Just a little teaser for this blog! Sorry gang, it's that time of year. Every Homeowners Association and Condominium in the workld wants their annual meeting in October and November! Why? Becasue that's about the only time no one is renting the units. So what you ask? Well one of my clients rents his little place (Sleeps 8, three baths, directly on the Gulf of Mexico) for $6,000 a week!! would you give up six grand a week?
Anyway, this blogs going to be a little dis-jointed because as a Bostonian life could not get too much better!!
The Red Sox (baseball for you Aussies) are playing the first of seven series of the World Series as I write this. (It only matters after nine innings so I'm taking time to write for you instead of watching innings 1 thru 8!! Is that dedication or what?) The New England Patriots are a sure thing for the Superbowl! (American football epitome of excellance!), and Boston College is ranked #2 in the Country in College Football and playing Virginia Tech tomorrow night at the same time the Red Sox are playing game two!!!( Send an emergency channel changer, it's going to be "switch city" from 7pm until midnight at my house!!!)
And I'M NOT A JOCK!!! A fan yes, but a jock no!
I'm sure my best buddy Mikie, who passed away last year, is conning God to make this a whole year for Boston so more of us can join him from the sheer "over the top" of all these Boston teams winning everything in 2007-08! Thank you Mikie,...we know it's you making it happen!
Well, got to get back to the game.
see ya'
-30-
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Attention, stalkers!
Recently I've been writing and NO ONE, has even left me a note or a comment! Let me explain the process. At the end of each entry which, I sweat, labor, agonize and other wise "slave over" composing, there is a "thingy" that says comments. If you put your cursor on it and "click" you will find a box that invites you to leave a comment. DO IT!!
They say blogs are like "private diaries", but that's bullshit. I write, just to share my life with you. With no comments the implied is "why the hell write any more?)
Sorry , just a quick rant!
We had a "memorial service" for my good buddy "Mikie" tonoght at The Whales Tale" , perhaps about ten or twelve of us. A shot of Sambuca, a toast, and a time to remember,....we loved you Mikie,...and damn it we miss the hell out of you!
-30-
They say blogs are like "private diaries", but that's bullshit. I write, just to share my life with you. With no comments the implied is "why the hell write any more?)
Sorry , just a quick rant!
We had a "memorial service" for my good buddy "Mikie" tonoght at The Whales Tale" , perhaps about ten or twelve of us. A shot of Sambuca, a toast, and a time to remember,....we loved you Mikie,...and damn it we miss the hell out of you!
-30-
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The old man and the iPod!
No it's a take off on Hemingway's "The old man and the sea". Naw no, but a damn catchy title for a blog today.
My wife has decided not to "lovingly bitch" about my drinking,eating fried foods,avoiding "veggies" at all costs, and not exercising at all, nevermind regularly, and my rock solid belief that there are vitamins and minerals, and healthy non-perscription herbs and that for everything that ails you, or threatens too. Yup,..she's come to the conclusion that my shameful personal quest to wear my body out like a car that never gets a tune up or an oil change is definately going to make her survive me, (then she can sell all my toys, buy treadmills and exercycles, and live on.)
But anyhow to thank her for her decision I decided to get her a treat. She does a lot of walking and bicycling for exercise and has appropriated the MP3 (What the hell does "MP3" mean anyhow?)she bought me last Christmas. But recently it's been getting the better of her. That's why I didn't mind her taking it. It had directions for use that would definately break your back to lift!
So being the great husband and good dubbie that I am I decided to see if I could get her an iPod off of e-bay. "They got a million of 'em!" So it's back to the drawing board and see which one is best and what they do. After an exhausting bunch of research I determined that any of them would suit our purposes so I began shopping price and condition.
Long story short I bid and won a "refurbished" i-Pod 4gig Nano,...white. Being a real sport I also got her a "docking unit" with a recharger built in as well. (Nothings to good for my woman!) Well it showed up a few days later and it was smaller than I thought, and as I read the literature and looked at the lack of buttons and all the "touch sensitive" controls I was impressed. So last Saturday I set about putting it all together for her and downloading some of the chior music she's learning for this Christmas (God is it that close to Christmas already?). Being the non-techno, 63 year old klutz that I am, with the patience of one of Michael Vicks more agressive pit bulls, I set aside four hours to figure it out.
