CraftyGuy's Random Thoughts

The Good, The Bad, and The PXE

2011-11-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

What a weekend! So much going on, and I’m exhausted. I’ll give you a synopsis:

The Good. Saturday morning, Patti and I went to the open house at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts, in Waltham, MA. This was the school I was accepted into a couple of years ago, but issues with financial prevented my from attending. After a 9-month stint with the Art Institutes online division, I realized that online classes were not going to work well for me – I learn best in a hands-on, real classroom environment. So I re-applied to CDIA – here’s hoping that all works out this time!

Also good: choir and chorale rehearsals today. I love working with our “small but mighty” church choir, and singing with the Montachusett Chorale is so much fun!

The Bad. Working on the weekend. I have never hidden the fact that I hate working in the computer industry with all the red-hot intensity of a thousand suns, but there is something about having to go in during the weekend in order to satisfy the ever-present product schedules (only made worse by my need to be able to focus on just one task at a time). But I will leave that well-enough alone for now and play nice, since I still need to be able to pay the overabundance of bills.

Also bad: coming down with a nasty, achy, head-coldy kinda thing that is just making me feel generally crappy (and knowing that taking a much-needed sick day is probably not a good idea anytime in the next week or so).

The PXE. My first question was, “what the heck is PXE?” Turns out, that it stands for “Preboot Execution Environment” – it’s basically a way for a system to boot with the assistance of another system over a network connection. It’s also something I needed to putz around with over the weekend for some tests I needed to run. I also discovered that PXE could also stand for “Pretty eXasperating Experience”.

Also PXE: A little something called gPXE, which the the GNU flavor of PXE (basically the freeware version of PXE, and the version I was actually using).

So, how was your weekend?

A Blogging Haiku

2011-11-10T22:09:00.001-05:00

Writing blogs is fun,
but not so drawing a blank.
Too many brain-farts.

Ramblings Of The Uninspired

2011-11-08T22:53:00.001-05:00

Here I sit, in bed with the laptop awaiting my next keystrokes so that I might inflict my next blog entry. Though I am feeling somewhat uninspired at the moment. I do have a list of possible blog topics, but none of them are doing much for me this evening.

And now Her Royal Meowjesty hops up onto the bed as well, saunters up next to me purring loudly, and then proceeds to climb up onto my belly and starts kneading (apparently soft and round equates to “pincushion” in her mind). Thankfully my sweatshirt is taking the brunt of it – this cat is in serious need of a manicure. That is a task best left for the professionals (or at least the masochists);

I’ve once tried trimming the claws of our previous cat, Skooter, some number of years ago … once. She then made it abundantly clear to me that she likes her claws just the way they are, thank you very much. To this day, in the right light, you can still see the vestiges of the scar on my arm that resulted from that error in judgment on my part.

Anyhow, where was I? Oh right – I was trying to think of something to blog about tonight.

Perhaps something will come to me tomorrow.

Announcement: Montachusett Chorale Annual Holiday Benefit Concert

2011-11-06T22:19:00.001-05:00

Patti and I are members of the Montachusett Chorale, an area choral group who raises funds for various local charitable organizations.

This year’s holiday concert will benefit the Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network, whose aim is to provide transitional housing and support for homeless families with children. It will be held on Sunday, December 4, at 2pm in the Tata Auditorium of Leominster City Hall, 25 West Street, Leominster, MA. Advance tickets are $12, and $15 at the door (under 18 is free).

If you happen to be in the North-Central Massachusetts area at that time, c’mon over and enjoy an afternoon of great music and help a worthy cause!

Just Checking In

2011-11-05T23:09:00.001-04:00

Had a long day today, culminating in having to go into work (ugh). Plus I have to be up early tomorrow morning.

I’m calling it a night, but not without posting – ha!

I Only Read It For the Articles

2011-11-04T22:46:00.001-04:00

I got the Winter 2012 B&H Catalog in the mail a few days ago, and am I a happy camper! For those who may not know B&H is a suppler of photographic, video and pro audio supplies.

So many camera items, lenses, and lighting equipment! Complete drool-fest.

It’s just like Playboy… expect for the smutty pictures.

And the staples.

Sleep

2011-11-03T22:22:00.000-04:00

For tonight’s post I thought I would share a video with you. This is of the composer Eric Whitacre’s Virtural Choir 2.0 performing his piece entitled “Sleep”. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

An Introduction of Sorts

2011-11-02T23:16:00.001-04:00

Here we are, in the second day of NaBloPoMo. You might notice that things look a bit different around here. I started toying around with some of the new templates on Blogger to see if a change of scenery might jumpstart my creativity. I’m a visual person, and am driven quite a bit by what things I see and how I see them. As a result this page may morph a time or two again in the near future – or then again it may not.

But enough rambling for now; there will be plenty of that going forward anyway, I assure you.

I am going to take a cue from my friend Carol and, while we’re still early in the month, give you a brief intro (you never know what poor soul will stumble across this and say “dear God – what have I done?”). Anyhow, if you couldn’t figure it out from my info over to the right, my name is Mike Carvin (and if you did figure that out already, you get a gold star – just not from me). I grew up in the teeming metropolis of Laurens, New York but am now living in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (by way of Potsdam NY, Framingham MA, and Marlborough MA) – each is probably fodder for another day. I live there with my wife Patti our two youngest kids: Bethanie, who will be 17 in January, and Thomas, who turned 15 back in September. Our oldest son, MJ (Michael James) is 19 and a PFC in the Army National Guard and presently stationed at Fort Eustis, VA where he is attending AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in aviation electronics. Oh, and we also have a 6 year old cat named Angel (rather, she deems us her purr-sonal assistants).

I am a system certification engineer (a type of QA engineer) at a not-to-be-named computer company. While I must strive almost daily to not say anything negative about the job, I can say that I’m happy to have a job, and one that (nearly) pays the bills at that. That said, I look forward to the day when I can leave there (preferably on good terms) and start out on my new career as a photographer. More stories for another time I see.

In my spare time (wait – spare time? what’s that?) I, with Patti, are members of the Montachusett Chorale, and am involved with our church choir. I will also occasionally dabble in yarn crafts – crochet and knitting to be specific – which is where the “CraftyGuy” moniker comes from. I had until fairly recently also been involved in barbershop singing, which I have had to back-burner in order to make time for school; once I have a degree or certificate in Photography (whichever), I hope to be able to again make time for that hobby. Again, more blog fodder to avail myself of.

A pretty good start, as far as introductions go, I suppose. I can’t very well dump out everything in one sitting, now can I?

Here We Go Again

2011-11-01T19:29:00.001-04:00

November 1. NaBloPoMo starts again. And yes, Virginia, I’m giving it another go. I know the last two (or three) attempts have been less than stellar, but what can I say – I’m tenacious (or stubborn).

Here I sit with the family watching “Dancing With The Stars” (get over it). Well, we’re all in the living room anyhow; Bethanie is on the kids’ computer, surfing for photos of Andrew Lee Potts or Tristan McManus one moment, chatting on Facebook the next.

Do I actually have something to write about tonight? No, not really, but why should that stop me?

Random Thought on Education

2011-03-02T10:21:00.001-05:00

For decades, we’ve been throwing more and more money into education in the hopes that all its problems would be solved, and it hasn’t worked yet (I leave the definition of insanity as an exercise to the reader).

That said, common sense would naturally dictate that the answer is not be to decrease education spending either.

So, if education cannot be fixed by spending more money on it, nor by spending less on it – could it be that the problem isn’t money?

Hmmm…

Here’s a thought – how about the education system be allowed to focus more on – get this – education and how to think for oneself (oh, the horror!), and less on social engineering, indoctrination, and shoving politically-correct bullshit down the throats of our nation’s youth?

