was plugged. But it used real piano strings, harp, and action.

Yamaha stopped making these in the late 1980's because by that time, the electronics had gotten good enough to mimic a real piano sound that nobody wanted lug this one around any more either. However, to certain purists like myself (especially myself since I have owned and played this instrument for twenty six years now), even today, the advanced sophisticated electronics of today's electric pianos still cannot match the responsiveness and sensitivity of action that the real thing can give you.

That is why I still lug this thing around, and why I still play it.:alumnus:

[lunchmeat]

Because in 1981 when I bought mine, there were no good electronic keyboards that sounded like a piano. Electronic technology still hadn't gotten that far.


Which leaves me wondering. What ever happened to all those Hammond organ salesmen one used to see in shopping malls (I don't go to malls very often anymore)?

[cpneb]

How do you retune an electric piano? :huh: There aren't any totally physical music-making components to get out of whack - it's all electronics.

Not this one, my young friend. :biggergrin: Behold!
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5982/cp70b2om5.jpg
This is a picture of my electric grand's smaller 76 key cousin the CP70B. As you can see, there is a real harp, a real piano keyboard action, and real piano strings. So why would anyone go to the trouble of doing this? Because in 1981 when I bought mine, there were no good electronic keyboards that sounded like a piano. Electronic technology still hadn't gotten that far.

Bands at that time who wanted a real piano sound and responsiveness had to lug around a spinet or similar weight hog of a piano. So what Yamaha did was create this one. What's the difference? The difference is that there is no heavy surrounding wood cabinet and no soundboard. This removed 75% of the entire weight of the piano. In addition, the piano came in two pieces. The keyboard and action was in one case, and the harp and strings in another. This made the pieces very much more portable as the action only weighed 90 lbs. and the harp only 115 lbs. These were each easily carried by two roadies.

Without the soundboard there was very little actual physicial sound that emitted from the piano itself, but every single string has a pickup on it and you can see from the picture where the electronics are located in the front of the piano, and the jacks are located there to plug the signal they produced into an amplifier or PA system. So yes, it is an Electric Grand Piano, because like an electric guitar, it has pickups that fed the electrical signal of the string vibrations into an amplifier into which it was plugged. But it used real piano strings, harp, and action.

Yamaha stopped making these in the late 1980's because by that time, the electronics had gotten good enough to mimic a real piano sound that nobody wanted lug this one around any more either. However, to certain purists like myself (especially myself since I have owned and played this instrument for twenty six years now), even today, the advanced sophisticated electronics of today's electric pianos still cannot match the responsiveness and sensitivity of action that the real thing can give you.

That is why I still lug this thing around, and why I still play it.:alumnus:

I have to admit, jeriddian: I've been associated with music my entire life, and this is a first for me: I'd never seen one like this until now.

I suppose that it was the window of manufacturing and the fact that, during that time, I was focused in a different direction. I was with the San Angelo Symphony at that time, and we were purchasing a new 'big boy:' we purchased a full-sized Steinway for the San Angelo Symphony and added it to our stable that included a full-sized Mason-Hamlin, so now SASO has 2 full-sized grands (not bad for the middle of West Texas and football country).

We had the opportunity to have a hand-selected performer walk the Steinway floor and play until he found the instrument he wanted for us (talk about the proverbial 'kid in a candy store').

I hope you have it insured: I can't imagine the replacement cost!

[jeriddian]

I have to admit, jeriddian: I've been associated with music my entire life, and this is a first for me: I'd never seen one like this until now.

I suppose that it was the window of manufacturing and the fact that, during that time, I was focused in a different direction. I was with the San Angelo Symphony at that time, and we were purchasing a new 'big boy:' we purchased a full-sized Steinway for the San Angelo Symphony and added it to our stable that included a full-sized Mason-Hamlin, so now SASO has 2 full-sized grands (not bad for the middle of West Texas and football country).

We had the opportunity to have a hand-selected performer walk the Steinway floor and play until he found the instrument he wanted for us (talk about the proverbial 'kid in a candy store').

I hope you have it insured: I can't imagine the replacement cost!

Unfortunately, it cannot be replaced. Yamaha no longer manufactures the unit and they are becoming rarer than chicken's teeth. They no longer support their maintenance either, although they do stock some of the miscellaneous hardware. There are separate companies out there that do support maintenance. I know of some independent companies that manufacture the strings, and some others that stock the hardware, and certain repair shops that will work on them when needed. So if I have to get the unit worked on, I know where to go, but they can't be replaced. I bought mine brand new for $4200. And today, the ones in good condition can sell for just as much, if not more, in those rare times you find them on the open market.

In terms of the quality of sound, it really is pretty good considering the harp is basically the size of a small spinet, so you know the bass strings are going to be a bit clunky from being so short. In addition, the high strings only have 2 per note, instead of the standard 3 for a regular piano. But then that's where the electronics come in as they do enhance the sound well. One good thing is that Yamaha's reputation for the longevity of the quality of their work is well known. Although I consider the Steinway the absolute Cadillac of pianos, Yamaha actually has a better record of consistency in the quality of their work, probably the best in the business right now.

I hope one day to procure my own Steinway, about a seven footer, when I can afford it. I do like Bechsteins and Boysendorfers, but the European piano sound is not my favorite. But still, my Yamaha will always have a special place in my heart. It was my workhorse gigging piano and it has served me well through the roughest times.

[Molloy]

Just feeling pretty low today. I have been watching KP fan youtube videos for most of the morning (with the volume down and listening to depressing Wilco music on my ipod).

I had thought reading others’ fics and working on my own would be enough.

I guess I was wrong. :(

[jeriddian]

Just feeling pretty low today. I have been watching KP fan youtube videos for most of the morning (with the volume down and listening to depressing Wilco music on my ipod).

I had thought reading others’ fics and working on my own would be enough.

I guess I was wrong. :(

Sometimes the holidays can do that to you, Molloy. Hang in there. There are always going to be days when the best thing to do is just lay back and not do anything.:)

[GoTeamGirl]

A good day just got really bad, and so did the whole week. Why do all bad things happen on Mondays???

[jeriddian]

A good day just got really bad, and so did the whole week. Why do all bad things happen on Mondays???

Sorry to hear that, GTG. Mondays are almost always the bad days because they're after the blasted WEEKENDS!.:mad:.....*ahem*, okay now that I have gotten that out of my system.......:rolleyes:....yeah, Mondays can sometimes set the tone of the week, but not usually. Let's see what happens next.:)

[Fireand'chutes77]

A good day just got really bad, and so did the whole week. Why do all bad things happen on Mondays???Mondays are almost always the bad days because they're after the blasted WEEKENDS!.:mad:
*F'C'77's smilies crack knuckles*

"'Ey, 'ey, you aren't badmouthing the weekends, are you, bub?"

*Jerridian's smilies, wordlessly, coolly pull a scalpel, several hypodermics, and a bottle labeled "ether" from behind their backs*

*F'C'77's smilies go :scared:*

"'Ey, you know what, it's a free country!!"

:P :laugh:

[jeriddian]

A good day just got really bad, and so did the whole week. Why do all bad things happen on Mondays???Mondays are almost always the bad days because they're after the blasted WEEKENDS!.:mad:
*F'C'77's smilies crack knuckles*

"'Ey, 'ey, you aren't badmouthing the weekends, are you, bub?"

