Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tonight I had dinner at the Cork and Cleaver in Evansville, IN. I have another cleaver picture from Fort Wayne's Cork and Cleaver. We have fun there. They make tasty Lemon Drops.
I just noticed that the last three photos were taken at restaurants. I need to get out some more.
Today I went to Jasper, Indiana. Not my first time here either. In fact I was here in March of 2005. The German Place is called the Schintzelbank. It has a bunch of good food. I found my way here without much incident. I had two other guys following me on the road and I didn't get us lost. I thought I was going to at first but things worked out. Last time I was here there was a big discrepancy in the time zones. I flew into Evansville, Indiana and then drove to Jasper, Indiana. Each was in a different time zone. Now they are in the same time zone. It really threw me off this trip.
Well, I'm not sure how they do it but TSA was able to pinpoint a small tube of hair gel in my bag under my electric razor and deodorant. They were very nice about it and gave me the option of checking my bags. I had the guy just toss it out. I'm glad they found it, makes me feel like they have a clue.
I started reading the next Kathy Reichs book: Fatal Voyage. The book begins with disaster recovery of a plane crash. I actually started reading the book on Saturday and had already gotten through many chapters in the story before the crash on Sunday. What I was reading about mirrored what I watched unfold in Lexington, KY. It was a bit surreal to say the least. Not much has had made me nervous about flying over these past 5 years. The Kentucky crash on Sunday was one of them.
I was asked how I can read a book with that subject matter written in such (graphic) detail. I guess, for me, reading about something is what it is, a story. I am now immediately sucked right into the story of each of these books. They are fascinating and interesting and suspenseful all at the same time.
While in the PVD airport I wrote a blog that I had neglected a couple of weeks back. If it s a recap of the day of sailing. I added it to that blog entry.
Allison and I were just talking about hotels stepping up to help out travelers who have to get rid of their toiletries at the airport. We were talking about the problem of having to buy toiletries and then throwing them out. The next step that will help me out would be a packet like this of hair gel. Then I'd be set.
Weird day for it but I just found this picture. My Dad had me take it on the front porch of the Cape house. This is Taylor sleeping on her spot on the front porch. She looked so relaxed and peaceful on a beautiful day.
Last night Dad, Tara, Erik, Allison and I watched Dirty jobs and Dad reminded me about this picture. I thought I had accidentally deleted it but I had not. In fact I meant to put it up but was using my grandfather's computer and had so much trouble posting that I just saved it for later, then forgot about it.
Tonight Allison and I met Neil and Andrea for dinner at the Outlaw BBQ. This is a nice place for BBQ. We got our complimentary basket of Hush Puppies and then ordered another basket. These are the tastiest Hush Puppies around. We are spoiled when we go to other places because they just can't match the goodness of these Hush Puppies. We had a good time. Andrea has lent Allison her old camera so we may be seeing photos from Allison in the future.
Leave a message if you want Allison to post photos on the blog.
Today I had an eye Dr. Appointment, a check up on the eye surgery and a new prescription for glasses. Then I ordered some glasses. I'm going to take my old glasses frames and get some new sunglasses made out of them. I still like them and they fit me well but it is time for a new look. So in 7 - 10 days when the new ones come in there will be a photo.
Today's photo is of some miniature foxglove that is in the front of the house. It is one of the weeds that in years past were pulled. That is until Tara let them grow and we realized that they were actually some pretty flowers. This past Saturday Dad and I did a clean up of the side yard and part of the back yard. It looks great now.
Today Allison and I rode to the Cape with Tara to visit with my sister Shelby and to see Sr. Bernadette and Fr. Felix. This photo was taken by Tara, yes we are a family of picture takers. Shelby's birthday is tomorrow and we are pretty sure she has never had a birthday at home, they have all been on the Cape since we got the house there.
We spent the afternoon and well into the evening at the house, relaxing through the rainy day, reading napping, having some Paul's Pizza and sharing a cake to celebrate Fr. Felix's 50 years in the Friary. Allison and I showed Fr. Felix and Sr. Bernadette our wedding pictures and honeymoon scrapbook. It was nice to go through the pictures again.
Here are some Additional pictures we took at the house.
Dad and Shelby
Shelby, Mom & Tara
Tonight Allison and I went with Tara and Erik to the North Attleboro Girl's 30th birthday at Tia's on the Water in Boston. My sister Tara has 4 close friends who all turned thirty this year and to celebrate they reserved some patio space at Tia's and had a party. It was a very nice time and fun to see everyone. Pictured are Tara, Renee, Kristy, Elizabeth, and Beth.
Also Boston is showcasing Cows on Parade and I got a few pictures. Names are not actual cow names just what I called them.
Lighthouse Cow
Fruit Stripe cow
Sunflower Cow with Tara, Elizabeth and Allison
Where's the Beef
Moon Fantasy Cow
Yoga Cow
Boston
Two heads are better than one. On those rare occasions where Oliver and Duncan are nice to each other. A moment later they are beating the crap out of each other like the brothers they are.
Back to work today after a couple of weeks on the road. Felt weird.
If anyone wants to let me know about the new pictures of Megatron from the upcoming movie I've seen them. I'm not thrilled but I reserve the right to keep quiet till I actually the movie. I am expecting it to be a good movie. What kills me is the younger kids who did not have the original toys and who are all up in arms about the changes and updates that are going to be made in the movie. I have faith it will be a good movie.
Before I left for two weeks of travel this plant was itty bitty. It has now taken over the side of the house. It is a squash plant however it did not get fertilized so there will be no squash this year. Maybe next year it will get lucky.
I finished Deadly Decisions today and started Fatal Voyage. Looks like Tempe s hitting the ground running in book #4.
Michigan has been nice, I didn't do too much here but it wasn't a bad trip either.
Last night Allison and I watched the replay of the Bones season finale from last season because we missed the very end of the show the last time we watched it. We missed alot in those last 2 minutes. But now we don't have long to wait to see the next episode because it airs next week. I've been enjoying the Kathy Reichs series of books about forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. She is not the same as the character on the TV show, the setting is different, she is younger on the show and she is physically different than the book version and she is younger. Allison and I both agreed that it is good to see David Boreanaz on tv, his character is great. Looks like this season they are throwing another character into the mix to create even more tension between Breenan and Booth. Watch Bones on Wednesdays at 8:00pm.
Look what I got at Toy's "R" Us. It is the home version of SET. And it was only $3.00. So, another game to add to our collection.