Here’s an even better idea – how about the educators themselves working on getting back their passion for teaching and imparting knowledge? Whatever happened to that? That passion can be contagious, and those whom we have entrusted to the educators will perhaps pick up on that passion and develop some for themselves in whatever area piques their interest. The lack of this is really one (of many I’m sure) of the main things that has caused our education system to languish.

Today’s Headline

2010-11-28T22:53:00.001-05:00

Check this story out - Celebs go offline for a day for charity

I see couple of good things coming out of this:

1. Celebrities are doing a good thing by raising awareness (and possibly some money) on World Aids Day by going offline for a day.

2. Without all that celeb tweeting going on, the collective IQ of cyberspace will go up about 80 points.

And that’s the news…

Whiteboard Wisdom

2010-11-22T14:12:00.001-05:00

Like I alluded to before, this year’s NaBloPoMo turned into an epic failure, but only from a daily posting standpoint. I’m glad that I have somewhat gotten my rear back in gear and blogging at least occasionally. Perhaps more so this week since it is a vacation week away from work (oh yeah!)

Speaking of work, I thought I would share some “whiteboard wisdom”. Nothing too profound (not even close), but all it entails is just things I post on my office whiteboard as a form of stress relief, catharsis, what have you, whenever I get frustrated at work (which happens a lot). Mostly just brief opinions on how I think things should work (though realistically I know they won’t), and things I want to say at work, but know better.

Here’s a small sampling of what’s been up on my whiteboard lately:

“This is a multitasking-free zone”

“Micro-management? Just say NO!”

“Do you want it ‘right’ or ‘right now’?”

Chow down on that – maybe some more pre-holiday appetizers later.

“Why I’m Depressed”

2010-11-17T22:23:00.002-05:00

As you could have guessed, NaBloPoMo is pretty much a bust for me again this year, but that’s okay. I’m (sort of) back into the blogging mode (even if I’m not doing it obsessively.

I got the following in email today with the subject line “Why I’m Depressed” from a co-worker. This is one of those marvelously politically-incorrect things that I enjoy. I did get a good chuckle of out it, and thought I’d share it. My usual disclaimer applies (which is: if you are one of those hyper-sensitive types with the political-correctness fetish, piss off!)

Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel, "Pick up your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the Promised Land."

Nearly 75 years ago, (when Welfare was introduced) Roosevelt said, "Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the Promised Land."

Today, Obama has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels and mortgaged the Promised Land! I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the economy, the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., called a Suicide Hotline. I had to press 1 for English. I was then connected to a call center in Pakistan . I told them I was suicidal. They got excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

Om Nom Nom

2010-11-09T22:36:00.001-05:00

We’re going to a potluck tomorrow evening, so we got ourselves a whole bunch of cooking going on. MJ made banana bread earlier today, and I just got done making a pumpkin marble cheesecake. Patti will be making a chicken and rice casserole tomorrow. Lots of noms to be had.

Speaking of noms, the kids showed me this video sometime ago – way too cute not to share.

Long Weekend (not in the good way)

2010-11-08T22:51:00.001-05:00

It’s been a crazy past few days.

Friday evening was quartet rehearsal – a really good one at that. Yeah, we probably spent a great deal more time chatting than rehearsing, but it was still all good (and the actual rehearsing also went very well!) We’re starting to work on our contest songs for the Division Convention this March. Work, fun, work, fun, fun. More on that in another post.

Saturday consisted of getting up waaay too early, running Bethanie and Thomas to the school so they could catch the bus to attend Band Day as UMass Amherst, take Patti out to Shirley for a craft fair where she had an Avon table set up for the day, take MJ to breakfast in Gardner (Gabby’s Place is a great diner, btw!), then down to (West?) Boylston to the Army/Navy store so that MJ could pick up a sea-bag that he needed, then back to Fitchburg for a couple of hours, go pick up Patti and then crash for a little bit until time to pick up Bethanie and Thomas later that night. Yes, that was a run-on sentence – but it was a run-on kind of day.

Sunday came, and the day was greeted by a series of very wet “splat” noises coming from the third-floor stairs. Thomas had come down sick with a stomach bug that had been going around. When this kid barfs, he BARFS! All over the stairs, the wall, and even the upper part of the door frame! How can a 14-year old contain so much semi-digested stuff? “Eww” didn’t even begin to describe it!

That evening was chorale rehearsal, as we are getting ready for our Holiday concert in less than a month.

Wow – what a weekend! Did I mention that I’m sill trying to get over being sick also (which has been the case for over a month now). On the mend finally, but sheesh!

Just in case you were wondering what happened to my blog posts for Friday and Saturday – I’m suspecting that perhaps Thomas ate them…

Crap! (and Oh Well…)

2010-11-07T06:38:00.001-05:00

It’s Sunday morning, and I missed two blog posts. I got in from Friday night’s quartet rehearsal a little later than usual, and wasn’t even thinking about making a post when I got home, and didn't realize that I missed a day until yesterday afternoon, and then still didn’t write one, so that made two.

There was a time that I would’ve completely freaked-out over that, but not this year. It’s now all about just picking-up and continuing forward. So that’s what I’m doing.

There’s more that I would like to post right now, but it’s barely 6:30am, and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. I’m stopping for now, and will post the rest later.

Here’s hoping that we’re done with the brain-farts for the time being…

I Got Nothin’

2010-11-04T22:23:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to report that I got nothing for today’s blog entry. But never let it be said that I didn’t post anything today.

Working From Home

2010-11-03T22:22:00.001-04:00

Was planning on (finally) making an appearance at work this week – other than working from home, I mean. But the train had other ideas. A one-hour delay due to mechanical problems made me decide that my time would be best spent working from home one more day.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I dislike working from home – I prefer it in many ways. But there’s just some things that can done far more productively in-person (I may hate my job with the burning intensity of a thousand white-hot suns, but I still plan on doing a good job while I’m there!)

Let’s see if the train behaves tomorrow…

Status Quo

2010-11-02T22:05:00.001-04:00

I’m too tired to stay up and watch the rest of the election results, but it would appear that our lovely Commonwealth has opted for the status quo once again.

Disappointing, yes. Surprising, no.

Ah well.

NaBloPoMo Rides Again!

2010-11-01T22:37:00.003-04:00

It's November 1st - you know what that means! Another year has gone by, and so begins another attempt at NaBloPoMo, and getting my lazy ass back into blogging mode. We're just gonna take this day by day and see what happens.

As it is, I nearly forgot until about 10 minutes ago (it current 10:40pm), just when I was thinking of heading up to bed since the NyQuil is kicking in (yup - been sick on and off for about a month now - never fun).

But sick or no, I wasn't going to let the first day of NaBloPoMo go by without at least an initial check-in.

Good night for now, and here's hoping for something more coherent tomorrow.

Yeah, I Know (It's Facebook's Fault!)

2010-05-04T08:19:00.003-04:00

I'm gotten waaaaaay behind in the the blogging again. I blame Facebook, quite frankly - I've been dumping all my little quips, witticisms, and other toxic waste in my status messages instead of saving them up to use here.

But recognizing the problem is the first part of solving it though, right?

With that, I will (yet again) try to be more diligent about blogging...

An Early Christmas Gift

2009-12-21T13:21:00.002-05:00

This is an early gift left to us by our cat, the "Queen of Speds". She loves shiny things, and not just to play with.

Festive, isn't it? Martha Stewart would be proud...

Photo Friday: Vehicle

2009-11-20T21:24:00.002-05:00

Keyed Up, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I took this photo over two years ago, and had messed around with the brightness and saturation to come up with what I thought was pretty cool (and still do).

Since this week's Photo Friday theme is "Vehicle", I thought I would dig this up and share it.