*Jerridian's smilies, wordlessly, coolly pull a scalpel, several hypodermics, and a bottle labeled "ether" from behind their backs*

*F'C'77's smilies go :scared:*

"'Ey, you know what, it's a free country!!"

:P :laugh:

Don't forget the square needles.................:biggergrin:

[Fireand'chutes77]

A good day just got really bad, and so did the whole week. Why do all bad things happen on Mondays???Mondays are almost always the bad days because they're after the blasted WEEKENDS!.:mad:
*F'C'77's smilies crack knuckles*

"'Ey, 'ey, you aren't badmouthing the weekends, are you, bub?"

*Jerridian's smilies, wordlessly, coolly pull a scalpel, several hypodermics, and a bottle labeled "ether" from behind their backs*

*F'C'77's smilies go :scared:*

"'Ey, you know what, it's a free country!!"

:P :laugh:

Don't forget the square needles.................:biggergrin:
Yeeip. :blink:

---

In weather news, it looks like we might get light snow Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. It'd be cool of we got conked over the head with a snowstorm, but in our area, any snow has a habit of sheering up, down, left or right at the last possible moment. We'll probably get nothing, or worse, just rain. :dubiety:

[kyojikasshu]

Well, things were going well for me... learning some new things at work, as big things are going on...

But, it wasn't such a good day for my dad. Yesterday, he was diagnosed with bronchitis, so he got the meds he needed to take care of that. Today he was well enough to go back to work, but then he got a call... one of his best friends, a guy I've known for pretty much my whole life, passed away just this past weekend. And I'd seen him not too long ago...

[jeriddian]

Well, things were going well for me... learning some new things at work, as big things are going on...

But, it wasn't such a good day for my dad. Yesterday, he was diagnosed with bronchitis, so he got the meds he needed to take care of that. Today he was well enough to go back to work, but then he got a call... one of his best friends, a guy I've known for pretty much my whole life, passed away just this past weekend. And I'd seen him not too long ago...

Sorry to hear that, Rob. It sounds like he was rather young to go like that.:ohwell:

EDIT: Worked the dialysis units, made rounds, had some repairs done on my car. Have to do paperwork in the office tonight. and somewhere in there trying to squeeze in some Fan Fic writing and read some old archives......got a lot on the plate.:P

[TransWarpDrive]

Yesterday I had to drive all the way to Midway Airport (SW side of Go City) to pick up a friend and take him up to his home in the near north suburbs (it's OK; he reimbursed me for the gas I burned). What made this trip so chancy was the snowstorm that started as I was leaving work. I got to the airport OK; then waited around for my friend's flight to arrive. By the time he got in and we got his luggage, the storm was going full tilt. Still, the ride to his place then back home to mine wasn't too bad; I just kept on the main "artery" streets which had been plowed and salted and avoided the side streets. We left the airport between 9:30 and 10 PM (local time); and I was back in my house and getting my coat off before 11:15. I even had time to tape "Kim Possible" while I took a shower and made my lunch for work on Wednesday.
Today was a typical day at work - more statements to insert and mail out; more incoming stuff to sort - the usual grind. Got home before anyone else did, and decided to start shoveling the driveway. I was still looking for the snow shovels when my younger brother pulled in. He asked me to take out the garbage for him while he cleared the driveway, and I said OK (now he owes me 2 weeks of taking the trash out in a row! ;)). So he got the snowblower out while I attended to the garbage.
I made more progress on my ornaments tonight. Got the last bit of painting done, and I've begun final assembly. I think I'll have them all done by the middle of December; now I just need to shop for my other gifts. Ah, the joys of Christmas...
I'm sure you all heard about the shootings which took place in a mall in Omaha this afternoon. When I heard about it, I immediately thought about my older brother and his family, who live there. I sent him an e-mail asking if they're all OK; haven't heard back from him yet. My mom said this evening that it's unlikely that my brother, sister-in-law, or nieces were at that store, because the shootings took place shortly after 2 PM local time and the girls would still be in school then. Besides, if something had happened (God forbid), then I'm certain we'd have gotten a phone call by now. Anyway, I'm waiting for his reply and hoping for the best.

[kyojikasshu]

Today, we beat the odds and got a huge stinkin' job out just in time. Tomorrow will be busy as well, but a bit more manageable... so long as we don't get any last-second surprises.

[TransWarpDrive]

Well, I got a reply from my brother in Omaha today. He and his family are all OK. Everybody was at work or school, he says, when the shooting occurred. He added that they're waiting for some snow to fall out there. I replied, "You want some snow? I'll send you some of ours!" :laugh: (My older brother really loves snow...:D)
The rest of my day went well; I managed to clear out a lot of backlogged invoices, including some that needed to have some advertising flyers inserted along with the invoices and return envelopes. I actually got the machine to insert them properly - the first time that's gone right since we started with these goofy inserts.
On the way home, I stopped to buy a new snow brush for my car (my old one fell apart on me this morning), and a DVD to add to my collection.

[GoTeamGirl]

This week has been so hectic, and later today I'm going to a wake. I hope next week is better.

It's supposed to snow today and tomorrow, and ice-rain on Monday here.

[campy]

Hey all, campy checking in from GTV Brilliance of the Seas docked in sunny Funchal, Madeira. This morning we toured the town, including a cable car ride up a mountain and a ride in a basket on runners down. We also tasted some Madeira wines. Everything's great on this trip except I'm down $50 at the Blackjack tables. :ohwell:

[lunchmeat]

I once read a Guy Gilpatrick Glenncannon story about the baskets in Funchal, I trust your experience was less chaotic than his. Never ogt there, myself, when I was operating in the Med.

[campy]

I once read a Guy Gilpatrick Glenncannon story about the baskets in Funchal, I trust your experience was less chaotic than his.I don't know the story, but I can say I'd rather ride the basket again than take a teenager driving for the first time!

[lunchmeat]

Most of them were published in the Saturday Evening Post back in the 1930s and 40s. there have been a number of collections of the stories published since then, I first encountered them in the late 1960s. I suspect that Glenncannon is the progenator of the Scottish ship's engineer that is so common in fiction, right down to Scotty on Star Trek. The language and viewpoints in them are a bit dated, now, and some might be offended by that. I find most of Mr. Glenncannon's adventures hilarious and try to ignore the negative aspects of the stories.

[jeriddian]

I'm jellin', Campy. I think a trip to Spain would be really neat! Hope you have a good one out there.:D

[TransWarpDrive]

