Weekend

Friday after an interesting day at work, I came home to await the arrival of our weekend guests. Around 6:30 pm Cynical and Ragged rolled in. We visited and enjoyed each others company. Shortly after they arrived, Rudy, Brando and the family came in and we all sat in the living room and conversed into the evening. Saturday morning we awoke early because the ladies wanted to get a jump on their project. After a breakfast of HUGE cinnamon rolls they were going to dye yarn and fiber. After a few hours they had their items ready for stemming so after they had everything put away we grilled hamburgers and went to the Dairy Dee for dessert. After dessert we visited Rudy and Brando's farm. We Wiied for a couple of hours and Rudy ordered pizza for supper. After the pizza was devoured we watched National Treasure 2. We arrived home around 10pm and in no time it was time for bed. This morning after bagels and cream cheese the ladies rinsed out the yarn that set over night. They hung the yarn on the rack to dry as we had warmed over hamburgers for lunch followed by another Dairy Dee run. When the yarn dried our guests decided it was time to head home. We tried to get them to stay another night but they had some fuzzy house guests that they had to get back home to. We enjoyed our guests and in a few weeks we will be heading South to visit them.

I'm Back!

Two Days, roughly 800 miles and seeing a different part of the country. Yesterday I left work around 2pm. My boss and I loaded up and left on a trip to Columbia, Missouri. We arrived at St. Louis around 5pm and awaited our contact to arrive and take us on the rest of our journey. After a couple of missed turns we arrived around 7:30pm. We ate at the Flat Branch Pub and Brewery. I had the smothered Sirloin and my boss enjoyed a pasta salad. For dessert we split Tiger Stripe ice cream which is an original dessert of the pub. It was very good. After we finshed out late supper it was time head to the hotel. We stayed at The Stoney Creek Inn. It is a nice hotel mixed with Bass Pro. Very rustic but also modern. It was very neat and I would recommend staying there if you get a chance. I was kicking myself for not taking my camera. This morning a 7:30am we met in the lobby and went to the Galley for our continental breakfast, then it was on the road again to our final destination. We arrived at Brookfield, MO. around 10am and was given a tour of Pershing Memorial Hospital. It is a small hospital like ours but is undergoing a major renovation. I was neat to see and we learned alot about our upcoming project. Around noon it was time to grab a bite to eat and get back on the road for our trip home. We left around 1:15 pm and I arrived home at 7pm, tired and ready to get out of the vehicle. It was a neat trip but very whirlwind and not alot of time to sight see. I am home now and ready just to rest and do nothing. I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Have a good holiday weekend everyone.

PS. The picture above is the room I stayed in. I got it off the interwebs. When you walk into the rooms they each have a cute stuffed animal on the bed with a sign to purchase them and take them home. Mine was a raccoon with a bandana around his neck. Very cute.

Going out of town.

This morning just after I walked into work my boss asked me if I was up for a road trip. "Always" I said. Apparently we are going to Columbia, MO. for a PACS demonstration. We will be leaving around 2pm Wednesday and coming back Thursday afternoon. This is my first business trip with the hospital and I am not sure what to expect. I hope it will be very informal. I will get more details tomorrow. Hopefully we will get some good eats.

Fast Weekend.

After a very trying Friday, Needles and I headed South to the promise land. We arrived down there around 7:20pm and was greeted by my parents and a feast. We ate and then reclined to the living room to catch up on things. Before long it was late and time to go to bed. We woke the next day to breakfast and then into town for some yard sales. I had my eye on items for our Halloween projects but came up empty. After we got home we went to Grandma's house for homemade pizza by my Aunt R. It was soooo good and of course I made a pig of myself. After that we got to visit with my Aunt R and her new puppy Izzy. Izzy is a Chihuahua and is very loving and affectionate. When we went back to Mom and Dad's we went on a ride on the property across the road from my parents. My Mom and Dad rode their golf cart and my Aunt R and Uncle A rode their golf cart. Needles and I rode Dad's new 4 wheeler. While we were riding the electric ice cream maker was churning away in the sink. When we arrived home after about an hour of riding the ice cream was ready. I again made a pig of myself and had 3 helpings. I could not tell you when the last time I had homemade ice cream. I thinking 15 years or more. Last night we stayed up until our eyes grew heavy and called it a night. This morning we ate breakfast and while Mom and Dad went to church, Needles and I took and ride back in the country side on the golf cart. I am still amazed at how well that thing is able to go in the woods. Around 1:30pm we decided it was time to go and made our goodbyes and headed North. We arrived home a little after 4pm and while the kitties were still locked up, cleaned house. I was so very much needed as it seems we haven't cleaned in awhile. It is now time for laundry, showers and getting ready for work tomorrow. Bleah!

Silly Olympics

Thanks Media For Lying.

