Something I Learned Today
The rtime command in Linux allows the resetting of time from a time server. I still use sudo system-config-time to set the server. This works in Red Hat based distributions anyway.
OH, and Python has a system variable called 'PYTHONPATH' and 'PYTHONHOME' that get messed up all over the place when you hop from server to server. I can still not get the Gnome menu editing program, written in Python, to work on my work PC that is Red Hat Workstation. This too shall pass.

Surfing a blank
I have been surfing, nay scouring the net seeking worthy material for your enjoyment. I have come up blank. These are the days that try geeks souls.
"news" is just plane lame. I cannot believe some of this tripe passes for print worthy. This is the time to do something stupid to make it on the news, because it is a slow news day.

So, what is going on at the Kelly Compound?
# Elle is not going to bed.
# Nat is on laundry detail.
# Dinner was delicious (thanks Nat)
# I actually caught the Simpsons tonight. It was a first season classic. I have seen it fifteen times and I still laughed.
# It rained. a lot. We didn't flood, yet.
# I got in some computer time and still came up dry for the blog.

Attack of the Killer Vines

Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers reported on Monday. Chron.com

I can so see the B movies now.

Memorial Day
I worked. ... I know Memorial Day is not about a day off, but it sucked being the only company in the building open for business. We signed in on a long sheet because there was only a skeleton crew the building today. It upset me that half the names on the list were from my company.
Every other blog on the net has some wonderful dissertation about the remembrance. All I have is a complaint. I'm not feeling too happy with that, but I'm not going to do anything about it.
Nat cooked a wonderful meal for dinner. Elle, though still not much on the letter "L" is forming more complete thoughts and sentences every day. School is wonderful for her. The first mortgage check went through. Nat is helping Elle type "good night daddy" over IM to Ted, her biological father. It is Elle's bed time. The news is on in the background. The air conditioning feels good. Nat got a miniature refrigerator for nothing today on Craig's list. Suddenly, life seems pretty good again.

Racing
Not long ago I left a blog entry that said I might join the racers who rocket past our house most nights if it were not for the grace of God. I remember hanging out with friends in parking lots after hours just for something to do. There are so few free things where young people can hang out late at night. Some cities have lowered crime rates inside the inner city by having well lit basketball courts open all night. All people want is a place to talk to their friends an flirt with the desired gender.
Last night, Saturday evening, a group of the racers gathered in the fish market place across the street from our house. Nat and I called the police because they were openly smoking pot and playing the boom-boom music too loud. Remember, this is 1:00 in the morning. When we hung out, we did not drink. We did not do drugs. We did not play music louder than we could sit in the car and listen too. We sat around and talked.
Friday evening, Nat and I came home late from a movie to find a collection of emergency vehicles near our home on 1093. We walked over after dropping off the car at home and spoke with one of the witnesses. There was a crash. A young man had died after loosing control of his car and smashing into a utility pole.
Nat and I sat on a parking lot curb and watched as people turned around. The entire street was blocked off. The police investigators ran some speed break tests where they get up to speed and slam on the breaks to test conditions of the night, like humidity, temperature, weather, road conditions and so on. The officer accelerated and then screeched to a halt two times. When the tow truck passed us, headed to some yard where cars are stored, it looked like more than one car in a pile of parts. For all I know there may have been more than one car.
Nat could feel the young man's spirit wondering. I feel for his family. I feel for his friends. I cannot help but think that could have been me if I were not held back. "Reason for all things" keeps winding through my head.
We also ran into an old friend of ours named Donny from that same CB group I spoke of earlier. He was one of the tow truck drivers on the scene. Small world. He was one of the people who just hung out.
Yesterday a crew was working on the pole the young man hit.

