I had somewhat of a epiphany last night while relaxing on the couch watching television. Santa Claus is not from the North Pole! Not only is he not from the North Pole, but he isn't even from the planet earth. That's right readers, jolly old St. Nick is an alien from another world.
In recent years it has been recognized that it is physically impossible for Santa Claus to complete his gift giving journey throughout the world in a single night. This fact has even been published on the popular urban legend site snopes.com. Please see http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/santa/physics.asp.
So where is Santa from you ask? I believe the logical answer is that Santa Claus is a Time Lord from Gallifrey and that his sleigh and reindeer are his TARDIS. It is the ability to travel back and forth through time that makes it appear that all that traveling is completed in just one 24 hour period. As for the reindeer and sleigh, that must be some sort of illusion projected by the TARDIS to hide Santa's true identity.
A belated Merry Christmas to all! Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What's wrong with air travel?
Looking at the title, along with the current news, you may think this is going to be about the TSA and the new scanners or search techniques. For those of you who are chomping at the bit for such a post, sorry to say that this is not about those subjects. Nor is this about terrorism. Hell, it's not even really about flying! Ah-hah you say, it's about the long lines to get through security. Still, you would be wrong, but you're getting warmer. For the most part, my problem with air travel is the boarding process.
I'm going to break the boarding process into two parts. The first part of this is when us passengers are allowed to start boarding the aircraft. Most flights these days are full or near capacity. That means it's important that people board in the manner directed (and this is partly because of things mentioned further on in this post). We all know the drill. Pre-boarding for those who will need extra time is first. Families with small children, people with various disabilities, etc. Not really a problem here. After that, it's usually first (or business) class next, followed by zones or rows starting with the back of the plane. First class aside, this is done so passengers can get to their seats without having to get around multiple people attempting to stow away their carry-on items. Part of the problem starts before people even start getting onto the plane. As boarding time nears, passengers will start moving towards the gate. So much so, that the patient passenger then has to work his or her way through a mass of people to board. What, you people think the plane is going to take off without you? The gate attendant will ask that people keep a clear isle, but that falls on deaf ears. Then it never surprises me that as I board and walk the isle, there are always more than a handful of passengers who decided that they are more important than the rest of us and needed to board before their zone or isle was called. Yes, a few people may have pre-boarded, but you can definitely tell that most of the passengers getting into rows not called yet are not of the pre-boarding variety. Yes, my faith in humanity as being a bunch of rude and selfish people is confirmed.
Why is this a problem? Well let's get to part two of the boarding process. This is where we find our row, put our carry-on away, and sit down. Think of it people, it's a bus! A bus that happens to fly. Why can't people do this step quickly? It's an easy answer. They have more than the allowed (usually two these days) number of carry-on items, and one or more of them are definitely too large. People get away with it because the poor gate attendants would probably have near riot on their hands if they started policing carry-on size and would likely delay takeoff. So while attempting to stuff the oversize roller into the overhead, instead of stepping into a row to let others go by as instructed by the flight attendants, most clueless passengers block the isle for minutes at a time. Again, selfish, rude, and inconsiderate. Added to this is some of the passengers in isle seats. The window seat or seats still unoccupied, some people will get all settled in and even put on their seat-belt. Years ago, maybe. But as I said earlier, most flight these days are full or almost full. It's a good bet that someone is going to occupy those other seats. But no, we now have to wait for someone to a few minutes to get up out of the isle seat to let the other passenger(s) in.
I could go on a bit more, but I think I've made my point. What's wrong with air travel? Well, in my mind it's the majority of the passengers that is the problem.
I'm going to break the boarding process into two parts. The first part of this is when us passengers are allowed to start boarding the aircraft. Most flights these days are full or near capacity. That means it's important that people board in the manner directed (and this is partly because of things mentioned further on in this post). We all know the drill. Pre-boarding for those who will need extra time is first. Families with small children, people with various disabilities, etc. Not really a problem here. After that, it's usually first (or business) class next, followed by zones or rows starting with the back of the plane. First class aside, this is done so passengers can get to their seats without having to get around multiple people attempting to stow away their carry-on items. Part of the problem starts before people even start getting onto the plane. As boarding time nears, passengers will start moving towards the gate. So much so, that the patient passenger then has to work his or her way through a mass of people to board. What, you people think the plane is going to take off without you? The gate attendant will ask that people keep a clear isle, but that falls on deaf ears. Then it never surprises me that as I board and walk the isle, there are always more than a handful of passengers who decided that they are more important than the rest of us and needed to board before their zone or isle was called. Yes, a few people may have pre-boarded, but you can definitely tell that most of the passengers getting into rows not called yet are not of the pre-boarding variety. Yes, my faith in humanity as being a bunch of rude and selfish people is confirmed.
Why is this a problem? Well let's get to part two of the boarding process. This is where we find our row, put our carry-on away, and sit down. Think of it people, it's a bus! A bus that happens to fly. Why can't people do this step quickly? It's an easy answer. They have more than the allowed (usually two these days) number of carry-on items, and one or more of them are definitely too large. People get away with it because the poor gate attendants would probably have near riot on their hands if they started policing carry-on size and would likely delay takeoff. So while attempting to stuff the oversize roller into the overhead, instead of stepping into a row to let others go by as instructed by the flight attendants, most clueless passengers block the isle for minutes at a time. Again, selfish, rude, and inconsiderate. Added to this is some of the passengers in isle seats. The window seat or seats still unoccupied, some people will get all settled in and even put on their seat-belt. Years ago, maybe. But as I said earlier, most flight these days are full or almost full. It's a good bet that someone is going to occupy those other seats. But no, we now have to wait for someone to a few minutes to get up out of the isle seat to let the other passenger(s) in.
I could go on a bit more, but I think I've made my point. What's wrong with air travel? Well, in my mind it's the majority of the passengers that is the problem.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Lost in thought
Or perhaps not lost in thought. I realized it's been almost a month since last posting, and I have thought about writing something a few times in the last couple weeks. Is it I have too many ideas floating about my head, or none? Whatever the case, I figured I should post something.
Let me start with a shout out to John Force, who at 61 years old won his 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship. He also won this weekend's race to sweeten the victory. At 61, he is the oldest person to win a championship in motorsports. Good on him! Coincidentally, the ProStock Motorcycle Championship was won by a rookie, LE Tonglet, the youngest to win a major motorsports championship. See http://www.nhra.com/story/2010/11/14/dixon-claims-full-throttle-top-fuel-championship/ for more details.