Today was a nice day. I got to sleep a little bit and that was good because I didn't get to bed till about 1:00am. I was all wired from my ride to Bad Axe that I just couldn't get to sleep. I ended up watching the end of Who Want's to Be a Superhero? And then they replayed Tuesday's episode of Eureka. That is a great show, so much fun and so interesting.
Today I demonstrated in Neilsville, WI. The group I demoed to was very nice. The ride out to Neilsville from Wausau was a nice and easy one past farm after farm after farm. Each one was an iconic looking one with a red barn and one or two silos plus lots of cows. Mile after mile they began to blend together in a sea of green fields and corn stalks.
After the demonstration I headed to the airport from a different direction and I went by the Pavilion Cheese & Gifts. This place was actually the 1964 Wisconsin Pavilion for the New York World's Fair. At the pavilion there was Chatty Belle, the World's Largest Talking Cow, and The Bullet, a 1919 Case Steam Engine. The Pavilion itself was an interesting looking building that had gifts and also housed WCCN Radio AM 1330. I originally passed by it, but quickly decided to turn around a little way down the road. I knew I had plenty of time to get to the airport for my flight today. And I needed a good Photo-A-Day after yesterday's fizzle of a 500th photo. Also if I didn't stop to see the World's largest talking cow then Peter would never talk to me again for missing a tacky tourist attraction.
I am now in the Wausau airport lounge having terrible lemonade and mediocre popcorn chicken. I had to buy something to get myself a seat and a table to use to play on the computer. I did have a great dessert from McDonalds that Allison will really like. It was the Take 5 McFlurry. Vanilla ice cream swirled with Caramel and pieces of Take 5 Candy. It was very good. I don't have Internet access here in the lounge but that isn't too bad. I've prepared my photos and am ready to upload them when I arrive at my hotel tonight around 12:00am (If I'm lucky). I also got to play a little Dungeon Siege II. I checked my bag rather than kept it with me since my flight is the last possible one to catch and I didn't want to search for a Target for hair gel when I got into Saginaw tonight. I had thought to just chance it and put it in my bag but thought better of it at the last minute.
I am however in a much better mood then I was yesterday. I got all of my set-up completed and even got to post and image. I hope my flights today do not put me in a sour mood.
I have to laugh when I watch people in the airport. Watching some self important Doofus go up to the security line that is clearly closed and barricaded with a sign saying that it is closed is very entertaining to me. Doofus looks at the sign and says to himself, "I am important so that sign clearly does not apply to me." Doofus then ducks under the stanchion and begins to make his way to the security checkpoint. And amazingly others begin to follow Doofus like he was sent from on high. That is until our, oh so pleasant security force tells Doofus that security is closed and when his flight is called then it will open. Doofus is shocked laughs it off like he wasn't being an idiot and all goes back to normal till the next self important Doofus comes along.
However when security did finally open it wasn't ready right away to screen passengers so everyone from my flight just hurried up to wait for one of the security people to arrive to check Ids. Glad someone was on top of it.
I'm now in Chicago O'Hare airport and my flight from Central Wisconsin was uneventful although slightly delayed. It caused me no problems in getting to my next gate for my flight to Saginaw. It looks like Saginaw is East Coast time zone, so that will be fine, I didn't get acclimated to Central time after only one day. Once I land in Saginaw I am looking at an hour and 45 minute drive out to Bad Axe. We'll see how that goes. And tomorrow I have a 4 or 5 hour demo starting at 7:00am. But after that I drive back to Saginaw and have the rest of the time to myself, maybe I can catch up with my photos.
I have been cranking away at my latest Kathy Reichs book (#3), Deadly Decisions. Looks like pretty standard fare since the formula seems to be putting someone Dr. Temperance Brennan loves into a potentially deadly situation with a down to the wire conclusion. I should finish the book on the next leg of my flight. Again I didn't think to take two books with me this week. I'll have to figure something out for my flights on Thursday or maybe just sleep.
The power cord I bought yesterday worked great and I think someone who travels would be really happy to have this travelling power cord. At least I hope so so that I can sell it when I get home. I may just try to return it too, but I haven't decided yet. I have all the materials with me so I can re-box it.
Well I made it to Bad Axe however it took me an extra ½ hour to find the hotel. I felt like Charlie Brown in the Olympics themed special where he was out in the lead and ended up running right out of the park. Oh well I am here now. And I just found out that my demo for 7:00am was cancelled and I now have to go in for 9:00am. That works out well for a little sleep for me.
Chatty Belle
The Bullet
The Pavilion
I caught the end of the Who Wants to be a Superhero and during the break between the final decision for the episode and a commercial break there was a preview for the next week and it gave away the person who was eliminated in the episode that I was watching, so there was no point in watching the end. Major Victory and Fat Momma and Feedback are still in the game.
I couldn't leave you with out a 500th picture. Too bad I am in Central WI and have nothing to take a picture of since I spent most of the day in Wal-Mart. So here is a picture of me when I realized I left my computer power cord at home, when I have to do a double length demo than I intended upon and when I paid $116.00 for a new power cord.
Sorry Allison I am coming home bald and completely grey.
I bought the Targus Universal Anyplug 70W notebook adapter. $116.00 to anyone who wants it, used for only 3 days by a very annoyed individual who did nothing damaging to it. Just to his own psyche.
Some motivation, huh? Yeah, this is a sign in Allison's Aunt's garden, which is a very nice garden. We were up at their place today to celebrate Jeff's Graduation. I didn't get a very good picture of Jeff for the blog so that is why this picture is up. Oh well, off to Wisconsin tomorrow. Another state I haven't been to yet. Down to 8 after tomorrow.
Had a great day of sailing with Neil and Derek. Allison and Andrea and Michelle went to Dick and Ellie's Flea Market and had a good time. Then the six of us got together and had a fantastic dinner at the house. I have pictures that I took and some that Andrea took. I'll get those up tomorrow. It is late and I am tired from the great day.
Updated: It was brought to my attention last night that I really neglected a proper blog entry for the day of sailing that I had with Neil and Derek two weeks ago. I had every intention of pulling together a good blog entry recapping the great day we had. It slipped away from me. So, albeit a bit late, here is the complete recap of that day.
This morning Allison and I went to Neil’s parent’s house to catch up with Andrea, Derek and Michelle so we could head over to the boat. We pulled in right behind Derek and Michelle. Derek gave us a 2005 first Christmas ornament. Since we were the only couple married in 2005 that he knew he gave it to us. Thank Derek. We made sure we had everything and headed over to the park to meet up with Neil.