Pointless Ranting
I hate it when I drink a pot of coffee on a slow Sunday afternoon, have the time to blog and cannot find anything to rant about.  Below are some good targets that, though worthy of a good lashing, don't do it for me.
# William Jefferson
# People spend their lives finding the bad guys and no one seems to care.
# Hitler liked the Palestinians. Palestinians like Hitler.
# The MSM is so bias against the military and the current government (US and Britain) that when they do screw up, I don't believe it by default.
# I do not get Veteran's Day off. That is ironic considering I work for a proud Marine.
# Sony just doesn't get it. How have they remained such a prosperous company when they make catastrophic blunders like betamax and Blue-Ray? They insist on using the new IBM Cell Processor. I think that is a waist of money. The Intel chips would do just as good a job. IBM, Sony, and  Toshiba have dumped a ton of money down that hole with the intent of using it in the game machine. Basically, the IBM Cell Processor is the old tried and true 64 bit version of the PPC chip with eight separate math co-processors built in all running at 32 bit. Each co-processor/ cores has dedicated RAM, not cache, RAM. When someone sits down and writes code specifically to take advantage of this design, it will work pretty quickly on specific math. It will not make sending email go any faster, but some 3D rendering and ray-tracing will perk up. I've heard it has bandwidth trouble. An analogy is if you gave every one Ferraris, traffic jams would still not go away. This chip may suffer the same fate. It is fast. I don't think it will blow the market away like some people think. I'm glad to see the PPC chip making headway. It is a good design.
Well, that almost developed into a rant, not quite. I'm wondering, but isn't that what Sunday afternoons are for?

Good Old Tree

X-Men
And I gave it a 'warm milk' review.

Insiders are predicting that the Brett Ratner directed third episode in the X Men trilogy could do as much as $150 million over the four day Memorial Day weekend. POE news

Film Review
Mission Impossible III "eh". It was exactly what I expected. It had all the right effects. It had all the right affects. Cruse still disgusts me, but not for his acting. All in all it was just plane formula.

MSM going down the tubes
I used to like CNN because it had people on the ground all over the place and brought the news "home" so to speak. Increasingly, I feel it is a political pulpit for arch-liberal Ted Turner and his agenda. Ace of Spades tels it like I feel. With a simple twist of a quote old Ted makes the sprouting government in Iraq sound like a bunch of Iran-loving psychos. His motivation is purely to make the current president look bad because Ted's party is loosing. Ted, in my opinion, is using his media outlet to further his speech, and suppress others. Freedom of the press applies to those who own one. I feel that Ted is abusing his soap box. No more, I'm sure than I abuse mine here in this blog.
Up yours Ted.

Bullets for the day
# I'm looking for cool names for my computer at work.
# We are off to Home Depot for two stroke oil and heavy duty weed eater cord.
# It's hot outside. It finally feels like Summer.
# I got my bike back in running condition.
# Nat is still wonderful.
# Tiger is still paranoid.
# The new cat is pregnant, we think.
# The Middle East is still in armed (soon to be nuclear armed) chaos.
# I was watching some crappy movie this morning and looked very close then shouted "THAT'S MY LAWN MOWER", in my head anyway.
# I looked at my web server this morning. It is Mandrake 9.x and hasn't been updated in three years. All I've done is add files to it and feed it electricity. It works well.

Life
File a knife to make it sharp.
Mow a lawn to make it fine.
Prune a tree to make it grow.
Discipline a child to help them learn.
Make a choice.

Plunge the sword of your fathers beneath the dragon's scales.
The sword stays fast, now run while the dragons wails.
Choose life, fight, hide, run when you can.
For the dragon will not hesitate to gobble you up and move on.

Some say listen to your heart, it will not mislead you.
Others demand time to think every movement through.
Those who have faith know it is best not to ask questions.
Those who have science know there are only questions.
No one has truth.
So few wake the dragon, thrust their sword, then step, smiling to their fate.

FRIDAY!!!!!!
Today was Friday. The strangest work day. I find people are in a hurry to get other people to finish things they are supposed to have done on Fridays.