I have a feeling this will be slow week at the office. I head to visit my dad for Thanksgiving this Saturday, and maybe even get some time in to visit with my daughter and her mom for a day or two. A few things need to be taken care of at work. It's time for annual review process to start, and I have to work in the performance evaluations for my team. One member needs to travel after the Thanksgiving holiday, and as a manager I never went through the process and I'm not even sure what it is. Of course, when I asked my manager last week I didn't receive a response. Yet another example of why I really don't like working for the man. That's on top of the billable work I need to get done for the customer, aka the USPS.
Seeing dad and my daughter will be good, and I look forward to spending time with family. I do need to plan another trip where I just go down to visit with Reagan. There's a dance recital thing in June, but I definitely would like to visit again before then.
I'm still stoked with the SRT8. Definitely a fun machine to drive. It may be having the affect that I am wanting to get off my lazy butt and get the Triumph Chop and my '89 Springer back on the road. But that makes me think of something else, and that is why can't people frigging park correctly?! I usually back into the left hand spot of a two spot slot outside my apartment, and close to the curb as possible. I'm maybe 4 to 6 inches at the most from the curb, leaving a nice space between my passenger side and the white line. However, it seems the neighbor that usually parks in the other spot doesn't know how to f___ing drive! Seems they always pull into the spot and are usually right on top of the line or even over it! WTF! Really, not just once in a while, but it seems that almost every time. I think that one can tell a few things from this. 1: That they really don't know how to park since they are almost never in the spot correctly. 2: They must think they have more important things to do, since they don't take the time to adjust the position of the vehicle once they pull in. 3: They are inconsiderate, not caring that although their neighbor takes the care to leave a nice amount of space between cars (they have a young toddler and need to put the kid and car seat in their vehicle), they seem not to care how much room they leave between the parked cars. As you can see, it's sort of a pet peeve of mine. Even with my old Durango, I took the time to park carefully.
Enough of that, in other news my neighbor was evicted last week. Shame, because I liked the dude. Friendly guy, and we chatted quite a few times when I'd run into him while he's outside smoking a cig. Seems his wife took off a couple months back, and he couldn't swing the rent by himself. Oh well, I just hope the next tenants in that apartment are cool.
Hmm... seems like the CSI:Miami tonight is not the new episode that the guide says it's supposed to be. If I recall, last week was also wrong. But I'm thinking that this is what was supposed to be on last week, because I don't think it was a repeat like last week.
Back to vacation, I need to arrange my car service to SFO for Saturday morning. I've been using All Cities Limo for a while now. I definitely recommend them. So far great service, and always professional and on time.
One last thing before I call this a post. Reagan now has Skype, and it was nice to have a video chat with my daughter Friday evening.
Back to the last half of CSI:Miami, then time to hit the sack and visit with the Sandman.
Let me start with a shout out to John Force, who at 61 years old won his 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship. He also won this weekend's race to sweeten the victory. At 61, he is the oldest person to win a championship in motorsports. Good on him! Coincidentally, the ProStock Motorcycle Championship was won by a rookie, LE Tonglet, the youngest to win a major motorsports championship. See http://www.nhra.com/story/2010/11/14/dixon-claims-full-throttle-top-fuel-championship/ for more details.
I have a feeling this will be slow week at the office. I head to visit my dad for Thanksgiving this Saturday, and maybe even get some time in to visit with my daughter and her mom for a day or two. A few things need to be taken care of at work. It's time for annual review process to start, and I have to work in the performance evaluations for my team. One member needs to travel after the Thanksgiving holiday, and as a manager I never went through the process and I'm not even sure what it is. Of course, when I asked my manager last week I didn't receive a response. Yet another example of why I really don't like working for the man. That's on top of the billable work I need to get done for the customer, aka the USPS.
Seeing dad and my daughter will be good, and I look forward to spending time with family. I do need to plan another trip where I just go down to visit with Reagan. There's a dance recital thing in June, but I definitely would like to visit again before then.
I'm still stoked with the SRT8. Definitely a fun machine to drive. It may be having the affect that I am wanting to get off my lazy butt and get the Triumph Chop and my '89 Springer back on the road. But that makes me think of something else, and that is why can't people frigging park correctly?! I usually back into the left hand spot of a two spot slot outside my apartment, and close to the curb as possible. I'm maybe 4 to 6 inches at the most from the curb, leaving a nice space between my passenger side and the white line. However, it seems the neighbor that usually parks in the other spot doesn't know how to f___ing drive! Seems they always pull into the spot and are usually right on top of the line or even over it! WTF! Really, not just once in a while, but it seems that almost every time. I think that one can tell a few things from this. 1: That they really don't know how to park since they are almost never in the spot correctly. 2: They must think they have more important things to do, since they don't take the time to adjust the position of the vehicle once they pull in. 3: They are inconsiderate, not caring that although their neighbor takes the care to leave a nice amount of space between cars (they have a young toddler and need to put the kid and car seat in their vehicle), they seem not to care how much room they leave between the parked cars. As you can see, it's sort of a pet peeve of mine. Even with my old Durango, I took the time to park carefully.
Enough of that, in other news my neighbor was evicted last week. Shame, because I liked the dude. Friendly guy, and we chatted quite a few times when I'd run into him while he's outside smoking a cig. Seems his wife took off a couple months back, and he couldn't swing the rent by himself. Oh well, I just hope the next tenants in that apartment are cool.
Hmm... seems like the CSI:Miami tonight is not the new episode that the guide says it's supposed to be. If I recall, last week was also wrong. But I'm thinking that this is what was supposed to be on last week, because I don't think it was a repeat like last week.
Back to vacation, I need to arrange my car service to SFO for Saturday morning. I've been using All Cities Limo for a while now. I definitely recommend them. So far great service, and always professional and on time.
One last thing before I call this a post. Reagan now has Skype, and it was nice to have a video chat with my daughter Friday evening.
Back to the last half of CSI:Miami, then time to hit the sack and visit with the Sandman.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Where's my mojo?
Alright, I haven't a clue where this post is going to go. As I start typing, I'm not even sure if it will have anything to do with the title. It's a little past 7:00pm PDT, and I'm switching back and forth between the Vikings/Packers game and shows on the History Channel. First it was IRT, and now Swamp People. In the game, the 3rd quarter is just about to start. But what's this about mojo?
