Musings and Meanderings

Well thats done! Finished the BSA training last night. Whew. The head of training for the district forgot to include me at the end due to a paperwork snarl for that one shot Monday class so I had to wave about my three cards showing I had finished al three courses. In the mean time I have gotten some great stuff on e-Bay: a First Edition Boy Scout Manual (1927), some 50's era Scoutmaster Handbooks and Scout Handbook, and found the 70's edition Scout Handbook that I used to have as a scout. By back reading this stuff I hope to bring more to the table as an ASM So on to the next step, integrating into the Troop before the WeBeLo's Year 2 kids come on board in the winter. And the outside possiblity of something OKPIK (say Awk-Pick) which is winter camping training in January. 3 and 4th.. pretty near New Years Eve... hard to miss those bowl games. Well we shall see. Read below if you are staying up to date on the blog, I'm back blogging this am (S...

Gettin' ready for Halloween Day two of the Boys Night In Marathon. Tonight we decided to do Pumpkins instead of movies. Alex designed a custom pumpkin with a neat / scary face. I took a pre made design looking like a Dracula. Kinda neat stuff actually. We use the PC Jackolantern program which is simply the PC version of those templates you see in the market to cut nice patterns in Pumpkins. I didn't take any pics of them this year. Of coruse the JackOLantern looks better in the dark and lit, and that is problematical with my digital camera. We "boys" did ok with out L if I do say so myself. As for work we are moving right along. Getting the other lines going as quickly as we can, Automotive and Satellite. The local stations start broadcasting in November for this Market. Thats EchoStar (DISH) not the DirectTV (Hughes) product. Otherwise its been pretty weird with the Wife gone for two nights. Look forward to her coming home, as is Alex.

The Matrix Reloaded Boys Night In part One... Liza is gone doing a reset for the next two days. So once we finished the homework we loaded the Matrix Reloaded DVD. This was Alex's second viewing, my third as I watched it the Friday after the DVD came out. I waxed and waned about that in an earlier blog so I won't go into detail except that I just don't like the scene with all the Smiths... it just doesnt work in CGI. Out

I always knew that AOL was run by morons but this one takes the cake In an attempt to confirm shipping for some Vintage BSA handbooks I bought on eBay yesterday I got this message (in part) from AOL. ... while talking to mailin-03.mx.aol.com.: >>> QUIT 554 5.0.0 Service unavailable Let me explain in simple terms what this means. Road Runner utilizes dynamic IP address'. It is the basis of cable modem technology. Therefore I will always have an ever shifting IP address. If you don't know what that means don't worry. Thats not the point. Road Runner is provided by Time Warner. Who owns Time Warner? AOL! So.. These morons in their ever increasing attempt to stop "Spam" have blocked the emails of all their residential Road Runner customers. God I hate amatures.

The Joy Never Ends Discovered this am that we are not getting our cheif technician back today as we had thought we were. His sister had called last Monday to tell us that he was sick and would not be in (last) week. Expected him in this am. Instead got a call at 9am from him saying that it would be a month before he could go back to work. So we ran an ad last weekend. We have a few plans including hiring the first guy who can do the job that comes through the door, contacting some ex-CS people to see if they can do the job, and last but not least, sub contracting the work over to another repair place in town. Jeeze. What a life.

Outdoor Training Fun Ok here is the story. I left work early on Friday so I could go shopping for a few more things and pack my gear. I had borrowed a pack, tent and sleeping bag from L's cousin down the road a bit. In my shopping I picked up a few cool items including getting a new pair of Hiking boots, one of the new types that almost look like tennis shoes. Also picked up a middleweight top "thermal underwear" thought it's not called that. So I leave home on time and get up to the site on time. We find our place to camp and meet the other participants of the training. So far so good. Then as the dusk settles I pull out the tent. No structure poles. Use the cell phone, hey cuz.. where are the tent poles.. Oh he says, they are not there?? DUH or I wouldn't have called. So the upshot is that the tent was never put back together properly. At this point it is 8pm. And I discover that contrary to my understanding, no food was being provided for ...

