C.R.S. ? or something more benign?

Is it really your favorite quote of all time....if you can't remember it when needed?

Comments Anyone?

An online friend pointed out to me that the comments are apparently not working....or at least "were" not working.
I tried it out, ran into an odd problem...and confirmed my difficulty with my friend.

Since then, I've played with the settings (again) and I think it works now. You still have to decode an image of
letters, and type them into the box. But it shouldn't hold the comments until I moderate them. They should get posted.

Still, I refuse to complain about a service that I don'te even pay for.

Verbal Amusement

While sipping a tall cold beer and waiting on my order of hot-naked wings with ranch to go, I overhear this conversation between the hottie female bartender, and a balding customer to my right.

It started with the gentleman complaining about having a bad hair day (har, har) though it was raining cats and dogs outside. This comment led, somehow, to did the bartender have a problem with bald guys?

Which led to the bartender's confessing that she had dated a bald guy for a year but they broke up because she never "gave up the goods". After many male groans of disappointment ( I had to join in on that) it turns out that the former boyfriend had lots of hair all over the rest of his body. Which led to the comment from the female bartender that she "just wasn't turned on by some big hairy 'Saskatchewan' guy" and as a matter of fact, it was gross!.

Thank goodness my wings came up so I could leave or I'd have laughed beer all over the bar. And one thing I've learned from years of drinking beer: You don't piss off the bartender.

I'm pretty sure our bartender wasn't a Canadian.

She seemed like a very intelligent young lady. But I think she meant "Sasquatch". Seeing as how I work with some Canadians, I'm wondering how, if at all, they would be offended by her comment. Or was she a Canadian and knew from experience that most Saskatchewan men are, in fact, quite hairy?

Of course, I'm easily amused. Just one of those life-moments that make me giggle. If I ever do get around to that "Great American Novel", I hope I can remember to include little scenes like that.

Reminiscing

Not a whole lot of entries, but some history - that's how I'd describe this log so far.
And now it's nearly half-way through December so there's the obligatory "year in review" entry. Well, maybe not obligatory. I just noticed that this part of my online life is a little over a year old. Came as a complete surprise to me. So I read some of the older entries to figure out just what the hell happened.

2005 was to be a year of change.

2005 was the 'year of the lathered yak' - I have no idea what I was thinking at the time.

But, "change" - what has changed? Apparently of primary importance was a change in work circumstance. Still work for the same damn company, so I've failed for the most part. But I've been in 3 different cubicles and worked on 4 different projects. In every frickin case, the projec starts out interesting and then quickly degerates into the same ole crap this company is known for. At least in my mind.

I did change one major habit. I quit smoking. I wish I could explain, or at least sell as a quaranteed product, how I did it. The best I can do is describe it as "becoming bored" with smoking. That's funny, I smoked most when I was bored. 4 or 5 cigarettes a day during the 8 hours at work. 2 or 3 each way on the drive back and forth. And finished the pack and started another in the 4 or so hours I was home before bed. I remember getting irritated at pursuing activities where having a cigarette was inconvenient - smoke in the eyes, needing both hands, etc. And just quitting because it was, uh, boring.

I still live in the same apartment. I almost made the leap into home-ownership. But that house involves living less than 5 miles from where I work. And I don't plan on working here much longer (I fervently hope). I drive 29 miles to get here, mostly in the opposite direction of "rush-hour". I know damn well if I bought a house out here (lots of house for little money) I'd end up finding my fantasy job somewhere 35 miles away on the other side of town where everybody else is driving to at the same time. Which would just make matters worse.

I got a raise and started a savings/credit union account. It's not the first time I've gotten a raise, but having a faithful savings account is a first in a long time. Last time, I had the account until I got to $100 and then I bought a ten-speed to ride to high school, and never saved another dime. This year, said account has come in mighty handy for Christmas shopping, and there's still money in there. And more going in every pay period.

The original reason for starting the credit union account was to finance the purchase of a vehicle. Or rather to establish a relationship with a credit union so they would finance my car. So there's another change, I bought a car, a truck actually.
For the first time in my life so far, I bought a new vehicle, too. And since my credit score was so frickin high, the dealer financed my car purchase at a better rate than the credit union, and was happy to do so!

One of the negative changes is my feelings towards the season ticket/football/tailgating activities. I made it through another year. Our team will be going to a bowl game. But I'm not so sure I'll be interested in all the bally hoo next year. It's kind of a bother. It's fun, too, but the balances are starting to tip. Kinda like smoking.