As of late, I'm just not as motivated as I used to be. There was a time when I loved to spend time in the garage wrenching on the motorcycles for any little thing. But now... two non-running bikes that have been all but neglected. The '89 Springer was pulled apart after the pinion shaft sheared in 2004, but I haven't done anything since. The motor is spread across my workbench in parts. The '71 Triumph chopper is almost as bad. It's together, but in need of a little TLC. It probably won't start unless I rebuild the carb again. I've been meaning to upgrade the ignition and charging systems, the new parts I purchased some years back are stacked on my bedroom floor. Moving back to my professional life, I've let a major project for a client slip for a long time. Again, there was a time when I got zoned into doing computer work I would get a lot done in a short time. Now, I just can't my mind wrapped around the tasks I need to do. Like the title of this post asks, where's my mojo?
So what else is going on. A few months back I was given a promotion at work. If you can call it that. I'm now Manager IS Technology. But I'm also still a Senior Unix Systems Administrator. 40% more work for a lousy 2% raise. I think that's part of the problem. Before the promotion, there was all sorts of related work politics. With the promotion, there's now conflicting priorities that compete for the same time. At some point, somethings going to give. I've been on a few interviews, and one of the prospects looked promising. Alas, no job offers yet. I'll have to polish up my resume and see what else is out there. It seems that almost anything will be better than reporting to the two-faced liar I have now as a manager.
Life isn't all doom and gloom though. Being reconnected to my daughter Reagan over this last year has been a huge bright spot. She turns 10 on November 1st. I hope she likes what I got her for her special day. Speaking of gifts, I have to start thinking of what to get people for Christmas. In the past, I have tried to have most of my gift shopping completed before Thanksgiving.
The new car has been a blast, and I'm taking a little road trip in it this week. Driving down to Henderson NV to visit some old friends. But from there, we're taking his RV to Dumont Dunes for the weekend. My bud has a sweet sandrail with a supercharged V6 Honda engine. I went to the dunes a couple times in 2008 and I'm looking forward to this weekend. Plus I'm looking forward to a nice road trip in the SRT8.
After that, my annual trip to FL to visit pop for Thanksgiving. I've spoken to Reagan's mom, and I hope to also spend some time with my daughter while in Florida.
Still the question remains. Where's my mojo? Even in my faith. You may or may not know that I'm an evangelical christian. If you had to label me, something close to Baptist. My attendance at weekly service is dreadful. Back in NY, I rarely missed a week. But nowadays, quite the opposite and there is no good reason.
I think I've rambled on enough. Back to pay more attention to the TV. It's Sunday, so I'm looking forward to this week's episode of Dexter on Showtime.
Good night all.
As of late, I'm just not as motivated as I used to be. There was a time when I loved to spend time in the garage wrenching on the motorcycles for any little thing. But now... two non-running bikes that have been all but neglected. The '89 Springer was pulled apart after the pinion shaft sheared in 2004, but I haven't done anything since. The motor is spread across my workbench in parts. The '71 Triumph chopper is almost as bad. It's together, but in need of a little TLC. It probably won't start unless I rebuild the carb again. I've been meaning to upgrade the ignition and charging systems, the new parts I purchased some years back are stacked on my bedroom floor. Moving back to my professional life, I've let a major project for a client slip for a long time. Again, there was a time when I got zoned into doing computer work I would get a lot done in a short time. Now, I just can't my mind wrapped around the tasks I need to do. Like the title of this post asks, where's my mojo?
So what else is going on. A few months back I was given a promotion at work. If you can call it that. I'm now Manager IS Technology. But I'm also still a Senior Unix Systems Administrator. 40% more work for a lousy 2% raise. I think that's part of the problem. Before the promotion, there was all sorts of related work politics. With the promotion, there's now conflicting priorities that compete for the same time. At some point, somethings going to give. I've been on a few interviews, and one of the prospects looked promising. Alas, no job offers yet. I'll have to polish up my resume and see what else is out there. It seems that almost anything will be better than reporting to the two-faced liar I have now as a manager.
Life isn't all doom and gloom though. Being reconnected to my daughter Reagan over this last year has been a huge bright spot. She turns 10 on November 1st. I hope she likes what I got her for her special day. Speaking of gifts, I have to start thinking of what to get people for Christmas. In the past, I have tried to have most of my gift shopping completed before Thanksgiving.
The new car has been a blast, and I'm taking a little road trip in it this week. Driving down to Henderson NV to visit some old friends. But from there, we're taking his RV to Dumont Dunes for the weekend. My bud has a sweet sandrail with a supercharged V6 Honda engine. I went to the dunes a couple times in 2008 and I'm looking forward to this weekend. Plus I'm looking forward to a nice road trip in the SRT8.
After that, my annual trip to FL to visit pop for Thanksgiving. I've spoken to Reagan's mom, and I hope to also spend some time with my daughter while in Florida.
Still the question remains. Where's my mojo? Even in my faith. You may or may not know that I'm an evangelical christian. If you had to label me, something close to Baptist. My attendance at weekly service is dreadful. Back in NY, I rarely missed a week. But nowadays, quite the opposite and there is no good reason.
I think I've rambled on enough. Back to pay more attention to the TV. It's Sunday, so I'm looking forward to this week's episode of Dexter on Showtime.
Good night all.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Mayflower Madness
Work has been somewhat hectic these last couple of weeks, and it's taken the motivation to write out of me. I promised you all the story of my horrible experience with the moving company Mayflower. I'll try not to drag this on. Thinking about it, the story of how I ended up moving to the west coast may also be something I'll post about. But to keep this entry somewhat short, I'll skip details on that although it is related.
In November of 2000, I found myself with a job offer here in the SF Bay area. It was an awesome deal and the company hiring me was paying for everything related to the move. They had contracted with Mayflower to move me from Long Island, New York to Foster City, California.
The first step was advance relocation services. They come to you place and pack and get ready to move all your goodies. They give some nice tips, leave boxes for packing some stuff yourself, and that part of the move was pretty sweet. I recall giving those guys a decent tip as well as buying pizzas and soda. Molloy Bros Moving and Storage was their name, and I have no problem with them. Hell, I'd recommend them.
A few days later the moving truck showed up, or what I thought was the moving truck. Yes, it was a tractor trailer with a full size moving rig. But I was told that only about half my stuff would be going on this truck. There was someone else's belonging's fulling up half the trailer and that was being dropped off in NV or AZ. Still, the driver and his helper were pretty cool. My two motorcycles were loaded on this trailer, and a bunch of other stuff. For those familiar with moving, the little stickers with a lot number and sequence number were put on my belongings and written down in a log or sort of a bill of lading. Except for the unexpected load split, this was also a pleasant experience. Another tip for the driver and his helper, and more pizza and soda.
