Making Up for Lost Time
Holy cow, it's been over a week since I posted. Wow. My problem is that I think about stuff to blog about, make mental note, and then when it's time to sit down in front of the computer, I've forgotten all that clever stuff that I intended on blogging about. A quick survey of blogs shows that I'm somewhat in the middle when it comes to this behavioral pattern: The grandaddy of bloggers, Jeff, has blogged every day this week, including multiple entries on Tuesday; over in Xangaland, Steve's been pretty regular this week, too; Scott's busy spewing new vocab words and routinely gets all historical/metaphysical/Greek-Roman-Pantheological and way over my undergraduate head. OTOH, Wally's blogged exactly twice since June 3 (wifie Jules comes in a bit ahead with 3 June entries), and fellow-Cubs fan Brent has apparently had some chick steal either his heart or his keyboard, I'm not sure which. I probably should be working at this very moment, but oh well--I have loyal blog readers to address. Instead of blogging several different topics, one after another, I'll just roll it all up into one big entry, separated by topic.
Microsoft (Throw it Out One of the) Windows
At risk of sounding like a techno-geek, a small network has existed in our home for about a year and a half. That is, one internet connection and two computers (a desktop and a laptop) require some cool technology that allow them to share the likes of internet connections, files, and printers. Haven't ever really had any issues--I got it set up and it's been more-or-less trouble-free since. The laptop is normally connected wirelessly, but last week, I sat down beside the connection and actually plugged it in using an ethernet cable. Nothing. "A cable is unplugged," it told me. No, it isn't. The wireless still worked (which defies all logic--usually the hard-wired version works, and wireless screws up), and I discovered that I hadn't done any Windows updates in quite some time. So I did them (including XP Service Pack 2). Guess which ones worked AFTER the updates? NEITHER!!! So I took the laptop to work and plugged into the network there. Still nothing. So I decided to undo all those necessary changes and go back (hopefully) to where I started. Whew!! So now, I'm just wireless with the laptop, and it bugs the crap out of me as to why I can't actually plug into a connection somwhere. The jury is still out, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.
TB Scare
My brother is flying into Memphis on Saturday, to spend a week with Mom, celebrate his birthday, and probably realize all over again why he left in the first place. The trip was actually orchestrated by our step-brother Tony, who is currently in the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq (more on that later), and is coming home for a 15-day leave. Brad calls me last week and says, "I REALLY need to talk to Mom--do you know where she is? I really need to talk to her.......I might have a small problem." Uh oh. A million things went through my head, and I had no idea what kind of thing I would hear from him or Mom (whoever gave up the info first). As it turns out, one of Brad's coworkers had just found out that her sister has tuberculosis. This meant that the co-worker was exposed to it, and if she had a positive test, then all of Brad's office was exposed, and thus they would have to be tested. If Brad did in fact have it, then he'd have to be quarantined for 2 weeks and thus unable to make the trip. Basically, he was just giving us a "heads up" so that he wouldn't look like some lame, inconsiderate fool by cancelling his trip at the last minute. Turns out, the coworker's test was negative, so everybody was in the clear.
Victim of the Infomercial
A short time ago, Leah and I became perplexed by an infomercial. We were quite familiar with the basic product, but had never seen the feature-ridden variation that they were presenting. Supposedly, it's been sold for many years at fairs and trade shows, but I don't think I've ever run across it (and an off-brand one is sold at Home Depot). I thought it was pretty cool, and then, unsolicited, Leah says, "I think we should order that--I'd feel better with you using that."
The product: The Little Giant Ladder. Basically, it's an adjustable stepladder, A-frame ladder, extension ladder, and everything in-between. It can be used on stairs, and can be put at a 90 degree angle (to get closer to a wall, for example). It even separates into to "sawhorse" type things that can be used to make a scaffold (with their platform or a 2 x 12). Heck, when I first moved into my house, I had to buy a 7 or 8 foot ladder because our living room and master bedroom have 14 ft ceilings. And plant ledges. When it comes time to hang Christmas lights, I have to find and borrow an extension ladder that is usually pretty worn, and deal with the hassle of getting it transported to and from its location.
Anyway, we haven't ordered it yet, but probably will soon. It looks like it'll pretty much take care of every possible ladder-based need for the rest of my life. And when the spouse gives you license to spend money on a cool new Tim Allen-type toy, you gotta take it.