Very hectic day. Started out badly, as I overslept and ended up being late for work this morning. Found out I had to hand-stuff a bunch of Marketing inserts in a mailing of invoices, because the inserts I told you about - the ones that work in my folder/inserters because they're the right size - are only for Major Accounts. The larger, won't-work-in-the-machines-so-they-have-to-be-hand-stuffed inserts are to be used for the other accounts. Once I heard the Marketing manager's explanation, my annoyance abated somewhat, but I still hated to have to stuff them by hand (I saved that job for the end of the day. Got 'em all done, though).
Came home from work only to find a note from Mom - seems the local cops caught a couple of thieves going through our neighborhood last night, seeking unlocked cars and garages to burglarize. A police officer called our house and left a message on our voice mail describing how they tried the doors on my brother's car and mine, but with no success. They caught the crooks in the act at someone else's place and arrested them. Seems this was part of a burglary wave hitting our area, and catching these guys solved a lot of theft cases. The police just wanted to basically let us know that they caught the thieves, and that although our cars weren't burglarized, the cops took some photos of our cars and others where the thieves went (cops followed their footprints in the snow - led them back to the burglars' residence, as a matter of fact) as part of their report and also to build a case against the crooks. The police officer I spoke to complimented me and my brother for having locked our car doors, which kept our property safe. The thieves were mostly after small items they could easily steal - loose change, cell phones, GPS tracking units - that sort of thing. The officer said they took one guy's wallet out of his car, removed the money from it, then tried to get rid of the wallet by throwing it in the local creek. They didn't throw it hard enough, I guess, since the cops recovered it and got it back to its rightful owner (he didn't have to replace his credit cards and IDs then).
Basically, that's what he wanted to tell me. Unfortunately, he works the night shift, so I ended up calling him at 11:30 tonight while I taped tonight's KP episode. Heck of a way to end not only a hectic day, but a hectic week as well! :blink:
Oh lord, I'm glad the weekend's here...
P.S. I'm in the final assembly stage on my ornaments. From here on in, it's gluing various pieces together and doing some final detailing work (like writing people's names on each ornament) - I feel confident that I'll have them done within a week. That's unusual for me; I usually just get them done during the last week before Christmas.

[jeriddian]

Most of them were published in the Saturday Evening Post back in the 1930s and 40s. there have been a number of collections of the stories published since then, I first encountered them in the late 1960s. I suspect that Glenncannon is the progenator of the Scottish ship's engineer that is so common in fiction, right down to Scotty on Star Trek. The language and viewpoints in them are a bit dated, now, and some might be offended by that. I find most of Mr. Glenncannon's adventures hilarious and try to ignore the negative aspects of the stories.

Hmmm. Interesting, LM. I'll have to look those stories up sometime.

Well, I'm back on hospital duty as of today (well, yesterday I should say). Fortunately, the day was not too bad. I didn't get overwhelmed with new work. I'll just have to see if the weekend bears that out. I'll be on call until next Thursday night. But that will likely still take up most of my time.

[Greenmandmz]

Day late, but meh...

Yesterday wasn't really the most pleasant day I've had since since being assigned to my unit (for those who don't know, I'm serving in the U.S. Coast Guard). Nothing that involved me personally, mind you, but it's still not something that's fun to watch by any means. One my shipmates got Captain's Mast, and being what it is, the entire station was their to witness the proceedings. For those who aren't in the military, in layman's terms a Captain's Mast is basically a non-judicial hearing more often than not for assigning punishment for an offense committed my that member. Not all Captain's Masts' are for disciplinary reasons, sometimes it's actually a good thing to do in a case to recognize a service member acting above and beyond the call of duty. But for the majority of the time, it's for disciplinary reasons.

What was the member's offense? Being late for work on multiple occasions. Being late is a huge thing for our occupation. Being a lifesaving service, people can die if we are not vigilant in our duties. Punishment was dually given, and the Mast concluded. I don't know everything that happened, but it all sounded pretty cut and dried. The offense was had been committed, and the person had been appropriately disciplined. Nevertheless, it's not something you ever want to see happen. In cases like this it's always preferable it be held at the lowest level of the chain-of-command. The higher it goes, the worse it gets.

Well, that was main event of my day yesterday. I spent the rest of the day relaxing, as we were the off going duty section and thus granted liberty (the day off).

[GoTeamGirl]

I'm so exhausted after these past two days. Yesterday was my grandfather's wake, and today the funeral. It was a very beautiful ceremony, my disadvantage being that it was entirely in Spanish so I only got bits and pieces, but I got the gist of everything. The most powerful moments didn't need words.

Now I'm home, and everyone is just relaxing and waiting until Monday.

[jeriddian]

I'm so exhausted after these past two days. Yesterday was my grandfather's wake, and today the funeral. It was a very beautiful ceremony, my disadvantage being that it was entirely in Spanish so I only got bits and pieces, but I got the gist of everything. The most powerful moments didn't need words.

Now I'm home, and everyone is just relaxing and waiting until Monday.

My condolences to you, GTG, for the loss of your grandfather. I'm glad the ceremony pleased you as it did.

[TransWarpDrive]

GoTeamGirl, please accept my sympathy on the passing of your grandfather.

As for my day, I ran an errand to the grocery store to pick up some Coca-Cola and a gallon of milk. I also stopped at my local ATM to withdraw cash for my Christmas shopping. I then went home and worked on my ornaments for a while. I'm very close to finishing them - only one more piece to glue on each one, then some final detailing with paint (real quick steps), and they'll be done. And here it is, only the 9th of December! :D
I can't tell you how pleased I am to have these finished so early. Usually, I'm working on them up until the week before Christmas. I guess it helps that I started work on them before Thanksgiving; and that I chose a relatively simple design for this year's project.
Now I need to get the shopping done (not looking forward to that, let me tell you)... :dubiety:

[GoTeamGirl]

Thanks, guys. I'm just glad that everyone handled it really well. It was very positive, rather than negative.

Today we get to bring home a Christmas tree (weather permitting) and (hopefully) decorate it. If not, then we will next weekend. I love the place where we get the trees because they give them cute little names of fictional characters. I once saw a tree called "Voldemort".

[kyojikasshu]

My condolences to you as well, GTG.

It was quite an interesting weekend. Saturday afternoon, we went over to my great-aunt's place to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday, then we came back home where I helped watch the nephews (as per usual Saturday night procedure).

Today, I helped my dad finish cleaning out his friend's apartment. His brother and sister had come in from Washington and North Carolina, respectively, and had helped get things in order. The brother had to go back this morning, but the sister and her husband were still there to help out.

I then spent most of the evening doing a little reorganizing of my room. It's a bit of an improvement over what it looked like before.

[GoTeamGirl]

Thank you, Rob. :)

Today was very hectic. My school district had a two hour delay but my school (which is in another district) did not because not enough districts had a two hour delay. Luckily, I wasn't two late for school. I then had to rush to practically all my teachers to find times to make up the tests I missed on Friday. After that the day wound down a bit. I am dreadfully behind in Keyboarding, though, and have no idea of how to catch up.

One of my friends who went to a psychic showed me how to read my life-line (on my hand).

[kyojikasshu]

I remember taking typing in school. I actually started on Typing Tutor II on the Apple ][ series in computer class in junior high (I even eventually got a copy for my //c), and then I had a full typing class in high school, where I trained on an IBM PCjr. Even though I haven't been formally tested in about fifteen years, I still have pretty strong typing skills, and I can easily hit 80 WPM if I'm just typing straight out, and not stopping to actually think about what I'm typing.

Today was actually kinda average at work. I wasn't bogged down, since I didn't have a lot of training thrown at me like last week, and the jobs weren't so overwhelming or urgent where I was actually needed to work on them outside of covering during lunch breaks. I do have a little project that I have to come up with by Wednesday, though, and I had a number of smaller things that kept me busy enough throughout the day.