It seems that the Georgia and Russian conflict has a bit more complex than the media has lead us to believe and decided to omit and sweep a few small details under the carpet. Lets just say they have put a Western spin on the story. Apparently South Ossetia in Georgia had some people loyal to Russia and Georgia sent the military to crack down on these separatists. "They were killing their own people, burning and looting homes, towns and anything else in their way." Russia moved in to stop this action and was accused of invading a sovern free country. It doesn't sound free to me. It would be like Texas killing off the Democrats to make sure the state stays red in the next election. Hmmm. Matter of fact I would put it past these jokers in the White House. Another thing that wouldn't surprise me is that Bush and his buddy's would find some way to make a buck on the whole ordeal. This to me sounds a bit like Darfur in South Africa but that's another "little incident" we haven't heard much about because it doesn't sell papers, magazines and premotional spots in the TV. Isn't it interesting how our information is filtered, blended and strained for our consumption. You would almost think this is a free country. Thank You Patriot Act, but I am afraid this has been going on since the Vietnam "conflict".

Watching Antenna in HD.

Today after breakfast of bagels and 89er's blend coffee Needles and I went to the big city to do some shopping and some grocery getting. Little did she know that I had secretly planned to get an antenna for our local channels. After stopping by Needles work and visiting with her co worker, boss and bosses family we stopped in at the grocery store and then ran by JC Pennys which was fruitless. We walked down by Radio Shack and I asked if they had any TV antennas and about half way through my question I noticed the 10 ft antenna bolted to the ceiling in the shop so I stopped my question short. I said "I need one of those" and he said "that was the biggest one they have in stock". I said "I need one" and they started to bring the box from the back. I thought the box would be about 6ft long and easily fit in the car with the back seat down. NO. This thing was 8ft long and there was no way. I told them we had a little more shopping to do and I would be back withe the truck. We then stopped to eat at Wendy's and then dropped by Wally World on the way home. We then returned home and got the truck to return for our purchases. After home the work began. I was determined to get this thing up so that we can at least watch the last week of the Olympics. No thanks to DirecTV since they have no plans in ever getting local channels in our area. Our Olympic viewing consisted of 2 hours from 5 to 7pm in the evening and they were mostly the off games like marble shooting and who can make the largest belly button lint ball. By the way I would so rule in that competition. I would bring USA the gold with a little bit of white and gray mixed in. Anyway we started to work on the antenna about 4pm and had it up and running in about 3 hours. There were several tough issues with this little venture. Our old antenna had lost all of its aerials and didn't work at all. Also the bolts that attached the antenna to the pole was rusted so that I couldn't get it off. I took a pair of side cuts to cut the bolts but standing 20 ft in the air and cut bolts with one hand while trying not to fall and kill myself was tricky. After an attempt to cut the bolts failed I began to beat on the bracket with a hammer. The top bracket came off quickly but then the bottom bracket started to go and bend to my left, then snap and boom the thing was on the ground. I fell 3 inches from the neighbors wooden fence. If it would have went to my right it would have taken out the phone line and to the left would have been the power line. Both not good options so it fell exactly as it needed to and avoided any issue. I guess a little luck shines on you every once and a while. After that it was a challenge to hoist an fully expanded antenna attached to a ten foot mast to the roof. Last but probably the hardest part about the while ordeal was trying to fish the coaxe cable through the wall to took it up. We finally manage to get it all done and then came the moment of truth. To see how many channels we get. After pointing the antenna to Terre Haute our market area we did the scan and got 6 analog and 10 digital channels. I was thrilled and started to watch the Olympics but after about 45 minutes the channel started to fade and the digital channel broke up and was gone. I thought might as well try Evansville and pointed the antenna in that general direction. I went inside and did a channel scan and was amazed that we could pick up 9 analog and 15 digital channels. I pulled out my GPS to see which city was closest thinking Terre Haute was since we are considered in their market and not eligible for local channels and was surprised that Evansville is 53 miles as the crow flies. Terre Haute is 58 miles. Hmmm. Anyway we have all the channels from Eville and also can pick up a few Terre Haute channels too. I am pleased with the purchase and am thrilled to finally have our local channels. No more waiting for Heros to rerun on Scifi. Take that DirecTV!

I knew it!

