I'm staying home today...

Colin developed a hacking cough on Friday and Laurie is off to the States for a PNWTSDFA meeting, so I have to skip church to make sure the little guy is kept medicated and comfortable. Coral declined to attend church without us. I'm covered for this week (I hope) and next week is Conference Sunday, so a hiatus should be OK.

I was greeted this morning by my annoyed neighbor, Steve. The Dog has been behaving herself lately, so Steve has had to find something else to be annoyed with us about.

He has decided that one of the bike wrecks in our backyard is His.

He claims to have had a bike "just like that one" stolen from his yard three months ago. As may be, there are still a few problems with claiming that this bike is the one he lost:

-His did not have "VENTURE" stickers on it. (somebody MUST have just pasted them on!!!)

-This particular wreck belonged to Taras and was given to me over a year ago. I tried to nail down with Taras just when that was and we figured it was sometime after his move from New West into Richmond. Couldn't narrow it down any further, I'm afraid. He gave it me after he won the new bike (that looked just like this one, except for the solid forks) and decided that he had worn this one out. Then, of course, Taras got hit by a car while riding the new one and I junked it for him. Now he rides the new CCM that ICBC (should have!) bought for him.

-This wreck still has the custom shifters I traded to Taras for a helmet. His wrench at Custom Cycle in New West may very well remember Taras, and this bike. It's nice to have corroborative witnesses.

I don't know what Steve's problem(s) is(are)...but I do know it is my Christian Duty to make peace if I can, or at least maintain a measure of civility and common courtesy. I may just go ahead and build Steve a new bike! May get together with Dave Ferguson across the way and see if He and I can collabarate on a new machine for Steve. I am guessing Steve's Landlord doesn't have property insurance...

We took the kids to the Bose Family Corn Maze last night. I love bicycles, and this was my first RELIGIOUS experience with one! The creators of the maze designed it so that "three rights equals a left" at the halfway point of the maze, and made one of the rights so subtle that no-one thought of going LEFT in the first place. We all got thoroughly lost. (isn't that against the Geneva Conventions, or something?) A nice young man on an ATB rode out and guided us all back to the exit. Verily, the BIKE was the WAY...

Had a trip to the Bellvue Temple yesterday. The wife did not gripe ONCE about my poor navigation, despite the fact that I missed an exit TWICE (one going to and one coming from). We nonetheless arrived on time and departed (almost) on time, and got home when expected. The kids were fine, except for Colin's aforementioned cough, which had kept him up a little the night before.

I got the deck re-coated -FINALLY!- and it has yet to be tested. Either the coating will hold out this winter, and we won't see any further leaks in the shop roof, or the leaks will get WORSE, and we'll have to lay down some more effective roofing material next year; after we tear out and re-do the shop ceiling! We've had some standing water on the deck from morning dew, and so far I haven't seen any leakage, not that a few puddles is any sort of test. I still have to finish re-painting the stairway and re-fix some sort of covering for the stairwell. Then it will be ALL DONE...until next year.

I fielded a call from WCB at work this week. WCB called work on Tuesday at 2:30; and with their usual efficiency, the front office got the message to me at 2:30 on Wednesday. I was informed by the WCB rep that they would have a decision for me Real Soon Now, but that the claim would likely/possibly/almost surely/ be refused. As I didn't MAKE the claim, and as HBC will likely eat the charges if it is refused, I am not terribly concerned about this...my back is almost 'back to normal' now; life goes on.

The rains...

THE RAINS!!!

I finally got the deck rail painted, but I still need one more good weekend to re-seal the cracks in the part of the deck surface that is also the shop roof. If not, we're gonna have to tear out the shop ceiling in spring and NO part of that will be fun... I should also look into putting some sort of toe moulding between the shop roof section and the backdoor balcony to keep the seam around that step from getting chewed up. I am probably gonna need some more fibreglas seam tape before I'm thru.

The Die Nasty is running...just fine, thank you. Mileage is pretty decent too; now that the EC and engine management systems are operating within normal parameters...Bob sez he located the Probe that Toyo replaced, "on the exhaust manifold, behind the engine". Uh huh...I suppose this means that he will be able to help me repalce it MYSELF in two years or so, when I presume it will need replacing.

I'm still biking to work. I may do the year-round thing this year. I have adequate wet/cold weather gear and I have lost enough weight that it all fits me now. I could use a pair of waterproof shoes or boots...

I still don't have my trip time down to the 45 mins I figured I would have to make consistently before I could do the trip both ways. My current record stands at 48 mins, down from previous record of 51. I am thinking that IF I can do a consistent 40-45 min run (FLY up the Alex Fraser Bridge, baby!), I should be able to get home in an hour or so. This is acceptable.

I may (MAY, mind you) join the critical mass ride on the 26th. If the weather is good that Friday, it will likely be the LAST CM ride attended by the 'fair weather' contingent. I just can't see that many people showing up for October, unless mebbe a LOT of crazy people decide to go in costume!

Work is proceeding apace. We have established procedures to streamline the workflow; now if only we could get everyone on the same page in USING them. I may have a sticking point with my vacation time next year. It's my tenth year anniversary with Zeller's, but the vacation year starts in January and my anniversary isn't until the end of February. Will they make me wait another year for my 4 week vacation allotment? I have to confess I'm not terribly concerned either way; I've never been able to fill more than two weeks anyway!

I am still struggling my struggles, but at least some things in life are going right...Colin's feet are finally healing properly. Coral still struggles at school, but she has caught the reading bug and I think she will turn out to be a good reader, with some diligent work by her Mom and Myself. Of course, I would be happier if she didn't prefer 'gross out' books like "Captain Underpants" and "The day my Butt went Psycho". Laurie is trying to get her into "The Secrets of Droon" series, but so far Laurie seems to like it much more than Coral.

Laurie herself has caught the Geneology bug and is going like a house afire on her family's ancestors. She is focussing on the NA ancestors for now. The relatives in Holland will come later, I think. It certainly has given Her and my Mom a lot to talk about. It has also given Her and Her Mom a lot to talk about...

Danielle has expressed a moderate interest in the church. L privately opined that it may be because Danni is ready to settle down and start a Family, if only she could find a GOOD man who was ready RIGHT NOW to do so. Hey, it worked for Laurie... Personally, I think a visit to the Surrey Stake Singles' Branch would be a real eye-opener for Dan...ya just never know what y'all are missin'...

Jeff Marciel gave a talk today on the "six fallacies in sharing the Gospel", and I was a little dismayed to find that at least two of them were holding me back in telling my friends and co-workers about the Gospel and the Church. I also have to get a substitute for Jo Wheeler's class, as she is out for a while with a "long term" illness. Nothing fatal, but she won't be getting out to church for a few weeks, at least. This along with the home teaching thing, which I should talk to John Merriman about actually doing together - as he is, after all, my companion. I don't know how regular John's schedule will be now that he is an official member of Delta Cities Official Police Services. (D-COPS). Hope we can do more for our Home Teaching people than talk about them. I think the Uys are tired of the companion-of-the-month. I shouldn't be too hard on John; it took me a YEAR before I actually went out and DID any home teaching.

I did, however, get the Ward Sunday Schools materials inventoried, and got the order form to the Librarian on what we will need for next year. I hope we get a LOT of new members...I ordered a DOZEN Gospel Essential manuals, and I'm pretty sure Bro. Marciel will have ordered some as well. Other than all the G.E. manuals being gone, we're in pretty good shape. I wish I knew more about doing my calling...I have yet to meet with my councillor!

Don Holburn left me his girlfriend's bike to fix up...and I STILL haven't done it! It's been a friggin' WEEK! I think I kept putting it off because a tune-up is, comparitively speaking, a fairly short and simple job; I can't have THAT many other activities in my life that I can't spare time from, can I? I WILL get it done this week.

Hello again;

News highlights include the latest chapter in the Die Nasty II (die nastier) saga, our vacation (is that smoke I smell?) and My bad back (gotta get that WCB form filled out!).

On Friday, July 25, I was up on level 4 with the order picker, @1:30-2:00 PM, dragging a 40lb box of china plates from the back of the shelf. I picked up said box and turned with it; then bent badly and got a stern warning in the region of my lower back. I nearly dropped the box!

I was running the OPR with a single skid on the platform; all the better to load it up with more small pick merchandise for the slap line. So I was doing the equivalent of putting a 40lb weight from chest height down to a level 2" below floor level. I didn't think much of the twinge, and kept on going, filling up the skid as I went. I noticed my back was a little sore as I went to bed that night, but nothing new there. By Saturday evening, after a few hours painting the deck and fixing up Coral's new bike, my back was a little MORE sore. In my defense, I HAD to get Coral's bike done; I had been promising for WEEKS, and she was away at Brownie camp that weekend, so I figured I would REALLY hear about it if it still were not finished by the time she got home. I was fairly 'stiffed up' by this time, so I used the old freezer chest we moved outside as a workbench to assemble the newly painted frame; in short, I kept the bending over to a minimum. If only I had the foresight to forego the bike and the painting altogether...

Sunday was OK, but I was pretty sore for most of it, and I had a terrible night's sleep. Monday I was STIFF!!! and didn't feel a whole lot like riding to work. I am of the belief that biking is good for stretching out the lower back, so I rode to work anyway and felt fine - while I was on the bike. As soon as I arrived at work and dismounted, I knew I was in trouble; IT HURT TO WALK!! I couldn't bear my own weight on my feet. So I grit my teeth and informed my boss that I had hurt my back on friday and foolishly ignored it, and I needed to talk to our first aider. He determined that I had a problem and sent me to Richmond General for further diagnosis.

The visit to Richmond General ER went OK, except for when the attending MD left me ALONE to get off the low gurney myself!!! That was the WORST moment of the entire morning! There was a guy in the next bed over with a broken wrist who was so impressed by my moans 'n groans that he offered me a hand to get up! (and he only had the one...) NOT an enjoyable experience.

In times past, a bad back meant lots of bedrest. Nowadays, it means walking; LOTS of walking. I was back to work later that morning and placed on light duty. I was under medical advisory to avoid lifting, bending, standing too long, sitting too long and I was to do lots and lots of...walking. The first day was the hardest...

