Family......

I'm a lucky guy.

Most folks either just get along or barely tolerate their in-laws.

I love my in-laws as much as my own parents.

Just thought I'd share:-)

till later.

What I'm thankful for.............

Let's put this right out there first thing.....the past couple of days have been very difficult for myself, my mom and my entire family. I'd say the only thing that compares to it is when my beloved Aunt Helen passed away several years ago.

So most folks wouldn't be in a very thankful mood.

Me?

Honestly, I am extremely thankful....let me list a few reasons.

-I'm thankful my father passed in a matter of moments...he didn't suffer and he died at home with my mom right by his side.

-I'm thankful that we live less then a mile away from my parents house, I was able to be at the hospital to say my final goodbyes and our pastor was also there within minutes to guide us in a final prayer and to provide us some much needed strength.

-I'm thankful for the fact that my father had previously decided to be an organ donor. The person from the donor agency I spoke to on the afternoon of my fathers passing was fairly certain that his corneas would be able to be harvested. If you're not an organ donor- step up to the plate the next time you get your license renewed and check the organ donor box.

-I'm thankful for my Aunt Betty and my cousin Gail and her husband.....they were able to bring my aunt (my mom's sister) to the house from New Jersey in a matter of hours. Like I've mentioned before-my Aunt Betty is truly a gift from God.

-I am thankful for our family friend Chris Lehman, my mom considers her as part of the family and she was at my mom's side within minutes of hearing about my fathers passing. She is also a very special person-thank you so much for being there for my mom.

-I'm thankful for the ability to not dwell on bad things that have already happened.....I can't change the past but I can have a say on the future. I miss my pop terribly and my mom misses him even more but we have lots of living to do in the future and I'm ready to get to it.

-I'm thankful for memories. Every time I think of my dad....I find myself remembering something we did together and it makes me laugh. Sure, I'm sad...but my old man had a pretty good sense of humor and it would piss him off if he thought we were sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. After his second heart attack and especially the past few months-he's had some tremendous pain due to his spinal cord collapsing......I don't think I ever heard him complain-he was one tough Irishman. I'm having a ring made with "One Tough Irishman" inscribed on it.....once I put it on-it ain't never coming off.

-I am speaking for my mom here a little bit....but we are thankful for our wonderful family. I couldn't imagine going through this without my wife and kids. If I didn't have my wife to be my rock....man, I don't even want to go there. I can only imagine how my mom feels right now as my dad was her rock.

-I am thankful for a very understanding boss. Rose (my boss) and I have been friends since we were kids and she lost her father during Thanksgiving a number of years ago, so she knows exactly what we are going through.....she has my back and I have hers.....couldn't ask for a better boss-she's good people.

-I'm thankful for all his friends that I've talked to the past two days.....kinda funny, my dad set up an appointment for me at a local service station to pick up some tires for my car on Wednesday- I shared the news of my father's passing with the guys working there (they were friends) and for 15 minutes the 6 or 7 guys at the garage were telling me how many friends he has and what a good guy he was. He sold tires for 50 years in York County to hundreds of service stations and tire wholesalers....he knew a lot of people.

-Finally, I'm thankful for all my friends that have emailed, sent texts and called the last two days. You are all wonderful and I thank you for your kind thoughts. This blog has been good therapy as I enjoy writing out my thoughts...... I know I ain't the next James Joyce, so thanks for bearing with me.

I could go on and on about how thankful I am.....

.....but I think you get the point:-)

till later.

Thank you............

Thanks everyone for your kind wishes.

We had a tough day today getting some of the arrangements taken care of. I'll post more details Friday evening after we talk to our pastor but at this point- it looks like Sunday December 5th we will be having a celebration of life service-time to be determined.

I can share this, as per my fathers request-there will be no viewing or a traditional funeral. After his usable organs and corneas have been harvested, he will be cremated and sometime in the future, we will be traveling to Ireland to spread his ashes.

Just have to say thank you to my Aunt Betty who is staying over for a few weeks to help my mom get through this difficult time.

Everyone should have an Aunt Betty...she is without a doubt the toughest, wisest, strongest person I know and there is no way my mom could get through this difficult time without her. Aunt Betty is a rock and I love her as much as I love my own mom.

