No snow

The forecast started at 8 to 14 inches. It then became 6 to 9. Last night it was heavy snow after 7 with at least 5 inches by the lake. And this morning…..nothing. My cat woke me up at 4:25 so I figured I’d take a look outside to see the damage. All I saw was wetness. No snow just wet pavement. I live 3 blocks from Lake Michigan and apparently the lake kept the area warm enough which caused it to rain and not snow. Sounds good to me and my back.

But I am not out of the woods yet. It is wet out and the temperatures are expected to plummet. The precipitation is not over and I will end up with some snow. I will need to clean up later today. That is after a potentially treacherous ride home. There is a lot of snow where I work and it is still coming down along with branches from the trees. I am hoping the freeway and city streets are not one big ice rink by the time I leave work.

I am also hoping there isn't that much snow at my mother's house. If it is anything like what I see outside now my back will be hating me later. But it needs to get done. I am heading to Vegas tomorrow and I know I can't count on my brother to clean up the sidewalk.

Totally looking forward to a weekend of debauchery. I need it. Life ain't bad but I need a break from the routine.

Can't think straight

RIP Dimebag.

So, they are saying 6 to 9 inches of wet heavy snow today. The lake will prevent it from being a lot of snow but will ensure it is wet heavy snow. Not sure I like that trade off. As long as it doesn’t prevent me from escaping the city on Thursday it doesn’t matter how much snow we get.

I am not sure how much I will get done at work today or tomorrow. With bad weather and time away I can’t focus that well. My mind is racing around thinking of a million things that are out of my control. Such as the snow. I will need to shovel not just my sidewalk but find time to get over and clean up my mother’s house as well. When will I have time get cash for the trip? Will the hotel have my name on the reservation? A friend booked via a separate site and not directly. Though he added my name on the site, will the hotel get the update? Will the work I get done this week be acceptable or will I need to redo it when I get back? Will some purchases arrive when I am gone? It took them 10 days last time to deliver so I should be good here.

Not sure why I let these things scramble my brain. They just do. The thoughts keep racing around not making much sense. But I think thing will be back to normal come Thursday night. Hell, I know they won't be normal but things will be much better.

More annoying commercials

Snow is moving into the area with up to 14 inches possible by Wednesday morning. You can't keep me here. I will make my escape.

I need to escape some of the commercials I am hearing and seeing on television. Like the Gap commercials with the people dancing around singing about the sweaters they are wearing. Just when I think that is nauseating enough they come out with another one with snotty little preteens singing about how cute the boots are. Cute would be taking a fire house and turning it on them. Makes me have great contempt for breeders when I see an ad like that.

The other one that gets me is the Lexus radio commercial. Now they are not only promising that you will be giving the perfect gift, they are claiming you will get the best sex of your life in return. They have changed the tagline from a gift you will aways remember to a gift-and thank you- you will always remember. See, its the thank you. Like you are going to get the best head of your life if you give a car. Like the spouse will rock your world on the front porch because you gave a luxury sedan. They are doing everything but saying it. Maybe people out there have a fetish of bending her over the giant bow that comes on the car.

wow

Wow. What a difference! I am shocked by how much better this MacBook Pro is compared to my old pc. I shouldn't be considering the age of the pc but so are so many other items that are amazing.

I am getting over the little differences still. Like the close buttons in the left corner instead of the right. There are certain keys I miss on the keyboard like the page up or the end and home keys. There is probably an equivalent on the Mac but if so I haven't found it. I am also getting used to working without a mouse. I may buy one of those down the line as I prefer to use that than the pad.

I have spent some time moving files. It was quite easy with the ethernet cable. Some files came over in duplicate which meant I had to do some cleanup in iTunes but overall it was pretty good. I also had a problem with ringtones. Some disappeared while others came across fine. Otherwise I think I have everything I want.

I have had some issues with syncing the iPhone. It took awhile to get the sync fixed with the photo app. I also had a bunch of old apps show up again. Nothing that could be cleaned up.

My next step is to get wireless I see this little gadget called the AirPort Express which may be ideal for what I am looking for. It would give me wireless access as well as hook up my stereo to iTunes. If I don't go that route then I will need to get some new speakers. In the meantime I will explore this machine some more.

