Been a couple weeks....and a whole lot of nothing.

I guess the point of having a blog is to post stuff to it once and awhile....I've been busier then usual, so not much time to post stuff....sorry.

It's been work, sleep, eat and work on computers much of the past two weeks.

Our son has been wanting an iPhone for at least the last 2 years....Christmas came early this year. I bought him a barely used one on eBay and took it in to the AT&T store to have it activated.

He loves it.... Me? It's nice and everything, but I think I'll stick with my Blackberry...my fingers are too fat to use a virtual keyboard.

Anyone see this? College Grads Coming Up Short in Professionalism. What the hell? It's not the colleges fault....it's shitty parenting. If you let your kids act like assholes....guess what? They are gonna grow up to be assholes.

We just had a beautiful weekend weather wise here on the east coast....now it's back to rain. Kinda makes me wanna crawl into a huge vat of mashed potatoes and eat my way out with a spoon made out of butter.

I like winter more then I used to, my knees on the other hand aren't looking forward to it a whole lot. Maybe someone sells battery powered knee warmers....oops-looks like someone does. Not sure if my lovely wife would want me to spend 260 bucks (plus another hundy for 2 extra batteries) for them though. They sure do like tempting though....

I see things are going just peachy over in Afghanistan....if the USSR got their asses handed to them 20 years ago...well, maybe they oughta be a clue as to what we are headed for.

I sure would like these folks to get done with there 15 minutes of fame real soon. They are both starting to annoy me. Grow the hell up and raise your kids.

As long as he stays in Texas, he should do fine. Would I sit and listen to him? Maybe.

Ummm....did everyone forget he was a kid toucher? Just sayin'.

Holy crap....getting the Democrats to do anything must be like herding cats.

I call bullshit.

Don't fall for this one folks.

till later.

The accidental haircut..........

I've been on vacation the past week.....gotta say-doing a "staycation" is way more relaxing than packing up the van and going somewhere for a week.

The downside?

You don't get to go away and see stuff.

The upside?

You save a pile of money and get to sleep in your own bed.

Unfortunately, my wife had to work most of the week, so I scheduled lots of computer work to keep me busy.

I do know one thing, if I had to drive a lot for my job.....I'd probably buy a used police car and leave all the markings on it to drive to appointments. I had a client over in Lancaster and drove on Rt 30 to get there in haevy traffic.

My speedster days are long gone, I'm fairly content to drive along at 5 mph over the speed limit...I felt like I was in a NASCAR race for a half hour. People were following me less than a car length behind me, cutting in in front of me, driving while talking on the cell, wondering all over the road etc.....I think we need to tighten up traffic enforcement....if you pass a stringent test-you can drive on the highway-if you don't pass-you get to drive on surface streets.

Anyways......this was my birthday weekend and once a year my in-laws take all their kids out to dinner theater. As it so happens, I needed a haircut. My lovely wife always cuts my hair and she always does a great job. As I was fetching my clippers...I didn't notice that the attachment on the clippers that regulates how much hair is removed ....sorta fell off.

My wife took one nice long swipe at the back of my head and well...I kinda now how a really short haircut all over as she didn't want me going to dinner with a nice haircut (from the front view) with a bald stripe going up the back of my head.

Eh, it will grow back.

My pop surprised me with one helluva a birthday present. 2 years ago, I borrowed several thousand bucks to set up by business and buy some advertising. I started paying him back this year and his birthday present to me was to completely forgive my entire loan to him.

Thanks, dad! My business partner (my son) and I pretty much throw all the money back into the business at this point. My son is going to be an expert as using a Macbook, he's been using it pretty much non-stop for the past few days.

I don't think I'll be able to quit my job any time soon, but it will be one heck of a nice source of income when I retire from making donuts.

This past weekend is also traditionally..."Door Picture Day". My parents have been taking pictures of Katie and Dan every year since they've been babies.



They ain't babies any more.

Our daughter is in her 4th/5th year of her PA degree and our son is in 11th grade and might possible end up 7 feet tall. The kid is tall....but I can still take him.....barely.

Oh, I almost forget...I'm now 50 as of today. Other than 85 year old knees....life is pretty good.

till later.

Still think about you........

My Aunt Helen passed away on October 9th several years ago.......I still think about her most everyday.

I think I inherited most of her personality.

...... at least the good parts.

Love, your nephew.

My son and I are ...........

We are the proud owner of a new 13" Macbook Pro with the faster processor, 4 gigs of RAM and I sprung for iWork as well.

