Lessons Learned (22 July 2007)

I have two for this week...

1) When you have pain medication, don't set it in a unique place thinking it will help you remember where it is. Because when you need it at 4:45 in the morning, you don't look in a unique place for it, you look in the regular places where meds are supposed to be - you know, with the aspirin and cough syrup and places like that.

2) When scouring the internet for tips, tricks and how-tos of refinishing a wood floor, take advice with a grain of salt. Case in point: Everything I read about the sanding process exclaimed that a sanding dust storm of nigh-Biblical porportions would be kicked up. Respirators were needed, and an open window with a fan pointed out of it to act as exhaust. That had me concerned, what with plants and electronic equipment (neither of which is conducive to copious amounts of dust and other particles) all over the house, I sealed up that room tighter than that bio-weapons facility that released Captian Tripps in "The Stand." NOTHING was getting out of there. In the end, less than a pound of dust was created. Not only was I sorely dissapointed, but I pretty much wasted about four hours sealing that room!


Technorati Tags: wood floor, medication, refinish, lessons learned

Time Flies Like An Arrow [Fruit Flies Like A Banana]

Man, it seems to have been a long, long time since I put anything up here. Last Saturday we packed up and sent the boys with the scout troop to Camp Laramie Peaks in Wyoming. I wished I could go, but vacation time just wasn't available (I just changed jobs, remember?). The 5/8s and I took this opportunity to drop Little Sister off at gramma's house while we drive north, to Council Bluffs, IA. There isn't much there in Council Bluffs. For those not in the know, Council Bluffs, IA is the sister (sort of?) city of Omaha, NE. Omaha is on the Nebraska side (that is why they call it "Omaha, NE") and Council Bluffs is on the Iowa side (hence, the name...oh you get it). Sort of like Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO - except they don't have the same names, and their not in Kansas or Missouri.

Now, I know what your thinking. Why go to CB? We wanted to get away. We had saved some money for a trip to a casino, and the casino's in this area were just too close. If we had gone to one of them, my father would have wanted to tag along, and then we both would have grudgingly brought him along. So we went way up to CB in order to escape that fate. We've been playing a little poker here and there on PartyPoker.net. It is only play money, but you get to play with other real live people (at least that is what they say - who knows for real?). So we wanted to try out some real poker

I looked online and booked a room at the Holiday Inn right across from the Ameristar Casino. Ok, word to the wise, when you book a hotel near a casino, and pay an extra 50 clams for the privilege of not having to drive across town to gamble, make sure the casino actually has the game(s) you want to play. Ameristar in CB has no live poker tables. So we thought we'd drive over to Harrah's. Much to our surprise, Harrah's has not live poker. I'm starting to think that for some strange and befuddling reason, live poker is not legal in Iowa. I know that sounds strange, but these are Iowans after all, so you never really know what they are going to do. Luckily a nice lady at Harrah's informed us that the Horseshoe Casino does have live poker tables.

Now, here is the strange part. Harrah's has no live poker tables, but the Horseshoe, which does have live poker tables, is owned by Harrah's. Go figure. The Horseshoe was a nice casino. Big and very well lighted. The clientèle was quite a bit different from the casinos in this area. I go to pick poppy up on Fridays and every-other Saturday at the Indian casino north of town. He loves his poker, but can't drive any more due to his failing eyesight. He can still see the cards though - mostly. The people that frequent the casino (which used to be a Harrah's but has since changed to be solely owned by the Indians) are not what I would classify as the 'beautiful people'. They are definitely not the type of people you would see on that TV show "Las Vegas". They are mostly elderly (nothing wrong with that), but they are grungy and look decidedly unhappy. They are sluggish and disheveled. They look like they should be spending their money on soap, toothpaste and new clothes, rather than gambling it away. But I digress...

The atmosphere in the Horseshoe was a good one. Upbeat and happy and light. The noise of the slots was not overbearing. Things seemed to be moving along at a nominal pace instead of being hurried all the time. The setup for the poker room was nice too. We went and put our name on the list for the 3-6 limit, and they gave up a little pager which would blink and buzz when spots were available. They had like 30 tables in the poker room, only about 5 of which were being used. In the casino here, sometimes one has to wait for several hours on the list before they can get a seat. That is because there are only 4 tables in this one. And they usually have 4 different types of games going. So if there are 10 people that want to play 4-8 limit, and the table is full, that can be a long wait.

It took them about 10 minutes to buzz us, they had enough players to open a new table (which is what I figured would happen). We each took 100 simoleans to gamble with. This is money we saved for the purpose of gambling with, so it isn't like we were gambling with the milk money. All in all, we had a fun time, and overall, we lost about $40 gambling (the 5/8 lost her complete hundred, but I ended up $60 ahead).