Winter is here

There are days where I realize I am totally in the wrong industry. When I saw this headline I rolled my eyes. All men watch porn. Someone got paid to research what we already know? Hell, what do I get a grant to conduct similiarly difficult research like Is water wet? Can a woman get ready in under 5 minutes? Do I like ribs? If someone is going to get paid to research the obvious then I want a piece of that sweet sweet action.

Snow was forecasted for last night but it never arrived. It may be backordered and could be delivered tonight in the form of a couple inches. Based on that and the need for an oil change I made the decision to put the car away for the season and bust out the truck. I am saddened when the car goes away. That is the realization that the cold weather is here to stay along with snow and ice. Why am I living in Wisconsin again?

When a bar closes, a piece of me dies

Another day, another messed up blogger template. And I had all kinds of links to put in.

My preferred watering hole is being closed down for over a month by the city. One bitchy neighbor is getting her way it seems. Sure that is only part of the story but it appears to have been the deciding factor for the alderman to say suspend the liquor license. I feel bad for the bartenders. For most it is money they need to supplement their regular incomes. They rely on tips to make ends meet. To shut them down during the holiday season is brutal. They do very well over the Christmas holidays with the extra tips. Looks like they will get nothing but coal.

Another establishment may get the shaft next year as well. The Carleton Grange Pub is a place I haven't frequented that much. I have been in their a couple times. Today I saw a story in the local paper mentioning how street construction is going to take away the majority of their parking and could force the place to close. Street construction that is being paid by stimulus funds to create jobs is going to cause people to lose jobs. I thought that wasn't supposed to happen.

The dagger in the back of the owners of the Carleton Grange Pub is that this construction is supposedly to help more businesses come to the area. It mentions plans for restaurants and a market to open across the street from their location. So the government of St. Francis is willing to put one established company out of business to try to let newer unknown companies thrive in the future? That makes little sense. A new restaurant will come in and reap all the benefits at the cost of the CGP.

The new street would look to restrict even more parking for the Carleton Grange Pub. The city has taken spots away from them in the name of "traffic flow". What traffic flow? There is little traffic there right now.

The solution for the area is simple. Any new restaurant or market should not get any private parking areas. There should be a public lot for everyone to use. Put it in the middle of the plot and everything should work out fine.

The resurging leaf pile

I never know what I am going to get when I log into blogger at work. I may get a normal screen with all the bells and whistles. I may get an error laden screen with a scrunched up text box. I may get normal text box but with no ability to add links or change fonts. But today I got a nice big gap between the title and the text box with no ability to link. Interesting to say the least.

My leaf pile has taken on a life of its own. What took me an hour to collect up and put in the street soon became a sad little mess with all the rain we got last weak. The once big, ominous pile became a soggy clump as the water bogged it down. That changed yesterday when the city leaf people came by. They mananged to collect all the leaves from the block and dump them by me. The sad little pile is now about 5 feet tall and 6 feet around. That also meant some of the leaves ended back on my lawn. What are the chances one of the city's leaf guys actually rakes it back into the pile when they come by with the truck to collect them? The Cleveland Browns have a better chance of winning another game this year than that happening.

I placed my order for a Mac yesterday. Went with a 15" MacBook Pro. I found some money I had kinda forgotten about from my poker blog and figured this was as good as anything to use it on. Now I need to make a decision on getting a wireless router set up at home or switching my cable to AT&T U-verse which seems to use converter boxes that set up the house for a wireless network. It would get me away from the mistakes that Time Warner keeps making and on a system that some friends rave about. If I can bundle it with my cell bill and come out better then I will have to make the move. I should have the laptop by Thursday and am quite excited. Now I need to find a way to move files- mostly music- to the new machine. I probably should buy an external hard drive to get that done since I intend to use the old pc for some functions.

This is the point I would do a spell check but that feature is not on my screen. Oh well.

Miscellaney

Mental note. Do not Twitter thoughts on the results of the Amazing Race. Those west coasters haven't seen it yet.

Its another cold day in the office. It is that time of the year when the maintenance people scurry around trying to figure out how to heat the building. This happens every year. They turn the heat and air conditioning on late. They should pay more attention to the weather.