A Flash in the Pan
Anybody else ever watch, and enjoy, the T.V. show Ed? It used to be an NBC show, and I never really watched it religously........But when I did watch it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really know how to describe it--the writing was hilarious, the small-town feel of fictitious Stuckeyville, OH was sure to connect with folks, and the characters just seemed so "regular." Not to mention, Julie Bowen was absolutely adorable as Carol Vessey. Anyway, my friend Robert told me that TBS was playing it everyday at 11:00AM--it just started in January. I figured, heck, 4 seasons worth.....that's a great opportunity for my TiVo to work its magic and I can catch all the episodes that I didn't get to watch once a week from 2000-2004. So I've been enjoying it for about 3 weeks. Until some brain-dead person at TBS sold his soul to the devil, and the network has, effective tomorrow, yanked Ed and Carol and Molly and Warren Cheswick, for Becker. Becker?! Are you kidding me?! Maybe there's a reason, but I really, really enjoyed that show. Oh well, my only hope now is another network for syndication or the now-famous Complete Season X on DVD. Neither of which is on the horizon, I believe.
I Love My Big Brother
Speaking of television, CBS's Big Brother 6 gets started next week, and I can hardly wait. To me, this is the most realistic reality show possible. Let's face it, as much as I love Survivor (and I do!), it's pretty much the camping trip from hell. But everyone can identify--going on a church or school retreat, having a roommate in college, etc.--no matter how much you liked them, the practical side of living with them for whatever period of time no doubt changed how you felt about them (good or bad). I actually didn't start watching BB until last season....for some reason, I never really found the motive (or the friends/co-workers urging me) to watch it until I started tuning in last year. And I think it's cool that it's going on NOW and some stuff is LIVE--no Survivor-esque feelings that it happened 4 months ago and the finalists have already been determined (just sworn to secrecy). I hate that I missed the season where the exes were brought in as a surprise--I can only imagine how that went over. Something akin to a Baby Ruth in a swimming pool. I doubt that I will have the time, patience, or resources to offer detailed synopses here like Jeff did on the Amazing Race, but if you're into Big Brother, I'm sure I'll be posting on it and you can feel free to comment.
I wonder what happened to Drew and Diane (she was a cutie). And if I never hear or see that Holly bimbo again, I'll be happy.
Big Brother VI - Tuesdays (9:00P), Thursdays (8:00P), and Saturdays (8:00P). EDT.
Microsoft (Throw it Out One of the) Windows
At risk of sounding like a techno-geek, a small network has existed in our home for about a year and a half. That is, one internet connection and two computers (a desktop and a laptop) require some cool technology that allow them to share the likes of internet connections, files, and printers. Haven't ever really had any issues--I got it set up and it's been more-or-less trouble-free since. The laptop is normally connected wirelessly, but last week, I sat down beside the connection and actually plugged it in using an ethernet cable. Nothing. "A cable is unplugged," it told me. No, it isn't. The wireless still worked (which defies all logic--usually the hard-wired version works, and wireless screws up), and I discovered that I hadn't done any Windows updates in quite some time. So I did them (including XP Service Pack 2). Guess which ones worked AFTER the updates? NEITHER!!! So I took the laptop to work and plugged into the network there. Still nothing. So I decided to undo all those necessary changes and go back (hopefully) to where I started. Whew!! So now, I'm just wireless with the laptop, and it bugs the crap out of me as to why I can't actually plug into a connection somwhere. The jury is still out, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.
TB Scare
My brother is flying into Memphis on Saturday, to spend a week with Mom, celebrate his birthday, and probably realize all over again why he left in the first place. The trip was actually orchestrated by our step-brother Tony, who is currently in the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq (more on that later), and is coming home for a 15-day leave. Brad calls me last week and says, "I REALLY need to talk to Mom--do you know where she is? I really need to talk to her.......I might have a small problem." Uh oh. A million things went through my head, and I had no idea what kind of thing I would hear from him or Mom (whoever gave up the info first). As it turns out, one of Brad's coworkers had just found out that her sister has tuberculosis. This meant that the co-worker was exposed to it, and if she had a positive test, then all of Brad's office was exposed, and thus they would have to be tested. If Brad did in fact have it, then he'd have to be quarantined for 2 weeks and thus unable to make the trip. Basically, he was just giving us a "heads up" so that he wouldn't look like some lame, inconsiderate fool by cancelling his trip at the last minute. Turns out, the coworker's test was negative, so everybody was in the clear.
Victim of the Infomercial
A short time ago, Leah and I became perplexed by an infomercial. We were quite familiar with the basic product, but had never seen the feature-ridden variation that they were presenting. Supposedly, it's been sold for many years at fairs and trade shows, but I don't think I've ever run across it (and an off-brand one is sold at Home Depot). I thought it was pretty cool, and then, unsolicited, Leah says, "I think we should order that--I'd feel better with you using that."