First impressions?

This thing is SOLID.

Since it's made out of aluminum, it doesn't flex at ALL.

Super simple to set up and since I have an early copy of Windows 7, I used Boot Camp to install that as well. Win 7 works fairly well on a 4 year old laptop but it flies on the Macbook. If you've stuck with XP for the past few years...Win 7 will be a whole new ball game, but I recommend either waiting to get it on a new PC or buying a system builders copy from Newegg and doing a clean install.

I like the Mac's glass screen with the LED backlighting....I now see why they cost more then the usual PC stuff you buy from HP or Dell-part of it is because they don't cheap out on materials...the display is NICE! The backlit keyboard is really sweet as well, not sure what's different about the key action, but it feels so much smoother then my HP laptop.

I'm just some joker that makes donuts for a living but I can see switching over to all Apple machines as mine wear out. They are nice pieces.

I've was working on a new clients machine yesterday....as part of my service-I open desktops up and blow all the dust out of them and reseat all the connectors and RAM. This particular machine had never been opened up or cleaned since it was new 5 or 6 years ago.

I tried using compressed air out of a can....didn't cut it, I ended up using my leaf blower on it. The machine might not be salvalgeable as the dust had built up so badly that none of the fans were able to spin and I'm afraid something overheated in the past because the machine will only run for a minute of so before shutting off. I want to at least pull the hard drive out and get all the data out before I give up.

The worst news you can give someone isn't that their computer is dead...it's the fact that the data is toast as well.

One more helpful hint....change your routers default passwords...any geek out there already knows your default password.

Nice....2 shootings in one day. I drive past were the second shooting occurred every morning on my way to drop off our son at school. Not saying that York is unsafe but it isn't exactly safe either.

I am having some bumper stickers made.....In big letters-"Don't Blame ME"...in smaller letter below..."I didn't vote for him."

I'm a registered Libertarian, so I voted my party in the last election.

I'm not sure what the hell is going on in DC but Obama has a majority in BOTH houses and he hasn't got shit done yet.

Maybe I don't have a firm grasp on how things work down in Washington, but if I was in charge and had the advantage in both houses....I'd be busting some Democratic skulls together to get stuff done.

I know I busted Bush's balls on an almost daily basis when he was in office...but he was a complete dumbass. At least (I think anyways) that Obama has at least half a brain...I'd sure like to see something accomplished soon before China owns all our debt obligations.

This is a shame....all I can think about is how the 8 kids are handling all this. Mom and Dad are being complete assholes.

Drive one and 1/2 blocks? Damn, that's lazy. I used to have to walk or ride my bike over a mile to get to high school every morning.....at least until I got my first car.

till later.

Clutter happens.......

Since I'm on vacation this week...I figured it would be a good time to clean out all my drawers and closet and switch everything over to "winter" clothes and also clean up around my nightstand where I seem to pile all of my read and unread magazines and any other crap laying around on my dresser.

5 hours later...I have my nightstand cleaned, my clothes switched over in my dresser and the top of my dresser cleaned off. Barely touched my side of the closet. I have a 1 year rule...if you haven't used it in the past year, has no sentimental value and it didn't cost a ton of money to purchase...it goes in the trash or gets donated.

I'm gonna donate a bunch of clothing....except some of my clothing won't be donated. I have some extremely worn out t-shirts that no longer fit me and probably will never fit me again...but I can't bring myself to chuck them....too many good memories in those old shirts.....

We are going out to dinner this weekend....bad news-the pants that fit me in January no longer fit...I'm gonna have to do a "Billy Bob" and go to Wal Mart for a new pair with a higher number waist size....then lose some damn weight. My problem is my knees have never come back 100% after my surgery this year....the bastards hurt to some degree pretty much all the time.

I have a brand new 13" Macbook Pro sitting here ready to get opened up and turned on...I figured I'd have plenty of time this week. As it turns out, the computer consulting is rapidly filling up my spare time this week. I'm all set-I got a book and a magazine with a test of the exact model I bought included....just gotta carve out some time.

Why not right now instead of writing this blog entry?

This blog entry was put together over a couple days here and there and right at the moment-I'm having a cocktail and I'll be headed to bed. My rule for working on computers? Never work on computers when you're tired or when you've imbibed.

till later.

I'm not nuts.....honest.

If you were to walk into our house....you'd kinda be able to tell I like computers. Between my son and I-we have 3 laptops, 2 desktops and a new 13 inch MacBook pro on the way.