Scrap-ghan

2009-11-16T22:19:00.001-05:00

Just checking in quick tonight to let all y’all (“all y’all” is the plural of “y’all”) know that the patchwork scrap-ghan I had working on is finally done! The hard part was piecing together all the squares (well, rectangles, but you know what I mean), but I think it was worth it. Ran it through the gentle cycle with some Woolite and a low-temp dry cycle, and it’s ready to donate!

On the Mend

2009-11-15T22:53:00.001-05:00

I’m finally feeling better – well enough to return to work. Of course, I will likely just be working from home tomorrow since, despite feeling better, I do still get into the occasional coughing fit which could be a bit disconcerting to some. So technically it’s one more day at home.

I normally don’t mind being at home, actually prefer it most of the time. But I’m very prone to going stir-crazy when confined and have little to do other than watch TV or poke around on Facebook (both fine activities, in relatively small amounts). Fortunately, I managed to dig up the “scrap-ghan” I started working on last year but never finished (due to that whole “ice storm/power outage/being out of the house for six months” thing), and am working on completing it. I should have it done either tomorrow evening or Tuesday. Once it is done, I plan on donating it to a local halfway house.

It’s good to be feeling better, and feels better to be doing good.

And We’re Back

2009-11-14T22:49:00.001-05:00

Lest anyone think that I ditched this whole NaBloPoMo thing less than two weeks into it, rest assured I didn’t.

I was home from work Wednesday with the intention of running the errands for Patti as she was feeling under the weather. But, best-laid plans being what they are, before the day was out I had a fever of my very own. And not to be outdone, it was over 102! I like it warm, but that’s a bit much…

Today is the first day I’ve felt at least semi-functioning, so back to blogging I go. Since the first of the month, my blog attempts have largely been – admittedly – at bit on the feeble side. A sentence here, a link there, a YouTube video tossed in for good measure. I can’t promise the rest of the month will fully be more substantial than that, but I think I might be actually be gaining a little more momentum on the blogging front now.

That is, if I can squeeze it in between coughs…

One Oh Two What?

2009-11-11T22:04:00.001-05:00

That’s not a temperature, that’s a radio station!

Feh.

The 11:15 News

2009-11-10T23:16:00.001-05:00

Lessee…

Patti’s is feeling less then under the weather and is in dire need of lots of rest, and I’m exhausted, yet presently the healthier of the two of us.

The kids have the day off from school, but Bethanie and Thomas will need to be up early enough to get ready for a Veterans Day function in the morning (Bethanie is in marching band, and Thomas is in Boy Scouts). I will be working from home tomorrow so that Dad’s Taxi can handle the driving around (so that Patti can rest). MJ (and hopefully Patti) will be sleeping in tomorrow.

Angel is being her typical chowder-head self.

And that’s the news.

Funny, but Wrong… but Funny!

2009-11-09T23:47:00.001-05:00

Don’t get me wrong – I like the Food Network, really!

But this website is just too freakin’ hilarious – foodnetworkhumor.com.

You can thank (or scream at) me later.

My Day in 14 Words

2009-11-08T23:01:00.001-05:00

Awake. Coffee. Church. Gas. Mall. Home. Lunch. Football. Online. Dinner. Crochet. TV. Blog. Goodnight.

My Latest Project

2009-11-07T19:21:00.001-05:00

I haven’t crocheted in nearly a year, mainly because I find myself just too dang busy. But I was recently motivated to make this toque (winter hat, for those unfamiliar with the word) for myself. The motivation came from the increasingly cold weather lately – since I have decided to keep my head shaved all the time, I needed a way to keep the noggin’ warm.

Anyhow I came across this pattern via ravelry.com and threw it together in about 3 hours (which is fast for me). Other than scarves, this is my first clothing type crochet project, so I am especially proud of having made this!

A Cappella, 80s-Style

2009-11-06T22:29:00.001-05:00

I love music from the ‘80s (1980’s, smart-a**!), and I love a cappella. And I also love things done with creative spin.

Put that all together, and what do you end up with? How about a couple of these gems on YouTube for starters – the minds behind these are brilliant!

Blah

2009-11-05T22:24:00.001-05:00

I’m exhausted, and I really don’t feel like blogging tonight. However, I want to get back into the habit of regular blogging and foisting my random brain-dumps on an unsuspecting public. That is why I am posting tonight, even if it is only for the purpose of saying that I am not posting tonight.

(How’s that for a contradiction?)

Wheel of Blogger 2009

2009-11-04T23:07:00.001-05:00

I haven’t poked around other people’s blogs lately (with only a couple of exceptions), but with November being NaBloPoMo and all, there could very well be a lot of activity to check out.

The NaBloPoMo site (hosted by Ning) has a “randomizer” feature, that will take you to a random blog page. This can be fun, educational, surprising, or even shocking at times. I had run through a few of them a couple of years ago and blogged about it, and thought it might be fun to try it again. So here for your dining and dancing pleasure is some samplings from another round of “Wheel of Blogger”.

1. "Brainella the Librarian”. Today’s entry brings a delightful love letter to something near and dear to me: the Starbucks “red cup”. You know, those special holiday flavors that ‘bucks offers each year (my favorite is eggnog).

2. “Teacher Anonymous”. Here we have a post regarding a particularly good (in the opinion of the blogger – I would like to try it myself sometime) recipe for a cinnamon lamb stew. It looks really good.

3. “Eat Play Love”. The post du jour is about being a Yankees fan. As tempted as I am to say something really snarky at this point, I won’t. This post was specially about remembrances of a father and his love for the Yankees. Kudos for that, even if it is the Yankees.

4. “Clutch Cargo Lips”. Differences in towel folding methodologies.

5. “Threads of Light”. Wonderful photography here. I will be visiting this blog often.

6. “The Anonymous Adventures of Us”. A nice little slice o’ life.

Good stuff all around. I might revisit this treasure trove that is the Randomizer later on this month as well.

A Quick One

2009-11-03T22:27:00.001-05:00

Honestly, I’m tired and brain-fried, and really don’t want to do a blog post tonight. But I am going to post *something*, so I’d thought I’d share a joke sent to me in email today (thanks, Dave!)

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm. No cars were traveling that night.

The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.

Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stop. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door.... only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life.

Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road. So, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to the pub.

Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying and....wasn't drunk.

Suddenly the door opened and two other people walked in from the stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath.

Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other...”Look Paddy...there's that freakin' idiot that got in the car while we were pushin' it.”

Old and Stuffy? I Don’t Think So!

2009-11-02T22:59:00.001-05:00

Anyone who’s known me over the past 7 or 8 years knows that other than photography and yarn crafts, my other major hobby is barbershop.

“Isn’t that just a bunch a old guys dressed up in striped vests and straw hats singing old songs really badly?”

Uhm, no – not even close…

Barbershop harmony – for those who don’t know (and a good deal of my Facebook contacts do know – a big “hello” to them via the RSS feed from this blog to Facebook!) consists of 4 parts sung a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment): the melody is sung by lead, with the tenor harmonizing above, the bass below, and the baritone filling the remaining fourth notes of each chord. The resulting sound is quite amazing, I assure you; if the tuning is just right (I won’t go into the physics of this), one or more overtones can be produced, creating what is often called “lock and ring”. If you have heard this before, you know that it’s really awesome.

Barbershop isn’t just quartets, either. There are many, many choruses out there singing in this musical style as well. Better than explaining this though, would be to offer a demonstration. Here, for your viewing and listening pleasure, is the 2009 Barbershop Harmony Society International champions (yes – there is an annual convention/competition) – the Ambassadors of Harmony from St. Charles, MO.

This is so NOT old and stuffy! In fact, it’s freaking cool!