Having said that, my wife (who my mom considers as a daughter) and our son Daniel have been wonderful these past two days. Not sure how or why God decided I deserve such a wonderful woman be to be my wife, but I couldn't ask for a smarter, wiser, stronger beautiful woman to share my life with.

Our son has been right next his grandmother for the past 24 hours...he's 17 but he's been a man the last couple days. I guess my wife and I can take some credit for how wonderful and caring he is, but at the end of the day- he's taken it on his own to provide my mom with an arm to lean on. I am very proud of my son and sometimes life deals us some tough lessons on the way to manhood, he's proven himself to be up to the challenge of becoming a man.

Even in death.....I couldn't ask for a better family.

till later.

Rest in peace dad........

I wasn't planning on writing a eulogy for my dad this week.....but my pop died at home unexpectedly on the morning of November 23rd.

While he wasn't in the best of health, we thought he was gonna stick around for a few years, but I suppose God had other plans for him.

He was a lot of things to a lot of people, he proudly served in the US Navy for 6 years, he was a wonderful husband to my mom, he was a good father to me, a great grandfather, he loved being involved with church, he was an active member of the local Lions Club, he loved animals, anything Disney and most importantly........when I was a kid-he helped me deliver my Sunday paper route when it was cold and rainy.

I almost think he enjoyed having me wake him up 5AM on rainy Sundays to help me deliver my route....we'd deliver the papers and then go to the donut shop, order coffee and donuts and shoot the breeze for an hour.

In recent years, we would meet at a local restaurant on Saturday mornings and do much the same.

When I was growing up, my folks didn't have a lot of money, but they always had money for books, I passed my love of reading down to our children and for that- I have my dad to thank.

Out of all his accomplishments, the thing he was most proud of was his grandkids ...Katie and Daniel. My dad struggled in school when he was a kid, and he loved the fact that both of his grandchildren are excellent students....our daughter is finishing up her Masters next year and our son is in his senior year of high school with plans to attend college next fall.

Will we miss my dad?

Oh yeah, he is leaving a huge hole in all our hearts...he wasn't much for public displays of affection....you might even say he came off as a tough guy sometimes. Inside however- he was a softie, and we all knew that underneath that tough exterior- if you were his friend, you had a friend for life-he had your back.

My dad lived life on his terms and lived and died exactly the way he wanted to die, he wasn't afraid of death, only afraid of a lingering death....thankfully the Lord took him in a matter of moments. He was 73 when he died....and well, I'm not sure how anyone could pack more into 73 years then he did.

If he was still here to tell you, he'd say he ticked off just about everything on his bucket list with the exception of riding on a Harley and seeing his grandkids graduate from college. That's something that he's gonna have to do from Heaven..at least he'll have good seats.

Getting a little chilly out.......

Yesterday I probably was out for one of the last rides of the year on my bike/moped before I need to dress like an Eskimo. Since I have no cartilage in either knee, arthritis and no ACL in one knee.....I gotta keep them warm or else I literally can't walk. I'm thinking that neophrene knee braces are a start plus all the usual bike clothing.

If you're new here....I'm sure ya'll have noticed that my bike has a motor on it.

I'm not lazy, just can't pedal more then a few minutes without debilitating knee pain. As I'm not quite ready to stop cycling....the motor on the back gives me a little bit of an assist. On flat ground, it will go 30 mph......ain't no way I'm going to be going 30 mph this winter- I figure that if it's 40 degrees out and I go 30 mph....I'll probably freeze to death in about 15 minutes.

Yesterday it was 50 degrees and I was out in jeans and a sweatshirt....I lasted about 30 minutes before I started to feel my knees lock up....it sucks getting old.

Here's the part of the blog where I shoot my mouth off.............

I normally don't fly, I've only ever been in an airplane 2 times and a helicopter once-so I'm not a guy that flies very much. Been reading about how the TSA has been instructed to frisk people before they hop on a plane.....all I can say is it has to suck to fly.

My next door neighbor is a pilot for a large airline....seeing what he has gone through in the past 10 years since 9/11.....all I can say is that pilots are probably underpaid for what they have to do. It just ain't hopping into a plane and twisting a few dials, too be honest, I can't think of a more stressful way to make a living.