They vs He She
I'm sick of people complaining when I use they to refer to a singular nuder person. There is no singular nuder pronoun in moder English. We can thank the frigging Catholic church for that. The frigging Christians were the worst instigators of women in history. Well,, Ganges con was pretty bad, but not on the massive scale of the Catholics. (Adam, leave a comment.) I remember reading somewhere that women could hold prominent positions in ancient civilizations. Some might joke "Ya, the dead ones." Give me a break.
Didn't "The" and "Thow" or other old English words fill this gaping vernacular hole?
I give up.

American Idol
No, I did not watch it. My coworkers do. That is, they did. I'm sure they will again next season. Today I got to listen to a half hour conversation (off and on) about the show and all the people who either produce it or try out on it. Then there are the guest stars who perform along side the contestants. It is a sorted affair. I just don't get it. I'm not the target audience. Of course, I don't really watch much TV any more. I'm always on the computer or doing something around the house, that might include sleep.
I used to be afraid of not being up on the latest office target show. It was cool when it was The Simpson's. It just isn't the same when it is some goofy variety show full of amateurs.

Long Day
it has been an abnormally long day. Work was just plane hard today. I got some things done at the expense of some others. I chose which things got done today based on what I thought I could get don in the allotted time. That worked pretty well. I fear it is making me look bad on one of my tasks. I can't help it right now. I need to get some things that have been around fro a couple of weeks out. Those things on the back burner just plane needed doing. They were becoming more important.

Weed Eater
I inherited a gas weed eater. Actually, it is on loan from a buddy. I'm going to get it back in running condition and try to clear out the jungle behind the back fence soon. It was just collecting dust in a garage. It has more cobwebs than grass on it. I can't wait to try it out.
I've searched the web over and cannot find a downloadable manual. I keep running into this book, but it is not what I'm really after. I just want to know where to get an air filter and how to lube it.
I'll think of something.

Phone Co
A buddy of mine had quite an adventure with the new AT&T that is really SBC that bought AT&T and took the name. So, the company that people love to hate (SBC) bought a phone company that had a better reputation. Well there are some hiccups in the transition.
My buddy, who pays his bills online, paid his phone bill on time. Got his phone turned off. he checked online and there is a credit of like $200 or so. The phone company owes him money. He calls customer service. This is a story in itself. He has to wait until work today to make the call because he has no mobile phone. Here is a bullet list of what happened in order, at least as I remember it.
# Gets to work and after being bugged by me makes the first call to the Phone company. He gets through the "press 7 for English" hell that is phone support these days only to be on hold for an indeterminate amount of time and realizes he needs to go to the bathroom. Our hero ditches the call for the call of nature.
# He gets back to his office and goes through the whole phone support automated pain in the ass all over again. He decides to use the speaker phone feature while on hold so he can get some work done and ... wait for it .. manages to hang up the phone in the process. I have to say I didn't hear the screams of anguish from my office.
# He calls back, gets half way through the same phone dial-a-damnation list and work intervenes. He has to abort again.
Well, I think I missed one. You get the idea. It turns out SBC/AT&T screwed up when telling the banks out there how to transfer their customer's money. My buddy's bank was not on the list of infected banks, but it could happen to anybody. So, can they turn on his phone, No. he has to pay with a credit card in order to call the phone company back from his house where all his paperwork is in order to permanently straiten out the trouble (that is their fault remember).
My buddy had a really good point. In this day and age, when there is a problem with billing and you get your phone turned off, you should be able to pick up the receiver and talk to the frigging phone company long enough to get the problem resolved. That has to be doable.
This is the kind of thing that really upsets me. The customer does everything right, pays on time, and still gets their phone turned off. This is ridiculous. Well What does SBC/AT&T care, there is one less alternative in the U. S. for customers to run to if they are dissatisfied.

House
Ken and Heath came over and fixed the window. Nat and I now have a sealed house. Well, as sealed as they come anyway. i would say they helped me fix the window, but I held a board still here or there. Double huge thinks guys. We even have the solar screens up bullet hole and all.
Nat informs me that I left the stickers on the windows when I put up the screens. What the heck, they pop right off again.