Heartland on the 4th

The July 4th holiday went well this year. Despite the early heat, the sounding of the tornado sirens and the rain. At least I didn't have to take anyone to the emergency room this year. All the kids finished the night with all of their fingers and only one had a slight burn, but not from the fireworks.

We went again this year to a friends house. He is a hobby-smoker - that is, he smokes meat for a hobby, not...you know...other things. He has a good sized Independence Day shindig and we attended last year and had quite a bit of fun. His kids are in the same scout troop as my boys. In fact his oldest and my middle boy have been together since cub scouts.

They are great people and we always have fun there. It was a little touch and go. It was a question between traveling to Lawrence to do the 4th with the 5/8's bible thumping Phelps-ish father and her snotty sisters. But our friends in town won out (go figure). Plus, we knew there'd be beer at the party here, and...uh water in Lawrence.

As is our tradition, we waited until July 4 to obtain our fireworks. We do that because it is just too dang tempting to want to light some off before hand. And fireworks are like potato chips, in that you can't do just one. So in order to save the family savings account, we wait until the 4th to get any.

This year was even more relaxing than past years. No. 1 Son is almost 15 years old and No. 2 Son is almost 13. Together they were able to police and keep sanity over the younger kids and need only distant adult supervision. Before I had always felt the need to be right there to make sure they didn't do something stupid. But this year, I was content to sit in a chair at the curb of the park and watch them do their thing.

The other thing good about this year, is that No. 1 Son has his license, so I didn't have to worry too much about how much beer I drank! (w00t).

Having a few extra minutes after replacing an outlet took way less time that I had budgeted for (I can be sneaky that way) I found this video. The things this guy does with that laser are just way cool.

Hey, where ya' been?

I've been pretty silent the past week or so. Times, they are a changin' as they say. First change, is my job. I was contacted at home several weeks ago by a company here in Topeka. I had, for the past seven years, been making the 70 mile (one way) commute to Kansas City for gainful employment. It isn't a bad commute. Interstate 98 % of the way. The most in-town driving was from my driveway to the interstate. But several weeks ago I received a call from a person (I can't remember his name) that suggested I make contact with the HR person at the Topeka company.



Now, I said I was called at home. And this was significant. It was significant because nowhere on any resume, whether it be online or on paper, have I ever put my home phone number. I always use my cell phone. That way people can get me whenever, where ever. And I am more likely to return a voice mail left on the cell phone rather than on the answering machine. I don't know why - that's just the way I roll I guess.



So, I went and talked to them. My resume is a mess (I hate doing them, and never really figured out how to make a stunning one). And my interview skills are crap. I hate interviews too. I am not very good at them. And I told them that. They asked what I was looking for in a company, and basically I told them "Look, my resume looks like crap and I and no good at interviews. I hate looking for work. I want a place where I will be comfortable, and where I can just stay until I retire." They seemed to like that answer.



The pay is virtually a lateral transfer. But I figured out that without having to buy gas and pay turnpike fees, I'm getting something like a $3K/yr after-taxes raise. That is pretty cool. Yeah, $3K/yr, and that is with my ultra fuel sipping little Insight that gets 65+ miles per gallon on a regular basis. The car was acting up my last three days in KC (talk about synchronicity) so I borrowed mom's giant old-lady silver Mercury. She wasn't using it as she had cracked a couple of bones in her right shoulder (she is fine, don't worry about her - she is a battle ax). At any rate, I was using her car, and I kid you not, I almost died. I spent, literally, $15 a day on gas in that thing. Yes, you saw that correctly - $15 A DAY on gas. Man, I don't know how people drive those things and still afford to eat. Although, I have to admit, it was very nice being able to go from 20 mph to 70 mph in something like 4 seconds. As much as I can't afford to drive something like that daily, I sure miss that V-8 engine. VRRROOOOMMMMMM. Hey, wait a minute, my commute is not only like 12 miles. I can afford to drive something like that. Oh, not a Mercury, I'm not that old yet. But maybe a Dodge Charger. <drool>oooooo Chaaaarrrgggerrr</drool>.



At any rate, that is where I've been at this past week or so. Getting all settled in. Getting to know people. Getting things done that need to be done.



I am glad you all stopped by. Thanks for visiting.





Technorati Tags: Topeka, Kansas City, Jobs, gas mileage, Honda Insight, Mercury

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Harry's demise?

