Dissonance

Announcement

2007-03-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Due to issues with Google and it's new version of Blogger I may not be able to post here anymore. It's not letting me log in. If you don't hear from me in a reasonable amount of time it means that this blog has been abandoned. I'm not going away though. I have a new blog with the same name-
Dissonance

The URL is
http://dissonanced.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there.

Not a Disney moment

2007-03-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Background
My parents used to live in the piney woods that surround lake Livingston. Although they have moved back to Houston, they still have the house up there which they intend to sell. It is in a tiny cluster of houses outside of the nearest town which is Coldpring, Texas, Population: The high four hundreds, I think. The way I understand it is that this little cluster of homes exist outside of city limits. The people there have power and water but that's it. All business, including trash disposal, is done in "town".

Surrounding this little subdivision is nothing but the lake and forest. With that comes almost every imaginable form of wildlife native to Texas. Foxes, wolves, deer and cougars are as common as rabbits, squirrels, skunks and raccoons. My sister lived up there with them for awhile and often said that at any time you looked out the back of the house it was like seeing a real, live scene from an animated Disney movie. She is dead on right but I liked thinking of it as actually seeing what Creedence Clearwater Revival meant in their song Out My Back Door by "Look at all the happy creatures dancin' on the lawn". Both comparisons are equally accurate.

Reality
On Wednesday, my sister took her two daughters and my daughter up there for an overnight stay. The girls are on spring break and they wanted to get away for a little fun. It was a good time for all of them but my daughter told me about a particular unexpected incident: The raccoon incident. Before you read on, it was not of the CCR or Disney type.

As they were walking from the lake back to the house Thursday afternoon, they noticed a raccoon behind them on the crudely paved road leading to all the houses. It was walking in their same direction on the road just as they were. They soon noticed that it seemed to be trying to catch up to them. When they picked up their pace, so did the raccoon. The faster they moved so did this raccoon. It stayed on the street right with them. As they got just to the house they decided to quickly dash inside because this stupid raccoon was right up on them. My sister had to slam the front door shut because the damned thing tried to run inside the house. They tell me that it didn't seem aggressive but that it sure the hell wanted to be wherever they were.

My daughter and my nieces went upstairs and out to the balcony to look down at this loony raccoon. It saw them and started trying to climb up the wooden 4x4's of the lower front porch. On it's way up they said it seemed to change it's mind. It pushed off, landed on the ground and then started circling and sniffing around the perimeter of the house. After watching this from the windows for awhile, my sister decided to open the front door and take a look. It tried to dart inside again so she slammed the door shut. Again.

The neighbor across the road is a game warden with two hunting dogs. One stays chained in the yard for his own good because he tends to wander and the other is loose because he stays in the area. The game warden neighbor was not at home at this time. His loose dog spotted the raccoon and went over to my parent's house to confront it (or whatever). This loony-assed raccoon chased the dog back into it's own yard and began fighting with it. Of course, the other dog got involved too. Now it was a fight between two hunting dogs and the loony-assed coon and the raccoon was winning.

The neighbor next door to my parent's house saw this. He came out with a gun. My daughter said it was a long gun but couldn't tell me if it was a rifle or a shotgun. She wouldn't know. As this bizarre little drama was taking place, the neighbor was trying to get a shot at the raccoon but couldn't without hitting one of the dogs. What he did was fire into the ground hoping to scare the coon off. When he did that it was enough of a distraction for one of the dogs to grab the raccoon by the neck and shake the life out of it. Finally. So ended my daughter and nieces spring break.

Easy day

2007-03-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't have to see any customers today. All I had to do was drive. I didn't even shave. I didn't tuck my t-shirt in either. I had to drive down to Corpus Christi for a five minute task. That's three hours down and three hours up from here if your doing the speed limit. I'm a right-hand-laner on the highway. I can't afford to speed (too many troopers). Although I can spot them a mile away, they sometimes hide in very clever places.

My route is highway 59 to highway 77. It is the second most boring drive I know of in Texas. There is very, very little to see so I look for roadkill and count State Troopers. The Troopers usually travel in pairs although separated by some distance just like scorpions do. However, I only saw one. The other must have been behind some brush. There was very little roadkill today. When I say I look for roadkill, all I'm interested in is what it is; I don't like seeing dead animals. I'm just curious to see if it's a deer, coyote, badger . . . Today I think I actually saw a beaver. No kidding. I saw a long, wide, flat tail and didn't look like a nutria. Anybody know if there are beavers here? We seem to have just about everything else. I did see a badger once. That was when I learned that we had badgers in Texas.

I missed out on both the storms here and Corpus Christi. For those not from either place, Corpus had some extreme wind and rain as well as tornadoes and Houston had the same but with hail instead of tornadoes. I had left Houston before it hit here and arrived in Corpus after it had left there. It was basically the same storm (I think). I didn't plan it that way but how's that for timing? It obviously rained like hell south of here because almost everything was under water. I saw ranch and lease gates that were two-thirds underwater. Every field looked like a lake and the rivers, creeks and man made ponds had spilled out almost to the highway in some places. They say the sun will be out tomorrow so that means it will be hot and humid.

While I was down there I decided to drive around town and see what has changed and what has not. I stopped in front of three of the houses I had lived in. I've actually lived in 11 houses with my parents. We moved around quite a bit. I think it's so cool to look at them after all these years. Most look almost the same but the one I probably liked the most (it was on the bay) is being completely remodeled. That kind of hurts. How can they do that?

Kansas City

2007-03-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

"Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come
Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come
They got some crazy lil' women there
and I'm gonna get me one"

I'm flying off to Kansas City in the morning. I won't be "gettin' me any crazy lil' women" though. I'm going up there to install a water treatment system on a hotel. I'll be living in this place for four days. Joy. I hate hotels. Fortunately, it's a very nice one again so I'll be able to stomach it.

I'm flying out of Houston Hobby. I'm so used to flying out of Intercontinental (I have a park and ride account there) that I think I've forgotten how to park at Hobby. I guess I'll just drive in and hope to find a space in the general parking. The last time I was there I saw a fight break out over a parking space. That is one reason I always take the park and ride shuttles. See you at the end of the week.

Thanks Dick

2007-02-23T21:29:00.002-08:00

Three weeks ago I emailed the office of Texas Governor Rick Perry and flamed him over his Executive Order RP65 - February 2, 2007, "Relating to the immunization of young women from the cancer-causing Human Papillomavirus."

My message was far from polite. In fact, it bordered on ugly. I used some very strong language and actually dared them to try and get their filthy hands on my daughter. I actually told the Governor's office that the only way they would get to my thirteen year old daughter and inject her with a government mandated vaccine would be by stepping over my bullet-ridden dead body.

The email I sent was so strongly worded that the following Monday, after I had somewhat cooled down, I was a little nervous and wondering if I was going to be visited by some state government goons. Fortunately, that never happened. Instead, I got a form letter from Perry's office goons today, exactly three weeks later, to the day. They thanked me for contacting the Office of the Governor and expressing my concerns regarding the HPV vaccine. You're welcome you robot assholes and thank you Governor Perry for insulting me and my daughter.

Balance, cont.

2007-02-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

In the work I do, when I'm not installing a new system, I return to the ones I have previously installed to service them once a month. That's how long it takes to get to them all. There are more than eighty of them scattered throughout the entire city of Houston and as far north as Dallas, as far south as Harlingen, as far west/northwest as San Antonio/Austin, as east as Baytown and everywhere else in between. Half of it is just driving. The other half is even less stimulating.

What offsets this monotony is when I fly out of state for an installation. I love to see the U.S. and I love to install. This was happening years ago but for some reason the out of state prospects either dried up or were not being pursued. Now, about eight years later, I am suddenly being zipped all over the place again. In December I was in New Jersey. My next destinations are Kansas City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, back to LA and I hear there is another account pending in somewhere in New Jersey again. This is what keeps me interested and feeling good about what I do.

Balance

2007-02-14T20:36:00.000-08:00

My personal life is mostly quiet, predictable and uneventful; boring even. It was never my intention for it to become this but the more it does the more I like it. It's a peaceful refuge from my work life which is becoming more and more unpredictable, exciting and demanding. I try to leave the work related stress in the truck when I get home and try to keep my mind off of personal issues while at work. Home keeps my mind off of work and work keeps my mind off of home.

With my Dad in the hospital (we work for the same branch office) work has become more demanding as I mentioned above because I am taking over many of his duties. I am not complaining. I'm glad to do it. That's just an example of the unpredictabitly I also mentioned. He's counting on me to keep things running just as if he were here. I've been doing my best.

This Friday and the following Wednesday I have to meet with board members of two separate condominium associations to explain what our company proposes to do about their problems and how we do it. I'd much rather take a beating.

Inevitable comparison

2007-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

I'm fairly certain that I am not the first person to do this but in all honesty, I haven't seen it yet and this was my own idea. It's just an observation. I am not making fun of either one of them.

Why now?

2007-02-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to sign in to my account here on Blogger for about four or five days. It only gave me the option of switching over to it's bug-ridden new version for which I have no account. The instructions for setting up a google account were simple enough but of course it never worked. I used up all but two of my sub- accounts (for about a month) just following their instructions. Every new account I created was flagged as an existing account. Well, F'n duh! That's what I had to do to switch over to the F'n new and improved F'n Blogger! Oh, I did finally find a way to log in to my existing old version of Blogger, but when I did that (and you would be surprised how many times that was) it only took me back to the same new Blogger sign up which took me in the same circle again.

With the remaining two sub-accounts (alternate email addresses) I had left, I secured a domain name with Wordpress with the exact same title as this blog a few hours ago. I'm usually not that lucky. I'm not going to link the site here just yet because I think I might be able to get back in here again. But if you're curious to see what may have to be my new site, the URL is http://dissonanced.wordpress.com. If I disappear from this site you can find me at the other.

Lease is up

2007-01-31T18:46:00.000-08:00

It's time to sign another lease here. Last time I signed a 15 month contract because they kept my rent at the same rate as the previous 12 months. I thought that was pretty swell even though I have been here since 2000 and they don't have to rely on FEMA for my rent. That and the fact that I don't steal or break into cars or destroy my apartment or anything else on the property just for the sake of doing it.

I'm going to sign another 15 month lease this Saturday because I like it here and almost all of the New Orleans trash has either been kicked out or moved on to a more natural habitat; the crime friendly ghetto. Adios mo-fo's. I will not miss you or all the trash you shovel out of your vehicles into the parking lot.

