Strange Days at the office...

I got to work late this morning. Bad. Emergency meeting - 1st thing as soon as I arrive. We heard through the grapevine that a customer was upset. Bad. Coffee was all gone when I got out of the meeting. Bad. I call and explain to some employees that they are incompetent. Bad.


It's not even close to lunch yet.

So, needless to say I am a bit down.







And then to my great surprise, there is a knock on my door. This warmed my heart, at the perfect moment in time - this could happen. I actually became excited and happy.

The knock on the door was a very polite one. This usually doesn't happen. Normally it's someone barging in to complain about something one of our employees has done - or an employee complaining about another...

Guess who was at the door...





None other than one of my best friends, Mr. Al E. Gater.


Now, it's been a while since he's come by. We first met down near Naples, FL where he lived with his family until one day (the day I met him) he decided to go out on his own and visit the big city. Al & I have been friends since. And today he happened to stop by to give me some encouragement.

After talking about my day...er morning...we started reminiscing about when and how we first met, right off the infamous "Alligator Alley".

I'm not sure what sparked the resentment in Al, but he started becoming very agitated. I asked him what was wrong and he proceeded to string off obscenities at me.

I was aghast! I couldn't believe he felt that way after all this time. After all we'd been through.

I starting telling him how I didn't mean for him to become a prized trophy that people enjoy gazing upon. I told him I was sorry for having his mouth permanately opened to look as if he were "smiling". None of this phased him. He was determined.



Fear gripped me. The last encounter with an Alligator was so long ago...I had won. And now, years later, the very beast that I had defeated, found me and was determined to get revenge. His friendship had been a ploy. He waited until I was down so his attack would be easier.


As I gazed into his cold steel eyes, I was determined not to let him get the best of me. I did it before, and I could do it again! The memories of the razor sharp teeth, the foul stench of his breath, the wryness he encapsulated and the overabundance of agility on his part were starting to cloud my thinking.


What would become of this encounter...????


Quickly, I looked up at the clock..time had passed so freely, it was just past 11AM. How could this be?

Noticing it was so close to lunch time, I immediately excused myself from this unannounced conference and informed Al, that if he wanted a piece of me he would have to wait until after lunch. I could tell he was miffed. No matter. I quickly reminded him of his "stature" and all was well...until next time.


However, now I know he will be watching for his next more opportune time.

Valentine's 2fer

Today, tuesday happens to be valentine's day...so my 2fer deals with VDay. Here goes...

1 - 192 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

2 - Nearly 60 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight. (Source: Hallmark research)

There ya go... ;) enjoy.

Shock and Awe....

Shock - F1rst, let me state that I am in complete shock after hearing that our VP of the US shot a guy today while bird hunting. It looks like the guy will be fine, although he is 78 and getting up there in age anyway. How cool would it be to have on your tombstone, “shot and killed by the Vice-President of the United States.” Cheney wouldn’t think it was cool, but after living 78years – you know you’re going to go soon, so why not go by being shot by the VP of the USA?

Awe – We played out in the snow all day today – this is what I was doing mostly. The kids etc are at Lisa’s site.

5 things.....

OK - I'm going to do the 5 things about me simply because I've been tagged twice. Enjoi.

1 - My favorite band is Switchfoot. They are the only group that I have every album they have ever done starting back in the day with the "Legend of Chin" demo CD - all the way up to "Nothing is Sound". The only other group that comes close to that with me are The Beastie Boys. I haven't bought their latest album. Actually, i think all of the Beastie Boys CDs (and cassettes) I have were free - thanks to Columbia House & BMG.

2 - I really miss skateboarding. I recently saw a video that was fairly new (within past couple of years) and I used to do all those tricks that were on there. I was pretty darn good. In a way, it makes me sad that I didn't continue to pursue the sport more so than I did. Of course, I wouldn't have what i have or be who I am today...

3 - I'm not a huge fan of computers or technology. Ironic, I know... I really enjoyed the days of hanging out with people - face-to-face, no phones always ringing. Actually reading and writing handwriting, being excited when there was mail (snailmail) - the old party line when you could listen to other people's conversations easily and even chime in. Rotary dial - which I still wish we had. I think a world of good would be done if middle/high schoolers had to use a rotary dial phone for a month or even a week. I miss the days of having cassette recorders and putting the 45's on a record player.

