New Things

It's like a biblical Genesis over here at Chateau McDougal. So many new things for all of us that I have trouble keeping up with them.

• Liam is rocking the stand-up bass. Totally digs it and is able to pick out notes by ear. I think he has some undeveloped musical talent that we need to try to hone. He's also getting adventurous with foods (tried ribs, pulled BBQ beef, and says he puts lettuce & a tomato on his burgers!) And we're trying out Boyscouts to see how he likes like nature vs technology.
• Cindy is giving thought to getting her Master's in nursing. She's got my support all the way. And she's experimenting with some crazy diet tricks which today included a "spinach smoothie." Not sure how far that will go, but I'm proud of her for making the attempt.
  
• Meg is Meg. A bright, searing ray of sunshine that brings me unequaled happiness each and every day. If God put a happier, dancier, singier, more vibrant and beautiful girl on this Earth, I have never met her nor do I think such an equal exists. She's got jazz and ballet this year. And she owns my heart. 
• Me? Too many projects. The Beetle is devouring me. Got the wrap lined up today. Found a NEW guy to do the AC. Seats are done. Body work is coming. Lights and mirrors are due soon. Computer arrives on Friday. And I might have a day off in late October. Thankfully, I'm feeling better, sleeping somewhat better, and eating much better. But I'm running my machinery in the red all day, every day. And I hope I don't throw a rod before I reach the finish line. I see it on the horizon. Finally.
  

Beetle Build - Brake Lights

Aaron recessed the rear brake lights on the beetle. My idea. His implementation. A match made in automotive heaven. Roger is going to wire them up so the two center lights are solid, for brakes, and the two outer lights flash, for turn signals.

First picture (click to enlarge) gives a good idea of the placement. Second picture (click to enlarge) is a closer view.

Aaron also used fiberglass compound to join all the different body parts and they'll be one smooth piece by the time he's done sanding and painting.

Love that wide, fat-bottom look!

Updates

Kids: Liam just registered an 11th grade reading level. He's in 4th grade. He was the first kid in the whole school to hit his "reading goal." Which he accomplished in two weeks. And he's currently leading everyone in the number of earned points. Meg just registered a 6th grade reading level. She's in 2nd grade.

Health: My odd Meniere's semi-attacks from a couple of weeks ago subsided. I'm fairly sure it was fallout from the wreck. My neck and shoulders were all gimped up, possibly pulling me off to one side. And my inner ear didn't like that. Been back in the gym the last couple of weeks. Shoulder is good. Cardio is improving. Down three pounds since I started. Trying to hit my fighting weight of 185. At this pace it could be November. Just in time to put it all back on for the holidays.

Work: Looks like another year of dodging bullets from the weather and The Man. Today marks my "official" four-year anniversary. No cards or pats on the back. Just another day in paradise. Those of us left are glad to have a paycheck.  Hopefully we (the collective "we") are on the road to recovery. Or at least we've hit a bottom and can cruise along at current levels without any more layoffs. We always have hopes.

Projects: I only have five weeks to finish the Beetle. So many loose threads coming together. Upholstery. Body work. Graphics. Dashboard. Trying to get a slot at Cruising The Coast. May have to formulate Plan B. Haven't had a day off in almost a month. Won't have another until late-October. I pray the juice is worth the squeeze. Else I risk a further stream of "I Told You So" from my bride. But no risk, no glory. And I'd rather burn out than fade away....

Catch Up

My, my, my. How time flies when you're up to your eyeballs in so many projects you struggle to count them all. Not to mention the kids starting school. A return to the gym. The black plague falling upon us. Hurricane season. A crapped out lawnmower. Spider bites. Addictive science fiction novels. And HD tv. You blink and two weeks streak past your tired old eyes.

Time to catch up.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Not sure what bomb threatens to blow behind my eyes, but I feel each painful tick and tock as it counts down to an unseen zero. It distorts my vision. Affects my balance. Even throws off my posture.

Survived a major upgrade at work. And two power hits from a massive thunderstorm. But couldn't workout. Could barely see straight.

Oddly enough, I'm not sure how much (if any) of this is being caused by my ear. It is barely ringing today. One of my better days, from that perspective.

Maybe it is the weather. Maybe the stress. Or lack of sleep. Or too much work. Hopefully it doesn't continue through the night. Can't handle too many days like this.

Night night.

Another crushingly long day. Usual adventures at the office. Then some time at the gym (abs and yoga.) Cindy's upset because I didn't come home early enough. Liam wants to play the cello. Meg is a glorious, radiant angel, the shining light in my long dark nights.The girls turn in early. Liam falls asleep on the sofa, his arms flying, his legs draped across the Ottoman. I try to turn in early, but read for hours and get upset about all the other things I could have been doing.

