I just watched the first trailer of the upcoming 007 movie “Quantum of Solace”
It is going to be hard to wait till Nov. 7…
Till then…
White noise, pink noise, brown noise
What’s the difference if the baby is not soothed by any of those annoying sounds?
Bis repetita placent?
Bis repetita placent: The things that please are those that are asked for again and again. (Horace)
In the 70s, the United States, like the rest of the world was rocked by the oil crisis. Detroit was hit hard and the big 3 automakers had to make some serious and drastic changes because the Japanese were manufacturing cheaper and reliable cars that provided better gas mileage than what the Americans could offer.
Just as American carmakers kinda sorta got it right, oil became cheap and plentiful. And what was the response? The SUV. Gas guzzlers getting 7 to 9 mpg but who really cared, since gas was around $1 a gallon?
These days, the price of oil is through the roof. Automakers are talking about getting rid of the SUV, the trucks and anything that is politically incorrect these days. Voices are also getting louder to allow drilling in Alaska and other protected areas. If for any chance, oil companies are allowed to tap those reserves, will people be responsible enough to keep the effort to find better ways to build cars with better gas mileage or will we go back to the era of the almighty monster SUVs?
To be continued…
Till then…
Shitberry
I had a Motorola PEBL for 23 months and it was working quite fine. After 2 years, the battery was not holding its charge properly and I was up to the point that I had to charge it twice a day instead of every 2-3 days.
At the same time, it seemed everyone around me was updating their phones to smartphones and I was the only one being left behind. The two other techs at work had chosen the BlackBerry Pearl and since I had already tried my wife’s I absolutely did not like the keyboard and all the guessing and trial and error associated with the 2-letter keyboard. I have been a Palm user for the longest time, but I’ve also been a happy and loyal T-Mobile user for even a longer time, so the idea of leaving my provider to go somewhere else just to use their phone did not appeal to me. So when T-Mobile had the BlackBerry Curve on sale, I decided it was time to jump the bandwagon and become a BB addict.
Of course, I didn’t have to wait too long to have the phone be an exension of my hand. Being able to use all my I’m programs, to have my phone book and my calendar in the same devicen what a dream! A 2MP camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth 2.0 and stereo headphones? Almost had some regrets getting an iPod…
And then, the Internet…
At first, it was a timid visit to CNN.com and I was a little surprised to see photos. So then I tried another site. And it was a little slow and pretty bare, but yes, I was able to surf the Net without a PC or laptop. So the next logical step was to check my blogs. The first one looks pretty funky with the graphics flying everywheren but I was indeed able to read my words and visit my friends’ places. And I finally tried here and it was looking so gooood! I was able to see what I had posted the night before and also check my friend here too. Very cool.
Things took another turn when I was somewhere, bored out of my mind and figured I could podt an entry via my phone. That’s in theory. The reality is that I have not been able to post anything. I would get a blank page without any other indication. Or I would get a page with “reading script” and nothing else but the hourglass. And the day that I finally got the desired window and talked about being up at 3 in the morning, I could not send my text. Pretty frustrating…
I started this a while ago but waited to get home so I could download it from my phone to post it in WordPress. I still love my phone, but I wish I could get over whatever the blockage is right now. I guess I am going to have to RTFM and get T-Mobile on the phone…
Till then…
And finally, the whack…
NEVER in my 44 years have I been able to enjoy something good in my life without getting whacked shortly thereafter. And after 6 months of worrying about my son and thinking that he made it and he’s out of the woods, we had to get that letter today… He’ll be ok, but will have to be under surveillance all his life.
Karma. Ain’t she a bitch?
Till then…
Gourmet Diner
I’ve had this title in my head for almost a week now but I didn’t have the time or the drive to write so this might be a tremendous hodgepodge.
Actually, Gourmet Diner was a diner just across the street from where I used to live in North Miami. A diner it was but certainly not gourmet, except maybe for the prices. And it kept coming back to me as my FIL was dying to go to Red Lobster for dinner. It seems the guy would see the ads on TV back home and he’d be salivating worse than Pavlov’s mongrel. His last dinner there was, incidentally, with us when he and his wife were here for her cancer treatment. To the wife and I, there is nothing great about Red Lobster and it seems they all have the same pee smell.