BUT, by the time I had spent the following five days doing lost stock reports, unconfirmed location reports, cycle counts, and various other paper shuffling marathons - I ran out of forms to fill thursday afternoon and had to content myself the rest of the week with pushing a dustmop - MY BACK FELT BETTER...

'Course my feet were KILLING me by then...

I then proceeded to go to Penticton on vacation for the following week. More on that in a moment; but while there I was a good boy: no bending, no lifting (well, not much) and LOTS of walking - mostly in beach sandals!!

I got back from vacation Tuesday the 11th, and had my functional abilities form filled out by Dr. Mergens. Cost 30$!!!, but I got reimbursed. Once the FAF was cleared, I was taken off medical restriction and reinstated as a machine operator; and just in time too, it's REALLY starting to back up out there.

The Car: our 600$ adventure.

We got a line on Toyo Motors: Bob's garage of choice and a GOOD independent full-service garage. They found a BALL of sludge in our gas tank and informed us that not only did the injectors need cleaning; the whole system needed flushing out RIGHT AWAY. Also, the widget in the EC gear that I had identified as wonky was in need of replacement. I hope they replaced it, they DID charge us for it after all. To their credit: they also threw in an oil change.

AND...the car is running better...no more chugs and stalls, at least. L wants to take it on a day trip to Seattle as soon as we can manage to find the time. Should be no problem.

Our house is in a CONSTANT state of chaos...and our vacation(s) is (are) to blame. L took a camping trip to Lac La Hache with her family this past week - and we hadn't even finished cleaning up all the gear and clothes from Penticton!!!

Oh, and did I mention she left me with all the peaches to can while she was away? I've never canned peaches before...I've never canned ANYTHING before. I CAN follow instructions; after putting off the project 'till friday evening I spent SIX HOURS putting up 16 quart jars of sliced peaches (15 of which sealed properly). Granpa and I spent the following noon hour cooking 'em to completion In between, I did at least manage to get the Kitchen and Bathroom clean, and do all my Laundry - oh, and I did the shopping (under budget!). Ya gotta prioritize.

Penticton:

I STILL never got to float down the canal to Skaha beach!!! Owing to the drought and the really low water levels in the canal, there is a serious risk of coliform once yer past the halfway point (where the town sewage treatment plant is); I figured if I could only go halfway, what was the point? I DID get in a couple of rounds of mini golf with the kids. Coral is turning into quite the little athlete, if only she would pay attention to her coach! Got to see how the SS Sicamous is progressing. They are hosting a Theatre Presentation in her dining hall. Evidently quite successful.

We flew kites, we played with cheap toys (all of which the kids broke before we got back home) we ate no more than the required amount of junk food. We swam in the pool lots, and because we forgot the kids' life jackets, Mom bought them pool noodles to float about with. Delightful things, pool noodles...
We also hiked all over town and Coral and I went out on Wednesday to find an internet terminal in order to enter her box tops in the "Kraft & Crayola Every Pack Is A Winner" contest. Unfortunately, the Crayola site (using the latest in Media Plugins) was not viewable on the local library's machines, or either of downtown Penticton's two Internet Cafe's. We had to wait 'till we got home, by which time most of the GOOD prizes were gone. Bummer.

I'm still not riding to work yet, and I STILL haven't finished painting the deck! But there is yet time. I DID manage to give away one of those two old Dept. Store bikes that Don gave me. I think the other may go to Bro. Uy's daughter. We'll see...

This edition comes to you from my In-laws house. Loooove that broadband connection!!

This week at work was BORING...less said about it, the better. We got the smart set at work all taking vacation before the traffic picks up again. Myself, I have to wait another three weeks 'till Penticton rolls 'round again.

Still haven't painted the deck rail...L sez we will set aside next weekend to do it. I hope the weather is good. Is raining cats and dogs now, so there is a 50-50 chance of rain next weekend. Reminds me: I need to get my roto-stripper out of Bob's garage. Reminds me again: Bob sez he threw out the roto-stripper years ago...oh well.

Tomorrow is the DC507 open house; my moment to shine! Mom has agreed to go, and we may even (sotto voice) -sneak out of church early- to attend. I will make the most of my 15 minutes...

We are here at Bob and Trudy's to celebrate...Danielles UnWedding day. Yep, the bullet Dani dodged would've been tying the knot with Clayton TODAY. Still had the invitations sent and the entertainments arranged, so why not throw a party? It's raining, as I mentioned, but Dani got some tents rented and a tarp rigged and now a party of about 30-40 (somethings) are out boogie-ing to Michael Jackson (I didn't say it was GOOD entertainment). I'm just an anti-social hermit who found himself pigeonholing one of the other guests and holding forth on things political, musical, and moral. I decided after eating to quit while I was ahead. It's about 10:30 now, and most of the guests with kids have already left. I think L expects that we will stay until the end and help clean up. I myself have stocked up on much sleep today; so I can stay up late, if necessary.

I saw the Matrix Reloaded Tuesday last. What a mind trip! Seeing the movie after all the reviews and pontification are over has it's advantages and disadvantages. Hearing the Architect hold forth on the Creation of the Matrix and Freedom and Choice and The One et al was ENTERTAINING. 'Specially since I'm one of only two people I have talked to that actually claimed to understand what the H*LL he was talking about. The story left about a dozen or so loose threads and some of the overly simplistic storyline was more than a little contrived ( to provide a convenient opportunity for car chases, fight scenes and a truckload 'o digitally enhanced explosions), but overall the script progressed the story cycle well and whetted my appetite for the third installment. Can you say "triple feature"?

Well, here we are again.

Just finished a walk down the Delta Millenium Trail. L's idea. The dog seems to have enjoyed it least of all. Myself and the kids were into it, although Colin got a little tired by the end and I had to carry him on my shoulders. We are doing the family thing again tomorrow night and going out for the free swim at Sungod Rec Centre.

Installed a new door last weekend. I didn't know we were buying a new door, which caused some consternation on my part when L announced it. Deep down, my whingeing was all about my having to install the !@#$%^&!! thing and how difficult that was gonna be. I spent three hours trying to straighten out that pre-hung frame, when I realised that the frame was fine...it's our HOUSE that's bent! Some shims on the hinges and the sill plate got it (almost) settled - at least the door doesn't stick.

I will be doing a LOT of house work in the coming week(end)s. We have to get that deck stripped and re-painted before we leave for Penticton. Got some repair to do on the deck stair as well...may need to re-organise the woodpile and (sigh) set up that !@#$%^&*!! shed.

The car is running as well as can be expected. I managed to figure out which widget in the EC gear was running wonky, and I disconnected it. The car still stalls and chokes, but only for a few seconds each trip while warming up. I still need to get that engine diagnosed and fixed on the cheap, if possible - BEFORE the car is aircared.

Work is fine and the DC is holding a Public Open House on July 13. I have invited family and friends to come, and maybe some will show up. It's from 11am-3pm so we'll only be available to catch the last hour and a half. I would love showing off my workplace to my parents and wife 'n kids.

Been a while, eh gang?

For the fans of this 'blog (both of them), I had intended to write daily; or at least weekly. Life got in the way.

This weekend was a prime example.

Grandpa Hendrik's sister Katy died last Saturday while Laurie and Coral were away at Brownie camp. The funeral was set for the 20th at 11AM. I was not going to attend as Katy wasn't a member of MY extended family and I doubted I could get time off to attend the funeral.

But I took the day off anyway.

Colin took sick on Wednesday night, and the poor little guy was in a pretty bad way Thursday. I had no problem with taking my bike to work Friday (even in the rain!), but Laurie was certain Colin should NOT leave the house in his condition. So I stayed home to take care of him and phoned the news in to my boss; who should be thouroughly confused when I see him on Monday. I think I will make it a goal to have no absences for the month of July; Lord knows I should have at least ONE month with no missed days!

Friday night Laurie took Coral out to the Harry Potter Premiere party. Waited in line an hour for their pre-ordered copy of "The Order of the Pheonix". Laurie and Coral BOTH went in costume. Coral was the best little Hermione you ever saw (she even got auntie Danny, who went with, to do her hair!), and Laurie put together a decent Madame Sprout costume, complete with screaming Mandrake Plant. AT FIRST Laurie was too embarrassed to show her face publicly, but then the inner-child like urge to have fun play acting took over and she WON second prize for her costume! She may even have her picture appear in one of the local papers.

Laurie informed me Friday afternoon that I was going to be doing some gardening Saturday morning. I WAS to have gone to the chapel to set up chairs for Stake Conference, but evidently I wasn't going to be able to. Bob arrived bright and early Saturday morning with a steaming truckload of the City Reclamation Centre Special Composted Bedding Soil and set to spreading it about. We pulled up the old near-dead rosebush and the two dead cedar bushes by the front door; breaking numerous lengths of nylon rope in the process. After the soil was spread about and the bedding plants put in (and the bed next to the driveway weeded out in a BIG hurry by yours truly), Bob LEFT (with the kids, to get a treat) and after leaving the remains of the load in the driveway, was gone for good.

This left a pretty massive clean up for...you guessed it: ME. Bob was gone, the kids had gone back inside to watch cartoons (was raining by this time anyway), and Laurie went for a nap.

So I decided that since I was all alone on this job, I was gonna do it MY way.

Got the leftover soil policed up.

Cleaned all the weeds out of the driveway.

Built a new border on the west side bed with the dressed stones.

Built a new border on the driveway bed with the smaller dressed stones.

Used the remaining stones to re-build the east bed border, plus I got some beach stones we dug and piled in the backyard to fill in when I ran out of the dressed ones.

Fixed a new garden hose on the front hose reel, and disposed of the old one.

Swept the walk and driveway.

Stowed all the tools and the barrow.

I went in for a SHORT nap. By this time Laurie had awakened and demanded I help her lay some chicken wire in the beds to keep the neighbors !@#$%^&*!! cat from shatting in them. I dinna wanta...but she was insistent. After a delay of some minutes to find a proper pair of tin shears, we got the wire laid and buried. I was kinda pleased to see this morn that kitty had already tried to dig some in the west bed and got 'er claws snagged on the wire - ABORT! ABORT! My favorite fevered dream is to come out one morning to find that cat wrapped up in a furry, dirty, chicken-wire ball lying helplessly in the flower bed she tried to pollute. Cruel? Perhaps, but ohhh so instructive. I guarantee that cat would NEVER come around our place again if that happened. In the meantime, kitty will have to find a less sharp and pointy place to shat.