[Cloud23465]

Well... I've got a bad chest cold and haven't slept to well from coughing the past few nights. I'm home alone at the old house (and it's not as fun as i'd thought i'd be), I've got work for the next 2 days and were hoping to have the major appliances by friday and the cable turned on at the new house.... and that should be my last night by myself at the old house. I'm going to turn in and try to get some sleep. :sleeping:

[TransWarpDrive]

80 WPM? Rob, I envy you...
Cloud, sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Being alone at your old house while everyone else is at the new place sounds rather lonely - and I'm sure having a chest cold doesn't help any. Get some rest, my friend, and hang in there. Before you know it, the weekend will be here and you'll be at your new home with the rest of your family. Feel better soon! :D

As for my day: Got a lot done at work - including most of a batch of 3000 letters to send out to some of our customers. I managed to get one inserter working so smoothly, it was cranking out stuffed envelopes at a rate of speed I hadn't seen it do before (I just hope I can duplicate what I did right and get it to run that fast tomorrow). I ended up with maybe 500 letters left to insert tomorrow. I should have them all done by the end of the day.
As for my hand-made ornaments, they're finished. I put the last details on them tonight. All I have to do now is personalize each one with the name of the person I'm giving it to, then put them in gift bags. I can't believe I'm already finished building them; like I said the other day, I usually end up finishing them the week of Christmas itself. I guess starting work on them in mid-November paid off this year, wouldn't you say? :D
Anyway, now I must tackle the other dreaded task of the holiday season: Christmas shopping. During the next two weeks I'll be risking life and limb (not to mention my sanity) battling the throngs in the stores and malls.
Pray for me...

[campy]

I got over the bad cold that's been bothering me for the last 3 days or so. Yesterday I was walking around the ship like a zombie (but doing no mayhem) until I took a nap in the early afternoon. Today I felt good enough to try the rock climbing wall on board. I made it all the way to the top! On the easy path, true---but hey, I'm 54 years old here. (Not to mention extremely well-fed this last week) :biggergrin:

[kyojikasshu]

80 WPM? Rob, I envy you...
Cloud, sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Being alone at your old house while everyone else is at the new place sounds rather lonely - and I'm sure having a chest cold doesn't help any. Get some rest, my friend, and hang in there. Before you know it, the weekend will be here and you'll be at your new home with the rest of your family. Feel better soon! :D

As for my day: Got a lot done at work - including most of a batch of 3000 letters to send out to some of our customers. I managed to get one inserter working so smoothly, it was cranking out stuffed envelopes at a rate of speed I hadn't seen it do before (I just hope I can duplicate what I did right and get it to run that fast tomorrow). I ended up with maybe 500 letters left to insert tomorrow. I should have them all done by the end of the day.
As for my hand-made ornaments, they're finished. I put the last details on them tonight. All I have to do now is personalize each one with the name of the person I'm giving it to, then put them in gift bags. I can't believe I'm already finished building them; like I said the other day, I usually end up finishing them the week of Christmas itself. I guess starting work on them in mid-November paid off this year, wouldn't you say? :D
Anyway, now I must tackle the other dreaded task of the holiday season: Christmas shopping. During the next two weeks I'll be risking life and limb (not to mention my sanity) battling the throngs in the stores and malls.
Pray for me...

Well, I can get up to that speed for up to a couple of minutes, depending on the keyboard I'm using, and how much is planned. Most of the time, I can get out short bursts of a sentence or two, but then I stop and think about what I'm writing, and that usually slows me down. But I test pretty darn well...

As far as Christmas shopping... I have to do some this weekend. I'll be done with it, all in one blow, at least (well, technically, two blows, as I bought my sister's gifts last month).

Today was slow as heck. I think people might be getting out early this year....

[GoTeamGirl]

I had the best time on the bus today. Other than that things were pretty hectic, and the Global test I took was pretty hard.

The holidays tends to bring out the really pessimistic side of people, I've noticed.

Now I'm taking the time to relax a bit. I'm excited for tomorrow, but I have no clue why.

I got into an argument about belief and religion on another message board. So far, it turns out that I am "irrational" and a "nine year old" for believing in God and defending my opinion. Fancy that!

[jeriddian]

Well, there are two things which are impossible to try and argue, which are politics and religion, so I can see where your argument devolved into the name calling.:rolleyes:

I had a very hectic day. Lots of patients, lot of fires to put out. Training on the new electronic medical record system the office is putting in. Now I'm home, tired.... .....I may just call it a night after this.:ohwell:

[GoTeamGirl]

Well, there are two things which are impossible to try and argue, which are politics and religion, so I can see where your argument devolved into the name calling.:rolleyes:


It's not the fact that we have different viewpoints. This person acts so condescending to anyone who believes in God in the slightest, let alone has a religious affiliation! (As a matter of fact I never stated my religion in this argument, which has now become about God's existence and whether people who believe are mental or not. I, for one, don't think that I am mental.)

[jeriddian]

Ah, well that makes even worse, doesn't it? He's not even being open minded about it.:dubiety:

[GoTeamGirl]

I think I am outnumbered by twenty to two (since one person dropped out of the discussion). Oh, well. I know I can't make them believe (I knew this from the beginning). I just want them to see that the idea of God and the reasons behind it are not as laughable as they think.

The whole topic was started by someone who thought the world would be a much better place without any religion.

[jeriddian]

The problem they have is that they are confusing religion with faith IMHO.

[GoTeamGirl]

The problem they have is that they are confusing religion with faith IMHO.

Part of the arguments were that faith was used to explain what couldn't be, and religion a way to force beliefs on people. The sad thing is that religion has been corrupted. But individual's faith isn't necessarily, and their beliefs are not stupid because science can't prove them. Science also can't definitely prove that a greater being doesn't exist.

Now it's move on to Biology, which really is not my subject at all. Apparently Biology can answer all my questions. But I disagree: there are questions that aren't definitely answered through Biology or religion.

[jeriddian]

Part of the arguments were that faith was used to explain what couldn't be, and religion a way to force beliefs on people. The sad thing is that religion has been corrupted. But individual's faith isn't necessarily, and their beliefs are not stupid because science can't prove them. Science also can't definitely prove that a greater being doesn't exist.

Well said, young lady. In many cases, what you say is true about the corruption of religion. I also find it interesting how they seem to envision faith as something to "use", like an incidental tool, rather than something you have or achieve.

[Now it's move on to Biology, which really is not my subject at all. Apparently Biology can answer all my questions. But I disagree: there are questions that aren't definitely answered through Biology or religion.

Quite so. Neither area of knowledge is all encompassing.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Part of the arguments were that faith was used to explain what couldn't be, and religion a way to force beliefs on people. The sad thing is that religion has been corrupted. But individual's faith isn't necessarily, and their beliefs are not stupid because science can't prove them. Science also can't definitely prove that a greater being doesn't exist.

Well said, young lady. In many cases, what you say is true about the corruption of religion. I also find it interesting how they seem to envision faith as something to "use", like an incidental tool, rather than something you have or achieve.
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:

"The water's pure. It's the containers that're rusty."

Another personal favorite quote by Lewis (quite on point, that man was), posted on "the quote of the day" sheet outside the band room:

"When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. You're all in the same house."

[jeriddian]

Also well said, 'chutes.:)

BTW, love your new Avatar. Do you have a larger size image?