The last Harry Potter book is set to be released on 21 July of this year. Which of course got me to thinking what is in store for our intrepid "boy who lived." Many speculate (and Master of Horror Stephen King hopes) that Harry will die. I don't believe this to be the case. And my firm belief in his living comes directly from the first chapter of the first book, which is titled "They Boy Who Lived."



One cannot start a story this way, and then kill the boy who lived. That would make him the boy who died. I do foresee a dark ending though. Granted, I'm no JK Rowling, and I don't pretend to be. But if I were somehow creative enough to come up with this whole thing, this is how I would end it.



As we all know, Harry and Voldemort are linked by the fact that Voldemort could not kill Harry as a baby. However, it is my firm belief that Voldemort - being older and infinitely more evil than Harry - is stronger than Harry. And, as we have seen in book after book, this is one tough cookie to destroy. Sure, he can be killed, but his spirit or whatever, his life essence lives on to create evil another day.



So, my idea for ending this book would be for Harry to kill Voldemort, but Voldemort's life essence encompasses Harry's body, and takes control of it. Then, while Harry's life essence is trapped in his mind in a cage created by Voldemort, he uses Harry to kill Ron and Hermione.



But in the end, Harry lives on with Voldemort controlling his body.



This doesn't fully and completely end the series. That, I don't believe can happen. After all, there is the possibility that sometime in the future, give it twenty or thirty years, that Rowling will want to re-visit the wizarding world and see what is going on in that place.



And that's my 2-cents worth. Thanks for visiting





Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Voldemort

"It's only a safety problem"

I had to say something, I just had too. This just kills me. A low cost Spanish airline flying from Lisbon to Madrid had some of the seats on the plane taped off and would not allow passengers to use them.

The captain told them on the intercom: "We will not be able to use that
part of the plane because we have a safety problem with the door at the
front. Don't worry, it's only a safety problem," the newspaper reported.

Only a safety problem? Well, thank goodness it is nothing serious, like...I dunno, something that might compromise the safety of the passengers.

Lesson Learned

In this weeks lessons learned, I discovered that just because there is a gigantic, public relations conscious company, it doesn't mean they have a firm handle on the English language. For instance, north of Topeka is the Harrah's Prairie Band Casino. You know, Harrah's, from Vegas and Reno and AC. Big company right? Huge. And with all Casino's public relations is imperative. So you'd think they would have proof-readers of some sort. But at the entrance to the Casino is a sign the reads "Complimentary FREE Valet Parking."

For those who haven't yet finished the 6th grade, the word "complimentary" means...FREE. Go figure.

In another advertisement that is almost, but not quite exactly like the above example of poor English; there is a company in town called Boyle's Joyland Flea Market. I know, strange name for a flea market, but there is history in the name. Back in the day (when I was just about knee high to a grasshopper) there was an amusement park in town called Boyle's Joyland. It was no Disney, or Six Flags or even World's of Fun, but it was ours, and we could go there an drive go-karts and bumper cars and play goofy golf and ride the ferris wheel and generally have a place to hang out.

Okay, fast forward many years and Joyland had to close because insurance was too much and not enough people were hanging out there and what-not so the guy who owned it opened a flea market instead (what? that doesn't seem like a natural transition, from amusement park to flea market?).

Now that I have you either thoroughly bored or thoroughly interested, the point of this is I saw a television commercial for the flea market and at the bottom of the screen it reads (and I kid you not) "Open seven days a week and Sundays." Does that mean they are open all 8 days of the week? What about Saturdays? Sheesh.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Nut campaign paid off (go figure)

At the end of the television season, CBS announced that it was canceling the show "Jericho". For those not in the know, Jericho is about a small town in Kansas named...Jericho. The premise is several nuclear bombs are detonated in the United States. They obliterate Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas (I think), Lawrence (why?) and some other cities that basically leave theses great United States torn asunder. The show centers on the citizens of Jericho, and their reactions to the aftermath.

When last season ended, neighboring town of Newbern was waging war on the town of Jericho just as military helicopters were flying in to save the day (or help Newbern, we really don't know what they are going to do). At any rate, fans of the show started a very creative nut campaign. They were taking donations from all over the Internet, buying nuts and sending them to CBS claiming they were "nuts" for canceling Jericho.

Well, it worked. On June 6 CBS relented and posted a "we give up" message on their website. You can read it here.

My favorite is the post script in the message:

P.S. Please stop sending us nuts :)

I for one will be happy to see Jericho return. Any show that brings attention to Kansas. That portrays it in a positive light, I want to see more of. Call be crazy, but that's just the way I roll.

Thanks for stopping by.


Technorati Tags: Jericho, CBS, Television, nuts campaign