Neil rowed in from the boat and picked up a load of our stuff and Derek while Andrea and Michelle and Allison and I looked on and took pictures of the guys rowing out to the boat. Then Neil came back and picked me up and the girls headed up to Dennis to Dick and Ellie’s Flea Market. Once on the boat we stowed our gear and prepared to get underway. We motored out of the harbor and headed out towards the mouth of Buzzard’s Bay. I thought the water was pretty rough but knew I was in good hands with Neil at the tiller. My stomach however didn’t share my confidence and started to rebel on me. I started looking a bit green but made it without incident. We pulled into a protected harbor so that Neil could take a look at the prop on the motor and the barnacles that had attached to it. We anchored and then Neil, Derk and I jumped off the boat into the water for a little swim. After a little while Derek and I realized that the boat was drifting a bit, because we kept swimming and couldn’t catch up with the boat. Neil was holding onto a rope from the boat and working directly on the boat so he didn’t notice at first. Our attempts to explain that the boat was drifting met with some skepticism until Neil saw how far we had drifted. So we all got back in the boat and motored back over to the original spot. Derek pulled up the anchor and cleaned it of a bunch of seaweed. We reset the anchor, made sure it was secure and jumped back into the water. Swimming off the boat is so much fun. We had a great time. After Neil cleared a mass of barnacles the size of a small bowling ball we got under way again and headed for home. We were running late for our rendezvous with the girls for dinner.
Dinner started off with a great cheese and crackers plate from Neil and Andrea accompanied by grapes and followed by a beautiful salad from Derek and Michelle. Allison and I husked and boiled a dozen ears of Tony Andrew’s farm corn on the cob. I started the grill to make our chicken and steak tips. I also pulled the pictures from my camera and the pictures from Andrea’s camera together and we watched a slide show. During dinner we were joined at various times by my Dad, my grandparents and our neighbor, Paul, or rather Uncle Paulie D. For dessert we had a cheesecake from Neil and Andrea. Most likely it came from the magical world of Costco. I can tell you that the magical world of Costco helped us out many times that day. It really was a wonderful day. Derek pulled one over on us and had us going all day long till we caught up with Michelle and immediately knew that the yarn he spun through the afternoon was utter crap. But we had fun none the less hearing the fanciful tale that had just enough of a ring of truth to make us believe it. The weather was beautiful, the company the best and the food delicious. Who could ask for a better day?
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Taylor and her favorite game. She plays soccer with this squeaky ball.
I made it home okay today. Not much to talk about, headed down the Cape with Allison, should have a nice weekend ahead. Then back on the road.
I uploaded this from my grandparent's place and didn't have my programs, will fix when I can use my own equipment.
After breakfast and personal computer time, which included some messages back and forth to Andy (my most loyal reader and commenter) and Jay (Outer Banks Kiting) about weather stickers and surfing while working and things like that . By the Way Jay has been sending me many updates to the website, some great pictures, you should check it out.
I went back to the hotel. At the hotel I switched gears and went to the Business Center and began to prepare for the demo this afternoon. I went through the demo and find a few snags and got them taken care of but the Internet connection in the Business Center was terrible. It was much better at IHOP but I didn’t want to take up a seat all morning. I messed around with that for a while and finally got fed up and frustrated and left. I went back up to my room and something began to eat at me. I missed the Blue Whale on my adventure on Route 66 and I felt that my adventure would not be complete if I didn’t at least get to see it. So I went in search of the Blue Whale. I headed back to Mojo’s because that was in Catoosa and the Blue Whale is also in Catoosa. I drove along the back roads of Catoosa until I got to a dead end. No Whale. So I headed back, along the way I noticed that a highway ran parallel to where I was driving. I thought it was Route 44 the toll road but it wasn’t it was Route 66. I must have missed a sign and went straight instead of turning. So I got on Route 66 and headed towards where I thought the Blue Whale would be. I thought it was on the right hand side of the road so that is where I focused my attention. Do you ever get this mental picture in your head of what a place should look like and where it should be and you are totally wrong? No. Well, it happened to me. I was looking on the wrong side of the road. I gave myself only a little bit of time because I had to get back to the hotel for the demo, so when that time was up I turned around. On my way back I saw the blue whale, which was now on my right side and it had been on the left when I drove the other way. I switched lanes and pulled in to get out and take a couple of pictures. My camera that has been so faithful over the years showed me a ¼ left of juice. No charger and no way of knowing when it would crap out on me. I decided to chance it and got a few pictures including today’s photo a day with the mini tri-pod and the timer.
The whale was built in 1974 so it like me is 32 years old. The pond it is in is not swimable and it is sad to see this famous roadside attraction go by the wayside because I can imagine that it was a lot of fun in the heyday. I made it back to the hotel with an hour to spare before I had to meet up with everyone. So I got to begin today’s post. Tulsa is a really easy place to get around. I needed only to quickly scan the map, remember some directions like north and south and I was ready to go quickly. Not sure what the rest of the day hold for me but I am looking forward to seeing some more of Tulsa.
The demonstration went well and I had a good time at dinner with our sales rep and the other marketing rep. Now I am back in the business center. I couldn’t do IHOP again. I just couldn’t eat any more pancakes (Actual pancakes consumed 2 over 3 days time).
So not much of interest happened today, most of the day was taken up by the demo, God forbid I actually do work you know. So tonight as I am blogging in the business center I have been looking at different webisodes. What are webisodes, my Microsoft Word doesn’t know what they are but do you? Basically they are either amateur or professionally made videos or mini tv shows that are produced as their own show or a supplement for an existing show. I may have mentioned that The Office is doing a set of webisodes featuring the accountants. Well I got an e-mail from Food network about Dave Lieberman and his show Dave Does. So far there are two webisodes of Dave going to places and talking about things, the first is about school lunches and Dave goes all over the country from New York to Oregon to learn about some alternative type school lunches to help kids eat healthier. Episode #2 is about donuts. I’m starting a new set of links on the sidebar that are to the different webisodes that I find. Right after I teach MS Word what a webisode is.
Here are two bonus pictures from today at the Blue Whale.
The Hilton Sign
Today I went to the Tulsa Zoo, Route 66 Harley Davidson, and I drove along historic Route 66 around Tulsa.