And We’re Off… Again

2009-11-01T18:45:00.001-05:00

Today is the first of November, and you know what that means. Yup, you got it – it’s time for NaBloPoMo (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth) again. It’s my annual attempt to jumpstart my regular blogging which I somehow allow to languish the other 11 months of the year.

What can I say? I get my time so filled up with so many things (that is, whatever time is left after the kids have had their pick), that I end up complaining about how busy I am.

But here I am again, giving it another go.

I’ll cut it short for today, lest I injure myself by over-taxing those blogging muscles that I’ve let atrophy over the past several months.

Wish me luck…

Random Thought #37

2009-07-21T19:54:00.002-04:00

Do you know how totally cool it is to have a refrigerator and a computer in the same room?

I'm Still Here - I Swear!

2009-07-17T14:30:00.001-04:00

I'm still here... really! We're back in the house now, and between getting unpacked, work (a bigger pain in the ass than usual lately), and various other sundry things, I've been too busy to blog!

But sit tight though, I will be back on here on a more regular basis soon enough!

Still Here, Really I Am!

2009-02-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged - it has been utterly crazy around here!

We're still not back in the house yet - likely not until April at the earliest, and that might be pushing it a bit. I will explain this all when I blog next, but for now rest assured that we're okay.

Ice Storm Aftermath Update #2

2008-12-17T20:41:00.003-05:00

Just to keep you all (or y'all, or all y'all) in the loop - some really good progress was made today.

The fire department was finally able to come and drain the water out of the cellar (plus turn off the main breaker, as a precaution). The electrician is scheduled to come tomorrow - Patti will be meeting with him at the house (since I'll end up needing to be at work), plus she'll be there to start taking photos for the insurance company. And also, my friend Paul has agreed to cat-sit Angel for a couple of days, so she has someplace considerably warmer to stay.

My stress level has gone substantially in the 24+ hours that we've been at our friend's in North Leominster. Things are finally starting to move in regards to the steps necessary to make our house livable again.

Things are starting to look up...

A Quick Update

2008-12-16T20:09:00.002-05:00

We're all safe and sound and staying with some friends for a few days until the necessary repairs, inspections, and the other "whatevers" can take place at home. While I am very grateful for the shelters and all of that, I very glad that we're not in them anymore (I will save the stories for another day).

Just wanted to let everyone know that things are looking up here at last.

Where We're At

2008-12-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

Putting in a quick blog entry just to let everyone where where we're at.

A major ice storm hit New England on Thursday night, and we have been without power since 10pm Thursday. No power, no heat, and the basement (which houses the washer/dryer, furnace and water heater) has been covered by about 8 inches of water. Plus the electrical meter box got pulled away from the house, so Unitil can't do much (other than branch removal from the wires - which is a big step in the right direction) until an electrician is able to make the needed repairs.

We're currently staying at a shelter until all the necessary repairs are done, power restored, and all water heater and furnace have been inspected and/or repaired. As such I don't have any network access except at work, so I can only check in from time to time.

At least the family and I are all safe, warm and dry.

See you in a couple (or more!) days...

Sick at Work (or is it Sick From Work?)

2008-12-10T12:07:00.003-05:00

I really should be at home resting. I have this really nasty headcold that I thought was on it's way out, but relapsed over the weekend.

I know that all I need is a couple of days of rest, but I don't see how that is possible with all that has to be done. It doesn't help any that the those things I need to get done at work can't be done by logging in from home - oh no, these things require my presence there. So off I go trudging out into the cold, wetness for the train ride to work, doing non-rest there, and then than back home.

My sinuses are clogged, I'm getting a bad cough, my head hurts, and I'm pissed-off to boot.

Turkey Day Trip, Longer Version

2008-11-30T22:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight's the night. I have somehow managed to survive another year of NaBloPoMo. Admittedly, it seemed a lot easier last year.

Anyhow, I said I would go into a little more detail about the recent trip to New York for the Thanksgiving holiday, so here goes.

We all got up around 4:00 AM Wednesday morning (how we pulled that off with 2 teenagers and a pre-teen, I'll never know!) and got on the road by around 5:30. We usually have to stop every couple of hours for the requisite "potty break", but even with that we arrived at our destination of Fowler, New York at around 12:30 that afternoon. For those of you who haven't the foggiest idea where Fowler is (which would be the vast majority of you), it is a tiny "don't blink or you'll miss it" town about 7 miles south of Gouverneur. As to where Gouverneur is - it is about halfway between Watertown and Potsdam, in the St. Lawrence River area (go up to the Canadian border, and hang a left).

We stayed at the home of Patti's brother, Jeff, and his wife Debbie, and their two kids, Tom and Katie. All five kids (I don't care how old the teens are, they are still 'kids') had fun there, and the adults enjoyed sitting around talking, having our drinks (Smirnoff Ice, thank you), and watching a little television (nice change of pace for us, since we haven't had cable since February!).

In the two-and-a-half years since we were up there last, Jeff and Debbie had gotten a dog named Dixie. She's a brown mix-breed that kinda looks like a cross between a golden retriever and a collie. Cute as could be and very smart. Patti's other brother, Jamie, and his wife Laurie, live next door and also acquired a dog - this one a Siberian husky named Maya. Also very adorable (but I might be a bit biased since I had a couple of of huskies growing up and just love 'em to pieces). Was fun watching the two of them playing outside.

Thanksgiving consisted of watching the Macy's parade, and munching down cheese, crackers, pepperoni, and Croghan bologna (that will need to be explained another time), plus more Smirnoff Ice (I'm seeing a pattern emerging here!). Debbie's folks came over, plus another one of Patti's brothers, Larry (a non-practicing priest who teaches at one of the area schools). We all chowed down on turkey, ham, and all the assorted goodies that go with them. And pie. Later we paid a visit to some more relatives in the area - Patti's aunt and uncle, and the cousins from that side of the family. Plus more animals: a half-witted beagle, a cat, and two rabbits. And more pie.
We get back to Jeff and Debbie's after that and caught the tail end of a Jeff Dunham show on Comedy Central, which was freakin' hilarious (this guy's a riot!)

Friday brought more hanging out, plus a visit from Patti's former babysitter (I'm not going into how long ago that might have been).

We left on Saturday morning (almost not, because the Blazer decided not to start at one point; turned out there was a short somewhere. After a jump start, things started working again - mental note to get the short checked out). We made it back to Fitchburg at 4:30 in the afternoon.

All in all, a good trip.

All in all, a good month of blogging. Then again, any month that I actually get some blogging done is a good month.

Turkey Day Trip, Short Version

2008-11-29T22:38:00.003-05:00

Well, we're back home from our holiday trip to upstate New York! Of course, there is plenty to blog about - the food, the dogs (both of Patti's brothers have acquired dogs since we were up there last), so on and so forth. Short version - we had a good, relaxing time.

Long version? Well, that will have to wait until tomorrow because I've been starting at the blank text box in Blogger for the past 20-25 minutes, eyes and mind glazing over as I succumb to exhaustion.

I will try to wrap up NaBloPoMo tomorrow with a recap of the holiday goings-on.

Florida Court Set Atheist Holy Day

2008-11-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

This was too good not to share!

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews & observances of their holy days. The argument was: it is unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s).

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed."

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter & others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur & Hanukkah. Yet my client & all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools Day.' Psalm 14:1 states 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

Chillin

2008-11-27T20:43:00.002-05:00

A good day was had by all. Full of turkey, ham, and all manner of good stuff. Now we're all chillin' out in front of the tube watching Jeff Dunham.

Kicking Back

2008-11-26T15:58:00.001-05:00

Made it to New York, and just in time too! Just as soon as we got up here, the snow started coming down - hard! Time to kick back and have a drink.