Guess what? 30 minutes later it was up, working like a charm and so easy to learn, operate, load and arrange stuff I really WAS impressed. Gave it to the wife, and she's been happy as a clam with it since.
She gave me back my old MP3 player, I made an attempt to make it work, then made an impulsive decision. (It's the only kind I ever make,...the impulsive kind!) I went back on e-bay, found another one and put a significantly lower bid on it. Within minutes I get the stupid, "You have been out bid!" e-mail, so there are two days left and I set up my tracking reminders, and guess what, the bid does not go any higher. "Ah Ha! It must be the seller jacking the bid up." says I. So I start playiing games with him, you know, bump it the minimum possible, and see if he responds, if he does I take a higher bump, maybe a twenty percent bump. (remember I said I started this thing at a really low bid)and I watch the amount of time before the bump backs and a few other factors. Then I just flat quit bidding! It leaves the seller with the high bid and scratching thier head, "Where'd he go?" Then I lay in ambush for the two minute mark. That's two minutes before the auction ends, I put in a bid to see what he's got for a top limit on his bid, then wait until there are 30 seconds left and then if I really want the item I drop a bid in with ten seconds left with a much higher max bid limit. For example let's say his bid is $30 and by playing with him I learn he covers his bid at about five dollars more, ergo $35 high bid, I'll test him a couple of times and we wind up at $40-$55, then I quit and wait. At the two minute mark the bid has not changed so I pop a bid in for $57.50, get the "outbid" and come back at $61 and am now highbidder. Strategy working, he is on a $5 over max limit so he'll come back at say $65 to keep me interestedand I'll sit and do nothing. At ten seconds left I'll put in a bid for $70.01 with a max bid of $80.01.
With time constraints he has to either gamble on where my "top bid" is, or stick to his original strategy of $5 over to keep me on the hook. By the time he gets the $75 bid into the auction the timer ends and he gets an "out buid and auction over with me winning at $70.01!
Long story short I bought another iPod 4gig Nano for myself. I've been playing with it and loading my classical music and 60's stuff as well as a ton of new age,....and the best thing is that I'm comfortable with it!
The old fart triumphs over technology again!!!!
-30-
My wife has decided not to "lovingly bitch" about my drinking,eating fried foods,avoiding "veggies" at all costs, and not exercising at all, nevermind regularly, and my rock solid belief that there are vitamins and minerals, and healthy non-perscription herbs and that for everything that ails you, or threatens too. Yup,..she's come to the conclusion that my shameful personal quest to wear my body out like a car that never gets a tune up or an oil change is definately going to make her survive me, (then she can sell all my toys, buy treadmills and exercycles, and live on.)
But anyhow to thank her for her decision I decided to get her a treat. She does a lot of walking and bicycling for exercise and has appropriated the MP3 (What the hell does "MP3" mean anyhow?)she bought me last Christmas. But recently it's been getting the better of her. That's why I didn't mind her taking it. It had directions for use that would definately break your back to lift!
So being the great husband and good dubbie that I am I decided to see if I could get her an iPod off of e-bay. "They got a million of 'em!" So it's back to the drawing board and see which one is best and what they do. After an exhausting bunch of research I determined that any of them would suit our purposes so I began shopping price and condition.
Long story short I bid and won a "refurbished" i-Pod 4gig Nano,...white. Being a real sport I also got her a "docking unit" with a recharger built in as well. (Nothings to good for my woman!) Well it showed up a few days later and it was smaller than I thought, and as I read the literature and looked at the lack of buttons and all the "touch sensitive" controls I was impressed. So last Saturday I set about putting it all together for her and downloading some of the chior music she's learning for this Christmas (God is it that close to Christmas already?). Being the non-techno, 63 year old klutz that I am, with the patience of one of Michael Vicks more agressive pit bulls, I set aside four hours to figure it out.
Guess what? 30 minutes later it was up, working like a charm and so easy to learn, operate, load and arrange stuff I really WAS impressed. Gave it to the wife, and she's been happy as a clam with it since.