Long Day

Another one of those non-stop days at Chateau McDougal. After maybe four hours of sleep, I had to get up and wrestle with the kids to get them on schedule for school. Meg wanted to watch TV. Liam was having stomach issues. Fortunately they made it to class on time. Grandma has a sucessful check on her heart. Jason has an adventure in Jackson, MS. Trying to talk my father into prolotherapy for his back. Usual suspects at The Office. Chest and triceps at the gym afterwards. Non-stop calls for the other projects. BBQ place was closed. Quiznos was closed. More calls. Had a discussion with Liam about the importance of school. Learned the results of Meg's recent tests. (Hint: WOW!) Fixed the new monitoring box. And then a whirlwind of Debian updates on The Mothership, resulting in a cool install of EHCP (thanks to Brother Ron!)

Seventeen hours later, I'm winding down for the day. Everyone else is asleep. I'm catching up on the DVR. And I'll get maybe 4 - 6 hours of sleep before starting all over again. Love these long days.

20 Ways I Use Math

First day of school. Cindy returns from her trip. And Liam surprises me by saying, "Daddy, YOU have homework!" with a chesire grin stretched across his face. Seems like he enjoys putting me to work!

So I thought I'd share the outcome of my assignment:

Twenty Ways I Use Math Each Day
by Jon McDougal

1. In the morning, to quickly figure out how many more minutes I can stay in bed before affecting my chances to be at work on time.
2. On the way to work, to divide my miles per gallon into the cost of a gallon of gas so I know how much I pay per mile. Then multiply that cost by the number of miles I drive to work, so I know how much I spend just to go to work.
3. On the way to work, to guestimate out how long it may take me to get there on time, based on the traffic density on HW90.
4. If I’m possibly running late, I have to calculate how much faster I have to drive in order to make it to work on time.
5. If I’m possibly going to be early, I estimate how many extra minutes I can chill in the car while listening to old 1980s heavy metal music.
6. At lunch, I subtract the cost of the meal from the amount I’m paying to sure I don’t get ripped off.
7. At lunch, to multiply the cost of the meal times 15% so I know how much to tip. That is, if the service is good! If the service is bad, I have to use my math skills to get the value of a 10% tip.
8. At lunch, to figure out what portion of my recommended daily caloric intake is being used by all the fatty, fried foods I’m eating. (Have to save some calories for dinner!)
9. At lunch, to figure out how many spoonfuls of sugar are in the drinks or cookies I really want to have, but don’t end up getting them because they contain enough sugar to feed an entire class of fourth graders.
10. After lunch, dividing the cost of the meal into my hourly pay to determine how much of my day has just gone into my belly.
11. During work, to multiple the numbers of big computers I have to upgrade by the time it takes to do the upgrade and get a sum of the total time I have to spend on that one thing.
12. During work, if a big computer blows up, I have to figure out if it costs less to replace it or fix it. So I multiply the cost of having no computers for an hour by the number of hours to fix it versus the cost and time it takes to replace it. Once I know which costs less, I know which way to go.
13. During work, if I have to make a choice of doing something very disruptive during the day or doing it late at night when I should be sleeping, I multiply the number of people affected at the time by the amount of yelling each person is going to do. If the amount of yelling is less than amount of time I have to spend working on the issue after-hours, I do it during the day. If too many people are going to yell too loudly, I do it at night.
14. After work, when deciding on asking Mommy to cook or just buying some food, if the amount of drama I am going to receive by her cooking exceeds the cost of me buying something, I buy it. If she is in a good mood, though, don’t buy.
15. After work, add up the time each kid needs to spend getting ready for bed and then making sure they start soon enough to double that amount of time and still get to bed when they are supposed to be in bed. If they are early, that is a bonus!
16. After work, add up the number of times I have to ask kids to get ready for bed without yelling. Once the number has reached three, the yelling must begin.
17. After work, use simple math to add the amount of time it usually takes each child to fall asleep to the current hour so that I know when to go and turn off the lights, TVs, and video games.
18. On the weekend, figure out which activities result in the most happiness for the least amount of money. Movies? Bowling? Renting something? Always get a maximum return on my investment.
19. On the weekend, determine the amount of time I have to spend working on projects before Mommy lets me do something fun.
20. On the weekend, subtract the age of the children from 18 so that I remember that I only have a few more years to enjoy their company and affections before they run off to college and start calling me for money.

Double Digit Dude

Last day of summer vacation and Liam is officially a double digit dude. He turned ten today. And isn't looking back on his first nine years.Cindy is up in Jackson, MS, at a Nurses' Conference. But we are all celebrating at the gym.

Lisa Mooty's daughter was born today. Obama marked his 48th birthday. And racer Jeff Gordon's celebrated as well.

Onward and upward, little dude. You'll get there before you know it.

Ladies

A day filled with adventures for several lady-folk,

• Cindy departs for a two day event in Jackson, MS. Nurses thing, she says. Break from the norm, I says. Glad she has some time off from us and I can spend more time with the kids. 
• My friend Lisa is having her first child. If everything goes as planned, her baby and Liam will share August 4th as their birthday.
• My old college friend, Meredith, looked me up on Facebook. We haven't spoken in more than 15yrs and I'm excited to catch up with her.
• Meg, my baby bear, was recently accepted into the gifted program. That makes it official: the kids got their intelligence from their mother. Hopefully my sense of humor rubs off on them.
  

Recovery & Dad's Kitchen

Thankfully, I don't appear to have sufffered too severely from yesterday's collision. My neck is stiff and I can feel something different, but it doesn't HURT. And no affect on my range of movement. However, in my experience, it could take a couple of days before the damage comes into the light. I'm happy, but not overly hopeful. On a good note, I slept great last night and took a surprise nap after lunch. Great energy levels. Fairly good mood, too.

Following my unexpected nap, I went to Dad's house. Renovating his 30yr old kitchen. New counter tops. Thankfully, not granite. So we were able to demo the old counters and put the new ones in place without too much trouble. A first for both of us. But it went surprisingly well. And he was happy with our handiwork. So I spent time with the family and was productive at the same time. Always a good way to end the weekend.

The Collision

I saw the truck stopping in front of me. Applied my brakes. Stopped in time. But I wasn't expecting the collision. Supposedly she locked up the brakes and skidded into me. I couldn't say otherwise. It was over so quicly that I barely registered the hit. And I didn't realize I had been thrown into the truck in front of me.

The drive was out of her car in a flash. Running up to my door yelling to see if I was okay. Actually, I was pissed. My initial thought was, "You didn't see me stopped in front of you?" But her concern quickly erased my negativity and I said I was okay. How about her? She was fine.

And immediately pulled out her cell phone to call everyone except the cops: her dad, her mom, her brother, her friend with a tow truck.

The guy in front of me called the cops. I checked out all the vehicles. The one in front wasn't damaged at all. His trailor hitch had sucked up the impact. And subsequently pierced my front bumper. (A red arrow marks the hole in the second photo.)

Meanwhile, it looked like the girl had actually gone somewhat UNDER my rear bumper (scraping it all up (red circles in the third picture) and threw me forward into the first guy. Her car took most of the damage (first photo.) Her hood was buckled. And we couldn't believe her airbag didn't deploy.

Nobody was hurt. That is all that really matters. Car parts can be replaced. Necks and spines can not. I was able to drive home without any problems. And I hope I don't wake up tomorrow to feel differently, but right now I feel fine. We'll see what tomorrow has in store for me.

Ever Give A Man A Foot Massage?

Two thousand percent better, now. Paid a visit to my favorite (and only) massage therapist: April Straight. She righted all my wrongs. Cured my woes. And rubbed my toes. (Maybe not in that order.)

Suddenly, the world is golden and all is right in the world. Ready to start my week... even though it is already... Wednesday.

Gray Crone

I'm going to switch back to working out first thing in the morning. More juice in my veins when it is early. Good all morning, today. And unexpectedly hit some odd wall after lunch. A gorilla bodyslam of a headache descended upon me. My energy level dropped. Couldn't see straight. The gimpy ear tried to stage a rebellion. Disrupted my wabi sabi. Made me feel like an old gray crone.

Couldn't work out. Headed up and balled up on the bed for a couple of hours. Eyes closed. Blinds drawn. TV droning in the background to distract me.

Almost back to normal. But not happy with the defeat. Need to break this rusty cage, and run.

Congrats To Mr & Mrs Hall!

Still waiting on photographic evidence, but I did receive a semi-official text from the proud groom that Kim & Neena are officially Mr & Mrs Hall, now. Congratulations, old chum.

Once more into the breach!

Catching Up.

Cindy and the wee ones are in Atlanta, GA. Visiting old friends and Miss Irene, their first babysitter and pseudo Grandmother. I'm left behind. Flying solo. Mainly catching up. On missed sleep. On missed movies. Missed music. Stayed in bed. Late. Worked out. A welcomed break from the norm. But I'm eager to have their voices and their laughter in the house. It's too quiet without them. I'm too old to fly solo.

MUSIC: The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

According to Wikipedia:

Invaders Must Die is the fifth studio album by the electronic act The Prodigy which was released during February and March 2009 on the band's new label "Take Me to the Hospital". The album was distributed by Cooking Vinyl. It is the first studio album released by the band since 2004's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned and is the first Prodigy album since 1997's The Fat of the Land to feature all three members of the band.

 According to Jon:

Invaders Must Die is a bombastic jam fest that goes super nova behind the eyes and turns the grey matter to a thin quivering paste. Thundering base. Obscure vocal strings. Aggresive beats. Everything one expects from The Prodigy

Crazy good CD.  Thoroughly enjoyed it. Will keep it in the rotation. Any fan of their former CDs will dig this one. No doubt.

Movie: Pathfinder

Pathfinder is "an untold legend" about Vikings landing on American soil and wreaking havok for generations on the Natives, until one of their own sets things right.

I liked the setting. Very dour mood and continually overcast. Also liked the "costumes," especially the antagonist Vikings.

The rest was passable, at best, and steaming fecal matter the remainder of the time. Really trite plot. Flimsy writing. Completely impossible and unbelievable elements. Boring pacing until the last scene. And everything saturated in layers upon layers of blood, torture, and physical abuse. Very odd combination of stunning visuals, craptastic storytelling plus over indulgent gore. Posibly a micro genre of its own. Hopefully it doesn't catch on.

Wouldn't suggest it as a date movie. The kids might like it, if only to see the crimson waterworks. Not a good choice for a rental. I should have waited to see it on SpikeTV for free.

Life With The VIrus

It has been a month since Conficker moved in with us. Lots of rah-rah meetings. Everybody monitoring and watching everything everywhere. Cleaning. Patching. Rebooting. Oh yeah, we're good and everything is coming along nicely.

Except Mister Conficker had other plans. Found new vectors. Suddenly started infecting new servers that had never been infected previously. Slammed the phone lines with calls after hashing out a bunch of new account passwords.

How did this happen? So far, nobody knows. And we're a month into this relationship. With no sign of an eviction in the near future. Might as well get used to life with the virus.

Happy 123456789!

12:34:56 07/08/09.

A uniquely linear moment in time.

Thanks for sharing it with me.

MOVIE: The Darjeeling Limited

In The Darjeeling Limited, three brothers meet for a questionable adventure after a year of not speaking, since the death of their father. The eldest brother gathers the trinity on a train ride across India. He wants them to become brothers again. To experience spiritual awakenings together. And he secretly plots to re-unite them with their estranged mother, in Tibet. During the journey they make discoveries about themselves, their relationship, and the nature of life & death.

A fantastic movie that properly depends on good writing and great acting instead of a massive budget and flimsy computer effects. I wish I had caught this one at the theatres with my bride. A wonderful storyline. Touch of the supernatural. Superb direction. A couple of naughty interludes. Excellent pacing. And everything wrapped around an incredible depiction of India. Loved the whole thing. Especially the dialog and the distinct, unique interactions between each of the brothers and eventually their mother. Good good stuff. Wouldn't change a thing about it.

Should be a great date flick for fans of small but well-done Indie flicks. The kids won't dig it, though. Well worth a rental and a bottle of wine to go with it.

Americans In The Mirror

There is a simple explanation to the suddenly renewed love and devotion to the King Of Pop. The life and death of Michael Jackson parallels the life and slow, lethargic death of the United States.

We've gone through the looking glass. And as we weep at this pale fallen angel, we are actually looking at our fellow Americans in the mirror.

Forty plus years ago, MJ was the envy of musicians everywhere. He was young, talented, vibrant, full of energy and creativity. He was a beautiful young man. Everyone wanted to see him. They dwelled on his every lyric. Everyone loved him.

Forty plus years ago, the USA was the envy of the world. The newly minted Middle Class was young and full of talented workers with boundless productivity & creativity. It had masses of natural energy resources. It had beautiful country sides. Well tended farmlands and parks. It had an efficient mass transit system that was unmatched anywhere in the world. Every other nation sought to imitate the USA. Everyone wanted to be an American.

Somehow, slowly and gradually, MJ fell from grace. He hasn't made any notable contributions to the musical world in two decades. His appearance changed. His health deteriorated. He went into massive, un-ending, and inescapable debt. Neverland fell apart before our very eyes.

Slowly and gradually, the USA fell from grace. Our manufacturing base is gone. We outsource every function of society to the third world just to save a buck. Our mass transit system fell apart. Our natural energy reserves are gone. We've grown from a lean, hard working, society that could live off the land and produce the finest products in the world to an obese, oil-addicted, fast food nation that doesn't support its local farmers. And we've sold our health, wealth, and children's futures for a mountain of inescapable debt.

MJ couldn't sleep without his pills. MJ couldn't function without medications to obscure the pain. He was a social pariah.

The average citizen in the USA has four prescription drugs to help them through their day. Sleep aides, pain killers, little-blue ED tablets, and weight-loss pills are a multi-billion dollar industry where our Big Pharma companies spend more on advertising than they spend on R&D for cancer cures. And we've turned the USA into a global pariah whose sole purpose is to consume and rack up debt.

We watched MJ slowly implode just like we've sat by idly and watched the USA consume itself. Michael had nothing left. And neither do we. That's where the tears and the sobbing is coming from. We know the King Of Pops died for our sins. We watched his friends and family gather around that golden coffin and we remembered all the good things about him. We collectively voted to overlook and forget about his grotesque and incomprehensible transformation knowing we've followed him step-by-step, moon walk by moon walk, down the very same yellow brick road. And we cry because we all know this once-great nation of ours already has one foot in its own golden casket right next to him.

MOVIE: Fog Of War (Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara)

Robert S McNamara died in his sleep this morning. He was 92 years old. Two days ago, I watched Fog Of War (Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara). In it, Mister McNamara discusses his experiences and lessons learned during his tenure as Secretary of Defense under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He talks about his work as a bombing statistician during World War II, his brief tenure as president of Ford Motor Company, and the Kennedy administration's triumph during the Cuban Missle Crisis. However, the film focuses primarily on his failures in Vietnam. The theme of the film are his "eleven lessons" learned during this time. Some of these include improving military efficiency, understanding your enemy, and the frustrations of trying to deal with (and unsuccessfully trying to change) human nature.

The documentary was genuinely touching and brilliant. It won a half dozen awards after it aired in 2003. It not only educated me on certain realities of Cold War & Vietnam, but it also provided keen insight into one of the most influencial minds of the time.

Great writing. Phenominal direction. Superbly in-depth. And not afraid to ask tough questions, though not all the answers were equally tough. The pacing could have been a bit sharper. And I would have enjoyed seeing some more of the personal-side of the man rather than the political side of Mister McNamara. But overall, it was surprisingly enjoyable and enlightening.

I would highly recommend it for anyone looking to get first hand details on events from McNamara's era. It isn't going to be a date flick. And I doubt the kids would sit through more than 10 minutes of it. But history buffs would enjoy it. And in light of Mister McNamara's recent passing, it is a worthwhile rental.

Another Anniversary

I took the day off from the office. Had lunch with Cindy while the kids were at a movie with Gigi. And closed out the night with dinner at Cindy's favorite local place: Vrazel's, in Gulfport. Just so happens that I also proposed to here there!

Started with a hand-made Caesar salad. And some drinks. Cindy had veal stuffed with crab meat. I had a ribeye on a bed of sauteed onions & fresh spinach.

Closed out with a lovely little dessert. Happiness is quietly finishing a dish of Creme Brule' with your beloved.

MOVIE: The Lost City

I'm not a fan of Andy Garcia. And I'm not usually a fan of movies where the director (Andy Garcia) is also the lead actor (Andy Garcia.) But I am pleasantly surprised to admit that I am a fan of The Lost City. 

It is a story about Cuba, set in the 1950s, as it violently makes the transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro.

The chief protagonist, Fico Fellove (Andy Garcia,) is a lecherous, freedom-loving night club owner who finds himself in direct conflict with not only Castro, but also a berret-wearing Ernesto 'Che' Guevarra. His entire life, from his parents to his wife, to his club, are affected. Eventually he finds his way to America and tries to start from scratch.

There are also several interesting scenes with The Writer (Bill Murray!) as well as a couple of enjoyable appearances by Dustin Hoffman. Both actors did a great job and contibuted enormously to my enjoyment of the film.

The writing was surprisingly good. The acting was great, possibly award-winning. The plot kept me intrigued throughout the whole movie. But the pacing dragged in a few places. And I'm not sure if the ending was appropriate to the scope of the rest of the show. It felt a little stilted and anti-climatic. But overall I'm glad I gave it a try.

I think The Lost City would make for a good date flick on a slow night. The kids would be bored silly. But it is certainly worth a rental, even for folks that dislike Andy Garcia.

Beetle Build - New Master Cylinder

The brakes on this thing continue to give us problems. Today, we replaced the master cylinder. Getting the old one out wasn't too difficult. Getting the new one in place wasn't too difficult. But getting all the air out of the lines proved to be a massive PITA. Brake fluid everywhere. Sweltering humidity. Sweat dripping in our eyes. A tube splits. Roger's only 11mm wrench is too long. Autozone doesn't have the right line wrench. Ran out of fluid, twice. And the brakes actually go from bad to worse by the time we're done 6 hours later.

Not one of our more productive evenings. But I'm too tired and overheated to do much complaining. At least right now.

July 4th - 2008

What an adventure. Started with a trip to the gym. Chest and triceps. Came home for some down time and were confronted with a flash flood. The sky simply opened up and dropped an ocean on us. We were planning to go to dinner with my mother at Chili's. But with the delulge raging, the family voted that I should journey forth, alone, into the storm, and bring the food back to the house. And that was dinner.

Then the fun began. I had purchased way too may fireworks during a drive through Slidell, and surpised everyone with arm loads of rockets and firecrackers and a massive collection of pyrotechnic widgets. In particular, we had a load of fun detonating these huge half-sticks of dynamite in all kinds of odd places. Mostly floating on pieces of scrapwood in the newly-formed rain puddles or in the crook of still-wet trees. And we followed that with two hours of non-stop boom swoosh spark crackle wow. Lots and lots of hardcore fireworkery. Ultimately leading to our discovery that "motars" absolutely the coolest thing I bought. The cool THOOMP noise. The unmatched acceleration of the round. And the always-pleasing bloom of a beautiful aerial fireball. Next year, I'm buying four times as many motar rounds.

A good time had by everyone. The bar has been raised for next year. And God Bless America!

MOVIE: Bladerunner - Remastered Director's Cut

Blade Runner originally came out in 1982. It was then and it is now a visual and story telling masterpiece. It started my love affair with both Phillip K. Dick and dark, moody ("noir") science fiction. In summary, the movie is based on one of Dick's novels: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep. Blade Runner is about a detective (Decker) played by Harrison Ford who specializes in tracking and killing rogue androids. His profession is jokingly named: blade runner. The androids are villainous called: replicants. And killing them isn't easy or illegal.

The adventure takes place in a grim, constantly over-cast futuristic version of Los Angeles. Over the course of the tale, Decker unwinds the plot and makes several subtle discoveries about himself and other characters.

My description doesn't do it any justice and I highly recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it and is even remotely a fan of science fiction. It will not be disappoint any new viewers.

This version brings the visual quality into the twenty first century. And the muddled, ineffective voice overs of the previous versions have been removed.  There is also a new unicorn element introduced which brings the movie's ending more in line with the novel's ending.

The special effects are still good almost thirty years later. The story line is fantastic. The acting is mostly good. The writing stays constantly intriguing. And the pacing is perfect. The depth of the characters as well as the twists and intriguing social questions raised throughout probably make for a good date flick. Some light nudity and too much violence make it bad for the kids. But it is absolutely worth a rental and should be owned by any fans of the genre.

An ill omen

Not sure what detonated inside my cranium or why, but I've been wrestling with an odd headache for the better part of two days. Wrecked the second half of the day. I spent most of it on Cindy's side of the bed. My eyes closed. A pillow over my head. And the television droning in the background. After a couple of hours being numbed by MSNBC, I could walk around again. Hopefully it isn't an ill omen for this weekend.

Regardless of the outcome of this weekend, I tried to make up for lost time. Wrote some backlog entries from last year.

• Halloween 08
• Highland Games 08

 Need to get back to trying to fleshout my archives. I probably have three hundred pending entries. And miles to go before I sleep.

Time For #700

Sometimes I think back to the mid-90s. We were newlyweds. No responsibilities, except to each other. Renting an apartment. Two used cars. Our entire lives fit into a small moving van. We'd watch the sun come up. And talk about the future. Long hours spent on the sofa, arms wrapped around her. Face pressed her her neck. We didn't have much. But we had plans and lots of time on our hands.

Flash foward to the twenty first century. I go weeks or months without a day off. Too many projects. Too much responsibility. Too few hours on the sofa with my long time and over-so-patient bride.

I need more hours in the day. Or less things to do. Still no end in sight. But I'd rather be too busy than too bored. At least I tell myself that.

Oh. Post #700 here. I managed to fine time for almost two hundred per year. That's something, in my book. So. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Trapped In The Matrix

I dream of a day where I don't have to touch a keyboard. When I'm not trapped in the matrix.

Our tenth day of fighting the virus. It still creeps through the network. A pox upon us all. We've thinned the ranks of the victims. But it still lurks in the digital shadows. Sneering at us. Hopefully we'll be clean by the weekend.

And then I come home and wade through a tarpit of a domain for a friend. My eyes crossing from all the windows and reports. Sighing at all the rubbish piled in the corners.


Tired. Tired. Tired. Morpheus, I'll take the blue pill, if you please.

UFC 99

Caught a rerun today. Meh. No title fight on the card. And none of the fights really awed me. And the title fight... double meh. Silva was obviously feeling the effects of cutting so much weight for the first time (He had to lose 12lbs?) And Franklin wasn't having one of his best performances.

Probably a victory for German.

Nothing memorial by UFC standards.

Hopefully the next one is worth the price of admission. 

Defeated

I loathe putting forth an effort and not making any marked progress.

Roger and I tried some new brake drums on the read brakes, but they wouldn't fit on the spline correctly. Had to take them back and get a new set from a specialty shop.

Tried to change the transmission oil, but Roger's solution fell short. The Beetle requires a 17mm hex tool to remove the drain plug and the fill plug. You don't find those at the corner store. So I have to order one of those from a specialty shop, too.

A drive to Roger's, two hours of labor, a drive home. Nothing to show. I'm defeated.

Ye Ole Virus Fighter

We've been struggling for nearly a week. Slugging it out with a worm. An old one. One that should never have caused us to so much as blink. Let alone force dozens of us to take up arms against.

If we'd done our jobs correctly. If we'd tested our plans rather than patting ourselves on the back and presuming we'd be safe. Instead, an unpatched laptop gets infected in the wild and carries its payload behind our corporate firewalls. And the siege begins.

Our POS (Point Of Sale) systems weren't patched. Some obscure, all-but-forgotten PCs weren't patched. And other systems not connected to the domain were unpatched. The virus owns them now. We can clean all of them. But down-version systems which can not be wrapped in the latest service pack will get infected again. Sometimes in a manner of minutes. Almost always less than an hour.

Day after day we fight the virus. I hear its laughter.

Beetle Build - Brake Job

We had a late start on the Beetle. Worked on the rear brakes. Had to get new brake shoes, brake drums, and pistons. (The front brakes appear to have been restored previously.) Bled the lines and saw a good bit of improvement. But still not happy. Have to check the front brakes again later this week. (The front pistons may be seized up, like the rear was.) If that doesn't work, the master cylinder needs to be replaced.

And at some point we need to change the transmission oil. But the plugs require 17mm hex sockets, and we have to buy one of those.

After the brakes and transmission are good, it is off to the bodyshop!

Saturday's Adventures

Good to be back in my own home with my wife and my kids and my own bed. It was a good trip, no doubt, but I don't relax or enjoy trips as much without Cindy. Anyway, I rolled into the house around eleven PM last night and slept through to eight o'clock this morning.

Tried to keep it easy. Some time in the gym, working my shoulders. Out to the pool to help babysit and catch up with Kim K. And then off to Island Strikz, off Pass Road. Two rounds of bowling. A pizza. And a lot of good times.

Not as stress-free or quiet as I wanted. But the kids were good. And we enjoyed the time we had together. I'm savoring it while it lasts.

Away Mission - Day Two

Helping out a buddy. Day two. The newness of the environment is wearing off and I notice the little things around me. The antique elevator, for example. Hand painted doors. Analog floor indicator. Wallpaper slowly peeling further down each day.

When the doors finally open, there is barely any room on the inside. I've been in smaller phone booths. The walls have a dark, musky carpet. The floor is bare wood.

It is interesting to think that back in the 1960s and 70s there were professional elevator operators. And somebody would have been in this thing at all times. Asking, "Which floor, please?" and pushing the button. Making a living out of that. Day after day.

I especially like the buttons. The #1 is off kilter. How long has it been like that? How long before somebody fixes it? If they ever do.

We walk half a block to a small cafe for lunch. Local, family owned. A couple of generations of folks working the front counter and bringing out the food. I had a bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions and a side of cream spinach as well as some green beans.  Whoooooaaaa was it a fantastic burger. Seriously, top three quality stuff. VERY sizable. Incredibly tasty and obviously seasoned. Onions rocked. Bacon was crispy. And the veggies  were dynamite. Aside from a Kobe Beef Burger  on a trip to Las Vegas a few years ago, I can't remember the last time I had a restaurant burger this good. Would eat there once a week if at all possible. Certainly on my To Do list next time I'm in town!

Dining Out

I like to eat. And when I go out of town, I like to eat interesting foods that I can't get back home. So tonight I GPS'ed some Thai food. Trusting my stomach to a hunk of plastic and its digital logic. Fortunately my first experiment was a success. The restaurant (Thai Kitchen) turned out to be a very nice, family owned business. I ordered their Pad-See-U with some Thai Iced Tea. Both were excellent. And the portions were huge. I had enough for three meals! Great food and a quiet experience. Will certainly visit again next time I'm in town.

After the main course, I was strolling back to my car when I noticed a pub a few doors down the way. Looked busy and I could use a pint to end the night. Interesting place. Packed to the rafters. So loud I could feel my pulse in my ears. Ordered a tall glass of Woodchuck PEAR cider. The glass and cider so cold my fingers grew numb. Sooooo tasty. Nothing like it on the Coast. And then I noticed it was an almost entirely male crowd. Very few women. And those few were clustered together like lost school girls. Then I noted the odd fashion of the other guys. Leather flip flops. Torn bluejeans with the back pockets ripped off. And shirts just a bit too tight on some folks.

With a chuckle, I finished the second half of my glass and called it a night. Odd crowd. I'll sat that much for sure.

Mi, oh mi!

Okay, this thing is freaking uberimpressive. I'm out of town and can't get a LAN connection anywhere. No 802.11 wireless to be found. Me without connctivity is like Hugh Hefner without a smoking jacket. So I'm itching and jonesing for a fix.

Buddy of mine whips out this Verizon MiFi widget and plops it on the table. It is the size of a credit card, but maybe a quarter inch thick. Push the lone button on the front and it creates a wireless bridge to Verizon's nation-wide wireless network. Suddenly I go from 0Kb/sec to 1Mb/sec! And five people can link to this thing without killing the connection.

Wow, wow, and wow! Hot like salsa picante bananna funkystein. Hair of the dog that bit me. And I'm back online.

Have to pick up one of these beauties. Highly recommended to everyone in geekdom. It's a digital lifesaver.

Beetle Build - Copper Bar Stock

Must be white boy day. I called Weldshop Ron (my metal fabricator) last week and asked if he could get his hands on some copper bar stock. He asked what I was going to make. I said I needed to replace my 1.5" wide x 1/16th" thick x 8" long steel battery bars with copper so they wouldn't rust and would conduct better. I needed eight bars. He said he'd call me on Monday.

After I talked to him, I called a few more places to see about getting pre-made bars. The average cost was $200! That's about $25/bar! (And this is after copper has fallen off of its record high.)

So when Weldshop Ron called me today and said he had ALREADY made the bars (without quoting a price,) I freaked. I thought for sure he was going to tell me it would be about $200. (He gives me a good deal when he can. But copper isn't falling off trees.) I met him after his shift and he handed me these clean, beautiful, perfectly cut bars. Said a friend had extra copper, so he just cut them to spec and I could have them. Have them? Yeah, just have them. I asked Weldshop Ron how long he spent on it. He said about an hour. I said I wanted to pay him for his time. He said I didn't have to do that. I asked if he'd take $30? He said that would be cool. And that was that.

Must be white boy day?

Rat Trap

The kids have been (mostly) good lately. And Cindy has been babysitting them for the better part of two weeks. So I figured I'd treat everyone to something different. The kids got to pick where they wanted to hang out and Cindy got the night off from the family.

Imagine this, the kids picked Chuck E Cheese for dinner. Even though it was barely busy (only one party:) the place was too loud, the prices were too high, the food took far too long to come out, and the salad bar didn't have any Italian dressing. But the kids had a fantastic time at the rat trap.

Meanwhile Cindy had wine and nachos and a modified Girls Night at her Mom's house. Bunch of cackling women and too much wine. But she came back smiling.

I actually enjoyed spending a couple of hours doing nothing and not being responsible for anything (other than the kids' getting fed and not getting wounded.) I'll have to do that more often. Seemed to recharge all of us.

Beetle Build - Back Seat Support

The main "battery pack" on the Beetle contains 13 lead acid batteries. For a total of 156V of combined power going through the lines, over the terminals, and through the battery bars. Two of those batteries are under the back seat. (A lone 12V battery on the driver's side is for all the non-motor electical systems like lights and radio and such.) One of Roger's concerns was that an old iron spring might get too compressed and get too close to a line and the electricity would arc.

So we isolated the batteries with a hand-built box made of 3/4" treated plywood. It was Roger's design and my handy work. The back seat will sit up slightly higher, but it will have a much better support system under it. And no lightning will arc through that much wood.

Once it gets covered by the upholstery guy, it will look like it was made in the factory, as part of the original construction. And I'll sleep better knowing nobody risks a shock in the buttocks.

Something Boiled For My Bride

I'm taking a side trip to help out a buddy and spot a quaint little road-side farmer's stand. Fresh fruits and veggies straight out of the Earth and a special treat. Something boiled for my bride. I think this is strictly a Southern thing, too. Boiled peanuts! The woman running the stand was simmering them in a crockpot all day. $3 for a pound. Of course she didn't have a scale and "a pound" turned out to be four scoups from a huge ladel. I'm sure it was closer to two pounds. But maybe water-sogged peanuts weigh more and I got the short end of the stick? They weren't for me, anyway. My bride will get a big kick out of them.