These are the lease options I was offered:
6-11 month @ $760.00 with $125.00 off the first month
12-15 month @ $750.00 with $250.00 off the first month
Month to month @ $810.00

The mortgage payments on my house weren't even this high. This is what I actually pay per month out here in the 'burbs for a 2 br 2 bath 1,042 sq. ft. apartment:
$750 (rent)
$ 35 (water)
$ 20 (reserved parking)
____
$805.00

If I remember correctly, my house note was only about $675.00/month.
I certainly do appreciate the $250.00 break on next month's rent though.

Update: The manager gave me an additional $100.00 off next months rent for signing a 15 month lease. That's a cool $350.00 I can keep in the bank!

Yes!

2007-01-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful weekend. The weather people were completely wrong and I had a super-wonderful time.

One step ahead

2007-01-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

I got a good head start on the weekend. In anticipation of a dreary, rainy Saturday I started a pot of beans which will be ready by morning and will last until Sunday afternoon. We already have tortillas so all I will have to do is make cornbread whenever we need it. Another reason I did this is so Gabby will have her favorite crappy weather food (comfort food) ready on the stove anytime she wants it because I may go to work for awhile Saturday. Then again I may not. The point is I don't have to bust out the pots and pans until Sunday evening either way. Even then I may just que a chicken on the pit forget about the kitchen.

Relieved beyond description

2007-01-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

This will be brief. My Dad came out of surgery this afternoon after having a section of his esophagus removed which after examination turned out to be cancerous. They removed it in time and he is doing well so far.

State of the Union address

2007-01-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not here to talk about the content. I really wouldn't be able to say much about it right now anyway. I had it on and was prepared to listen to it since I don't have cable but something came up when Bush started his speech. My daughter started asking questions about the differences in the two main political parties. Naturally, I began another indoctrination marathon. Relax. I'm just kidding. Actually, we got into a very long discussion about it that lasted well past Bush's speech so I didn't hear much of what he said. No biggie.

Although we were talking through it all, I kept my eyes on the TV screen most of the time. I saw a few things that cracked me up and I'm wondering if anyone else noticed them. The first was John MCain with his chin on his chest, eyes closed and appearing sound asleep. The second was another politician shown doing the same thing just minutes later (was that Jim Webb?) The third and funniest, in my opinion, was when Bush was making his rounds, shaking hands and greeting people after his delivery. As usual, Sheila Jackson Lee managed to position herself not only in the camera's view but in the path of the President. When he got there he shook her hand and spoke briefly to her but was more interested in talking to the man to her left, whoever he was. As they spoke to each other Sheila Jackson Lee's mouth never, ever, ever, ever stopped moving even though Bush never once even turned his head toward her again. Even as he was walking away she was still talking at him.

Embassy Suites Parsippany, New Jersey

2007-01-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

This is what we installed in New Jersey. I don't expect this to be interesting to anyone, I just wanted to show what we did. A lot of work went into this.

Home again

2007-01-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

I'm back from another road trip.

Exhale

2007-01-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

It's over. A few of my best blogger friends have been asking me if we had heard anything about my daughter being accepted to the very special high school we had such high hopes of her attending. Gabby and I can finally unclench our jaws; I got the word Monday morning.

She's in! She made it! She did it! I am so proud of her. It's not easy getting in to this school and now she is going to have a super-wonderful high school experience which I'm here to tell you she deserves. Thanks to those of you who know who you are for asking, caring and wishing the best for her.

Question

2007-01-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Why are words needing emphasis in blogs these days surrounded by asterisks such as *this* instead of being italicized? Are italics dead? Someone, please explain this to me.

New Jersey isn't so bad

2007-01-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

I had never been to New Jersey and wasn't expecting a very pleasant five days. I was pleased to find out that I was very wrong. The weather was no colder or humid than it is here in Houston. In fact, it was much colder in Dallas a couple of weeks ago when I was there. I was also surprised at how friendly and helpful the people are there. I say that because we were not in the interior, we were all around the Newark area just across the water from New York.

Before we left I was told that we would be flying into JFK and taking a shuttle to Newark. Instead, we landed and took off from Newark. Although I could easily see the New York skyline from the airport, it was a major disappointment. We did have some down-time where we could have taken a shuttle into Manhattan but the guy I was working with is the type of guy who prefers laying in bed in his room and watching TV instead of seeing the center of the universe first hand. What a wet blanket. I called the front desk and got the shuttle schedules (which run every hour if not every half hour until 2:00 AM) and was very close to going in by myself. I changed my mind at the last minute because I had a sudden gut feeling that I might get in to some trouble over there. That's OK though, because we have two more jobs pending there and I will be going (we are the only installers in the company). I will be going to Manhattan with or without that lazy slug next time.

Away again

2006-12-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

Gabby and her mom landed in Florida yesterday and today I am flying to New York. They are on a pleasure trip. I am off to New York/New Jersey for work. I'll probably have plenty to say about it when I get back. Merry Christmas everyone.

Home again

2006-12-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

It feels so good to be sitting here at my desk. My bed is going to feel even better whenever I get there. I really, really, really hate hotel rooms. No matter how nice the place is, it just always feels like the backseat floorboard of a taxi cab to me in regard to comfort and sanitation. The first thing I do after I ~~drop my b~~ toss my bag on the desk (floor is out of the question) is strip the comforter off the bed and wad it up with my feet in an out of view corner for housekeeping to find the next day. This is why: Hotel/Motel bed comforters are never washed. Since I've sort of gotten off topic and now on an unexpected roll, I'll tell you how I know this. My job is to condition water to prevent corrosion and scale build-up (Calcium, Magnesium) in domestic plumbing systems (potable). Since the tendencies of water can change at any time, I have to run various water tests on every property every time I am there, which is once a month. Almost half of our accounts are hotels and motels. For convenience I run my water samples in the housekeeping area. This is where everything gets washed, dried and sanitized for your protection. In the fourteen years I have been doing this I have never once seen a single comforter in housekeeping. If they actually do get washed it can only be about once a year and on a day I am not there. If you were to inspect one with a black light it's possible that you would never stay at another hotel for the rest of your life. I do it because I have no choice. There is so much more to this but I'm not in the mood to discuss all my other "OCD" phobias about lodging. It might even lead to food service issues which trouble me even more.

But since I brought that up- I was so disappointed in my favorite restaurant in San San Antonio last night. The amount of time I stood at the hostess station was torture on my lower back. I actually started to read my paper while standing there. When she showed up she led me to a small table in a corner of the room (which I prefer because I hate restaurants too). I sat there for over half an hour before I was even offered a glass of water. In fact, I never was. There was a waitress and a waiter buzzing around me taking care of other tables but I couldn't get their attention. At times they were only five feet away. I realized that I was invisible and needed to decide whether to leave or become hostile. I was starving my ass off. Suddenly, I had an idea. I flipped the menu over and called the number on the back underneath the address of the place right from my table. I don't know who it was that answered but when I told him what I just told you, what I was wearing and where I was, I had an f'n waitress before I was able to get my phone back in my pocket. I ordered my tea, plus a margarita (which I never do but I wasn't expecting to see her again for a long time) and before my drinks got to the table my carne guisada was brought to me by what appeared to be a manager or owner mere seconds later. Yeah, you know that came right off the flame just for me. As if you haven't already guessed, it sucked. I'd bet that it had been sitting under a warmer for almost an hour. They didn't even offer to comp that margarita.

San Antonio

2006-12-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving for San Antonio in the morning. Wimberley on Wednesday. See you when I get back.

Bullseye

2006-12-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, These are the coolest five sentences I've seen in print here in Houston in a long, long time. This statement couldn't be more on the mark. These words come from Olivia Flores Alvarez of The Houston Press.

The waitresses are chatting in Russian. The food is Italian. There's a group of Argentineans in the corner, talking Spanish at full-speed. And Texan Tianna Hall is on stage singing classic American jazz, backed by a Norwegian guitarist and a Lebanese drummer. Yeah, this is Houston.

I'm off to Dallas

2006-12-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

See you this weekend.

Vintage Christmas chic or just plain gaudy?

2006-11-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

It seems that every Thanksgiving or Christmas this subject comes up when we're sitting around after dinner sharing laughs about the past. We laugh, we cringe and we wince. We wonder what the hell we were thinking back then.

This particular subject comes up almost every time: The aluminum Christmas tree with the color wheel. We had one for several years. This was in the late 60s until about 1971, maybe 1972. Believe it or not, it was not unusual to have one of those back then. At the time they were still considered an acceptable alternative to a real tree to some people. I asked my Mom why she did that and she said it was because it was just new and different, sort of a novelty at the time. It was also easy enough for a child to set up. So easy that my mom almost never had to set it up because me and my sister insisted on doing it ourselves. There were three steps: (1) Stand the pole up (2) Stab the gigantic pipe cleaner looking things into the pre-drilled holes in the wooden dowel and (3) Plug in the color wheel behind the "tree". My Mom would later decorate it with shiny balls, sometimes of varying colors as seemed to be the custom then. It was far beyond tacky. But what did we know? It was 1970 and we lived in Corpus Christi (Padre Island).

I remembered this when I got home and searched the topic. It seems that this butt-ugly Christmas tree has officially achieved retro-cool status. They are for sale all over the net. The color wheels too. If you aren't old enough to remember this or haven't picked your own up from the vintage store yet, this is what I'm talking about:

How's this for a video game theme song?

2006-11-20T01:38:00.000-08:00

Punch-Out theme

For the record- I am not a gamer and I am not a headbanging metalhead.
I am, however, almost 42 and still have an appreciation for 70's and 80's style heavy guitar/synth rock. Growing up in the 70's and 80's also meant coming of age in the video game era.

Apparently this is the theme song to the arcade game "Punch-Out". I think it first appeared in the bars around 1985. I remember it well although I never actually played it. I remember it because my best friend at the time, Greg Coco, relieved his stomach of two shots of tequila behind one of them at a place in Corpus Christi called "The Cannery". That's not necessarily meant to be funny. It's just a fact. We were only in our early twenties.

I'm asking you to listen to this all the way through even if it's not your favorite style of music. It's not my favorite style either but the musicianship and the clean, tight sound really grew on me. Listen to it at least three times. Be patient. The longer you stay with it, the better it gets. If you make it past the first 38 seconds, you'll see what I am talking about.

PS are those thirds or sixths I hear Laurie? Or both?

Dumbing down Dissonance

2006-11-19T00:55:00.000-08:00

Can this blog get any lower? You bet it can. I have nothing to say so I posted some of my favorite images that I've snagged off the web. To appreciate them you will need a healthy sense of humor.