Out of Town

2008-11-25T20:45:00.004-05:00

The whole crew will be leaving (early!) tomorrow morning to head up to New York (waaay upstate) to visit Patti's family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Despite the lack of access to the "interwebs" while up in the boondocks, I will try to keep up on my blogging while out of state - either by emailing pics to Blogger from my cellphone (as signal level permits), or by scheduling stuff to be posted (already have something set to go for Friday).

I should be back home on Saturday, and will return to the regularly-scheduled writer's block at that time.

Blankly

2008-11-24T23:18:00.001-05:00

08.11.24 - Year 2, Day 28, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

This is me, 28 days into the 365days project, and 24 days into NaBloPoMo. Staring blankly at the computer screen as usual.

On the Fence

2008-11-23T22:28:00.001-05:00

Fencetop, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Okay, maybe I'm not on the fence, which implies not wanting or somehow unable to decide something, or attempting to remain neutral about something.

I have lots of things to blog about, but I am finding that when I am able to sit down to think about blogging about something, it's later in the evening when it's quiet and free of distractions - unfortunately, that's also the time when I have little energy to devote to actually putting words to page (or screen). By this time of day, I'm more inclined to fall asleep at the keyboard, rather than typing at it.

Yeah I know it's the same complaint I've expressed fairly recently, but as you see, I'm still complaining about it.

I guess if there was anything I would be on the fence about regarding this, it would be on the question of whether I should be so frustrated over this. I know I shouldn't let this bother me, but it does.

Dance Photo

2008-11-22T23:59:00.001-05:00

Dance 2, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

This is one of my current favorite art photos, and I think it is one of the photos I will be putting up in my office.

Zzzzz

2008-11-21T22:36:00.001-05:00

08.11.21 - Year 2 Day 25, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Here I am, 3 weeks into this year's NaBloPoMo, and 25 days into my second attempt at a second year of 365 daily self-pics. Haven't missed a day yet this time around.

But this has been yet another one of 'those' weeks - although the big difference is that this week I've felt like I've actually gotten things done!

And with that, I'm calling it a night.

It's All Greek to Me!

2008-11-20T17:13:00.004-05:00

I posted this pic mainly as an experiment, to see how well posting to Blogger via email works. I sent this from my cameraphone; it seems to have worked well enough, though the photos don't show up as large here as they would if I had just sent it to Flickr first, and then blogged it from there, like I usually do. Ah well - at least this gives me another way to post.

The photo is of a sign that I saw walking in downtown Maynard, on my way to work some time ago. This is at the site of what had been the Boston Bean House, a nice little coffee shop. That place had moved down the street, and another - La Matina Cafe - is coming here in its place. On the sign is included greetings in various languages. Including what I thought was Greek. Upon closer examination however, I discovered that it was not Greek for "Good Morning" or anything like that. Oh sure, the letters are definitely those from the Greek alphabet (which I can still remember from my years in Alpha Phi Omega) - but the letters are just being used phonetically; they simply spell out "Opening Soon". Clever, but I was admittedly a little disappointed. But still, if their coffee is at least as good as that at the Boston Bean House, all will be forgiven.

Busy Busy

2008-11-19T22:26:00.004-05:00

The New Digs, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

As usual, work's been keeping me really busy lately.

So busy, in fact, that I've had to relinquish some vacation days I had planned between now and the end of the year, in order to be sure that I can get my testing done prior to whenever we end up shipping our next release (even though the release day keeps getting further and further out). I've already logged those upcoming vacation days with Payroll, but that just means that I can take some 'comp time' later.

The release will be over soon enough though, and then onto the next project.

By the way - the photo is of my new office space. What you can't see in the photo is how bare the walls are (other than a calendar, a framed beach scene, and some photos of the kids, that is). I used to have a bunch of assorted posters on the walls in my old office, but I've had those things for a long time (going on 20 years), so it's time for a change. I'm thinking of getting some of my better photography (what of it there is) matted and framed, and hanging some of them up at work.

Another Quote

2008-11-18T23:35:00.002-05:00

I know - this is two in a row. No more quotes after tonight (for a little while), I promise.

No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.

Samuel Adams (letter to James Warren, 4 November 1775)

Quote

2008-11-17T23:37:00.001-05:00

For good or ill, this quote is very apt for our current point in history...

"It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn."

George Washington, letter to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, September 5, 1789

Yawn

2008-11-16T22:49:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow's Monday, the weekend's nearly over, and I currently don't have any neurons to spare to get a proper blog entry done tonight.

Just thought I'd share that.

*Yawn*

7 Things for NaBloPoMo Hump Day

2008-11-15T22:28:00.006-05:00

Here it is, day 15 of NaBloPoMo - halfway done with the month already! It's Hump Day, baby!

I've seen on any number of blog sites at one time or another a list of 7 things the reader may not know about the writer. Somehow, I've managed to get by without having done this as well.

Tonight however, I thought I'd break from trend and share with you my "7 things" list.

7 Things You May Not Have Known About CraftyGuy (Or Maybe You Did Know, Or Maybe You Didn't Really Want to Know, But Tough Crap - Here They Are Anyway)

I don't do mornings. Morning is just that nasty thing you have to endure in order to get to the afternoon.
Coffee and I are good friends; we go waaay back (to when I was 6 or 7 years-old or thereabouts). Coffee is what keeps me from making Damien (of the "Omen" movies) look like Papa Smurf [See item #1]. Coffee is the difference between teddy bear and grizzly bear.
I am a former band geek. Concert band, jazz ensemble, marching band, field band - you name it. From 4th grade through high school. During that time, I've played clarinet, tenor sax, glockenspiel, and dabbled a little with trumpet and french horn. Plus on the side, I've tooled around with guitar and piano a wee bit.
I have 5 brothers, the youngest of which is 15 years older than me. As such, the oldest of my nieces and nephews (12 of 'em!) is only 3 years younger than me. And now I have more grandnieces and grandnephews than I have been able to keep track of, and a couple of great-grandnieces as well! [For the record, I'm 41].
According to Myers-Briggs, I am an INTP.
I have a hatred of writing (just ask my high school English teacher) - I get writer's block at the drop of a hat. But somehow despite that, I rather much enjoy blogging.
I speak my mind, and do not give a flaming rat's behind about political correctness. I won't go out of my way just to offend someone, but I sure as heck won't walk on eggshells just to avoid upsetting a person's delicate sensitivities, either. If you are of the easily-offended persuasion, I would suggest that you go to Wal-Mart and purchase a thicker skin. I'll gladly tell you what I think, but don't expect me to blow sunshine up your ass in the process. ;-)

There ya go. I have more I could probably list, but I will save those to inflict upon you for another time.

Tired

2008-11-14T22:01:00.001-05:00

The office move is done, and I'm all unpacked. Things are looking really nice, if I do say so myself!

But this has been a long, exhausting week - and I'm dog tired.

Packing, Packing

2008-11-13T23:16:00.002-05:00

I spent the better part of today packing up the stuff in my office to get moved. Do you know how much junk accumulates in 10+ years?

Too much.

Way too much.

The dumpster was very well fed today.

At least I'll have a clean slate tomorrow in my new office. That is, of course, after I unpack everything that I just packed.

Coming Soon - A New Office

2008-11-12T23:43:00.003-05:00

Not much to report on the work front today, other than I will be moving into a new office on Friday. Not far away from where I am right now, just around the corner in the same building.

I've been wanting to have my office moved for quite a while now. From the time Stratus had moved from Marlborough to Maynard, I have had the same office, right on the main aisle. Talk about a continual parade of distractions - everyone seems to think that the aisle is the perfect place to hold meetings - especially right outside my door! Grrrr.

But oh, happy day - I'm being moved from there to what should hopefully be a much quiet area.

In other news - I *finally* posted another pic to my art photography blog page; the last time I posted there was in June (naughty, naughty). I really need to keep up on that better, before people forget it's there...

