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I used the elliptical trainer again on Tuesday – and it’s starting to make the same noises it did just before it locked up again. If/when it does, I’m going to insist on a new machine. It’s only a few months old and it doesn’t get used that hard.

Work has been busy, though we did have a snow day earlier this week that I pretty much wasted with video games. I was wildly unproductive.

Got a new game last night – Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron. It’s a little silly, but still pretty cool. All the missions are flying and involve some kind of combat. The voices sound like the Peanuts cartoon and are already getting a little old, but the controls are solid and the explosions are plentiful.

I had a zombie nightmare this morning – bad enough to wake me up before the alarm went off and kept me up. I was stumbling around in a dark kitchen, trying to feel for a knife I could use to destroy all the undead in the basement. Yes, I’m aware that’s the dumbest thing I could do – I should have just gotten out of the house and found a weapon somewhere else. Instead, I finally found a knife, then rejected it as being too small and dull – as if I really had the luxury of being picky. I picked up another knife and turned – only to be attacked by the first zombie that had made it up the stairs. I fought it off and laboriously sawed it’s head off. Then I headed for the basement to destroy the rest of the them and woke up as I was headed down the stairs.

I’m rarely that stupid in my dreams – not sure if this means anything or not, but it can’t be good.

Watched Lost last night – and had a low grade argument with my room-mate. He keeps throwing out these terms to explain what’s going on in the show and I’m fairly convinced he’s using them wrong. Last night’s episode cleared up a lot of the mysteries for me – it was almost disappointing in a way – but I think I need to do a powerpoint for my room-mate.

Finally, I tried to do my taxes on our snow day, but I got stuck since I moved last year and the city taxes – the most unreasonably complicated part of the process – were even more complicated than usual. I may have to bite the bullet and take them somewhere to be done this year.

That’s it for now. Time to get back to work…

Had some funky dreams recently…

1. I was on vacation with my parents and had stayed up much later than they did. I noticed a bump on my fingertip that, when I squeezed it, released a spray of clear fluid and a huge chunk of what I first thought was nerve tissue but later decided was kelp. Another bump shot out a lump of tissue that must have taken up a sizable amount of matter within my finger, but like the kelp, didn’t impact the size, shape, or mass at all. My dad walked past to go out and walk the dog – he asked if anything was wrong. It didn’t hunt other than the initial pinch and it was too weird otherwise, so I just told him “no” and he went on his way.

2. I also dreamed that I was at a family reunion held in the stockrooms of a mall. We got locked in by some kidnappers and a few of us began to plot an escape plan that involved me faking a heart-attack. The idea was that I would be released to go to the hospital and I’d catch the kidnappers by surprise and attack – while also providing a distraction for the rest of my family to attack as well. While getting ready, my great-grandmother and were talking she wished she could be the one to fake the attack and go out and fight back. I joked that I wished I had my swords with me and that we could both go after them. She was really excited about that notion and gave me a big hug.

In other news… I started watching the series “Bones” on DVD at the recommendation of my sister and brother-in-law. Really good show – well written and a lot of fun. I especially like the main character of Bones with her almost super-human power of observation over a very narrow spectrum of the universe. Her phrase “I don’t know what that means”, delivered so matter-of-factly on the most mundane of topics, is a simple and powerful step inside her character. She is so amazing good at her job, but at a cost that for now, she’s seems willing to pay. Only saw two episodes last night, but I’m planning on watching more soon.

And with my hand healed up, I fired up the dremel again yesterday. Made some more progress on the swords, but got tired of the noise. I’ve got another project in mind as well for today – if I’ve got the materials.

Oh, and I shoveled some snow off the drive way. the landlord is supposed to do that – along with cutting the grass in the summertime. Neither of those happen as frequently as we would like.