What a story! 23 yr old Kid Pitcher. 3 days rest. Complete game. Shutout. 6th Game of the World Series. Tags the final out personally. In Yankee stadium. What a story. What a dream come true for Josh Beckett. If handled correctly the Marlins could be the "A's of the National League" a competitive team on a low budget. Now we get to listen to the biggest idiot in Baseball spend the off season slagging off his "horrible" team. Now I don't like the Yank-me's. Duh. But this is a great team and a great lineup. SOMEONE HAS TO LOOSE. Stein-moron just can't handle that sometimes its him. Makes Al Davis look lucid. Go figure. Oh and yes I came home Saturday night. We finished the Outdoor training early, but thats another story for tomorrow.

Talk to ya on Sunday! (or Monday) I'm spending the weekend in the Adirondack foothills with a BSA training course called Outdoor essentials. Once I survive that I will just have one more 2.5 hr class next Thu and I will have passed the basic "course load" necessary to be a Trained Assistant Scoutmaster. Whew. It's been quite a month with all this going on. Major thank you's to the local family for help with Alex, and special thanks to E and S for loaning C's pack to me for this coming weekend. Frankly I'm pretty excited about this weekend. I have not been camping in years, and part of the structure of this weekend will be teaching the patrol method by participating as patrols. Now my absolute best memory of scouts as a kid was the week I spent in PLC or Patrol Leadership Training. So this should be fun. The Scoutmaster and I are going to hook up in the afternoon and I will be taking up one of the Patrol Boxes (various things for a succ...

Stone Age Web Site. Found this site still living out in cyberspace, it was written in 1998! Imagine that. Old site found by archeologists

I got some great bumper stickers There is this great website called Two Unemployed Democrats which has the most wonderfully funny, politically astute, and politically appropriate bumperstickers. Here are the first two going on my car and Otherwise...... I am completely beat. I have not slept well in a few nights. Last night I woke up and for the few moments I was not aware of what time it was felt like I had just finished a full night's sleep. I was waiting for L's alarm clock to go off, and then I looked at my watch. 1:05am. Sheesh. I had the most vivid dreams, they involved my HS sweetheart. I periodically dream about her. I figure its a tenuous psychic connection to the alternate dimension Mike who married her. Yes I believe in alternate dimensions. I'm a nut, sue me. They are always the same, about family life, etc etc. Now family members who read this do not think for a moment that this is some psychic cry of a suppr...

Some Days... I just cannot stand people. Isn't that just awful? I'm in sales too, good career for that mood swing don't ya think. Now I really like my boss, he is a good guy, but as I am sure I have some habits or traits that drive him crazy, he seemed to be showing all of those today that drive me crazy. Do you know the term "learned helplessness"? Its when you do something for someone so they learn that you will do it for them and they don't learn to do it themselves. Well with his lack of computer skills, and his taking over the administrative part of my old job, I couldn't get two minutes to myself today. Drove me just crazy. Then I had another explosion on one of my trading groups. Personality conflicts. People getting mad. Ulterior Motives. Friends getting hurt. Not pretty. Oh well... OUT OBCD : A whole lot of Led Zeppelin. Studio remasters QOTD :My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music...

Odds and Ends Stupefying Boring I survived my one-day class "New Leader Essentials" today as part of the training required for the BSA Asst Scoutmaster position. I won't go into just how dull this was, though I must say the trainer does her best to make the information interesting. The most amusing/pathetic parts were the videos commissioned by the BSA National Offices. Frankly they looked like something the Sesame Street people put together, with words coming down on the screen to hit the "actors" (very loose use of the term) on the head. Yea it was that absurd. Then there was a 15 min video reviewing the developmental stages of children. Gosh if I had known this existed I would not have put in four years at a school of higher learning getting my BA in Psychology, concentrating of child psych. So with this done I have two 2.5 hr Thursdays to go and one frigid overnighter this weekend and I'm "trained". Great Library ...

Delegate for my Alma Mater Yes that's me in Academic Regalia! Last week I got a call out of the blue from my Alma Mater's alumni office. The lady introduced herself and said that Greg had suggested she call me and that I was a nice guy. I told her of course not to publish that info or it would ruin my reputation! Anyway she told me that my Alma Mater had gotten an invite to send a delegate to the inauguration of Dr. Glotzbach as the 7th President of Skidmore College. I told her I was honored and would of course attend. That was today. I got there in time to mill about with the real academician and put on my robes, which my college had been so nice to send me. Then we marched into the basketball stadium on Skidmore campus and there I sat through two hours of Dr. Glotzbach's inauguration. No it was far from boring. The ceremony was punctuated with speeches by various Skidmore dignitaries. Interspersed was some really great music provided by Skidmore s...