Now things start getting dicey... The pickup for the rest of my stuff was delayed once, getting a phone call at the last minute that the truck will be by the next day. The next day, a moving van shows up, but not a tractor trailer. I ask about the vehicle and I was told that they are at my house to just pick up my stuff and it will be stored and transferred to the big rig that will drive it west. Whatever... Now, I had two window air conditioner units. One was an old Sears Coldspot, probably about 20 years old that still rocked. The other was a white Friedrich unit that I purchased that August, only a few months before. The little stickers were applied, logged, and the units wrapped in those moving blankets. More tips, more pizza, more soda. Soon, except for the things I was taking with me when I drove across the country, all my goodies were in the possession of Mayflower or their agents. A day or two later, I was driving across the country with my buddy Andy and Jessi my dog.
The trip to the west coast was for the most part uneventful. Played cat and mouse with a snow storm or two, but made it in four days.
I believe I arrived here on a Wednesday. That Thursday, the first truck arrived. The driver and his helper made great time getting my stuff unloaded and when we couldn't locate some small wood pieces for a bed frame, the driver paid for some wood we had bought and had cut to size at the local Home Depot. Not a problem with this crew. Once again; tips, pizza, soda. Hearty handshakes with the gentlemen and took the Harley for a quick blast around the neighborhood. So far, all is good.
A day or so later, no second truck. But I had bid my bud Andy farewell and dropped him off the at the airport (company that hired me paid for his one-way ticket back to NY). I also start my new job. I get a call saying my stuff will be delievered the next day. I take the day off, and about lunch time get a call saying not today. This happens about two or three more times! WTF! I'm starting to get concerned.
Finally, the truck does arrive. This second driver and his helper just don't seem all that right to me. As we're unloading my stuff, we get to the air conditioners. Sears Coldspot, check. Friedrich... hmmmm... unwrap the moving blanket and there's some brown generic brand air conditioner. Oddly, it has the same exact sticker; lot number and sequence number, that was put on my Friedrich. Think about that. Someone needed to unwrap my AC, move the sticker, and wrap the other AC. I make a stink and call Mayflower. I refuse to sign the receipt until the driver and myself make a note that the AC is not mine and initial it. There's also another box completely missing. This is getting annoying. Finally, small tip and no fucking pizza or soda, the moving truck leaves.
Mayflower customer service... sucks! When calling to complain, the customer service rep told me to contact the police where the AC was stolen. I was fucking furious! I told him to tell me which of his crack head employees stole it so I knew which jurisdiction to call. I mean, it seemed lost on this idiot that someone who worked for Mayflower had the access to unwrap my new AC, take the sticker off and put it on some other piece of shit, and wrap that. This guy was complete prick! My saving grace was that the company that hired me and was paying for the move (and at least one other person's move) played hardball. Basically, it they didn't pay for my loss, they weren't getting paid. So I was asked to supply a receipt for the AC and a list of the contents of the missing box. I had a receipt for the AC, which they did pay for in full. But at the time I could not figure out what was in the missing box. So, I made a list of various power tools since the box was from the shed or basement (I don't remember which). Unfortunately, I didn't put up my Christmas Tree until the next year. The missing box was Christmas Ornaments. That might not not seem too bad, but I had the ornaments from when I was kid. Hand blown glass ornaments from Poland (my maternal grandparents) and other sentimental ones.
So, if you're moving. Don't use Mayflower!
Now as I let out a sigh, I'm going to catch the Hawaii 5-0 premier.
In November of 2000, I found myself with a job offer here in the SF Bay area. It was an awesome deal and the company hiring me was paying for everything related to the move. They had contracted with Mayflower to move me from Long Island, New York to Foster City, California.
The first step was advance relocation services. They come to you place and pack and get ready to move all your goodies. They give some nice tips, leave boxes for packing some stuff yourself, and that part of the move was pretty sweet. I recall giving those guys a decent tip as well as buying pizzas and soda. Molloy Bros Moving and Storage was their name, and I have no problem with them. Hell, I'd recommend them.
A few days later the moving truck showed up, or what I thought was the moving truck. Yes, it was a tractor trailer with a full size moving rig. But I was told that only about half my stuff would be going on this truck. There was someone else's belonging's fulling up half the trailer and that was being dropped off in NV or AZ. Still, the driver and his helper were pretty cool. My two motorcycles were loaded on this trailer, and a bunch of other stuff. For those familiar with moving, the little stickers with a lot number and sequence number were put on my belongings and written down in a log or sort of a bill of lading. Except for the unexpected load split, this was also a pleasant experience. Another tip for the driver and his helper, and more pizza and soda.
Now things start getting dicey... The pickup for the rest of my stuff was delayed once, getting a phone call at the last minute that the truck will be by the next day. The next day, a moving van shows up, but not a tractor trailer. I ask about the vehicle and I was told that they are at my house to just pick up my stuff and it will be stored and transferred to the big rig that will drive it west. Whatever... Now, I had two window air conditioner units. One was an old Sears Coldspot, probably about 20 years old that still rocked. The other was a white Friedrich unit that I purchased that August, only a few months before. The little stickers were applied, logged, and the units wrapped in those moving blankets. More tips, more pizza, more soda. Soon, except for the things I was taking with me when I drove across the country, all my goodies were in the possession of Mayflower or their agents. A day or two later, I was driving across the country with my buddy Andy and Jessi my dog.
The trip to the west coast was for the most part uneventful. Played cat and mouse with a snow storm or two, but made it in four days.
I believe I arrived here on a Wednesday. That Thursday, the first truck arrived. The driver and his helper made great time getting my stuff unloaded and when we couldn't locate some small wood pieces for a bed frame, the driver paid for some wood we had bought and had cut to size at the local Home Depot. Not a problem with this crew. Once again; tips, pizza, soda. Hearty handshakes with the gentlemen and took the Harley for a quick blast around the neighborhood. So far, all is good.
A day or so later, no second truck. But I had bid my bud Andy farewell and dropped him off the at the airport (company that hired me paid for his one-way ticket back to NY). I also start my new job. I get a call saying my stuff will be delievered the next day. I take the day off, and about lunch time get a call saying not today. This happens about two or three more times! WTF! I'm starting to get concerned.
Finally, the truck does arrive. This second driver and his helper just don't seem all that right to me. As we're unloading my stuff, we get to the air conditioners. Sears Coldspot, check. Friedrich... hmmmm... unwrap the moving blanket and there's some brown generic brand air conditioner. Oddly, it has the same exact sticker; lot number and sequence number, that was put on my Friedrich. Think about that. Someone needed to unwrap my AC, move the sticker, and wrap the other AC. I make a stink and call Mayflower. I refuse to sign the receipt until the driver and myself make a note that the AC is not mine and initial it. There's also another box completely missing. This is getting annoying. Finally, small tip and no fucking pizza or soda, the moving truck leaves.
