Playing Catch Up...

Another long haul with nothing to say, sorry.

The A/C Saga took a turn for the worst on Thursday. After sinking $700 into the unit the cause of the failure was the condenser and we needed to get a whole new unit. We contacted several places as we were suspicious of the one we were using. Even with them 'refunding' the 700 as a rebate on a new unit they were still 500-600 more then the other guys NORMAL price. We did some research and went with the best company. After 10 days and $4100 our house is cool. We are contacting the original place tomorrow and looking to get some of that money back. I am pissed as I called the brand name about their until and THEY recommend these people as their official local repair shop. This could be a long and good fight...

Went to my gaming club again last night. Had a great time playing some old boardgames and talking with the group. Met 4 more guys (once again my age or older) and they seem really nice. It was a nice mix of games and I had a blast. I was home a bit more normal (11pm instead of 1:30am last time). I am hoping to make this a regular thing. I have a good time and get to talk with adult males more my age then work AND we do not have work in common so there is no work talk, THANK GOD!!!

South Beach is still working. I had a few bad days recently but I am very committed and this shall work!!!

Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time

You know the drill...copy the list and BOLD the movies you have seen. Post yours in the comments, or on your own blog (a link back here would be appreciated!)

1. Metropolis (1927)
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3. Brazil (1985)
4. Wings of Desire (1987)
5. Blade Runner (1982)
6. Children of Men (2006)
7. The Matrix (1999)
8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
9. Minority Report (2002)
10. Delicatessen (1991)
11. Sleeper (1973)
12. The Trial (1962)
13. Alphaville (1965)
    
14. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
15. Serenity (2005)
16. Pleasantville (1998)
17. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
18. Battle Royale (2000)
19. RoboCop (1987)
20. Akira (1988)
21. The City of Lost Children (1995)
22. Planet of the Apes (1968)
23. V for Vendetta (2005)
24. Metropolis (2001)
25. Gattaca (1997)
26. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
27. On The Beach (1959)
28. Mad Max (1979)
29. Total Recall (1990)
30. Dark City (1998)
31. War Of the Worlds (1953)
32. District 13 (2004)
33. They Live (1988)
34. THX 1138 (1971)
35. Escape from New York (1981)
36. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
37. Silent Running (1972)
38. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
39. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
40. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
41. Soylent Green (1973)
42. I Robot (2004)
43. Logan's Run (1976)
44. Strange Days (1995)
45. Idiocracy (2006)
46. Death Race 2000 (1975)
47. Rollerball (1975)
48. Starship Troopers (1997)
49. One Point O (2004)
50. Equilibrium (2002)

Keep On The Sunny Side...

What a mix of a weekend. While we had a great time on Saturday, Sunday was a mess. It all started with the temps rising. I decided to go outside and do all the yard work. Too bad the battery on the mower was dead. I hooked it up to a charger and then did all the work I could outside. We then watched the game (Colts win!!!) and I figured 4 hours was enough. Not so, the battery was stone cold dead and I needed a new one. Fast forward an hour and I was back and hooking it up. I mowed the lawn and then cleaned everything up.

Meanwhile the wife and kid were in the house. I was getting pissed because they were not doing the things I thought needed being done. The wife and I nagged each other all day. I know it was the heat. It was just miserable in the house and upstairs was even worse. It was cooler outside and it hit 90 yesterday. Fingers crossed on getting the parts in today!!!

If you missed Family Guy last night, then you missed the best episode EVER. I laughed the entire time and had to rewind it several times and laugh again.

Hot Box

Here I sit, Sunday morning at 9:30am and it is over 70 in the house already. I feel for those who do not have a/c. We never had it growing up and now in my line of work I need it. I know it sounds funny but the rooms I work in have to be 68-69 all the time due to the equipment in there. In the winter I have a sweater that I keep at work and wear it most of the day. Sitting in there 8-10 hours a day thins out the blood a bit. When I get home I need it at least 71 or lower or I sweat my ass off.

So yesterday to beat the heat we went to the movies. We hit the shopping places first and loaded up for the week. Then we went to the early showing of Superbad. What a funny funny movie. We laughed out loud. The crowd was small (us and 3 other couples) but the laughs were big. If you like high school humor (sex jokes and the word penis) then this is for you. IF you need social commentary on the state of today's education system, move on...

After that we jumped to The Brave One, with Jodie Foster. I am a big fan of hers (except Flightplan) and this was fantastic. The story really drew you in and the acting was superb. I see Oscar nods to the main cast and writing as well. Check this one out.

