1000 Year Old Dogs.

I know they're not a thousand years old, they just look like they are. Shar Pei dogs from China have the wrinkle record for man or beast, unless the human's been too many years on the beach that is! If you go to grab them to pick them up by the skin near the back of their necks will you pull to chest height before the dog moves? I know, a bit overstated but funny none the less, just make a mental picture. I guess even the most effective wrinkle treatment in the world would be put to shame with these poor devils. Speaking of devils, don't be scared of their tongues which are blue black in color, it's normal. The Shar Pei breed, as they mature, will 'grow into their skin' as they get larger. Seems like nature made a sync error with a long corrective cycle. The dogs are cute but aren't for everyone since this breed was designed for guarding, hunting, and fighting. I can think of a few other breeds with the same resume that I wouldn't let near any children of mine, let alone me.

Neighborhood Kids Need to Grow Up Quicker!

I have a few "kids" in the neighborhood that need to wake up and grow up. These are tween teens, old enough to know better and too young to hold responsible. The funny part, if there is one, is that the boys are directed by one girl to do mischief. On their own, the boys are fine and don't bother anyone, with a couple of exceptions and a few mailboxes. The difficult part is when the police need to be involved and for the most part they don't mind responding because, as one deputy told me, they like to eyeball the troublemakers for later reference. I tried to identify some of the 'ringleaders' but nightime idents aren't as clear with a regular binocular so I took it a step further. I got a nite vision monocular in a giveaway of all places. It works great but everything is green. What it does do is let me keep an eye on the one damaging property while the deputy confronts them. One deputy stayed with me one rare time and was able to let his partner know which one was the guilty one. It's sad to have to be this way but when they know you have the ability to see them in the dark they stay away and that's fine by me.

Broke My Cellphone Again.

I don't know how I did it, or what I did, but my new replacement cellphone is broken again. The sad part is that I got the last one that broke (dead, no display) replaced because I bought the warranty when I got the phone, I just never thought I'd ever use it. I was tempted at one point to cancel the warranty but the thing that changed my mind was how much it was going to cost to replace it without a new service plan. I know that the warranty I got through my provider was cheap enough but I can only guess what an Apple buyer would have to pay out if they didn't have an iphone warranty, those phones are expensive. I'm in a little better situation with this breakage however. The damage I have isn't covered because the phone still works, just the glass on the outside of the flip is cracked. It must be sealed pretty well because none of the glass pieces have fallen out. If I'm lucky it'll hold on long enough for me to get an Android phone, maybe an HTC, when prices come down for the extras of course.

As Welcome As Bedbugs!

Ahh, New York, bedbug capital of America! The Yankees couldn't do it, the Rangers couldn't, forget the Knicks and Mets because they couldn't either. No, the bedbugs are the world champs from New York! I was watching the news at noon today and even Bloomingdale's has the tiny creatures that stay in bed all day, crunch, crunch, crunch! Did they get there from someone(I guess a lot of someones) being lacks in their hygiene? I'm sure the answer is yes to a number of instances but not all. Case in point, Joe lies down on his bed before going to the movies, he meets his date and they sit through the movie(he has his arm around her, how cute), and she then goes to the store with him to try some mattresses because he needs a new one. Here's what has happened. Barnie the bedbug and his family jump on Joe when he lays down, some of the family moves to his date in the theater, and the rest move to Bloomingdale's when he's trying out some mattresses. Multiply this by a factor of 1000 and you might be kind of close for a day's activity. It's like fighting pesky blackheads as a teen. Bedbugs on bed, blackheads on nose, warts on fingers, more bedbugs in furniture. How do you rid yourself of the title for bedbug capital? Good question, not sure of the answer. I think I'd like to buy a vowel at this point!

Savings Account with Interest? What's That?

Banking has changed significantly since I was a youngster. My first savings account was a 5% affair that I opened with a five dollar gift and was I proud of that. I put my money in the bank and they'd pay me to keep it there, the more I put in the more I'd make! Today you're lucky to see a 1.5% CD advertised as a great deal on the television. What happened? Banking got very complicated for we, the uninitiated. I thought I had an advantage by working for the Federal Reserve for a number of years but this was more complicated that that and I was in electronic funds transfers during it's infancy at the start of on-line banking for consumers. It used to be that if you needed a loan you'd see the customer service teller at the desk behind the short swinging door and set it up. Today you've got commercial lenders, personal lenders, mortgage lenders, asset based lenders, and I'm sure it goes on and on. I think this will change for the better eventually though. I look to a major player in the big box retail chain store world. They started with small stores around 30,000 sq ft(give or take) and went up to 100,000+ sq ft and are now going back to the 30,000 sq ft stores because they now say it's better. Did they waste a ton of money to "go back to start, do not collect $200". They never said they made a mistake, they said it was going to be more convenient for us, the consumer. I see banking someday returning to a simpler way under a nice big umbrella of services that's consumer friendly.