Mayflower customer service... sucks! When calling to complain, the customer service rep told me to contact the police where the AC was stolen. I was fucking furious! I told him to tell me which of his crack head employees stole it so I knew which jurisdiction to call. I mean, it seemed lost on this idiot that someone who worked for Mayflower had the access to unwrap my new AC, take the sticker off and put it on some other piece of shit, and wrap that. This guy was complete prick! My saving grace was that the company that hired me and was paying for the move (and at least one other person's move) played hardball. Basically, it they didn't pay for my loss, they weren't getting paid. So I was asked to supply a receipt for the AC and a list of the contents of the missing box. I had a receipt for the AC, which they did pay for in full. But at the time I could not figure out what was in the missing box. So, I made a list of various power tools since the box was from the shed or basement (I don't remember which). Unfortunately, I didn't put up my Christmas Tree until the next year. The missing box was Christmas Ornaments. That might not not seem too bad, but I had the ornaments from when I was kid. Hand blown glass ornaments from Poland (my maternal grandparents) and other sentimental ones.
So, if you're moving. Don't use Mayflower!
Now as I let out a sigh, I'm going to catch the Hawaii 5-0 premier.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Born to be wild
Sitting on my couch, watching the NASCAR Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on ESPN. It's Labor Day weekend and therefore I have the day off tomorrow. But this post isn't about Labor Day, nor is it about NASCAR. Back in July, I said that I should perhaps tell the story of how the movie "Easy Rider" had an impact on my life. So here goes.
The movie "Easy Rider" was released in 1969. Directed by Dennis Hopper (1936-2010), and written by Hopper along with Peter Fonda and Terry Southern. I'm not going to summarize the movie, but if you're someone who isn't familiar with it, please go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/.
Now I didn't see it in the movies, as I was eight years old in 1969. I'm not quite sure exactly when I did see it, but I think I was ten or eleven years old (1971 or 1972) at the time. I remember being sick with a cold, flu, or some other ailment. I was having trouble sleeping, and my mom let me stay up in the living room and watch television. "Easy Rider" happened to be the late late movie or something like that, starting at maybe 1:00am or something. As a young boy, seeing the motorcycles on the screen while I was changing channels looking for something to watch, I had stopped searching and took my spot on the couch. I think I caught it right near the beginning. As a young boy I obviously was interested in cars, motorcycles, and anything else with a motor that made noise. :) Sears catalogs would have mini-bikes and go-carts, and like every other boy my age, one or the other would be on my Christmas list every year.
So there I was, feeling under the weather, not being able to sleep, and watching a movie that contained themes and images I didn't quite understand. To me, the stars of the movies were the motorcycles. The big star was the Captain America bike ridden by Peter Fonda. Lots of chrome and the stars and stripes paint job on the gas tank, quite an impression to a young boy. But it wasn't just the motorcycles. I may not have fully understood the scenes depicting drug use and other adult issues, but something inside of me understood the feeling of being out on the road. Something inside my head clicked that night. I started drawing choppers in my school notebooks, and buying the chopper type motorcycle magazines that were allowed to be sold to minors. I knew that when I got older, I would be riding a motorcycle all over this great country.
Time did pass, and I owned a few different motorcycles over the years. And yes, I did ride across the country and through 42 states on my first Harley Davidson. Also, somewhere along the line as I matured I started to appreciate the motorcycle ridden by Dennis Hopper, aka "Billy", in the movie. I think that's common with a lot of fans of the movie who ride. Would I have been this interested in motorcycles (mainly Harleys and Choppers) have I not seen "Easy Rider" that night years ago? I guess we can never know. But I did the see the movie and I believe it had an impact on my life as it is today.
Thank you Dennis Hopper. RIP.
Okay, now that I got that out of the way I can watch the last half of the race still going on. Going to wash the SRT8 tomorrow, and grill up some steak for dinner later in the day. For those of you celebrating the holiday, enjoy it.
Until next time, take care.
The movie "Easy Rider" was released in 1969. Directed by Dennis Hopper (1936-2010), and written by Hopper along with Peter Fonda and Terry Southern. I'm not going to summarize the movie, but if you're someone who isn't familiar with it, please go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/.
Now I didn't see it in the movies, as I was eight years old in 1969. I'm not quite sure exactly when I did see it, but I think I was ten or eleven years old (1971 or 1972) at the time. I remember being sick with a cold, flu, or some other ailment. I was having trouble sleeping, and my mom let me stay up in the living room and watch television. "Easy Rider" happened to be the late late movie or something like that, starting at maybe 1:00am or something. As a young boy, seeing the motorcycles on the screen while I was changing channels looking for something to watch, I had stopped searching and took my spot on the couch. I think I caught it right near the beginning. As a young boy I obviously was interested in cars, motorcycles, and anything else with a motor that made noise. :) Sears catalogs would have mini-bikes and go-carts, and like every other boy my age, one or the other would be on my Christmas list every year.
So there I was, feeling under the weather, not being able to sleep, and watching a movie that contained themes and images I didn't quite understand. To me, the stars of the movies were the motorcycles. The big star was the Captain America bike ridden by Peter Fonda. Lots of chrome and the stars and stripes paint job on the gas tank, quite an impression to a young boy. But it wasn't just the motorcycles. I may not have fully understood the scenes depicting drug use and other adult issues, but something inside of me understood the feeling of being out on the road. Something inside my head clicked that night. I started drawing choppers in my school notebooks, and buying the chopper type motorcycle magazines that were allowed to be sold to minors. I knew that when I got older, I would be riding a motorcycle all over this great country.
Time did pass, and I owned a few different motorcycles over the years. And yes, I did ride across the country and through 42 states on my first Harley Davidson. Also, somewhere along the line as I matured I started to appreciate the motorcycle ridden by Dennis Hopper, aka "Billy", in the movie. I think that's common with a lot of fans of the movie who ride. Would I have been this interested in motorcycles (mainly Harleys and Choppers) have I not seen "Easy Rider" that night years ago? I guess we can never know. But I did the see the movie and I believe it had an impact on my life as it is today.
Thank you Dennis Hopper. RIP.
Okay, now that I got that out of the way I can watch the last half of the race still going on. Going to wash the SRT8 tomorrow, and grill up some steak for dinner later in the day. For those of you celebrating the holiday, enjoy it.
Until next time, take care.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Mopar Man?