After that is was off to the high school (9:30pm) to watch the end of the Marching Band competition we hosted. The local rivals showed up (our HS split into 2 high schools last year, so there is now a instant rival High School 5 blocks away) and since that band was part of ours not 12 months ago they got a great reception. Our band played an exhibition as the host band cannot compete. We did very well and we got to see the whole performance for the first time this year. We mingled afterwards and then hit Blockbuster to return a movie. There we picked up Death Proof. Seems they split Grindhouse into 2 movies as we are too stupid to get the concept of the double feature. I am sure it will come out in a Special Edition just in time for Christmas. Anyway, it was a adrenalin shot to the arm. A tour de force and all those other cliche' blurbs you see. Needless to say I loved it. Mindless action with incredible dialog (if you are into Tarintino, which I am). No awards for this one but a must see for Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs fans!!!

Friday Over Easy...

Another night without A/C! The boy stayed at my parents so he could get a good night's sleep and the wife and I came home to a hot box. Sat up in the family room, sticking to the leather couch. Eventually moved upstairs to bed with 3 fans on in the room. Was so tired I passed out, woke in a pool of sweat at 7am and moved back downstairs...

Getting ready for work and a cold shower in 5 minutes, I cannot not wait to get to work!!! Hopefully they will be here today and we will have air this evening.

Beyond that I cannot think straight so I will just say have a cool weekend!

Hot As, well you know...

The A/C broke yesterday. We had nice temps this weekend so we shut her down and opened the windows. Tuesday, when we got home, it was hot as hell in the house (80) and we shut the windows and turned up the a/c. She cooled the house fine and we slept like babies. Come Wednesday morning it was hot again. I checked everything but the a/c would not work. We shut her down again and called a repairman.

Last night they showed up and told us that the fan motor was blown and they did not have the right one on the truck. It is ordered but they think it will be at least Friday before it comes in. So now we are sitting in this oven, with a nice heat wave coming our way. High 80's, low 90's till Monday. FANTASTIC!!!!! It only got down to 69 over night, worst night of sleep in a while!!!!

Resist......ing Arrest

I watched the following news story with glee the other day. I actually first saw it while doing the Noon show. Some loud mouth gets ASKED to leave a Town Hallish meeting with John Kerry. The Officers then begin to escort him away. He starts in with Freedom of Speech and such bullsh*t these people exploit then after a few more warnings, BAM, Taser!!!

It was awesome and I actually cheered. The kid is on the floor begging not to get tasered, you don't want the shot then listen to the officers. He was not drunk or high or without his facilities. He was asked politely, he was gently nudged, then the cops did what they needed to do for the safety of those in the meeting and themselves. PERIOD. IF any of those people are disciplined in any way I will raise a stink. They were doing their job and he was a public nuisance AND a threat to safety once he refused to comply.

I turned to my co-worker and said, That is why I would never make a good cop. I have no tolerance for non-compliance. I ask once, that is it, once. If I have the authority to make you do something and you refuse to do it, after I have asked you politely OR told you explicitly what is expected then we have a problem. And if my solution is sitting on my hip and will knock you down and make you pee yourself, then that is what you get for not listening in the first place!

Before you jump on me, yes I know that there are bad cops out there, officers who take things TOO far. I believe that they are few and far between. It is the common man who think that they can get way with this shit because the cameras are on and they can call Rodney King on anyones ass. If the Officials get their heads out of their collectives asses and support the police there would be a great reduction in incidents. IF a thug knew that if they step out of line after getting caught that the officers may use APPROPRIATE force in dealing with them with no repercussions to them then maybe they would stop running....

That is all....

Catch Up...

What a weekend, WOW! Time for a little catch up with me:

The boy is doing fine now. He sprained his ankle, bad, last week at school. He had x-rays and mri's and in the end because he has grown 4 INCHES IN 6 WEEKS, they decided to immobilize him to protect his growth plate in his ankle. SO he wears a boot 24/7 for the next 2 weeks. He is fine with it and should come out the other end no worse for wear.

Working hard on and off the 'field'. If I am not at work I am either freelancing or at a Scout function. I got roped into a District Position so that means about 3 more meeting a month (minimum). It is OK, I enjoy doing some extra work (and extra money) and I enjoy the "Scouting Life". If I could only get to more campouts...

Joined a Gaming Group this past week. I know, geek. That is OK. One group meets once a month at someone's house. I joined them one night and played a few boardgames and then had to go. Nice bunch of mix (mostly younger) players, I will go to again if possible. The second group was fantastic. They have their own facility. Games are EVERYWHERE. There are about 12 active members and more than 20 occasional. They have 2 open days a week ($4/day to non-members) where anyone can come in and play. The fee covers rent, heat, a/c. They have tons of games set up where guys have been playing them for months. After a year of regular goings you can become a Member. That includes a key to the facility, a locker for storage and the ability to play any night of the week. It is pretty cool and the group is nice. I have met 9 of the members, all except one was very friendly. And that one is a hard core gamer were he was in the middle of a game and had no time for anything else other than breathing (and he didn't do that often either). I played there on Saturday. There were 5 of us, we started at 6:30pm and I went home at 1am. Had a great time with a nice mix of guy. More my age and all professionals, ie a cop, a lawyer, a doctor (eye guy), and an IT guy. I will be there alot, I hope!