Finally, I noticed some odd animal tracks yesterday. Not an odd animal, I think it was a cat, but odd in placement. The tracks started with four together right outside the middle of the garage door. There was another set near the edge that lead in the garage. So, based on the placement and the timing, I think we had a cat in the garage overnight. While I don’t really mind giving a bit of shelter to an animal, even inadvertently, I don’t think I’d like them to make the transition from garage to apartment. So, I’ll need to be a bit more vigilant, at least for the rest of the winter.

that’s it for now…

After a weekend filled with video games, I decided to go for a walk on Sunday evening. I headed one way down my street and made a big loop around a bunch of side streets. Then headed back up the other way towards a main road and our local Target store – which also has a starbucks. I managed to keep my shoes clean right up until I took a slight shortcut to get into the parking lot. Fortunately, there was snow piled up along the side of the lot and I got most of the mud off my shoes on that before heading into the store. I got my Carmel Apple Cider and headed back home.

My hand is doing much better today – which is good since I plan on swimming and the band-aid wouldn’t be sufficient. Still feel kinda stupid about it, but at least I learned a lesson.

Watched the movie Invasion last night – disappointing. The science was cool, the effects were good and the acting wasn’t bad – but the story was weak and the ending was lame. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was far better – though it was nice to see Veronica Cartwright have a role in the new version.

Had trouble falling asleep last night and was a little late this morning. Work is fairly quiet today – looking forward to my swim and a reasonable day.

later…

On Friday, the pool was closed again for a meet – and I headed to the rec center. I was in the narrow lane for a while, but then switched over and really poured it on. I ended up doing 45 laps – 1.25 miles – which is not too bad. The student assistants that work for me were impressed, but they might have just been saying that.

As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon, I’m bleeding a bit. See, I decided to work on my swords today – the wooden one and the Plexiglas one – and I had a little accident earlier. Things were going along just fine, though the dremel bit was getting clogged up by hot plexiglas and was melting it a bit as it cut. Then it slipped out of my hand, twisted around, and skited across my palm before I managed to drop the damn thing. I shut it off and looked at my hand…

I had dremeled myself.

It was bleeding a bit, but I managed to get my tools straighted up and get my self to the bathroom before I bled on anything.
A lot of water, a little neosporin, and a big ass band-aid and I’m all doctored up. I think this is a sign that I should halt my projects for the day and get back to computer games.

We had a division wide meeting earlier this week – and it wasn’t too bad. Lunch was provided and we got nice dress shirts for being the best IT team in the region – which is pretty cool. The reports that the directors presented were kinda on the dull side, but at least there were cookies.

On Friday, before I headed out, I stopped off at a retirement party for one of my colleagues. Got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while and got invited out to dinner with some co-workers.

A quick haircut and a stop at Target and I was headed out to dinner. We mostly chatted about work, but it was still interesting and fun. The food was pretty good and the server was funny. All in all, a good time.

Guess that’s it for now, I don’t want to pull the band-aid loose.

Later…

I went to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and my parents over the weekend for my sister’s early birthday. My sister fixed a really good lunch, then we did a little shopping, then headed to dinner. The food was good there, but the server seemed a little distracted. We had to keep reminding him of things.

My sofa got delivered on Friday – its a little firmer than the one in the store – less butt-traffic I suspect. It looks great in the living room.

I also bought a small table/TV stand for the computer room. I assembled it last night and today I put the scanner and power strips on it. It tidies things up a bit, but it makes the upper part of the corner look bare. I’ve got some ideas, but some of those will need to wait until spring.

I got a demo of a game called “the Witcher” on a cd – but when it completed the install it automatically uninstalled itself. Umm… thoughtful?

It’s been snowing all day and the campus closed early at 12:30. I went in at 6:30 this morning and was caught up at 12:15 when my boss gave the all clear for us to go when we were ready. So, I headed out and went home and did a little work online. I later saw a somewhat snide comment from one of the other bosses directed to the whole staff about “work ethic” and those that left early. Considering work has been making me cranky for a couple weeks solid now, this did nothing to improve my mood. I’m still a little torqued about it, but I’ll get over it. And I’m still working on a couple of projects from here – though I’m really not enjoying it.

In other news… I bought myself an hourglass (or rather, a 1/2 hourglass) and it came in over the weekend. The sand is red and my room-mate keeps making flying monkey comments – but I think it’s cool.