Tools
I got a lecture on tools. I bought a crappy weed-eater. Ken was showing me the things to look for in a good weed-eater, none of which apply to mine. He showed me the ones that come with these plastic sticks that look like they would take down small trees. I  was fantasizing in the store walking back and forth in the field next to the compound clearing the weeds with the stroke of a hand. It was all I could do to hold in the mad-scientist-cackle right in the weed-eater isle of Home Depot. I'm really starting to hate that place.

Party
We are a little bit closer to that house party. I'm sure everyone will be invited. It is going to have to be a while yet. There is a lot of work left to do. Unpacking alone is going to break my back.

Land
The feral land next to our property is over grown. It has not been taken care of in quite a while. Nat and are already making plans on getting the people who own the land to come clean it up or even heiring people ourselves and putting a lean against the property. We could put a single animal over there in a fence and claim it as a farm. If I play my cards right i can get the government to pay me to not plant corn.

Elevator Talk
I was in the elevator at my work the other day and listened to some of my coworkers talk. They play this game called Eve Online. I've listened to several conversations they have about the game. It is a corporate universe with spaceships and star gates and what-not. Trade is currency. There are pirates and classes you have to take.
The other day I listened to one of their conversations for a couple of minutes before it dawned on me they were talking about work instead of the game. It is all a bunch of broken conversation taped together with buzzwords like "class device", "level 2 ...", "fiber channel", "nano physics", "... engineering" and an endless stream of meaningless acronyms.
I have to wait to hear a specific name of something that gives it away. Our work has a bunch of names that are goo tells. The game talk is given away by things like "galaxy", "pirates" and "canon". At least, I think that is the game talk. It sure would be funny if I had it backwards.

What I Learned Today
Glass of wine + 2 benigryl = bed

Clash of Cultures
I really am starting to wonder if there are limits to the idea of freedom. There are men who will want to rule regardless of the consequence. They will stop only when they are stopped. It is going to take as much devotion to the idea of freedom as they have for dominance.

I know that sounds harsh to libertarian ears, but should we really accept Islam as we do Jefferson and Thomas Paine? The Netherlands has become a battlefield where some candidates have to live under protective cover for criticizing Islam. Theo Van Gogh was murdered brutally by an Islamist. To the People

It is not just Islamists. There are as many threats from within our own system. I would warn this blogger not to develop target focus on this subject.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Oh, and the willingness to kick any and all asses that get in the way of that freedom. Freedom is for the those who are willing to defend it.

First time
I am about to write the check for my first mortgage payment. It is for more money than I've written in a long time. I have to write it every month now. That and the other expenses are close to too much. Nat and I have to budget more tightly than ever.
...
Ouch. I cannot find the envelopes. I'll have to mail it off tomorrow from work.

Yard
Nat and i worked in the yard some more today. I got all pissed off because I had gotten up in the morning and hit the yard with the weed-eater. I mean, I went to town with the weed-eater. I cleared the side of the house next to the lot. I went all around the normal parts of the house. I even tackled part of the jungle behind our house. It is amazing how fast you run out of gas using an electric weed-eater. I nearly went through a whole spool of line. What upset me was, I was done. I had it with the yard. Nat went and got a shovel and asked me to move some stupid bushes. I went back out and stomped around mumbled and griped the whole time. It was childish.
The bushes have been moved. I have no idea if they will survive. I put them over on the side of the driveway in an attempt to keep people from walking so close to the fence. While weed-eating, I noticed just how much trash has collected in that tall grass. It makes me sick. I'm not sure what to do, but I'll think of something.

Garage Sale
My parents do garage sales all the time. Today was a banner day. I wish I could do the story justice. My dad got a bunch of tools and an oak table and chairs for many times less than they were worth. he also ended up with a nice router table and mom got great stuff too. I'm not sure they want their findings published. I'm leaving out the numbers. Trust me, it was a good haul.

blog
I notice my blog entries have no title when viewed with an aggregator because I do my own titling. I just bold the text. I have no idea what to do about it. I don't like the idea of titling the whole entry. I talk about too many diverse stuff in each entry. I've tried to avoid having these all-over-the-place entries, but here we are. I hate it when other logs do that. I've stopped reading a couple because they are just boring and I cannot tell the good entries from the bad and I do not want to read them all. At least, not any more.
I'll think of something.