Last note on sports: my Yankees are riding the edge right now. We watch the Yankee/Boston game last night and I was on the edge of my seat in the 9th. Mo is THE MAN!!! And Jeter is Captain Clutch. But they will be the death of me keeping these games so close...

Friday

Some sad news in the blogosphere. Greg Beck has passed. His blog, Death's Door, View From The Spanish Announcers Table, was funny, and touching at times. I looked forward to reading him everyday and missed him when he didn't post. The breath was knocked out of my chest when I read the post by Michelle about his passing. A great voice has been silenced. I wish I was closer to KC to pay my respects. Instead I will say a prayer and offer my thoughts to his family and friends...

Monday Morning

Well another week starts. Been at home without the wife since Friday afternoon. So far the boy and I did alright. We went shopping, cooked and cleaned and even did some laundry. Watched some football and played some games. A good time was had by all here this weekend. But I sleep terribly when the wife is not here, so I am pretty tired right now.

Once again nothing has pissed me off lately. Tomorrow is September 11. It has been several years now but yet I have still not been back. I have had several opportunities to go to the site but I just can't. Maybe next year. How many times tomorrow will local news talent call it 911 (nine one one) instead of 9-11 (nine, eleven). If so then I will have something to bitch about.

Fun Weekend...

The wife is gone and the boy was at band all day. He is doing well after the Friday doctor's mess. He is in a boot up to his knee for the next 2 weeks. He'll be fine.

Worked OT yesterday morning (5am-9am) and then stopped by 2 local game clubs. I love gaming, all sorts, and with the free time yesterday I decided to stop in on some placed I have heard of and got invites to. The first one was an actual club. They have dues and a facility and have regular meetings. It was only me and one other there for a while and then some other guys showed up. It has potential and I will be going back this week when more people are there. I left after a while as another group was having it's monthly meeting that afternoon. There were 7 people there and they had two different games going. I jumped in and we played a few different types of games. They continued on into the night but I had to leave and get the boy. I had a great time and will be back next month for more game action.

Was a bad boy last night in the diet thing. I had pizza with the boy and we watched a movie. He passed out (had a sleep over the night before) so I just stayed up a little while longer and then hit the sheets. I strayed this weekend off of South Beach but I will get it back, starting today. The funny thing was that the pizza SAT at the bottom of my stomach all night. Blech!!!

Thanks to M, I have all the season premieres this fall of our TV shows. He is a partial list of what we will be watching this fall:

Monday
Chuck
How I Met Your Mother
Prison Break
Heroes
CSI: Miami
Journeyman

Tuesday
The Unit
Boston Legal
LO:SVU

Wednesday
Bionic Woman
Kitchen Nightmares
CSI:NY

Thursday
My Name Is Earl
Smallville
Survivor
CSI
The Office
Supernatural
Scrubs

Friday
Las Vegas
Numb3rs

Sunday
The Simpsons
Desperate Housewives
Family Guy
American Dad

Actually not too bad for us (wife only shows in italics). This does not really include new shows that the wife might like. Or favorites like Sunny In Philly, Battlestar Galactica, The Shield, etc.

Game Night...

Colts open the NFL season tonight. Not only do I work downtown, and work for the media, I have tickets to the game. This makes for a very long day AND night. Already traffic is terrible down there. I get off work around 6:30, we are hoping to make it to the Dome (5 minute drive) by 8:00. Wish me luck...

In other news, I got a call yesterday for some more freelance work. I am excited and nervous. I am a sure thing type of guy, usually doubting my own abilities. It is great money and they all know I can do it but I get nervous about the equipment, what is the set up, technical help available, etc... In the end it will be all good with a new side career in my pocket, but the waiting is killing me....

Still Here...

Busy week and weekend. Been working hard both at work, at home and freelance.

Sorry I have not been around or interesting lately. I am not sure what is up, drawing blanks on life, love and the pursuit of happiness I guess.

However if one is to be stuck in a rut, then this is a good one to be in. Work is going very well. I am being left alone during the day and doing special projects left and right. Home life is great, the boy is doing well in school and the wife and I are getting along better than ever (I do thing the several weeks of empty-nest showed us we are in it for the long run). The diet is going very well. Clothes are fitting better, she looks great and I feel great. So no complaints here at home or in the office.

I will be back and someone or something will put me over the edge, or maybe I'll just break out a little rant to get the old blood moving here....

Till next time.