I've had several inquirys about Apple in the past year and since I've never had one before...I've had to turn down business.

Turning down business ain't a very good business strategy if you wanna build a business so I took the plunge and layed out a fair amount of money for one of their machines.

Sure hope my plan it makes me some money. I have a year to pay for it and also gotta pay back my pop for a loan I took out to get everything off the ground.

Making a little pocket money sure is expensive:-)

Why.....................

Trying to figure out why the cheapest laptop I can buy from Apple is over a thousand bucks for a 13 inch screen.

I want to learn how Apples work so I can add them to my repertoire. I've had a few client inquiry's about setting them up...not really sure how they work or much of anything else about them. I figure the best way to learn is to buy one and figure it out for myself.

Anyone out there have a good reason why they are so damn expensive?

till later.

Nobody believes me..............

When I tell folks I'm almost 50 years old....they usually put me at around late 30's or maybe 40. I suppose part of it is that I don't act my age.....and part of it is the fat cells in my face pushing out the wrinkles.

Anyways....my son and I are gonna invite one of my nephews over to light some of my old model cars on fire and roll them down the driveway.

Doesn't sound very mature for a 50 year old.....screw that-I wanna have fun and what 10 year old nephew wouldn't enjoy having fun lighting plastic model cars on fire with an adults permission? Hell, I'd like to set a full size car on fire and roll it down the street, but I think I might get in trouble for that.

Most folks over 50 probably ain't gonna see any humor here.....



Me? Yeah, I think it's funny.....

till later.

Tooth In Eye Surgery Successful

This is some seriously cool stuff.

Sharron Kay Thornton’s Tooth In Eye Surgery Successful

Be afraid............

Now I ain't the bestest speller in the world, but maybe Grandma shoulda ran this sign past one of her grandkids before she let herself loose.

Long after she's dead....her image will still be on the Internet.

The Internet is forever.

Moran.

I'm not complaining, mind you......

One week....absolutely no consulting at all. Zip, nada, zilch.

This upcoming week....I'm almost completely booked for the week and it's only Sunday.

If you live anywhere in Central PA....you know that this week is York Fair week. I typically don't go, I really don't like being in large crowds of people....and if you've been in a rundown Wal-Mart lately-those are the same people that go to the fair.

How come Apple releases a new version of iTunes every 4 days? It keeps asking me if I want to update.....no. I want you to leave me the hell alone so I can play my stuff.

Never drive DWI...let a 6 year old do it......

till later

Mom said there would be days like this.....

So......I was showing a new associate how to drain and filter the shortening in the donut fryer. I carefully explained what to do and what not do......and proceeded to do a "what not to do".

Things could be worse.....I worked at a place 20 years ago that had a 500 gallon shortening spill....that was a mess.

It always helps to look on the bright side when you screw stuff up....it can always be worse, whatever-my trainee and I both got a laugh out of my clumsiness. Now he how knows what a "what not to do" looks life in real life.

till later.

Cat Shower

I really like cats...but this one is kinda dumb.

YouTube - Cat Shower

Best time of the year.......

Back when I was a kid....summer was my all-time favorite season. Now that I'm a tad bit older-it's tough to beat the 8 weeks of September and October. Cool crisp mornings...humidity free in the daytime and nice and cool in the evening.

This week at work, I'm training a new associate on the fine art of baking and donut making. If I had my druthers...I'd be training people all the time-it's one of my favorite things to do. The gentleman I'm working with this week is semi-retired and was looking for something extra to do. It's always a pleasure to work with more "mature" associates....

I may sound like an old whippersnapper, but kids nowadays could learn a few things from us older guys.
_________________________________

This is one of my favorite shows. Pretty cool how pawn shops work but I enjoy the interaction between the grandfather, the son and the grandson. My dad, me and my son are pretty tight as well...maybe we oughta start a business together.

I dunno...but if I owned a store with tons of shiny new computers-I'd have a steel grate across the door when I wasn't open.

I was on Facebook and saw one of my coworkers baby girl....awww she is soooo adorable. I can hardly wait for grandkids. Our daughter is still in college so there isn't a rush, but it will be so cool when it happens.

I like maps and I like science...way cool site.

Biggest WTF? I've seen for awhile....this however, comes in at a close second place.

till later.

Some folks are thick.............

So, a large framed customer (the guy was really, really fat) walks up to the counter last night and asks me if donuts have a lot of calories.