[Fireand'chutes77]

Also well said, 'chutes.:)

BTW, love your new Avatar. Do you have a larger size image?
Yes... And in three flavors. :happy:

[TransWarpDrive]

RE: Differences in religious beliefs
GoTeamGirl, you have my sympathy in your debate. When arguing with someone whose mind is already made up, it's like beating your head against a stone wall. The best thing to do is just consider the source and walk away from this argument - you're not going to change their mind; and they're not going to change yours. The sad thing is, those others refuse to even tolerate a viewpoint different from their own. That attitude is the cause of an awful lot of strife and conflict on our planet, and is keeping us from working together to solve some serious problems confronting humanity as a whole.
I have to agree with the late, great Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, when he said:
Humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but to take a special delight, in differences in ideas and differences in life forms…. The worst possible thing that could happen to all of us is for the future to somehow press us into a common mold where we begin to act and talk and look and think alike. If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences; take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that’s almost certainly out there….
It's our differences - our endless variety - that make humanity the fascinating species that it is. Conformity and sameness are boring. Variety, as the old saying goes, is the spice of life. Diversity is something to be celebrated for the texture it gives our world.
I'll get off my soapbox now...:P
As for my day...
Got to work late this morning due to both having overslept and the need to be cautious on the road in the aftermath of the great Midwest ice storm. Had a crazy, hectic morning trying to mail out corporate Christmas cards whose envelopes would not seal no matter what (had to resort to a glue stick to take care of the last of 'em), as well as everybody and his uncle interrupting me with their problems. But I did manage to get everything done in time for the afternoon mail pick-up; even metered some mail I finished this afternoon so it's ready to go for tomorrow. All I have to do is haul it out after lunch.
At home, I did my laundry, watched KP (Part 2 of "Graduation"), and now here I am on-line! :D

[GoTeamGirl]

One of the people told me that I can walk away now without losing my dignity. I am not going to take that. I can't win a science argument, as they have much more knowledge in the subject than I do (I am not planning on having a science-related career). But I am trying to show them why people would believe when science is not involved, when you look inside our minds. I posted this:

"I do have this question though: Why can we imagine a God? What put those feelings and thoughts into us? The idea of a god, any god, is very creative and very detailed when it comes to what type of god, but people all throughout history have believed in some form of greater being, and have had some form of religion. It could not have been just a story, just a stupid idea for so many people to have faith in it. People tend to put their faith in what their best interests are, and if someone doesn't think that something is worthy of putting their faith in, than they won't put their faith in it. But many people did, and still are putting their faith in some sort of god, because they feel that it is worth their while. Would a stupid idea, a childish thought, a creative story be worth someone's faith?

The point is, not only has faith in a god (gods) transcended history, but it is shared by many people, from many different countries, educated and uneducated. Great leaders, well known philosophers, down to the most unknown of people have believed, or at least acknowledged that their is some sort of greater being, a god of sorts. A lot of these people are rationally thinking people. It's not likely that what they put their faith in is totally irrational and doesn't exist."

Now I must go to school. We might end up with a snow day tomorrow.

[lunchmeat]

I have no problem with people having a faith, it's when they try to impose their religions on others that I get mad. Osama Bin Ladin, the Intelligent Design lobby and a host of others are of this ilk. If I wanted to follow their dictates I would have signed up for it, since I haven't they are cordially invited to butt out.

[GoTeamGirl]

My school might let out early tomorrow, or have no school at all. My school district is definitely letting out early, but I don't go to school in my school district, so.... But my school is dependent on the districts around it (mine included), which is a good thing.

I had a relaxing day, other than having to spend many awkward moments around the one person I can say I truly hate. I didn't get anything done. But sometimes getting nothing done is the better option.

Religious debate: Well, it's reached a lull. Some people thing it's a good conversation to be having if it doesn't come down to insults (I agree). Others still find the believers laughable. I and two others have been trying to defend our positions, but the others say that the more humans know the more faith crumbles. I disagree: religion (and by association, faith) has survived through many discoveries, from the discovery of the solar system to the theory of evolution.

I really think the the one poster who keeps condescending people wants me to leave. He keeps suggesting I do it for my own good. He's in for a surprise, though: I am not one to take those insults lying down, and I am a very determined person. I have a point to prove, and I don't care if he believes me or not. I just want him to acknowledge that what I believe is not stupid (or to just actually really absorb what I'm saying, not just skim it and see what he likes). I will prove my point.

[jeriddian]

I really think the the one poster who keeps condescending people wants me to leave. He keeps suggesting I do it for my own good. He's in for a surprise, though: I am not one to take those insults lying down, and I am a very determined person. I have a point to prove, and I don't care if he believes me or not. I just want him to acknowledge that what I believe is not stupid (or to just actually really absorb what I'm saying, not just skim it and see what he likes). I will prove my point.

Judging from what you're saying, a person who is that condescending and rude will have no respect for your position whatsoever unless it agrees exactly with his, so I doubt you will ever get that satisfaction, but I wish you luck. Is he an admin or mod of the site?

[GoTeamGirl]

I really think the the one poster who keeps condescending people wants me to leave. He keeps suggesting I do it for my own good. He's in for a surprise, though: I am not one to take those insults lying down, and I am a very determined person. I have a point to prove, and I don't care if he believes me or not. I just want him to acknowledge that what I believe is not stupid (or to just actually really absorb what I'm saying, not just skim it and see what he likes). I will prove my point.

Judging from what you're saying, a person who is that condescending and rude will have no respect for your position whatsoever unless it agrees exactly with his, so I doubt you will ever get that satisfaction, but I wish you luck. Is he an admin or mod of the site?

Neither. Just a member. Others who have the same viewpoint as him respect those who believe.

I think he is firmly convinced that through science we can one day know everything. But think about it: if the day came where we knew everything, wouldn't we be awfully bored after?

[jeriddian]

I really think the the one poster who keeps condescending people wants me to leave. He keeps suggesting I do it for my own good. He's in for a surprise, though: I am not one to take those insults lying down, and I am a very determined person. I have a point to prove, and I don't care if he believes me or not. I just want him to acknowledge that what I believe is not stupid (or to just actually really absorb what I'm saying, not just skim it and see what he likes). I will prove my point.

Judging from what you're saying, a person who is that condescending and rude will have no respect for your position whatsoever unless it agrees exactly with his, so I doubt you will ever get that satisfaction, but I wish you luck. Is he an admin or mod of the site?

Neither. Just a member. Others who have the same viewpoint as him respect those who believe.

I think he is firmly convinced that through science we can one day know everything. But think about it: if the day came where we knew everything, wouldn't we be awfully bored after?

Absolutely! That is one of the crucial things that drives us as a race - the discovery of the unknown.:)

[GoTeamGirl]

I am so happy! It's the first official snow day of the year I've had! It hasn't started snowing yet, but 10 inches is expected by the time all is said and done.

Not only does this give a day off, but it delays a Chemistry test and a Spanish test I was supposed to have on Friday.

[kyojikasshu]

I really think the the one poster who keeps condescending people wants me to leave. He keeps suggesting I do it for my own good. He's in for a surprise, though: I am not one to take those insults lying down, and I am a very determined person. I have a point to prove, and I don't care if he believes me or not. I just want him to acknowledge that what I believe is not stupid (or to just actually really absorb what I'm saying, not just skim it and see what he likes). I will prove my point.

Judging from what you're saying, a person who is that condescending and rude will have no respect for your position whatsoever unless it agrees exactly with his, so I doubt you will ever get that satisfaction, but I wish you luck. Is he an admin or mod of the site?

Neither. Just a member. Others who have the same viewpoint as him respect those who believe.

I think he is firmly convinced that through science we can one day know everything. But think about it: if the day came where we knew everything, wouldn't we be awfully bored after?

... I'm actually familiar with somebody who has a similar attitude... I wonder if this could be the same guy. I would be able to recognize certain "calling cards" if I saw them...


... as for me today, it was CRA-ZY. I got wrapped up in about three things at once, and ended up having my boss yell at me a couple of times (although it was really because he was utterly swamped as well, and a little frustration came out - I certainly am not holding any grudges in this sitch). I'm glad the day's almost over....