The product: The Little Giant Ladder. Basically, it's an adjustable stepladder, A-frame ladder, extension ladder, and everything in-between. It can be used on stairs, and can be put at a 90 degree angle (to get closer to a wall, for example). It even separates into to "sawhorse" type things that can be used to make a scaffold (with their platform or a 2 x 12). Heck, when I first moved into my house, I had to buy a 7 or 8 foot ladder because our living room and master bedroom have 14 ft ceilings. And plant ledges. When it comes time to hang Christmas lights, I have to find and borrow an extension ladder that is usually pretty worn, and deal with the hassle of getting it transported to and from its location.
Anyway, we haven't ordered it yet, but probably will soon. It looks like it'll pretty much take care of every possible ladder-based need for the rest of my life. And when the spouse gives you license to spend money on a cool new Tim Allen-type toy, you gotta take it.
A Flash in the Pan
Anybody else ever watch, and enjoy, the T.V. show Ed? It used to be an NBC show, and I never really watched it religously........But when I did watch it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really know how to describe it--the writing was hilarious, the small-town feel of fictitious Stuckeyville, OH was sure to connect with folks, and the characters just seemed so "regular." Not to mention, Julie Bowen was absolutely adorable as Carol Vessey. Anyway, my friend Robert told me that TBS was playing it everyday at 11:00AM--it just started in January. I figured, heck, 4 seasons worth.....that's a great opportunity for my TiVo to work its magic and I can catch all the episodes that I didn't get to watch once a week from 2000-2004. So I've been enjoying it for about 3 weeks. Until some brain-dead person at TBS sold his soul to the devil, and the network has, effective tomorrow, yanked Ed and Carol and Molly and Warren Cheswick, for Becker. Becker?! Are you kidding me?! Maybe there's a reason, but I really, really enjoyed that show. Oh well, my only hope now is another network for syndication or the now-famous Complete Season X on DVD. Neither of which is on the horizon, I believe.
I Love My Big Brother
Speaking of television, CBS's Big Brother 6 gets started next week, and I can hardly wait. To me, this is the most realistic reality show possible. Let's face it, as much as I love Survivor (and I do!), it's pretty much the camping trip from hell. But everyone can identify--going on a church or school retreat, having a roommate in college, etc.--no matter how much you liked them, the practical side of living with them for whatever period of time no doubt changed how you felt about them (good or bad). I actually didn't start watching BB until last season....for some reason, I never really found the motive (or the friends/co-workers urging me) to watch it until I started tuning in last year. And I think it's cool that it's going on NOW and some stuff is LIVE--no Survivor-esque feelings that it happened 4 months ago and the finalists have already been determined (just sworn to secrecy). I hate that I missed the season where the exes were brought in as a surprise--I can only imagine how that went over. Something akin to a Baby Ruth in a swimming pool. I doubt that I will have the time, patience, or resources to offer detailed synopses here like Jeff did on the Amazing Race, but if you're into Big Brother, I'm sure I'll be posting on it and you can feel free to comment.
I wonder what happened to Drew and Diane (she was a cutie). And if I never hear or see that Holly bimbo again, I'll be happy.
Big Brother VI - Tuesdays (9:00P), Thursdays (8:00P), and Saturdays (8:00P). EDT.
posted by Eric C at 3:50 PM
4 Comments:
How cool is that of Leah to give you permission to buy tools? Props to Leah!
I didn't know you were a Survivor fan. Am I the only person left on the planet who doesn't watch Survivor?
I've only seen bits and pieces of Big Brother in previous years, but Jeff and Dad both watch it; so I might tune in this year. We'll see...
Reality shows are icky. Don't watch any of them. Unless you count SportsCenter as a reality show.
Yeah, Leah kinda shocked me with the "We should order that!" comment. But I went for it. And I had her state for the record on my digital recorder that she was not influenced by outside agents, or under duress when she made the statement!! : )
Survivor is a funny story...I actually watched only the finale of season 1, just because of the hype surrounding it all. I felt like I was an outsider who had missed the party. Season 2 (Australia), I watched religiously (Elisabeth was adorable). The next season (Africa) really turned me off cause the landscape was boring. But I tuned back in for All-Stars, Vanuatu, and Palau (and getting my wife hooked while I was at it). Our house doesn't watch much reality...but Big Brother and Survivor are not missed. Long live my TiVo subscription!!!!
I've watched Survivor from the beginning, including calling Nana from Scotland to get an update (in case my tape at home self-destructed).
As for Big Brother, I would hardly say it's realistic. None of us are packed in a small house and forced to play for food, not to mention the pressure to look good for the cameras when using the hot tub. However, I do enjoy when the "normal" folks team up against their "hot" housemates. Revenge is fun to watch.
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