The check engine light once again reared its ugly head on the Durango. This time, code P0900 which has something to do with the "clutch actuator circuit". At the same time, the transmission began doing odd things and would sometimes not go into overdrive. So how did I fix the check engine light this time around? Obviously I wasn't heading to Putnam CJD. Saturday the 14th, I drove the old girl to Stevens Creek CJD in San Jose. A couple hours later I drove home with this.
A 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 in Hemi-Orange.
I haven't thought about it, but based on the last few vehicles I've owned, I became a 'Mopar Man'. Not counting motorcycles, my driving life started out with a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I had that car for years and close to 200k miles before giving it to a good friend. I had another 72 Cutlass that was given to me, as well as a 1968 Buick Skylark GS that was also donated to me. The other Cutlass was junked, and I in turn gave the Skylark to another friend. In 1986, while I was still driving my original Cutlass, I purchased a new Ford Thunderbird with the 5.0L V8. I remember my dad telling me I bought an "old man's car". :) I forgot exactly when I finally gave the Cutlass to my bud, but the TBird lasted me until I purchased a new Dodge Dakota pickup truck in 1995. Another 5.0L V8 and 4WD. Traded the TBird in. The 4WD turned out to be a good choice as the winter of 95-96 on Long Island was a record breaker! Driving the little pickup around in the snow when others were getting stuck was a blast. I still miss that truck.
Roll back to 1991 when I adopted Jessi, a lab samoyed mix. She loved going for rides, even to the veterinarian. When I had the TBird that wasn't a problem. However the Dakota was a standard cab. Jessi did not enjoy riding in the passenger seat of the pickup truck all that much. So in the fall of 1999 I ordered the Dodge Durango. I half jokingly told everyone that I bought it for Jessi. The front seats were mine, everything behind them belonged to her! ;) Hell, even when I traded the truck in last week there was dog hair all over the place. To that I should add that Jessi has been gone since May of 2008. The Durango was a reliable old friend through the years. Not much maintenance, a trip down to FL to visit the parents once, and drove it out here to the west coast when I moved in 2000.
All good things seem to come to an end. After the fiasco with Putnam CJD, the engine light reappearing didn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies. A mechanic friend told me that the engine code and transmission behaviour likely meant I would need a new tranny. Things began to seem like the downhill path to monthly repairs that cost as much as a car payment. So, it was time. I've been thinking of two of the "retro" looking muscle cars of late. The Challenger and the Mustang. I rented a Mustang when I visited my daughter and her mom for a week back in March. It was good, but some of the ergonomics in the interior bothered me. Keeping my bad left leg in mind and wanting the 6-speed manual transmission in the SRT8, I went to look, sit, and test drive. The first good sign was I could sit comfortably while driving. Next, the visibility wasn't as bad as one may think (I've been used to great visibility out of the Durango and Dakota for 15 years). Feeling the power during the test drive hooked me and I knew that I would not be driving my once trusty old friend home that day. It was bittersweet as I emptied the small amount of personal belongings from the Durango into a plastic bag to carry over to where my new car awaited. Not only my new car, but my third new Dodge in a row. Somewhere after the GMs and Ford I seem to have become a Mopar Man.
A 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 in Hemi-Orange.I haven't thought about it, but based on the last few vehicles I've owned, I became a 'Mopar Man'. Not counting motorcycles, my driving life started out with a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I had that car for years and close to 200k miles before giving it to a good friend. I had another 72 Cutlass that was given to me, as well as a 1968 Buick Skylark GS that was also donated to me. The other Cutlass was junked, and I in turn gave the Skylark to another friend. In 1986, while I was still driving my original Cutlass, I purchased a new Ford Thunderbird with the 5.0L V8. I remember my dad telling me I bought an "old man's car". :) I forgot exactly when I finally gave the Cutlass to my bud, but the TBird lasted me until I purchased a new Dodge Dakota pickup truck in 1995. Another 5.0L V8 and 4WD. Traded the TBird in. The 4WD turned out to be a good choice as the winter of 95-96 on Long Island was a record breaker! Driving the little pickup around in the snow when others were getting stuck was a blast. I still miss that truck.
Roll back to 1991 when I adopted Jessi, a lab samoyed mix. She loved going for rides, even to the veterinarian. When I had the TBird that wasn't a problem. However the Dakota was a standard cab. Jessi did not enjoy riding in the passenger seat of the pickup truck all that much. So in the fall of 1999 I ordered the Dodge Durango. I half jokingly told everyone that I bought it for Jessi. The front seats were mine, everything behind them belonged to her! ;) Hell, even when I traded the truck in last week there was dog hair all over the place. To that I should add that Jessi has been gone since May of 2008. The Durango was a reliable old friend through the years. Not much maintenance, a trip down to FL to visit the parents once, and drove it out here to the west coast when I moved in 2000.
All good things seem to come to an end. After the fiasco with Putnam CJD, the engine light reappearing didn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies. A mechanic friend told me that the engine code and transmission behaviour likely meant I would need a new tranny. Things began to seem like the downhill path to monthly repairs that cost as much as a car payment. So, it was time. I've been thinking of two of the "retro" looking muscle cars of late. The Challenger and the Mustang. I rented a Mustang when I visited my daughter and her mom for a week back in March. It was good, but some of the ergonomics in the interior bothered me. Keeping my bad left leg in mind and wanting the 6-speed manual transmission in the SRT8, I went to look, sit, and test drive. The first good sign was I could sit comfortably while driving. Next, the visibility wasn't as bad as one may think (I've been used to great visibility out of the Durango and Dakota for 15 years). Feeling the power during the test drive hooked me and I knew that I would not be driving my once trusty old friend home that day. It was bittersweet as I emptied the small amount of personal belongings from the Durango into a plastic bag to carry over to where my new car awaited. Not only my new car, but my third new Dodge in a row. Somewhere after the GMs and Ford I seem to have become a Mopar Man.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Putnam Chrysler Jeep Dodge #Fail
I have a 2000 Dodge Durango. For quite some time the check engine light would go on and I found a way to check the engine code using the ignition switch. The code was P0551, which meant that likely the power steering pressure switch was bad. The switch helps control idle speed to keep pressure up during idle. Not really affecting how the truck drove, I let that go.
Somewhat recently the Durango starting having othe issues and two new codes. P0121 and P0340. Throttle position sensor and camshaft position sensor. This made the truck drive a little erratically, so it was time to have the old girl serviced. I figured I would bring it to a dealer and chose Putnam Chrysler because they were the closest to my job and home.
I drop the truck off and explain all the issues, including the engine codes. They said they would still have to test drive it, and put it on the computer to pull diagnostic codes. Now imagine my reaction when their diagnosis of the problem cost $570.00! WTF! At this time I'm stuck, I can't just pick up the Durango without paying for their alleged time spent on diagnosis. The repair with parts and labor only added a little more than $200.00 the total invoice.