[GoTeamGirl]

I had a pretty relaxing day, with the exception of realizing that I left my history book at school and have homework due tomorrow. I watched Order of the Phoenix, and made a snow angel outside. I might just watch Order of the Phoenix's special features soon.

On a sad note, my mother's aunt is in the hospital. This year has not been a good year, concerning health in the family, but this is a bit much considering we just had a funeral. My mom is okay, but my grandmother is close to a nervous breakdown.

[kyojikasshu]

Unfortunately, my congested sinuses decided to flare up, and I've been pretty miserable since I got home. (Of course, it might've helped if I'd worn something more substantial than a golf shirt out onto the loading dock today... I just went with the hat to protect my head, but I think I screwed myself up here. :o )

[TransWarpDrive]

I did something similar once too, Rob, so don't feel bad...
My day was B-O-R-I-N-G. Since we started using a new business program on our computer system at work, the folks in Accounting haven't been able to generate or print any invoices for me to mail out (they're still trying to work the bugs out of the system). The last couple of days, I've been metering and mailing out mostly things my co-workers have been stuffing by hand, or small stacks of letters they've been able to print. Between these little jobs, I've been keeping myself busy at my desk by surfing the 'net - looking stuff up on the news links, or the Internet Movie Database - stuff like that. And when that got boring, I'd play a few hands of computer solitaire or try my hand at Minesweeper.
Tonight at home, I finished off some last-minute laundry and put some CDs away. I put a bunch of them in some zippered travel cases so I could take them with me to the SF conventions I attended in November. What with all the work I've been doing on my ornaments, this was the first chance I had to put the discs away - so I did. I also started a new playlist in my Windows Media Player's library, and ripped some songs to my hard drive.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, the holiday party went quite well, and now I'm ready to fall asleep!

Actually, last night, I was having the chills something fierce, so I was all wrapped up, wearing layers and using all three of my comforters, and having my small space heater on full blast. Well, I woke up this morning around 4 AM, feeling rather weak and dehydrated. So, I've been pounding water, orange juice, and Gatorade pretty much all day. I feel a lot better now, to be sure...

It's utterly quiet right now. The boss has gone home for the weekend, and won't be back in the office until Tuesday, when he has a face-to-face meeting. So, there's just not much to do at this point... I don't even have any outbound packages to process right now, it's so dead around here.

[GoTeamGirl]

My day was terribly boring up until my bus ride home, in which I got into a fight with two people, one of whom I threw snow at and called a very, very bad name relating to the term female dog. I wasn't without reason. Actually, this had been coming for a long time. The tension just happened to break out today. The bus driver's reaction was the best: she shouted, "Guys, it's Christmas!" and my friend burst out laughing.

Now I am home with my homework. Later I have to go to a Christmas concert at my sister's school (my old school).

[Sir Sebastian]

Beer is evil.

I was out drinking with the guys, and my last recollection of the night was me trying to convince some girl that I was British. :o She didn't buy it, said something about me looking too 'Finnish'. :huh:

Today, I'm hung to the over, with a bad nick on my palm and a busted ankle. I don't know if it's broken or just badly sprained. That'll be a fun conversation, asking my recovering alcoholic dad to drive me to the hospital to get it checked.

Let me reiterate: beer is evil.

[jeriddian]

Beer is evil.

I was out drinking with the guys, and my last recollection of the night was me trying to convince some girl that I was British. :o She didn't buy it, said something about me looking too 'Finnish'. :huh:

Today, I'm hung to the over, with a bad nick on my palm and a busted ankle. I don't know if it's broken or just badly sprained. That'll be a fun conversation, asking my recovering alcoholic dad to drive me to the hospital to get it checked.

Let me reiterate: beer is evil.

It most certainly can be, friend. Be careful out there.;)

[Sir Sebastian]

It most certainly can be, friend. Be careful out there.;)

Thanks, I try to. Sometimes we just get carried away. Boys will be boys. :)

[kyojikasshu]

Today I got a brand-new license plate! The new Michigan "Spectacular Peninsulas" plate... replacing my worn-out, ten-year-old "Great Lakes Splendor" plate, which is in far worse shape than my first two plates. But, I'm hoping that the clear plate cover I got a couple of years ago will help hold off the kind of surface deterioration my last plate suffered.

I also had to renew my license as well as my plate. My vision is still as good as ever...

Right now, it's threatening to snow quite a bit up here. The little bit we got earlier was enough to cause a few issues on the roads, but it was a light dusting compared with what we're supposed to get tonight.

[GoTeamGirl]

I shopped for gifts today for my friends and then went to a prayer service led by my grandmother-basically, the rosary in Spanish. I might have memorized the Hail Mary in Spanish, but not anything else.

[TransWarpDrive]

As I mentioned in the "What In Real Life Reminds You of KP?" thread, I went Christmas shopping today. I bought gifts for almost everybody on my list - I only have to pick up two more gifts tomorrow, then I'm completely done. After I got home, I personalized all my hand-made ornaments - that means I took a gold-ink fine-point marker pen, and wrote the name of each ornament's intended recipient on its side. I had to touch up the names on two ornaments with paint once the ink dried, but they're all finished and ready to be wrapped now. Then I watched a movie ("Trading Places" with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy) on my computer, using its WinDVD software.

[lunchmeat]

Minor ice storm here, last night, I got all my errands done before it hit. The local driving technique is interesting enough on dry pavement, under ideal conditions, to give one pause about driving when the weather is bad.

[GoTeamGirl]

I did plenty of homework this morning, followed by plenty of shoveling this afternoon. Now I'm going to relax and read something.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Beer is evil.

I was out drinking with the guys, and my last recollection of the night was me trying to convince some girl that I was British. :o She didn't buy it, said something about me looking too 'Finnish'. :huh:

Today, I'm hung to the over, with a bad nick on my palm and a busted ankle. I don't know if it's broken or just badly sprained. That'll be a fun conversation, asking my recovering alcoholic dad to drive me to the hospital to get it checked.

Let me reiterate: beer is evil.
My views on the subject, reposted from a topic on FF.net about DUIs and bars (http://www.fanfiction.net/topic/329/3529930/1/):

----

Now imagine if a responsible person such as yourself is forced to endure in-bar breathalysers, harassing waitresses....
It won't help with the "wild shots" without a record who plows through an intersection, but for habitual DUIs, I think they've developed on-car breathalysers. You have to breath into the 'lyser for the car to unlock, and it won't if it detects a BAC over a certain limit.

regarding #7: Gee why not? It's working so very well for drugs....[/sarcastic]
The legalization of certain drugs is actually an interesting topic,(IMO I can see cases for both sides)
I once read an article on (then-current) governor of New Mexico, Gary E. Johnson, that had some very interesting points of drugs (he advocated legalizing pot, IIRC) and what to do about them. He appeared to have done his homework, which I applaud.

Sadly, we can go round and round on this one...
It would make a great drinking game, then! :laugh: :P :dubiety:

If you're going to go out and get loaded, then you have GOT to have a designated driver. There are bars out there that will serve free soda to dezzies.
Wow, that's cool. I wish they promoted stuff like that around here more.

I always found it more entertaining to watch the drunks than to join them.