Well, I think I’m going to do a little more work and then wrap this up and play some video games – or maybe hit the elliptical first for a bit. Maybe being a bit more tired will improve my mood.

later…

So, to set the stage. There were no signs on the doors and no clear indication on the website that the pool was, indeed, closed. I got there and checked in, then asked if the pool was still open for lap swimming since there were a lot of high school kids around. The answer was no, but that I could go over to the rec center and swim even though I don’t have a membership there.

Back out into the cold and over to the rec center. It takes me a minute or so to figure out where to check in, then I ask for clarification and directions to get to the locker room and pool. The directions aren’t clear, but I get there anyway. Changed into my suit and then tried to find the exit to the pool. I wandered around for several minutes, looking like an idiot, until I finally found an unmarked hallway leading to an unmarked door that looked like a utility closet – and that turned out to be the exit to the pool. The rec center has only two lanes for lap swimming – and one was already taken. I asked the lifeguard the distance of the lanes and she replied with a sigh of disgust – “25”. Which wasn’t very helpful in that it could have been 25 meters or 25 yards – and that makes a difference when one is planning on swimming a mile.

I decided to do 36 laps – which is either just enough or slightly more than I needed to do to get my distance. I got in the pool and discovered another issue – the lanes were narrow. Very narrow. I’d guess about 3/4 as wide or less than I’m used to. The first few laps I was pretty much hitting the wall with either hands or feet (or both) on each stroke until I finally got my stroke modified. Still felt like I was swimming in a spaghetti box.

I also pushed off from the wall at one end and realized just how shallow it was. I scraped my nose and my chest on the bottom of the pool. I compensated for that as well, but it was still irksome.

When I was finally done, I got out, got a shower, got dressed, and got the hell out of there.

So, I got in my swim. Mostly uninjured. And at an indeterminate distance. I’ll be glad when the ONAT is open again.

The living room futon has seen better days and since a local furniture store was having a store closing liquidation – my room-mate and I decided to buy a new sofa. Took us a long time with all the testing – seated, slouching, and nap simulation – before we found one we could both agree on. It should be here Friday.

Worked on my personal website:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws

and made some changes. I think it turned out pretty cool.

Stopped at Dick’s sporting goods got a kickboard, leg float and some new trunks. My left knee is bothering me a bit, I think I need to focus more on the upper body workout for a while.

Did a little “work” work this evening – and made a site in about 25 minutes. It was fairly complex too – and had an impossible deadline. Should be ready for review and launch tomorrow. I was quite pleased with myself – but also a little irked that I keep having to work from home to meet deadlines.

That’s about it for now. later…

Went out to dinner yesterday with a bunch of friends for a birthday party – the restaurant was called Bricco and it was by far the most trendy place I have ever been to. The conversation was great and the food was pretty good. And the dessert? Weapons grade cheesecake. Damn. It was really, really good. The person sitting next to me didn’t finish theirs – and I could not allow such ambrosia to go to waste. Yes, it was really that good.

Yesterday morning I went to my FRM’s son’t basketball game. And for a 5 year old? He’s got skills. On two occasions, he stole the ball and ran it down the court, and then made a basket. He was on fire. The funniest part of the whole game was when he had the ball as the ref started counting down the seconds to the half. At “one”, the little dude turned threw the ball as hard as he could at the basket at the far end of the court. He was looking for the “buzzer-beater” but of course the ball didn’t get much past mid-court. I laughed my ass off – it was really cool.

I was there at the invite of FRM’s mother and former girlfriend – the basketball player’s mom. FRM showed up, but didn’t sit with us as he is still not talking to his mom. Or his other two sons, apparently. Sad – but also a little funny because it’s so ridiculous.

Swam last week – did a mile on Friday. The pool was configured differently so it was 32 laps to the mile – making each lap just a little further than I’m used to. I was tired when done, but it was a good swim.

Work has been crazy busy – busy, busy, busy. And the toughest part is that no one is listening to me. Seriously. People keep coming up with all these plans and the come to me and I politely explain how everything they are doing will make things so much worse. And they just as politely tell me they are doing it their way anyway. Irksome.

I think the super bowl is on now – but I really think I’d rather blog than watch it. It’s just so… ordinary. So much endless hype and so little substance. It’s one think to watch the game in person and feel the excitement of the crowds, but on TV it seems kinda bland.