The Zoo - I hit the Tusla Zoo early hoping that the heat wouldn’t be too terrible. I was wrong. While I got some of my favorite shots of the day in the Wings of Wonder exhibit I sweat buckets. The Tulsa Zoo is a pretty nice zoo with a lot of different animals and you can tell that they are really trying to have a good zoo. There are new exhibits beginning all the time and I happened to be there during the time when they had Wings of Wonder. Butterflies and moths were all over the zoo but mainly contained within a greenhouse like enclosure. There were adult butterflies and moths, and there were some that were hatching from their cocoons. I talked with the person who was monitoring the greenhouse and he showed me some of the ones I hadn’t seen and he explained that as new butterflies emerge from their cocoons they let their wings dry and then take flight within the enclosure. The enclosure has many flowers and things that butterflies like including rotting fruit.
The hardest part about the job of keeping watch over the butterflies is of course, the people. Specifically children and parents who think it is okay to try and catch the butterflies. I saw some good examples of horrible kids and bad parents but I also saw some good parents and good kids learning about the animals in the zoo. There was one lady and her litter of kids, must have been six of them from 8 years old to 4 years old that were out of control. I watched a live animal presentation where this guy Otto taught the kids about snakes and even had a ball python to show the kids. I just sat in the room wondering when one of the kids was going to finally make poor Otto snap. But he had more patience than I do and he weathered the maelstrom of unruly brats with ease.
It was a hot day and many of the animals were inside but I did get to see quite a few of the animals that were around. The temperature got to be 100 degrees today and I even saw my thermometer in the car hit 104. The zoo was good about having enclosures with rest areas so the animals could beat the heat. I didn’t see the polar bears however and I was sad I missed them. I thought that they would have been swimming in their pool.
Route 66 Harley Davidson - Capitalizing on the nostalgia of the legendary Route 66 – The Mother Road – makes this Harley shop worth the trip. Today’s Photo-A-Day is of a metal buffalo with American flag theme flames painted on it that stands outside of the Harley shop. Inside they have all the latest Harley gear and attached to it is a dinner and a soda shop. This was one great shop.
Historic Route 66 - I would have loved to have traveled these roads in the 20s and 30s before the cities were huge and built up. The route 66 I saw today around the city was sad and depressing. I started my journey at the Harley shop, which actually isn’t on Route 66 but is up the road from the highway and Route 66. I took highway 44 and 66 to get to a part of historic Route 66. I was hungry and thought I would try and find some Road Food along Route 66. But as I went along I was still on a major highway, finally a sign that directed me off the highway and onto historic route 66. I almost gave up hope and stopped at Taco Bell for lunch but I pushed hunger aside and continued up Historic Route 66 a ways.
I went for about a mile or two and what I saw was pretty depressing, everything was pretty well run down. Highways have taken all the glory from Route 66. So I turned around and headed back to the highway. I was rolling along enjoying my ride when I made a split second decision to pull into Mojo’s BBQ joint. I thought what the heck I like BBQ I’ll give it a try. Mojos is in Catoosa, Oklahoma and is on the site of the Catoosa D-X filling station.
The décor is a fifties and sixties blues house, or at least an attempt at one. There is a stage for live music but the waitress informed me that they don’t have live music there. The food was excellent. I had the rib dinner with cole slaw and corn on the cob. The dinner came with Texas toast and a pepper and pickle and red onion. I ate the pickle and skipped the pepper and onion. The ribs were huge and the meat fell right off the bone. The BBQ sauce was perfection and the cole slaw and corn on the cob hit the spot. I washed it down with a big glass of lemonade and I’ve been enjoying the memory of that meal ever since.
What makes me mad is that I was the only person in the whole place. Here was a restaurant that took pride in their food and served it with a smile just a two-minute drive from a major highway. I also saw no signs for Mojo’s on the highway and I think that some advertising would do that place some good. I’m glad my Chalupa craving did not get the better of me and I stopped at Mojo’s.
Historic Route 66: I drove back towards Tulsa on the historic road and I realized that other and Mojo’s there wasn’t much for me to see. Maybe on another stretch of Route 66 I might find more of interest. I should have looked at this website before going on my trip. Route 66 Caravan.
One thing I did notice around Tulsa was the abundance of decorated Penguins. There must have been a “Penguins on Parade” art exhibit in the City of Tulsa. I must find out more about this. I have pictures of two from the Zoo. I saw two others as I drove around but didn’t stop to take their pictures.
Tonight I went to Smokey Bones with another demonstrator and the sales guy. We had a good time, I had a buffalo burger and cole slaw. I really like cole slaw. And we had skillet corn bread, the one thing missing from lunch, although lunch was pretty special.
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Today I had a demonstration in PA. It was about ½ an hour away from the hotel. I just made it on time. I had woken up in plenty of time but I was futzing around checking on things on the Internet. I was trying to download some of the “What the Muffins?” episodes. Those are going to be taken down sometime soon and I don’t want to lose them. The guys are planning something brand new and are getting rid of the old stuff to make way.
The demo was interesting. I demonstrated in an office and sat on the edge of a seat while the computer teetered on a desk and the projector shone on the wall, high-tech. I had to use a dial up connection as well because the Internet connection in that room was not turned on and the site had no IT people.
After the demo I went and hauled ass to the airport. I had a 2:45pm flight and wasn’t sure how the new travel restrictions were going to affect my trip. I also had to gas up the car and had no idea where the stations were. They are not located very close at all and there are no signs. So, be aware you travelers returning cars to the Philly airport.
My flight from Philly to DFW was pretty uneventful; however, it was long. I made it to the airport in plenty of time for the flight, security wasn’t an issue and neither was check-in. So I worried for nothing, but had I not then everything would have gone wrong. While in the Philly airport I came across this Liberty Bell made out of Lego. I was walking by to find something to eat and I saw it and had to stop to make it Photo-A-Day.
So the new electric razor ripped up my neck something fierce. I’m going to have to get used to it, but I can’t use any moisturizers because those are gels and I can’t bring them on the planes. I’m not paying $4.00 or $6.00 for something I have to throw out before I get onto the plane. So I’ll moisturize when I get home and power through it while on the road.
I finished reading Death Du Jour on my flight from DFW to Tulsa. It was a good book but similar to the first book in that the resolution happens so quickly. I did like the character development as well and there was one part that was sad but it got better.
When I landed in Tulsa I had dinner at Sonic. I can now say that I’ve been to Sonic. That is about all I can say.
I am off to look for free wireless Internet access and I hear that there is some at the local IHOP and they are open all night.
After finding the IHOP I settled into a seat and ordered water and the funnel cake dessert. I am signed onto the IHOP networks. Pretty interesting experience. I took a picture for the bonus Photo-A-Day today.
Sorry this was late Andy.
