Vacation, and not a moment too soon!

After I punch out this morning I have 10 glorious days off! Well, I guess I can't really categorize them as glorious since I will be doing things like re-tiling and grouting my kitchen counter tops, painting and possibly even re-doing the floor in one of my bathrooms. Maybe I should just stay at work and not take the vacation?

I might get to a few more postings on vacation than I do in a regular work week (or month). Joe would probably say that any post is more than I do now. If I could only achieve one tenth of the posts that Joe does, I would be a better man for it.

Just a quick link as I get out of here. Oliver North has a great piece on the politicians who just don't care about the outcome in Iraq.

Jumping on the eMusic Bandwagon

I received a free 30 day trial for eMusic.com a few months back. It included 40 downloads. I was a bit skeptical at first. I couldn't find many bands that had recognizable names. Most were Indie artists. I wondered what good this would do me if I had never heard of any of these bands before.

It did me a lot of good.

I have always enjoyed listening to "new" music. New to me as well as new to all. I literally stumbled across many new artists that I had never heard of and now can't get enough of. Here's just a few that have been on the "A" list in my CD player for quite some time now.

Aaron Sprinkle - Moontraveler - rock, alternative

Bitstream Dream - Spiralglide - electronic, breaks, chill

Cheer Up Charlie - rock

Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse?) - electronic, techno

Hyper Static Union - Lifegiver : rock

Subway - Empty Head : electronic

Tracing Days - Control : rock

These are just a few of them. The interface is set up so that there are links to artists of similar styles on each artists page. It's almost an endless click list. Try it you'll like it!

I just thought I would post this early '80's pic of my wife's "Grandpa B" and me. The post had no particular motivating factor. I think the fascination stems just from looking at it and saying to myself..."what was I thinking?"

The hair, the flannel, the 80's.....it's all pretty surreal.

Grandpa B isn't with us any more and neither is that mane I had (thankfully). It is, however, a moment in time to remember. Grandpa B always had a grin on his face and a good laugh just behind. He drove a cement truck for many years. He owned his own home. Seasonal work like his had to be hard. I don't believe he ever really learned to read or write. He knew enough to get by. Enough to sign his name on a check to pay the bills. He always had the oil in his car changed every 3,000 miles or less, just like clockwork. Tires rotated on time. His cars were kept immaculate. You could swear they were just driven off the dealer showroom floor. He might have put 2,000 or 3,000 miles a year on them! He would be the kind of seller you would dream of buying a used car from. He had WWII stories from his time in the Army in Italy. He was truly a Grandpa to remember.

I Need a New Job.....

....because this one's gonna kill me. Between the back pain, tendonitis, crazy hours and lack of sleep, I'm going to be pushing up daisies long before my time. Anyone have a sweet, low impact, non aerobic, cranial type position they need filled?

I was off for a couple of months on an injury. During that period of time I was able to see how real folks lived. Get up after the sun comes up, go to bed after it goes down. Those are a couple of the basic necessities of life that I don't get to do very often. Because of the type of job I have, it requires that I start work just after 1:00 am every day. These hours are not condusive to reasonable human activity. I've done this work just shy of two decades and it just doesn't get easier. While I'm griping, I might as well complain about the lack of any type of social life. Since my alarm goes off around midnight, those casual evening get togethers with friends and family are either cut short or skipped all-together. I'm generally going to bed before the pre-teens in the neighborhood and leaving for work while the unemployed neighbors are still partying on the porch.

I think that's probably enough complaining for one post. I should be grateful that I have a job. I could be like my unemployed neighbors, partying all night!