The cat survived this fall.

That annoying mystic feeling

2006-11-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

It got cold enough today and especially tonight to mess with my psyche. It happens to me every time the first real cold snap blows in. It affects me in a strange way psychologically. It's not bad, it just feels weird. I can't wait for summer.

Another tour of I 10

2006-11-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

I am driving to and from San Antonio today for about thirty minutes of work. It's a six hour round trip by truck. I am sure to be in a great mood when I get home.

The Interview

2006-11-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

Well, that's over. Now it's just a nail biting wait to see if she's accepted. I was both surprised and impressed that during the interview they had the parents wait in the cafeteria. I found Gabby's best friend's parents and we just sat in a booth and talked about how our two kids seemed to be under-dressed compared to the others and what illegal measures we would take to keep our kids out of the High School they were originally assigned if they didn't get accepted here. Just kidding. Okay, sort of kidding. Actually, I feel pretty confident that she will get in. I just need to stop talking about it so I don't jinx the whole thing. As Hemingway said: "You lose it if you talk about it."

Miscellaneous

2006-11-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

Highway 6 was full of Harleys today, mostly in separate groups with a truck or two pulling trailers behind them. They were all heading down to Galveston for the
Lone Star Rally
. While most of the bike traffic was probably seen on the beltway and I-45, all the bikers from my end of town headed out on Highway 6. It's a longer ride but much safer and much more scenic. It also runs right into the Galveston causeway which leads directly to the seawall where the weekend-long party will be taking place. If I didn't have two 12 year old girls to look after I would probably be down there this weekend. I read that there will be 23 bands playing a total of 33 shows.
Unfortunate Lone Star Rally update

My daughter has an interview tomorrow morning with some administration people of the high school we want her to attend next year. It's not a private school but close to it. It's one to which only AP/GT students are accepted. Please wish us luck. This is her only ticket out of the hell that is a typical big city school in which she does not belong.

I realize nobody likes to hear someone brag about their kid but I'm going to do it anyway. It's my blog and I'm proud of my daughter. She just started her second year of mentoring. What that means is that she volunteers to be assigned a troubled kid in elementary school and then helps them with their school work and attitude. She first participated in this program last year and her little protege ended up being promoted to the next grade against some serious odds. She's doing it again this year. She didn't get to pick who she would be mentoring; the school just assigned her a troubled little kid at random. Gabby says "That's ok." Gabby is twelve years old.

I got word the other day that I will be sent to St. Louis and Kansas City for two separate projects. I really love to travel but I hate northern states in winter months. I did that once in Portland, Oregon for them twice and it was pure hell each time. I was there for a long time and I started hating that town with a passion. It was cold, the wind was blowing about 500 MPH (exaggeration), it rained all four weeks I spent there (not an exaggeration), the food sucked and the girls were ugly. I didn't say where I was from and I most certainly did not dare tell them that the cutest girls in the world are from Texas and California.

I missed the excitement

2006-10-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

About an hour ago President Bush was just a spit-and-a-half away from where I'm sitting now. President Bush (yes, I call him President instead of Mr. Bush like the sore losers in 2000) was here stumping for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. I live just down the road from Sugarland airport where he spoke in one of the hangars. I thought that was kind of funny because I drive by them several times a week and they are not much more than gigantic metal sheds.

None of the Bush family are strangers to Houston but having him land right here in my neighborhood was interesting to me. What I was mainly interested in was the aircraft that would be in the neighborhood. I am so absolutely fascinated with military aircraft that it probably borders on obsessive. The same goes for the NASA Guppies which I've seen near Ellington Field.

He initially landed at Ellington field. I knew that would be the case because it would be impossible to land Air Force One on the runway of this little airport. He came in by helicopter. Was it Marine One? I also knew that there would be lots of escorts, mostly other helicopters. But would there be fighter jets in the air as well? I got back to this area just before he was to arrive and I hardly took my eyes off of the sky. I live on the north side of the airport and saw nothing but dead airspace. They must have come in from the south or south-west. I drove toward the airport to see how close I could get to it, if at all, but ended up turning around. The DPS were lined up along Hwy. 6 with their lights flashing just beyond an electronic sign saying "be prepared to stop". I wasn't willing to spend the time stuck in a mess like that.

How about some more water?

2006-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's a shame that some counties have been deprived of rain for so long while we have had more than we care to deal with. I knew it was going to rain today but I wasn't expecting another day of minor street flooding and nearly zero visibility on the freeways at times. I should have known, honestly.

The rain woke me up about 5:00 AM. Not thunder, just heavy, heavy rain. I layed in bed thinking "Oh, great." It had stopped by the time we left which is a good thing when you have to creep through a school zone on a residential street which has an elementary and middle school practically next door to each other.

I don't know what the conditions were like in the central, east, west or south parts of town. I was stuck on the far north side wet as a drowned rat. I tried to make it to the east end of town but just gave up because of a wreck which had the loop at a stand-still. I just gave up and started making my way back to my side of town. The day was over.

The visibility on the way back was such that I was going anywhere between 30 and 45 MPH at times on the loop, 59 south and the Westpark tollway all the way to HWY 6 and I have perfect eyesight. I couldn't believe how many people were passing me going twice my speed. Not only that, one thing I really noticed was that at least half the vehicles I saw did not have their headlights on! If you're driving a grey colored little egg-shaped car in these conditions without any headlights, you are invisible.

Attention cell phone junkies:

2006-10-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

You people really piss me off. Would it kill you to have your inane conversation before you enter a business or wait until after you get back out to the parking lot. Some of us just want to conduct our business and get back on our way. We can't though because of all you idiot zombies with your hand stuck to your head.

I'm sick of you running into me with your grocery cart because you're telling whats-her-face why whats-its-name isn't whats-his-asses baby. I'm sick of you having a five minute conversation in the self-check line at the grocery store while everyone waits. I'm sick of seeing you walk in to a convenience store in the middle of some dumb-assed conversation and then carry on your stupid-assed conversation while the clerk just stands there looking back at all of us other people in line and shrugging their shoulders. I'm sick of you coming to a complete stop before turning in to a parking lot because you are so engrossed in your unimportant conversation. I am sick of your loud voice. I'm sick of your elbow. I am sick of you.

10-24-06 7:19 PM
I would really like to hear what others have to say about this.

Guy stuff for sure

2006-10-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

This is another cool photo by Daniel Kramer. He submits interesting shots from around town for the Houston Press including a caption true to the Press' style. The feature is BAYOUSPHERE-Image of the Week. You can see it

here

. Look under news.

I was fortunate enough to witness part of this demolition. It was late in the day and I was heading to the 2300 block of Cummins. After making a right from Richmond, I started hearing heavy, booming sounds. I didn't know what it was until I drove up beside it. When I saw what was happening I immediately pulled over. I turned off the radio, rolled my window down and shut the engine off. I wanted to experience this with the least amount of distractions.

It was spectacular. Until that moment, I had never seen a crane swing a four ton lead weight into the side of a multi-storied structure before. Especially that close. The impact almost sounded like a sonic boom when it hit something still structurally solid. When it hit at a higher level, it sounded like a small explosion complete with the sound of large debris crashing to the ground. I was mesmerized.

Finally, I saw the crane operator deliver a blow to the middle of the structure you see to the right. It brought down one story which landed sideways on the rest of the building that was still standing. It was loud and a dust cloud rose about a hundred feet. After that, the crane operator decided to gently lay the weight on the side of a wall and then suddenly jerk it to one side. It was a semi-successful maneuver while it lasted but he decided to switch to another method which was to raise the weight above a target and just let it drop straight down.

This is how it went for the next twenty minutes until the gigantic shackle supporting the weight somehow broke. It fell (several feet) and landed perfectly balanced on top of a semi-demolished wall. It teetered there for several minutes before deciding which way to fall. When it fell, it took down a good portion of the remaining wall. After that, I knew the show was over and I drove away.

Some scenes from summer

2006-10-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

We didn't do much this summer. At least I didn't. It was either raining or Gabby was at a friend's house or at her mother's house for the weekend. These photos came from a single disposable camera I kept in my truck the whole time. That's how lame this summer was. Out of 24 pictures, only five are worth showing. Actually, half-assed worthy.

Blogger is messing with me again. It took me five attempts just to post them and then when they posted they were all out of sequence. I gave up and just accepted the shit sandwich I was handed. Also, please click on each image so that you can see the details better.

This guy was juggling oranges in the intersection of 610 and TC Jester for tips I assume. He was good. He juggled the traditional way we all have seen but would then switch, without stopping the motion and change it to the circular "O" pattern. I was disappointed when the stupid light turned green. I could have watched this for hours.

I saw this on the sidewalk of a little strip mall. I asked the girl walking him/her if I could take a picture and she obliged. The little dog was so cute. Although it doesn't show in this picture, the little thing was so excited to see me it looked like it was in the middle of a seizure.

Another picture of the intersection juggler. It was taken seconds after the previous one but Blogger won't let me arrange anything in order. I like this one because there is a cop car making a left turn and I know the cop sees this.

This is just a picture of a little cottontail I saw in a parking lot; A little urban bunny. I only took his picture because when I drove up on him he didn't even flinch, he just kept his eye on me while I was there.

World record for the most idiotic protest?

2006-10-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

I saw a story this evening about a competition to be held by a Six Flags in Gurnee, Illinois (should be spelled Gurney) to beat the world record for eating the most cockroaches. Yes, a world cockroach-eating record. I didn't know there was such a thing. Who would? Other than Joe Rogan.

As disgusting and bizarre as that is, what blows my mind the most is that the sunken-eyed PETA crowd is protesting and (most likely) demanding that this event be cancelled. Have they run out of causes? Are they so out of organisms to protect that they are now defending the civil rights of cockroaches? The Reuters article stated:

Theme park operator Six Flags Inc, based in New York, is staging the contest as part of a promotion leading up to Halloween in which it is also offering customers free entry or line-jumping advantages if they eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it had been flooded with calls from children, adults and even anonymous employees of Six Flags opposing the record-breaking contest and the overall promotion.

The more enlightened, superior alien beings of PETA are on top of this. They are working around our Earth clock to prevent the possible exctinction of the cockroach. A spokeswoman from PETA had this to say:

"Insects do not deserve to be eaten alive especially for a gratuitous marketing gimmick," PETA spokeswoman Jackie Vergerio told Reuters.

Sounds like she's talking about Koala bears. It's a cockroach! Plus, almost every bug is eaten alive by something. If Ms. Vergerio has a problem with that, she should take it up with God. You know, set Him straight.