Another thing that's changed is my waistline. Quitting smoking is usually followed by an increased appetite. At least I was ready for it this time, so the gain wasn't so huge. But I don't need to carry any more weight. I can feel it in my knees. It's getting difficult to look at myself in the mirror. Target weight loss: At least 50 lbs. That would get me down to 210 or so...a good weight for six-foot, two inches, I think.

I really should break these things up into smaller blogs for each day. But I have to type while the thought strikes.

Signs Along the Way and other Roadside Attractions

Went exploring along my links the other day here at work and discovered some surprises:

A blog person I've linked to has linked back to me. An unusual sensation that was. And an honor. She is able to express herself more openly than I ever could.

And following links from other people's pages, I ended up on a (apparently) gay man's page. This person hasn't "come out of the closet" yet, but apparently the office Christmas party will have at least one big surprise for his co-workers unless they've already guessed at his orientation since:

"if you're male, over 40, never married and no kids, why, it's obvious!"

Apparently, if you meet these simple criteria, you're Gay.

Ahem, that's a rather broad statement in my humble opinion. I have no doubt about my
sexual orientation. And I try not to be homophobic.

1. I am male


2. I am over 40 (getting a little farther past 40 every year)


3. I have never been married


4. I have no children (nor any desire to procreate - I would be happy to adopt, however)

Let's explore these minor details (since I have little else to do at the moment).
I am male. I like being male. Simply by being male, I have an easier life than most females(that I know). I like women. In most cases, I prefer the company of women. However, there are times where it's better to "hang with the guys". I like looking at women. I like what looking at women does to me. Women just look better naked than men, in my opinion. All gradual curves and the shadows they can produce.

I'm over 40. Yup, and no mid-life crisis I can think of. I amuse myself by thinking that since I'll be 44 this year, I qualify for two 22-year olds for my birthday. In reality, they'd probably kill me, but what a way to go, eh? The closest thing to a mid-life crisis I can think of is the fact that I bought a new vehicle, rather than a "used". Duh! It was a good deal with the perks I had available to me.

I've never been married. Mostly because I'm lousy at dating and I'm shy. I've been mightily attracted to some women. I've dated one of two of them. Unfortunately, I often get stuck on the dreaded "friend" shelf.

I haven't bothered to take good care of myself physically, I admit. I'm not hugely out of shape, but I'm no fashion statement, either. Well, "Don't look like this" is a statement, I suppose.

And I've mis-handled my finances in the past, which I am finally beginning to recover from. So I don't have a lot of cash to be spending on dates.

On the positive side of all this, I am a born listener. That is a quality most women prefer - in their friends. All my female friends tend to blab on and on when I'm around. It's difficult to even get a word in edge-wise. Sometimes it is good conversation and sometimes there are lots of meaningless detours and details I could care less about. In some cases, there are questions or observations that I'd like to make, but by the time the diatribes wind down, we are so far away from the subject,I've forgotten the point, or the observation no longer makes any sense.
I am picky about the women I find myself attracted to. Being tall myself, I prefer tall women. I prefer tall proportionate women. I've found recently that large-breasts can be a major distraction in that they interfere with my ability to establish any relationship (I'm sure I'll have to explain that further). I find big breasts intimidating because I lose all muscular control over my eyes? I don't know. In one situation I found myself staring more than is polite.

Ah, there's another one: "polite". My few male friends tell me I'm "too nice". This trait leads to the "friend" bin more often than not. I've lost track of the number of times I've hear the women complain that they wish their significant other treated them the way I do. And yet, when it was time for this or that woman to move on to another significant other...I'm out of the picture because they "don't want to ruin/lose the friendship".

I am lousy at dating. I'm a gutless wonder (shy) at asking someone out. Oh dear lord, what will we do if she says yes?

Or maybe I'm just confused. It seems most often to me, that two people get together, have sex, and then figure out if they like each other or not. Sorry, I'd prefer to sleep with a friend than a stranger. For one thing, the sex can be a whole lot better. Though that is not always true come to think of it. But, for the most part, in my limited experience, it is true. But I would like to know the person I'm sleeping with to some extent.

Wow, I've had an epiphany which is too long to cover here. Hopefully I can hold onto that thought, and continue with it, and maybe put it into practice. Back to our regularly scheduled advertising:

Regarding dating: If I ask you out, it means that I would eventually like to get you into bed. I'm just not in a hurry. I'd like to find out what you like, and what you don't like. Is that just too logical?