Needless to say, I fell to bed exhausted Saturday night. It can be forgiven that I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT STAKE CONFERENCE ON SUNDAY. By the time we got up for church today, stake conference was half over...so we skipped it.

Shame on us...

Laurie LOVED what I did with the front yard (which surprised me greatly)...but was disappointed that I didn't have it together enough to remember conference (which was no surprise at all)...

Here's what I still (STILL!) have to do before summers end:

Put a coat of barn paint on the deck railing (before the dry rot REALLY sets in)

Re-Surface the deck (and fix the leaks).

Hang a Laundry Line. I think I have this one figured out, but I don't know if I will be able to do it CHEAPLY enough and still have it WORK.

Get the Tracker ready to be sold: Fix the tailpipe and muffler.

Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

Oh, what a week we had.

My In Laws (God Bless 'Em) GAVE us their old car. This is good, because the Tracker finally went from Junker status straight to WRECK status. The tracker lost its tailpipe, and finally dropped its muffler; so it is no longer drive-able. We have reached the cusp where the repair bill to make the car 100% now exceeds its total book value. I could still fix it up on the cheap, with minimal parts and mucho labor; but I don't see the point of that really. One thing I could try is to find a Tracker/Sidekick/Sunrunner wreck for CHEAP and try to mix 'n match the two wrecks into one working vehicle. What a hobby I would have!

The Die-Nasty suffered a bum ignition switch, a corroded fusible link, and a crispy-fried starter solenoid; all in the space of TWO DAYS! It went from starting with difficulty, to starting with GREAT difficulty, to not starting, to DEAD.

It Died while Laurie was out visiting Don and Magaly Cronin. The Cronins are moving to Europe for a few years and my parents are going to be renting their house. YAY! FREE BABYSITTING! It will be nice to have Mom and Dad close. It will be even nicer for Mom and Dad to get all the stuff they've left in storage for the past seven years out into the open air again. We WILL be helping them move, of course.

SO: I loaded up a compact (but comprehensive) tool kit on my bike and rode over there. I got the starter out, and cracked it open to have a look. Sure enough, the solenoid was nice and toasty, but I figured there was nothing to lose in scraping the contacts down to clean metal and trying to see if I could get it home. After putting the starter back in, I tried it and was pleased to hear the solenoid engage and the starter motor spool up.

But the bendix was stuck; the engine wouldn't turn over.

This is the embarrasing part...I really should turn in my Real Guy license.

It was getting late, so I packed up all the tools and headed home. I rode my bike to work on friday, and got a ride home from Don Holburn. I was fully expecting to ride out to Cronin's and remove that starter again, and then call Father-In-Law Bob and see if he could get me a good deal on the starter; or whether I should just take the starter a few blocks to Moben Motor Clinic and have them do an on-the-spot rebuild (seriously, they do them, it's like one-hour photo developing...).

Instead, I came home to find the car in OUR driveway, up on my ramps, with Bob (feeling his 58 years!) under the car, installing a new starter. He apparently WAS able to get a good deal on a new starter. I took over for him, and he graciously took my wife and kids out for ice cream.

I can hear the reader ask...HOW did he get the car home? Why does this make me any less of a Real Guy?

Bob did the one thing I didn't think of...

The one INSTINCTIVE thing every real guy knows to do when a car starter won't turn...or the bendix or the solenoid or whatever is stuck...

...He had Laurie turn the ignition over while he hit the starter with a hammer!!!

Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers of NPR fame, recommend using a Louisville Slugger for this task; "and go for a bunt single, not a home run...". However, a gentle tap with a hammer works just as well. Oh well, best laid plans and all that. For now, our automotive woes have been set aside and we are once again a one car family. I have never really appreciated LARGE cars. I put this down to too many bad memories of the car I first learned to drive in: my Parents' station wagon. I could never get behind the wheel of that beast without feeling like I was following General Patton into Belgium.

But THIS large car is starting to grow on me...difficulties aside.

Sunday, June 1st 2003. I baptized my eight-year-old daughter Coral. Co-incedentally, that sunday marks the one-year anniversary of my wife's (and myself's) return to church attendance and renewal of church membership. BOY, was I nervous! I haven't been called upon to exercise my Priesthood to that extent since the 'ol mission days. We had also talked of presenting Colin for a Name and Blessing; and since we were there with family and friends from all over (Chad came down from Calgary! But Karen and the kids could not, alas...), we did the Name and Blessing right after Coral's confirmation. My In Laws and Danielle showed up; which was both surprising AND welcome, and Trudy and Danielle both made it a point to let me know they are "UN-convertible". If they are not convertible, are they both hardtops? I was nervous enough to blurt this silly question out loud; fortunately, they both saw the humor and laughed instead of being offended. That's TWO church functions in a YEAR...If they're not careful, people will start to talk.

I am reminded of the poem about the long and winding road. We often arrive where we want to be, but the path we took to get there bears NO resemblance to the path we chose. Trust in God, son...everything will work out in the end.

Speaking of paths...

Don Holburn has resolved to get more exercise. He acquired a decent bicycle (about as good as my schwinn) for 60$ from a friend of his. He wants to ride to work and asked me for advice about a good route. I started to describe the route I take when I cycle-commute...then said, half joking; "You know, it would be far easier to SHOW you the route than try to describe it. Do you want to ride out with me tomorrow?"

He said yes.

So I told him to be at my place at 5:30am.

True to his word, he showed up.

I had told him not to have any breakfast that morning. If you're not used to doing a climb like the Alex Fraser Bridge, you'll probably feel like tossing your cookies by the time you reach the top. To his credit, Don stayed with me most of the way up. He also RODE home, arriving at my place about the same time I did. I ususally ride out to Annacis Island and catch the #340 bus; it doesn't get me home any faster (unless I'm lucky enough to catch the connecting #319), but it saves a WHOLE lot of hill-climbing. I basically trade off 3$ in bus fare for about an hour's worth of exhaustion and aggravation. Someday I will be in condition enough to do the ride home without feeling it later. I personally believe I will have to get my time to work down around 40 minutes before I try the two-way commute. Currently my best time to work is 51 minutes, down from 73 minutes two seasons ago. I expect some good results this year, owing as how I started the season (intermittedly) back in February.

Amazing...

My wife watched - and enjoyed - a Tom Clancy movie.

"The Sum of All Fears".

Honestly; every time I put "The Hunt for Red October" in the machine she rolls her eyes - tsk! "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger" don't thrill me that much. BTW, "Red October" is one of the few examples I can think of where the Movie was better than the Book. The book was BORING...you hear me, Mr. Clancy? Stick to writing screenplays, Tom.

Had to cancel plans to go to Matrix Reloaded with KWY. Will probably go next week...in costume. The Asphalt Gods gifted me a pair of Foster Grant Ironman designer sunglasses and I just got a new pair of black jeans to go with my black SAS shirt and black Brogans - all I need to complete the ensemble is a cheap black cotton trench coat, or maybe a black-on-grey checked overshirt. Yeah, I could pull that off.

The sunglasses fell off the roof of someone's car, and since they didn't stop to retrieve them; I did. I was too far away to make out a plate number, otherwise I'd have tried to return them. They are very nice...mirrored lenses with gloss-black brass frames. I haven't been riding much this week, with the weather and our new automotive acquisition.

Mom in Law and Pop in Law gave us their old car.

It's a 1992 Chrysler Dynasty (Die?-Nasty??). Currently needs a thorough cleaning of the interior AND the fuel injector system. We priced out the Injector Cleaning at about 200$; the interior I will take care of myself. I need to visit our Local Library in the near future and figure out what and how I can DIY and diagnose the systems on this car. I have done so for every vehicle I have ever owned and driven. Dynasty has a cracked windsheild, which L sez we will replace when - and if - we get ticketed for it. Sounds to me like she's tempting fate.

Work drags onward. We are slowly - oh so painfully slowly! - digging out from under the mountain of screwups caused by the triumph of expediency over common-sense and organized action. We are on downtime from about next week to the middle of next month, so hopefully we will get all the various problems straightened out in time for the Summer Bump - whereupon we will have a whole NEW set of problems to deal with. As the Spring Rush winds down the guys are taking their vacation time (hey, I did the same myself) and one or two of our crew are on loan to the Annex for the big SHUTDOWN...yeah, like THAT's ever gonna happen. We have been a little shorthanded of late, and are finding that work is getting priority based on which department has any ROOM to put stuff. Our floor management are all too aware how backed up we are with outgoing merchandise - and how we are barely keeping up with incoming volume, even though it has been reduced somewhat. Upper management is also aware; but they have an umpteen dozen OTHER worries to attend to. My stress level stems from the fact that although it is impossible for one person to hold the contents of an entire warehouse in his head; I find myself trying to DO just that, insofar as troubleshooting our ongoing Lost Inventory problems. I have had several half-formed suggestions to make about how procedures could be changed to improove the situation - but I have NOT had time to sit down and rationally think them through; and I am certainly NOT going to put them forth to Management without a little pondering FIRST.

Was a little outraged to hear that the Rolling Stones want 10million$ to put on a "free" concert in Toronto. Mega-City Management corp. (aka Toronto City Hall) wants to whack the good taxpaying citizens of The Big Lemon to foot the bill. Ten Million Dollars!!! Bread and Circuses are so EXPENSIVE these days!

Man, am I a doofus;

We did a day trip to the Seattle Temple yesterday, had a righteous spiritual buzz and got some work done for some of Laurie's kinfolk. Went to sleep with the same spiritual high still resonating thru my soul. I guess I was on Autopilot, because before bed that night I made my lunch and set out my riding gear for the morning - and set the alarm.

So (as usual) I got up at 5am, looked out the window, saw a gorgeous clear sky and decided to get ready to ride. Minor interruption by a diarrhea attack: after 4 visits to the bathroom to get rid of everything I've eaten over the last 24 hours, I was still determined to ride to work. Kept getting the feeling whilst I was on the pot; "put your watch on!", to which I replied (to myself), "I will, just as soon as I'm finished here..." - which took a while; unfortunately. I hurriedly finished dressing and got out the door a little late, but ready to go...

...I had reached the bottom of the hill on 112th before the light went on.

