Looking at the Kitchen Project Redux

I've been here a few times talking about the kitchen project that still hasn't come to pass. I've held off on it because I wanted to see how bad the economy was going to get. I didn't want to lay out a sum of cash and then wish I hadn't then all of a sudden food was more important. These are tough times and you try to prepare and no amount of preparedness can get you ready for a financial disaster, which is why I decided to wait it out. During this time I've had the opportunity to see some different fixtures for the sink, I'm not so sure the coppery color will be a selling point if, down the road, we decide to move on to something a bit smaller like a villa. I've been looking at Koehler faucets and Grohe faucets, and Delta faucets have come out with since I made up my mind the last time. This is getting to be a habit I want to break, smoking was easier to kick. Well, no, it wasn't but it could have been. All the new bells and whistles and sprayers and sink styles are going to drive me dippy, I know it. I guess I'll be updating this new development eventually and hopefully before spring is over.

PC Supersizing in Reverse

I've always been a PC guy since the time when they first appeared in the eighties. Yes, I was one of those IBM mainframe guys who used to play with punch cards and punch tapes and programmed in Structured COBOL, and RPG II, Basic, etc. When I first saw Microsoft Excel in 16 color it was like, WOW! Pretty sad by today's standards. You can practically run programs on Blackberry's and other Palm products, actually you can run programs on them but not conveniently. When I build my semi annual PC I usually get the big case and load it up. I'm not a convert to the laptops, netbooks, and notebooks yet. I don't know if I ever will be ready to type with my finger tips, or in some case pencil erasers(tiny keys). My eyesight isn't amenable to tiny letters because I never, ever learned to touch type, I'm a two finger master of the standard keyboard. My wife has a laptop and that little finger pad just drives me crazy. I bought her a USB mouse for when she needs me to do something for her on it because she knows I get to the point where I want to throw it at the wall. She, on the other hand, likes the touch pad. That's okay, it's her computer not mine. It's a world of to each their own when it comes to computer comfort and that's what's important.

Cold Weather Travelling to Warm Weather Spots!

I have to admit that living in Florida does have some perks to it. Most people aren't seeing them due to high unemployment and a poor housing situation but it is true, we do have some geographical perks when it comes to vacation choices. We have the OPTION of going to the snow, making sure it's a short stay at that. The snow is cold and wet and did I mention it's cold! I can see why those that have never had the honor of having to get out of bed at 4 a.m. to go out and shovel snow so they can get their car out of the driveway, or street parking spot, before the snowplow has the chance to come by and undo what you got up so early to do because then it's time to shovel it again. Did I mention that after a road is salted the snow gets very hard when it's plowed and then it reaches 'heart attack' weight? That's one of the reasons I live in Florida now. If I want to take a trip to Cancun, Aruba, or Cozumel it isn't a big deal because they're relatively local, except Aruba that is. South America is still a distance away, but shorter than from the snow states! Heck, I saw a woman here today wearing a stadium jacket and it was only 54F, wimps! I guess I still have some snow blood in my veins.

Airport Security Gone Wild.

No, this isn't about one of those staged girly videos shot at the airport. Did I say 'shot' at the airport? I meant to say 'videotaped' at the airport, please don't hurt me! My attempt at humor is not without some merit. My mother-in-law likes to travel and she has her keepsakes she likes to take with her, just in case. Everyone has a few items they always feel they may need and feel the need to retain them most of the time, like a nail clipper, comb, gum, breath spray, you know. Well, she has this thing about opening letters and keeping the envelopes from getting dog eared when they're ripped open. To accomplish this she has a miniature sword with a mildy semi-sharp edge on it. Semi sharp meaning that it barely makes a straight cut on paper and has never inflicted a skin cut in decades, accidental or otherwise. Unfortunately, she likes to take it when she travels. I don't know who she expects mail from while she's away but she needs it anyways. This particular day was the wrong day to feel the need to bring old 'Excalibur' with her getting on a domestic flight. Homeland Security didn't see the need for it either, especially when questioning her in the 'room'. You know the machine went off while crossing the electronic airport frontier going to the gates and that's how she happened to go to the 'room'. We were allowed to be in the room with her because of her age and they asked the usual questions such as the do you have any other weapons besides the knife like a razor, box cutter, pen knife, pocket knife. Do you have any flammable materials, unlabeled liquids in the suitcase, matches, lighters, guns, bombs, etc. I couldn't fault them, they were doing their job and they weren't being offensive, they were just doing what is expected of them. After a short while she was allowed to leave but under one condition, the sword had to be retained and would be turned over to us to bring home, which I thought was far less than what they could have done. She was still able to make her plane. I make sure she gets to the airport 2 hours ahead to be safe, she made the flight by 5 mins. She'll still think she was in the right the rest of us know better. I still haven't decided if the sword will disappear since she doesn't know I have it. I had to sit in traffic I could have avoided because of that sword. That will weigh heavily in my decision.