Tele-withdrawl

2008-11-11T23:14:00.002-05:00

I miss TV. There - I said it.

We haven't had television since February. In short, we need to trim expenses, and the cable bill was fair game. Now here it is, nine months later. Things are finally starting to show signs of improvement, but there's still a ways to go before Comcast gets a call.

Monday

2008-11-10T23:26:00.002-05:00

Today I thought I'd share with you how this particular Monday went.

The alarm clock went off at 5:30 this morning and I woke up with one of those Migraines-from-Hell that I get from time to time. What make this one odd is that I usually only get them in the afternoon or in the evening, and usually when the air pressure is low - neither was the case this time. So today turned into a sick day, and I went back to sleep.

At around 9:45 I finally got out of bed and realized I'd better email in to my manager to let him know I wouldn't be in. Not a problem.

By 11:00 I had a couple of cups of coffee in me and the headache was finally subsided enough that I could at least sort of function. Spent a couple of hours working on a project for Bethanie that I promised I would have finished for her. She is in the chorus at her school this year, and to help her be able to practice her part, I put her sheet music into Allegro (a program that lets you enter music - an entire score if you want - and can create a MIDI file of the piece. I was glad the headache was on its way out by then. Funny how you end up doing stuff even on sick days.

At some point in the afternoon, I made the big mistake of checking my work email. One of the software development managers (not mine) sent me an email with only the subject line "Are you in today?" No message body, just the subject line. (Hello - you walk by my office on the way to yours, and if you see that the lights are out and no one is in there, it's a pretty safe bet that I'm not in). She drives me freaking nuts anyway; she's the type of manager who would schedule a series of daily meetings to discuss the particulars of why things aren't getting done (maybe it's because we're all wasting time attending your stupid meetings!) I'm glad she's not my manager - I would have quit a lonnng time ago. As it is, the only reason I'm still there is because I have bills to pay. I hate my job, and I'm not even there today.

Things picked up after that. MJ had a "date" of sorts. He would be taking his friend (not girlfriend, just a good friend who just happens to be of the female persuasion) to his JR-ROTC dinner dance (he is in the Marine Junior ROTC program at his school). It was kinda neat seeing him all dressed up with his "date" for the evening. A very cute couple indeed (even if they aren't actually dating). I felt both proud and old. They had an enjoyable evening.

11:00pm rolls around and I'm in bed realizing that I had not taken my 365days self-pic nor did my blog entry for today - oh, crap! So I quickly snap a photo with my cameraphone and upload it to Flickr, and sit down and quickly brain dump a blog entry about the first thing that came to mind - how this day went. And now here we are.

Let's see what Tuesday brings...

Non-blogging

2008-11-09T23:23:00.002-05:00

This is frustrating. I have lots of things to blog about, but usually not much energy late in the evening (and often well past my bedtime) to actually type anything. The problem with blogging earlier in the day is that I'm very prone to distractions (oooh, shiny!) so it's difficult to blog with the kids up and about.

So tonight's blog is about not blogging. Grrrr.

There's Always Room For Cello!

2008-11-08T22:43:00.003-05:00

Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of the group Apocalyptica. However, if you can rock out on the cello, you get my respect! This instrumental version of "Path" is (as they say here in New England) "wicked pissah". And a really cool video to boot!

FUTAB Friday

2008-11-07T22:50:00.002-05:00

08.11.07 - Year 2, Day 11 - FUTAB Friday, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

It's been a lonnnng week, but I've managed to keep with with my daily blogging for NaBloPoMo for a full seven days so far this month.

When I'm less tired (make that exhausted!), like tomorrow hopefully, I will fill you in on the goings on this week. Some crappy, some awesome. But for now, I'm FUTAB (Feet Up, Taking A Break).

Rain, Rain, You're a Pain

2008-11-06T22:41:00.001-05:00

08.11.06 - Year 2, Day 10 - Umbrella Shadow, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Rainy days - I dislike them. Not just because they're cold and wet and dreary. But mostly because the low air pressure that comes with rainy weather always gives me headaches.

Life Goes On

2008-11-05T23:03:00.005-05:00

As I suspected, the election had not gone as I had hoped. And of course the world did not suddenly go careening out of its orbit as a result of this election. The sun still rises and sets. Life goes on.

How do I feel about what might or might not happen over the next 4 or - Heaven forbid! - 8 years? It is far too soon to say. I don't agree with many of our President-Elect's ideas, but I will choose to (at least try to) be circumspect on all of this for now.

Life goes on.

Election Day

2008-11-04T22:06:00.001-05:00

08.11.04 - Year 2, Day 8 - Election Day, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I did my civic duty and voted.

I'm not terribly optimistic as to the outcome of this (from the presidential election standpoint), but I'm hopeful that we'll be rid of the state income tax.

Regardless of the outcome, the upside of this is the record number of people coming out to vote this year!

Before You Vote

2008-11-03T21:37:00.001-05:00

Please check out this MUST SEE video before you vote.

The Day After

2008-11-03T21:15:00.002-05:00

The Day After, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

As I've mentioned previously, I don't do Halloween; I have just never really been into it all that much. However, the first workday after Halloween - now that's an entirely different matter!

Co-workers come in that day bearing sacks containing all manner of sugar laden goodness that they were unable to foist upon their evening visitors dressed as ghouls, goblins, Hannah Montanas, and other horrifying creatures.

Let the candy coma commence!

Crafting For a Cause

2008-11-02T21:51:00.002-05:00

08.11.02 - Year 2, Day 6 - Knitting, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Every year (well at least for the past couple of years), I have participated in a project called "Warm Up America". What this entails is making a whole bunch of 7x9" crocheted or knitted "squares" which will be made into afghans that are donated to various places (such as women's shelters, nursing homes, preschools, etc.). Not only do you get to use up scrap yarn (which tends to accumulate very quickly), but it helps out those in need. Plus this year, I have the assistance of Patti and Bethanie, both of whom I've taught to crochet over the past few weeks, so now we're really cranking out the squares!

(In other news - at 9:41pm this evening, my photostream on Flickr reached 20,000 views! This of course has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but I though I'd throw that in there.)

And We're Off (?)

2008-11-01T23:05:00.004-04:00

Off and running. Well, sort of...

Today is November 1, the start of National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) - the object of which is to blog every day for an entire month. So here I am at the computer attempting to come up with something to blog about.

Oh sure, there are actually lots of things about which to write: I can play catch-up from the month or so that I was away from blogging because I was too dang busy; I can fill you in on the state of affairs with Montachusett Harmonizers (we're up to a quartet now); I can put in my $0.02 regarding the Presidential race this year (I have a pretty good idea as to the outcome, and I'm none too happy about it!); or I can show you my latest crochet project. The list goes on and on.

Truth be told, however - I'm just too tired tonight. I'm glad for the extra hour of sleep that I'll get because the clocks got turned back - it will be an hour well-spent (Zzzzzz).

I joked in my very first blog entry that this would be a blog about nothing. Well, tonight's the night that I make good on that.

So much to blog about, so little energy.

Stay tuned...

Halloween (or Happy NaBlaPoMo Eve)

2008-10-31T22:22:00.001-04:00

08.10.31 - Year 2, Day 4 - Halloween, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I'm really not much for the whole Halloween thing, but thought I would have a little fun in Photoshop.

Anyhow, tomorrow is the start of NaBloPoMo and I will be trying to blog every day for a month. Now that would be spooky!

Starting Again

2008-10-28T21:49:00.002-04:00

Starting Again, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

In case anyone’s been wondering whether I’ve just simply dropped off the face of the earth – nope, still here. I’ve just been letting life get in the way a whole bunch lately, which isn’t bad per se, but it does cause other things, like taking photos and blogging for example, to languish a bit.