I am in PA today. I took my first flight since the new security measures were enacted on August 10th. And to tell you the truth it wasnÂt too bad, for me anyway. And why was it better for me than for other passengers. I planned ahead and I followed the new security restrictions. I made the decision to remove all of my liquids and banned items so that I could take a carry on with me. And I checked in online. You see, I need to be mobile with my travel schedule. If a flight is cancelled or delayed I need to quickly get on another flight. I can do that only as long as I have my bags with me. If the bags are in the bottom of the plane then I am SOL.
So now what should I do about my essential toiletries that I left at home? Well when I got to the hotel I asked if they had any complimentary toiletries and they were very nice and found me some toothpaste. Then I went to Target and got some hairspray because they only had that and no hair gel. I will have to leave both of those items behind when I leave tomorrow. What to do about shaving? For the first time in about 15 years I now have an electric razor. I decided upon getting an electric razor because at least I don't have to worry about bringing anything but that item with me. I can't keep buying shaving cream or shave gel only to throw it out after one use. I feel bad enough about the toothpaste and the hairspray/gel. Some weeks I go to three separate places and I will have to find toothpaste and hair product at each one. I may shave my head and get some brush-ups for my trips if it comes to that. I'm not getting reimbursed for these items and it is very wasteful.
I am not saying that the newly imposed restrictions are wrong, in fact they make a lot of sense. Anyone who has watched movies knows of many ways to get creative with explosives. The problem is that we are always one step behind what these lunatics are cooking up. We need to be more proactive and be smarter about our air travel to make it safer.
I am all for restrictions to keep us safe. But the government and the airlines and the TSA have to put procedures and technology in place to move the lines along quickly and keep us safe at the same time. As it is I get to the airlines 2 hours before my flight. I check-in online to avoid the check-in line where people still can't work the self check-in kiosks.
Had I stood in line with my bags to check-in and then stood in line for security for those bags and then stood in line for security to get to my gate I would have just barely made my flight. That is ridiculous.
What I envision for the future of air travel is a very Jetsons-like experience. You enter the airport. If you have your travel documents you go right to a lane where you insert your ID, and boarding pass into a machine like you would insert an ATM card then you move to the next station. Those who have to still check-in can do so with a living breathing person or if they can work an ATM they can use self service check-in and then they can move along to the next station. At the next station you will put all of your luggage onto a conveyor belt and step onto a moving walkway facing sideways. Security officials using technology that can X-ray a person to see if they have any dangerous materials will screen you. Face recognition software will also scan your ID and your face and check it against the terrorist watch list. There should be only one standard set of carry on bags. They should fit the overhead compartment wheels first. While on the conveyor belt bags will be size checked and if they do not meet requirements they will be automatically tagged and sent as checked baggage to your destination. No more people sneaking on bags that are too dang big for the overheads. At the end of the conveyor belt you will collect your boarding passes and ID and your carry on items and be on your way. This is a rough idea of what I see happening and I am sure I have missed all bunches of problems with my scenario. Oh well they are just musings of my mind.
Despite my preparedness I had my bag searched anyway. I am sure I have said this before but I am totally prepared in the security line, shoes are off, computer is out, belt is off, everything out of the pockets and I always have my boarding pass and ID out and available for the agents. And I get searched a lot.
I took a picture of some of the items I have with me right now, can you guess which ones cannot go with me tomorrow?
I'll give you a hint.
These are the contraband items.
Tomorrow should be fun. I have to demo till 12:00pm, drive 45 minutes to the PHL airport, gas up and drop off the rental car, catch the shuttle to the gate and catch a 2:45 flight to DFW and then to Tulsa. I hope I can make it. It didn't look good for me to check in on-line earlier today. I'll try again.
Update: I am still reading Kathy Reich's Death Du Jour and I found a comic book store here that had Wildcats: Nemesis #3 so I can finally read that series (Nine issues, will most like become a trade paperback before I read them).
I cleared out all of the liquids in my carry ons so I could fly like I normally do. I guess this is the next thing coming. We shall see what the next three weeks of travel holds for me. Should make for some interesting blogging.
Today was the annual company picnic. Allison and I got there around 10:30am, had our annual fried dough for breakfast and walked around the grounds. This year there was a station for camel rides. The company that had the camels for the rides had three camels that they would switch out throughout the day. We ran into my friend John and his wife Christine and their two adorable kids.
The annual picnic is a great time for families because there is so much for the kids to do. There are carnival rides, magic shows and arts and crafts. And there is so much food! We had a great time.
Today Allison and I went to a wedding. It was at a Holiday Inn in Nashua, NH. There was a full size ship (Bar) in the place. It was quite remarkable. After the ceremony (I was asked to take pictures for the family, couldn't use my camera because I killed it on Thursday taking crazy videos) we went into the bar. I first see the stern of a ship called The Bounty. I think that is pretty neat they put in a decoration that looks like a ship's stern. Then I come around the stern and I see a three masted ship with stair leading up to the deck. On deck is where you find a bar and a seating area at the stern. I was pretty impressed with it.
The dinner was decent and I photographed the wedding party as they came into the reception. Then I was finished with my photography duties.
I guess I had a bit to imbibe because when the music came on I flashed back to college days and threw some funky moves on the dance floor. Or rather I thought they were funky some thought they were epileptic. The DJ played the AC/DC "You Shook Me All Night Long" followed by Billy Idol "Mony Mony" one two punch. If he busted out Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock "It takes Two" or Young MC's "Bust-A-Move" I would probably be dead now. We even did Meatloaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" as a group. Very much fun. But I am tired now and need sleep.
Mel was an outstanding individual. He will be missed very much. His family gave many good testimonials about Mel and his life. The true testament was the number of people there to pay honor to this man. Our neighborhood lost a good man but his memory lives on. It felt very strange to come out of the house and not see Mel on his porch entertaining friends, laughing and smiling or working around his house.
Clyde was enjoying the basket. My camera is dead. I forgot to bring the charger with me.
Update: I just watched the videos from Buffett, I know why the camera is now empty of all energy. And the videos will not be going up.
Today was Buffett Day. Allison and I went early with a group of my friends and co-workers. We met at the Stop & Shop in Mansfield to round up the cars and caravan into the parking lot. The Mansfield Stop & Shop knows when Buffett is in town. They had a Tiki themed concession stand out in front of the store where you could get your last minute grass skirts and other items. The Liquor store had a sale on Corona 12 packs. Yep they knew that Buffett was in town.
