Happy hump day, all. It's rainy and crappy here in the DC area, but life is goooood!

I was watching a show last night called Inside 9/11 or something to that effect. I can't believe it has now been eight years since that happened. I get a lump in my throat everytime I see the video of those planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I'm not sure if we are better off, safer, in more danger, or about the same as we were then, security-wise.

Trying to figure out why the set up in the home office (comcast modem to vonage box to three outs (wireless router, Darling Wife desktop, me desktop) suddenly decided last night that the ONLY working configuration would be modem to one desktop or the other - even though our usual set up has been in place uninteruppted for nearly a year. Either BOTH the vonage box and the wireless router took a dump at the same time, or - err, well, haven't figured out the or scenario yet. Trying to deal with comcast in the meantime - kept getting connected to their MA center (them: your account doesn't exist me: where are you? them: MA me: GRRRRR! I don't live in CT anymore, and you can't see my account from MA since comcast has arse stupid barriers in place, please switch me to MD center!!!!! them version MD: your account doesn't exist, I'll have to have someone call you back. me: MANAGER. NOW. them version MD, after 2 minute hold: no managers are answering their phones. me: GGGGAAAAAAHAHHHHHHH!!!).

More importantly, enjoying the knowledge that we've got the house far enough along to order the FHA inspection.

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Started sanding the bay window side of the outside of the house in early July, but then Ma ended up in the hospital with secondary tumors in her brain, so we didn't touch it again until August. Everything else pictured has been, well.. in the past month. Made possible by ridiculous amounts of help from Bestest Friends Ever from CT, a couple a' Joes (aka Sepha and Snarf), and helpful neighbors with cool tools.

Still have the front porch to sand & paint this week, and tons of detail work to do, but once the porch is done we OUGHT to be good to pass our rehab loan inspection, and anything else we do (lots on the list) is on our own timetable!

Man-O-man! You have been busy, Jim. When I painted JUST the trim on my house, it took forever just working nights and weekends. My hat's off to you.

it feels like tuesday.

Well, I'm surprised it doesn't seem like Monday to you.

My grass seed guy is out for the next two weeks after undergoing and undetermined surgical procedure, right smack dab at the start of the fall seeding season here. :rolleyes: Anywho, I've been playing mixing boy all day so we don't get too far behind. Plus I got to show the guys that their boss can still outmix them by a couple tons a day despite being away from the mixers for 10+ years. It was good to know I still "got it" for whatever good that does me. :)

The grumbling will start tomorrow once I start the rotation with the rest of the guys.

Looks fantastic! I can't imagine the time and effort involved. :thumbup:

It's been a week between the humps...where do I start?

Finished getting the microwaves installed...everything came up fine (bad sign right there...), picture on the HD and SD looked great...

FOX Splicer crew came and went - everyone is happy...

Now...it's Sunday...

First phone call, about 10 minutes to the hour AFTER the game was airing...

CALLER: "Hey, how come I see the Vikings on .1 and the Cowboys on .2?"

ME: "WT??????"

CALLER: "Yup...like I said..."

A few calls later, the TOC at FOX straightens out the problem...someone forgot to tell them there's a "new kid" in town...Welcome Wagon backed over our toes...

Now...Monday.

While taking care of paperwork...same caller from Sunday (Caller ID had "OH*****" on the screen...)

CALLER: "There's no HD picture on .1 but I see SD on .2...Whassup?"

ME: "WT????" (I'm using THAT alot lately...)

By 1400, I'm making a run from the Mississippi over to Lake Michigan and back...9 hours of crappy traffic and State Troopers keeping the speeds at 65 mph (or slower) and truckers that like scaring the stuffings out of you...I get a "borrowed" HD encoder on line by 2325.00...time to nap...

Tuesday morning...0700...phone rings...I hang it up...it rings again...I hang it up again...phone rings for the 3rd time...this time I answer it because I actually heard and recognized it for what it was...

CALLER: "Morning Mark...did I wake you up? Finally?"

ME: "What's up?"

CALLER: "No picture or audio on .1 or .2 up here (Eau Claire area, again)."

ME: "OHCRAP!"

As I fly through the "3 Ss" and hit the car in 4 minutes from answering the phone...it turns out I've got three microwave hops not playing nice with one another...long story shortened up...

...Thanks to the new OS for digital microwaves, when the data stream gets "corrupted" - I have a new procedure of "resetting" the boxes...one at a time...all 90+ miles of them...

And the culprit? Fog...LOTS OF IT...and some good, ol' Mississippi Swamp Gas...about 4 miles of it...

I'm going to catch a nap now...and wait for the next phone call... :rolleyes:

Have fun today folks!!! :D

What is going on... WORK WORK WORK....

Actually I am Benzless right now as Rudolf is waiting until next week to have his drive shaft replacement. Driving the big Burban is nice, but costly.

I think summer is finally drawing to a close here. Daytime temps are still in the upper 90's-low 100's but the nights are getting gorgeous (low to mid 70's). It makes it a pleasure to go sit in the atrium and have my morning coffee.

Spent basically all this summer's weekends building the aforementioned atrium and it did come out sweeeet!

Hosted my niece's wedding here at the crib last weekend, going to our annual "Duck Roast" (31 years now) next weekend to play bartender/ swamper/ peace-keeper for the all night party.

This weekend, NOTHING is planned so I intend to just try to cruise through the rest of the work week without any major drama. Hah!

Might even break down and wash and wax the cars, maybe change the oil, change out the sink in the bathroom, final coat,sand and paint the area where I patched over an old window, there is the one little rust bubble I noticed on my coupe....;)

I stayed home from work today.....i hope you guys have a great day and CLK Man hang in there we are thinking of you and your family.

75* weather, a perfect day there, but..
 

Driving down 200 miles to San Francisco, to sit all day in the Dentist's chair.

arrgh:mad:

(but he is a good dentist though, went to him from 1983-2004 and time to get caught up again --deferred maintenance a bad thing with your teeth):D:D:D

I've got nuttin'.

356 different kid activities/meetings/practices after work so I'm enjoying the relative quiet of being here.

Our fiscal year ends 9/30 so I've been pouring over all of my department sales and purchase reports in preparation for our meeting with our accountants next Monday to see if we made any money this year or not.

I am thinking about tearing down the stereo in my wagon, and rebuilding it from scratch... For the 4th or 5th time.


I finally got the problems sorted out, just need to put it all back together.

Mmmm, I know you meant "poring" but from what I've seen of your desk you just might mean "pouring"!:eek:

Let's see, creative accounting 101, pour flammable liquid over paperwork, strike match and call insurance company.:D

It was a Hattie moment. :o Wise acre. :D:D:D