CNN) -- A policeman and a former corrections officer say that on Friday they will unveil evidence of what they claim is their biggest find ever: the body of Bigfoot.
The thawed body of a creature reputed to be Bigfoot reportedly weighs more than 500 pounds.
Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, a pair of Bigfoot-hunting hobbyists from north Georgia, say they found the creature's body in a wooded area and spotted several similar creatures that were still alive.
The carcass of the furry half-man, half-ape is 7 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs more than 500 pounds, they say. However, the two are not disclosing the exact location of their discovery to protect the remaining creatures.
Tom Nelson, chairman of the biology department at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, said he's "pretty skeptical" the world will feast its eyes on a new species Friday.
"That would certainly rock mammalogy," joked Nelson, who specializes in the study of mammals. "I see a research grant in my future."
Whitton and Dyer plan to unveil what they say is DNA and photo evidence of the discovery in Palo Alto, California, in conjunction with a group called Searching for Bigfoot Inc.
A photograph on that group's Web site shows what appears to be the body of a large, hairy creature with an ape-like face, stuffed into a large freezer.
According to a written release, the two announced the discovery on an Internet radio show, "Squatch Detective," several weeks ago. iReport.com: Do you believe in Bigfoot?
"The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the Real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi," Dyer said, referring to Searching for Bigfoot's CEO, who has been looking for the elusive, legendary creature in the United States and Canada since 1971.
Whitton is a Georgia police officer who is on administrative leave after being shot in the wrist during a pursuit. Dyer is a former prison guard.
DNA tests on the body have begun, said the statement, and "extensive scientific studies" will be done on the body by scientists, including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist and a paleontologist.
Nelson, the university professor, acknowledged that new species of animals have been discovered in recent decades and that, in science, "we always acknowledge the possibility of something new."
But he said that even in north Georgia, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the foot of the Appalachian Trail, it stretches the imagination to think a family of 7-foot-tall creatures could have eluded hunters, hikers and creeping development until now.
"To the average person, these places just seem like extreme wilderness where you'll find lions and tigers and bears," he said. "The reality is that you're never more than a mile from a road."
The group says the animal is male, has reddish hair and "blackish-gray" eyes and human-like feet, hands.

PS. I have to go feed the Loch Ness Monster in the toilet.

Computer Ill

Yesterday I got home as usual and got on the interwebs. I set the computer aside and left it for awhile. When I came back to it, it was in screensaver mode. I moved the mouse to wake the sleeping puter and I got the blue screen of death folllowed by a quick shut down and reboot. When it rebooted it showed the windows XP screen for about 15 seconds and then shut down again. This is when I said "CRAP!" I knew it was serious. I rebooted in Safe Mode and it locked up and I had to do a hard shut down and reboot to find it wouldn't go into Safe Mode only to shut down and reboot again. I f8ed the reboot and tried every option and nothing worked. I was able to freeze the blue screen and list off the stop error and codes for Needles to look it up on the other computer. It seemed that I had a hardware issue. I did a hard drive scan in Bios for it to pass and no issues. I removed the RAM and reinstalled it and still nothing. I rebooted with the supplied boot CD and still nothing. I was starting to get worried. I remembered I had the old RAM in the drawer so I installed it and rebooted with the boot CD and I was able to make some progress. After getting into Safe Mode I was able to Scandisk SCNDSK and find an issue that wasn't found before. I ran recovery SCNDSK /R which took a little over an hours and then SCNDSK /P and everything seemed to come back. I lost a few things and the wireless assistant is down but for the most part I am back with half the RAM. It was touch and go for awhile but after 4 to 5 hours it seems to be OK. Cross your fingers. I am needing to back up all my pics.

Bad Day

Today was not a good day. As soon as I got to work at 7am my boss said that her dad that has been fighting the battle against cancer was in the final stages. She left to be with him in his final hours. At 8am we received a call saying that hospice was there and they were telling them he has hours. At 9:10am it was over and his suffering was over. Please keep them in your thoughts.

TAKE THAT FRENCHIE!

As you probably well know but if you are just coming out of a coma or something you might have heard about the come from behind win by the United States over the trash talking French in the 4X100M swimming relay. Take that! You know where you can stick your french bread. Hee Hee.

I'm too old for this stuff.

Last night I went over to my friends house and we had a cookout. I arrived around 5:00pm and started in on my beer. About 6 beers later I had Needles who was still at home come out and bring me more beer. After I finished that I drank some of my friends beer and by the end of the night I was drunker than Cooter Brown. The one thing I had forgot about drinking like that is the morning after. I felt very rough this morning and while Needles woke up a couple of hours after me I wasn't in the mood for B'fast. I just layed on the couch and tried to wish the jack hammer in my head would go away. Around noon I started to feel better and get an appetite. Needles made chicken and Yukon potato blend and it was very good. I guess I am back to normal now but I think it will be awhile before I get my drink on again. CHEERS!

PS. For those of you still wondering about the lyric line. The name of the song is Come Dancing by The Kinks.

Remember way back when.

Our local radio station has been playing some oldies but goodies lately. This is a lyric line that was brought out of my memory from the old days. So lets see who remembers this one. Here is the line.

Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlight,
Two sillohettes, saying goodnight by the garden gate.

Comment: Whats the name of the song and who played it?

Good luck.

Happy 8-8-08

Hello everyone. I hope you are having a great 8-8-08.

Travel Blog Pic