Having said that.....my neighbor couldn't be a nicer guy.

We are heading into the holidays and since I work retail...it can be a stressful time to work in a grocery store like I do. For me.....it ain't no biggie- if I get a rude customer, I turn the tables on them and make sure I act super-nice back to them.

It's really hard for a customer who's acting like an asshole to keep acting like an asshole if the person on the other side of the counter (me) is unfailingly polite. Most of the time, folks chill out and calm down....but about 1% of people get more pissed when you're super-polite to them.

Those are my favorite customers because I like to see how far I can out-polite them before they have a meltdown.

I'm very happy that I've never seen this young man perform. Hell, I've never even heard him speak....and I'm okay with that.

till later.

One update every 2 months..........

Kinda spend most of my time on Facebook nowadays....sorry bout the lack of updates. I've been working 6 nights a week and on computers in the daytime...something has to give and unfortunately....it's this blog that has taken the brunt of it.

I'll leave you with this email my friend Hank sent me......

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:


1.Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:
1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4.esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavoured mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

till later.

Anger management........

When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know, but you know deserves it.

I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make.

I found the number and dialed it.

A man answered, saying, 'Hello.'

I politely said, 'This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robyn Carter?'

Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear 'Get the right fucking number!' And the phone was slammed down on me.

I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude.

When I tracked down Robyn's correct number to call her, I found that I had accidentally transposed the last two digits.

After hanging up with her, I decided to call the 'wrong' number again.

When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled, 'You're an asshole!' And hung up.

I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer.

Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, 'You're an asshole!'

It always cheered me up.

When Caller ID was introduced, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop.

So, I called his number and said, 'Hi, this is John Smith from the telephone company. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller ID Program?'

He yelled, 'NO!' And slammed down the phone.

I quickly called him back and said, 'That's because you're an asshole!' And hung up.

One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot.

Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for.

I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot, but the idiot ignored me.

I noticed a 'For Sale ' sign in his back window, so I wrote down his number.

A couple of days later, right after calling the first asshole (I had his number on speed dial) I thought that I'd better call the BMW asshole, too.

I said, 'Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?'

He said, 'Yes, it is.'

I then asked, 'Can you tell me where I can see it?'

He said, 'Yes, I live at 34 Oak Tree Blvd., in Fairfax. It's a yellow ranch style house and the car's parked right out in front.'

I asked, 'What's your name?'

He said, 'My name is Don Hansen.'

I asked, 'When's a good time to catch you, Don?'

He said, 'I'm home every evening after five.'

I said, 'Listen, Don, can I tell you something?'

He said, 'Yes?'

I said, 'Don, you're an asshole!'

Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too.

Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call.

Then I came up with an idea...

I called asshole #1.

He said, 'Hello'

I said, 'You're an asshole!' (But I didn't hang up.)

He asked, 'Are you still there?'

I said, 'Yeah!'

He screamed, 'Stop calling me'

I said, 'Make me.'

He asked, 'Who are you?'

I said, 'My name is Don Hansen.'

He said, 'Yeah? Where do you live?'

I said, 'asshole, I live at 34 Oak Tree Blvd., in Fairfax , a yellow ranch style home and I have a black Beamer parked in front.'

He said, 'I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers.'

I said, 'Yeah, like I'm really scared, asshole,' and hung up.

Then I called asshole #2.

He said, 'Hello?'

I said, 'Hello, asshole,'

He yelled, 'If I ever find out who you are...'

I said, 'You'll what?'

He exclaimed, 'I'll kick your ass'

I answered, 'Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now.'

Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I was on my way over to 34 Oak Tree Blvd, in Fairfax, to kill my gay lover.

Then I called Channel 7 News about the gang war going down in Oak Tree Blvd in Fairfax .

I quickly got into my car and headed over to Fairfax .

I got there just in time to watch two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars, an overhead news helicopter and surrounded by a news crew.

NOW I feel much better.

Anger management really does work.

A joke that's right up my alley........

After a late night of partying, a guy invites his friends back to his new apartment.

While he is giving them a tour, one of his friends notices a huge gong and hammer near the wall.