I believe this is almost criminal! I have opened a case with the Better Business Bureau, and am waiting further response from them. But I will never go back to Putnam Chrysler Jeep Dodge again and I would urge anyone reading this to do the same.
Somewhat recently the Durango starting having othe issues and two new codes. P0121 and P0340. Throttle position sensor and camshaft position sensor. This made the truck drive a little erratically, so it was time to have the old girl serviced. I figured I would bring it to a dealer and chose Putnam Chrysler because they were the closest to my job and home.
I drop the truck off and explain all the issues, including the engine codes. They said they would still have to test drive it, and put it on the computer to pull diagnostic codes. Now imagine my reaction when their diagnosis of the problem cost $570.00! WTF! At this time I'm stuck, I can't just pick up the Durango without paying for their alleged time spent on diagnosis. The repair with parts and labor only added a little more than $200.00 the total invoice.
I believe this is almost criminal! I have opened a case with the Better Business Bureau, and am waiting further response from them. But I will never go back to Putnam Chrysler Jeep Dodge again and I would urge anyone reading this to do the same.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Nothing to see here
No, really, nothing to see here. I noticed I haven't posted anything new since early last week, so I decided to put up a quick post just so you all think I didn't forget.
Not much on my mind today. I'd be looking forward to the weekend, but I do have the on-call Blackberry for the next week. Sometime in the future I'll tell you all about my horrible experience with Mayflower when I moved to the west coast in 2000, and how the movie "Easy Rider" had an affect on my life. I should also tell you why you should stay away from Putnam Chrysler in Burlingame CA. But for now, all you're getting is this message to please stand by.
Have a great weekend.
Not much on my mind today. I'd be looking forward to the weekend, but I do have the on-call Blackberry for the next week. Sometime in the future I'll tell you all about my horrible experience with Mayflower when I moved to the west coast in 2000, and how the movie "Easy Rider" had an affect on my life. I should also tell you why you should stay away from Putnam Chrysler in Burlingame CA. But for now, all you're getting is this message to please stand by.
Have a great weekend.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday's Gone
Tonight on Discovery Channel's reality series Deadliest Catch, we say goodbye to Captain Phil Harris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Harris_%28fisherman%29). After suffering a stroke in late January of 2010, he passed away Tuesday, February 9 2010. In trailers for the upcoming episode of Deadliest Catch, the Discovery Channel chose Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" as the music. I don't know if this song was chosen because of which day of the week Phil left us.
I've been a fan of the show and its crews since its beginning and like many other fans, I am curious about the fate of Capt. Phil's vessel, the Cornelia Marie, and her crew. Especially Phil's sons Jake and Josh. It was just prior to Phil's massive stoke, that younger son Jake admitted to having a substance abuse issue.
But this Tuesday evening is going to be a sad one as we say farewell and Godspeed to Captain Phil Harris. While watching this evening I will hoist a glass in his honor.
I've been a fan of the show and its crews since its beginning and like many other fans, I am curious about the fate of Capt. Phil's vessel, the Cornelia Marie, and her crew. Especially Phil's sons Jake and Josh. It was just prior to Phil's massive stoke, that younger son Jake admitted to having a substance abuse issue.
But this Tuesday evening is going to be a sad one as we say farewell and Godspeed to Captain Phil Harris. While watching this evening I will hoist a glass in his honor.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Deepwater Horizon Spill
The Deepwater Horizon disaster has been on my mind quite a bit. While searching the web looking for more information I came across this blog written by Beth Bond.
http://www.southeastgreen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2049:dadgummit-just-implode-the-well&catid=7:beths-blogs&Itemid=65
My thoughts are very close to the points and facts she has stated. Being the lazy person that I am, I'm just going to say "yeah, what she said" and save myself quite a bit of typing. But seriously, my fear is that after we all wait another month for the relief wells to be completed (that's 30 more days of 35k to 65k barrels of oil each day), we find that the gushing well is still not contained. What then? I can only imagine the backlash if at that time we attempt the solution of imploding the well and it works. People will be screaming at the fact that our administration sat on its hands for 3 months when we could have stopped the flow of oil months ago. Aside from the obvious and immediate impact the spill is having to the gulf states, we all know the ecological impact of this disaster will be with us for years.
I also think that some people don't realize how huge the spill is. Yes, we see satellite images and other graphics on the television. But there's an issue of perspective that I believe some people miss. For instance, here in the San Francisco Bay area we had a recent fuel spill when a freighter collided with a section of the Bay Bridge. I can't help but think that some residents of this area think that the spill in the gulf is not so much larger than what we experienced here. Those people need to go to http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/ and see what the oil spill would be like if it was here. Then maybe there would be more call for action. All I know is that this disaster depresses me more each time I read something about it.
http://www.southeastgreen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2049:dadgummit-just-implode-the-well&catid=7:beths-blogs&Itemid=65
My thoughts are very close to the points and facts she has stated. Being the lazy person that I am, I'm just going to say "yeah, what she said" and save myself quite a bit of typing. But seriously, my fear is that after we all wait another month for the relief wells to be completed (that's 30 more days of 35k to 65k barrels of oil each day), we find that the gushing well is still not contained. What then? I can only imagine the backlash if at that time we attempt the solution of imploding the well and it works. People will be screaming at the fact that our administration sat on its hands for 3 months when we could have stopped the flow of oil months ago. Aside from the obvious and immediate impact the spill is having to the gulf states, we all know the ecological impact of this disaster will be with us for years.
I also think that some people don't realize how huge the spill is. Yes, we see satellite images and other graphics on the television. But there's an issue of perspective that I believe some people miss. For instance, here in the San Francisco Bay area we had a recent fuel spill when a freighter collided with a section of the Bay Bridge. I can't help but think that some residents of this area think that the spill in the gulf is not so much larger than what we experienced here. Those people need to go to http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/ and see what the oil spill would be like if it was here. Then maybe there would be more call for action. All I know is that this disaster depresses me more each time I read something about it.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Deprecated Panix Blog
Let me start by saying Happy Birthday USofA! I hope everyone celebrating has a safe holiday. Please take a little time to reflect on our freedoms and those whose sacrifices made them possible.
