Just Another Day Lost

Not much going on today except work...

And the beginning of LOST's 4th Season! Woot!
Unfortunately Thursday nights is role playing night for the group, so I have to decide whether I want to try to convince the group to move to another night (Wednesdays) or put the VCR back into service.

It was a pretty nice day out for hovering around 10°. It helps that there was not real wind. It's supposed to stick in the 20's for the next week with a good chance for some more snow. We'll see how that turns out.

-30 Below

I was tagged to come in at 5am this morning to field calls from the schools that refuse to use our automated system. I wish I knew why it was that I am always the one chosen to do this, but figure that it's because they figure that I'm the computer guy and can figure out how weverything works. They're probably right :p

The nice thing is I get to leave at 1:00 today.

Right now it's around -33° with the wind-chill figured in. Last night Austin declared a snow emergency which limits where you park downtown, which means I have to be careful or they may tow my car. What I've done in the past is to shovel out a stall on the far end of the parking lot. I figure that if the spot I park in is cleared the guys who plow the parking lot won't see my car as hindering their work. It's worked for the last seven years, so I figure it works.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Late yesterday the weather started changing and the weather services started issuing weather advisories, which have today changed over to a Winter Weather Warning.
I've been fielding calls much of the morning from schools that are dismissing early. I've seen worse. It's no blizzard, but it is still limiting visibility pretty badly.
Work is ordering us pizza so we don't have to leave the building for lunch. :)

Spring in January

Wow, it hit 40° today! Feels like springtime. To bad the temperature's going to be dropping tomorrow until Friday.

Not much going on today, so here are some cats :)

Weekend In The City

Woops. I missed posting Friday and I didn't get to post yesterday since I was visiting Jim in Minneapolis. Actually, I didn't get back to Austin until around 1am. Jim was hoping that I would be able to stay until Sunday, but since I didn't have anyone to leave Cricket with I had to return to take care of her. Jim suggests that next time I bring her along. I'll have to consider that.

Well, the plans I had hoped for yesterday were squashed since we spent most of the day looking at houses (he is planning on buying a house soon with his friend Devlin) with his mom, a girl nick-named Shenna, and Jim's friend Devlin. I was quite surprised at the houses that they looked at. Several were from the early 1900's, but there were two that were recently built. From what I could tell Jim and Devlin were looking for a fixer-upper or a place that they could turn into a duplex. Hopefully they can do a better job than some of the people had done to some of the houses we saw.

Afterwards it was too late to do anything so we went to Jim's moms place for a nice pot roast. MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm..... That was some good food!

After the food settled and Jim realized that I was leaving that night, we went to his place to watch the first episode of season two Torchwood. Wow! Looks like this season is going to be great! I also snagged a copy of the last Doctor Who Christmas Special. Fantastic!
I spent today at Mikes playing video games and bumming around. It's getting to the point that we've done all there is and find it hard to find anything new to do. It would help if there was a third member of the group... *shrug*

Cold Start

It was -22° F this morning, with humidity around 90%. The frost on my windshield was very difficult to scrape off, and the cold was cutting through me like a knife, even without the wind. If there's one thing my time down in Georgia taught me, a mix of high humidity and cold temperatures is one thing I can't stand.

Flashback: 1990 Fort Benning, Georgia. I remember one of the worst days I was there was a cold and humid day. A layer of frost had actually lifted up the top soil about a half inch or more, which was a bizarre sight to see as we marched out to do some training. It started out at the rifle range, and later we went to do some crawling through dirt and sawdust--I can't remember exactly what it was we were supposed to be doing, but I digress. It was while trying to claw my way through this mess of dirt and damp sawdust that my hands decided that they would no longer work in the cold and dampness. It was like they had suddenly gone arthritic and held my hands like claws until I was able to warm up a little bit. Very bizarre.

Vincent seems to be a nice guy. He's a smoker, so I'm having to deal with the smoky aura that surrounds him when he comes back from his cigarette breaks--which aren't as often as some people around here, but it doesn't seem to be too bad.

I'm still waiting for Moolie to move the tapes and audio gear out of the room. I'll give him until the end of the week before I start making a fuss.

Settling In

Well, today was my first full day working in my new office. Also got to meet the new Assistant Chief Engineer, Vincent. He's from Texas and is new to the northern states.

It's still in the single digits today. Only a few more days until we get back in the decent double-digit temperatures.

Just a little while ago Jan came downstairs saying she had an odd bird outside her window, so I grabbed my camera and went up for a peak. Bonnie thought it was an owl, I thought it was a small hawk. Well, after comparing it to some pictures online, I think it may be a young Northern Hawk Owl.

UPDATE: This bird has been identified as a Kestrel.

Moving In

Spent most of today moving into the new office. Didn't help that Moolie took his time getting his stuff out. Not all his fault though, they had to set up his cubicle, move in some cabinets, and other stuff, but he could have moved the boxes into the empty office right next door.