Once the crew arrived, nine cars, we formed up ranks and drove into the parking lot. We had a four-car width to spread out all our stuff. The folks we were with did not screw around when it came to set up. Within five minutes we had two tents up and four tables, a ton of food, tons of chairs and liberal flowing of libations.
We brought three coolers including, a Styrofoam one and two real coolers. I broke that in the span of the first five minutes. I dropped a chair right on it in my haste to unload the car. That is okay I was able to salvage most of the ice and the contents we moved to Meghan’s cooler. She has a great cooler. An ice cube is what they call it and it can hold a goodly amount of foodstuffs.
With the party getting in full gear I took out my drink called the Pink ------. It is made with Superior Rum, Malibu Rum, Pineapple Juice, and two packets of sugar, a glass rimmed with lime and sugar and a splash of grenadine. It is a very tasty drink that I learned of while in working at a Trade show in North Carolina. I had a glass of that, some of Jim’s Jungle Juice and it was time to go and see what other people where doing on their own Salty Pieces of Land.
At a Jimmy Buffett concert the best part is almost always the parking lot. There are so many interesting people and if you are in a good mood they give you free drinks. I was given many glasses of homemade concoctions that had a piratical theme. I had on my cowboy hat and my eye patch (over my glasses, I still had to see) and I was ready for a good time. Hanging with friends like Peter, Betsy, Meghan and Jessica and of course Allison made for a very fun afternoon. We played the homemade games, took shots off of ice luges and headed for the RV Park. For some reason the RV Park seemed smaller than ever before but maybe that was because it was a Thursday. This was my first Thursday show ever. There were spin the wheel games, a shot competition and even a fully functioning tire swing.
Well I had myself a very good time, some say too good a time because all those drinks and one hot dog caught up with me. After a quick parking lot purge (I had to do it) I felt 100% better and was back to being completely sober. This is what happens to me, I drink in the parking lot and am stone cold sober by the time the show rolls around. I have not gotten sick before, so there’s a first, Whoop De Doo. But I handled it much better than many of the other people I saw. The girl sitting in the front seat of her boyfriend’s truck puking every two minutes like clockwork for about a ½ hour was particularly gross. She did not make it into the concert. There was one guy who was passed out in a canvas chair and his head was mere inches from the ground. He most likely missed the show.
After our field trip was came back to base camp and fire up the grills. I purchased a Weber Smokey Joe at Stop and Shop because it and a bag of cowboy lump charcoal was $10.00. All summer cookout stuff was 75% off. I wasn’t going to pass up that deal. I also brought with me the Q grill that I bought a year or so ago. Of the two grills the Q performed like a champ. I wonder who has that now… I left it out and intended it to find a new home. I had been very disappointed in that purchase and rather than throw it away I left it for someone to make use of it. Smokey Joe did not do so well and that was my fault because I did not let the coals fire up enough. I’m pretty sure I was not totally sober when I was lighting that thing. Smokey went home with Peter because we had no room in the car.
Mom and Dad were at the show, too. This was their first time and, for the most part, they liked it. My Dad is like me; we have a similar temperament. I guess their car needed to be jumped and he asked around for anyone with jumper cables. He asked this guy next to him, who was having the best time while grilling, “Do you have jumper cables?” and then guy said, “I don’t know, ask someone else.” Ahh… someone had the Buffett spirit. They finally did get a jump from some nice folks on their other side so they were okay to get out later. Mom and Dad met up with us as they were touring the parking lot. They were prepared people, too, they had ponchos.
Then came the rain. And rain it did, over and over. It poured and we were lucky to have the tents. I also had my giant umbrella from work and I used it to keep the food on the table in the middle from becoming too water logged. It would pour, then clear up and then pour some more. I guess I opened and closed the umbrella one too many times because I broke one of the struts on the inside. Not too happy about that. Our group was huddled under the two tents and we tried to wait till the rain stopped before going in but we were unsuccessful.
So then we went into the show. I still had two tickets that we could not even give away. As I was walking over I met up with my parents and Dad and I stood outside the gates trying to sell the last two tickets. So picture this, There are at least 4 people standing in the same general area saying, “Tickets,” “Need Tickets?” and various sayings like that. I stand there holding my two tickets up. Some guy from Tweeter Center comes up to me and says that I cannot sell my tickets. Mind you that I am not saying anything, I just have my tickets in my hand. I guess that this guy was more visual than audio. Jackass. But I was not going to become confrontational so I put my tickets away till he left (he never did say anything to anyone else.) and tried again. No takers. I couldn’t believe that no one wanted tickets, but no one was buying. Some other people in our group tried to sell their extra tickets too and no deal either.
Once inside the concert I stopped and bought some earplugs. I do this every year. I bring earplugs with me and end up buying them at the show because I always leave them in the car. Great planning ahead!
The concert was nice, we had reserved lawn seats and the people around us were not totally obnoxious and I was not being pushed around by drunken idiots who show up late and expect to get to the front of the lawn. I had room to move and room to enjoy myself. The only problem I had with this concert was that I was completely soaked from head to toe. It poured all through the first half of the show and we were soaked. Allison was smart and asked my to buy her a long sleeve shirt (a yearly tradition). She tucked that under her clothes and when the rain was done she had a dry top to put on. My parents had ponchos so they were okay.
Jimmy played many of the old favorites with some songs from his upcoming album mixed in. He had the Coral Reefers with him and no major surprises. The concert was fun but for the most part standard Jimmy fare. He buzzed the parking lot in his seaplane before the show and he had the parking lot footage rolling during Changes in Latitudes. Standard stuff, but fun nonetheless. As the night progressed I was able to spread out more and more so I liked having the extra room. People kept leaving in our section. When we were leaving at the end after the finales we were pretty much the only people in our row.
If I never hear another idiot start mooing during the walk out of a concert it will be too soon. And it is always started by some punk jerk that thinks he was the first one to ever think of this. I don’t even think it was funny the real first time ever. But we got out without incident and back to the cars, many of our group was already gone but Peter, Betsy, Allison and I finished cleaning up a few more things. I gave Peter Smokey Joe to take home because we had no room in the car. We were packed for the whole weekend; we are very busy this weekend, which was a god thing because I ended up changing into at least 3 shirts during the course of the day. My sneakers will not be dry till next Buffett show but that’s fine for now. We were able to wash all our clothes at the Cape. We ended up driving right to the Cape after the show and we got here last night at 1:00am. We were wiped out so, no late night blogging for me.
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It is almost Tiki time. I prepared a concoction that requires that mr. yuck symbol. I haven't tasted it yet, but will find out how it is over ice tomorrow. Think rum, lots of rum. Yo, ho, ho.
