Work

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- b

Advice for Wives

"There's nothing like an orgasm and an absurdly grateful husband to improve your outlook on life."

Anonymous

- b

The Story

Management wants a certain product built with certain restrictions in a specified amount of time.

The product designer thinks he's above all this - doesn't think the restrictions apply to him and the deadline is soft.

We have a demo for C level management is less than two weeks and still no design.

I have no life.

- b

Not From Here

After ten hours of class, "Crash" felt like staying in his room and doing more work.

Not me.

After sitting at the bar for two hours by myself I asked the bar tender if I really just saw him pour patron into four dixie cups with salt and lime wedges. Yeah mind my own business right? I'd been minding my own business in a bar full of people for two hours - I only asked one question.

The bar tender responded, "This your first time here?"

Then the jackass next to me starts lecturing me about how people just want to get drunk and it taste good.

FU. From a salt coated Dixie-cup?

Paid my bill and left.

Now where am I going to go tomorrow night?

- b

Accident Again

Twice in less than a week.

I wasn't driving this time, but my back hurts. Not bad, but jacked none-the-less.

Alpharetta driving is tough, but...

- b

Another Update

Plane took off at midnight. Plane touched down at 1:30am.

Between the tram not running at the airport, thus having to walk nearly a mile from the gate to the terminal exit, renting the car, riding in the car with someone that actually drives 55 -

got to bed at 3:30am. Up at 7:30 and here for training by 8:30.

Lovely.

- b

News Update

Flight delayed 2 hours. Arrival time is now 12:30am at the airport. It's another 1 hour to the hotel.

At least the game is good (yes I actually said that) and I've got a good bar tender.

Life will suck later, but now it's good.

- b

Newsflash

Packers vs. Giants @ Giants Stadium.

Temp. is -1 degrees.

These 250+ lb. guys aren't heroes. They're playing football. Their adrenaline is pumping. Their skin is covered with hot balm. They're fine.

Now the guys standing around on the sidelines with 100,000 BTU heaters blowing on them - they might be a little chilly.

I guess I'm just a little pissed that I'm in an airport again - going to Atlanta - again. And the security dude took my toothpaste. I was 1 oz. over the limit.

At least I've got funny people to look at.

- b

Restock

And I won't be around to enjoy it.

- b

This Sucks

ManualAutomatic
Dog Hair
Industrial/Dead Mice
Newest Addition - Warm Ash

Ridiculous.

- b

Travel Timing

For security you get to the airport early. Detected, poked, prodded and approved you have a little over an hour to kill before boarding. Hit the bar. Order some food and get your drink on. Drink some more. Drink enough till you pay your bill and walk up to the boarding line with a nice little buzz.

That's the ideal.

Usually you walk up and there's a gate change or some delay. There's a tick or two of your buzz now gone. Go back for more? Risk another change? Tick or two more gone. By the time you get on the plane, you're stone cold sober and dealing with all the unhappies that don't travel enough.

It reminds me of motorcycle racing. We bought these fancy tire warmers to pre heat our tires before an event. We'd wait till the last grid call-up to get the most out of our artificial heat. Ideally, we'd head off for the warm-up lap, grid up, then race. Usually something happened and the grid was delayed. We sat there baking in the sun in our leathers and helmets as our tires cooled. Advantage lost. Tire warmers wasted.

It doesn't take t-boning someones car to negatively impact someone else's life. Many times it's more subtle then that.

- b

The Details - in detail

I had the right of way.

I was turning left.

He said he never saw me.

Considering there weren't any tire screeches, I guess not.

There was a witness. She gave me her contact information, but the police officer said it wasn't necessary for his report.

I was scheduled to leave that night for Atlanta. I was going to be there for nearly a week and a half.

I called my agent. "Who's fault was it?!?! We don't do claims. Call the head office." was their only response. Why do I have an agent?

At that point I wasn't comfortable with who's fault it was. I knew I had the right of way, but I felt guilty for not driving more defensively. I saw the guy coming. I could have prevented it, but I had right of way and a meeting to get to.

I called the head office. They were very nice. They took down all the facts and explained everything. They offered a body shop to do the work. The body shop was great. They came out to pick up the car with a promise of delivering it when it's done.

Estimated completion date is Feb. 7th. That's three weeks away. Estimated damage value is $3000. The frame is bent. The car will never drive the same and resale value has tanked.

We're down to one car. Its inspection runs out the end of the month. We'll get the truck inspected (expired inspection) when I get back next week, so we'll have two cars till we take in the Mazda and go back to one car while the mechanics struggle to get it to pass.

All of this because some guy didn't see me. At least I'm not hurt.

- b

It Was an Accident

Car accidents really suck.

Driving more defensively is way easier then dealing with this shit.

- b

Small Victories

Double hikes this weekend at Springton Manor Farm put Gretchen in a coma. Filling her belly full of food and fat didn't hurt either. Literally she laid on the floor last night with her eyes open unable to move or even sleep. Two mornings in a row I have gotten her up before she gets us up. This morning, she melted to the floor and started snoring when I took her out of her crate.