[Here's a picture of my old space]
There's still a lot of stuff on the shelves which need to go upstairs tomorrow, and the audio gear needs to go to the new audio room, but that should be done by Thursday. I'd take a picture of the new room, but I didn't bring my camera with today.

The weather is still hovering around zero and should stay in the single digits until Friday when it's supposed to get up near 30! Woo-hoo!

Oh, on the political front, Fred Thompson dropped out of the race! The crowd is thinning, and people can get a better view of Ron Paul now, yeah!

Snow on MLK Day

It started snowing early this morning and hasn't let up much since.

At work, they are swapping my workspace with Moolie so my space is a mess.

It's Martin Luther King Day!

Freeze Your Butt Off Cold

It's cold this weekend--well below zero.

Thankfully, it's not this cold:

Bush Trying To Pardon Himself?!

What's this BS?!

More wood for the fire?

Here Comes The Cold

Sub-zero temperatures are starting to hedge into the area, and I think I'm starting to come down with the cold that's been floating around work. I was planning on going up to the cities to visit Jim this weekend, but now I'm thinking that I'll have to postpone it once again.

I have my final chiropractor appointment is today. My back is still not 100% but I don't think my visits to the Doc aren't really making any difference, and I don't feel like paying for any more.

The Truth Hurts

It sucks because it's true. And it's the story of my life...


Speaking of truths. Here's a link to the NH SoS's Recound page:
http://www.sos.nh.gov/recountresults.htm

It's Snowing!

Well, the snow did come last night. Not much, but by this morning it did make things a little difficult to get around.

It's never fun to be driving around on slippery roads, but when you have trucks like this on the road with you it can make you even more nervous.

Thankfully, the city plows are out and sanding the streets.

Coming Storm

We are under a Winter Storm Watch until tomorrow evening. The storm is supposed to drop a lot of snow somewhere in the area, but the meteorologist here at work says that the computer models are showing that the majority of the snow will pass well south of here.

Kinda bumbed out about that. It would have been nice to get some more snow. We really haven't got much since around Christmas.

No luck last night with the new radio. (link)

Oh, and this happened last night on C-Span:

Cool But Calm

The wind has died down today so, while it is still chilly out, it's no where near as cold. My car is also starting to notice the cold, so I should probably get that oil change that's a little over due.

And now for some anti-FOX News video:

Brr...

Excuse my language, but FUCK IT'S COLD!!!

Yeah, It's been colder before, but this is the first real sub-zero day this winter and, worse, more cold weather is forecast later this week.

Sarku Japan

Ran to Rochester today and spent way to much money. Most of the money went to Best Buy of DVDs (Anime and Sci-Fi), some went to PetSmart and Barnes & Noble. To finish the trip I stopped at Sarku Japan for lunch.


After that it was back to Austin to help Naomi and Gideon work on their shop some more. Afterwards I went to Mikes to play some video games and then back home for some sleep.

Helping Hand & Christmas Party

Spent some time helping Naomi and Gideon work on Naomi's store. After that it was off to the Austin Amateur Radio Club's Christmas party.

When it was over I bought one of the members old Kenwood base radio (Kenwood TS-440S). As a Tech Class amateur I have access to some HF frequencies, but to really enjoy this radio I'll need to get working on my General Class license.

Data Storage / Chair

I picked up an I/O Magic 80Gig "Data To Go" Portable Hard Drive (on sale) at Staples this morning.

I figured that since I'm always grumbling how I have to move my important files from my work computer every time I get a new computer or wipe my current one, I really needed a storage space to keep my long term files outside of my PC. Of course, I have to be careful since it's not a synced file store.

Maybe I really should reconsider and pick up something I can sync to folders on my computer. I'm not sure if that's how those one-touch units work, but it may be something I should investigate.

I should also look into some sort of stand for the DTG so it's not just sitting on my desk unprotected.

It also looks like my request for a new chair at work has been denied.

I was given a cheap chair with a fixed back (which is better than the relaxed back chair I was sitting in) but no seat cushioning. So now my back may be better off, but I'll have a sore ass... :p

Back Work

I went to the chiropractor again today. I'd say I'm pretty much done, but have one more visit next Friday. It would probably help me loads if could get a better chair here at work, the one I have now is just killing me.

Well, looks like the warmer weather we've been having is about to end. The forecast says that it'll be dropping back into the 20's and that we might see a little snow.

Something Stinks In New Hampshire

I can't say that I am surprised by the results in New Hampshire's Primary, but apparently there is talk that there may be some foul play afoot.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2008/01/new-hampshires.html

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Decision2008/story?id=4107883&page=1

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4112803&page=1

http://drunkardslamppost.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/diebold-and-new-hampshire/

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20080110_clintons_diebold_bump/

http://www.ronpaulwarroom.com/?p=749

Not only that, but Florida has basically lost any say in the primaries because they insisted on having them earlier:

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/07/State/Florida_faces_a_prima.shtml

Boom Boom!

I was considering going to a movie last night but ended up playing Mercenaries instead. Mostly this was because I couldn't really justify spending money on either National Treasure or Alien v. Predators: Requiem, the only two movies I was interested in watching.