I’ve been playing a game called Dragon Quest 8 – standard RPG fare. Pretty good though and fun. The dialog is a little silly and so are the monsters, but I’m still enjoying. It’s been a pretty quiet day today – mostly laundry and video games. Guess that’s it for now…

My room-mate decided he wanted to put in some dimmer switches on the dining room and upstairs bathroom lights. He was off yesterday and went to Lowe’s to buy the dimmer switches and was working on the dinning room when I got home. He had trouble removing the old switch and accidentally broke off the wires in the switch – so, we really needed to get the new one installed and were running out of daylight.

I started helping and we read the instructions and tried several combinations. Either the dimmer didn’t work, we got nothing, or the wires in the switch started to heat up and glow. I’m not an expert on this, but I’m pretty sure that’s a problem.

Finally, about to give up, we looked at the packaging and realized that he had bought two different types of switches – and we were using the wrong type for the set up we had. So, we opened up the other switch, installed it according to the directions, and it worked perfectly.

A variety of lessons learned with that task. Mainly that I need to do a little more research on electrical wiring and perhaps review some first-aid training. Just in case…

I tried to get Overlord to play again last night – still no good. I was, however, able to install an old copy of dreamweaver so that I could do some work at home. Now, that’s just wrong. I can’t play games, but I can work? At home? Seems really unfair. I blame Vista.

I used the elliptical last night – first time since it had been fixed. Worked fine, though it seemed a little wobbly. I’ll need to look into that I guess.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Back to work and finally back to the pool today after my jury duty.

later…

With the long weekend upon me – I decided to be a little productive. So, I headed to Lowe’s to get some materials to make a couple of swords. Granted, not the most usual of things to do – but I got a sword rack for Christmas and I don’t have enough swords to fill it. The rack is hanging in the computer room and it really needs something. In two words… more swords.

The first is going to be carved out of wood and will mimic the sword used by the Darkstalker hunter Donovan Baine – a sword called: Dhylec. It’s got a strangely curved end and an open mouth in the side of the blade – with teeth. Should be fun to do.

The second is going to be made of Plexiglas – several sheets layered together and shaped like a lighting bolt. I’ve made more progress on this one up to this point – the wooden one had some knot-flaws at a critical area. So, I looked around for my wood filler and couldn’t find it – prompting my second trip of the day to the day.

A previous purchase of a washer and dryer netted me a couple of gift cards for Lowe’s and I used part of one for my lumber purchase. I intended to use it again to get the wood filler, but ran into a problem.

At the checkout – the card wouldn’t scan. And the clerk had trouble punching in the numbers. A lot of trouble. She tried several times and kept getting it wrong. The line behind me kept getting longer and she kept getting more frustrated. So, I bailed her out and offered to pay cash. She was apologetic, but I think grateful as well.

In other news… I finished up a Clive Barker book – Mister B. Gone. It didn’t get good reviews as his previous works have done, but I think a large part of that was the first-person style in which it was told. Kind of a strange book, but I liked it – especially the end where the tone shifted a bit to his more fundamentally odd style.

I’ve also been listening to some music – Sara Barellis, Rilo Kiley, and a little Mary J. Blige. The first two are really excellent – though a little short – but the third is a little difficult to listen to. Not because I don’t like MJB – because I do – but because of the occasional bit of rap music added in there. I’m not a fan of rap music, but I can usually tune it out and it doesn’t ruin the song. After the jury duty – where some amateur violent gangster rap was introduced as evidence – I’m having more trouble tuning it out. I guess I’m a bit more sensitized to it and I find I like it less and less. I suspect that will fade and it will go back to being just ‘music I don’t like’ – but for now, I’ve got the remote in hand and I’m skipping some songs.

I’ve got a bit of work to do today – still trying to get caught up. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on it, but it should be done.

Finally, since I’m off today, the repairman for the elliptical trainer is coming today. I’m hoping it’s and easy fix and we can get that up and running. With me not having access to the pool last week or today – and the elliptical being down – I haven’t got a lot of exercise recently.

That’s about it for now. I think I’ll play a bit of portal and then work on the sword until the repair dude arrives.

later…