"What's up with the gong?", he asks.

"Oh that's not a gong, it is a talking clock."

His friends voice skepticism, "Dude, that's not a talking clock, it's obviously a friggin' gong."

The guy replies, "No, I swear, you hit it with that hammer as hard as you can and it tells you the time. Go ahead, give it a try."

His friend shrugs his shoulders, grabs the hammer, rears back, and strikes it with a loud: "GOOOOOOOOOOONG!"

After a few seconds they hear a voice from the other side of the wall, "Hey asshole! IT'S THREE-THIRTY IN THE F*****G MORNING!"

I love old people.............

I'm working with one of my senior citizen clients......I needed some information about their hard drive, older folks keep all their records. I had the info I needed in about 15 seconds. If you're under the age of 60....I bet you don't have all the paperwork for the computer you bought 6 years ago.

The only issue my older clients have (and I don't blame them) is that they get upset when the computer they paid well over a thousand dollars for 8 or 10 years ago is completely obsolete. The good news is that for considerably less than 1000 bucks- I can get them a system that is way, way faster than what they have and if they want to spend more then 5 or 6 hundred bucks...I can get a killer system for 1000 bucks or so.

I'm setting up a laptop for a client.......I had a budget of 1000 dollars- bought and configured a Dell Studio 15 inch. Got a mid level i5 processor, a 1 gig video card , 4 gigs of system RAM plus a few other upgrades....can't beat Dell if you know a few coupon codes and pick your components carefully. It'll be quite awhile until I upgrade my laptop-but the more I work with Dell laptops....the more I like them.

I finally worked up the courage to step on the scale........I had to double check it- I've gained less then 10 pounds since my knee surgery...couldn't believe I wasn't fatter. Right before my surgery, I had managed to lose almost 30 pounds, so I have to lose 10 pounds to get back to where I was before surgery and another 25 pounds to get back down to 199. It's been awhile since I've been below 200, so I figure that will be a good goal for now.

I don't think I'll be able to expense this.....but my consulting company bought a front loader washing machine. Our old one was getting ready to shit the bed and I have a year to pay for it....so it's all good and now my lovely wife has to do less loads (she doesn't let me help).

I don't spend as much time on this blog as I used to......I do post stupid and useless links on Facebook with some regularity....so go there if you want to waste your time.

till later.

Bikes....bikes......bikes....

Got my bike/moped with a motor to ride outside and I gots my mountain bike with skinny tires mounted to my trainer to ride inside.

The doc said I can pretty much ride as much as I want.

That's what I plan to do.....rain or shine.

till later.

Big Government.

Makes me proud to be a murican.

Masterchef...........

Just finished watching the 2nd episode of Masterchef America.....I gotta say- I'm not that impressed with most of the people they picked to be on the show.

Having been in the food service business for the past 35 years- I don't think most of those folks realize how hard it is to cook professionally.....do I think I could do better? Maybe...maybe not, but watching the show last night- I'm getting the impression that some of the contestants have no idea what they are getting into, quite a few of them had that "deer in the headlights" look.

If you work professionally in food service- the hours suck, it's usually God-awful hot, you're on your feet for a minimum of 10 hours a night....and here's a dirty little secret- most of the time it's a slog. You have to make the same things night in and night out and it has to be exactly the same as the night before and it has to be perfect. You screw up one time and it doesn't matter if the other 99% of what you did on your shift is perfect...that 1% of screwups can and will define your career.

Does a stay-at-home mom or a construction worked have the creativity, food knowledge and discipline to create new dishes each week? Not sure, but I'm betting some of these folks are gonna be in the weeds real quick.

I'm not really sure why people choose food service as a career.....I think it helps if you are a little left of center-most good cooks, bakers and chefs aren't 100% normal.

Why do I do it?

I enjoy creating things and I also get to teach people how to bake. It's always fun when I get to see the light bulb go on over someones head when they "get" something and it's really neat to see someone create something that didn't know they were capable of.

Anyways... it will be interesting to see who does the best in the series. It's too early to pick a favorite but it will be interesting to watch the cooks perform when they are on unfamiliar ground and out of their comfort zone.

till later.

My ass hurts...........