The one thing that I did not understand was that this guy did not seem to realize his craving, albeit legit, should have either remained a craving or should not have kinda forced us to go out since his grandson was just a week old. Once again, the SU, instead of saying something when she should have, just kept her mouth shut and so for the subsequent 2 hours, we tried to give the image of a happy family celebrating when in fact I was pissed to be there and pissed to impose that on my son. Thankfully, he slept through the whole dinner which really amazes me. (He’s 10 days now and sleeps mostly through the night and apart waking up because he needs his diaper to be changed or because he’s hungry, he’s pretty quiet.) FIL had his fancy dinner and I guess we won’t be hearing about Red Lobster for a long time now.
Now, it had been my understanding that since the MIL had decided she had nothing to do here and her conference was way more important than the health and well-being of her daughter and grandson, the FIL was coming to help. The guy came for a holiday and rest. During the 10 days he spent here, he cooked lunch once, kinda fixed breakfast a few days and held his grandson once and that’s because we forced him to do so so we could take at least a photo of him with the child. It absolutely got me upset to see how I would be at work all day, to come home and hear the SU complain about how her back would hurt or how tired she would be and find the guy napping at 5pm.
One of the other great lies these people tell is that they did not come here to shop. “I ent here to shop!” is a thing I’ve heard over and over again. And you know what? They DO end up going to the mall and shopping. I wouldn’t care at all if they would change their minds and just go shopping, but where it irks me is when I end up playing the taxi man. And yes, it happen 3 times during this trip. And again, the wife kept her big mouth shut all 3 times. In front of him. Because behind his back, she would indeed be/sound upset.
I guess the last straw was Sunday. I had to wake up at friggin’ 6am so I could drop this guy at the airport. 6am on a Sunday morning. For what? Just to be nice to the FIL when he did not kept his part of the bargain. Having to carry his overstuffed suitcase down the stairs and into the trunk of my car so he could be at the airport “on time”. He did get there in time, ok, but the plane had mechanical problems and at 12 something, he called from the airport to let us know he was still in Miami and not in the plane headed south.
I had already blown a gasket. It was over something absolutely silly and it also involved my daughter. I guess I was tired, still very upset about the whole situation and the nasty taste in my mouth after being used that way and not getting any of the support I was expecting from the wife. It was unfortunate but the tension had built up too much and I knew it was not going to be pretty when it was going to explode and the only regret I have is that my daughter had to hear and see that. I did apologize to her and told her how much I love her and reassured her I was not going to live in another house. With the wife, well that’s another story and she has been waiting for an apology but it is not coming. Not for this, not for what I had to endure and certainly not for getting the support I needed.
I am tired, very tired and I have a week off. Today was my first day off and I was quite miserable. The slow pace at home, not being able to check any tickets or e-mail. In fact, I could if I want to and the big $64,000 question is how long till I log in remotely to perform my checks. I even have my work phone on, “just in case”…
My Mother finally decided on a date to come visit us. She’ll be here in about 45 days for 3 weeks and I really can’t wait. The wife will be back at work part-time only but at least she will be able to leave the baby home while my Mother is here. And Mom made sure she made her reservations so she can be here for my daughter’s birthday.
And to end on a happier note, my daughter started ballet classes today. She had visited the school 2 years ago and did not like it. This time around, she loved it and had lots of fun. She now needs to get her ballerina shoes and she’ll be ready. She already made a friend there and it’s very exciting not only for her, but I guess for both her parents.
I had my son in my arms during the whole hour the class lasted and as soon as we got there, this young woman kept talking and was in awe and being absolutely obnoxious. I know that my son is quite young to be out there in such a way, but for the love of me, stop it! I know he is the CuteMasterTM, but please give us some space! “How old is he?” “Look at that hair!” “Oh, he is so cute!” So far, I have not had to deal with people trying to stick their fingers in his face or anywhere else.
Well, this took much longer than I thought it would and I am falling asleep in front of the computer. Although no work tomorrow, I’ll get my daughter’s early morning wake-up call. And hopefully, I won’t wait that long and late to write again next.
Till then…