Keeping Salespeople Away From the Door.

Ever get just a little fed up with those folks in white shirts and ties coming to your door selling Jesus or the kids trying to go on the proverbial 'class trip' and need to raise funds for it by selling you a $1 candy bar for $5? In Florida we get a lot of those knocks on the door and they're very unwelcome. Why should I have to keep my porch door locked to keep these people away from my doorbell? Why should I have to keep listening to the Dominoes people trying to give me menus with 'valuable coupons' that I neither want or would ever use? The answer to that eludes me and many others in the world. I've even seen the white shirts, often with their children in tow, trying to look into my front window to get someones attention. You never see real life issues brought to your door though. How many time have you seen someone come to the door offering advice on treating weeds without trying to sell a service, someone telling your teen how to prevent pimples without spending hundreds on potions, or a paperboy(girl) offering to bring your newspaper to the upper driveway so that the sprinklers won't get it all wet before you get to it. I'm just saying that life should be simpler and visitors should be less complicated so I can leave my door open for a change.

When's The Last Time You Read a Book?

I can't remember the last time I read a book, a real book, not an e-reader one or an extended magazine article. I stopped reading books when I discovered the joy of audiobooks, books on tape or disc. I love them, I absolutely love them. I listen to them on my way to work, while I work, and during my drive home. I figure that overall I've listened to over 100 books this past year alone, all full length from cover to cover. No, I don't think it's cheating by listening to someone reading it to me. I'm still appreciating the authors words as well as getting the necessary inflections needed within the story to direct the needed emphasis to the particular parts that the author wants to highlight. No, I have absolutely nothing against books, I have quite a few of them both in storage and in bookcases. My work requires detailed viewing of sensitive optics and my eyes really aren't ready for books after 8 hours of that, like they used to be. Yes, I've been frustrated with audiobooks as well. I love the nautical works of Alexander Kent, I have all the Bolitho books and have read them at least twice. My problem is that I can't find the needed earlier volumes to listen to before the later ones so I need to wait. For these I will wait. Happy reading/listening!

Internet Viruses and Malware Threats

It's really unfortunate that there isn't a place you can surf on the net that's guaranteed to be infection free and safe. Even malware and anti-virus resource sites, not to mention software sites, have been targets of these "hey I'm bored, what can I do to screw around with some people's privacy" anti-geeks. I call them anti-geeks because the stand for everything non-educational and non-productive in the world. Talented individuals with nothing more to do than screw with innocent people doing their thing. The most common ploy right now is the screen take-over saying you have a virus and click here to run a free virus scan. What it does is redirect you top another site to sell you some crap A/V software and take your credit card numbers while leaving your pc in turmoil. The best thing for you to do when this happens is write down as much information as possible that's on the screen about the threat shown, reboot to safe mode with networking, search for the named issue, and d/l the corrective program to clean it out. My wife has been hit three times with this one and I'm getting very good at killing it. Call me Dave Quartermain, the Virus Hunter! Sounds like a good book series.

It's My 35th Class Reunion Time

Let's see now, 18 at graduation plus another 35 years to ferment equals 53 years? Hmmm, when did that happen? It seems like a few years ago I was graduating from college and here's my 35 class reunion. The last one I went to was my 5th reunion and that was weird, to say the least. I never went back after seeing some of the 'kids' I was just with 5 years earlier turn into haggard or balding frumps. Don't get me wrong here though, some of the hotties in my class like a girl named Lynn Kurker, who actually got more beautiful with a little age, even after 2 kids. I think for this reunion there will be a mad scramble for some top notch anti aging product that works so as to not ruin any illusions from past beauty or handsome-ness! I won't be attending this reunion however. I have a job to do and the reunion is over 1500 miles away in Massachusetts and besides, I really can't justify to myself the expenditure for 1 night reliving the past when the future is waiting to happen. Maybe the 50th! Medford High School Class of 1975!

A Week Into Treatment and Still ....

It';s been a week into my antibiotics and steroids and inhaler and I'm still coughing. I do admit that the coughing has subsided dramatically, but hasn't stopped as it should have by now. I realize the doctor said it was a bad bronchitis and I still need to follow-up with her in the next few days with another visit, but I don't remember being sick this long when I was younger with the same ailment. I think probably the worst part, since I work on the late night shift, is the lack of a proper deep sleep. The cough always keeps me short of that really restful place. I was tempted to ask her for a sleep aid but thought longer on it. I figure if this continues much longer I will ask about something. I don't, however, want to be in too deep asleep and have a real need to be woken up for a loose cough that could possibly choke me if I were in the wrong position when it happened and not be responsive to the need to awaken quickly. Right at this stage I think I could use it as the cough is not longer as productive as it once was. We'll see how it goes.

Egg Crate, Pillow Top, Flat Top!

Right now I'm really appreciating the times before I got sick when I could go to bed and relax into the soft, contouring mattress and fall asleep before the bed got too warm. I love a cold room and a warm bed, I don't love a warm room and a warm bed however. My wife and I went looking for a replacement mattress for our 10 year plus bed that refused to feel like new anymore(the back aches were getting a bit much). We decided to look at everything out there as we don't plan to spend another cent on a bed set for a long time to come. We checked out sales on the 'old reliable' styles from the 'old reliable' mattress companies and decided to really reach out on our search because they all felt too stiff. If I want to sleep on stiff I'll put a pillow on the floor. We explored the memory foam mattress sale ads, the pillow top mattress sale papers, the 'old reliable' ones as well in case the others were out of our financial range, and even the crappy egg crate bed toppers(enough said there). We narrowed it down to a pillow top and a foam set but the pillow top one this round because it provided the extra height I wanted without any frame mods, and that was the only reason. The foam was exceptionally comfortable but height beat the extra comfort this time at least, who knows about next time though!

Don't Like Getting Ill.

I'm not one for sleeping in if I don't feel well, let alone going to bed right after work because I can't stay awake due to fever and then lying there in too warm a bed not being able to get to sleep, even though I'm tired as can be. I went to the doctor a couple of days ago because the cough I have has been with me for 3 weeks and I don't want pneumonia again, three times is more than enough. I tell you what, it's hard to fall asleep when you're coughing and wheezing all night, all day in my particular case. With all the meds I'm on I don't know if there are any sleeping pills that actually work along with all the other stuff. The doctor said in three days I should be feeling great again but to make sure all the meds get taken. I know that! I have 2 days to go now, only because like a dummy I left my meds at work yesterday and had to start them over again. Oh yeah, just in time for the weekend!

Have You Tried to Fix Your Car?

Have you ever tried to actually fix something important in your car? Like an engine component or tweak your transmission or electrical system? I even purchased a set of fog lamps for my car years ago and I'm reluctant to wire them up for fear of shorting out my on-board computer chip. I remember a day when I could(and did) take my car engine apart, fix a problem, reassemble the engine, tap the gas peddle twice, hold it to the floor, and turn the key and see the engine start right up. Do that now and it'll cost you in the thousands to have someone fix what you just thought you were going to fix. You're better off teaching someone how to remove pimples than teaching them do-it-yourself auto repairs(aside from fluids and tire changes). Did I mention the need of a third hand to change these square air filters that are wedged in the engine compartment? The automobile is a self-perpetuating animal that makes sure it gets fed regularly. Everything seem to be going fine and smooth? Here comes the ever infamous Check Engine light of mystical legend. No one ever seems to know what it means except it's probably going to be expensive and you now rely on the mechanic decoding it to be honest about the cause. The ever rolling crap shot, odd or even, you'll probably lose.

Movies Are Still Your Best Entertainment

I've been a film buff for many, many years and for most of that time they only seemed to get better and better. Better until the film companies started recycling great films into garbage films, and that's a shame. There does come a time when a film needs to stop being cloned and let it rest on it's laurels, such as The Godfather saga. If any other contemporary film tried to use the line that they were "going to the mattresses" it wouldn't really be appropriate since the best of the best already used it. There have been many who have tried to come close, and were quite good, but still were not the same in quality or impact. The current Robin Hood movie is another example of how Hollywood is trying to come up with a fresh idea and have fallen back to the 'if you can't think of a new installment, make a new fist installment', the prequel! Star Wars, Batman, Superman, Star Trek have all done it and many more, even some that shouldn't, will do it again. Pick and choose but always keep the classics first as they will never disappoint.