Winter, Time to Shed Some Weight?

I know what you're thinking,it's the holiday season and it's getting cold outside and the summer is better for outdoor and indoor exercising. Right? Almost! I live in Florida where the summer is NOT a good time to get some exercise whether indoors or outdoors. It just gets too darned hot and muggy to be of any value for a good workout. Outdoors is a good place for walking and cycling, etc, except when it gets too cold to be out. Yes, Florida gets cold too, but not like the northern states (Georgia and up), sorry you sons and daughters of Dixie but you get ice and snow just not as much but you're crippled worse when it happens than up in the northeast and north-central states, especially along the Great Lakes. My wife and I have different tastes when it comes to outdoor exercise. I like to ride my bike and she likes to walk. What we do is trade-off and go walking some days and biking other days. When it gets too cold to do either we have our indoor alternatives. She has her treadmill and I have my bike resistance rack for biking indoors with my bike but off the floor. I like to set my rig up in the spare bedroom and put a movie with a running time equal to the amount of time I want to ride and she does the same in the master bedroom with her treadmill while doing her internet surfing with a wireless combo and a desktop I put on her machine for the laptop to go. The important thing is that we get a healthy amount of time each week exercising and that's a good thing!

Holiday Celebrating Gone Wild

Tis the season, as they say. The season for what? Well, shopping, parties at work and home, more shopping, stress, anxiety, relieving stress and anxiety, etc. You know what this time of year brings - headaches and a desire for it to be at an end. How sad we all are. This is the time of year that was meant for celebration and revelry and we listened to the merchants, advertisers, and greeting card companies. They've shaken the foundations of the various end of year holiday's (the Jewish year ended already) and turned them into a maddening display of buying too much and regretting what was bought as being overdone. This is also a depressing time of year for those who have nothing to celebrate. In fact the false cheeriness can actually make these poor souls feel worse about their particular situation and actually undo the benefits of alcohol rehab and drug rehab by putting the monkey right back on their shoulders. Most people are oblivious to the torment this time of year can bring to some. It can be like rubbing salt into a wound or putting a finger in someones face. Winter, hands down, is the leading season for depression in the world. Maybe it's the shorter days, less sunlight, the cold days and colder nights. "Tis the season to be jolly" is a bunch of rubbish. What we need is more good will towards (wo)men! I know this is the time of year that makes or breaks retail sales for the year but come on, do we really need to see decorated trees in the stores for Halloween? No we don't. Do we need the continuous blaring of sickening Christmas carols everywhere? No we don't, and I realize that this must cause offense to non-Christian people and that is unfortunate. I'd gladly sacrifice my share of the carols if that would help, please! The best thing you can do is watch out for friends and loved ones who begin to act 'different' from what you're used to seeing and do a little homework on the Internet to see the warning signs of substance abuse and depression. You could end up saving a life by keeping your eyes and ears open this holiday season. One last parting thought, don't forget the designated driver this year as it could be your life that gets saved, or lost!

How is Your Holiday Social Calendar Looking?

Tis the season to party hardy! I think this time of year has to be the party premier month with Kwanzaa, Chanukkah, Christmas, and New Years all in one lump of time. If I missed any other holidays, or alleged holidays, I apologize right now but 'oh well'. I feel the worst for women who associate in close circles because they're at a major disadvantage clothing-wise. How can you get away with the same outfit, or two, at all the social events this month without being noticed for duplicity? I can hear it now, "Oh my God! Is that Shirley in the same dress she wore last week? She must be poor or something. Stay away, it might be catchy". I know, it's a little over the top but I have heard some catty things said about friends to other friends regarding women's clothing. I never heard anyone comment about a guy wearing the same slacks or shirt more than once, hooray for our side! What is needed is to align all the party invitations in chronological order and then match clothes with the intended events, especially where attendees will not be familiar with one another such as work, club, and friends parties. In these situations where work and homelife don't converge you can have duplicity. Breath easier by being socially organized this year. Plan your strategy and allow for pitfalls and you'll have a very happy party season!

Is Anything Truly Free Anymore?