I won’t try to dump the entire “what I’ve been up to over the past month or so” out all at once, so you’ll be spared that for now. November 1 is in a few days, and that day marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). So if I can keep up things, you’ll be hearing plenty from me as it is. That should be a good opportunity to get a fresh start on blogging regularly again.

Speaking of fresh starts, today I have re-started my second year of daily self-pics (aka “365days”). Back in November of 2007, I had managed to complete one full year of taking a photo of myself each day and posting it to Flickr (which could have done a lot more damage than any large hadron collider could have – how do you collide large hadrons anyway…never mind, I don’t want to know). My attempt at a second year fell way short, so here I am giving it another go. And so, I am sharing my Year 2, Day 1 photo in this blog entry – don’t worry, I won’t be making a habit of blogging my self-pics; maybe only occasionally, and then only those pics I deem particularly good (so you won’t see too many of them here). If your curiosity gets the better of you, you are certainly more than welcome to check them out in my Flickr photostream as they get posted.

That’s enough for now – can’t very well expend all my blogging energy in one sitting, now can I?

McCain/Palin

2008-10-08T14:47:00.001-04:00

McCain/Palin, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

www.johnmccain.com

Grrrr

2008-08-25T11:24:00.000-04:00

As I fall further behind on my blogging, the video on my PC goes up... Grrrrrr

Air-Conditioned Computer Chips?

2008-07-16T11:25:00.006-04:00

News crap of the day:

Researchers look to air-condition computer chips

So, let me get this straight - we're all expected to reduce our hydroflourocarbon usage because it is one of the plethora of substances that damage the environment, yet some schmucks at Purdue University are working on a way to air-condition computer chips, using that very same stuff?

WTF?

Does Al Gore know about this? Has Michael Moore been notified?

[Not that I actually give a flaming crap about what either one of those boneheads have to say. Neither one has been heard from much lately (thankfully), and are likely due to shoot off their mouths and further contribute to global warming by way of their (ob)noxious emissions.]

History Lesson

2008-07-14T09:13:00.001-04:00

A little something to tide you over until I can blog for real...

Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, 158 years ago? California became a state. The State had no electricity. The State had no money. Almost everyone spoke Spanish. There were gunfights in the streets. So basically, it was just like it is today, except the women had real breasts and the men didn't hold hands.

The News Pitch

2008-07-01T23:59:00.002-04:00

MasterKey PitchPipe, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I had said in a previous blog post that I had a wee bit of news to share, and now I'm finally getting off my duff to do so.

I used to sing with the Sounds of Concord, a men's barbershop chorus. What's barbershop you ask? Simply put, it's a style of 4-part close harmony a cappella singing wherein the melody is usually sung in the second highest part (the "lead"), with the tenor harmonizing above the melody and the baritone and bass harmonizing below. Anyhow, I used to sing baritone in the Sounds of Concord for a number of years, as well as in a quartet (no, we did not wear those silly vests and straw hats - though the hats might be fun), but had to stop a couple of years ago due to scheduling constraints.

The news is this - I, along with my friend Paul (who still is with SoC, and was in that quartet I sang with), are forming a new chorus in the local (Fitchburg/Leominster/Westminster, MA) area. The working name for the chorus is the "Montachusett Harmonizers" (Montachusett is a regional name, comprised of the name of the three mountains in the area: Monadnock, Watatick, and Wachusett). Eventually, we'd like this chorus to become part of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

We have the date, time and location for our first get-together/meet-and-greet/mini-rehearsal all set, as well as the first few prospective members. Still trying to nail down a location for the weekly rehearsals, but I think we're close to having that nailed down as well. I need to confirm, but I think I will be able to obtain use of a room at my church for that purpose.

Anyhow, that's the news. I will be keeping you updated as things progress.

R.I.P. George Carlin, 1937-2008

2008-06-23T13:08:00.002-04:00

One of the greats has passed on. George Carlin died last night. While I certainly didn't agree with everything he had to say, he certainly said it all in a way that most of us only wish we could. Funny and to the point, Mr. Carlin had more common sense in his little finger than all Liberal-dom (or is that Liberal-dumb), and wasn't afraid to say so.

In response to his (in)famous "Seven Things You Can't Say on TV", I was thinking I might try putting together a blog entry on the "Seven Thing You'd Wish They'd Say More Often on TV", but that may well be a entry for another time.

George Carlin is -and was - my most favorite of the politically incorrect crowd, and will be sorely missed, that's for sure...

Constant Motion

2008-06-17T23:21:00.004-04:00

Dance 3, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

So much for blogging again within a month's time! Ah well. Life's been in constant motion for a few months now, and it gets hard to keep on top of things.

Anyhow, here's yet another installment in the "catch-up" game. This photo was taken last week at the dress rehearsal for Bethanie's dance recital. She has been dancing with NECPAC (New England Christian Performing Arts Center) for a couple of years now, in the Jr. I Ballet and Jr. I Hip Hop classes. No, she is not in the photo above - out of the 30 or so photos I took, only four of them came out acceptable to me (and even decently artsy) - and they all had a ton of motion blur. Fortunately, it was the blur that really made them work! I may post another for my next blog entry (they're also on my Flickr page).

Here to trying to blog again soon, especially since I gots me some news - but it's really late and I'm tired, so I will save it for now. Hopefully it really will be less than a month from now the next time I post...

Catching Up With More Than Just Yard Work

2008-05-18T23:55:00.001-04:00

The Back Forty, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Another round of too-much-time has elapsed since when I last blogged. It has been an insane couple of months or so - especially the past 4 or 5 weeks. Without going into too much detail at the moment (leaving me will additional blog-fodder for later), here is a summary of the proceedings as of late.

Let's start with the flu bug that went through the house with a vengeance. Stupid flu shot didn't do squat this year. Grrrr. I've only in the past few days gotten over this stupid cough. Though neither Bethanie nor Patti could just have the flu; when all was said and done, they both ended up on the ever-popular Z-Pack to knock out the tail end of their health issues (I have a story about my own experience with the Z-Pack, which I will save for another time). But everyone is now better or nearly there.

Work has been a bear, as usual. On one hand, I am the only one there doing what I do. On the other hand, it's job security. Plus there is stuff in the works that, once it comes to fruition later this year, will mean I will have a few more responsibilities at work (with which - I am so hoping - will include a bit more of the 'ol green stuff).

The lawn mower was sent out for repairs three weeks ago, and only became available yesterday. Do you know how quickly a lawn can turn into a pasture? I'll give you a hint: it's less than three weeks. The photo gives you an idea of what I'll be contending with.

That's a good start on the catching up for now. I can elaborate on these, plus get you caught up on some other things, when next I blog - which will be considerably sooner than a month from now, I assure you.

Thank You, Captain Obvious!

2008-04-20T09:08:00.001-04:00

This just in: CDC: Flu season worst in 4 years; vaccine didn't work well

Ya think?!?!

Now pass me the NyQuil....

A Quick One

2008-04-14T15:48:00.002-04:00

A quick entry from the "Truly Random Thoughts" department...

If your rocket launcher fails to fire, does that mean you suffer from Projectile Dysfunction?

Yup, Still Here

2008-03-31T22:14:00.004-04:00

I'm still here, but been way too froggin' busy lately to even do a decent blog entry, but I couldn't let the entire month of March go by without posting something - even if only a couple of sentences.

Plus, I'm feeling totally crappy right now (probably the latest round of whatever the kids brought home), so this is going to be a short one.

G'nite.

Look What I Got!

2008-02-26T22:43:00.002-05:00

New Camera - My First dSLR, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I received a package today from my awesome photographer friend Carol in Austin, TX. In that package was this nifty new (for me) camera.

Carol had recently gotten a new camera, and knew that I could and would most happily provide a good home for her old camera - a Canon 300D (the original Rebel). A sweet piece of equipment indeed!

Prior to this, I have never owned - let alone used - a dSLR camera before; I had been using a Kodak EasyShare C340 (your basic point-and-shoot type) up until this time. I know I gots me some learning to do in order to use this new baby to its fullest potential, so if my photos take a temporary dip in quality (as if they could dip any lower), you'll know why - so don't you be blamin' the camera!!

Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Happy, happy, click, click!

Bar Stool Economics

2008-02-22T10:24:00.004-05:00

I've been way too busy to even blog lately (never a good thing), but as soon as I can get my head back on straight, I'll be back to it.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some wisdom I received in email today.

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everyone's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Please wait while Windows continues f***ing up your computer...

2008-02-01T10:27:00.001-05:00

Please wait while Windows continues f***ing up your computer..., originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

That pretty much sums it up.

I want a Mac and I want it NOW!!

You Couldn't Pay Me Enough!

2008-01-20T08:27:00.001-05:00

You Are What You Drink, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I saw this at the mall yesterday. Someone dressed up as an inflatable cup of coffee.

You couldn't pay me enough to don one of those stupid costumes! I prefer to drink my coffee, not wear it.

At least Victoria's Secret didn't do anything similar. They're only giving away a pair of pink panties with every $30 purchase - so says the signage anyway. I won't step foot in that place; it's waaay too pink for my liking - my eyes...they burn....

Imagine someone dressed as a pair of inflatable pink panties. On second thought - don't. Ewwwww....

"Idol"-ing Away This Evening

2008-01-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the first night of "American Idol". I rather much like the audition episodes, they are in many ways more entertaining than the show proper. And so far, this season hasn't disappointed any in the cheap entertainment department.

And now, my list of what I consider to be the highlights of the low-lights:

Alaa: Mr. "Love 'Em from the Hair to the Nipple". WTF?
The "Go Down Moses" guy: Enunciation? Just say "no"!
Nick Stano: Please leave "Unchained Melody" to the pros. Don't try this at home.
ZhengZhong: Zzzzzzzzzzz
Udgeet: Another WTF?
Alexis: Pillar of maturity that you are... not! Oh, grow up!
Milo: Looks like Peter Yarrow, sounds like Billy Crystal. 'Nuff said...
Ben: What the Flaming Hell was that? Ewwww! And what's with the waxing - dude, that is just plain not right, not to mention against the laws of nature. No self-respecting guy does that. Then again, Ben, you're clearly no self-respecting guy...
Paul the Stalker: Ahhh... Security?
Cristina: Princess Leia in hot pants, fishnet stockings, and leather boots. Mommy, I'm scared!

I daresay that's enough "entertainment" for one night. I used to like "I Love Rock and Roll"...

(Patti suggested that I should at least make mention of some of the more touching moments. Oh puh-leeze! Save it for Oprah...)

Until Chewbacca yodels again...

Snow Day Dinner

2008-01-14T21:24:00.001-05:00

Stew and Biscuit, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Today was a snow day. Not just for the kids, but for myself as well.

Our street is not exactly on the priority list of streets in Fitchburg that get attention when the time comes to plow and salt the roads. Sure, the Blazer has 4-wheel drive, but is not being used until some necessary repairs are made to prevent things from bottoming out (one of a number of much-needed repairs that all have to wait until after tax-refund time). Suffice to say, I wasn't about to attempt the 25-mile commute to work today. Fortunately I was able to work from home today.

The kids spent much of the day outside (either playing or shoveling - since my back does not allow me to man the shovel for very long), Patti spent the day resting (having come down with the same headcold-from-hell that the rest of us are just about recovered from), and I spent the day in front of the computer, (mostly) working.

Evening came, and this kind of day cried out for something simple, yet warm and filling for dinner. A quick forage in the pantry revealed a few cans of beef stew and a can of peas, and the fridge provided a couple of canisters of pre-made biscuit dough.

The biscuits were brushed with butter, and topped with Parmesan cheese and a garlic-herb blend, and placed in the oven. The stew and peas came together in a large pot, along with a little bit of allspice and some dried parsley (the fresh would have to wait until the next payday). This made for a totally awesome meal, if I do say so myself! If we had some in the house, I could see having a nice glass (or two) of Merlot with this.

It goes to show that sometimes the best things are the simple ones.

Getting "Mugged"

2008-01-08T12:29:00.001-05:00

01.04.08 Mugshot, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Yes, I've been known to get a little surly sometimes, so what of it? I'm damn proud of it!

Seriously though, this photo was taken for the latest Utata project, "Mugshots". It was a hell of a lotta fun. I have a couple of 'em posted to the project already, and I might even do one more before I'm finished.

Plus it helps that they can double as shots for the 365days project on Flickr as well...

Another One Done

2008-01-02T22:50:00.001-05:00

Purple Afghan, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Last night I finished that afghan I started in early December. I was hoping to have not only this one done by the end of December, but another one as well. That's how crazy busy it's been.

At least the next one is started - a nice light blue one for Patti this time.

Good Morning and Happy New Year

2008-01-01T09:22:00.001-05:00

1.1.08 Good Morning, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

Happy New Year, everyone!

It's been too long since I blogged last (yet again!), but nonetheless here I am, making another go of it.

I'm enjoying a nice quiet morning, while everyone else is still asleep upstairs (except for Bethanie whose internal clock also woke her up despite none of us having gone to sleep until 2am). And the cat, of course. MJ was planning on staying up the entire night and then going to bed at 6am - I wonder how he fared with that.

I'm certainly in no rush to wake anyone up - the house is really quiet and peaceful for a change.

Armed and Dangerous

2007-12-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

Armed and Dangerous, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I have a hook and know how to use it!

Picked up some nice one-pound skeins of yarn this evening, and will be getting started on a couple of afghan projects. Will keep ya informed of the progress.

Help! My System's Been "Longhorned", and Now It's Walking Funny!

2007-12-06T16:39:00.001-05:00

Help! My System's Been "Longhorned", and Now It's Walking Funny!, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

What a phenomenal piece of crap is Windows Server 2008 (a.k.a. "Longhorn")!

Apparently, it's the end-user that is on the receiving end of the long horn.

Could someone please pass the K.Y. and the Preparation-H?

I hope the next version of the Windows (Non-)Operating System is codenamed "Apology"...

More Immigration Wisdom from Theodore Roosevelt

2007-11-30T20:01:00.002-05:00

WTF, por favor, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I had been poking around on Sitemeter, which keeps track of the number of visits to my blog page, and I discovered something a little unexpected. The most often visited blog entry was one I posted just over a year ago (one year and one day, to be exact), quoting Teddy Roosevelt regarding his views on American immigration.

I (finally) decided to look this up on snopes.com to confirm that this really was one of his quotes, and was delighted to discover that it is indeed true. While poking around on snopes.com, I also came across a whole batch of quotes from Mr. Roosevelt on the subject of immigration, and while I will spare you an outright cut-and-paste of the whole thing (which is a really great read, by the way), I will most happily share a couple of the highlights.

This is from a letter written in 1919:

In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with every one else ... But this predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American.

and from a 1918 speech:

This is a nation - not a polyglot boarding house. There is not room in the country for any 50-50 American, nor can there be but one loyalty - to the Stars and Stripes.

He puts it so well. To those who desire to come to this country to make a better life for yourself and your family I would say: if you want to work hard, learn the language, and abide by the rules that are in place - indeed to become an American and not just live in America, then you should - and shall - be welcomed with open arms. If you want to just come here and sponge off the system at the expense of hardworking, tax-paying citizens; if you do not desire to adopt the language and abide by the laws of this country; if you desire to be here physically, but leave your loyalties elsewhere, then don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.