Ugh, Part Two Yes I sat up till the end of the Yank-me vs BoSox game. No I am not a happy baseball fan. Why? 1) The Yankees again in the world series. Ho hum. Just how many times have they been there? 2) The Marlins cannot even fill their own stadium during the year, even after the All Star Break when they had a better record than the aforementioned Yank-me's. 3) This all translates to one thing: low ratings again for the World Series. Now I don't care how much Fox looses on this, I'm not exactly a fan of that network mind you, but it's just not good for the sport. urghh!

Becoming a Scout Leader I have decided to renew my "career" with Scouting. It is a dedication to many things including my son, his friends, my love of teaching kids and frankly my sanity. My son graduates from WeBeLo's year two in February and I have declared my intent to his future Scout Troop to help out as an Assistant Scoutmaster. To that end this month is going to be a bit crazy. In order to qualify for the "trained leader" patch which I think is absolutely necessary for the respect of the kids and the other leaders I need to complete three "courses" taught by the District. The first is a one evening course for 2.5 hrs next Monday (so no "Boys Night In" next Monday). The second is also 2.5 hrs each, but is over three sessions tonight and the next two Thursday's. Finally, and here is the fun part, I get to go camping with the adults this month as well. Its a Friday night to Sunday late morning commitment. Once that is...

Ugh, Part One Hopefully there will not be a part two... The Cubbies lost. Most baseball fans and many non fans who see highlights saw the fan interference play last night. I could tell the air just went out of the Cubbie balloon then. Sitting at dinner tonight before the game I prognosticated fearlessly that the Cubs would loose tonight. Alas I was right. I've seen two major series now coached by Dusty Baker, last years game 7 of the World Series and this nights game 7 of the NLCS. It seems that Dusty has a chink in his managerial armor. He keeps pitchers in too long. The Giants lost the series last year because of this and tonight the Cubs lost for the same reason. Oh well.... Hopefully Part two will not happen and the Sox will go to the WS. OBCD today: Mike Mixes and various other "workout" MP3's. Good fun music. Still Reading : Morgan.. I won't put up another Still Reading till I am done. QOTD : Making duplicate copies and c...

History Exam Thanks to Sue for this one.. its rather amusing.. and yes between my age and my head for trivia I got a high score (Don't peek at the answers 'til you try it.) 1. In the 1940s, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located? a. On the floor shift knob b. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch c. Next to the horn 2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what was it used? a. Capture lightning bugs b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing c. Large salt shaker 3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters? a. Cows got cold and wouldn't produce milk b. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled c. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze, expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top. 4. What was the popular chewing gum named for a game of chance? a. Blackjack b. Gin c. Craps! 5. What method did women use to look as if they were wearing stoc...

New Office At last we have moved to new digs. It is not glamorous by any stretch of imagination but it is "ours". The office consists of a big garage of all things, with a office built on the ground floor and a "mezzanine" level above it for another office open to the garage. I use these terms loosely, mezzanine and office but lo and behold when I came in the desk that I inherited from the old business was in the office below. I actually have four walls, an office! I have not had one in years, never had an office of my own at the old business. Of course we do not have any phone or Internet service into the building at this time but we are working on it. Spent the day putting my desk together. I went up to Comp USA to get a more memory but the chassis of my computer is so ancient that they did not carry the correct type. So I will order it online instead. Damaged Goods For those of you who are not completely hooked into the Dr. Who cult (as ...

Saratoga Petrified Gardens Went with the WeBeLo's up to Saratoga this am before the rains hit to cruise around the fossil beds. It’s a lovely 1-mile loop walk with plenty of interesting things to see for adults and kids interested in the geological past of the local area. The picture above and below is the fossil remains of a the fossilized stromatolites' reef. The swirls in the rocks are the fossil remains. As time has gone on great and little cracks have appeared in the ancient petrified remains of the reefs. Stromatolites have the appearance of “cabbage heads.” The surrounding land around the Saratoga area in PreCambrian times was once in shallow water along the ocean’s coastline. Stromatolites are algae formations from the blue-green algae group and are considered plant life. They gather in colonies. Their scientific name is Cyanophyta. They contain chlorophyll. When they were alive, they were located in the ocean between tidal zones. In othe...