Bonus Picture #2
A beautiful hawk perched outside my window at work.
Tonight there will be performances but the past three winners, Dat Phan, John Heffron, and Alonzo Bodden. And the return of executive producer and former host Jay Mohr. Should be a funny night. The whole cast from this year is back as well including Gabriel Iglesias. Tune in tonight.
On Monday night Allison and I got to watch a few episodes of shows we taped last week. First up was episode 3 of Eureka. This is a very good show, it is funny quirky and has likeable characters. We taped episode #4 last night and hopefully will get to watch it tonight.
We had time to watch the two episodes of Psych that I taped as well. I can't say enough good things about this show. I love the chemistry of the two main characters, I love the website and the fake blogs written from the character's perspectives, I love the Psych-Outs which include some very funny impromptu karaoke songs. This is a show that you must watch.
I haven't gotten to see all the Feasting on Asphalt episodes I taped yet. Most likely I'm going to see them in some marathon format at a later date. The stars have aligned against me to prevent me from seeing this show. I have episode #1 taped but #2 got cut off because I ran out of tape (maybe it was because I taped over 6 hours on a 6 hour tape, D'OH)
The theme continues. Yes it is Buffett week once again. This Thursday Allison and I are going to go with the work crowd to party all day and night. Mom and Dad are going to arrive later in the day. We have reserved lawn seats and even have 3 tickets available for interested parties ($100.00 a ticket, reserved lawn, you'll have a seat.)
Duncan is starting to pre-party. How did I catch that. (The secret is a little vanilla ice cream on the end of the straw.) I wanted to get them both to do it but Oliver got skittish, surprise.
My piratical friend here is taking a drive in my new Optimus Prime Altenator.
Just a few things.
Good luck to my cousin Carissa and her boyfriend Chris, they start a 2 week cross country trip to move to San Diego. We went to their going away party last night. I hope they keep that photo journal we talked about. Road trip sounds like so much fun.
Speaking of Road trip I did manage to tape at least one episode of Feasting on Asphalt, granted Mo and her Dad didn't like it but I'll give it my own shot before I pass judgement.
This comic was partly inspired by a conversation that was had on the YHT forums regarding displaying toys in the house. Thanks Don for capturing the fully weight of the issue.
Much more to come later tonight.
On Sunday Allison and I left Great Diamond Island. We had a lot of fun there but it was time to head home. I slept late while Allison read a book on the porch. Then we had some tasty donuts from a place called the Cookie Jar. Thea picked them up while we were in Portland on Saturday. At 9:40 the small bus that runs between the two docks on the island picked us up. There are two docks: The Diamond Cove dock that we could walk to and the Great Diamond dock that was one the other side of the locked gate. You see, on the island there was some spat over golf carts from the Diamond Cove being parked on the Great Diamond side and how unsightly they were. This started the Golf Cart Wars and this occurred about two years ago. Now the folks on each side of the island have separate stickers for their carts; as well as two locked gates separating the two sides of the island. It is all wound a bit too tight for my liking.
Elise and Charles were leaving today as well so the four of us took the ferry over to Portland and we said our goodbyes. After Elise and Charles left, Allison and I went to a little souvenir shop to pick up some dice games. They did not have Farkle but they did have Left Right Center, Moose Spotting and Two Lobster Catch and On The Rocks. This is what I should have bought the day before. Actually we should have picked these up on Friday so we could have some travel games to play Friday night. But we have them now.
We headed down to York, Maine to meet up with our friend Maureen (She writes the We're In A Fight blog) and her sister Peggy. Maureen and Peggy took us to lunch at Lobster Cove. Allison and I split a fisherman's platter and it was very tasty. We then drove up Long Sands Beach and back to Mo's house. There her father, John, took us on a ride in his 1952 Chevy. It is black and named Josephine after the woman he bought the car from. It fits. We drove down to the beach and cruised along the strip. I kept taking pictures of the beach and the water when we were stopped and I had an opening between the cars. Because I was looking in the viewfinder I didn't see anything beyond what the lens saw. So one time I took a shot and a second after I clicked the picture three 16 year-old girls walked by. Both Mo and her dad razzed me about taking pictures of 16 year-olds through the rest of the ride. They'd be like, "Drewbie there is another young girl, where is your camera," or "oh what about that one, she's too old huh?" I have no idea where Mo got her sense of humor, yeah right. We even went up to Nubble Lighthouse. It was a lot of fun but over all too quickly and we were back on the road. Then back to Manchester to pick up my computer and Allison's car. We visited a bit with Marcia and then off again for home.
Once we got home I helped my sister download some pictures that she took this weekend at a fair in Walpole, NH as well as some videos. Allison ended up staying in NH for an additional 40 minutes. When she came home, we were off again and this time we headed to see my cousin, Carissa, and her boyfriend, Chris, before they left for their 2 week cross country trip.
For some reason we always need a vacation after our vacations. And this week is not going to get any quieter. You may notice a theme with the Photo-A-Day This week.
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This morning Allison and I got up very early and headed to Sea Glass Beach. Sea Glass Beach is where you can find lots of sea glass because this is where the fort would dump trash. There was a grind house that took the trash and ground it up and shot it out through a pipe into the ocean. Environmentally not friendly but now things like glass bottles, ceramic plates and pottery pieces that have been tumbled by the surf against the rocks for many years washes up on Sea Glass Beach to adorn the homes of the islanders.
We also walked over to the moon garden. I wanted to get out and take as many pictures of the island as I could. There were some really interesting rock formations on the shores. After our walk we headed back to the house, took showers and had some homemade blueberry muffins for breakfast. Great big blueberries, fresh from Maine.
We took the ferry into Portland and on the way back stopped at Long Island and the Great Diamond Island stop, there are two stops on Great Diamond Island (Great Diamond, village side and Diamond Cove, fort side). Kids will jump off the docks as the ferry pulls away so that the wake propels them. I got a few shots of some jumpers in mid air. Apparently the wake can propel someone about 70 feet or so. Long Island seceded from the city of Portland and is almost entirely inhabited by the local fishermen. It is a very close-knit community. When someone dies the whole island attends the funeral and when a baby is born it is outfitted for the first 5 years of life.
When the ferry docked we walked over to a bazaar that was going on. It was sponsoered by an organization called Cultural Survival. They sell items made by indigenous peoples to help them improve their quality of life and promote the cultures. I bought a pirate thimble from a Russian vendor. It now sits on my Guinness souvenir.