I don't have children, nor do I wish to pro-create. There are two very simple reasons:
One, I don't trust myself around new-borns or the very young. I am the oldest of three and there are 7 and 13 years between us. I've had all the experience with that age group that I care to.
Two, genetics. My sister suffers from a birth defect. I had a cousin, on the same side of the family, born with almost the exact same birth defect. Unfortunately, that cousin did not survive. My sister, however, is 37 and living life. But I've seen the pressures and pain both situations caused, and I have no wish to inflict that on anyone just so I can have kids. Willing to adopt? Well, at my age, most women have children of their own and they are part and parcel of the woman and any relationship. And they are mostly grown to the point you can communicate with them and clearly illustrate what is right and what is wrong.

So, there we go. I've managed to get some crap expunged from my head, defended my sexuality for no reason in particular, and I've made it past lunch time here at work.

Oh gross! next up, year-end retro-spection. Everybody does it, why don't I? Why do I feel the need?

Killing time and brain cells

Oh where to start? I've spent the better part of the day surfing blogs here at work. Not blogs from people I work with. I mean killing time at work surfing the "blogosphere". Ye Gods! I've used the word "blogosphere". Another first for this year. Anyway, work is slow. I mean slow. I was plenty busy right up to, oh, mid-November. The week before the week of Thanksgiving was spent sitting in my cube trying to stay awake. I took three days of vacation to spend the entire week of Thanksgiving with my family (parents and siblings - I have no family of my own). That was an incredible week. I made a bunch of saw dust. I finished some projects and started others. I saw relatives I haven't seen in nearly 40 years. As a matter of fact, it's been 20 years since these four people have been in the same room at the same time.

And Mom's home cooking for Thanksgiving cannot be beat.

And then it's back to "real" life. Saturday was a football game. Nothing bad about hanging with friends in the parking lot and drinking beer all day. With time out to go actually sit in my season-ticket seats and watch the game. And it was an early game, so there was time left in the evening for domestic chores and accomplishment. I watched TV instead. And surfed some porn while catching up on e-mail. No small trick on dial-up.

Sunday was video catch-up day. I figured I had 11 hours of video-taped excrement excitement from the previous week's line-ups. That and laundry. It was a perfect day for such activities with it being both cold and raining outside. But the depression did eventually set in. I live alone. My sawdust "hobby" tools are down at the folks' house. It was quiet. And I had to go back to work in the morning.

This past week at work has consisted largely of finding some reason to drive 29 miles through idiots to get here and then stay awake for some undetermined amount of time, and finally, trying to figure out why I can't leave immediately after lunch...so I stay until at least 3:30 when the people who may have need of my knowledge all go home.

I haven't always managed to stay awake the whole time at work.

I left a little early yesterday so I could catch the matinee price on the new Harry Potter movie. Worth every penny, imho.

Today, after the lengthy blog-surfing session, I spent roughly an hour and a half doing some complex banking procedures to prepare for the upcoming Christmas shopping frenzy. The banking itself was not complicated, it was navigating through the dangerous maze of idiots and roadwork between the two banks that made it complicated.

And there's still another day left in this week. And there are still three work weeks until Chrismas vacation. And nothing on the horizon for next year. I've got to make some changes in my work-life. Fortunately, there may be a ray of hope in that direction.

A different outlook:

Another quote lifted from an article that has little to do with the subject matter of the article...but relevant to me:

I probably have the "disorder" known as "attention deficit disorder". I put it in quotes because I have a problem with labelling personality traits as "disorders", and I'm pretty sure that ADD is a selective advantage in certain professions, such as programming, though it also has a cost. So although I'm certainly intelligent, I often have a hard time focusing on a task for long periods of time. (This isn't the whole picture though—when I'm interested in a task I can focus on it for a ridiculously long time and shut the whole world out, which is ironically also considered a "symptom" of ADD, which I think should be renamed "Excessive Self-Motivation Disorder" or "XSMD". In other words, people who have it resist being told what they should think about. I think this more accurate terminology would make it much clearer why our society is resorting to addicting children to mind-altering drugs to suppress this personality trait.

One of these days, I'll write my book and pull all these observations into some coherent form. I have some thoughts on labelling some children "special" who are not really so "special" and political correctness and children who really are outstanding. I just don't feel up to writing that all down at this time.