The Banny Rooster Post

2006-10-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

I used to have contributors here. I enlisted them to help me keep this blog active when I was not able to do so myself. One of them was Sharon. She is in the medical field but also operates a ranch with her husband and thier kids.

My stat counter for this blog keeps track of all the activity here. It tells me everything including how people got here. What I see is that the number one query that directs people to this blog is that of Banny Rooster thanks to Sharon. The number two most queried item will also take you to another post by Sharon. I come in at number three.

This is without question the funniest thing ever posted on this blog in my opinion. See the Banny rooster post
here

I am not ready for this

2006-10-06T23:58:00.001-07:00

The 2006/2007 school year has just started and my 12 year old daughter's middle school (junior high) has already assigned all the eighth graders a high school for next year. I can't believe we are having to think about this right now. Can't we just enjoy our eighth grade kids' last year of relative innocence before the hell that is high school takes over our lives?

To those unfamiliar with Houston, I will say this: It is bigger than you probably think. Unless you are in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, we are bigger than you. That goes for you too Dallas. Out here in the suburbs of Houston one's K through 8 child will attend a school reasonably close to home. But by ninth grade (high school) your kid could be bussed across town to a high school in another area of town simply because it is part of the same school district. Some of our school districts here are the size of a small town.

My daughter was assigned a high school that is far out of our "safe" little neighborhood. There is a high school so close to us that I can see it if I walk out to the street. In fact, it is the school my oldest daughter graduated from. It is no more than a block from here. We pretty much live right next door to it. Instead, my 12 year-old was assigned to a school farther into town. Due to the traffic at that time of the morning, I assume it would take about an hour to get there. This is complete bullshit.

Location and distance are important but what I am mainly concerned about is the quality of the school she attends. She and all her friends are the nerd group, the smart ones, the high achievers and they were all coincidentally assigned to the same high school outside our neighborhood. Equally coincidental is that all the little wannabe thug and thugettes, who care zero about education, were assigned to all the good schools here in our neighborhood. This is a repeat of the seventies. Good kids go to bad schools, bad kids go to good schools. Isn't it so perfectly utopian? Everything just balances the hell out this way, doesn't it?

Recurring Themes in my Dreams

2006-10-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

There are three types of dreams which I have on an unusually regular basis. They are about (1) water and the boats I worked on (2) being extremely high above the ground, trying to climb to safety either up, down or anywhere, with down being steep as steep gets and (3) a horrible bar shift. They are pleasant, stressful, frustrating respectively. In each, the theme is the same but the scenarios are different which is why I don't consider them to be true recurring dreams.

The particular dream that has been plaguing me the most lately, as recently as last night, is that of the horribly frustrating bar shift. I can make some sense out of the other two but this one just perplexes me. I have been out of the bar business for about twelve years. Thinking back to that time, it seems that the positives and negatives of the job always balanced out, but these dreams suggest to me that they did not.

This dream only takes place in the very first bar I ever worked in. It always starts out the same way: With me coming on shift in the evening when happy hour just ended and before the rowdy night crowd starts filling up the place. It also progresses the same way: I walk behind the bar and all the regulars greet me with enthusiasm (as they always did) and we chat at length while we still can as I keep their beverages coming as needed. Soon, the bar starts filling up and for some reason I just can't keep up with it anymore. From there it just gets so bad that I eventually wake up. Relieved. It reminds me of falling in a dream but waking up just before you hit the ground.

This is actually the opposite of the way it really was. I was a very good bartender. I could hear three orders shouted at me from three different people (waitrons included), get them out quickly, correctly and without any stress, for seven or eight hours straight. That's why I don't understand these dreams.

Last night's dream of this type was the strangest I think I've ever had. As usual, it was extremely frustrating but in this case it was so strange it was almost amusing. As usual, I came in for my night shift and there were a few regulars at the bar (actual regulars, I still remember most of them). The bar was trashed as though someone worked the night before and hadn't even cleaned the bar or anything behind it. Everything was a mess. The mix gun was tangled between all the bottles in the speed rack and (being a dream) the hose was for some reason connected to the stage.

As I was trying to get the mess cleaned up not only for my current customers but also for myself, I noticed that I was having more and more difficulty with my motor skills in getting this done (a common characteristic of these dreams). I'm trying to get this done before the night crowd rushes the bar. I go toward the sinks which is full of glasses and see a huge pile of black boots of all kinds on the floor. "Another crazy idea by the waitrons, whatever it is.", I think.

Soon the place is filling up with other employees that I have never seen in my entire life. I don't know them and I do not know if they know me or not because none of them are talking to me, not even when I speak to them. It's as if I'm a ghost they can't see. They are all behind my bar (which in real life I never allowed because the waitrons couldn't be trusted). It is then that I realize that I was dumbass enough to come to work in wet shorts and my own big black work boots. Shortly after that I realize that I'm not wearing a shirt and now I can't find it.

As I'm frantically trying to get one of my "fellow" employees to acknowledge me I see more and more and more of these other employees who I have never seen in my life just taking over everything, including my bar. I still can't get anyone to respond to me. Then, what had always been the little office in the back had become some incredibly huge, plush office/separate club for what seemed to be new owners and an entirely new clientele. I was invisible yet still stressing out about not being able to get myself properly dressed to work my shift with these strangers who, by the way, still appeared not able to even see me. It was somewhere at this point that I woke up before hitting the ground.

Wait a minute

2006-09-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I agreed to mow my sister's lawn this weekend. She offered to pay me, but that is ridiculous. I wouldn't take money from her for that. Instead, I requested cheese enchiladas as compensation. I think that's fair.

It wasn't until today that I was hit with a ton of bricks and wondered: "Why can't Laura mow the lawn herself?" She certainly is not stupid and she's anything but weak. I can't come up with a single reason why she would be unable to mow a lawn. I'll ask her Sunday. Hopefully over enchiladas.

Update 9-29-06/11:22PM: There will be no cheese enchiladas. I will just be mowing a lawn.

Disgraceful

2006-09-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have come to loath Houston mayor Bill White and police chief Harold Hurtt. White launched the campaign "not spare change but major change" or something to that effect regarding intersection panhandlers. Brilliant. The idea is that rather than fund the malt liquor habits of the lazy kooks who stagger through traffic collecting money, you should throw your money into the black hole of some crooked charity which, according to White, will somehow end their dependence on handouts and possibly motivate them to find employment.

As police chief, Harold Hurtt is no different than former mayor Lee "Out Of Town" Brown. He is never here. He has absolutely no allegiance to this city. He is only here to collect a pension. His home is Phoenix, Arizona and he spends every weekend there. In fact, just days after Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was shot four times in the head in his patrol car by an illegal alien with an extensive police record, including indecency with a child, Hurtt was in the Carolinas at a taping of Good Morning America (I think) defending his and White's policy of not questioning the status of anyone's citizenship. Here in Houston, when asked about this policy following the tragic death of officer Johnson, Hurtt quickly passed the buck to the Feds for not securing the borders. While true, what does that have to do with his department?

What a cop-out. Isn't that convenient? Just how much more do you have to hear before you realize what a lazy, inept, opportunist this man is? I don't think he gives a flying you-know-what about what happened the other day or anything else that happens here. It's just a job to him. A position with a healthy pension. In addition to this, he imposed a "no chase" policy on our cops, meaning that they are not allowed to pursue murdering, drug dealing, pimping, drunk, high, violent, thug-assed serial criminals when they decide to run from the cops. Does that make any sense to you?

WTF

2006-09-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Geez.

Double-take

2006-09-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today I picked up a sandwich at the Subway at Fannin and Southmore. The girl behind the counter was being a total bitch so I decided to just look out the window while she slapped my lunch together. When I turned around I saw Priscilla Slade and another person in one of the booths.

She wasn't on camera so she didn't have that smug grin on her face I got so tired of seeing on the news. As usual she was dressed to the nines (as was he) but eating lunch in that grimy little Subway. I guess she's on a tighter budget these days.

Clarification

2006-09-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I failed to mention last night that the reason the book hasn't been finished yet is because it's just too painful to read. It sits here on my desk very night saying "finish me". But I can't get myself to open it back up. All I can do is stare back at it. I prefer to read just one book at a time and that is why September caught up with me before I had a chance to shelve it.

Bad timing

2006-09-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

My only escape from everyday life are through books. When I finish one I close it and set it aside then open the next one. It is an unfortunate coincidence that I just happen to be reading a book right now titled Never Forget: An oral history of September 11, 2001.

It is what it says it is. Firemen, policemen, EMTs and regular citizens explaining how they survived that gruesome day. It is an absolutely sickening read but one that I feel compelled to finish. I can't believe the unfortunate timing of finishing this book near the five year anniversary of this atrocity.

Surprise

2006-09-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Houston's newly installed red light cameras have snapped some 600 photos of red light runners as of yesterday.

That's all? Maybe the city's money grab plan has backfired on them and drivers are actually thinking twice before running that red light. I know how far-fetched that sounds but how else can you explain only 600 violations in a few days? Blazing through red lights, no matter how long they have been red, is a Houston tradition. Only a tourist or a fool moves foreward when their light turns green without looking left and right about three times each way before proceeding through an intersection in this town.

I seriously doubt this is the case. Houstonians don't care if they are caught running a red light on camera or even by an actual cop on the street and I'm sure the city was counting on this. In fact, Houstonians probably care even less about getting a ticket in the mail. I doubt that any ticket received on the street even stays in the vehicle and I'm quite sure that any ticket received in the mail will go directly into the wastebasket. Think about it: every three or four years HPD offers an asylum week to everyone with a warrant out for their arrest for failure to pay a fine or show up in court for a simple moving violation which means that you have a week to finally show up and pay your fine before they finally come to get you (which never happens unless you are stopped on the street or offer your TDL number to an officer). I really, really, really hate to use this cliche, but it is so all about revenue. Revenue which we will never see used in a practical way.

I do not condone vandalism but this is funny.
see what this crazy brit did

Back to inanity

2006-09-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'd rather get back to my usual vacuous posting than rant like I did in the last two posts. Although I stick by what I said, it was actually fueled by a head splitting toothache which has since mysteriously gone away.

Here we go. I usually hate getting forwards in my email because they are either something I've already seen a million times, a chain letter, some hoax that everyone in our parent's generation believes to be true which they send out to everyone they have ever known, or just plain stupid. Actually, the latter applies to all of it. Sometimes they can actually be good.

