I am building a fireplace. Finally, the last thing in the house that needs completed ( haha, houses are never completed ) is the fireplace. I am using my extensive masonry skills to build a stone fireplace. From a fallen red oak tree I had cut a piece for the mantle. I'll post more when finished.
SEPTA, or South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority has gone on strike. Despite the fact that they are currently running a $55 million defecit, and that those in Harrisburg are trying to bail them out by raising taxes and automotive fees, the greedy union pigs aren't happy.
"For almost two years, we haven't had a wage increase. We haven't had a disability increase in 13 years. We haven't had a pension increase in almost four years," SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.
I haven't had a wage increase either, I havn't had a disability increase, I haven't had a pension increase either. Wait, I don't get a cushy pension. I have to pay for my retirement out of my pocket.
I don't feel bad. All I heard from the legislature lately is that we have to bail out SEPTA and give them more state funds. But if they are losing so much money, require state aid, AND STILL GO ON STRIKE? I say fire every single one of those picketers.
The Chevy Cavalier was finally dying. Well, they suck to begin with, but this one was leaking gas, the turn signals didn't work. It was dying.
We went this weekend, and bought our new car. It's a Honda Civic LX. Blue Metallic Pearl.
Beautiful heh?
George Takei, the actor who played Helsman Sulu on Star Trek has recently come out of the closet. Not that I can say it's a complete suprise.
I told you earlier about how I always neglect to get my Book Of The Month Club forms back in time and they are always sending me books that I don't want, and I then have to return.
Well yesterday I got a typewritten postcard in the mail stating that I will no longer have to send my cards back, and that my account is now set up that if I want the monthly selection, I will have to mail the card and say I want the book.
To me, that always makes more sense than the countless and pointless books they choose for you, and send you. As I said earlier, there is a November selection, and a Thanksgiving selection, a December selection, and a Christmas selection. There are so many selections, you can't keep track of them all.
Thank God they finally caught on to my disgust.
Frank and SarahK are trying to survive Wilma, and I hope all is well.
Not that Pennsylvania gets hurricanes, but we do get some nasty weather. Just this past winter we had an ice storm, and lost power for 4 days. Lucky it was in the upper 20s, or we would have had damage. Also lucky is that most of our heat for our house comes from our wood burning stove.
But to be sure, we recently bought a generator. It's a 5,500 watt generator, very similar to this one.
After doing some basic 220 wiring, adding a 30 amp breaker and breaking the engine in, we did a 30 minute test of the generator. Throwing the main outside breaker, connecting the wires, and throwing the switch, we ran on generator only power for 30 minutes.
Let the ice fall!!
This site says my thoughts exactly.
Comcast just doesn't get it. After deciding to spend $65 million to put the NHL on OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network), you think it would hit the streets begging for customers. Tell the truth. How many of you watched OLN, much less knew where it was on your remote?Instead, the country's largest cable provider decided to black out the NHL games on regional systems and the Dish Network where it didn't think OLN was getting the proper exposure. Comcast wants these systems and Dish to take OLN off packages that require an extra fee and make it available to more potential viewers.
That's admirable to a point except a contract is a contract, and Comcast is accused of violating it by suddenly demanding that OLN must be seen by at least 40 percent of a system's total subscribers. Or no hockey.
Comcast deserves a smack in the face.
Comcast is the largest cable company in America. They are also the most arrogant. Their Philly area Comcast sportsnet is only covered via their cable system. People who have Dish Network or Direct Tv cannot get it, despite the fact that most every other market that has a cable sports channel like Fox Sports Pittsburgh, can be seen on a dish.
Now Comcast owned OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is playing hardball with Dish Network, and has
For some fans of the NHL who expected to watch this season's games on Comcast Corp.'s OLN, last season's lockout continues.That's because OLN is engaged in a gloves-off brawl with two of its distributors.
One is Cablevision, the Long Island-based cable network that provides OLN to 22,000 of its 3 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The other is Dish Network, which provides OLN to 3.3 million of its 11 million subscribers nationwide, many of them in the Philadelphia area.
The two distributors have declined to abide by OLN's new requirement that at least 40 percent of their subscribers receive OLN. For both companies, that would mean moving the network to a less-expensive package of programming.
But that is not all, according to an e-mail I received from Dish, it is also that not only do they want Dish to moce OLN to a cheaper package, but also to charge more for carrying OLN. That would mean we would get OLN on a cheaper package, but it would cost us more.
Thank you for being a valued DISH Network customer. OLN, which is owned by the nation’s largest cable TV company, Comcast, has made unreasonable demands that would force millions of DISH Network customers to pay more for this channel. We regret the inconvenience, but are committed to keeping our prices the lowest possible and will not allow our customers to be bullied.DISH Network does offer other channels that provide similar programming, including the Men’s Channel and The Outdoor Channel. If you are a hockey fan, you can view your local channels for in-market games, or subscribe to DISH Network’s NHL Center Ice Package, which offers a variety of hockey games much broader than those offered on OLN. Visit "http://www.dishnetwork.com/"www.dishnetwork.com for more information
But I am screwed. Even if I subscribed to NHL center ICE. I would not get Comcast's coverage of Flyers Hockey because Comcast will not and apparently will never sell their Comcast Sportsnet feed to people who have satelite dish.