My first thought was to ask him if he was high.

Thought better of that and told the guy that yes, donuts are probably one of the worst things you can eat if you're watching what you eat.

He seemed satisfied with that answer.....and then proceeded to buy a dozen donuts. Oooookay. Let's face it-not many skinny people eat donuts.
~
One of my friends at work has Downs Syndrome. He doesn't let that get in his way of putting in 100% effort every night he comes to work.....there are lots of folks that are "normal" that don't have nearly the work ethic that Brian does.

My favorite saying he has is "shut up and get to work" ....ya gotta like a guy like that. He doesn't complain, he doesn't explain...he just smiles and works his ass off.
~
It always amazes me how some folks are complete assholes when they think they are anonymous on the internet.

Me?

Yeah, on rare occasions I'll be an asshole, but I always try to do it in person....it feels better that way and you get to see the look on someones face when you call them out. I think I might be a confrontation addict.
~
Madonna doesn't get it....nobody gives a shit about what she thinks-they paid for a ticket to hear her sing, not listen to a lecture.
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Why is this news? You know my opinion-Jon and Kate need to suck it up for the next 10 years or so and finish raising their kids.
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Anybody watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta? I like the other locations the show has been to but I can't stand listening to ebonics...so I'm skipping this run.
~
People of Wal-Mart.....yeah, I've seen a few of these folks.

till later.

Back to school...

Our son starts 11th grade on Wednesday. One question.....what's up with starting school before Labor Day?

Being somewhat old school, I think this is a dumbass idea.

If I was king....school would start the week after Labor Day and run 5 1/2 days a week until May 1st with one week off at Christmas.

The best part of being a kid is having summers off.

I know when I was a kid, summer was the time to get part time jobs mowing yards, paper routes and I also worked at an auction house from age 12 to age 16 every Saturday.

I did all that stuff and still had plenty of time to have fun and get into trouble....just ask my mom.

I got one of those fancy Blackberry's.....I'm getting to the point where I have to check my schedule before I make appointments....I'm absent minding and I need something that beeps at me when I need to be somewhere.....ain't technology great?

I was setting up my mom's laptop so she gets all of her e mail from her different accounts sent to Windows Mail......jeez, all you have to do is miss one port setting and nothing works right. Hopefully, I have it done correctly (after several attempts) and ....Mom, if you're reading this-feel free to chip in and tell everyone what a wonderful son I am.

My pop is wearing one of those portable heart monitors for a month, the docs are looking for an irregular heartbeat....my old man is one tough Irish guy-he said they ain't gonna find any problems. Alrightly then dad...just listen to the doctors....we'd like you to stick around for awhile.

Wow...this whole Michael Jackson thing won't die (see what I did there?) My opinion? It's a sad tale starting from the time the dude burned all his hair off filming a Pepsi commercial and it went downhill from there. He was one strange guy.

I'm waiting for a better program. I want the government to replace my Chrysler minivan with another Chrysler product for free since they are pretty much owned by the government. Then I'd sell the new vehicle. I have no idea what made me buy a Chrysler product but never again....I'm sticking with Subies from now on.

I'm one of those Libertarian nutjobs, so I didn't vote for Obama but his party has the edge in both the Senate and the House of Representatives......why isn't anything getting done? The Democrats continue to find new ways to lose. I'm sure it ain't this simple, but if I was President, I'd call each and every Democrat to the Oval Office, get about 2 inches away from them and read them the riot act. They are gonna piss away the next year and get squat accomplished.

What do I know, all I do is make donuts and fix computers.....and shoot my mouth off.

till later.

Back to normal....

Our daughter is back at college, our son starts 11th grade this week and fall is just around the corner. In 6 or 7 months....our son will be driving the green monster to school and dad will be able to hit the sack right away when he comes home from donut duty at 5:30 AM.

Yay.

Not too sure about my diet. All I know is that I gotta take it just a touch more serious. Dumb and fat ain't no way to go through life. What kills me is when I come home in the morning and want to inhale the entire contents of the refrigerator.

I have 4 perfectly good bikes.....maybe I oughta ride one of them once and awhile.

till later.

YouTube - The Talking Goat

Wow, that goat has HUGE balls.....and it talks.

YouTube - The Talking Goat

Organizing for America

I think I'll sneak some of these ringtones onto my father-in-laws phone.....

Organizing for America | BarackObama.com

Sure hope he has a sense of humor.