Such is the case with the one my sister sent me yesterday. Her and our dad have stopped flooding my inbox with this garbage after telling them I didn't like it but they still send me the quality ones (as I requested). Sister did good by sending me this one. It made me laugh and even email her back about it. Below is what she sent me along with a bit of correspondence about it between us.

The small print in the picture of the yogi reads:

(Upper) The ancient yogis used logs, stones and ropes to help them practice asanas effectively. Extending this principal Yogacharya Lyengar invented props which allow asanas to be held easily and for longer duration, without strain.
(Lower) . . . this version of the posture requires considerable strength in neck, shoulders and back, requiring years of practice to achieve. It should not be attempted without supervision.

Oh, really?

Me: At first I thought "Great. Another foreward". But, no this was a good
one. Thanks!
Me: Hey! Didn't Jimmy and I play at that place once?
Laura: Yeah, and the guy on the ground is Jeff!!

Work is another word for oppression

2006-09-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

I heard today that the number of Katrina evacuees that will have their free rent terminated is actually only about 2,500 instead of the 7,000 that I heard earlier this week. I just don't know what to believe anymore. I think that the information we get directly reflects public opinion. I think all forms of reporting simply blow with the wind.

I am so sure that the timing of Mayor White's public verbal ass-beating and the fact that there is a difference of 4,500 evictees in the news is just an unfortunate coincidence.

Fear not parasites. Those of you who submitted the proper forms in time will be given another six month extension. Those of you who did not, I suggest you set up a tent city on Bill White's sprawling front lawn and loudly protest the injustice of being forced to support yourself. Bring pitchforks and torches and demand to be let in to his house for a year. Remember, your God-given right to government assistance is threatened.

Biting the hand that fed you

2006-08-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's hard to get away from the subject of hurricane Katrina today. One year ago to the day the levees surrounding New Orleans broke and drowned the city. Sadly, in a very literal sense. Everyone knows this and still every paper, radio show and TV station is making quite a day of it. I don't fault them for doing what they're paid to do but it was predictable. That's OK with me. I think a day of paying respect to the residents of New Orleans, both living and deceased, is the right thing to do. But I didn't want to talk about it. I have nothing new to add. I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said. I don't think there is anything else that could possibly be said about it.

Except for this: The evacuees in Houston need to get off their butts and get a job. This Friday is the cut-off day for FEMA subsidies. If I heard right, about 7000 of the folks from New Orleans we took in will be out of residence at the end of the week. And yes, they are livid. The ACLU has even stepped in to "right" this injustice. The injustice of limiting a free ride through life on uncle government's tab to one lousy year. Year!

Forgive my insensitivity but just what the hell have they been doing for an entire year? That was rhetorical. I know what the hell they've been doing all this time. I have seen it every day for an entire year. They lay about every day and every night getting fucked up in the parking lots or sidewalks, jack a car when they can actually get off their lazy butts and try to break into my truck about twice a week. They are sluggish drunk as we leave in the morning and rowdy drunk when we return home in the evening. I assume that's because they had a pass-out nap while we were working our asses off; Doing our fair share to help fund their lifestyles.

Please understand that I am only talking about the deadbeats. I am not talking about the honest, decent working people who had no choice but to call this town home for awhile. I like them enough that I really hope they stay. It is the eating and watching TV in bed all day, every day types that I have no sympathy for. They had an entire year to find some form of employment but did not even bother to look for it. Now they are in a class action lawsuit mentality against the city that took them in and by the way, hasn't gotten the credit it deserves in my opinion.

I think I'm back

2006-08-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

I think I got everything worked out on this computer. I almost said "stupid computer" but that's really not the case. I upgraded and it's working perfectly. I upgraded back to XP.

I am seriously exhausted from all this BS. The XP upgrade took three times and about two days to install. I had to uninstall/delete almost everything I had ever downloaded just for the upgrade to take. After everything looked good I found one program that I couldn't sign in to: Blogger. How about that? Rather than uninstall and reinstall the XP, I just decided that this blog was dead. In fact, I started another blog on
WordPress
. Fortunately, I didn't kill this one because I eventually figured out how to sign in another way. By the way, I'm going to keep the Wordpress site up and I'll show it to you another time. In many, many ways it is so much better than Blogger. I can hear you Mac users out there laughing at me. But hear this: If or when I ever need to buy a new machine I just may be defecting to your side. If you're listening Laurie, I'll probably bombard you with questions.

PS 5 minutes later: Why the hell is there a bullet in front of every link I put in a post? Did I do something wrong in my template? The crap just never ends.

Hola

2006-08-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity to get on a computer and somewhat update this blog. I'm using someone elses machine so this will be brief.

I am not very happy. I spent Thursday and Friday driving to and from the Mexican border (six hours each way) without cruise control. Because my bosses from Los Angeles and San Jose are coming to visit me this week, I spent my weekend straightening up our warehouse. In the process I sweated gallons and actually broke my left big toe for the second time. Dang my luck. I can't wait for this month to end.

Monday from hell squared

2006-08-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

What is it with this particular day? Monday has always been the worst day of my week for as long as I can remember. I've been conditioned to automatically expect complete disaster the day after my two days off. Every Monday my life spins out of control. Today was no different.

The old work truck is for sale. The company I work for (in Simi Valley) wants us to sell it. It's in my possesion so I am the one taking all the calls. My company issued cell phone that I would so love to smash with a hammer rang every twenty minutes all day long. I then get a call from the LA office telling me that I have a serious water leak problem at a particular double high-rise. It was as serious as it gets. I had to deal with the absolute worst non-English speaking
American hating engineer of all time. He is not just the chief engineer of a building . . . he's an actual engineer. That means there is no such thing as communicating with this alien. After I solved the problem and got away from him I went home and stared at the floor. I then began trying to resolve a very, very, very serious computer problem I had here and ended up wiping out every single one of my browsers. After that I decided to go to our warehouse and get some work done there after hours. Upon my arrival, I immediately locked myself out of my truck. I Had to call a locksmith and pay for it with the company credit card. My boss is going to really dislike me in a about thirty days. I had to do it. My only alternative was either sleep in the bed of the truck or walk over to my 19 year old daughter's apartment. The bloodsucking locksmith came and rescued me and I made it home. When I got home I found one of my daughter's parakeets dead on the bottom of it's cage. Geez.

This is sort of a temporary farewell. My computer is pretty much a gonner and I can barely type on this lame-assed keyboard that Gabby uses. I am going to change operating systems. I will probably be away for a long time.

For kicks . . . What's the significance of WJRL?

Decisions

2006-08-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I heard someone ask this question: "Would you actually favor one child over the other when it comes to funding a college education?" I thought about it all day and I have to say that, yes, I would. Siblings can be as different as night and day. My two girls are as similar as fire and water. My 19 year old stepdaughter barely made it out of high school. My bio daughter was skipped ahead a grade, makes straight A's in her GT classes and is thinking about college at the age of 12. One is academically oriented and the other is not. The one that is will be going to college and the other will not because she doesn't want anything to do with school ever again. It would be like setting fire to a pile of money.

It's always a good idea to update your promo pic

2006-08-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am not picking on Houston AM radio talk host Chris Baker. I just want to point out the difference in his appearance in these two pictures. The picture on top shows him as he looked when he first joined 950 KPRC. The second picture shows him as he looks now while at 740 KTRH. Nice clean-up. He said himself that the stupid goatee look was over. I could not agree more.

Not a good look. What's with the eyebrows? He looks a little drunk here (I'm quite sure he's not though).

This is a great picture of him. He's a good looking dude when he doesn't have the fuzz around his mouth.

Learn from this you twenty year-old pseudo hipsters . . . It's ugly.

In India fish fall from the sky, In Houston - money

2006-07-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

If you live in Houston and could use an extra $30.00, be looking for small white containers. Local scientists will be releasing some weather balloons for the purpose of testing Ozone levels. From them they will be dropping what they described as payloads. I like the sound of that.

If you find one it is good for $30.00. At first it sounded like there would be thirty bucks inside but they want the containers back because they are reusable. Inside each one is information on how to send it back to them. I'm a little unclear on how this will work but I'm assuming that when they get a container back you will be sent a check. That kind of takes the fun out of it but if they really want their little white boxes back this is how they should do it.

As much as I could use the money, I'm more interested in seeing one of these weather balloons. I've never seen one in person. I wish I knew when and where they are going to send them up.

Houston Media: End The Trial Coverage

2006-07-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

The two 5 year-long Enron and Yates cases are behind you now. There is nothing else to say about either one of them. There is nothing left to explore. It's over. At least allow us some time to get this out of our minds for now before you Imperial-monkey-like scoop whores swoop down on the mental institution.

Screwed Part II

2006-07-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

I hate to say this, but I am at the mercy of the power suppliers. I have spent hours on the phone with Reliant and Centerpoint trying to dispute my $500.00 electric bill and now I realize that they just don't give a shit. They don't give a flying f--- that I'm in a 1042 sq. ft. apartment and never run the AC or anything else. All they care about is that I owe them money.

I paid the assholes. I had to. I could contest the charges from now until doomsday but that wouldn't save me from having my power shut off for non-payment, and believe me, they have no problem doing that. Get this: I do not even run the AC here anymore. I can't afford it. My daughter and I are doing without the luxury of air conditioning and I just received another bill for $400.00. WTF?

Two Years And Five Minutes

2006-07-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

According to the clock on this computer, it is exactly two years that this blog has been up. I tried my best to time the post and the publish time to match the original time stamp in 2004. I was off, but not by much.

Original post- 7-13-2004 1:12:46 AM
This entry---- 7-13-2006 1:17:00 AM

Not too bad. If this is still around next year, I'll compensate for the lag time a little more carefully. I'm surprised that I've kept up with it this long. One thing I am certain of is that the longer you are into it the more interesting it gets.

My Thoughts Exactly

2006-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

This Michael Ramirez cartoon
in today's Houston Chronicle still has me laughing out loud everytime I look at it. I brought it home with me, I have it sitting right next to me and I'm still laughing at it. It's much better in black and white print, I think.

What I love most about this particular cartoon is that this is exactly how I've always envisioned the behavior of North Korea. China too. I think it's very clever. The ear protectors are a super nice touch. I like how this guy thinks and I love the way he draws. To me, he's like the Gary Larson/Don Martin of editorial cartooning.

Please click on the image to enlarge it so you can see more detail. The depiction of Kim Jong Il here just kills me. Look at his feet. It looks like he's kicking his bratty, stubby little legs all over the place. Also, if you look closely, you can see a little toy rocket in his left hand.

Bugs

2006-07-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Recently, someone moved here who drives an early 70's model Volkswagen. They park it in a covered, reserved spot two spaces down from my truck which is just outside my front door. I'm looking at it right now through the window here at my desk. It's white and it's in near perfect condition. I can't wait to hear the thing start up. Actually, I'd like to take a ride in it. If I had the money I would offer to buy it if I thought the owner would sell. The appearance and condition of the car tells me it is not for sale. It's obvious that the person loves the car.

I think the old Volkswagen "Bug" is a marvel of engineering. The epitome of practicality. It was inexpensive to make, affordable to most all, easy to operate and easy to maintain. It is perfectly designed for both sand and snow as well as water (I've always heard that they can float). It uses very little gas, will live forever if properly maintained and also provides it's own heat in the winter via a cleverly designed duct that catches the engine heat (before the exhaust) and channels it inside. And if it ever gets stuck, all you need is a couple of buddies to help you lift it out.

I have a long and sordid history with Bugs. Bitter-sweet would be an understatement. Life and death is more applicable. The first bug I ever drove was a well kept red one. The second bug I drove was a very used blue one. The third bug I drove was a tricked-out black one with big, fat rear tires, open engine, custom interior and an honest-to-God old Hurst (Herst?) shifter. The red one was sold. The blue one burned to the ground on HWY 6 and the black one nearly caused a catastrophic, multi vehicle smash-up, also on HWY 6.

The Blue Bug
This bug has the most history. I shared this little car with the long term girlfriend I was shacking up with in the eighties in Corpus. We drove it for years. Years and years. We even towed it up here to Houston behind a U-Haul truck. When we all got up here, things started changing; girlfriend and I were not getting along and car was not wanting to run properly, if at all. Perfect.

Girlfriend decided to get away from me and go spend a few weeks with her parents in New York. Of course, car stayed with me. One night after my bartending shift (about 4:00 AM) I was talking with my bartending partner in the parking lot about my situation when the conversation turned to the old blue bug. By this time it could only achieve about 50 MPH if given a three mile stretch of highway with the pedal on the floor the whole time.

I kicked the rear bumper and said: "I hope this mother fucker blows up and burns to the ground on the way home". It did just that about twenty minutes later. I was driving across the elevated stretch of HWY 6 across Addicks reservoir when the engine of the bug literally exploded. After the boom, I saw nothing but fire behind me. I pulled over immediately, got what I could out of the car and then just stood and watched as the car turned into a huge ball of flame. I am not superstitious, but I will say that I have since learned to be more careful of what I wish for. At least verbally.

I walked halfway home until some nice person pulled over to give me a ride. It was obvious I was the former owner of the ball of flame on the side of the road behind us. He dropped my smoky ass off at home and I went directly to sleep. The next day I called girlfriend in New York with the bad news.

"Meg? Remember the car? Well, it caught on fire last night."
"OMG, is it alright?!"
"Um . . . No."
"What's it going to cost to fix it?"
"Um . . . Meg . . . The car is gone. I had to go to a salvage yard to identify the remains. I turned over the title so that we wouldn't owe any storage fees."
"How could you do that?! That's my car???"
"Meg . . . It was nothing but a melted wad of metal."
"click"

I did her a favor by handing over the title. The usable parts on that poor car were just barely enough to cover the cost of one day's storage in the county graveyard. And how about the fact that she didn't even ask if I was alright. My hair was singed and I was blowing black snot out of my nose for a week. She never even once expressed any relief that I got out of the car relatively unscathed.

The black Bug
Not long after that, an acquaintance of ours from Corpus showed up in Houston. He had the tough-assed black bug for sale. On a rare break from behind the bar one night, I gave him about $400.00 for it. It had brake problems, but I knew that when I bought it. I was so thrilled with this tricked-out bug! This was actually the funnest car I've ever had in my life, although I didn't get to drive it very long.

I took it to a repair shop for a full brake job. They did it and I paid out the ass for it. The brakes worked fine after that but the mechanics were extremely negligent in one area: They forgot to secure the rod that connects the brake pedal to the braking mechanisms. In other words, the little shaft connected to the actual brake pedal was not secured in it's place and fell out inside the car. It happened as I was late for work and hauling ass over the hump on HWY 6 and I 10. I came over the hill only to find that I had zero brakes and tons of other motorists below me. I shifted into second to slow the bug down, but the shaft snapped and now I had even less than zero stopping capability. I was at the mercy of the laws of physics, inertia mostly, I suppose.

I was fucked and so were the poor people below me. Thanks to God and my Dad, I inherited lightening fast reflexes. I saw a tiny escape hole and took it. It was between a building and a cluster of trees and telephone poles. I veered off the road, hit the curb, caught some air, landed successfully and bounced across the lawn of whatever property was there at the time until I finally hit concrete again which was the adjacent street, about a block from the intersection. Fortunately, it was a mostly unused road at the time. I just rolled down the road with my foot out the door trying to slow the car down. After my shoe wore down to my bare foot, I realized that I had to do something more drastic to stop the bug. So I hopped the curb again. The grass slowed me down enough that I didn't have to ram the bug into a tree or a telephone pole in order to stop it.

I actually made it to work that night. That is after someone came and picked me up. Here's the real ball buster: While I had it parked at the bar days later, it was stolen and stripped. We found it in the alley on blocks. It was nothing but a frame. A skeleton.
That was about fifteen years ago. From those days on, everyone that knew me at that time has insisted that I not ever drive another VW Bug. So far, I haven't. Yet.

Just Testing Blogger

2006-07-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have heard many people complain about Blogger not working right, or at all. Some say that they are not able to post pictures. Others say they cannot post anything at all. I do see evidence of this on certain sites. In fact, I've seen it on many: Pictures that didn't load and links to an alternate site. That, and a lot of complaints.

For some reason I don't have this problem. I posted this pic and text just to see if I would have the same trouble. As you can see, I did not. I don't know why some users are affected while others, like myself, are not. I have had problems like this in the past but it was very temporary. It was either when Blogger got buggy or was scheduled for regular maintenance. In either case, Blogger was back up and working perfectly in an hour. While it may be frustrating and inconvenient, I find it hard to get angry at a free service.

Screwed Part I

2006-06-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

I got my Reliant Energy bill today. How accurate does this sound to you?
billing period 4/7/06 - 5/9/06 -> $77.72
billing period 5/9/06 - 6/8/06 -> $498.90 ($523.85 after due date)
Yeah. That's normal.

I live in a 1,042 sq. ft. ground level apartment that is shaded by massive trees. I hate artificial light and use only the kitchen light (at night) because it is florescent. I was born and raised in south Texas which means that I am uncomfortable in tempuratures below 80 degrees. Therefore, I only run my AC when I sleep. This has not changed for two decades, no matter where I've lived. In one 30 day billing period my bill increased by $421.18. Or in kWh by 2,530. That's a lot of kilowattage. This is bullshit; someone is robbing me. The electric bill for every 3-2-2 house I have ever lived in never even came close to this amount. Not even in August.

I could talk every day for a month about this with the robots at Reliant Energy but I am human and have limits to my endurance. It's pointless. I'm screwed and and there's not a damned thing I can do about it.

Freeport Report

2006-06-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

The Beach Kinda Sucked
Daughter and I finally made it to the beach for the first time this year. This is a late start for us. We have a lot of catching up to do.
Today, the tide was lower than low, Surfside was covered with seaweed and the sky threatened to thunder-boom us all day long. We fished off the second sandbar with squid but caught nothing but hardheads.
No fish for you!

No Problem
We were just happy to be back in our natural habitat. To us, the ugliest day in the surf is better than the happiest day at work or school.
I've heard about aroma therapy but I know nothing about it. That is because I want nothing to do with anything new age or of the occult. However, I have to admit that there are certain scents that really trigger the good side of my brain. The smell of the surf is what does it for me. The first lung-full of beach air I get always puts me in a very strange mood. It's a good feeling but one that is too hard for me to describe. It's like that strange feeling you get when the first cold snap blows in. I hate to use this word, but it is sort of mystic.

Some Things Never Change
We got back home wet and sandy, wave and wind beaten. But we were happy. Getting beaten to death by the surf is what we live for.
As usual, Gabby took a shower as soon as we got home and I, as usual, crashed out. She woke me up twice. The first time was to ask me if she could break off part of our Aloe Vera plant to treat her "sunburn" and the second was to tell me that it was 10:30 and ask if I was going to cook tonight. My answers to those questions were "of course" and "hell, no" respectively.
Kids . . .

Useless Revelation

2006-06-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

I just realized that Tommy Tutone and Gordon Lighfoot sound like the same person. Not only that, but the structure of their songs and the guitar work seem the same. I was not listening to any music tonight. This just popped into my head.

A Recurring Sentence On This Blog

2006-06-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

I wish I knew just how many times I've typed this sentence:

I had/have to drive to San Antonio (3 hrs. each way) for twenty minutes of work.

That's what I did today. That's a lot of butt-time. By the time my legs stretch out (sometimes before) it's time to head right back to Houston. Today I ended up spending almost an hour there. That's a record for the most length of time. The record for the least amount of time is about five seconds. I promise this is true. In this particular case, if you started the count from when I pulled the key out of the ignition until I put it back in, it was probably forty seconds. But the actual task I went out there for was to do nothing more than tighten a compression nut to stop a very slow drip, which probably didn't even take the full five seconds I estimated it to be.

Today was the first time I had taken the new truck out of town. Although I love it dearly, there is a problem. Somehow, someone forgot to order cruise control for it. This would not have been a problem with the old truck (a one ton Chevy) but the pedals in a 2006 Tundra seem to be in an odd position or at least in one I'm not used to. They seem to be more to the left than any other truck I have driven. Also, the accelerator and center hump are unusually close together. It is uncomfortable maintaining a constant (and legal) speed for hours at a time.

This is a minor complaint. It's hardly worth mentioning. I rarely have to tend to out of town accounts these days. It was mostly an observation. This is a work truck (the forth). As with most service trucks, it comes with no bells or whistles. I agree that this is how it should be. But since I'm the one that will practically be living in it, for years, I am allowed some input on the matter.

My Requests:
AC
automatic
AM/FM
cruise

That's all I need. Three out of four isn't bad.

Partial Sigh Of Relief

2006-06-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, I will be able to fully exhale in about a week. My Dad has gone under the knife again but is now out of surgery as I type this. It was nothing very serious but because of the events of last year, I've been a bit of a nervous wreck. I can confidently enough speak for my Mom and Sister to say the same about them. I suppose.

Please forgive whatever incorrect terminology or spelling I use here. I am as ignorant as one could possibly be regarding anything medical. Today, he had a double hernia procedure in the area just below the Solar Plexus (breadbox?). One thing I am not ignorant of is how unbelievably sensitive this area of the body is and how painful it can be if anything goes wrong there. In addition to that, he had to have a cluster of "things" removed from his Thyroid. Small tumors I think. All is well though. So far.

Reason for this degree of concern: For starters, years ago he got hit with low-grade (non insulin-dependent?) Diabetes. But the biggie came just last year when, after the first Million of the Zillion office visits he had to make (and still does), it was decided that he needed a heart bypass. It wasn't until they had his chest pried apart that a split-second, unanimous decision was made that he needed a triple. Stat. And so it was done; right then and there. He flatlined sometime during this. My sister said it was for a very frightening amount of time. He made it but not without bringing home an infection which didn't reveal itself until it was nearly off the charts. And now he's back on the operating table.

Fortunately, my sister is coming to town this Friday. Unfortunately, it is because her daughter has an appointment of her own. However, the timing is perfect. She seems to be the unofficial doctor of our family. Somehow she was just born with the aptitude for everything medical. If she was a computer, you could say that it was default. She's also a former EMT. She takes charge and for whatever reason, everyone listens, including Dad himself. The girl is tenacious to say the least. In fact, I credit her for our Dad's eventual recovory back then.

It was not easy writing this. I did so because it is all that I have on my mind right now. To say that he would be missed would be a monumental understatement. It would affect far more people than just our very large extended family. To my sister, myself and our Mom, it would be the end of the world. We need him.

The Band

2006-06-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

6-12-06:
Purpose of this post: None, really, other than they are my absolute favorite band to emerge in the last ten years or so. I was listening to "Gold Medal" all weekend. I saw this picture of them and since I really didn't have anything useful to post (surprise) I just stuck it up here because I thought it was a really great photo of them.

Interference On The Katy Freeway?

2006-06-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this on 950 KPRC's website. I wouldn't know anything about this. I've been avoiding the area like poison.

If you've been experiencing interference with our broadcasts as you motor along the Katy Freeway near Wirt Road, here's why:
Center Point Energy has had to install two temporary 138,000-volt lines to supply power for the Katy Freeway construction. So that the lines could be removed quickly, Center Point used temporary insulators which do not offer the isolation normal insulators do ... so they can arc and cause AM radio interference.
The lines will soon be replaced with underground service, but the first line is not scheduled to be completed until May 27. When it is, that should lessen the interference.
The second line is scheduled to be replaced on June 4, and that should eliminate the interference altogether.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

All I can say is that poor AM reception is the least of ones interference problems along this stretch of freeway.

Talon, T-A-L-O-N, Talon

2006-06-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

ABC aired the final round of the National Spelling Bee last night. With the state of television these days, it turned out to be the best thing on at the time. I actually watched it. These kids are amazing. A girl named Katherine Close won it. This was not her first time there. She was in the nationals last year. Unfortunately, I don't remember the final word.

I love watching these kids. They are far from the dull bookworms you might expect them to be. They have such entertaining personalities and the judges allow them to be themselves. I think that is important because the poor things are such nervous wrecks at this level that I'm always afraid one might puke right there on the stage. Or faint, which has actually happened.

Before it got down to the last few, they showed some previous footage of the lighter side of the competition; the funny moments. To me, there was no contest as to who did the funniest thing. After I saw it I remembered reading about it somewhere but it had slipped my mind. The boy steps up to the microphone and with his head tilted slightly down, he does the most perfect, dead-on impression of Napoleon Dynamite. He said, "Do the chickens have large talons?"

I Just Had To Open My Big Mouth

2006-05-31T00:34:00.000-07:00

Wanna see something funny? The link is at the end of this post. As embarrassing as this is, I can't help appreciating the humor in it. Even at my own expense. Funny is funny.

This evening I found something very interesting in the activity logs here. Someone did a search for Carrie Underwood, found my site and spent a good chunk of time here. They were a member of a Carrie Underwood fan site and added one of my recent posts to their message board.

I completely found this out by accident. But I'm so glad that I did. It most certainly makes me look like the goober that I am but that's okay. It's nobody's fault but my own.

Once inside the link, scroll down and find the message board called Carrie News. The last time I looked, my post from here was the fifth from the top. Direct your attention to the comments to that post. I don't know if they are making fun of me or just having fun with me. It doesn't matter to me. Either way, I think it's funny.

take a look

Exhale

2006-05-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

I don't quite believe it myself, but I think I may have wrapped up the "project" that has plagued me for a month or so both in my waking hours and in my sleep. The job itself was never the problem. The problem was me. I'm out of practice. Rusty. I was starting to doubt my ability in general.

Remember the groove? Well, I finally hit it in the eleventh hour; as usual. Accomplishment sure can turn a frown upside-down. I'm as good as done with this now. All that's left is a few more minor tweaks. In hindsight, I'm glad to have been considered for it. Mostly, I'm just relieved that I haven't completely lost it as I was suspecting. I have to admit that I was sort of in a panic. It's okay though. I still got it.

NASCAR Can Really Throw Down

2006-05-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

That organization can really throw a party. Or so it seemed to me when I passed by the television earlier. I have to say that I don't know anything about car racing. In fact, I didn't even know who Dale Earnhart(?) was until after he died and I finally asked someone what the 3 I saw in the back window of every other truck represented. As a former bartender, I should know this. However, I couldn't get my head around it then and I haven't been able to since.

That's irrelevant. What I want to point out is the opening ceremony (if it should be called that). Had I not known better, I would have thought that it was the opening of the Olympic games. I was here when I heard a brass band playing from the TV in the living room. Then I heard bagpipes playing the requisite "Amazing Grace", and then "Taps" by the brass band.

I got out of my chair to see what what going on and saw a formation of servicmen, all saluting, in perfect, motionless reverence. What I saw next took me by surprise. I saw my future wife, Carrie Underwood, begin the national anthem. She did the most perfect, on key, unarranged, beautiful, traditional and respectful version of it like I haven't seen in years. Then, in the two last lines of the song, a formation of F-22A Raptors scorched overhead. Wow. As for Carrie: The girl has class. What a girl, what a girl, Lord have mercy, that girl has class.

How My Day Started: Getting Flamed

2006-05-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

The first thing I do each morning is check my email. This is what I found in my inbox today.

Greg, NObody [sic] decided for you. It was presented to you to take or not. You had every chance to decline, so don't blame your lack of motivation on everybody else. It was presented to you because your [sic] good at doodling something [sic] and because it's an easy opportunity to make some extra money. Excuse the fuck out of us!
If it's making you that miserable, tell George you really can't commit to it at this time.

That was pleasant. Thanks.

The Groove Log

2006-05-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

11:05
Nope. Not feeling it. Not feeling it yet.
11:15
I am so not feeling it. In fact, I'm in a very foul mood right now.
11:48
I've been fooking off on the computer so I don't have to work on the stupid "project". I really want my life back.
12:16
I forgot to mention my daily encounter with stupidity. I went to Whataburger (290/Jones road) this afternoon for a coffee and a small Dr. Pepper. I asked the retarded teen behind the counter if they had any coffee left and she just looked at me like a chicken watching a card trick.
Me: "Do you have any coffee left?"
tard: "Uhhh . . . (looking side to side for help) you want . . . what?"
Me: Coffee. Do you still have any coffee?"
tard: (disappears to consult with superiors, comes back with some sort of black shit in a styrofoam cup)
Me: "Okay, nevermind . . . may I just have a small Dr. Pepper?"
tard: "Sigh"
[tard comes back with a 64 OZ. soda, probably not Dr. Pepper]
Me: "Um . . . may I have just a small one?"
tard: "This is a small."
Me: "No, I don't think so. Can I just really have a small Dr. Pepper?"
tard: (wincing) "Ooohhh . . . I arrready rungded it uup . . . "
Me: "Whatever. Can you just bring me a small Dr. Pepper and ring me up for a small Dr. Pepper?"
tard: (wincing) Oh, no, no, no . . . I arrready rungded da button."
Me: "Never-fucking-mind."
tard: "Hey!"
Me: (walking out with my head in my hands)

"No soup for you!!!"

Desperately Seeking a Groove

2006-05-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

I got myself suckered into a project that I'm not sure I can handle. I didn't ask for it; other people decided that I would do it. I could have said "no" but I didn't. I wish I had now.

My heart is not in it. I resent having to do it. That means it will most likely be really shoddy work. The deadline is June 1. I have to finish it by then, but in order to do that I need to find a groove so that I can stick with it the whole weekend so that I can just be done with it forever.

Noisy, Smoky Day in the Galleria

2006-05-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

I was having lunch at Chacho's sometime around 1:00 when I started hearing sirens. I could tell they were firetrucks but naturally, I thought nothing more of it. Normally I wouldn't even remember it now. I was in my truck reading the paper and scarfing down tacos and couldn't see the sky. As I was about to leave, I realized that the sirens had never stopped and now I could distinguish between firetrucks, ambulances, police cruisers and the eerie/freaky wails of those HFD Suburbans.

I still wasn't thinking much of it until I went left on Nantucket and heard a chopper in the distance. It sounded too large to be a fox unit and too small to be military craft or LifeFlight. That means only one thing: news crews. At Nantucket and Burgoyne I looked in that direction (left) and saw the ___-damnedest, biggest, blackest sky-high plume of smoke I have ever seen that close (mere blocks). I pulled over on Burgoyne to look at it and noticed that the smoke had blocked out the sun and was shading the street.

I had four more properties in this very area that I needed to get to this day. I was able to get to Fountain View/Inwood, Augusta/Woodway and Woodway/Ripple Creek without any problem. Those unfortunate enough to be caught near the intersection of the blaze or were doo-doo brained enough to drive over there for a better look were, according to KTRH, gridlocked with little to zero visibility. I can't confirm this because I stayed the hell out of the way and got back to work.

This all began about 1:00 and I left the area about 4:00 by taking a right on Woodway. I drove past Winrock and took a left on Voss. This fire did not want to go out and was still belching out pitch-black smoke. Even at this point the emergency vehicles were still coming from every direction including an HFD vehicle the size of an RV that looked just like HPD's mobile cop shop that had once frightened all the local illegals until they were assured, by HPD, that they had nothing to fear.

I'll be in the same area tomorrow morning and you can bet a months salary that I will be driving by this site to see what's left of the charred, soggy remains of this building. That is, if there is anything left other than a large blackened foundation.

So Hard To Accept

2006-05-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

To me, the South Loop West has always been a cool, fun stretch of Houston freeway to drive. When I first moved here about 16 years ago it was a thrill to cruise through that big wide corridor between the Astrodome and Astroworld. In fact, the novelty of it never faded even after all that time. If anything, I appreciated it more; the first massive domed arena and a gigantic amusement park with an almost exact replica of the original wooden Coney Island Cyclone directly across the freeway from each other.

The memories of these two places are some of the best I have. In the beginning it was hard enough to learn that Astroworld was going to be razed. Then, when I saw it happening, I don't mind saying that I was saddened. The progress of the dismantling and demolition I saw from day to day sickened me. That was nothing compared to what I saw today though. Today I took the south loop from I-45 and was slack-jawed astounded at what I saw: acres and acres of flat, brown dirt where Astroworld used to be. Nothing else. It most certainly didn't take very long. How's that for finality?

Lamers Unite

2006-05-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

Currently On My "Shit-List"

2006-05-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

People that stare
Rude people
Mean people
Outspoken, opinionated dumb people
Lazy people
Inconsiderate people
Greedy people
Aggressive people
Dishonest people
Selfish people
People

Knock On Wood- The Computer Is Up Again

2006-05-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

Early last week I lost all access to the internet. Not progressively, but instantly. I logged out to go do something and when I came back, I couldn't log back in; for a week. In addition to that, my beloved google deskbar was removed (apparently forever as I can't seem to download it again) and somehow this blog was wiped off the web during that time. Not just from me- I tried on several separate computers any time I could find one and could never even get the URL to come up. It is so time to finally switch operating systems!

As you have probably guessed, Windows got it's undergarment in a wad and started throwing error messages at me. It was familiar, infuriating and frustrating at the same time. Mostly infuriating. Here's the bullshit I get so pissed at and tired of:

1) "This program has performed an illegal action and will be shut down".
2) "Send Error Message", "Don't Send Error Message"
3) "Script Error: Continue?"
4) "A Fatal exception has occurred . . . "
5) all other Windows error messages

I almost gave up on this piece of crap machine and the OS too. In fact, at one time, I was so pissed off and feeling defeated that I went into computer suicide mode. I went to DOS, typed Format C: and hovered a shaky finger over the y of Y/N? Under the question "Do you really, really want to completely wipe out your entire C Drive forever and ever?" Yes, that was stupid, but the rational side of my brain prevailed and I eventually hit the n key.

I'm glad to understand Windows but I'm sick to death of it. I appreciate the fact that if I just dig and troubleshoot long enough I will always be able to fix the problem myself. But I'm just sick and tired of having to do that. If anyone out there would like to share some introductory information on Linux, I would be most grateful.

5-16-06
Post thought: Maybe I don't understand Windows.

2006-05-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

2006-05-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Final Thought Of The Day

2006-05-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever let anyone find out that you can draw unless you do it for a living.

Greek Easter 2006: Freeport, TX

2006-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got this post finished. I did not have the energy to go through all the pictures and decide which to use so I posted the whole roll (including the two botched ones). I'm even too tired to say much about the weekend. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

However, I do want to give you an idea of the types and quantity of meat that was made: 14 chickens, 2 large briskets, 6 smaller briskets, a head-on pig, a lamb (which you can see below), 10 lbs. of andoulle sausage, 10 lbs. of some other sausage, 15 lbs. of boudain, quail and an unbelievable amount of crawfish.

2006-04-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

2006-04-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

2006-04-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

2006-04-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

2006-04-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

2006-04-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

2006-04-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, Now I'm Back

2006-04-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

I feel like something the cat dragged in. A Greek Easter weekend is not for the faint of heart, mind or stomach. It takes some serious stamina to keep up with these people. It started Friday and ends on Monday. I spent half of Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday there. As fun as it is, that's enough for me in one weekend. More tomorrow or Tuesday.

Easter Weekend II

2006-04-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Freeport for Greek Easter. If I don't catch any fish at least I'll have some cool pictures which I'll share here. See you Monday. Opa!

Scenes From Occupied Houston

2006-04-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time I had seen this. I had not even heard about it on the news. This seems to be two different billboards but the one I saw was on I-45. Later in the day I heard an ad on the radio explaining to the people here from New Orleans where to pick up absentee ballots saying "You may be displaced, but you can still vote." The smaller print at the bottom of the boards say "Let's keep New Orleans moving forward." I couldn't agree more.

It Just Wouldn't Be Easter Sunday Without Snaking Out A Sewer Line

2006-04-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is how new traditions and fond memories are formed. My parents, my sister, her two girls and mine had been gathered the night before at my parent's house here in Houston and I met them today about 1:30. By arriving that late in the day I walked in to the inevitable chaos already in progress. My Mom was dead on her feet from cooking since last night, my Dad had already grabbed a plate but was in the worst mood ever and my nieces and daughter were raising hell and driving my sister crazy. Correction: everyone.

My parents live on Lake Livingston but they are selling that house and moving to the one they have here in Houston. It is currently unoccupied but we usually meet there for holidays.

My Dad had every reason to be in a bad mood. Before he even got there he knew that the sewer line was backed up (for the third time). This with three adults and three girls staying there. He spent the entire morning cramming a motorized snake down the line on the side of his garage in the direct sun only for it to take a wrong turn and end up in the hall bathroom everytime. I think the second thing he told me after "hi" was "need your help". He's not in the best health right now and I felt bad for him.

What happened next is just like the scene in "The Wizard Of Oz" when the wicked witch of the West sprinkles styrofoam shavings on Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. Toto too. Everyone (including the kids) found a patch of floor, couch or bed and crashed out for about an hour. It was as spontaneous as it gets.

When everyone emerged from their comas, my Mom, Sister and the kids went back to the buffet while me and my Dad went back to the sewer clean-out hole from hell. We spent the next two hours or more in the sun between his garage and the fence (about 4 feet in width) with no breeze trying to force a snake through an obstruction about 50 feet into the his main sewer line. It most certainly wasn't meant to happen. The snake itself got bound up in the housing, so we had to take it apart to fix it. Little sucks more than having to take apart and repair a tool in the middle of a job that is unpleasant to begin with. He finally said the words I was dying to hear all this time. These are not his exact words, but the closest translation would be "forget it".

He finally gave up and called a plumber. The plumber showed up two hours later (on Easter Sunday) and unclogged my Dad's line in a matter of minutes (two or three, that is). That was impressive, but what really interested me was that he ran a camera 80 feet into the underground line. It wasn't small. The lens itself was about an inch in diameter. It was attached to some housing that resembled a flashlight which was attached to a thick cable with wires and insulated just like an extension cord.

The three of us gathered around the monitor and watched as the camera made it's way through the disgusting four inch tunnel. It was both interesting and disturbing at the same time. We finally found the obstructions (two of them). They are small roots that have broken into the PVC. One is on the city side and the other is on their side. That means two five foot sections will have to be removed and replaced. One of which they are responsible for.

Other than this minor inconvenience, we all had a really spectacular time. Especially the kids.

2006-04-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

Please allow me just one expletive. I am so fucking pooped! With the exception of last weekend when I was out breaking the law with my two favorite female friends, I have spent every day unloading equipment from the old truck and coming up with the most brilliant idea of how it is all going to fit in the new one. I am so sore that I can barely lift an arm to scratch my forehead. I have been taking three showers a day and still don't feel clean. My hands seem to be permanently soiled, my lungs are full of ten year-old utility bed dust and my mouth tastes like I cleaned the old toolboxes out with my tongue. Also, and as a result, I don't have a stitch of clean clothing.

It Sounds like I'm bitching, doesn't it? I assure you I am not. It's quite the opposite. When it comes to tools, trucks and toolboxes, I have impeccable organizational skills and I have a great time figuring out how to jam everything in like a tight fitting puzzle. I waited until it was fully outfitted and had at least some degree of a sordid history before I bored the world with this love note to my new truck. That and the link below where I have pictures of the new warwagon.

See The New Truck

I Miss You

2006-04-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

How's that for code?

The New Truck

2006-04-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

The old gray mare I've been driving for the last ten years is finally being put out to pasture. Now, I'm getting one of these thanks to my boss(s) in Simi Valley. I may be driving this home by friday evening. My only instructions are to get the bed lined and the toolbox (of my choice) mounted. I have nothing to bitch about right now. I suddenly love my job again.

Inmates Running The Asylum

2006-04-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

When I checked my mail this afternoon, there was only one letter in my box. It was from the school district. It was a mass-mail to all the parents of students in Alief ISD. I'm still not going to comment on this subject but I thought it would be fun to post the letter we all got here in this burb of Houston.

30 de marzo, 2006
Estimados Padres:
El tema de la reforma para las leyes inmigracion ha sido cubierto extensamente por los medios de . . .

Oops. Sorry. I was on the wrong page. Here it is. The English text is on the back. Once again, en Ingles.

March 30,2006
Dear Parents:
The issue of reform to immigration laws has been covered by the media extensively over the last week. Students across the city rallied to voice their opinions - many of them forming organized marches. While we support their civil right to express their feelings on legislation that will impact the future of our country, we also have an obligation to enforce attendance policies. We feel that there are alternate ways to initiate change in legislation. Throughout this entire week, Alief's approach has been to educate all students on the appropriate ways to express their opinions. Below are some ideas and activities that AISD students and staff have discussed this week:

Examined acceptable forms of protest

Provided contact information and sample letters for students and parents to express their position

Held group discussions about the proposed legislation and it's impact during announcements, advisory, and/or social studies classes

Explained compulsory attendance laws (tardiness and truancy)

On the other hand, parents should be aware of the consequences students will face if they choose not to comply with attendance regulations. We need to inform you that if your child walks out of school in protest, the following disciplinary measures will be enforced:

Documenting students who are truant, who violate the curfew laws, and who disrupt the learning environment

Dispensing disciplinary consequences up to and including suspension from school

Contacting parents and requiring them to accompany their child in order for them to return to school

We appreciate your cooperation. Our primary goal is to educate our children in a safe and civil environment.

I guess times have changed that drastically. When I was in junior high and high school, we would have simply had a very unexpected, loud and stern warning over the PA less than sixty seconds into first period. It would have sounded something like this: "Anyone leaving class and walking out of school will be considered truant, be rounded up by the police, fined $200.00 and returned either to school or to your parents. A three day suspension will follow during which you will forever lose all credit unless made up through correspondence courses which I think run about $100.00 a subject. That is all."