Rode my bike about 45 miles yesterday with my good friend Hank. I got the okay from my knee surgeon to pretty much ride as much as I want.....even if my knee gets slightly sore as he said it's great for my range of motion.

Currently, my range of motion sucks, I'm having a difficult time climbing or descending stairs as my knee isn't completely healed yet. It was starting to alarm me, but my doc assured me that it's gonna be a couple more months until all the cutting and moving of ligaments is completely healed up and until then- it's gonna hurt.

There ain't no way any of this would be possible if I didn't have a small motor on the back of my bicycle helping out from time to time. Yesterday, I pedaled pretty hard for the first hour and a half....the last hour- not so much as my knee was starting to hurt.

Life is good.

Chili.

My wife hates chili.

She hates the way it smells and the way it tastes.

Yesterday......she made me a huge pot of it the eat for meals this week.

If that isn't love......I don't know what is.

till later.

There's your problem..........

Anytime your religion has a "sex crimes prosecutor"......that should be a tip-off that there are a few problems.

Ordaining women priests is pretty low on the priority scale when you have grown men buggering little boys.

till later.

First ride....

Sometimes I really love working 3rd shift and some days I really hate it.......trying to time when I sleep and when I'm awake for a "day" off....is critical to get the most out of my limited time off. I sorta screwed it up yesterday and I was up when I shoulda been sleeping.

Our daughter was home for the weekend and I think I saw her for about an hour when my parents came over for dinner Sunday and I was half-asleep most of the rest of the day.

On the bright side.....I got out for my first bike ride since my knee surgery in early June. Sure, I have a motor assisting me (or else I wouldn't be able to ride) but nonetheless.....it was great being outside and feeling the fresh air.

I'm glad I spent the money for a top of the line motor assist kit for my bike....I've been reading on several message boards about how the cheap Chinese moped kits blow up after a couple hundred miles. My motor was made by Mitsubishi and it runs flat out pretty much until it runs out of fuel.

Works for me.

till later.

Betty White is awesome......

I want this.

That is all.

I'm getting too old for this shit............

Well, been back to work for a few nights.

While I really enjoy my job....I think I need new knees.

I can't see doing this for the next 16 years on the set I currently own.

till later.

3 weeks..........

I get to go back to work Thursday night after 3 weeks off due to knee surgery....I've been bored so this is a long post.

Most folks would enjoy having 3 weeks off......I was pretty much ready to go back to work the day after the operation. It wasn't really much fun, had to stay off my knee most of the time and keep it elevated.

The doc said the typical recovery period for what I had done is at least 4 weeks...I told him the day after the operation I was going to do my P.T. every day so I could get back to work earlier- I'm pretty pleased with myself that I recovered enough in 3 weeks instead of four or five.

I'm also a candidate for a knee replacement in the next 5 or 10 years so, I really gotta take care of what's left of my knee (I'm totally missing my ACL) so if make it that far, good stuff...about the only thing I can't do as deep knee bends....fortunately.....I don't have to do too many of those when I make donuts.

Can't be too upset about the situation.....the pain is manageable without any strong painkillers, lots of folks out there have way worse problems then a bum knee.

I sent this video to my next door neighbor...he owns a really sweet Porsche Cayman and he's a pretty good driver like the guy in the video.....me? I'm perfectly satisfied with my 210 horsepower Taurus and sticking to the speed limit (most of the time).

It amazes me that an 8 year old Taurus with 160,000 miles on it is tighter and more quiet than my old minivan that had less then 70,00 miles. The inside of my brand new used car is like a cave because it's all dark grey leather and it's got a few minor scrapes and bad paint spots, but I clay barred it and gave it a good wax it looks pretty good considering.

I was always a "Ford guy" before I bought my Plymouth Caravan back in 99......I think I'll stick to either Fords or Subaru's from now on.

Saw this video on YouTube from some guy overflying the oil slick in the Gulf.....an old neighbor used to have a saying ......."It is what it is"- not one helluva lot anybody can do about what's already happened and unfortunately- it's going to get worse. I can only imagine what fresh hell a powerful hurricane would do right now.....nothing you can do and you know bad things could happen at any time.

I saw this video on YouTube as well. I'm all over the place politically, but to be honest.... I think it would be cool to learn how to shoot guns like that. Personally- I don't own any guns and don't really plan on buying any, but some folks forget that 240 years ago....our forefathers used guns to obtain our freedom from Britain.

I'm not a "gun nut", but I think that unless you've been convicted of a felony-you ought to be able to wear an unconcealed handgun whenever and wherever you please as long as you take the time and trouble to get certified on it's safe and responsible operation.

I'm a big fan of Top Gear-this is hilarious....sue me, but I bit torrent the show every week

I guess Amazon has chosen to ignore my emails concerning getting a partial refund or credit for the Kindle I bought 6 weeks before they dropped the price by 70 bucks....sure, I'll still buy stuff from Amazon, but they are gonna be the choice of last resort from now on.

The way you take care of a customer?....I bought some PDF editing software from Foxit nearly 3 months ago...they recently made what I bought 12 weeks ago a free software download- they e-mailed me and offered me a free download of their deluxe PDF software which costs the same as the basic PDF editor I bought back in April. Nice move guys.... from now on-I'll put their software on all my clients PC's in place of Adobe PDF reader.

I love when I get to help senior citizens with their computer problems.....I helped a client with a bunch of malware and when I took her PC back to her house, I set up a laptop she had previously purchased to network with her other PC and printer.

She though it was magic that I could sit in her kitchen with her laptop and send something to her printer in the other room without the laptop being connected to anything. She asked me how I remember all that stuff...beats the heck out of me- it's kinda like learning how to ride a bike- once you know how....it's second nature.

I'm also buying a PC for another client this week.....if anybody is looking for a nice bang-for-the-buck system *this is a nice one* you'll just have to uninstall all the HP crapware....on some new computers...I'll uninstall 15 to 20 useless programs that do a really good job of stealing CPU cycles. My record is 26 programs running right after boot-up on XP with a printer installed.

Another good deal from Newegg? Noise canceling headphones....we've had these for awhile and to be honest -I can't tell the difference between these and the Bose cans that sell for 300 bucks. Newegg is about the only place I trust to buy electronic stuff online....their customer service is uptight and outtasight.

This chopper is way, way off the hook. Nothing like my chopper whatsoever. It doesn't even look rideable. My neighbor has a chopper but his is way cooler and he built it himself....not many guys that have choppers can say that. Oh yeah....mines for sale if you want to buy it.

This is one of my favorite websites.....I work in a retail bakery-this happens from time to time. Worst thing I've ever done? Several years ago, I dropped a customer's cake on the floor right in front of them as I was boxing it up....the customer was very understanding, but boy was I ever embarrassed.

I'm a knife junkie..... I saw this at Harbor Freight and had to buy one. I took it home with the intention of using it at work ( I like a very sharp knife to dock Italian bread right before it goes in the oven), but my wife liked it so much...I gotta go back and buy another one. Most of the stuff at H.F. is useless junk, if I get a couple months out of the knife....I'll be happy.

Like me...this guy also wants to tear his eyes out if he hears anything more about the iPhone 4....Here's the link to the YouTube video BUT there are lots of F-bombs and other profanity---definitely not family friendly so don't click on it if you are easily offended...click here instead.

What do I do when I buy stuff from Apple? I let the first-adopters be the guinea pigs.....I'd be pissed if I bought an iPhone and had that many problems with it.

This is pretty cool.....to be honest- I was raised to do the same exact thing I'm not sure how someone could keep the money and sleep at night.

This just sounds flat out nasty. I'm not that big a drinker in the first place, salmon flavored vodka just doesn't sound appealing whatsoever....

The 3rd Depression......I consider myself very fortunate to have a good job with great benefits. I have a trade where I can go just about anywhere in the country and get a job if I really had to. Not everyone is as lucky as I am....it would be pretty tough to outsource fresh baked goods to China.

Don't get me wrong....I ain't the skinniest person in the world....but this is some scary stuff. I guess I don't help the problem all that much as a make a few hundred thousand calories worth of donuts every night.....sorry about that.

till later.

iPhone 4........

So help me God...if I come across one more iPhone 4 article online-I'm gonna pull my eyeballs out with a rusty pair of pliers.

That is all.

till later.