I really don't expect much from either movie, but I'm pretty sure I would find them at least somewhat entertaining to sit through. Yet, I knew that I would get more entertainment from blowing things up in Mercenaries. So I sat down and pushed through to the end fight where I was able to walk through the whole area with the "Portable Air Strike" weapon I unlocked when I finished the game the first time. Basically it's a rocket launcher that can target both land and air targets, plus it's area of effect is huge. Large enough that I have to be extra careful how close the target is before I launch it. It's the malicious giggle effect that I really enjoy.

Today is the New Hampshire primaries. I really hope Ron Paul kicks Giuliani's butt again :)
Especially after he said this:

"What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be," he said at the forum, sponsored by The New York Post. "Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."
New York Times

Monday, Monday...

Warm weather is continuing. It's been in the mid to upper 30s since this weekend and broke a few records by what I hear. Right now, 4:30pm, the fog is starting to roll in and getting pretty thick - I can barely see across the parking lot.

It'll be getting cooler though - dropping back into the 20s - and I can only imaging that more winter-like weather is in store later this month. Hopefully a good snow storm some weekend to remind us that we can't put away the parkas and shovels just yet.

I also came across this game "Cursor*10". It's genious!

https://www.crazygames.com/game/cursor-10

Rock On!

Spent most of the day playing Rock Band with Mike. I started on the Drums and then swaped with Mike and played the Guitar.

Mike's already muscling through the drums on Medium. I've tried, but I really get stuck with the pedal.

Also watched "The Last Man on Earth", a 1963 movie adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel "I Am Legend". It was a closer adaptation of the book than the 2007 movie, "I Am Legend" which was more of a derivative work - not to say that it wasn't an entertaining movie.

Helping Hand

Spent today helping Naomi and Gideon remove nails and fixtures from the walls of the store Naomi is going to be setting up her new business, "Healing Palms". My back is still giving me a little trouble so I couldn't do any heavy lifting (well I did a little, when they weren't looking), but I was able to help out somewhat.

I received an unexpected treat when I showed up though. Emily was over for a visit from LaCrosse. She always seems to be glowing.

Ron Paul Beats Rudy In Iowa

Even FOX News couldn't shy away from the fact that Ron Paul is a contender. Of course they still say that there's no way he will become president, but at least they are acknowledging him as a "real candidate".

Busy Day

Been a busy day at work today, and that's the way I like it (uh-hu, uh-hu).

First I was supposed to train a new guy on how to update out website with news stories, but that was interrupted when I realized that the weather system stopped sending weather images to the website at 3:00am. Again! This was the third time this week. To top things off, we found out that the computer had also lost it's internet connection! It turned out that the DSL modem needed to be reset for some reason, simple unplug and replug it in. Yeah! So the vendor was able to WebEx in and take a look at it. They couldn't figure out what the problem was so they tasked it to reboot every morning at 3am. *shrug*

After that it was back to training in the new guy until I got a call from corporate saying that another vendor is providing us with results from the Iowa Caucuses was having problems sending the file to our FTP at out video server vendor. Well, after a couple hours it turns out that the video server vendor (who used to host our website, which is why we had an FTP with them) no longer wants us to use the FTP for anything other than uploading videos, so they had blocked any other inbound traffic. Nice thing to find out on the day of the Iowa Caucuses.

So I spent the rest of the day working with corporate on setting things up so the vendor could FTP the results to another FTP we use at corporate. However, the main guy that works the FTP servers there was out sick. Arghh!!! Well, after some time of trying to force things to work, we were able to get in contact with him and have him open things up so the files would be available online.

Victory!

All that plus tossing together a couple graphics and other stuff. What a nice busy day :)

My Back Is Better & Resolution

What a difference two and a half weeks make. I'm actually surprised that it has taken this long for my back to get better. The last time I put my back out -- 2003 -- I remember being back in the swing of things in little over a week. Of course I am four years older and in need of a better mattress and sitting furniture.

I've also realized that I haven't made any new year resolutions. I suppose if I were to make any it would be to work on getting a place of my own instead of languishing in my current apartment. Also, I should resolve to start exercising to get my stomach back where it's supposed to be (I've gone from a 32 waist to a 34! LOL. Without gaining any sizable weight.) Another thing that I was planning to resolve was to make one blog post a day (excluding weekends and holidays - unless back dating an entery). So far so good.

Happy New Year, 2008

Spent New Years Eve with friends playing games (Wii, Monopoly, and Fluxx), and New Years Day at Mike's playing mostly Rock Band.

What is it with these fantasy band games - Guitar Hero & Rock Band? I guess it's nothing new since games like Taiko Drum Master and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat have been having players beating on drums before, and the Dance Dance craze is still going strong judging by the number of games and spin-offs that have been released.

After all the guitar playing I decided to give the drums in Rock band a shot. EVIL!!! It doesn't help that I don't have any rythem...

Here is an example of how the drums should be played: