Parts of a Post

I have a few random topics I'm not certain how to group. One, I'm really wanting to write something about our local election for coroner. No, I'm not morbid, it just seems that on every street corner on my way into work there is a sign for some guy who wants to be elected coroner. I'm hoping you have to be a doctor even to run for that. I'm disturbed enough that it's an elected office, that's one I'm ok being appointed. I'm even more disturbed that there are at least 4 people running for it. You're already a doctor, so I don't think money is the driving force. Can you really want in politics so bad that you want to be coroner?

Tomorrow is office moving day. Everything is pretty much packed. I sort of like the walls of plastic moving containers, shame we don't get to keep them, they make such a lovely addition to the ambiance.

On a sort of related moving note, we are totally out of mini-storage. Sara and I emptied the last of out this weekend. My three car garage is now a two, but that's much better than paying $100 a month for someone else to keep my stuff.

No Crude Jokes, Can Something Be Too Big?

I love cruise ships, but I think this is just too large. It carries many times the population of the places it would sail too. I think it's just too much. I've been on large ships, and they do at times feel crowded and the shore excursions sell out much faster on a larger ship.

Who's Idol?

I must be as unhip as anyone can be now. I watched neither American Idol or Lost last night. I know both of those finales are the topics of multiple water cooler conversations this morning, but not me. I could care less. In fairness, I might like Lost had I started watching it from the beginning, but not American Idol. I have watched some of that, and missing the finale last night didn't cause me an ounce of pain. Oh well. I'm certain hundreds of blogs are filling up right now with talk about how great / bad the outcome was. I'm hoping no search engines land anyone here looking for another opinion on the outcome. I have no opinion. Is that sad?

I do have weather opinions, and my goodness is it hot. It looks like it will be 90 almost all of the holiday weekend. That frosty drink and umbrella thought is sounding very good. Just to contradict my above paragraph, I did watch the series finale of Charmed on Sunday. I'll miss that show. I guess it was time to end it, but I did like it. Had the whole season been written as well as the last episode, it might not have been cancelled.

Just Because She Didn't Think I'd Do It

Place an x by all the things you've done; this is for your entire life:
( ) Smoked a cigarette
( ) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
(x) Been in love
(x) Been dumped
( ) Quit your job
(x) Been in a fist fight
(x) Snuck out of your parent's house
(x) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the world.
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Felt like dying
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue.
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
(x) Crashed a party
(x) Gone roller-skating
(x) Ice-skating

Outside Computing

I enjoyed today. Programming outside for a change. NASA had the big high bay doors open on both ends of the building today. Nice breeze, warm sunshine, what more can you ask for?

Thank You, Drive Through

At times I guess you just want fast food, but this morning as I went through the drive through at McDonalds, I had to question the guy in line behind me who must have wanted an Egg McMuffin so bad that he took a cab ride through the drive through. Can you tip your cabbie with hash browns?

We Have Lift Off

Ok, not lift off, but we did have an astronaut. There I am, working on the test system at NASA when in walks an astronaut. Wearing the full blue suit like you always see them wear on TV. It kind of made me wonder if he wears that everywhere. I can just see him at the grocery store in his blue astronaut suit checking out the cereal isle. I'm hoping he flew himself to the base today and that's the outfit he wore to fly the plane. If not, I'm thinking he got a few funny looks at the rental car counter.

I've found out more about what I'm going to be doing. Mixing liquid methane and oxygen and setting it on fire. Not like I'm the guy in charge of the mixing process, oh wait, yes I am.

It's the first time in a while I've been excited about something at work. It's really cool stuff. High speed, real time, programming that controls a big bang, sound like fun?

On a side note, I'm still looking for a birthday gift from Sara. Help, please.

Weeds In The Monkey Grass

I rarely check Statcounter, mainly because it's depressing to see how few people actually take the time to read what I write. So, not the point. Anyway, I was checking it tonight and saw that someone got here via an MSN search on "How to get the weeds out of my monkey grass". I'm sorry the answer was not here, and other than pulling them up, I don't think I can be of much use, but I just thought that was funny. I guess they were weeding their monkey grass. No, not that kind of weed.

Work wise I had an interesting day. I've been doing some work at NASA. I know this town is full of rocket scientists, but still when you are working on part of the shuttle it's cool. Especially testing parts that have flown on past missions and are being tested before the next mission. It's just kind of cool.

Birthday Help

No, not my birthday, Sara's birthday. It's less than a month away and I need to get her something. I've had several thoughts, but nothing just seems to be the right answer. I would be so thankful for any thoughts that anyone has. I want it to be something cool, and special. I'm just not sure what that is.

So, what's the perfect gift?

Call Me Teacher

I'm teaching programming class again today. It's not bad, but I do realize that I don't talk that much on a daily basis, so the days I teach class and talk all day it's a little rough on my throat. It's either the talking or the dust from yard yesterday. Add to that the constant rain and my sinuses are having fun with me.

Life has been busy. I think that's a good thing. I'm still excited about our upcoming trip to Hawaii. I think I'm ready for another vacation now.

Just to make Sara happy, I'll say it again, I am still enjoying driving my new car. I think I'm still in the transition phase of big truck to small car. Although if you want to borrow it one day and get the windows tinted, I won't stop you.

Sad Ship News

I've never been on the SS France (or SS Norway depending on when you're on it), but it is such a majestic ship, I just hate to see it head to the breakers.

Places I've Been

I've meant to post this picture for a while, I'm just now finally getting around to it. On one of my business trips to Kentucky it was hard not to notice the sign for the state park. No, I didn't visit, and I don't think I want to visit. I'd love to know how it got the name. Just in case you have a hard time reading it, it says "Big Bone Lick State Park".

Happy Holidays

I know it's no where near Christmas, and these are from Topfive.com, but I still think they are funny. It's lines from badly written holiday stories.

• Deborah enjoyed hot candle wax and games of chance. Hanukkah was her time.
  
• Ginny's loneliness gnawed at her like a rabid animal as she lay naked before the fireplace in hopes Santa would tie her up, forcefully partake of her goodies, throw her in a sack and take her to the North Pole to be used at his pleasure.
  
• Still woozy, Dasher landed in a dark alley in Amsterdam with 20 bucks and a need for a shoulder to cry on. The memory of that night would elude him until that fateful day when his past arrived at the stable door: "Hi, Dad. My name's Rudolph."
  
• And he vowed on that cold Christmas Day that he would do everything in his power, given the limits of his impaired depth perception, to get even with the Daisy Air Rifle Company.
  
• It was a dark winter night at the North Pole. I was after a poacher with a big-bore gun and a taste for venison. Naughty or nice, it doesn't matter to me -- a criminal is a criminal, and it's my job to bring them in. The name is Boxie, and I'm the senior elf in homicide division.

Random Ramblings

I'm not sure what I'm writing about. I have like 300 topics that I want to write about, but the moment I sit down to write something, my mind goes blank. I think I'd be a much better Blogger if I took my iPAQ with me so I could write down some of my random thoughts. I've done that before. I even wrote entire post on it, but I am slow with the stylus. My handwriting stinks, and its character recognition agrees.

Mother's Day is fast approaching, as is my Father's birthday. I need some gift ideas quick. I don't have a clue. They are harder to shop for than I am and that's saying something. Just ask my wife.

Speaking of shopping her birthday is coming up and I have to get her something also. Yikes. She's easy to shop, just Tiffany's is expensive.

As much as I sort of hate to admit it, I am enjoying my new car. It's very fun to drive. I'm still having an internal struggle that the car is not as useful as the truck, but it does make driving on a daily basis a little bit more enjoyable. Plus it does get much better gas mileage and I turned around in the driveway this morning, without having to make a 37 point turn. All very good points. It also rides very nice.

Don't Go To The Dark Side Carol Ann

I have no clue what the title means. It's a combination of a couple of movies. It also reminds me of the time Brian and I were trying to chase a bird out of the back room. We turned off the lights opened the door. I then named the bird Carol Ann and told it to fly into the light.

I think only I think that is funny.

Anyone Got a Box?

I'm trying to pack up my office some. My company is moving at the end of the month. Much like when we moved into our new house, I am figuring out that I have too much crap. I have catalogs on my bookshelf from 1998. Does anyone have a use for an 8 year old catalog? I don't. I think I would have taken them to the trash long ago, but they are heavy.

That reminds me, I do still have lots of stuff to get out of storage. I didn't need to be reminded of that.