I've been thinking about this, especially with the holiday season upon us, and I'm having a hard time answering my own question. Is there anything that's truly free anymore in our life? Things like the Free Lunch are a thing of the past because nowadays to get the Free Lunch you must have purchased, or agreed to purchase, or commit to something that has now made the Free Lunch an oxymoron, like Jumbo Shrimp. The Free becomes anything but Free. There was also Free Advice and you probably know where that will go so I'll leave it alone for now. Well, the heck with it. Free Advice usually costs you more in the long run than you'd ever expect to pay for Paid Advice but usually in a negative price category. Things that you never see for Free are Free Cars, Free Money, Free People, Free Face Slaps, Free Breathing In, Free Breathing Out (unless you had garlic for your Free Lunch). I could go on but it's futile at best to try to rationalize Free. Free is for the interpretation of the giver in the end. The giver may be generous to a fault or greedy to the hilt. How to tell? I'd be a multi-millionaire right now if I could answer that. On the other hand, how do you know that I'm not, either?

Vacation Request Time for 2010 is Here.

I just got the sheet for picking when I want to take my vacation next year. If you don't select a week or two now it may not be available when we choose a destination that has openings available. I think it's too soon but I don't make the work rules, I just have to live by them. We have selected a few destinations that we haven't been to yet, all of them attractive sites. We're deciding between Las Vegas Casino Week rentals, Alaskan Wilderness vacation rentals, a Outer Banks vacation rental, and even a few vacation rentals in the Caribbean. We've both done the Caribbean thing and as far as Vegas is concerned, we can afford the trip but not the gambling! That's a big N O to Vegas this year! I'd do Alaska from a cruise ship but not the 'cabin thing', I don't feel like getting up close and personal with a bear or wolf, not my idea of 'fun'. We both love the ocean, we grew up along the ocean in Massachusetts. I have an uncle in the Carolina's I'd like to see again since he's getting on in years, like the rest of us! I have no issues with the Outer Banks, I've heard it's beautiful there and I'm getting tired of the Gulf all the time, I need to smell the ocean again. Now I just need to coordinate a booking and vacation date. Wish me luck!

Xmas Gift List, part 2!

My family has gotten a collective brain-storm (I'm not part of this storm)where the grand plan for the house will be a fire-pits, or outdoor fireplaces to be specific. I live in Florida and hear nothing but "it's too hot to hang around outside today" all summer long. What do they want for the house? Something to make it warm, of course! Okay, I can see where they're going with this idea anyhow. It does get chilly in this part of Florida, in fact last night got into the upper 30's and it's only Dec 06th. We still have January and February to go and we do get frost here, albeit not like the northern states. The problem I have is where to put it. I can't place it in the pool enclosure because of the risk of fire. I'll take the house over the fire pit every time. The only other option is to place it outside the enclosure but it will be in the line of sight of the street which doesn't thrill me. I think if this is going to happen I'm going to have to install a section of privacy fence from the house to my neighbors fence and that should take care of the privacy factor and fire risks.

I've Had Better Neighbors in the Past!

It's really sad when you can't put decorative items in your yard because the neighborhood juvenile delinquents, mostly girls mind you, like to run through the yards and damage things they come across. We had a decorative solar light with a hummingbird on it that displayed different colored lights that we just found snapped in three pieces in the yard. Of course my wife asked me what I knew about it and I took offense to the question. We currently have a CCTV camera with infra-red optics over the garage door to monitor the street. Since that camera went in we haven't had any issues from the street. Today, I started looking into multiple camera home security systems that can monitor the sides and rear of the house. I know the only two things they will do are to discourage a trespasser and provide video for law enforcement if something does occur. What we need to get is a wireless system that has IR and records video that is set off with motion activation. You can burn through a lot of discs if you're recording all the time. The one I have in the front is connected with a 100' cable and I'm not doing that again, Florida attics are always tight just where you need to be and they aren't cool to work in until late fall into winter time. It's about that time now and we'll see what we get for Xmas money to reinvest.

Xmas Lists are Getting Specific These Days

With the growing trend towards hi tech and fabulous displays, the average Xmas list has gotten a lot more technically savvy! What with Blu-Ray, Plasma, LCD, and Hi Definitions tvs, the once average consumer has become a techno-geek, by default! A few years ago the big push was for $300 to $600 gaming consoles and the games that went with them in the $50 and up range. Today we're looking at $800 to $3000 entertainment systems in full hi-def clarity, that you can plug your game console into and now become part of the action. I suppose that in a few years we'll just put on a wired suit and a full head helmet and become immersed inside of a virtual world to become part of the actual game instead of a viewer.