Over the Hedge
Nat and I went to see "Over the Hedge" this evening. It was hilarious if you are in to that sort of thing. It was a bit too formula for me, but it pulled it off anyway. It makes a pretty good whim movie. There is nothing like a squirrel on caffeine. The movie was particularly apt for Nat and I because we just became part of suburbia. The fences in the movie must have been made by the same people who made the crappy ones at our house. They just give way without even holding back a playful Rottweiler.

More on lawn mowing
After we got back from the movie, Nat and I walked around the compound. Nat watered the front lawn. I walked down the side of our house looking at how we might plant thorny bushes all along the fence to prevent people from walking right next to it. I've thought about extending the fence or something along those lines. If I let the grass grow up next to the fence it will come through and invade just like it has along the back fence. I need to keep it mowed, and still keep people from walking along it.
I'll think of something.

Ear Infection
I have some kind of ear infection going on. A month ago my left ear hurt. I lost balance and all the normal stuff. This month it is my right ear. Both times it got worse after I tried using ear drops. This is as bad as it has gotten in years. I bet it has to do with leaving the windows open without power for a couple of weeks. That or the cold showers. That or the stress. God knows. I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas. (kidding) I'm tossing the drops in case there is actually something wrong with them.  I have some other drops that I'm going to try. Right now the balance is not too bad.

Racers
As I type here late at night in front of my computer screen, I hear, in the not so far distance the young men racing their loud cars that make them feel more like something they are not. The kick in the pants, the rush of danger. The domination of the car, road other drivers. What is the allure. If I were not blind, I would be out there among them. I would make the noise, feel the rush of danger, try to dominate the world.
I have thought for years that maybe God had a reason for making me the way I am. Perhaps to keep me off the streets. Perhaps to keep me in line. Perhaps to make me slow down and think every now and then. Perhaps to make me avoid fighting. I've had nightmares of being condemned to prison for killing someone in a fight. I wonder if there is an alternate universe where I rot behind bars.

It sounds better than mowing
Man build 90-ton scale model of cruise ship in back yard.

I just mowed our front yard for the first time. It really is different when it is your yard. I understand why I hated it so much growing up. Brand new lawn mower. 4.5 horsepower no frills model. It is not self propelled. It is light and mowed the entire front yard with less than half a gallon of gas. I ran out of gas and didn't weed-eat or go over the back yard. Baby steps. I just plane need to get in better shape. This will help.
Nat's mom is over. We are about to run her back up to Conroe where she lives. There are so many cool things happening. I wish I was in to all this stuff. I've always liked calling maintenance. I've already learned a lot.
Elle and mom are watching Scooby Doo cartoons. Elle watches those cartoons religiously every ten minutes if allowed. I'm sick of them myself.  Elle turned the light off on mom earlier this morning. I had to pick her up and explain that we have to be nice to her and let her have the bathroom for herself. When she walked straight back into the bathroom and started to throw a fit, I picked her up and took her to the living room where I explained it again. This time I threatened a time-out.  That had results. I need to find out what the school does for time-outs because whatever it is, it works.
I'm watching some really horrible Steven Seagal movie. It is the same plot as all the other. Daughter held for ransom. Boyfriend killed. Dark skinned people keep getting their butts kicked by the lead protagonist. These flicks make me ill. How many different movies did this guy make?
Nat ran off to Wal-Mart to get a 2 gallon gas can and some odds and ends. I'm worried about both the odds and ends. Those things add up. We have enough "crap" lying around the house already. She wouldn't tell me what the surprise was. I'm on pins and needles. Oh, those go in the back room.
I'm off to take a well deserved shower.

Chicken Little

One day the 1st grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part where Chicken Little warns the farmer and said "The sky is falling!" The teacher then asked "and what do you think that the farmer said?" One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said, 'Holy Sh*t! A talking chicken!' " Winds of Change

Work Day
Something happened today at work and I smacked my head like they did in the old V-8 commercials. It made this nice smack sound and the two guys who were helping me were both impressed. They tried to make the same sound against their foreheads, but it just didn't have the same "umph" as mine. HA!!! Foolish haired mortals. Do not trifle with the great bald one. MWAAA-AA-AAAAH!!

Better than Yesterday
Chris, a friend of Nat's, came over and fixed the washer. God bless him.
The only real pending thing we have at the moment are the boards over the window in the back of the house. I'm going to attempt to get one of my friends over here this week to help guide me through fixing it. I don't care if the color is off. It is on the back of the house after all.
The weather lately has been beautiful. I wish it would last. I know it is going to be a hard Summer. I knew a girl in high school named Summer. They called her frigid Summer. Assholes.
One really amazing thing about this house is the sunsets. We have a great view of the West out our back windows. I can't wait until we get some kind of deck up so we can sit out there and watch the sun set. They are particularly amazing after a storm. I think that natural area to our North West causes some kind of strange air flow that in turn causes some really nifty sunsets. I plan on taking pictures as the mood hits.
Lets see, what did I learn today? I learned some proprietary stuff about our system. That doesn't count because it only applies to our work. Hmmm. I learned that the birds in our parking garage at work are letting me get closer as the days go by. They live on a ledge inside the roof on the top floor. They are pidgins or something. I'm not sure. I try to both socialize with coworkers in the lunch room and take a walk around the parking garage to get out. That is more of an observation that learning something. Learning to me means something you can apply to multiple situations. I like to think I learn something every day. So, off to the internet to learn something.
...
I learned that sometimes, the timing of stories is everything. observe the two following consecutive stories from Slashdot. Read them in order.

Fly-by-Wireless Plane Takes to the Sky galactic_grub writes to tell us that engineers in Portugal have built and flown a plane with no wires or mechanical connections between the major systems, only a wireless network. From the article: "Tests flights carried out in Portugal have shown that the system works well. Cristina Santos, at Minho University in Portugal, who developed the plane, says the aim is primarily to reduce weight and power requirements. 'Also, if you do not have the cables then the system is much more flexible to changes,' she says." slashdot

The next article.

Wireless Security Attacks and Defenses "IT-Observer is running a comprehensive overview of wireless attacks and defenses. From the article: 'Wireless technology can provide numerous benefits in the business world. By deploying wireless networks, customers, partners, and employees are given the freedom of mobility from within and from outside of the organization. This can help businesses to increase productivity and effectiveness, lower costs and increase scalability, improve relationships with business partners, and attract new customers.'" slashdot

This is just enough to send the hackles up on the back of my neck. I picture someone aiming one of those cellphone jamers at my plane and spiraling into the ground. I guess that is just me.

Open Source Snag
There is one thing I'm figuring out about open source software. I work in Linux every day. It is an ope source operating system. That means if you want to know some real nittie-gritty fact about the very bowls of the kernel, you can, with the right skill, go look it up. That sounds like a great thing. If you are a software developer you can dig and dig and figure out how to get some of the most amazing things done without dragging others into your web. This has some bad sides. Foe example, let's say you are on a development team. You have to tie into someone else software to get your project to work. If they are open source you may or may not  call them up. You will download their source and documentation and try to figure things out for yourself, just because that is how the real geeks do it. If they are closed source, you are forced to talk to them. You are forced to ask them very nicely and possibly pay them to put a feature in their software to help your project.
Closed source has a lot of down sides, but the one side is that it forces communication between projects. I'm noticing the lack of said communication on the net. Now that so many standards are out there programmers are not talking to each other.
It is sad.

News
Wow, there is some scary stuff happening in the news. Iran is closer every minute to having nukes. Terrorists are flocking across the Mexico U. S. border. I'm hearing rumors that the next 9/11 type attack will be several small attacks all over the world of differing intensities. The Feds are listening to the phones at the ABC. The press does get so bent out of shape about these things. Dogs and cats living together, ANARCHY!!!
It is all a bit intense. I so would love to blog about it all. I have a house to unpack. Today something new popped up. The washing machine has a leak somewhere. I don't know where. It does make me think "what next?" but what are you supposed to do? You deal with what is in front of you and you go to the next thing.
Nat is off taking a friend of ours home after a visit. Elle is in bed. I'm going through the latest movies. The cat is puking in the corner. All is as it should be.
Then there is work. I got three things done today and had to turn around and undo all three because there was something wrong all three times. It was not a good day at work for Kelly. It is strange. I didn't leave until I had things working to the best that I could get it. Every day is a good day to learn.
Friends are great. Not that they are doing well, that I have them and they are doing great by me. I must remember to be a better friend to those around me.

Goddamn mini-blinds.

New Firebox
The next version of Firefox is in Alpha 2. That mens little to most people. It is a good hint of what is coming down the road. I skimmed over the new feature list and I give it a preliminary ratting of "yawn". No offense, but there just is no real innovation that I noticed. Just the same old stuff with a new coat of paint.
Let me know what you think.

Good Times
Finally, some good times. I got a wild hair and decided to put up the blinds that Nat bought at Home Depot. I fucked with it for an hour or so and got all mad and depressed and yelled a lot. You know, there is nothing supporting the sheet rock. I drilled and mounted the chicken-shit screws that came with the set. They just pulled out of the wall and left holes. That was not pleasant. I walked up to Home Depot (Nat offered to drive, but I was beyond pissed and needed the walk) and got a box of bigger screws. They did not do any better. I got all depressed and laid on the floor in our room. I was well in to my "I hate this house" mode when Ken shows up at my door. He is in a chipper mood. I never did get the pancakes, but that is another blog entry. Anyway, Ken gets me in a much better mood and he helped (actually he ended up pretty much doing it) put up the blinds. It turns out that they built my house with metal framing around the windows. That is why the screws I got would not work. I needed some mounts. Thus, the second trip to Home Depot. I'm really starting to dislike that place. I have to tell you, the house looks so much better with some of the blinds up. I will get plenty of opportunity to do it myself because we only had four out of like eight blinds so far.
I'm making plans for about five sets of the metal shelves in the garage for all the left over parts from the blinds etc. I'm thinking we will higher someone to do the lawn for a while. I may or may not get in the mood to do it myself. Nat seems to enjoy the yard. The fence needs work. Didn't I already complain about this stuff?
We went back to Ken and Jen's place for dinner. She makes a killer lasagna. We swam and played with Jackson "J" for a while. We had a blast. We talked about old times and plans for the house. Ken has offered to help me replace the Hardy plank around the window in back. Goodness knows I need it.
The pictures should be back up now. The server is back in operation in the new location.  Have a look.

Day
What a long day. Work was nuts. Home is nuts. We have yet to unpack. Every one keeps wondering when we are going to have a frigging party. How about an unpacking party. Show up and help build some shelves or something constructive. The pictures should be back up. The computer situation seems to be back on line. We need window coverings. The stupid drapes we got with the house (that we fought to get) suck.
We ended up replacing both windows that the bullet hole was in. There is no wood covering the insulation, so I look forward to it rotting out and us having to replace the entire wall at some point.
The fence is falling down. The back yard is as lumpy as the surface of the moon. Behind our house is the only piece of ground that is now mowed bye the company that sits behind us. We are surrounded on two sides by jungle. I need to get some herbicide.
The siding on this house is about to just fall off. It is like they were running out of nails or something.
I hear people talk about their houses and it seems they are all like this. What happened? I'll tell you what happened. Illegal foreign workers come over here and build shitty houses that they know they will never be able to afford for asshole Americans who they hate foe taking the trouble of giving them an illegal job in the first place.
But, I'm not bitter.
No party. Stop asking. The place will not be presentable for about a year, and that is if Nat and I get off our butts.
I'm going to go take my first hot shower in nearly three weeks. So, toodle ... ooo ...

Day

Sorry for the screwy looking posts. This is what happens when you publish from email. It is a beautiful day outside. I wish I had time to enjoy it. I was looking out the window yesterday and made note, rather loudly, how it looked like the window was dirt. It was the smog. A storm blew through yesterday and took most of the Houston smog up to the Tropics area. Those storms that are just strong enough to blow the smog away are nice. I would love to sit out in a lawn chair this evening and jut vegetate while watching the sun set from my back yard. Anyway, the view from my window on the sixth floor is much prettier today. We got the shot window fixed. Nat's brother put in some lovely, but wrong color, windows. We had to go with silver because we would have had to order windows otherwise. The dryer is hooked up. Still no hot water, but the gas company is coming out tomorrow. Hopefully one more cold shower for Kelly. The DSL is down. I cannot get home in time to call the shit-heads ... Excuse me, I mean support shit-heads to get it fixed.

More later.

Word of the Day

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cruft

cruft

/kruhft/ [very common; back-formation from crufty] 1. n.
An unpleasant substance. The dust that gathers under your bed is
cruft; the TMRC Dictionary correctly noted that attacking it with a
broom only produces more. 2. n. The results of shoddy construction.
3. vt. [from `hand cruft', pun on `hand craft'] To write assembler
code for something normally (and better) done by a compiler (see
hand-hacking). 4. n. Excess; superfluous junk; used esp. of
redundant or superseded code. 5. [University of Wisconsin] n. Cruft
is to hackers as gaggle is to geese; that is, at UW one properly
says "a cruft of hackers".

House
I have to say, I am really starting to regret buying a house. This is much harder than it should be.

# Trash company
Called the number on the side of the trash can and got service. It kind of reminded me of the the Night of the Living Dead II movie. I wish it was all this easy.
# Phone company
I call the phone company. They do a great job of switching my number over to the new address and then send me to a thing called "Mover's advantage" where I can switch over my electricity. As it happens, this was a bad idea. See below.
# Electric company
Well, smart me decides to change electric companies to save a few bucks. I've had some friends recommend TXU energy. I'll give them a try. That is not such a bad idea. When I called the phone company they transferred me to a place that tried to set up the account. This guy just hit me as a dip-shit. I cannot even blame it on outsourcing because it was some guy in Illinois.
This was Friday a week ago. I thought everything was set up. This Friday, yesterday, the power gets shut off. We call and call and call and no one will have the power set up until Tuesday. We are living in the goddamn house with no electricity. I wish I could burn it down.
# Gas company
I cannot tell if the gas is on or off. Without electricity, nothing gas works. They didn't require much to get star ted at least.
# Water Company (MUD)
They need a signature. No one else needs a fucking signature. They just want your money. We have a fax machine now thanks to Nat finding one at a garage sale, but NO ELECTRICITY to run it.

It isn't the living without electricity. It isn't the messed up paperwork. It is the fact that it feels like every one is out to get me the minute I decided I wanted to buy a house..I'm on the defensive. I have to prove to people that I won't steel their money for the loan. I have to sign my life away for 30 years. I have to higher someone to be on my side in the whole mess. I'm pissed. I'm depressed. I'm not going to be happy again until the loan is paid off in 30 years.
This has nearly broken Nat and I up. I regret starting it.

House

Sorry for the lack of posts. It is all the house's fault. Gas company, Phone company, water company, trash company, plumbers, electricians, home owner's association, and God knows who else all want their pound of flesh. I heard years ago that home ownership drives a huge chunk of the U. S. economy. I frigging believe it. My DSL is down. I have no clue when it will be back up. I'm sure I'll have more rants in the days to come.