Indeed; feeling haughtily superior is fun. :happy:
And, I mean, who's going to record the videos for Youtube? :P

As for me, I shouldn't be touching the stuff until I'm 21, and I'm usually drifting just far out enough of the social loop that I'm basically clueless when it comes to who's partying, who's in drugs, who's getting laid, and who's hosting the parents-out party where all the above are likely. (Aspergers lite... It's a blessing and a curse. I may be a little slow on the social-cue/relationships uptake, but I might just make it to 20 with a majority of my brain cells intact.)

Anyway, I personally consider alcohol from a scientific/biology perspective, not some religious frumpery. (It's 2007, yeesh). This is my view, distilled from what I've learned from health class and Driver's Ed: even though we've been cultured for thousands of years about what alcohol is "supposed" to be, our bodies still haven't caught up with the fact that it's supposed to "do" something. Alarm bells start ringing when the mix of ethanol and hops plunges into our stomachs, and the body doesn't quite know what to do with it. Erring on the side of caution, it decides to treat is like a slow-acting poison and takes the steps necessary to get it the hell out. The alcohol's chemicals dissolve into the blood before the body can process it all, though, and the highly-diluted poison that it is monkeys with the brain until the kidneys flush everything out several hours later.

From a clinical point of view, I then have to ask myself, "What's the point, then?" To me, it seems a nervous habit, something to do for the sheer merit that it is something to do and absentmindedly occupy the hands/lips without having to think it over. The same "antsyness" could probably be settled by any kind of drink - lemonade, cola, water - that you can hold in your hands and give you something to sip on when conversation drifts into its lull points.

Granted, I'm certainly uninitiated and naive, since I'm speaking before I've experienced the warm, loosening, dizzying flush of alcohol firsthand. It remains to be seen if my position will change. At the lunch table, one of the guys has casual stories of partying, getting plastered, hangovers, etc, etc, and remembering that he didn't know "what the f*** was going on." It just seems to me that getting drunk isn't worth the subsequent memory lapses and hangover. What's the point of going to a party and trying to enjoy it, if you're just going to get plastered and not remember any of it? (And, frankly, wouldn't the sex be better if you (and probably your partner) weren't experiencing it through a muddled haze?)

At school dances, I tend to be a bit uncertain of what to do/self-conscious until I finally let the music take me - and I've wondered at times if a bit of alc wouldn't make me dance better (or, at least lower the inhibition threshold). Then I counter to myself that the only way to become a better dancer is to actually *dance;* alcohol would likely open me up a bit more, but it teaches me no self-confidence nor skills, and there is the risk of it becoming an unnecessary crutch. ("Wait, wait, I can't dance right without a drink or two first.")

And, after all that long-windedness, there is one cheap physical cop-out - I don't like carbonation. :P I've probably extended the lifetime of my teeth a few years by virtually not drinking soda; the weird tingle of the bubbles overrides any taste the drink might have. With beers, the annoyance with the bubbles could discourage me from paying attention to, getting used to, and starting to like the taste... ('Course, that still would leave tequila, wine, and vodka... :P)

EDIT: You know what, I'm saving this for future reference.

EDIT2: I also think I'm bookmarking the link below. It's the same interview article I mentioned above, and it compares well with my views above. I'd encourage you to check it out.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/27909.html

---

Anyway, for now, just unpacking from a ski trip with the Scouts to Timberline West VA. More on that later...

[lunchmeat]

Booze is one of those things that take a bit of practise to get the hang of, assuming you don't have a physiological dependency on the stuff, it takes awhile to learn when enough is enough. Just about everyone goes through at least one ofthose social situations where they end up "getting drunk and being somebody", most of us survive it with minor collateral damage. Once you get past that phase, things tend to steady out, for most of us, though there are some who never outgrow it (this leads to wearing mullets and driving things like the pick up truck in "Kill Bill"). Those are the folks you have to watch out for, they generally feel obligated to drink the place dry then do something stupid, like go racing in their cars, this is a major genisis of the most common famous last words at certain parties:"Y'all watch this!". It's probably the principal vector for karioki.
As far as driving goes, the rule we used to apply flying was "thirteen hours, bottle to throttle", it worked pretty well.
I like a quiet drink or two in the evening, wine with dinner and even socializing at the bar, the trick is to ondulge out of enjoyment, rather than need or to prove something. I can sympathize with your plight at dances, I personally have the social accumen of a cinderblock and the general attraction of bubonic plague, the big trick seems to be to not sweat the load on these things. It'll work out, or it won't, there are far worse things than not having a relationship.

In the immortal words of W.C.Fields: everbody believes in something, I believe I'll have another drink. Salud.

[GoTeamGirl]

Interesting. I probably won't drink until I'm 21, maybe not even then. Things like beer and wine have no appeal to me. I'm the only one out of my circle of friends who hasn't drank, though I witnessed the first time of one of them.

Still relaxing here. I have an urge to go skiing...

[lunchmeat]

Just one of those things that are a part of growing up.While I enjoy various spirits, I've never felt obligated to drink. I suspect that one of the reasons we have such a problem in the states derives from a latent puritanical streak in society at large. Frown on something, mix in a healthy dose of adolescent curiosity and limit testing and away we go. The most disturbing aspect of this, in my mind, is that it encourages Spring break binge drinking (wonder how that little weasel that does the Girls Gone Wild stuff is doing in the jug?) and related foolishness. I don't recall near the same level of nonsense back before MADD insisted, via blackmail, that we raise the drinking age to 21.

Used responsibly, spirits can be a pleasure. A good wine can bring out the flavor of a meal in ways that are a bit hard to explain and a decent aperitif can put a nice finish on a good dinner. A cold beer can be a real joy on a hot day ( there was an occaission where a couple of my nieces and nephews took me to task for drinking a beer with a friend of mine, it was a little hard to remain civil in light of the fact that I had been operating an arc welder all day, in Texas, in August. They were in the midst of one of those D.A.R.E. things at the time, in retrospect whatever the program was supposed to accomplish fell badly short.) and hot buttered rum or a mulled wine has a splendid effect after a day out in the cold. A good mixed drink, with friends, can have a salubrious effect on an evening. It's like a lot of things, whether it's booze or guns or automobiles, personal responsibility and a mature approach to it is far more important and effective than all the government nannying on the planet.

[Fireand'chutes77]

...They were in the midst of one of those D.A.R.E. things at the time, in retrospect whatever the program was supposed to accomplish fell badly short.)
My elementary school had one of those. The main thing I remember from it is that we never got to see the inside of the police officer's car as he'd promised us.... :P :laugh:

It's like a lot of things, whether it's booze or guns or automobiles, personal responsibility and a mature approach to it is far more important and effective than all the government nannying on the planet.
Very well put. It seems to be something that many people today never learn, or simply choose to blatantly ignore.


-----

As for my weekend..... It was a doozy, to say the least.

At 6:15 on Friday, my dad, myself, and another Scout headed out to Timberline, West VA for our troop's annual ski trip. We're get a really nice deal through the Scouts: for $88, we get 2 days of lift tickets, two nights in a bunkhouse, ski rentals, and 5 meals. The drive is about 4.5 hours from my area, and unfortunately due to our late pullout time, our ETA was about 10 to 11.

