Tag Archives: Life

George is Safe

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MLB’s ficus tree, which(whom?) she has named George, is now in his winter quarters here at tbbsWorldHQ.

As she likes to say, “He called my name” when she bought him at Long’s or Lucky’s during our exile period in California in the 1980′s. And George lives!

So, it’s now my job to make George comfortable, starting in the vernal warmth, wherein I schlep him outside. In the autumnal chills, that now have descended into freezes, I dutifully bring George back into the warmth of the house, where he spends the winter.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

We’re now in the fall repeat cycle, and MLB is smiling.

I’ve never seen George smile, but a smiling MLB trumps a dead George any day.

Being a good husband since 1979, I faithfully remain.

-k-

Adios, Verizon

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Well, the “cancel my wireless phone” mail-o-gram has been sent. Our contract with Verizon expired a week or so ago, and our AT&T go phones are on-board and activated with more minutes than we’re likely to use for a year.

Sweet!

-k-

New Transmission

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The aught-one Saturn, at 108475 miles, will not go into reverse1 And, hence, it’s in the Reston Automotive Hospital.

The verdict is in. It needs a new transmission. A $3800 transmission. A warranted, 24-month, 24K mile transmission. That they can install by Tuesday.

We gave them the go-ahead earlier. This is probably the first time I’ve spent more on a car than its Blue Book value, but I think the rest of the car is reasonably sound. And $3800 wouldn’t be a year’s worth of car payments, if you go on the 3 year payment plan.

So, not wanting to owe our souls to Ford Credit, we repair. And hope the aught-one runs proud and true for a year or two.

-k-
Update: And this is my first new transmission. With me, rites of passage come late in life.

1 Well, unless you want to rev it up to 3500-4000 RPMs, and then jam it into gear.

Verizon Wireless-less

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I’ve broken free from the shackles of Verizon Wireless. MLB and I have been looking for simple, no frills phones, with a subsistence plan. We care not about texting, surfing the web, custom ringtones, cameras and such like claptrap on a phone. We care not about a gazillion monthly minutes, irrespective of whether or not they roll over. We care not about mobile-to-mobile. Of our princely hundreds of minute per month with Verizon, we used all of 5 minutes between us last month. This is not a one-off month, either; using 60 minutes is a rarity. And no one ever calls us on cell phones; ours are usually turned off anyhow.

We view a wireless phone as an emergency lifeline, in case our car lays down on the road, or in case we need some type of medical assistance away from home.

So, we’ve upgraded to AT&T Go Phones; pay as you go, cheap phone equipment, no contract. Twenty-five cents per minute, flat. We’ll preload the phones with $100 each, and kiss the Verizon $80/month family plan goodbye. By the first of the year, our outlay will be recouped, and we’ll roll on.

So, if you have a cell number for me that is 703-xxx-yyyy, it will cease to function.

Not since I dissolved my relationship with Media General Cable, over 12 years ago, have I been so tickled.

-k-

Cowboys Stadium

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Watching Football Night in America, I’m amazed at the spectacle that is Cowboys Stadium. The stadium website is currently mobbed, so I visited the Wikipedia for particulars.

I’ve stopped by Bristol Motor Speedway, just to see the venue, when there were no events going on.

I’m sure I’ll do the same, if and when my travels take me to the Metroplex.

When it comes to football, though, I am, and I remain, an AFC West fan.

-k-

Humpty Dumpty

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From the Wichita (KS) Eagle:

Couple robbed while inside dumpster.

I can’t guarantee the longevity of that link, the Eagle being a newspaper and all. But it details the story of a 44 year old man and his female companion, who took refuge in a dumpster so they could be alone. While they were engaged in what the Wichita Police primly referred to as “an intimate moment”, they were accosted by a 59 year old man, and his 64 year old companion. The youngster of that pair, egged on by the geezer, proceeded to rob the amorous ones of a wallet, shoes, and jewelry.

But all’s well that ends well. The police managed to round up the old-timers, and all property, with the possible exception of the lover’s pride, was recovered.

I haven’t posted much of these slice-of-life episodes for a while. But when one has such a story and a snappy title like this here post, one must hit publish.
-k-

Wish I Could Have Seen This

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Of all the things I missed in Chicago, primarily because I pulled up lame
 had a sneezing, coughing, chilling fit on Saturday, this would be the one I regret missing the most.

Hat Tip to MLB, who quietly extracted the camera from the laptop backpack last Saturday, for the photo.

A bucolic statue, for a bucolic man,

-k-

Down from the Summit

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MLB and I arrived home late (10:45 PM or so) last night, after navigating 5 state’s worth of toll roads back from Chicago.

The Red Hat Summit was another outstanding affair; the sessions were well-attended, the food good and plentiful, and I’ll attend again next year. The event is just that don’t miss in my book.

MLB was well-entertained; I had some initial trepidation about how she’d fare during the conference. My concerns were unfounded; the presence of a college bud who’s temporarily between positions helped out; he squired the missus around for one day while I was at the conference; she spent the other day lounging about the pool of the Hilton, and doing some solo sightseeing.

After the conference broke camp on Friday, and we spent the balance of our time at my friend and his wife’s condo. They have lived in Chicago around 20+ years; they love the place, and are excited when out-of-towners arrive; they are also excellent tour guides in their own right.

My only regret was that I missed the tour bus/trolley trip around the Windy City on Saturday; several days of conference attendance combined with unseasonably cool1 Chicago weather and the stindeen-frosting temperature of the session halls to send me into a sneezing, coughing, chilling fit on Saturday. And so it was, that MLB, our host and hostess went on the bus/trolley sightseeing tour, whilst I wrapped up in a quilt and slept. I got up around 1PM and watched NCAA football until they got home. An excellent steak, grilled on their 16th floor balcony, an evening of conversation, in which we solved nearly all the world’s problems, and I was feeling pretty human again.

Then Sunday, the big drive, and home. I’m glad to be back; I guess the back-of-the-mind pressure of not wanting to be on the road on Labor Day compelled us to make the ~700 mile journey yesterday.

And it’s great to be back. Now, we can watch the rest of the world, as they wend their way home, on the teevee tonight. On the 11:00 news. Which I’ll miss, because I’ll be in bed.

-k-

1 Though pleasant.