I noticed the traffic was a little light for 5:40am on a Monday - and then it hit: IT'S NOT MONDAY, YOU IDJIT!!!. I finally looked at my watch and, of course, the little weekday indicator showed that, in fact, it was SUNDAY...

So; I very sheepishly rode back up the hill, and curled up on the couch.

Laurie either didn't hear me go or just decided not to ask me about it. The dog was REALLY annoying; she woke up when I did and immediately started whining to be let outside. I'm not a complete idiot; so I muzzled her before letting her out into the yard. The Mutt is persistent: she's learned a muffled bark-howl that she can push out at a fair volume even thru the muzzle...I tromped out (6:00am by now) and chained her in the kitchen - by the muzzle. Laurie thinks it was unnecessary, but it's the only way to get that *&^%$#@! dog to SHUT UP. I am NOT fielding a call from the SPCA about my "nuisance dog", nor am I putting up with her whining when I'm trying to grab another hour's sleep.

I guess I'm just not a "dog person"...

Beagles are a caution: they have all the vices of a large dog, and none of the virtues of a small dog.
Large Dog:
They're LOUD - a particular sound known as "bugling" - common to all hound breeds
They DIG - everywhere! and have been known to chew stuff no other self respecting animal would get near: rocks, aluminum cans, glass...I have to be especially carefull about keeping debris out of the back yard, this is difficult with a High School in close proximity.
They get DIRTY - see previous sentence on digging.

Small dog:
Food - unlike most smaller breeds, beagles are binge eaters, about the only way we know the dog has eaten something that has made her sick is when she doesn't wolf down her food in under 30 seconds.
Shedding - Beagles shed more hair than most goats - especially now, during the spring thaw. I know she doesn't do it on purpose, but I only have the one suit for Church and I'm trying to keep it looking nice for a while longer. All the gagging on hairballs is kind of gross, too.
Staying put - most small dogs are content to keep to a small, well defined territory - not Beagles! She'll range far and wide, looking for new opportunities to crap in places she hasn't previously crapped in - and she is NOT housebroken yet; I don't care what Laurie says.

She IS, however, smart AND persistent. She's chewed thru a Stainless Steel Cable Lead (twice!) and ripped the arial lead off its anchor at least three times. One of her escapes almost got her snatched by an unscrupulous louse about six blocks from home. She's gone over, and especially UNDER the backyard fence more times than I can count - I got tired of filling in all the holes and boarding up all the gaps - the arial lead setup was a response to her efforts as a canine Escape Artist.

But my wife, who IS a Dog Person, loves the little Mutt - so she stays.

Maybe I'm just whingeing and whining here...

Truly, my life at the moment is going better than it has for YEARS. I am on top of my personal goals for the first time ever. I am doing well at work. I am supporting my wife and kids in their activities...

Which brings up Laurie: the stay-at-home mom who hasn't been home all that much lately!

Most women would be satisfied with ONE activity that gets them out of the house regularily: my wife has THREE. I was a little concerned about her stress level for a while there...

In addition to Coaching Square Dancing for a Local Teen Club, my wife is also: a Brownie (Girl Guides) Leader, and the Event Organiser for the Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival Association - Festival 2003! This last has about done her in...I remember L arriving home a few weeks back in a complete state of exhaustion after spending 16 HOURS figuring out the event schedules. She had done and re-done those same schedules FOUR TIMES over the previous three days and each time had declared "finally finished!" - I thought she was losing it...
I don't mean to complain, but the housework is NOT getting done with L out of the house 6 days a week; in fact, the shopping for this week was a serious cramp in her activities - I had to get creative with breakfasts to feed the kids - and our kids don't like NUTHIN'!!!

BUT - I support my wife...

Festival 2003 will be happening end of this week, and as I had some vacation time to spare; I am taking from Tuesday onward as vacation so that I can babysit the kids, and hopefully get the house in order, while L discharges her duties as Lord High Everything Else at the Festival.

This will give me ample opportunities for witty and pithy musings to be published here...you really DO have to suffer to write.

Hi all;

Big news this month is Clayton and Danielle. There ain't no Clayton AND Danielle any more. This solves our accomodation problems at Penticton this summer. Clayton walked out and Danny's ego got taken down a few notches (which Laurie privately opined is not necessarily a BAD thing). Danny is in counseling for help coping with the loss - which I assume is somewhere on the trauma scale near Divorce - she was with the guy for six years, after all.

All this is complicated by the fact that Clayton genuinely SEEMS like a nice guy. My kids have certainly taken to him, I would have enjoyed having him as a Brother In Law, I think...But 'tis not to be, alas.

Of course, this now means I have to do the clutch on the Tracker the HARD way, since I can no longer ask Clayton to borrow his dad's shop and engine hoist. Ah well, will still get it done.

We've managed to borrow a car for our "back to the Temple and Second Honeymoon" trip to Seattle next week; so the need to get the Tracker fixed up is not immediate. Actually, that piece of tin is running pretty good at the moment. I certainly didn't think it would make it all the way through winter. It helped that we had a particularily mild winter, recent snowfall notwithstanding.

I've been taking advantage of the odd clear breaks in the weather to bike to work. This HURTS! for the first week or so, but I seem to be getting my 'wind' back. I don't bike when it rains, so my rides are occaisional only. I got up at 5 am one thursday two weeks ago and looked out the window - seemed fine, a little windy perhaps...suited up and stepped out the door at 5:30 and looked up: "you have GOT to be kidding!!!" sez I. The snow was falling pretty thick and fast, and it's already MARCH for goodness sake!

I bought a new bed recently, and this almost caused me to be late for work, as I (1) had trouble getting to sleep and, (2) slept so soundly that I slept thru the alarm (BOTH of them). What troubles my sleep, of course, is the War...

I wondered after I wrote the bit Sept. of last year what the heck the US was waiting for...it certainly was NOT permission from the UN. Now all the waiting seems to make sense, as 150000 US armed forces personnel who have been sitting on their butts in the heat for MONTHS and want to go home are ready to take out all of Bagdad if that's the price of the ticket...

It was disturbing to see the footage of downtown Bagdad on a typical weekday morning. Except for the air-raid sirens, here was a typical city such as the one you and I live in...only the people here won't be going to work this morning...they'll be huddled in their poly-sheeted and duct-taped bathrooms, clutching a flashlight, listening to Saudi Radio, and praying to Almighty Allah that whatever is coming passes them and their families by. In short, they are in EXACTLY the same place you or I would be if the "threat" George Dubya talks about ever becomes real.

The US Military announced the development of the MOAB: Massive Ordinance Air Blast. (or, unofficially: The Mother Of All Bombs) One of the criticisms the US has had to endure is that with the world's largest working Nuclear Arsenal, they will NEVER actually use it on anyone! Now with the MOAB, they have all the destructive capability of a small tactical nuke, without all that messy fallout and radiation sickness...Weapons of Mass Destruction, indeed. It is almost guaranteed that the MOAB will be used...but on whom?

Fools.

Wonder what the Little Kings have been up to lately?

Check out: http://www.notcpa.org

It's not bad ENOUGH that the RIAA tacks on a Tax for every CD-R you buy (which taxation they are currently trying to increase -- dramatically), now Mr. Gates and the other Little Kings are out to save every PC on the planet from the Honor System. After all, who needs trust when you have an electronic watchdog hard-wired into every new PC on earth? No more copying, piracy, spam, porn... or political debate, institutional whistle-blowing, free information exchange, software development, bug/security fixes, open source...etc, etc, etc.

Like most knee-jerk solutions posed by those who long ago forgot WHY they climbed the ladder and are now only interested in knocking everyone else off, this little number is going to cause WAY more problems than it proposes to solve. "The greatest threat to intellectual liberty since the Inquisition" - and you can quote me.

Whoda thunk Mr. Gates & Co. would still be mad about win2k going over the wall? Hey Bill, if ya can't roll with the punches...

Oh, and by the way, all this evil should NOT be blamed on Sen Fritz Holling (rep. South Carolina). He is NOT simply a political bagman for Microsoft and its partnered interests.

Yeah, right...somebody needs to check into a few campaign contribution accounts down there, eh?

Proponents of this madness will claim that it MAY have some risks, it MIGHT be open to abuse, BUT..."it's better than the alternative"...In what way?

Today, we write of the End of an Era...
Yesterday, January 24, 2003 marks the final day of operations at DC504 in Richmond...

WEEEEEEEEE'RE OUTTA THERE!!!

Had a very nice party over at 507, with a gigantic Team Building Exercise, and a Parade! If my wife knew how much fun I had yesterday, she'd probably shoot me...

Ah well, she doesn't have to know.

Arpac is still installing the racking at 507, which brings back some real memories...nine years ago, Arpac was still installing the racking in Zone 72 when I started at 504. Randy, Yogi, Myself and very few others remember how 504 was originally configured. The building has been through 3 or 4 major re-configurations since then. We've also been through 3 changes of leadership in the first few years. Tony retold the story of when he first met Sarah Lepore, in our Zellers office. She asked him point blank; "How long are YOU here for?". To her, (and many of us) Tony seemed at first like some drone that Hudson's Bay Corporate office in Toronto parachuted in to take the reins whilst some REAL management could be hired (I have NOTHING good to say about Tony's predecessor, Dan Riordan...except good riddance!). Nope...Tony was in for the long haul, and now, several YEARS later, we all got to stand in His Vision, and BOY is she a beauty! The Central Stock dept. has a Tuesday to Saturday shift...so I get an extra day off...hooray. Things are looking a little choatic around 507 right now. Just as they were the first few months at 504...wayyyy back when.

Coral went in for her Surgery...and although the operation didn't go COMPLETELY well, she is making a normal recovery and should only miss a week of school or so. Her breathing sounds a lot better (quieter), even though the tissues are still swelled from post-op trauma. She's pretty miserable, despite getting all the popsicles, iced juice, ice cream, etc. that any kid could possibly WANT. I'm a little jealous, I think...

Kwy stopped by to see how I was doing...which was nice of him...I need to give the new 'ad gimmick' a try in promoting my new biz...soon, real soon.

SICK Sick sick sick sick...illness, unwell-ness, the slow death...

Ah well, 'tis the season, I suppose.

I was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week with Bronchitis. Laurie got real worried about Coral's apnea and took her to the ER at Children's Hospital...during the peak of the pediatric flu season. SO: Coral came home contagious, L caught it, then Colin. Coral ran the course on Sunday, Colin on Monday, and today was my turn. So I took ANOTHER day off work sick...sigh. I hope it's the last one. I have eaten a couple of biscuits and a sandwich...and two glasses of iced orange juice. Water, LOTS of water! So far, it all seems to be travelling in the correct direction. In order to take one of the sick days last week OFF my record, I volunteered to work a dayshift at 507, the new building. What a blast! Felt good to be back in the saddle again. I have a few observations that will be brought to management attention, as soon as they all come back from the summit meeting in Toronto.

There is some concern at 504 whether or not we can wrap everything up in time for the expiry date on our lease. Some aspects are moving along nicely, the transferral of CS items from the floor at 504 to the new (used!) racking at 507 proceeds apace. We are still not ready to ramp up the sorting conveyors, as they are still being installed and tweaked. There is SO MUCH that still needs to be completed at 507. We'll all be moved in by Jan31, but it may be Mar01 before everything is even close to completed. Our 3rd party contract with R/R we are fufilling using the Brute Force Method: 504 has become an annex to 507, dedicated (for the moment) to handling R/R product. First thing out was...patio furniture; like we haven't seen THAT before! Did a good job with it - handled their product better than we handle our OWN.

We are definitely living in "interesting times". The news and politics pages I read are becoming more alarmist by the day. Makes you feel like striking off for the horizon to discover a New World...oh wait, we ran out of those...
I will write more later...as the mood strikes me...

Merry Merriment Season!
Uh-huh...Christmas, people!; It's called Christmas!

I was pleased to read in the local papers that MLA Grewal stood up and chided the baaa-ing masses for failing to respect the religious rights and freedoms of an ignored and downbeaten (or at least downplayed) culture; to wit: Christianity.

Honestly, do the PC people have NO shame?? "The December Experience" what the Fooker is THAT? Some kind of tribute band?
So lets hear a Merry li'l Christmas, a Joyeux Noel, and a hearty Feliz Navidad out there!!!

I am OFF work the entire week and what a start I have made!!!

Finally got rid of that huge pile of refuse in the driveway (I got tired of being known as the Neighborhood Eyesore). I promised Laurie it would go before Xmas, and go it did...with a little help from my Father In Law. (hmm, a LOT of help actually - he did the second load himself rather than make the round-trip back to our place a second time).

THEN I finished my Xmas shopping for Laurie. (who else do I shop for?)

THEN I took the kids out to see "Treasure Planet" at the cheep theatres.

THEN I went out again and got Mickey D's for the entire fam...I'm broke now, but happy.

Laurie even told me she loved me...hubba hubba!

Laurie joined the Cantata Choir in November, and the whole fam damily came out for the performance. Other than my Mom in Law being firmly clenched the whole time (she doesn't DO churches), a wonderful time was had by all. We even got a good CD of the performance and Laurie commented that she thought they sound a lot better on disc than live on the stage. They sounded fantastic on stage; I know, I was there. Kevin didn't show; "too many righteous people" - truer words 'e never spoke (and may never again, bless 'im!)

Speaking of the Cantata: I saw Gloria McGovern again...and L wuz furrious...
Gloria is the quintessential "Grrrlfriend" from my checkered past. Seriously, we never got serious...except to discuss how we each really felt we wanted to be married - but not to each other! G is studying Civil Engineering at SAIT in Calgary (where we will NEVER move as long as L is alive). I should get her Don's Email, and mebbe Karen's.

Speaking of old friends, Jared Watson and Paula (nee De Jesus) are up with their kids visiting the folks. He's still the same guy we knew and loved back in third branch, and she is still the same beautifully willowy young thing she was then as well...ok, with a little more mileage, granted, but I still think Jared is one lucky guy!

He-LLOOOOO Global Warming! The almanac predicted a dry winter this year, and to be sure, we haven't had even a little snow. We had a winter like this one several years ago and it finally cut loose the day before Xmas (I remember, because I had to go to work and I was one of the few who actually made it on time). May give it a miss this year. We are forecasting a lot of rain, but no snow. I AM canadian, I suffer withdrawl when there's no White Christmas.

We are going to be hosting the immediate WORLD (Dallman edition) on Xmas Eve...and then doing it all over again Boxing Day (Sanderson edition). Hope the party ice holds out...

Well, it looks like our brethren to the south are gonna be playing Globe-o-Cop again...

Honestly, would the US 'national security' suffer THAT much if they simply brought all the troops home and let the Middle East (and surrounding hotspots) go to hell their own way? I think not. Right now, Uncle Sammy's sons and daughters are spread verrry thin throughout the globe, they do NOT need to be sent into another war zone...
...particularily when it isn't necessary.

Let's look back on some history, shall we?

Wayyyy back about 25 years ago, a country that used to be Persia was in trouble. The Shah of Iran (unpopular due to economic and social troubles) was deposed by an Islamic Fundamentalist regime (hey, any revolution will do...). There was some unpleasantness with some overzealous U of Tehran students and an American Embassy - a long, drawn out hostage drama. The hostages were eventually freed. Coincidentally, Iran started a pissing match with its neighbor, Iraq. Something along the line of: we're pure and holy Sons of Islam and you're just a bunch of Pro-Western suck-up pussies! To which Iraq replied, in effect: that may be, but we're still gonna kick your ass if you try anything!

War ensued (hey, with neighborly dialogue like that, it was inevitable -- Imagine! Going to war over who hates Israel more!)

Now, the US postition in all of this was...interesting.

On the one hand, the US has always understood the Muslim principle that "the enemy of mine enemy is my friend". So while Iraq was fighting with Iran, the US kinda sat in the background and softly cheered "yaaaaayy.......go get 'em". On the other hand, Iran had been holding US citizens hostage...so Pres. Reagan sent them a few "goodwill gifts" - arms shipments that were subsequently used in the war with Iraq.

Did the Iraqis get some mixed messages from the US? Start having some doubts maybe? (well, possibly...)

Iraq by that time had JUST started making some serious coin from its (finally!) home grown petrochemical industry. So after the war with their belligerent neighbor was over, the time looked right for a massive economic re-build. Then the newly trained geology grads from their newly built universities made a discovery...

The Emirate of Kuwait was slant drilling into the Iraqi oil fields...

I can imagine Mr. Saddam Hussein was a little miffed by this, after all, Iraq had just taken on their larger neighbor and fought to a draw. He wasn't about to let a pissant little pseudo-nation like Kuwait start stealing the resources his people needed for that aforementioned economic facelift.

I admit, I'm a little fuzzy on the details of what happened next. Did Mr. Hussein send a letter of protest to Kuwait? To the US? To the UN? With an uneasy truce in place with Iran and a sometime Superpower ally in the US he had to be careful. Whatever he tried initially apparently did not work, because the military option was brought to the table in pretty short order.

The US dropped the ball.

They sent a female non-entity to discuss the situation with Mr. Hussein. Whether this was planned or accidental is uncertain. What is certain is that this...woman and Mr. Hussein were having two very different discussions. I have no idea what she was instructed to say on behalf of the US, but what Mr. Hussein HEARD was that the US "would not wish to become involved in any kind of military action by Iraq against Kuwait". What she probably meant to say was the US would not CONDONE such, but what Mr. Hussein heard was that" 'Ol Uncle Sam is going to sit this one out, you are free to go ahead and take back your oil."

So he did.

There was IMMEDIATE agitation in the Western Press by the Kuwaiti Government-in-Exile. Stories of atrocities by Iraqi soldiers were printed - one story in particular got the hawks in George the First's cabinet rattling their sabres. This story was later shown to be false - or at least unproven and from VERY unreliable sources. The story that Iraqi soldiers had gone to the natal ward in a Kuwait City Hospital and dumped all the premature infants out of the incubators, then took the incubators away and shipped them back to Bhagdad. I'm not saying that atrocities weren't commited - this WAS a war, after all - but this one; the key to getting the US to kick off what became Desert Sheild; apparently didn't happen.

Which brings us up to the current decade: Iraq's army got it's butt kicked by a multinational coalition (the same army that held the line against their - single! - larger neighbor). Upon hearing unfounded rumors that Iraq had a chemical and biological weapons program in place, the UN sent in CIA shills to find these "weapons of Mass Destruction". They didn't find them. The US (and UN) slapped a trade embargo on Iraq for their lack of 'cooperation' with the UN snoops. And the Iraqi economic re-build plans got placed on permanent hold.

Now, the US is going to bomb 'em back to the Stone Age because...why? Oh yes! They support "TERRORISM". Terrorism is responsible for killing 3000plus US citizens at the WTC last year, you know. (Did you also know that number represents about 1 tenth of the people who were in the WTC at the time of the attack, and that number could have been further reduced if a special interest group with a gripe against the asbestos industry - and a class action lawsuit - had only laid off long enough for...ah, skip it!)

A couple of points:

One: no one REALLY knows who was ultimately responsible for the WTC attack. Mr. Osama Bin Laden and his Al Quaeda fighters claimed responsibility for it - thereby painting a huge bullseye on his head and bringing down punitive attacks on Afghanistan by the US military (They had to DO something, after all).

Two: the only thing Iraq has to do with this particular crisis is that it happened when George Bush was president. Dubya's daddy evidently didn't finish the job, so George II is gonna go and kick some raghead ass...

Personally, I don't LIKE Mr. Hussein, he's only in power because he's had everyone smarter than him (read: potential threat of overthrow) executed; this includes members of his own extended family. But I DO think the Iraqi people got a raw deal...

Anybody remember the Red Menace?

The Red Menace was the greatest threat ever to Our Way of Life.

The Red Menace was bent on World Domination.

The Red Menace was going to confiscate your property, your firearms, and your books.

The Red Menace was going to restrict your travel, your speech, and your religion.

The Red Menace was going to take your children and indoctrinate them against your values and principles.

The Red Menace was going to censor the information you recieved about the world around you; feeding you only its propaganda and eliminating any opposing viewpoint.

The Red Menace censored all media in the countries it controlled by way of loyal management and editorial staff who ensured that the party line was followed

The Red Menace was going to invade and intrude on every aspect of your life. You would have no privacy, no confidantes, no secrets.

The Red Menace would sieze your financial records, record your telephone conversations and intercept your correspondence.

The Red Menace spent almost as much time and resources spying on its own citizens as it did spying on the rest of the World.

The Red Menace was going to pluck people off the street, ship them off to isolated prison camps, and hold them incommunicado without due process.

The Red Menace insisted that its 'work' would not be finished until the entire World was united as one Global Collective, with a single government.

The Red Menace was the determined enemy of free enterprise and entepreneurship, only 'collective', centrally-controlled economies were to be permitted.

The Red Menace did not allow Wealth.

The Red Menace did not allow Competition.

The Red Menace did not allow Freedom of Choice.

The Red Menace did not allow the Rule of Law: its power was the only Law.

The Red Menace ruthlessly punished all who opposed it and threatened its interests.

The Red Menace did not trust (or allow) its own citizens to think for themselves.

The Red Menace preached peace and goodwill, but brought war and destruction everywhere it went.

The Red Menace stood ready to use Weapons of Mass Destruction against any nation or alliance that dared to oppose it militarily.

Freedom Loving Patriots had to constantly be on guard against The Red Menace.

...And now for our latest issue!

Vacation Time!

Penticton was a blast, as always...got to do everything I wanted to do, except float down the canal to Skaha Beach. Oh well, it will still be there next year.
I DID however, get to: Dance with my wife, Swim in the Pool, see the SS Sicamous, Explore, play some mini-golf with the kids, fly a kite, watch some movies, party, eat junk food, learn the proper way to pit and peel a peach, eat some fine Italian cuisine, find some very nice little shops downtown, and price a new TV set to replace ours which blew up. I also got to draw up a few entries for the company logo contest (I hope I win). The only downsides were the kids getting sick for the first day or three, and Danielle's complaint about the sleeping arrangements. Everybody but Laurie had to share a room...and even she and I were 'sharing' -- we had what I believe was the only nookie in the place all week! Which is probably what Danny was REALLY steamed about. If Dan and Clayton want to trade rooms for next year, they are more than welcome...They can HAVE the closet-ette and kiddie size drawers and no air conditioning...
Personally, I think Laurie and I will simply make other arrangements for accomodation. We'll have to anyway. Or perhaps Dan and Clayton will, owing how they will still be 'honeymooning' by the time Penticton rolls around next year.

Other Accomodation: may mean getting a trailer and a new(er) vehicle to haul it with. I should start on it soon, because the Tracker ain't getting any younger, and I don't believe it will survive another winter in it's current condition. A trailer may actually be the more difficult part, we could end up borrowing it from someone else. Then we camp out on someone's lawn for the week we are in Penticton.

Mom's business:
Is her own business, but she has worked out a budget for it and bought (with my help) some really good gear to run it with. She is setting herself up as a Forensic Geneologist. She's excited - got 'er juice back! She's also a little dismayed by Dad's upcoming tantrum over the expense of all the stuff she bought.
Kwy is probably going to be upset that I didn't let HIM sell mom her computer. Well, the prices he quoted were good, but I think DELL provided a better product at a price we would have difficulty matching. Raj Kumar is coming back from Fiji in a few weeks, he'll probably want to buy his new system then. That should help KWY feel better.

Work:
Is work. I have again been loaned out to the Central Stock division; which is nice. We had the LAST company barbeque at 'ol 504. Next year at the new building! Speaking of the new building, the construction is complete and the interior is being fit and wired. We start the moving process in about a month or so. Xmas will probably be run entirely from the new building -- expect chaos unless we ALL stay on top of things. The management company at 504 doesn't want to buy the racking -- so we're taking it with us. The process to empty out the outlying zones of rack has already begun. Gonna be REAL busy soon.

Bicycles:
I thought for sure the freewheel body was GONE on the HG cassette I had. Turns out the chain is very worn. As I have some spare chains, this was an easy fix - and didn't cost me anything! I will be taking the bike out for a shakedown later today and we'll see if the fix works as advertised. I have to fit the lights to the Norco if I want to ride back home tonight (tomorrow morning). I am on close-up at work this week and my departure time puts me out of sync for the bus and a ride home...so, either I take the car, or I have to ride both ways - and ride home in the dark; scary!

Ok, let's start with the highlights:

Kwy's Wedding.

John Coad (old mutual friend) told me that he had phoned Hell and it was still 200 degrees down there...ha ha ha.
Seriously; am I the ONLY one who held out hope that KWY would get married some day?? Having finally met the blushing bride the day of the wedding, I can only confirm my initial opinion first voiced when I saw her picture; "definitely worth waiting for". Of course, what she sees in HIM, we can only wonder.

Anyway, the wedding/reception/dance went well and KWY and Bride are in the Gulf Islands enjoying the Newlywed Effect...

KWY's Stag Party.

KWY felt sorry that I wasn't able to go to Fraga, so he arranged a little LAN party of his own in the amply spacious basement of his new place in Clearbrook. Nine guests and ten systems showed up. We played TA and Half-life...I remember starting the half life tourney at about 3am and then looking out the window a short time later - it was DAYLIGHT!...and my butt hurt from the chair I had been glued to for the past 2.5 hours. I know I'm too old to stay up all night playing deathgames and bingeing on pizza, but it's nice to go back once in a while to the heady, foolish days of my mis-spent youth. Other highlight of the Stag was the presence of Donovan and Wife Sheila. In BC to visit family, they accepted KWY's invite to the party - cool!

My 36th birthday...halfway to my "threescore and twelve". Bogdan baked me a Bavarian Cake! What a nice surprise!

My weight.

I finally fixed my goal at 192 pounds. I started at 251, and I am presently just under 215. I lose a half-pound every time I ride the bike to work...which I am gonna miss out on this week.

My Vacation.

I finally got my vacation schedule straightened out (not a moment too soon). Took care of the Benefit Plan Enrolement at work as well.
We're going to PENTICTON!!! A little sun, a little Golf, See the sights, Swim, Shop...should be fun. Laurie expects me to dance with her...a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Oh, and I will take the time to get some writing done...although not HERE...

I sit here at the desk with my little Son on my shoulders. He is giving Daddy a scalp massage. Not much new this week. But at least one disappointment...

I ain't going to Fragapalooza...

I have made a LOT of fruitless attempts to raise the cash to go, and unless a Godly Miracle occurs and the money comes out of the blue, I just don't have the means for a round-trip and a 4 day stay in Edmonton. I am still going to mail that video card and other stuff to Donovan, just as soon as I can get a replacement PCI card for the kid's system.

Been riding the Bike to work. Today really sucked as I got a little impatient waiting for the 340 (didn't know if the scheduled bus had a bike rack) so I boarded an earlier bus that dropped me off on Annacis Island. It goes against my better judgement to ride the Alex Fraser Bridge TWICE in one day, but I felt I had no choice. As it is probably going to rain tomorrow, I will be taking the CAR if it does.

Been doing a lot of Central Stock work lately, it's NICE!!! - to be back in the saddle, actually DOING warehouse 3 work to go with my warehouse 3 pay classification. Jack had a couple of do-overs for me, which he hates, but I find it's only a minor annoyance. I am ONLY 99% accurate, after all.

Laurie and I have been going back to church...yep, doin' the religion thing. I have really enjoyed going again. My Mom is ecstatic. Her mom is probably upset - Laurie hasn't really wanted to discuss it with her parents, but she kind of figured one of the kids (Coral!) would mention it to grandma and spill the beans.

Taras, my friend from work who got hit by a car a couple of weeks ago (today), is doing fine. He is under professional care and getting some physio (I think) to work the kinks out. He is NOT back riding yet. Whether this is because his bike is still trashed, or his BODY is still trashed; I haven't been able to determine. Probably both.

Man oh MAN! - where to begin?

I got in trouble AGAIN at work - this time for raising my voice to a co-worker who is a friend of mine. I am still under probation for shooting my mouth off to the dept. co-ordinator. Section Manager has let me know in NO uncertain terms that if this happens again I am GONE, longtime service or no. Actually, he should probably have fired my ass anyway, but I'm nonetheless grateful that he DIDN'T...
--is squared away, should have no further problems.

...Sigh, I have probably come closer to being fired on more occaisions than anyone else still working there...this is a distinction of sorts; tho' I DON'T recommend it.

Second major event happened on the 14th. I had a 1PM start as our workload was backing up a little. About 2PM...I almost killed another driver...
I won't say anything else about it except to say that if the other driver had been watching where he was going - the whole incedent wouldn't have happened. As it was, the fact that he was proceeding at very slow speed saved him from getting a fork through the ribcage. If he had been travelling at normal speed, he would have been killed and neither he nor I would have known what had happened until it was all over...

...I've had nightmares about something like that happening.

I was a good boy and reported the whole thing to the acting dept. head (regular guy is on vacation). He's a good guy, did it by the book, took statements from both of us and proceeded with a preliminary investigation. 90 minutes later Randy told me that I would be paid the rest of my hours for that day, but that I should GO HOME...he figured the perfect ending to the day would be to knock out a sprinkler head or something. I REALLY appreciate being sent home...I was still shaking from the near-miss and I had spent the last hour-and-a-half driving like a Granny. Following Tuesday I was told to not operate any of the machinery until the investigation (now under Management review) was complete. That took until thursday. Both the other driver and myself have been re-instated...BUT...I feel dissatisfied somehow. I don't know how to put it into words; but there has never been a fatality in this building, and I am VERY disappointed that I was involved in a near-fatality...especially as it has been hinted at that this isn't the first such incident to occur - this is supposed to make me feel BETTER??!

More news: I got Taras' bike pack-rack built...and it works! About 16$ in parts, it is part IKEA desktop widget, part 10-24 threaded rod and 3/8th nuts - and a WHOLE lot of Permetex threadlock. I was initially worried that the 'prototype' was too flimsy for the job intended...but I soon found out how durable my creation was.

Taras swapped paint with a Motorist on his way to work Thursday morning.

He's OK, but will need some physio to get the kinks worked out. No broken bones, but probably will end up with some whiplash and a LOT of bruising. No internal damage that he can tell, but he WAS on concussion watch for 24hrs or so. His #1 bike is a write-off, but the luggage and rack survived without damage! Guilty Pleasure: I was sorry to hear he'd been in an accident, but at the same time pleased that my invention had stood up so well under 'extreme' conditions!

Our House: a work in progress...

Or: two steps forward, one step back...

Figured out why the lawnmower kept choking up: had the blade set too low. The back yard gradient is so uneven that only by setting the mower blade at its HIGHEST setting can you get a half-decent cut without any breakdowns. Of course, this means I have to mow the grass no more than 7 days apart...sigh. While re-doing the lighting in the workshop I found out that we now have TWO leaks in the shop roof/deck surface. One is where the stupid Beagle chewed through the fibreglas mat sealing the join between the shop and the rest of the deck, the other was worn thru over winter. I can re-do the worn thru part, but Grandpa has suggested some metal flashing over the joint seam...I have to agree, it's a good idea. He initially suggested running the flashing right off the edge of the garage roof to the deck surface, to get around the hackneyed flashing job our contractor did. I may have to get him to come with me and sketch out what he has in mind. For sure we have no lack of Alum roofing sheet to make the flashings with.

Donovan Sterling: where ARE YOUUUUU???

Haven't heard from Don the Mon lately, he hasn't turned on his ICQ in DAYS...so how am I going to co-ordinate my efforts to get to Fragapalooza? I am just about ready to chuck the whole thing... and at the same time I am desparate enough to try some really creative ways to raise the cash. I have tried and Tried and TRIED to sell my #2 bike, the 1150$ wunderbike, but no bites so far...

To anyone else besides ME who reads this 'blog...

I am selling a 16" 'comfort' bike - a 1994 Norco Kodiak. It has an OS 6061 Alum frame and alloy-quick-release EVERYTHING. Shimano gripshifters and derailleurs, v-brakes. It's a 21-speed, no suspension, hardcore daily commuter. Weighs about 20 pounds...no, I'm NOT kidding.

So why am I getting rid of it? It's TOO SHORT. Seriously, I've got an extra-long seatpost on there and it is NOT helping...I've already built a replacement and it's working out fine. I had intended to keep the kodiak as my backup ride, but I NEED THE MONEY...

300$ cdn, O.B.O. I'll ship anywhere in North America - who pays shipping depends on how far away I have to ship it...

contact me at brianarc@hotmail.com...if yer interested.

Once upon a time there was a struggling Nation. Actually, nationhood was a pretty new idea; warring tribes and foreign immigrants and refugees looking for some land to call their own had been the norm; but eventually, everybody got settled in and the idea that the land should become a Nation got passed 'round; after all, everyone was doing it!

Mostly what got the whole Nation-building idea rolling was the Great Empire. The Great Empire was lead by a fella named George. George and his well-heeled advisors decided that the people of the struggling Nation had resources that the Great Empire needed "to preserve our way of life" - and since the struggling Nation was primitive, backward, and not even really organised INTO a proper Nation yet, George and his advisors figured getting those resources would be a cinch. George moved his soldiers in to 'keep the peace', he set up a puppet dictatorship to 'provide good governance', and he sat back and waited for the tribute to roll in. After all, the military and economic might of the Great Empire was known and feared all over the WORLD.

The people of the struggling Nation didn't like it. Not one bit. Farmers, craftsmen, respectable community leaders and even clergymen all agreed that this turn of events was manifestly unfair, but they knew the Great Empire had them outmanned and outgunned. "This is a Crisis" the leaders of the Nation-building movement told the people of the struggling Nation, "We cannot defeat the armies and the might of the Great Empire, to even attempt it would be suicide. Therefore, we will try to make the Leaders of the Great Empire change their minds, peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must. If it comes to that, we will try to make it so expensive for the Great Empire to continue their injustice that they will have to go someplace else for what they need and leave us alone."

And they did.

They destroyed official buildings and property belonging to the Great Empire. They killed officers and soldiers of the Great Empire. Sometimes, even ordinary citizens of the Great Empire were killed! They planned these attacks to have the maximum shock effect on the leaders and people of the Great Empire, with minimal risk to their own people; because, unlike the Great Empire, the people of the struggling Nation did not have many soldiers to spare. There were brutal reprisals by the Great Empire for these attacks. The people of the struggling Nation endured these reprisals, because they knew GOD was on THEIR side.

Eventually, the war the Great Empire was making on the struggling Nation became so expensive that the resources extracted from the struggling Nation were no longer enough to defray the cost. George's well-heeled advisors were unhappy, their fortunes were suffering; finally, they persuaded George to sign a treaty with the struggling Nation. Later, the struggling Nation, now a true Nation at last, became an ally and trading partner of the Great Empire, much to the benefit of both peoples.

---Don't ya just LOVE historical paralells?

BTW: the struggling Nation was America, 226-odd years ago.
and the Great Empire was Great Britain, 226-odd years ago.

KWY's move: Oy Vey...!
KWY mentioned that many people have helped him move over the years...once. I have the honor to be among a select few who have been there more than once...I have to admit that the previous move is still a blur...to much pain associated with the memories, I guess.

I started out the week of May 27 pretty normally. I get Mondays off now that we are on downtime at work. Of course, this also means I am working 10 hours per day during the remaining 4 days of the week. Our toilet backed up on the 28th. I think my little son may have tried to flush a hot wheels...
...then the cutoff valve for the toilet started to leak - badly...
...then the pipe attached to the cutoff valve downstairs ruptured while I was at work...

...that's 3 plumbing crises in a row, in a 24-hour period! Don't bad things ALWAYS come in threes?

The ruptured pipe was what decided me on taking the rest of the day off work and taking care of business. We can't afford a plumber, so I had to: 1).fix the ruptured pipe in order to: 2).turn the water back on in order to: 3).replace the cutoff valve in order to: 4).finish installing a replacement toilet. All told, we budgeted 200$ for the project, and ended up spending 100$. I found a discontinued bowl-and-tank set at Canadian tire for 95$, and the manager was nice enough to knock off 25$ more because the bowl and tank were "mismatched; one is bone white and the other is china white". I didn't ask which was which; and frankly, I don't think he knew - I certainly couldn't tell the difference! Old toilet wasn't just plugged, its base was broken and the closet flange hadn't even been bolted to the floor! Not sad to see it go. Still don't know what got jammed in there, and I have no interest in finding out.

According to my Reader's Digest Big Book of DIY, the ruptured pipe could be fixed with something called a Saddle Clamp. I was unable to persuade anyone at Home Depot to find me one ("look, you just cut out the damaged section and replace it with a section of PVC and two couplings"), and our little Home Hardware at the foot of the street didn't have one in stock. I had to chainsaw my way thru the bathroom wall downstairs (literally) to get to the pipe. I improvised a saddle clamp using a piece of industrial-grade garden hose and three standard 1/2 inch hose clamps. Spent two hours standing in the wash sink in our Laundry Room fiddling with that pipe (can't move the wash sink - it's concrete!) before I finally got it clear and applied the fix. The cutoff valve was easy by comparison, and the toilet gave me hardly any trouble at all - except that it is TALLER than the old one and I had to rush out to Home Depot at 9pm to buy a new PVC fill pipe for the tank. I could have bought a toilet seal kit with one of those super-flexible fill hoses with the woven SS sheath included, but NOoooo, I had to save a couple of bucks! Next time out I got smart...more on that in a minute.

Back to the Move...

Did a full 10 hour shift on friday, then over to KWY's after I showered and changed. I had psyched myself for an all-nighter...KWY had rented the largest van available, but owing to demand, had to take a "less than perfect" example. Typical of KWY's philosophy, he had reserved TWO vans at two different rental outfits. Ryder lost his reservation, and Uhaul had what I came to describe as a "25 ton brick". That truck was a deathtrap: clutch was shot, engine ran poorly, and the entire front end was so badly misaligned that the LH corner of both front wheels had been worn smooth. Fortunately, we didn't get the load-up finished until midnight, so dribbling that heap down hwy 1 to clearbrook Rd at barely 70kph wasn't TOO much trouble. I personally believe we were under Divine Protection. We still had a pickup truck's worth of stuff to go, as well...

We spent until 2am getting the majority of the stuff off the Uhaul before calling it quits. KWY and I borrowed mark's truck and returned for the rest of his worldly goods. We had a pickup truck worth of stuff to load, but Mark's ford is only 1/2 a pickup...it's a pick?
SO: we had one more trip to make...this realization came at 3am. We needed sleep, so I set the internal clock for 1/2 hour, and slept right thru it...we got up again at 4:15am. Got the majority of the remaining stuff packed and (half!) loaded in the pickup. Got back to clearbrook and unloaded. It is now pushing 8am. Went BACK to KWY's old place and finished up loading (except old hardware - no room left and didn't feel like moving it...). KWY's landlord shows up (having informed him that new tenants wish to begin moving in at 9AM!!!) and demands that he (we!) clean up the place. KWY had no intention of doing so originally - he had basically already kissed his damage deposit goodbye; but it was kind of hard not to do SOMETHING with LL and wife standing there. I got the last load out to the truck whilst KWY ran around like a (VERY TIRED!) mad fiend and tried to police up all the remaining junk in the suite. Meanwhile, KWY's loading crew at the other end had showed up at 10AM to offload a new fridge and continue emptying the Uhaul...which was locked. It became a real phone tag marathon while KWY tried to A) convince mark to keep the guys around at his new place in order to be there when he finally arrived with the key to the Uhaul and, B) track down his real estate agent, who was transporting the fridge, and dropping off the keys at 10am, as well. All the while LL and wife are dogging his steps, trying to explain how very hurt they are that he didn't clean up, and how they have to leave right away to pick someone up at the airport...the new tenant, I think. We finally got out of there at 10:30am; or rather, KWY did, I went home! The rest I got secondhand from KWY later: the offload went OK, the 25-Ton Brick got returned to Uhaul on time, and KWY managed to hold off physical collapse for a grand total 36 HOURS to get the move accomplished. His Lady Fair, the lovely Leona, picked him up at Uhaul and they schlepped the rest of his stuff (stacked neatly on the back patio) up to clearbrook.

Final note: I have to convince KWY to reactivate his ICQ, and get a ICQphone link going...I ain't gonna keep calling long distance to clearbrook just to talk to him.

This brings us to Monday, and grandpa, apparently impressed by my plumbing savvy, asked me to fix the leaking faucet in his kitchen. It was an old Delta knockoff, and I got a kit of parts from Home Hardware (took the kids out for a stroll down to the HH and we got some ice cream on the way back) and set to...didn't work. There was NO WAY that ball assembly was coming apart, the sucker was fused solid. So grandpa suggested "how about a new faucet set?" I was SO in favor of that plan. Called down and was informed that HH had a nice Moen set for a good price, so grandpa hopped on his scooter and went down to pick it up. Install was a breeze, grandpa was nice enough to include two of those wonderful flex hoses for the taps - I am SERIOUSLY contemplating buying those as replacements for the supply hoses on all our fixtures. Needed to make the holes for the connectors slightly bigger - no prob, a little work with a jigsaw and a cylinder rasp got it done. New faucet may outlast grandpa...

Final item of note: Laurie and I and the kids...all attended church together. More on that later, if there is anything at all to say...

Talked to KWY again today about borrowing his digicam to put my Laptops and parts up for sale on Ebay. He was, of course, playing EverQuest at the time, and apparently my call was ill-timed at a critical juncture...his character got killed off. He'll probably never forgive me..."two hours work shot!"...hey, buddy, you were SUPPOSED to be packing boxes. I may have to help him move just to make up for this little snafu...although I hadn't originally planned on doing so. Mebbe I'll pedal my hump over there next weekend. I need the exercise anyway. MUST Must must...get the latest 1/2 life builds and mods from him on CD so I can pick up where I left off at Fragapalooza. Was playing a little DOOM classic for practice today, but I wasn't really into it.

Saw that FOX special "Did we REALLY go to the Moon?" Gotta admit, they ask some intriguing questions. I have seen a lot of sites declaring the whole Lunar Landing program a hoax, and other sites that debunk the 'hoax' sites...who ya gonna believe???

...must admit, tho, if they faked the whole thing at Area 51 (Groom Lake, Nevada), it would explain why the US military is so touchy about civilians observing the base, even from the surrounding moutain peaks ten miles away!

I propose a method of PROOVING the lunar photos and movies taken during the Apollo missions are genuine:

First, build a working computer model of the solar system (already done, just ask the guys at JPL)

Second, build a working model of the Starfield Sphere as seen from earth (ditto).

Third, and this is the tricky part, modify the output of the Starfield simulacrum to display the various celestial formations and constellations AS VIEWED FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE. Roll the time index back to 1969 thru 1973.

Fourth, dig up all those NASA Apollo photos with the beautiful starry sky in the background...and run them thru the simulation...if the photos are genuine, with the constellations viewed therein FROM THE MOON, the simulation should be able to indicate WHERE on the moon that particular photo was taken, and when. If the photos are fake...well, the construct should be able to tell us where they were shot...but I have a funny feeling that if this is the case, the location will turn out to be in the Western US, in, say...Nevada?

Have put surplus worldly goods up for sale - but didn't tell my SO...Laurie got a call from a guy in town from the Island for the day about the door for sale...of COURSE she didn't know what the h*ll he was talking about. There goes 50 bucks I could've used for the Edmonton trip. No other calls so far. Have to wait and see what turns up when the ads get re-treaded online next week. I really hope I can sell the Kodiak to some Little Person in need of a high-end ATB with a 15" frame. An adult bike for adults with REAL short legs...I have decided to keep only half the proceeds from the sale of the windows and other surplus items from the reno. Sale of the bike proceeds are MINE, and will pay my airfare to and from Alberta. I still have to borrow KWY's digicam and put the laptops and parts on Ebay. Taras has been bugging me about getting on with the bike carrier project, I now know how I am going to build the little sucker, but I need to locate a source of free parts. I think a scrapyard or appliance repair shop may be my best bet for the wire rack I need. I have been pipelining cardboard boxes to KWY for his move, but my boss says enuff already! No more c-board for me...at least for a little while. Our dept. at work will probably meet its goal and score those 100k points on the company's new incentive program, thanks in part to a bit of Genius Management by my boss, Randy Squires, ALL HAIL THE BOSS MAN! He took a seemingly impossible situation and turned it into a rare opportunity to increase dept. and overall productivity for the DC. Of course, as he himself said, there could still be some fallout from this stunt...I don't care, I still think it was brilliant and it's why he SHOULD be paid the Big Bucks.

Top Ten reason's why Arnold Schwarzenegger should play "Doctor Octopus" in the next Spider Man Movie:

10. He's got the accent.

9. ...and the menacing presence (remember the Terminator?).

8. ...and the 'big bad' guy muscles.

7. He's a nice guy, not difficult to work with, and he LOVES doing 'family' movies.

6, Arnie and destruction, and action-movie lovers favorite combo.

5. He's about the right age. (sorry Arnie, nobody's young forever!)

4. Some fans would enjoy watching big, bad, Ahnold beat the snot out of Toby McGuire.

3. Two words: bankable celebrity.

2. Doesn't mind wearing complicated (and ridiculous) costumes (remember Jingle All the Way?).

...and the number 1 reason Arnold Schwarzenegger should play "Dr. Octopus" in the next Spider Man Movie:

1. He really REALLY needs to make up for his performance as "Victor Freeze" in that dreadful Batman movie...

MAN! This weekly journal is turning into a monthly magazine...been busy.
News: got the kids their computer. Spent about 100$ fixing up the Playroom. Saw the Van for sale with the 'blown engine' - It popped a conrod cap and the piston and rod got sucked into the engine sump and jammed the crankshaft. Can I repair it? Can I persuade the Car Lot owner to let me try?...we'll see. Kwy is getting married. Most of us wonder what took him so long. He owns to having very high standards, but we just thought he was really picky. Continuing work on KWY's shindogo, and another project, a bicycle luggage rack, for TJ. Work is busy so far. Structural columns are up at the new DC, and roof trestles laid on. Walls will be erected soon.

The car broke its clutch cable - right in Mark's driveway! GREEAAAK...SNAP! Mark turns to me and says; "that didn't sound good..." No fooling...Mark's cousin got us to work only few minutes late. Got a cable next day and discovered two things: 1. Lordco sold me the wrong cable last time. 2. My attempts to make it fit and work were why it broke in the first place.
Current worries with the Junker have to do with a coolant hose (replaced in Feb.) that doesn't seem to be sealed properly.

Speaking of automotive woes: Donovan is having incredible probs with his Hyundai/Dodge/Mitsubishi/Excel/Colt/Whatever. He's tuned it up and re-tourqued the head, cleaned under the timing cover and replaced the belt. Car still runs crappy. I keep trying to persuade him that it might be the Fuel Pump, which is sort of an Achilles Heel with that particular engine, but he says she is running clean and dry. That leaves Ignition and/or Timing as the problem, and he is doggedly chasing down those possibilities. He plans to drive to Fragapalooza in July, hope his heap is ready to make the trip by then. Don was telling me that team Three Blind Mice has been joined by a fourth. Guess we'll have to change the name.

In addition to getting married, other friend KWY is moving...this means packing up his 500 title movie collection, and 2500 volume library. He's been single for a lonnnng time. He bought a house out in Clearbrook, and will be doing the long Hwy 1 run every morn into richmond from there. His work is picking up stakes and moving out there in about six months. I got him 45 boxes from work, he may ask me to get more.

Deep Link: www.downtowneastside.com - I don't usually go in for verse libre, but this guy has a way with words...at least (s)he can spell.

Computer woes: the system has been running REALLY crappy lately, unknown processes, slowdowns, Win2k begging for mercy (or a re-install). Went to symantec's site. Their 'security response' section has an ActiveX utility that is a fairly thorough virus scanner. It informed me that I had 101 INFECTED FILES...no wonder I couldn't install Norton! I got the current 'vaccine' and got the little buggers out of my system. Have installed and updated NAV, will be a good boy and not open stranger Emails from now on...

Read a funny Urban Legend type story that's been floating around the 'net lately: all about the importance of a horse's ass, and how a design feature on the most sophisticated transport system on the planet was determined 2000 years ago by just that: the width of a horse's butt.

Excitement this week: Fixed the Lawnmower. Number one on the top 100 list of Things To Do around here. Future projects will include a Post for a Laundry Line, Painting the Deck, and a New Fence. I'd LOVE to know where all the money is going to come from for this...

But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...especially if he wants to ditch his SO and fly off to a neighboring province and attend a giant 3-day LAN party. I have to re-activate my BuySell.com account and put about a TON o' stuff up for sale. Profits from my personal property go to ME (and the kid's computer, if there's any leftovers...). Sales of the extra glass, doors, windows, steel roof panels and etc. from the reno go to the fence fund. So; I will be using the Fido account (while it's still 'nearly free') to take messages and get the goods unloaded in short order.

Speaking of buying and selling...I have been giving some thought to acquiring a new (used!) vehicle...but I need to see the wreck first. There is a Plymouth Voyager van about the same age as the Tracker currently floating around the 'beaters' section of BuySell. It's got a good Chassis, but the engine is "blown" - whatever that means. I could probably get it for 50cents on the dollar, if I offered to tow it away and never, never bring it back. BUT, I need to know if the engine damage is within my means and ability to repair. Wife will be off dancing for 5 days next week...hmmmm.

Colin and I went on a little road trip yesterday to pick up some parts for the IBM TP560 I'm trying to repair. On the way home we visited the Shelter Island Marina off Graybar road in Richmond. Man, if ever someone needed the services of a good bike mechanic, it's boaters...mebbe I should get some new cards printed...and get a dealership from a few 'folding bike' suppliers. Colin loved 'da boats' and I had to explain repeatedly that they were not 'bawoons', but 'bumpers' that he saw hanging off the various craft we saw moored at dock 'C'. For some reason (probably romantic fixation), I am attracted to that place, even to modifying my regular route to work just so I could pass by it every day. Colin and I also drove to the end of #8 road to have a look at the site for HBC Logistics new Super-DC. Only nine more months and I will be working there! The foundations have been poured, and I expect we'll see structural columns and walls going up soon.

Speaking of work, we just concluded the most successful Health and Safety week we've ever had in the history of the building...which is good, 'cause it's also the LAST we will have in that Building. This time next year, we will be well and truly moved into the new digs. High points of the week were a seminar on back care (dug it), and a live First Aid Response demo. There was also, as I suggested, a demo for OPR rescue, which turned into an exercise; and which management bumped up by one day, to take almost everyone (including me) by surprise. Exercise was successful, and a productive discussion followed. Glad I was not in charge...but equally glad I got to participate. Nice to know we can do it if we have to.