We went over to the mainland so that we could have lunch with Elise's grandmother, Rosie, and her Aunt Mary. Rosie is in an assisted living facility and we went to visit her and have lunch there. It was a beautiful place and they had a very nice meal that included bread, salad, meal and dessert.
After lunch we walked around Old Port and poked around the shops. Didn't buy anything, but we would be back the next day to pick up something we missed.
We caught the ferry back to the island and took a swim in the pool. Then we had a nice cookout and headed down to the Bob Marley Show. George Ham opened for Bob and he was the better of the two comedians. It wasn't so much about the content for me as it was about mic control. Bob was practically swallowing the mic and that made for a very un-enjoyable show. Way too loud. No reason to be that loud at all. The show was to benefit the fire station on the island. On the island if the fire bell rings all people on the island become part of the fire department. It is a volunteer fire department and they have one truck. The show was fun and it was nice to have something to do in the evening and we were happy to finally see Bob Marley even though my eardrums were bleeding when it was over.
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Today Allison and I left Manchester early and headed to Portland Maine. We were shooting for the 11:00am boat out of Portland to Great Diamond Island. Despite the rain we made really good time and were able to get to the 10:00am ferry ride over to the island. The weather was really, really crappy on the way to Portland and my rain-x was non-existent and the windshield wipers were doing a very poor job. We stopped once to get some drinks and snacks and I used one of the rain-x d-fogger wipes on the windshield, this seemed to help a bit but I need to get some more rain-x and treat the windows again. That stuff works great!
The ferry ride over was nice, we were a bit cold and wet but when we arrived at Diamond Cove the weather began to turn around. Upon arriving at the island we saw Elise, Charles and Amy. They picked us up in the family golf cart. On Great Diamond Island the only means of transportation (excluding 2 or 3 cars) is golf carts. We drove up to the house, which used to be the bakery back when the island housed Fort McKinley. Fort McKinley was built during the Spanish American War and was used up through World War II. It was decommissioned in 1945. The houses are now in what used to be many buildings of the original fort.
After unpacking and deciding on a course of action we headed down to the general store to have lunch. On the island there can only be 5 commercial ventures, there is a general store, a spa, a restaurant and I'm not sure what else is commercial. The general store made large sub sandwiches, pizza and sold the essentials. There we picked up tickets to see comedian Bob Marley. Bob was doing a benefit show for the island's fire station and is doing a tour of many islands to perform other benefits for their fire stations.
After lunch Elise's mom Thea gave us a tour of the island in the limo, a 6-passenger golf cart. Thea is learning to become a tour guide on the island and we were her first tour. The island has many fascinating structures and a rich history. And a developer in 1980 came in at the right time and at the right price to make a killing selling off the island to people for summer cottages. It seems that the right time is always past and the right price will never be seen again. Yay! Thea told us about much of the island's history and we explored some great buildings including one that had been a lookout during the war and to prevent extra lights from giving away the location of the tower and people inside they came up with a very ingenious way of lighting the building at night. The ceiling has hundreds of round glass disks that had a light pink tint and when the moon shone down the people in the lookout could read by it. Many of the glass disks are still intact.
After the tour we relaxed by the community pool. Elise, Charles, Amy, Allison and I went to the pool and had a great time. I stayed a little longer and got some reading done. We had a great time playing with the noodles and other toys. Amy and Allison had diving competitions and races. It was all very fun.
Dinner was an excellent lobster roll and some delicious corn on the cob accompanied by a traditional Maine recipe coleslaw. This was the first lobster roll I had ever had and I liked it a lot. I had this mental block on eating cold lobster but luckily I overcame it and enjoyed a terrific summertime meal. We ate on the back porch and the weather was perfect.
After dinner Elise and Charles and Allison and I took the golf cart out to get some sunset pictures and to explore some of the coves and beaches before it got dark. We went to the moon garden, which is a garden right on the water in the small harbor of Diamond Cove. There are two Adirondack chairs set up and it is a perfect viewing place to watch the moon. We headed back tot he house and Allison and I walked over to screening on the green. This was where the neighbors in this community get together, set up a giant screen, DVD player and speakers and show kids movies out on the green. There was even a cotton candy maker and popcorn maker. I of course got popcorn.
We stayed in the living room on a pull out couch that was quite comfortable. I fell asleep while reading the second Kathy Reich’s book Death Du Jour. This one was easier to get into because now I know the characters.
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Today was rather uneventful. I worked at home, had an eye doctor's appointment and found that my vision can be improved to 20/50 in the left eye. That is the best ever, not clear even with glasses but I can see without a giant black blob in the middle of my vision.
Today I set up my new computer for work as well as my former computer that will now become the Cape computer. I set up a profile for Mom, Dad, Tara, Erik, Shelby, Allison and myself. I stripped the programs down to the basics so everything is right at everyone's fingertips. I can't wait to get the computer to the Cape to see how everyone likes it.
Allison and I are in New Hampshire tonight because we are heading to Portland Maine tomorrow. We are spending the weekend with Elise and Charles on Great Diamond island. Should be a good time. And on Sunday we are going to visit Mo in York, ME. So I will not be bringing my computer to the island but I am bringing the camera and plan to take tons of pictures on the island. If they are any good I may use some to make cards and sell. Allison got me a catalog of materials to make your own photo cards for sale and so we shall see. Have a good Weekend everyone. A Belated Happy Anniversary to my in-laws. Happy Anniversary.
Today's photo is there Bottle Cap container for Corona caps outside.
Today I got a new computer for work. And because my company is very generous I got to keep the old one. Sweet! I removed all the information off my old computer that I had for work but left the personal stuff, now I can't access it because we renamed the computer. I'll have to figure out how to extract that other stuff, it is still there so I should be able to get to it. Anyway the new computer has a DVD burner 1GB of RAM so I don't have to go buy any more RAM to make it fast. It has a built in SD card reader and wireless connection. I am so excited to get this thing filled with everything I need.
These are terrible, do not be tricked into buying them. Don't get distracted by the newness of the box, the colors and the promise of a good taste, you won't find it. I thought they would taste like little fruit loops with the health benefits of Cheerios. What I got was a gross tasting cereal that gave me wicked bad Cheerio burps.
It was too dang hot to turn the computer on last night. After taking a walk and a cold shower we stayed in the only air conditioned room in the apartment and watched Last Comic Standing and Rescue Me. LCS had eh performances but we are still pulling for Chris Porter. Rescue Me was an outstanding episode filled with the right blend of humor and tragedy that the show is known for.
Yesterday was also my Uncle Jim's 50th birthday. Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!