She gave me back my old MP3 player, I made an attempt to make it work, then made an impulsive decision. (It's the only kind I ever make,...the impulsive kind!) I went back on e-bay, found another one and put a significantly lower bid on it. Within minutes I get the stupid, "You have been out bid!" e-mail, so there are two days left and I set up my tracking reminders, and guess what, the bid does not go any higher. "Ah Ha! It must be the seller jacking the bid up." says I. So I start playiing games with him, you know, bump it the minimum possible, and see if he responds, if he does I take a higher bump, maybe a twenty percent bump. (remember I said I started this thing at a really low bid)and I watch the amount of time before the bump backs and a few other factors. Then I just flat quit bidding! It leaves the seller with the high bid and scratching thier head, "Where'd he go?" Then I lay in ambush for the two minute mark. That's two minutes before the auction ends, I put in a bid to see what he's got for a top limit on his bid, then wait until there are 30 seconds left and then if I really want the item I drop a bid in with ten seconds left with a much higher max bid limit. For example let's say his bid is $30 and by playing with him I learn he covers his bid at about five dollars more, ergo $35 high bid, I'll test him a couple of times and we wind up at $40-$55, then I quit and wait. At the two minute mark the bid has not changed so I pop a bid in for $57.50, get the "outbid" and come back at $61 and am now highbidder. Strategy working, he is on a $5 over max limit so he'll come back at say $65 to keep me interestedand I'll sit and do nothing. At ten seconds left I'll put in a bid for $70.01 with a max bid of $80.01.
With time constraints he has to either gamble on where my "top bid" is, or stick to his original strategy of $5 over to keep me on the hook. By the time he gets the $75 bid into the auction the timer ends and he gets an "out buid and auction over with me winning at $70.01!
Long story short I bought another iPod 4gig Nano for myself. I've been playing with it and loading my classical music and 60's stuff as well as a ton of new age,....and the best thing is that I'm comfortable with it!
The old fart triumphs over technology again!!!!
-30-
Pumpkin time is here!
I've had the fall blues thus far, so my blog has suffered.
This year particularly with all the drought and heat and humidity was just one shower to the next for some relief,...but the weather is breaking now, the humidity is going away, and the temperature is moderating to a nice chilly 75 degrees in the mornings.
Fall is a time for Pumpkins, Holloween, little rug rats pounding on my doorbell wanting a candy handout, college football, professional football, the world series (GO Red Sox!)and the disappearance of the tourists (thank God! We got your money go the hell home!)but it also has some "down" memories this year as a result of last years "rash" of sudden deaths of a few dear friends about this time.
Yeah, yeah, life goes on, life is for the living, and all those other platitudes of reality. But we really do need to remember,...actually we really don't need to remember so much as we need to never forget those firends, loved ones and family that have passed on.
Now yesterday afternoon about 4:30 I stopped at the Pub for a pint (I know,..who da thunk it?) and ran into a girl I've known for about ten years, she's married, has a couple of kids, one particular daughter (23 years old) who is a "meth head" and is giving her hell, and she's an "Annual" person for a landscape company (that means she has a knack for planting colorful flowers and arrangements for the "big" clients who have the money and just want "some extra color, you know something to 'Pop' out at you.")
But I digress. Lynn and her sidekick, Vicky were just having a cold beer and I joined them as none of out "regular crew" had yet arrived. After a few pleasantries and some idle chit-chat there was a minute of silence and as I turned my head I noticed Lynn was all teary eyed with a couple running down her cheek. I figured (dumb guy thing I know)she was upset about her daughter as she had made a couple of comments about her a little earlier. So I tried to cheer her up a bit and said something like, "She'll grow up soon Lynn, don't take it so hard, she's really not a bad kid." And she teared up alittle more and looked at me and said "I'm not worried about her,...but I just thought about seeing you here sipping your Guinness, but no Mikie beside you. God I miss that guy! he was a real human being."
I had been thinking about Mikie a lot becasue we're coming up on the first anniversary of his death next week, ...and I too miss my buddy.