About seven years ago, I started my attempt at blogging. Instead of taking advantage of any of the blog hosting sites available at the time, I created a simple Perl CGI script and blog page at Panix. The following link contains posts dating back to April 4, 2003 and up to October 4, 2008.
http://www.panix.com/~hd-fxsts/blog.html
As for me, I'm going to go outside for a bit and enjoy the weather. Later on the grill will be fired up and it will be time to enjoy some hotdogs, burgers, and beer with some friends. Before that, I may head to Foster City's 4th-of-July festivities. In the past, free shuttle service was available for the fireworks show in the evening. That is not the case this year, so I'm not sure if I will go to the park this evening to see the show.
Enjoy the day.
About seven years ago, I started my attempt at blogging. Instead of taking advantage of any of the blog hosting sites available at the time, I created a simple Perl CGI script and blog page at Panix. The following link contains posts dating back to April 4, 2003 and up to October 4, 2008.
http://www.panix.com/~hd-fxsts/blog.html
As for me, I'm going to go outside for a bit and enjoy the weather. Later on the grill will be fired up and it will be time to enjoy some hotdogs, burgers, and beer with some friends. Before that, I may head to Foster City's 4th-of-July festivities. In the past, free shuttle service was available for the fireworks show in the evening. That is not the case this year, so I'm not sure if I will go to the park this evening to see the show.
Enjoy the day.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Birth of a nickname
You have all noticed that I use the nickname Deathgrip or sometimes just 'Grip. That is a cool moniker, even if I do say so myself. And it's not one I made up myself. But would you believe that in a round about way, the nickname comes from the 80s TV show, "Taxi"?
Nicknames never really stuck to me, and over the years people have called me Butch, Sponge, and a few others. Perhaps I should elaborate on the Sponge nickname in a future post, it's also not quite what you would first suspect. But back to Deathgrip. Before I moved to the west coast from Long Island NY, I met some of the people out here through motorcycle related email lists. This was before today's social media like Facebook and MySpace, and even predates things like Yahoo Groups. Being somewhat "vertically challenged" and coming from the Greater NY area, some of guys here (and in particular Craig "Wildman" Dewart 12/04/49 - 8/13/06) would call me either "Danny", "DeVito", "Louie", or "DePalma". Obviously in reference to the actor Danny DeVito and the character Louie DePalma he portrayed on the TV show "Taxi". For about a year or so, any of those were used. Somewhere down the road, I think it was my bud Scott that took poetic license and combined "DePalma" and "DeVito". But changed a loose translation of "hand" and "life" into Deathgrip. A new nickname was born, and at least for my group of riding buddies here on the west coast, has seemed to have stuck.
With that, my dryer buzzed and I guess it's time for some domestic tasks. Then relax with a nice cold Dos Equis Ambar.
Nicknames never really stuck to me, and over the years people have called me Butch, Sponge, and a few others. Perhaps I should elaborate on the Sponge nickname in a future post, it's also not quite what you would first suspect. But back to Deathgrip. Before I moved to the west coast from Long Island NY, I met some of the people out here through motorcycle related email lists. This was before today's social media like Facebook and MySpace, and even predates things like Yahoo Groups. Being somewhat "vertically challenged" and coming from the Greater NY area, some of guys here (and in particular Craig "Wildman" Dewart 12/04/49 - 8/13/06) would call me either "Danny", "DeVito", "Louie", or "DePalma". Obviously in reference to the actor Danny DeVito and the character Louie DePalma he portrayed on the TV show "Taxi". For about a year or so, any of those were used. Somewhere down the road, I think it was my bud Scott that took poetic license and combined "DePalma" and "DeVito". But changed a loose translation of "hand" and "life" into Deathgrip. A new nickname was born, and at least for my group of riding buddies here on the west coast, has seemed to have stuck.
With that, my dryer buzzed and I guess it's time for some domestic tasks. Then relax with a nice cold Dos Equis Ambar.
Deprecated Facebook Blog
I probably should have mentioned this before any new posts here. If you have a Facebook account, you can see my older LiveBlog posts here: http://www.facebook.com/DeathGrip?v=app_2417711041. If there was an easy way to export them from there and import here, I would do that. But I guess not.
As you can see, when I mentioned I don't post that regularly, I meant it.
For the moment, that's all I wanted to write.
As you can see, when I mentioned I don't post that regularly, I meant it.
For the moment, that's all I wanted to write.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Where to start
Seems I never could get myself into the habit of posting blog entries regularly. So why use yet another blog site? I haven't a clue, so please bear with me. But perhaps a quick story on why I chose 'Bonfire-in-a-can' in the URL for my blogs.
Years ago, in my late teens and early 20s, there was a hang-out spot near my home on Long Island called Beekman Beach. It was closed during regular beach season for a time, but always during the off season. But, it was a popular gathering spot for a period. People from many different places would gather, party, drink beer, and make a few fires on the beach. Some people brought wood, some scavenged for wood. Still, not many people were prepared to start a fire. Yes, we had matches and lighters handy, but sometimes not enough material to use as kindling. Working in an auto parts store at the time, I began to use one of the various brands of 'quick start' which was basically ether in a spray can. My friends and I were regular visitors to Beekman, so I was always sure to have a can handy in the trunk of my car. I forgot who it was that first coined the name 'Bonfire-in-a-can', but I started wrapping whatever can of quick start I had in masking tape and writing 'Bonfire-in-a-can' with magic marker on it.
I sometimes miss those nights at good old Beekman Beach. There were even times when we visited the beach when it was open. For a few years I had a small sailboat that I'd bring to the beach on top of my father's Jeep and spend a few hours sailing around Oyster Bay. Fun times...
That's it my friends, I cannot think of much more to say at the moment. Celebrate and have fun this Independence Day Weekend!
Years ago, in my late teens and early 20s, there was a hang-out spot near my home on Long Island called Beekman Beach. It was closed during regular beach season for a time, but always during the off season. But, it was a popular gathering spot for a period. People from many different places would gather, party, drink beer, and make a few fires on the beach. Some people brought wood, some scavenged for wood. Still, not many people were prepared to start a fire. Yes, we had matches and lighters handy, but sometimes not enough material to use as kindling. Working in an auto parts store at the time, I began to use one of the various brands of 'quick start' which was basically ether in a spray can. My friends and I were regular visitors to Beekman, so I was always sure to have a can handy in the trunk of my car. I forgot who it was that first coined the name 'Bonfire-in-a-can', but I started wrapping whatever can of quick start I had in masking tape and writing 'Bonfire-in-a-can' with magic marker on it.
I sometimes miss those nights at good old Beekman Beach. There were even times when we visited the beach when it was open. For a few years I had a small sailboat that I'd bring to the beach on top of my father's Jeep and spend a few hours sailing around Oyster Bay. Fun times...
That's it my friends, I cannot think of much more to say at the moment. Celebrate and have fun this Independence Day Weekend!
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