Spent the day drinking in the pub watching football. Hardly anyone out when the local team isn't on. I felt dirty wanting the Deadskins to win. They didn't which isn't surprising. But it made me wonder if the Eagles are any good. Sure the Cowboys had a tough time with the Skins but the Eagles made them look pretty good at times. From there we watched the Vikings dismantle the Bears. All of this fun was done for less than $20. Good times with a good bartender.

Slow down

I am freezing my ass off at work right now. I shouldn't be surprised because it happens every year. It gets cold outside and it take the maintenance crew a couple days to get the heat on. I could cut glass with my nips its so fuckin cold in here.

It was 31 degrees outside when I left for work. That prompted me to break out the leather jacket for the season. I will need to clean it some time this weekend. Leather maintenance is a must to me.

There is thing that always sticks in my head about the Friday after Thanksgiving. It isn't the shopping. To me Black Friday means I drink only dark beers. I always remember the speeding ticket I got going to work. It is the last speeding ticket I have received and though it was over 10 years ago, it still haunts me. Every time I come to the curve just before Burleigh I slow up. That sherriff was lurking just beyond that curve and had me dead to rights. Even people going crazy fast this morning I still took it easy around that bend. Better safe than sorry.

I kinda want to pontificate on the Cowboys but don't feel the need. They beat the Raiders but it wasn't a solid pounding to me. Lots of big plays but the offense still made mistakes and sputtered at times. As I watched I kept wondering how bad the bEagles had to mess up to lose to this team.

Plus Phil Simms needs to quit as an announcer. Though I only heard half of the game (being at my dad's house where volume is a sin), the parts I heard from Simms were just stupid. On one play he praises an Oakland tight end for a crossing pattern, stating he is too fast for the safety and its a great mismatch. Umm...the safety got picked on the crossing pattern from the slot receiver. That is what got the tight end open. Not speed. A pick. Soon Simms was praising DeMarcus Ware for "blowing up the blocker" and getting into the backfield. Problem is the play was a screen pass. The "blown up blocker" was the tight end who chipped him and then caught a pass for over 10 yards.

I have the game recorded and will probably watch it again. I just hope I don't have to hear more mistakes from the announcers. Simms used to be a good announcer adding insight to the action. Now he seems to want to make it more entertaining than it needs to be.

Thanks

Over the past couple of years Thanksgiving seemed to be just a day off of work that people spent with families watching football, eating too much, and then getting into inevitable argument or brooha with one of the kids. This year it does feel different. The holiday has more meaning to most people I see or have talked to.

It appears most people are being more reflective about their lives this year and discovering that they truly are thankful for a number of things. Count me in as one of those people.

I am thankful for my family. I don't agree with some of the things going on with my brother or sister but I know that they would be there for me should something happen. I am thankful for what my parents have done in raising me, especially my mother. She was such a strong person that instituted a lot of my views and especially my work ethic. I am thankful for my father as the one who made me understand that you can achieve what you want and that a setback doesn't mean you are finished.

I am thankful for my friends. Whether it be people I talk to on a daily basis, those I run into at a bar, those that have come to meet via this blog or by meeting in Vegas, friends at work, or friends from college, it has always amazed me how helpful they have been. These people go out of their way to make you feel welcomed. They help those in need and show support when it is needed. It is you people that make me a better person.

I am thankful I have a job that I not only enjoy but find satisfying. Well, most of the time. With many unemployed I am happy to have a paycheck coming in. Even if I am the only one working in the department tomorrow.

I am thankful for the country I live in. I am thankful we can debate and argue what is best for everyone. And though you probably don't think so, I do listen to your opinion. I may not agree with it but I do listen to try and understand why you have that point of view. Because it is only after listening that I can mock you in the most appropriate and effective way. Just kidding.

I am thankful I am pretty healthy. Like most people in Wisconsin I could lose a few pounds. I may even consider doing something about it after I gorge myself today. I am also thankful I will be able to eat a good meal when many will need to go to a shelter for a meal. I may have joked about the kind of food people donate but at least they are giving. My bag consisted of 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of peas, and a can of string beans. Give when you can.

Finally, I will be thankful that everyone has safe travels today. Be good to each other.