Computer Tech Spent a good five hours today working with the new ED computers. The boss had finalized arrangements Friday for a new place for the new company so we are out of the old building finally. I really hated going in to the old building every day! Anyway the owner's sister (remember this is a NEW owner - not the much berated old owner of the old business) is a CIS person for a big corporation. They just upgraded their old computers so she was able to gift us with two Dell computers. One is sweet: 128 Mg Ram, decent size HD for business, PII chip and Windows 98se. The other was problematic however: it had 2000 professional in it so I had to reformat the HD with Windows 98se (so the two computers could network if needed). It only has 64 mg of Ram and it also has a PII. The problem was that the video card - not on the motherboard thank god - would not work in 32bit color with W98. Well I had an ATI Rage laying around that I bought for A's computer but could no...

WOW no blog since TUESDAY?? What have you been doing? ::kids voice:: Nothing... Part of the problem is that I usually compose these at work (I know I know) or later in the evening at home. Since we lost our Broadband at work its been more problematic to write these, and with the baseball playoffs I've been preoccupied in the evenings. I'm rooting for an interesting World Series, i.e. one without the Yank-me's. Oh look a World Series with the Yankees... how different and unique... YAWN. Really it would be great for the sport to have the Cubbies and the Sox play each other. One has not won a WS since '08 and the other since '18. My luck (and the Fox network cause it will kill the ratings) it will be the Yank-me's and the Marlins (The Marlins cannot even fill their own ball park let alone interest the rest of the country). Spin Control I see Dubya is taking on the road to sell his great record to the American people. Heh. Pha...

Californication.... OK CALIFORNIA -- Time to prove if you have any sense what so ever. Are you all tools of the Right Wing Republicans or do you think on your own? Are you buying the party line like the sheep in the rest of the country or do you think for yourselves? Do you elect an actor with no strongly established positions, who thinks that Hitler was a neat guy, and who grabs asses in his spare time? Prove to the rest of the country that you all are not a bunch of flakes like we all think you are.... I dare ya. signed - an EX-citizen of California Boys night in It was the every other Monday last night. We rented Eddie Murphy's "Daddy Daycare". Very cute and touching. Details are unimportant. The plot was cute, but predictable. The movie was stolen by the characters of "Marvin" and "Ben". Rent the movie to find out who they were. I also rented "The Core" and "The Animatrix" but I have to return...

Post Weekend Blues OAKLAND : BOTH the A's and Da Raida's lost on Sunday. AND I was wearing my A's cap and Raida's Sweatshirt. The nerve of those two teams to both disappoint me. Well at least the CUBBIES's won!! Goodbye Atlanta... Now if we can just usher the Yank-Me's out of the playoffs and see an A's - Cub or Red Sox - Cub World Series! POOLS : Still Alive in the single elimination pool but got drubbed for the second straight week in the other pool. To add INSULT to INJURY I had printed up the grid on Thu and made my picks, then could not find them. So on Friday I did some thinking (Do Not Think while doing pics.. go with intuition) and picked a few different choices. EACH of those were wrong. My strength in football pics is the "feel" not the analysis. Oh well. 11 weeks to go. BLESS ME FATHER : Watched a couple of more episodes on tape this weekend. What a hoot. And to think this was filmed in 1978. I get all dreamy and ...

Ramblings.... Mood : Dark.. but getting lighter Irritations : People with bumper stickers that say things like: We support our troops, and Proud to be an American. Why? Cause it's one big DUH! Take a stand that is risky. Jeeze. New TV I like : Jake 2.0 looks good. Smallville/Angel have been upgraded it seems. NOT into these gritty Detective/Lawyer/Hospital/super serious dramas except West Wing. I really don't like Reality Shows. ECK!! Wife and Child love Survivor so I have to run and hide after dinner. The job situation : Probably moving twice in 1.5 months, as we have to escape the old building and the new rental is not going to be ready when we need it. The Job Track I honestly don't know if I made the right move joining this company. I looked forward to the death of the old company for 2 yrs so I could move on. I'm just not sure the new entity constitutes moving on. Silly Car The damn check engine light is on. My buddy in the car busi...