And then there's the whole tin-hat paranoia theory angle, too. I promise I'll write all that down some day. If I don't, that means "they've" gotten to me. Damn black helicopters.

One other thing I like about Linux - Mr. Torvalds himself

"On the Internet, nobody can hear you being subtle," Torvalds says. "I'll happily be abrasive and opinionated if it helps get issues out in the open and gets people into the conversation. The real magic ingredient is being able to change your mind occasionally so that people know you're an opinionated bastard, but that it might be worthwhile talking to you anyway."

"On the Internet, nobody can hear you being subtle"....oh how true. That explains so much about so many things you can run into on the 'net. I could rave on an on about what I think...but I'm still in a state of mental lockup.

From Flood to Drought - it ain't rain

Yup, went from barely having enough time in the day to get my job done to having way too much day left and nothing to keep me busy. Well, nothing I really want to do anyway.

I had plans for using my CAD program for some personal work. Got that done before lunch. Can't think of anything else that needs done. And it's only Monday.

Luckily, I have all of next week off to prepare for Thanksgiving.

What I should be for Halloween?

Your Haloween Costume Should Be

Elvis

What Should You Be For Halloween?

First Daze Back

First day back from a week's vacation. The day is about half over, but I am almost completely done in. Work is sloooow. I should copy a bunch of stuff to my thumbdrive and take it home to work on it. Would probably just end up napping on the couch rather than working, however.

The vacation was much needed. Made lots of saw dust. Much more needs to be made.

Ignoring one Blog for Another

i suppose it's part of my contrarian nature. This blog is set up so I can post to it from anywhere with web access. My other "blog" or journal as I recognize the term, is set up such that I have to work on it from home. Well, I haven't figured out how to ftp stuff through the corporate fire wall...and I won't waste the mental energy to do so, anyway.

Alas, I see I've gone a complete month without posting anything here. Meanwhile, there's lots of meaningless drivel over at the other place.

So, what to do, what to do?

NASA and their astronauts keep having a wonderful time. One successful shuttle repair down, and contemplating another. These are, however, non-critical repairs, and Discovery could probably come home without them being performed. On the one hand, I wish there wasn't such a media blitz about the repairs. On the other hand, I wish I was the lucky S.o.B. doing the repairs!

So there's an obligatory post out of the way.

Don't ask...don't worry...just roll with it, okay?

Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.

New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.

...The chores.
...The stores.
...Fresh air.
...Times Square

You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.

Useless Mental Debate.....don't try this at home

Hitch and I were prerusing products on the 'web tonight. By blessed coincidence, I clicked on a product link by mistake and was brought to a page that sells coffee mugs and steins specifically for right-handed, left-handed, and ambidextrous users. I'd never seen this before. I then thought it was all a joke. Then I looked closer at the illustrations on the mug. That's when the trouble began. It fired off one of those pesky brain cells back in the back row.
By golly, the illustration on the mug is placed differently for each type of user. The "ambidextrous" version is directly opposite the handle, if you are wondering.

On to the useless debate:
What signifies the "handedness" of a coffee mug or stein? I had always assumed that when held properly, the emblem, picture, or saying that is plastered on your coffee mug should face away from you while you drink. That way it can entice/intrigue/disgust any innocent bystanders 'round the coffee machine. After a quick inventory of my mugs, I discover I've either got all left-handed mugs and I hold them wrong (I'm right-handed) - or - my assumption is wrong: The emblem, picture, or saying is supposed to face the drinker. Which made me wonder: Why? What purpose does it serve that I am the only one that gets to enjoy the emblem/picture/saying on my coffee mug?

Maybe I regard my mugs like I regard my t-shirts: a way to provoke reactions from the teeming masses. There is nothing like walking down the mall, through the flea market, or through the park and catching someone reading your shirt. But, as many people know, I am easily amused.

Is it already a trend?

Like many people, I have an e-mail address. Several, actually. And while it's a light load, I get quite a bit of spam, just like everybody else. So, I've become quite sensitive about giving out my e-mail address.

This morning, I heard a commercial for a new contest from a large non-alcoholic beverage vendor (Coca-Cola). The contest itself is around the Dasani bottled water line. One of the requirements for entering the contest is a "valid e-mail address".

WTF?

So they can send you more marketing crap, more unsolicited e-mail. Just because I want to enter a contest does NOT mean I want to receive a bunch of e-mail from anybody.

Now, I've been on the intarweb long enough to know of websites that want your e-mail address for marketing, as well as membership verification. But this real-life contest (as opposed to intarweb only) requiring a valid e-mail address to enter. I say again: "WTF?" And yet, by the fine print, I'm sure it says in there somewhere that "no e-mail, no entry".

It just occurs to me that this sort of contest is biased in another direction, too.

If, like a large majority of the contry, you don't even have an e-mail address, you are not qualified to enter the contest!

Isn't that unfair discrimination?

Some notes before I forget

Riddle me this: What used to be green and covered with question marks, but now is dead?
Yup, Frank Gorshin, far more talented than merely playing the Riddler, passed away on May 18 or so.

OTOH, May 22, 1841, the first patent for the recliner was issued. Thank you CBS Sunday Morning.

What was my rising sign?

My Rising Sign is Scorpio.
I'm so intense and passionate - I'm on fire!
I want to be an angel or a devil... I can't decide which.
No wonder I seem moody and even a little dangerous.
I've got some major mystery going on, so I need to work it!
My personality is the strongest of all signs, making me hard to deal with.
While I'm ruthless to my enemies, I am loyal to my one true love.

Another "Tin Hat" post....

Well, it's aluminum foil and not "tin" but you get my drift. Last week, all the news was about some "idiot" that flew his small plane a little too close to the capitol building. This caused a major evacuation of personnel, scrambling some jets, and escorting the small plane to a landing strip where the pilot was pulled aside and spoken to harshly, I assume.
The next thing we're all treated to is a plea for more Homeland security "stuff". Money, power to act when and wherever needed without external mandate, blah, blah, blah. It was an "obvious sign that we are not doing enough to protect the Homeland".

BULLSHIT

1. In my humble opinion we've already given up too much to the facsist-wannabe's running the Dept of Homeland Security. I've been through airports in Europe, and in the US and getting on a plane in Europe is more hassle-free than in the US...and Europe started all the airport security long before we did.
2. Why wasn't the small plane in restricted airspace reduced to a smoking pile of rubble?
3. Why wasn't the pilot arrested and sent straight to jail? No passing Go, no collecting 200 dollars? Yes, the pilot of the small plane was released without charges at all. For flying through known restricted airspace.
4. The "tin hat" twist to the story: Do you think it's possible that the spin doctors in the Government have decided that Americans are forgetting about the need for Homeland "security" so they cook up some plot to re-raise awareness. Say, for example, get an under-cover FBI agent to "accidentally" fly too close to the White House in a small plane?
I really wish, deep down, I didn't think our government would be capable of that type of behavior. Unfortunately I do think they are capable of this, and much more. And it has nothing to do with the TV shows I may, or may not, have watched in the past.

Proud to call North Carolina Home....

Long-time Goat Rapist finally caught Mmm hmmmm....just makes me so proud!

In case you're wondering, we don't really go for that shit here at the Ranch. We prefer to alter our conciousness a bit and watch the little animals run around. "Take a trip and never leave the farm". Thank you Jim Stafford.

Heh, truth be told, there is no longer any need to actively alter our conciousness by external means. Apparently there is a reservior of some sort back in the little used areas of my brain. I can switch to the "other" conciousness at any time. This becomes especially handy during those long unecessary meetings I am forced to attend from time to time.

MBNA Sucks ?

Yes, apparently they do. I've had a running battle with them for some time now. Granted, I got myself into the hole I was in. I feel good about it for the most part. I put at least 6 young women through college, and gave a good head start to 6 or 8 more. At least that's why they said they were working at that strip bar. So, at least i got to see all of them naked, up close, and personal. Never got laid, but that's another fault of mine.
So, basically I've been working at lowering my outstanding credit card debt for the last, uh, 8 years? Whew! And I'm making progress. However, I had a bit of trouble when shifting jobs and residency. I had a check in my pocket worth a little more than $11,000.00 and couldn't find a bank that would let me open a checking account so i could pay some bills. Seems there was something on my Credit Report that didn't look good to them. Not that any of them would tell me what it was. I got a copy of my credit report. Everything looked A-OK to my un-educated eye. So the bills went late. And the interest rates started climbing. MBNA took a hard-ass line. And closed my account to any other transactions other than paying down the balance. Fine, I deserved that. A couple of years pass. New laws also pass, judging from the activity of my interest rates on the MBNA card. And NO OTHER card that I have. Just MBNA.
Next thing I know, my interest rate is up to %26.24. And they are not interested at all in negotiating that down. Seems most of my payments have been "late" by a day or two. Easy thing to do when payments are supposed to be in their office on a Sunday. Oh, it's all fine and legal, if you read the fine print. Oddly enough, the day after I got off the phone bickering about the 26.24 interest, I got two items in the mail: Another statement from MBNA with interest now at %26.57 and a statement from my 401K account...which I could take a substantial loan against. Which I did..and mailed that puppy off to the motherf*ckers at MBNA.
Now, the interesting thing. When I had an account balance, and tried to call in to customer "support" or whatever they call it, I got right through in fairly short order. Now, I have a credit balance (they owe me a slight refund) and I call to verify that the account is closed and I'll never hear from MBNA again...I have to wade through a bunch of crappy menus, get put on hold, and then suddenly "We're sorry, due to the volume of traffic on our phone lines, we will not be able to handle your call at this time. Please call back later. *click*" and dial tone. Damn convenient, eh?
Out of curiousity, I do a "google" on "mbna sucks".....and apparently they do, 'cause there's lots of complaining out there.

Your Papal Name is Pope Anastasius V

You think Pope Benedict IX was a Saint who should have indulged himself a bit more. You're already halfway though "How to Excommunicate for Fun and Profit" and, if you were made Pope, you would have the treasures of the Vatican on E-Bay before the end of week one.

Get your own name at What's My Papal Name?

Brain Fart Dust

Well, yesterday afternoon there was much bouncing about in my brain that I thought was important enough to stick up here. Now, just as I log on, my brain goes blank. Spring Fever? No, I don't think so. One of my friends complains about the way Spring is affecting his attitude toward the day. Me, I feel fine. Except for my newly working sinuses. I quit smoking some time ago. All the way back in February of this year. Some of the side effects have been rather unpleasant. The working sinuses, for one. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night, unable to breathe through the nose. For several nights in a row. And I thought quitting smoking would help me snore less.

Spring is here however. One of the most beautiful times of the year here in N.C. Everything is blooming, the pollen is drifting across the roads. And the temperature encourages fewer square inches of clothing. Mmmmm MMmmmm Good!

The season hasn't quite made up its mind, yet. This past weekend was the Spring workout for our football team. Between the cold front, and the wind, it seemed more of a "football day" than did any of the games last fall. Seriously, a tee shirt, a sweat shirt, and an insulated jacket were my choice of attire for the day. And here it is only 3 days later, and it's in the mid-eighties outside.

General Catchin' Up

Well, I didn't feel much like using the computer at home. So I'll use this thing to remind me of the changes I should make.

Change it to March.
Mention going to see the "Asylum Street Spankers" on Saturday night.

Trials and tribulations of shopping for a good couch?

Send relevant pictures to Scaldeddog

That should cover the evening farely well

Near the end of another month...

And what has happened?
1. Hunter S. Thompson passed beyond...Getting rid of fear and loathing at the end of a gun barrel, I guess.
2. Another V-day passes without comment at casa de chunkking.
3. The web front end for this blogging tool is behaving rather oddly.
4. Made use of the President's Day Holiday by re-arranging my living area significantly. Especially dust removal from the entertainment center and the computing center.

That's all I'm going to admit to for now.

After 5 years of waiting for it....

Yes, I've finally locked my keys in my car. With the motor running. At a fast-food joint. During the lunch rush. On a work day. I'd like to thank the police department for coming to my aid. I'd like to thank the little kid for questioning me and his mother about why I would do such a thing. I'd like to thank his mother for snatching the little kid away as fast as possible.

And so the New Year has begun

And whooptie freakin do! A different year, and the same old crap to deal with from day to day.
At least for now. 2005 has got to be a year of change for me. Some habits have got to go. Some new habits should be added. And the job situation has got to change, too.

Hmmm, maybe it was a premonition. Last week, while thinking of the year to come, I decided that, in at least one aspect, it would be the year of the "lathered yak". You shouldn't concern yourself about that for now.

Then, as I was writing this, a few mental blocks fell into place. I have a lot of hard work to do this new year. I was born in the Chinese Year of the OX. A yak is, loosely, an ox...or at least related. So, it could actually be the year of the lathered ox, rather than a yak.

Though, the "lathered yak" still has an important role to play. Thankfully, I am easily amused.