4 - I am extremely thankful for the fact that I know about the things above, and know them well - and the fact that I know more about technology and how to use it than the average person (or above average person for that matter). It gives a neat perspective to the world and i am glad to be in the generation that knows both things.

5 - I enjoy tests. The last time I took an IQ test (2 years ago) I scored 134. I remember that being pretty good, but not how good. I think I may take it again this year to see if I go up or down. i know they are pretty meaningless. Actually, I probably won;t take it again - it can be expensive. The last time I took a DiSC (last year) - I was a 7711. Just like all the years before. Not the same kind of test, mind you. Another test...Our office needed a certain Cisco certification for IP Telephony (VoIP). Granted I've not really worked with VoIP - just used it, I haven't messed around too much with their router hardware or software - and I just went and took the test without studying - and passed. That was a few months ago - i needed an 80something% and got 96%. Also, sudoko...i love sudoko and all kids of other puzzles. Mostly math puzzles - but i really get into word puzzles too...oh yeah, and name that tune...remember that show? Loved it.




"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. "
Albert Einstein

Olympics XX - Winter Edition

As I sit here watching the opening ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games, I am reminded of why they are on every 4 years. No one would watch this crap every year. They are able to get by with a gymnasts hitting an anvil (with a rubber hammer) to create fire, which generates all these legs kicking around with people on roller skates and dancing and pretend fighting and a beating "heart" and a guy on a pair of roller blades "breaking" the heart in two (then catches on fire, no less) and then everything becoming white and these old guys blowing these big horns making cow sounds and these girls and guys come out dancing in cow uniforms and people dressed up as trees running around in a frenzy. Oh wait, now there's a little girl pretending to sing (bad lipsyncing) ... oh no now a bunch of eskimos singing an opera as the flag raises...oh thank goodness. A commercial, now back to something actually entertaining.

And to think these olympics are only going to last a couple of weeks. I am so glad I have 250 other channels to choose from.

You may be wondering why I'm even watching the opening ceremonies. Well, it's in HD and Lisa wanted to see them.

Crap...back on...a bunch of "smiley, happy people" running out from under the stage. They are not even in sync! I really hope these people are not paid to come up with this show. How clever, they made two X's. Brilliant. Oh wait, now some multicolored something blowing smoke. Can it get any better?

Here's how to understand what's going on...you have to listen to the commentators. What's great is that when they are not talking, you know they don;t know what's going on either.

OK, I must admit I'm a little impressed with the skiier thing. Well, up unitl the skiis, shot confetti out. Ohhh more people on fire...

i can't stand it...i think I'm going to put in a DVD of "The Family Guy". Now that's good stuff. Just ask Lisa. heh

Tuesday's Twofer - dealing with Sunday

1 - I'm a bit upset that Seattle lost. I've been a fan of Shaun Alexander since he was at Alabama and got the Tide back up and running (haha-no pun intended..actually there was). That being said, the Super Bowl was enjoyable to me due to the commercials. The Halftime show was awful, the game was dismal, and the refs were a joke. But, let the good times roll...the best of the Super Bowl.



2 - Continuing on the Sunday shows, I know many of you are Grey's Anatomy fans. I put this on Wendy's comments, but in case you didn't read it, (I thought it was valuable info) I will include it here. Some of you were left hanging on the edge of your seat during the last show, but if you check here you'll not be in the dark again. WARNING! Only click on the link if you don't mind knowing what's coming down the road - ;P

l8r g8r

Why Roses are Red and Violets are Blue

Did you ever wonder why you see the colors you do or if animals see the same colors that you see? Well, that was brought up early this morning in our household. Lisa adamantly stating that dogs and cats see B&W, while I, on the other hand, argued that they probably could see color and no one has ever been a dog or cat to prove me wrong. Anyway, I was out to disspell the myth (that even I had heard as a youth) that animals are colorblind - which, btw, is an incorrect term (it's actually color deficiency). Light enters our eyes and bounces off cells known as photoreceptors. Theyare given that name because of the photons that light is made out of. This is what allows us to see.

There are lots of different photons and these all make the colors we see (like when we see a rainbow) based on their wavelength. The different photons are said to have different wavelengths. Sunlight contains all the different wavelengths of photons. The visible wavelength colors can be seen when you look at a rainbow. Raindrops acting as natural prisms produce the colors.

OK, that being said...photoreceptors are made up of rods and cones - i know you remember this from school - and they're called that by their shapes, btw, and are at the back of your eye. Rods are how black and white stands out and cones are how color stands out. But there are 3 types of cones, one for each color (in mammals - more at the end of my post). The colors? RGB, Red, Green and Blue - just like computer monitors or TVs. ;)

Now how does this fit in with our conversation this morning? Great question. By looking at animals eyes, you can determine what colors they can see by how many kinds of cones they have. The big thing I know you're wondering...well, tell us...what about cats and dogs? Cats have 2 kinds of cones and so do dogs, they have 2 also. So both cats and dogs can see color, maybe not as great as we can (because people have 3), but they still can nonetheless.

And here's a little bit of useless...ahem..i mean useful info that I found out. As a rule of thumb, you can guess how well an animal sees colors (as a species) by observing what type of prey they go after with the prey's markings/colors. The brighter the potential food, the better they can see color. heheh

Oh, and if you think we see pretty well - something else I found out...birds have 5 to 7 cones (wow!) and spiders and insects can usually see ultraviolet light based ontheir cones.

I know, a lot of info, but hey, if I don't share it, who will?

two4toosday...

1 - i hate coming up with titles for this weekly post...
2 - however, the titles i do come up with are kinda cool

(at least i think so)

Peter Parker vs. The Wedge

Really this should be one of the last "Super Hero" posts. Having an exhausting weekend, I kept my camera eye out for another glimpse of the infamous "spiderman" and any shenanigans he might be up to. Lucky for us...Spiderman, out of costume, was caught fighting one of his greastest nemises, The Wedge. (2MB) Unfortunaly, I believe Mr. Parker was soundly defeated after giving a good effort. The wedge, ever wiley in his attempts to defeat the spiderman, succeeded with his patented "wedgie" maneuver. Very clever.

And FYI, I've spotted a new super hero on the horizon that may be coming soon to a blog near you...actually she's already on another blog...The Jumpin Jaminista. I believe that's her name. And her patented move is called "the running man". If you ever see her out, be sure and watch out for that move...or if you're brave, you could ask her to show it to you. ;P

Superheroes part duex - Spiderman...

I'm really not trying to run this whole superhero thing into the ground, but some friends of mine that I've seen grow up since they were little have seen my "flight" attempts. One, in particular, JD, fancies himself as a Peter Parker - aka spiderman. Well, we've known this for a while, and rarely does he reveal himself in public as spiderman, but tonight...oh..tonight...I caught him on film. He was being picked on by none other than Brandon B - and as we all know, spiderman can only take so much. What was odd though, was seeing spiderman in action - live. I'm really starting to wonder if he's losing his super powers too...or maybe he just gets really good stunt doubles while in costume. Judge for yourself. Spiderman is the one jumping - 600K.

2xT

1 - Rugburn still hurts (from my flying incident).



2 - That could be one reason (out of what i am sure are many) for the tights that most "normal" superheroes wear.

Superheroes

The subject of superheroes came to my mind yesterday as the kids and I watched the Incredibles. What a great movie! Inspiring is the word that I kept coming to. So much so, that I rendered myself in art form - sporting a very cool super hero pose, if I do say so myself - and liked it so much it is now my profile pic. It also got me to thinking of when I was younger and was invincible and fancied myself as a bit of a super hero. Most super powers, as you may or may not know, stay with you for a long period of time. Flight however, can be tricky. As I have found out. After marriage and having a couple of kids your super powers change. I used to be able to fly back before marriage and kids. I know, I know, the super power of flight is on everybody's top 3 list of super powers. But I could really do it. So, after reminiscing about the glory days for a few hours, I decided to see if I still had the flight still in me. And yes, I filmed the event.

Now, as I stated above, flight is a tricky super power. And needless to say - I am a bit rusty. I do believe though, that with some practice and concentration, I may be able to achieve flight again. I think you will agree after seeing the clip below. I need to try it without walls and roofs. that would probably help.

Also - FYI - it's almost 1MB.

Pants and Red Lobster

I know - I probably shouldn't post twice in one day, but I feel compelled to do so. i was at a Business Lunch today going over some things on how we can work with a local chamber of commerce. Anyhoo, the waitress brought my sweet tea and then proceded to touch me after a joke and instead knocked a the whole glass of tea on me (pants & shirt). Yes I was miffed, and cold. heh. She said she would be right back with something to clean it up. One of the women with the chamber suggested she bring soda water. The waitres didn't. She brought regular water and a towel with a little something on it - I believe the word is bleach. So, I proceeded to wipe the tea off, not initially realizing there was bleach in the towel, and it took the tea right off. You know what was amazing...it also took the color off of my pants as well! Anyway, the manager said they would buy me a new pair of pants and they all felt really bad. So, We'll see if they buy me a new pair of pants. I'm taking them to them tomorrow with this link...
http://www.kohls.com/products/product_page_vanilla2.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=219539325&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=27513281&bmUID=1137534632594

And yes, those are the pants I am wearing, only a different color. So, we'll see if they ante up. If so, go eat at Red Lobster, if not...never go there again. More to come tomorrow.

zwei Sachen Dienstag...

1 - It's bad when you have to resort to a foreign language to come up with a title.

2 - The Golden Globes are rigged (more about this in my new book). ;)

Penny's crash pics...

So, now that y'all know that Penny is OK from the previous post, I thought I'd show you some pics of the car/aftermath. Enjoy.


















































Anyway, if anyone's interested, I think Penny has a car for sale. HAHA.

Everyone's OK

FYI - Penny and Jordyn were on their way up here tonight and were involved in a car wreck about an hour south. They are both OK, but the car is messed up. They hydroplaned on the interstate and ran of the road hitting a guardrail, etc. Lisa went down to pick them up and they are near her mom's NC house and are waiting there until the car is picked up. i just thought I'd let you all know about this.

Motivation Times 2

For my 2 things tuesday, I am going to give some motivation...

1 - If you fall down 10 times, stand up 11.

2 - To the world you might be one person - but to one person, you are the world.

Now go get 'em....

Yogi Berra

I need to post because I am reaching the double digits in my previous comments. I hear that unless your blog is popular and always has new content, you need to keep it fresh to continue interest. So that is what I am doing.

You may wonder about the title of this post. "Why did you title this post Yogi Berra?" To answer that, I'll simply say that I titled it this way because he is one of the greatest characters of baseball - if he's still alive, otherwise he's dead, and was - and the fact that he is very insightful, unless he's really not and it just seems that way. Plus, the title name Gus Bell just doesn't have the same ring to it. (Not that I expect you to know who Gus Bell is or anything.)

Also, FYI, stamps are going up Monday to 39 cents a piece. I'm glad I bought a whole roll of 100 today - just think I saved $2.00 vs buying them Monday.

Oh well, you either get it or you don't.

PS - "If you find a fork in the road...take it." - Yogi Berra

My 2 cents worth

Now - for my 2 things TX, I'm going to leave you with some motivational thoughts...

1 - When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win. - Ed Mcauley

2 - It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

There you go - 2 good things for Tuesday. ;)

OK OK OK

whatever...i hate titles. Anyway, for a 2005 wrapup, see Lisa's blog. And now for something completely different.

Last week, with Lisa's family, one of her sister's (I promised Leslie I wouldn't mention her name...sorry) used the bathroom. Nothing odd about that. Then she asked for a plunger, maybe a little odd you say, but the funny thing was that everyone she asked replied with the question "What do you need it for?" This I found utterly amusing, almost on the hilarious side of life. Keep in mind that no one ever told her where it was really, but they just wondered why she needed it. I asked myself and Lisa's sister, "What do they think people normally do with plungers?" There wasn't much help. I don't think anyone really knew where it was except for her mom, which made it funnier. She was the only one that could help, but everyone was asking her why.

Anyhoo, we got "approval" from our neighbors today to build in the subdivision we want to build in. There was a big "Community Meeting" and I attended and informe them of my master plan. They were cool with it. So, I guess we may start building soon. Although, I'm still not 100% I want to do it here, but I can always sell it if things don't work out. I would love to tell you about the cast of characters that were there. Maybe I'll write a short story about it and let you all read about it. Very funny/intense/interesting.

OK - I guess I've made up for not blogging a bit with this post. Christmas was good as was New Year's - now we're back home - I have tomorrow off, I think I'm going MXing. ;)

Ciao....