Later in the early evening as I was sitting at the Pub with a few friends, old and new, it was alomst a collective thought from at least a dozen of us at the same time about my good buddy Mikie's passing a year ago. So we've collectively decided that Wednesday of this week we are all going to meet at "The Whales Tale" beach bar and hoist a shot of Sambuca for Mikie at 5 p.m.,...just to let him know we all still care, and we all still want to remember how much joy, silliness, just "being Mikie" he brought to all of us. For those of you who can't make it,...just pause at 5pm, lift a shot of Sambuca and say "To you Mikie,...we still miss you. Godspeed my friend."
I'm not being "morose", but simply trying to make the point that as we go on with life it is really incumbent on us to remember ALL those who make it possible for us. We remember the soldiers, the teachers, the business friends, the relatives, the ones who are all obvious, but when you are touched by someone who is simply a "friend" , asking nothing, giving everything, and always there for someone else, amidst thier own trails and tribulations,.....well, they deserve a special rememberance.
-30-
This year particularly with all the drought and heat and humidity was just one shower to the next for some relief,...but the weather is breaking now, the humidity is going away, and the temperature is moderating to a nice chilly 75 degrees in the mornings.
Fall is a time for Pumpkins, Holloween, little rug rats pounding on my doorbell wanting a candy handout, college football, professional football, the world series (GO Red Sox!)and the disappearance of the tourists (thank God! We got your money go the hell home!)but it also has some "down" memories this year as a result of last years "rash" of sudden deaths of a few dear friends about this time.
Yeah, yeah, life goes on, life is for the living, and all those other platitudes of reality. But we really do need to remember,...actually we really don't need to remember so much as we need to never forget those firends, loved ones and family that have passed on.
Now yesterday afternoon about 4:30 I stopped at the Pub for a pint (I know,..who da thunk it?) and ran into a girl I've known for about ten years, she's married, has a couple of kids, one particular daughter (23 years old) who is a "meth head" and is giving her hell, and she's an "Annual" person for a landscape company (that means she has a knack for planting colorful flowers and arrangements for the "big" clients who have the money and just want "some extra color, you know something to 'Pop' out at you.")
But I digress. Lynn and her sidekick, Vicky were just having a cold beer and I joined them as none of out "regular crew" had yet arrived. After a few pleasantries and some idle chit-chat there was a minute of silence and as I turned my head I noticed Lynn was all teary eyed with a couple running down her cheek. I figured (dumb guy thing I know)she was upset about her daughter as she had made a couple of comments about her a little earlier. So I tried to cheer her up a bit and said something like, "She'll grow up soon Lynn, don't take it so hard, she's really not a bad kid." And she teared up alittle more and looked at me and said "I'm not worried about her,...but I just thought about seeing you here sipping your Guinness, but no Mikie beside you. God I miss that guy! he was a real human being."
I had been thinking about Mikie a lot becasue we're coming up on the first anniversary of his death next week, ...and I too miss my buddy.
Later in the early evening as I was sitting at the Pub with a few friends, old and new, it was alomst a collective thought from at least a dozen of us at the same time about my good buddy Mikie's passing a year ago. So we've collectively decided that Wednesday of this week we are all going to meet at "The Whales Tale" beach bar and hoist a shot of Sambuca for Mikie at 5 p.m.,...just to let him know we all still care, and we all still want to remember how much joy, silliness, just "being Mikie" he brought to all of us. For those of you who can't make it,...just pause at 5pm, lift a shot of Sambuca and say "To you Mikie,...we still miss you. Godspeed my friend."
I'm not being "morose", but simply trying to make the point that as we go on with life it is really incumbent on us to remember ALL those who make it possible for us. We remember the soldiers, the teachers, the business friends, the relatives, the ones who are all obvious, but when you are touched by someone who is simply a "friend" , asking nothing, giving everything, and always there for someone else, amidst thier own trails and tribulations,.....well, they deserve a special rememberance.
-30-
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Boy am I a lazy bastard about writing!
I hardly believe this is the 10th of October!!!
It's like I said in a recent blog,...the older you get the faster that God Damn clock spins!! It was like yesterday when I wrote the last blog,but its over two weeks ago!
Please give me tinoght and I'll wrire another thrilling chapter tomorrow, .....I promise!
It's like I said in a recent blog,...the older you get the faster that God Damn clock spins!! It was like yesterday when I wrote the last blog,but its over two weeks ago!
Please give me tinoght and I'll wrire another thrilling chapter tomorrow, .....I promise!
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