Screw Comcast.
Well the short awaited video game adaptation of the video game Doom is out. Appropriately named, Doom. This movie I'm sure would be the doom of a relationship if you took a date there. The reviews suck, and this one is my favorite.
"Easily the best videogame-to-film adaptation yet."
-- Chris Carle, IGN FILMFORCE
I'm sure it's much better than those earlier videogame-to-film adaptations of such classics as Pong, Frogger, and Ladybug.
I'm waiting with eager anticipation for the 2006 release of the flim adaptation of Tetris.
The brewer who makes such tasty grody beers as Budweiser, Bud Light, and Bush is shocked to discover that a game they promote, Bud Pong, is being played with beer instead of water.
T. LOUIS (AP) — Anheuser-Busch (BUD) will discontinue a national promotion called "Bud Pong," a drinking game the company says is supposed to be played with water. However, participants in the game — played with a ping pong ball and plastic cups — often were drinking beer as they lost points, according to a front-page story Sunday in The New York Times.The No. 1 U.S. brewer has been promoting Bud Pong competitions since July, supplying tables, balls and glasses to wholesalers across the United States.
Players on one team try to sink a ball into another team's liquid-filled cups. If successful, the opposing team must drink.
Anheuser-Busch says the game's instructions called for water to be consumed during play, not beer, which is the company's main product.
"It has come to our attention that despite our explicit guidelines, there may have been instances where this promotion was not carried out in the manner it was intended," Anheuser-Busch spokeswoman Francine Katz said in a statement Tuesday.
All I can say is "WOW".
Yes, Ann Arbor is a whore.
Why the fuck why would the refs give Michigan two extra seconds. Those two extra seconds won them the game.
Ann Arbor is a whore, and Michigan sucks.
He's gained a pound in a week. Being that he was 1 1/2 pounds when born, he now weighs 2 1/2.
I'm starting to get sick of all this Bird Flu shit. I'm not going to worry. Worrying about the bird flu is like chewing bubble gum to solve an algebra equation.
But in tribute to the doomsdayers, I've written a poem.
The flu will get you.
You will sick for a while
But death is a lot longer.
You do that forever.
Forever.
At least until the Sun burns out and there is nothing left.
Eternal dreamless sleep.
Today, in the rain, my wife and I went mushroom hunting. It is mid October and though the summer was dry, it is Mitake season. Around here we refer to the Mitake as Ram's Heads, but they also go by common names of Hen of the Woods, and Chicken of the woods.
I'd never had one, but people practically kill for these shrooms. They are somewhat rare, and to purchase them would cost a pretty penny ideed. They are pretty easy to find if you know what you're looking for. They seem to grow aound or on dead or dying oak trees. They are also enourmous, getting as big as 50 or 60 pounds. We found our smallish 2 pound mushroom, cleaned it, dipped it in egg wash and breading and fried it in some canola oil. Oh my God. It was perhaps one of the best things I've ever tasted.
Read more about it here.
Here is my take on the Meiers nomination, and it parallells closely the writings of David Frum over at NRO.
He writes
1) Hewitt foresees all kinds of Republican political opportunities in 2006. He's deluding himself. 2006 will be a high-intensity, high-turnout year for Democrats, as was 2004. The only way Republicans avoid disaster is by doing an even better job with turnout and intensity. And how intense are you feeling right now? The right nomination could have helped save Rick Santorum and Mike DeWine. This nomination could well demoralize the Republican voting base enough - in conjunction with immigration, over-spending, and the mishandling of Katrina, plus continuing trouble in Iraq - to cost at least two Senate seats.
I am a conservative, but I am really unhappy with Bush. His handling of the war on terror since bumbling the rebuilding of Iraq, utter failure to stop spending. I thought Democrats spent a lot. This President is setting records.
And now this nomination. It stinks of cronyism, and just weeks after FEMA director who was unqualified (but got the job because of being frindly with President Bush) and had to step down because of being horrible at his job.
I AM demoralized, and as one of the fighters in the trenches of conservatism, this nomination is a spit in the face by Bush. He may have just killed the conservative movement.
Do you know how alarm clocks have snooze buttons so you can snooze another 10 minutes after your alarm goes off? Well, I think you should have a "nap" button. Say you are a little tired, you want to take a nap for 30 minutes. You push the nap button on your alarm clock, and in 30 minutes the alarm goes off. That way if you want to take a nap, you don't have to set your alarm, just simply press a button.
Maybe for every time you press the button it equals 15 minutes, all the way up to 2 hours, so if you want an hour nap, you press the button 4 times, etc.
It's October, and instead of cold crisp nights, blustery cool days, we have what feels like June. It is very warm up here in Northeast Pennsylvania. The past two weeks have been in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Usually this time of year I'm wearing jeans, sweatshirts and hockey jerseys, and all I can think of this year is "Is there a neighbor that hasn't closed their pool yet?"
The thing that sucks is that when the weather does break, it's going to break quick, and I'll be in shock. Shock!!
Yesterday while swiching from an FM station to an Am station (to hear the Penn State Nittanly Lions kick the asses of the Golden Gophers) I heard the button snap. I managed to get it back on FM, but I can't swich back anymore. So I guess while driving I won't be able to listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.
I know at least my wife will be happy.