Then, around seven... we hit a deer. The impact detonated both airbags and destroyed the front of the SUV. Thankfully, it must have been a small deer, since my dad's Ford Explorer was going 70 mph on a main highway. I was dozing at the time, so the next thing I knew that was a bang, my eyes opened as I went forward, and there was an airbag
blossoming into my face. Talcum powder filled the air as though there was a fire, making us all cough. Thankfully, the car didn't skid, and my dad brought us to a stop on the shoulder. The deer was nowhere to be seen; it must have kept going (I assume it is now dead from its injuries). My forehead hurt for a few seconds from were I'd dove into the airbag, but it was nothing. More serious was a ringing/loss of hearing my right ear; I must have been nodding off onto my left shoulder, right ear forward, when the charge went off, before the force and seatbelt forced me straight.

I wasn't too rattled, besides "Wow, an airbag just went off in my face!" since I'd been nodding off, and the Scout in the rear seat had been reading. My dad was a little more shook up, since he actually saw the deer and the impact.

Clicking on the distress flashers, we inspected the car. The front left bumper had been pressed back into the wheel, the left headlight array was destroyed, the grill was smashed in, and the lights in the right array were hanging from their sockets like eyeballs. Oddly, the impact force dislodged the rear window and bent the frame around it out of square, so it now wouldn't close properly. It's odd because none of the other doors/windows were affected, yet they were closer to the impact.

The Scout and I located a mile marker and we called 911. Thankfully, the engine still ran, so we kept warm until the police trooper arrived. My dad also called my mom and the Scout's mom, telling them what happened. Ironically, both mothers were shopping in the same store at the same time. They both arrived at the scene about an hour later; we transferred gear and the tow picked up the SUV. At a dinner at Burger King, we decided to push on, and took my mom's Outback while she went back home in the other mother's car. Unfortunately, the whole thing resolved around 9:30, meaning our ETA was now 1 or 2 AM. I drove the rest of the way, up and through the West Virginny mountains. (Outbacks For the Everloving Win. :D)

After that trauma, the skiing wasn't much. They had had no snow, and were in the process of blowing their own. Only the bunny trail and one other trail was open. It was very windy, very cold, the granular manmade snow got into everything, and the lack of trails was boring.

Bright side, at least I got to catch up on some good reading at some very needed sleep in the lodge. :D

Saturday evening, I broke out the board game I'd brought, Memoir '44 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoir_44). I got it last Christmas and I had not found any time/people to play it with. Needless to say, it was the hit of the evening. I had a lot of fun, as did all the players and spectators, and it was a very good break-in for the game.

We'd planned to ski Sunday morning, but an ice storm that rolled in around 9 PM Saturday deep-sixed that. (I heard trees falling under the ice-weight all night.) At first, we worried it'd be a b*tch of a drive home, but the temperature warmed up a bit, turning the sleet to rain, and the road salts did their jobs. The drive was uneventful - my dad drove this time - and so now I'm back here.

I'll certainly have something to brag about at school tomorrow! :laugh: :D

*As for dad's car, it's probably "totaled" in the financial sense. It's a '97, it's had some problems, and he was in the motions to beginning to look for a new one. This simply forced the issue. He'd been planning to give the car to me when he got his new SUV, but that's not going to happen now. :(

[lunchmeat]

There are far too many people that are willing to abbrogate their responsibilities and freedoms to the government. Freedom and liberty demand a bit of work and a lot of folks aren't up to the task. Hence the proliferation of laws and regulations removing the decision making process to various governmental entities, as much pure laziness as real need. We all lose a bit when these are enacted.

Deer can be an intersting proposition, I've had my truck attacked by bucks in rut before, not to mention the casual wanderings onto the highway that produce the odd bit of excitement. Only hit one, so far, don't care to repeat the experience.

I've camped at Timberline, years ago, in the summer. Pretty place. Sounds like you live pretty close to the VA/WVA border if your mother got there that quick.

The game sounds like fun, too bad you missed the glory years of SPI and Avalaon Hill, you probably would have enjoyed those.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulations_Publications%2C_Inc.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Sounds like you live pretty close to the VA/WVA border if your mother got there that quick.
Well, no. The crash was about 45 minutes from home; there were still over three-and-a-half hours more of driving time ahead of us.

[lunchmeat]

Ah so, pretty early in the trip then.

On the topic of war games, here's one we used ot play:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper%21_%28board_game%29

Our house rule required anyone getting killed (figuratively) to make a beer run. Succesful acomplishment resulted in reincarnation of one's character.

[TransWarpDrive]

Sorry to hear about your dad's SUV, 'chutes. At least nobody was hurt (except for the deer, of course :P), and you got to enjoy your weekend outing anyway. As for your amazement about this:
Oddly, the impact force dislodged the rear window and bent the frame around it out of square, so it now wouldn't close properly. It's odd because none of the other doors/windows were affected, yet they were closer to the impact.
When a car collides with another object (car, deer, wall, etc.), the impact not only deforms the part of the car that actually struck the object, but the rest of the vehicle is bent out of shape to some degree as well. The car's momentum keeps pushing the rest of the car in its direction of travel for a short time (often measured in fractions of a second) after the actual impact. This causes the deformity you described in your SUV's rear window (was it the window in the tailgate?). I once saw a collision where I actually saw such a deformation happen. One car was hit by another with such force that the body at the end that did not get hit visibly deformed - I actually saw the gaps between hood, fenders, doors, etc, widen as a result of the impact. And I could see that the whole car had literally been bent out of shape due to the blow it had been dealt.
Another example: When my Passat got damaged in that collision back on Feb. 2, 2006, the body shop had to literally take the whole front end apart - even remove the engine and drivetrain - in order to repair it properly. It seems that part of the subframe that holds the engine got bent by the force of the impact. If they hadn't rebuilt that subframe, the car wouldn't have driven right afterward. And it wasn't a perfectly head-on collision, either - my car got hit in its right front corner as I was making a left turn. Thus, most of the damage was to the right side of the car's nose. The impact was hard enough that the front passenger-side airbag deployed, but not the one in the steering wheel. I think that's because my car has the current "generation" of airbags; their sensors are sophisticated enough to only deploy the bags closest to the point of impact rather than trip them all. It's just as well - my car has eight airbags in it: Driver's side (steering wheel); front passenger's side (dashboard); side-impact airbag in the outboard edge of each front seat; airbag mounted in each windshield pillar, and an airbag tucked inside each side pillar (between the front and rear doors). Replacing the one airbag that did deploy cost over a thousand dollars; imagine how much replacing them all would have cost... :unsure:

[Fireand'chutes77]

(was it the window in the tailgate?)
Sorry, should have specified. It was the pop-release window in the tailgate.

Oddly, the impact force dislodged the rear window and bent the frame around it out of square, so it now wouldn't close properly. It's odd because none of the other doors/windows were affected, yet they were closer to the impact.
When a car collides with another object (car, deer, wall, etc.), the impact not only deforms the part of the car that actually struck the object, but the rest of the vehicle is bent out of shape to some degree as well. The car's momentum keeps pushing the rest of the car in its direction of travel for a short time (often measured in fractions of a second) after the actual impact.[/quote]
That's what I thought. I just thought it odd that only the tailgate window was affected, while the windows and doors closer to the impact zone weren't.

The impact was hard enough that the front passenger-side airbag deployed, but not the one in the steering wheel. I think that's because my car has the current "generation" of airbags; their sensors are sophisticated enough to only deploy the bags closest to the point of impact rather than trip them all.
I think the Explorer had that technology, but this was clearly a dual-airbag impact.

Replacing the one airbag that did deploy cost over a thousand dollars...
Wow, I didn't know they were so expensive. :blink: