Dee recently turned me on to a site called Enchanted Ceiling. This site is a collection of sky photos submitted by everyone. It’s growing nicely. In fact, I just sent them 9 of my favorite sky photos. Take a look!
Category Archives: News
Drizzle Walk
Kevin and I walked to school today in the drizzle. He loved wearing his new raincoat for the frist time. He also likes playing with our shadows on the way to school, and asked me this morning where our shadows were today. I explained that when it’s cloudy or rainy our shadows go away because the sunlight can’t shine all the way through. So he learned that he can’t wear his raincoat AND play with his shadow. He’s still afraid to stomp in puddles though. We’ll have to work on that.
DVR Paradise
Our two new DVRs have done wonders for us so far. What they’re capable of is pretty neat, and so easy it’s scary. And with the fall television season starting this coming week, I’m afraid I might just overdose on television altogether!
We use the living room DVR to record Kevin’s favorite shows and a few of ours. He was pretty quick to learn the concept. Over the past couple weeks he’s seen a few shows he really likes and says “Daddy, can I get MORE ‘Courage The Cowardly Dog’ or ‘Dexter’s Laboratory?’ I say “Why sure, just a second…’ and with a few clicks of the remote I have a “series schedule” set to record every episode of the show he wants. I tell him I’ll have it for him by tomorrow. So now when he gets TV time he just says ‘Dad, I wanna watch some Spongebob,” and I go through the recorded shows list and put it on for him. How’s THAT for a spoiled kid!
All the options are there too–you can setup any series to ‘keep until manually deleted’ or allow the show to scroll off the list if the hard drive runs out of recording space. Or you can ‘keep the last __ episodes’ of any series, record any occurence of the series on ANY channel or just a specific channel, record all episodes or just ‘first runs’, etc. It sounds complicated, but that’s only when you dig deep down into it. On the surface it’s very simple to use.
It also makes life so much easier for new shows that people recommend to me– “Mahirose” recommended Nip/Tuck to me a few weeks ago, so I setup a series recording and now I’m hooked on it! It’s a great show on FX…
Anyway, as they say, with a DVR you can “Watch TV on YOUR terms, when YOU want to watch it.” You’re no longer bound the the wacky competing prime-time schedules of network television (it’ll even record two shows that are on at the same time!), or the poorly-timed shows that are on when you’re away or working. When YOU have time to watch television you can sit down and load up a show, fast-forward through all the commercials, and pause when you need to use the restroom!
Geez, I should sell these things…
Spam spam spam sapm
I love the new spam that starts out like this: “We apologize for contacting you at this time of the day, but we need to make sure that you received our previous email. We have checks from $25 – $150 ready to send you…” blah blah blah… You know the rest. But I love the apology for bothering me at “this time of day.” That kills me. How do THEY know when I check my e-mail?? Ah, it just another spam though, why do I bother? I just love the fact that I can get bigger boobs, a six-hour erection, and beautiful chicks for free, 24/7/365 guaranteed, any time I want! I can even refinance my house for three times it’s value, get millions of dollars of free money from the government (Thank you, Matthew Lesko), and I even have hundreds of beautiful girls just waiting for me to respond! After all, what’s e-mail for??
Dogs gone wild
I took a few minutes to watch the dogs “at play” yesterday, with the camera. It seems they love to ham it up for me whenever I watch them They seem to know I like to watch them “wrestle” so they put on a little show when I settle in and watch. I sat in the backyard in the grass (Sandy wouldn’t let me sit in the living room after that until I changed clothes–she assumed I sat in dog poop) and watched them, snapping the camera every few seconds..!
The highlights of these shots are embedded in this entry for your amusement. Peanut’s nickname is now “Cujo,” and you can see why. Man, he can look really scary when he wants to! Socks can make that face too, but it just doesn’t take on that evil look that Peanut can pull off. Maybe that’s because he’s had so much more practice–he gives Sandy that look on a daily basis… For some reason he just hates her. She can’t even pick him up without him throwing a fit. It makes things very interesting when “crate time” comes around and he has to go in. Ouch!
Peanut seemed to start feeling this way about Sandy just after we brought Socks home after losing Peanut…If that makes any sense. To clarify, please read the short novel I wrote on how we lost Peanut and got Socks by clicking here. Anyway, Peanut has this jealousy toward Socks, and he seems to blame that on Sandy. 
But almost any time anyone picks up Peanut he’ll growl and snarl if Socks is close by. I think it’s just out of habit though–He’s so used to Socks grabbing onto his rear-end and going to town on it in an instant when anyone lifts up .
Peanut’s front quarters. I guess he figures it’s the perfect entry position, so he takes every chance he can get. Or I should say he TOOK every chance he could get… he’s not doing that any more, the “repair” job took care of that little urge.
They’re getting along much better now though, despite how these photos make things appear. Rest assured, they were just playing around together and not really fighting at all, just showing off for me. Once I get up or even turn away and stop paying attention to them they quit wrestling and find something else to do.
I Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! L8r
Internet Scams
I recently (this morning) searched the Internet for job prospects–something I’ve been doing more and more often lately–and I just thought I’d save everyone who reads this blog a lot of time if you’re looking for work. It’s this simple: If a company asks for money from you, it’s not a real job and is most likely a scam. Plain and simple.
First I Googled things like “Work at Home” and I looked closely at the sites advertising things like “Paid Surveys–Get paid hundreds of $$$ a week just for filling out online surveys!!” Yeah. Uhuh. Ok. Some of them actually look very professional and hype it up real good. These are probably the ones making the most money off of people. So I tried this (and remember this technique, it’s helped me a LOT over the years): I Googled “Paid Online Survey Scam” and BINGO–I found all sorts of feedback from scam victims that had fallen into the traps of the sites I had just visited!
To make a long story even longer, this technique works great for e-mail hoaxes as well. Think: “Forward this joke on to 20 people and the punchline will appear on your screen.” That’s funnier than the joke itself! I get e-mails all the time from people asking me “Is this for real?” Just Google it and you’ll find the answer. And one more hint: If you can’t seem to find the answer on Google, remember to try the “GROUPS” tab in Google, you’re sure to dig up something interesting.
ps: To quickly enter the FULL Google Search engine, you can click the Google Logo at the top of my main page at any time…
Rainy Weekend
Wow, rain. All weekend. I almost forgot what it was. Everything was very turning green again today, after the rain passed through. The skies were threatening the rest of the afternoon and evening, and we may have even gotten another sprinkle some time tonight, but looking outside we could tell things were much greener. I might actually have to cut the lawn another time this summer if this keeps up! And now everything gets nice and green just before fall (which is my favorite season)… Fine by me. The bees were getting totally out of control anyway. Looking forward now to the changing colors of the trees and the cooler, drier weather.
Observations: I saw a sign I thought was neat, posted on the sign outside Wolf/Merrick Animal Hospital on 52nd Street during the big Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary celebration. It said “We can fix your dogs, but we can’t fix your Hogs.” One more: A bumper sticker I saw on a car on the way home from my toy store (Best Buy) today: “Life’s Short. Pray Hard.” Underneath it was a Jesus Fish. Nuff said.
Stray dogs
We went to Rec-Plex this evening to swim. Had a great time too, but before we left there were a couple of stray dogs wandering around the neighborhood. A neighbor called us and asked if they were ours, since one of them appeared to be a chihuahua and both of them were relatively small. Peanut and Socks were in the house though, so it wasn’t them.
As we left to go swimming we saw them outside. They appeared to be friendly, and always stuck together like they were either from the same owner or just really good friends. I sat down in the grass to see if they’d come to me, but they stood away and barked at me cautiously. I was almost able to pet the chihuahua a little, but they she jumped away. We got in the car and left carefully, taking care not to startle them or cause them to run into the street under our car.
After a great time swimming we returned home and guess who was locked in our backyard, behind the fence!?! Yup, our two dog friends. They greeted us home, just as our own dogs would have if they’d been outside. We’re not sure how they got in the backyard though, since it’s entirely fenced in. Someone had to have put them over the fence or opened the gate and let them in. We assume a neighbor may have let them in and figured they were ours, since they were hanging around our house, probably after hearing our dogs barking from inside.
We knew we couldn’t just let them go free. We didn’t want to think about them possibly wandering a block east to Sheridan Road…they’d certain get hit by a car. And we certainly couldn’t keep them. Four dogs is a bit much. We have our hands plenty full with just two of them. I decided to call the Police for advice. They sent out an officer to verify that we had the dogs, and then called Animal Control.
The dogs were barking quite a bit whenever no one was with them, so I sat on the deck in the backyard with them while I waited for Animal Control. Both dogs were female. One appeared to be a poodle/Shih-Tsu mix and the other one a brown and white chihuahua mix. They were very friendly and warmed up to me quickly. They sat next to me and nudged my hand whenever I stopped petting them. Sandy put out some water and they drank that, so I brought out a couple of dog bone treats for them. They took them, but didn’t eat them. They left them lay out in the backyard.
A while later the Animal Control car came and picked them up. I said goodbye, and he took them away 
. Now, as I sit here typing this I realize what would have REALLY topped off this entry–A photo of these dogs! I didn’t take one! I’ll never ever see them again, and I forgot to even snap a single picture while they were here. Sheesh, what kind of geek AM I??? 
This is the best I can do:
Dog Tired
Socks and Peanut are exhausted. As we told Kevin, they were broken, so they spent the day at the vet getting “fixed.” They’re just lying around the house trying to figure out just what the heck happened today. They woke up happy and humping each other, took a ride with their masters, got left in some strange doctor’s office, passed out, woke up sore as heck in the groinal regions and groggy as all get-out, and then their masters picked them up again and brought them home. Sometimes shivering and just looking off into space, they seem to be wondering what’s going on. They often want to jump up on the couch to lay down, and they even halfway try once in awhile, but give up when they realize they just don’t have the strength, or maybe it just hurts too much to jump right now. They look at me like they’re asking me to help them up. I do, and then they just jump back down and follow me when I walk away.
They’ll get over it. The vet says they’ll be back to their old selves tomorrow. Hopefully not “completely” though–Within a month he said we can most likely expect a major change in behavior (90% chance) for the better. They can have only a little food and water today, and we have to keep a close eye on them so they stay away from their wound and don’t fall down the stairs or otherwise hurt themselves while their medicated. Anyway, that’s it in a nutshell (pun intended) for our dog repair project.
Bargain Basement
We’re in the process of cleaning our basement this week (and probably next week too). It’s amazing what you find when you look through the things you’ve stored away for years. Interesting things that I found and learned today:
* I found my Associate Degree and my High School Diploma! Lost for years!
* I found a new loaf of wheat bread that expired in December of 2002! Wow, the colors!
* Centipedes love coffee!
* Books don’t work well with dampness.
* Goodwill now has a few new racks of clothes for sale!
* DVD-ROM drives stored in dampness still function well.
* Stray potatoes thrive and grow well in dark and dampness!
* Wi-Fi signals travel nicely through floors (Come on, I couldn’t be DISCONNECTED while I cleaned).
* Blow Pops get gooey after a couple years.
* HP Ink fades quickly, especially in the sun.
More interesting finds to come, I’m sure. We’re only about 1/4 done with the basement. I’ll keep you posted.
Kindergarden Kev
Today was Kevin’s first day of kindergarten. Sandy couldn’t get off work because she just started her new job a few weeks ago, so I had to take him. It wasn’t a problem, but I did notice that I didn’t see one other father there with their kid, only a whole lot of mothers.
Kevin was a little nervous and a little excited at the same time. He didn’t want to let go of my hand, even after we got into his classroom. He gave me a pucker, so I kissed him and told him to have fun. He said “Daddy? I’m gonna miss you.” I said “I’m gonna miss you too, kiddo.” And then he asked if I was going to pick him up. I said “Yes, I’ll be here to pick you up, don’t worry.” I think we were both about to cry at that point, but being the “men” we are, we kept it together. Argh argh argh. He then joined the rest of his class and I left.
I picked him up this afternoon and he said he had a lot of fun. I asked what he did in school today, and he said “We took a nap, dad. Not a big nap, just a little one.” I asked him if he learned anything else and he said “My teacher said it’s Tuesday.” That’s it. Tuesday and a nap. A very full day of learning for a five-year-old.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world
A couple weeks ago Peanut and Socks got into a scuffle over something in the back yard. I heard a dog crying loudly outside, ran out to see who it was, and it was Peanut crying in pain as socks was biting into him. This was the day after we took both of them in for their shots and checkup (so we could get both of them scheduled to be neutered). I ran out and scooped up Peanut and I could see immediately that his ear was punctured and bleeding.socksouch (32k image) It was dusk outside and a little hard to see, so I ran him inside to examine him better and clean him up. Once in the house we could see that the area around his eye was full of blood as well, and dripping. We cleaned him up and Sandy held an ice pack on his wounds for awhile.
Peanut is now healing well, but we’re worried about the dogs not getting along. They’ve had very few major fights in the past, and this was the first time either of them actually drew blood. Since that day they seemed to have been getting along fine as usual, except for today. Today they had another knockdown dragout fight in the living room and wouldn’t stop. I grabbed Peanut off of Socks, but he was biting into Socks’ cheek with his teeth, pulling Socks off the floor, and wouldn’t let go! I eased him off, trying at the same time to startle him into looking at me and easing up enough so I could pull him away. He let go eventually, as Socks began screaming, just as Peanut had a couple weeks ago.
Peanut appeared uninjured this time, so I put him in his cage so I could keep them apart and take a look at Socks. It appeared that this time Peanut had won the fight and put Socks in his place, evening the score. I don’t know if dogs can really think on this level, but that was what it looked like to me. After the fight Socks was limping, and right now his front right leg and the right side of his face are very sore. His limp is almost gone at the moment, since it’s now several hours since the fight, so I think he’s going to make it. Amazingly, Peanut didn’t manage to draw blood. Not that he didn’t try to though… he was hanging on pretty hard to Socks’ cheek!
We have them scheduled to be neutered next Friday though, so hopefully the bad behavior will be greatly reduced after that. The vet says there’s no guarantee of a behavioral improvement, but about 90% of the time, from what he’s seen, there is a major effect. Heck, wouldn’t YOUR behavior improve after someone did that to YOU!?! Ouch!!
Family News
Sandy told me last night she’d make me breakfast this morning. She does this about once a week or once every two weeks, depending on her schedule. This works out perfectly for me, since I’m not supposed to have a big breakfast very often, per my doctor. Anyway, when she told me I was very surprised. I remembered having a big breakfast just the other day, didn’t I?? She then reminded me that the other day we DIDN’T have breakfast, but she had made supper out of breakfast food (eggs, taters, sausage, onions, hot peppers, etc…
I was shocked. Even when she mentioned it, I remembered the meal, but didn’t even recall that it was supper and not breakfast! Are my days THAT mixed together now that I’ve been unemployed for so long, that I can’t even tell one PART of a day from another?? I think it’s the CRS, myself. I’ve had it for quite some time. I think I began suffering from it shortly after I met Sandy. Not that she CAUSED it, it was probably just a coincidence. For those wondering what CRS is, to put it “nicely” let’s just say it stands for “Can’t Remember Stuff.”
Fortunately, Sandy–my friend/lover/wife/right-hand/ball-and-chain/confidant/old lady/secretary/etc./etc.–is very understanding and forgiving. Or maybe because she’s an aide she just knows how to deal with people with disabilities… Anyway, she always straightens me out on these things so I can still function adequately in society, have a good breakfast now and then, keep all of my appointments, and still remember what day it is. Now if I could only fit her in my pocket, like today’s technology…
A Victim of CRS
Sandy told me last night she’d make me breakfast this morning. She does this about once a week or once every two weeks, depending on her schedule. This works out perfectly for me, since I’m not supposed to have a big breakfast very often, per my doctor. Anyway, when she told me I was very surprised. I remembered having a big breakfast just the other day, didn’t I?? She then reminded me that the other day we DIDN’T have breakfast, but she had made supper out of breakfast food (eggs, taters, sausage, onions, hot peppers, etc…
I was shocked. Even when she mentioned it, I remembered the meal, but didn’t even recall that it was supper and not breakfast! Are my days THAT mixed together now that I’ve been unemployed for so long, that I can’t even tell one PART of a day from another?? I think it’s the CRS, myself. I’ve had it for quite some time. I think I began suffering from it shortly after I met Sandy. Not that she CAUSED it, it was probably just a coincidence. For those wondering what CRS is, to put it “nicely” let’s just say it stands for “Can’t Remember Stuff.”
Fortunately, Sandy–my friend/lover/wife/right-hand/ball-and-chain/confidant/old lady/secretary/etc./etc.–is very understanding and forgiving. Or maybe because she’s an aide she just knows how to deal with people with disabilities… Anyway, she always straightens me out on these things so I can still function adequately in society, have a good breakfast now and then, keep all of my appointments, and still remember what day it is. Now if I could only fit her in my pocket, like today’s technology…
pop quiz
Time for a quiz! Today, while cleaning the basement, I found my old Elementary class photos, so here’s a quiz for you. Click below to popup each of the three class photos and see if you can find me. Imagine the grid is lettered A,B,C, etc. across the top and 1,2,3, etc. down the side. Now let me know which image you think is me in each of the classes. The quiz will be graded on a curve, naturally…
Class of 1971-1972 – 3rd Grade
Class of 1973-1974 – 5th Grade
Class of 1974-1975 – 6th Grade
I had Kevin try it and on the 3rd grade class he couldn’t find his daddy, but said “Hey! There’s ME!” as he pointed to the picture of me. But on the other two classes he failed miserably and couldn’t find me. Think: “Dorky Glasses”
DVRs and a picnic
This weekend our family finally stepped into the Wonderful World of DVRs. We traded in our old digital cable boxes and picked up two new “Explorer 8000’s”. We can now record anything on cable digitally and never have to use our VCRs again! It costs a few bucks more on the cable bill, but I’ve gone through a LOT of video tapes and even a few VCRs over the past few years, so for me it’s a dream come true. With a couple clicks of the remote it’ll record EVERY episode of any series on TV, no matter what time or day it comes on! Kevin will now have an endless supply of Spongebob episodes to watch! Sandy’s Soaps are already set to go, and several of my computer shows are already filling up “MY” box’s hard drive!
We also went to the UAW Local 72 Annual Company Picnic this Sunday. It was fun. We ate a LOT of food and Kevin got to climb and slide down his favorite inflatable: The Titanic Slide! We paid $2.50 each time he climbed onto this ride at Pleasant Prairie Family Days, so it was a relief to find it completely free at the UAW picnic! He also played a bunch of the kids games and won a few small prizes. Mostly consolation prizes, but he tried his best! He also got a balloon animal head attachment they called a “Jeepers Creepers.” I took a few pictures, so those will be posted soon. Luckily I got a shot of the balloon thing quickly–It popped shortly after, completely breaking Kevin’s little heart! He cried all the way home. sad
A day at Beth’s
Kevin and I spent the day at my sister Beth’s new house today. She has a nice big pool in her new backyard (along with a lot of bugs). Kevin and I had a great time, did a lot of swimming and had lunch. I should have photos posted soon. For now though, I have just this one. Are there any bug people out there? Can you identify this one??
It was about an inch and a half high and stuck inside her screen door window
News Currents
Hi. My name is Jim and I’m a Linkaholic. Just thought I’d post a few of the top news items I’ve learned about recently to make sure everyone is up-to-date on everything happening these daze. Of course, these are only the things I feel are most important… Here ya go:
Blaster Worm – It’s still out there, and people are still getting hit with it. Here’s another great article all about it.
Sobig Worm – It’s back again, this time it’s variation “F”, and just as rampant as before (if not more) so make sure your antivirus definitions are up-to-date at of 8/18/2003 to stay protected from this one. More Info, Removal Tool
Gas Prices – They’re currently flying out of control everywhere! Over 20 cents increase in some areas just today alone! I understand a pipline break in Arizona is to blame for some of it, according to my nephew Jay in Scottsdale and this article. He says the lines at the gas stations are miles long and people are getting into fights over it! Here’s another good article on it.
The War’s Not Over – Somebody blew up the UN Headquarters in Baghdad, in case anyone thought the war might be over…
Viagra 2.0 – Called “Levitra”, this drug is supposedly going to give Viagra a run for its money… Get ready for a new flood of spam now…
The California Governor Race – Can you spell “Schwarzenegger?” I thought not. Try this one: Georgy Russell. She even has a BLOG!
Microsoft releases Office 2003 – October 21st is the release date. Whoop-tee-doo. Use this instead. It’s great, and it’s FREE!
Onion Rings and Humidity
Kevin, Sandy and I went to the farmer’s market this morning. Kevin played in the park while Sandy picked up veggies. When we got back into the car Kevin said “Mom, there’s water coming out of my head.” He seemed very concerned. This must have been new to him. We explained that he’s “sweating” or “leaking” as I put it, and he needs to drink water to put it back in his body when it’s very hot out. The humidity was 89% (according to Weatherman Uncle Rich) and with the playing he did in the park he got pretty heated up. We decided to go to Burger King for lunch, so he could play in the indoor playground instead, and keep cool. During our meal Sandy found something interesting in her onion rings. Take a look:
OnionRingInfinity (36k image)
Sure, it could be just another oddly-shaped onion ring, but I’ve just recently watch a few movies that say otherwise. This week I watched the movie “Basic”, where the number “8” was the key to the entire plot! And I also watched Final Destination 1 and 2 this week, which leads me to believe that this could also be some sort of “sign”–perhaps it has to do with “infinity” or something involving the number eight, but definitely a sign… hmmm. Or maybe it just means we “ate!” =)
Tall Ships Festival
Be sure you go see the Days of Discovery Tall Ships Festival at Kenosha Harbor, August 7th-10th! The first tall ship arrived today. Kevin and I went down to the harbor to watch.
The first tall ship arrived at 4:05pm on 8/6/03
The festival the rest of the week should be even better. We plan on visiting a few times and even taking a tour of the HMS Bounty. The Daysails are a bit pricey for us though, so we’ll have to pass on that, although it would have been pretty cool.
JimTrottier.com 