A tired dog is a very good dog and a hiking dog is a very happy dog.

- b

One Ton Done

Since we turned on the heat November 10th, we've used one ton of pellets. Well almost a ton. We have 1/5 of a ton (ten bags) left, but one ton is gone from beside the pool. The last bit is now sitting in the various staging locations I have and will get used over the next 10 days.

At this rate we'll have a ton leftover.

- b

Killing Me Softly

Something's happening. Something has changed. This week Gretchen has been a terror. She stays up late and gets up early. She has unbridled energy fueled by what? Growth spurt? Hunger? New teeth?

I hope it's the teeth. This "PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!" phase is a real pain in the ass.

- b

Hotlanta Here I Come

It's taken all week, but here are the pictures from last weekend.

ADK Winter School

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Death By Caffeine

Here is my gun...

- b

Like a Little Kid

I'm finally packed. I'm so excited. I get to live and play in the snow for four days.

- b

Second Fear Period

Apparently that's the name for it. Jen's been reading The Art of Raising a Puppy from the Monks of New Skete and today came across the section that talks about the period in a puppies life when they're afraid of things all over again. It happens between the age of 16 and 24 months - right where Gretchen is.

Of course she read this right after we took Gretchen for a walk - in the park - in the scary park.

We took CJ with us to help her feel more comfortable. The walk started fine. She did her typical pull and attack CJ routine. Everything was going well, so we decided to stop and meet some other dogs that were also walking with their owners. The dogs/owners seemed friendly enough, so why not?

From a distance, the dogs didn't look so big. Up close they were huge. One was a seven year old Great Pyrenees. He was easily bigger than me. Luckily he was really mellow. CJ and him got along very well talking about the way things were and how wild the puppies of today are. The other dog was a seventeen month old Bernese Mountain Dog. Beautiful dog, but also very large

and very energetic. CJ was cool with him and the owners did their best to keep him under control, but Gretchen wanted nothing to do with him. She was crazy to get away. I picked her up to help her feel safer, but she just peed all over me. It really wasn't going well. It didn't help this was the same exact location where the other energetic dog came after her.

I kept holding her and eventually she sort of calmed down at least enough for me to let her down. She still stuck to me like Velcro, but she was ok to be on the ground.

Slowly she got curious about the Pyrenees and moved closer to him to investigate. He was cool with her. He hardly noticed her past his own drool. The Bernese would move an inch and she'd be right back at my feet. But slowly he became interesting too. She'd wander sideways in his direction, then run back when he moved. She never really rubbed noses with him, but she did show more comfort around him. What started out as a horrible mistake turned out pretty good. Jen and I thanked them and we all headed about happily in our separate directions.

- b

ps. the scale of the photos are off from what we experienced. The Pyrenees was HUGE. The Bernese was only around 120lbs or so.

Effing Ridiculous

Idiot Boxes

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Packing Procrastination

I love camping trips (especially winter ones), but I really hate packing for them. It's the one thing I will always procrastinate.

By Thursday night I have to have all this (minus the dog) packed in a backpack and it will probably take me till Thursday night to do it.

At least I tested the stove to be sure it works.

Though the true test is to see if my new jacket works.

- b

Catch Up

I feel like Regan with my head spinning.

If you're interested and haven't found on your own:

Christmas
Dehumidifier
Water Conditioner

- b

Fears for the New Years

Gretchen has turned skittish in the park behind our house. You have to force her to go for a walk. She's fine in our yard and on our hikes, but hates the park. She's constantly looking around like a paranoid wild animal. She'll stop and turn around over and over as you try to move forward. Strange sounds freak her out. When we hit the point to head back, she pulls like mad to get back faster. It makes walking in the park behind our house very unpleasant.

Last week there was a kid on roller blades. He was holding the leash to his big unruly dog. As they approached Gretchen and Jen, the kid lost control and dropped the leash. The dog continued toward Gretchen and Jen. He did not attack or even appear aggressive, but it was enough to totally freak Gretchen out.

The particular spot where it happened in the park is now the hardest to get through.

We take our time with her. We are patient. We make her sit and identify the sounds she hears and the images she sees. It's a bunch of steps backwards, but it's important to treat it right. Skittish dogs can turn to aggressive dogs. Not that I fear this is her path. It's just the setback is annoying and I need to remind myself to do the right thing.

- b

Out with the Old

In the spirit of new years...

This phone was one of my first purchases from my first paycheck out of college nearly 12 years ago. Jen hates it. The battery hardly holds a charge and the LCD display hasn't worked in years. With no display, there's no caller ID. Without caller ID, we don't answer the phone.

It was probably a year ago she started her search. Problem with landline phones is lack of features. Sure they have great capabilities in wireless frequencies (Dect 6.0?), but things like contact lists are hard to come by. Finally a decision was made.

And we have a new phone(s). Yay! Now maybe we can focus on water softeners and programmable thermostats.

- b