Friday, October 31, 2008
My latest update
I don't have much time so this will just be a compendium of ramblings. I have 2 minor surgeries scheduled and one
is for basal cell carcinoma. I've been fair-skinned all my life but subjected myself to over sun exposure until my mid-20's.
I guess is the first day of the reckoning. :) That's all cool.
It's Halloween and work is going okay. I've been told that as a contract worker, I won't be able to work during
the company holidays during the next 2 months. Just to get you up to speed; as a contractor, if I dont' work, I don't
get paid. They're talking about 12 days mostly around Christmas. That sucks because I don't get enough vacation
time from Kelly Services to make up for it all so I'm going to be having some lean checks for awhile. I even have to
take Election Day off!
Leaves have fallen and I wish I could afford to have someone cart them away. The city used to make two sweeps each
fall to pickup leaves dragged or blown to the curbside. This year they decided to do only 1 sweep and my street won't
be done until 12/4. My complaints to the city fell on deaf ears so I'll have to do a lot of leaf bagging over the next
several weeks. Did I mention I'll have some painful surgery done to me next week?
There's going to be an all-souls day celebration for my Dad this weekend. It's hard to beleive it has been almost
7 months since his passing.
I've sent out the invites to my annual UofM vs osu football party. If you haven't received yours yet, then you're
probably not invited. I'm just saying....
Since I last typed, I added wi-fi to my cable modem & attached my laptop to my tv. I've been sorta hooked on
watching old tv & movies through the computer since then. I don't need no stinkin' commercials. Did "Movie
Macabre" from 1982 KHJ-TV, channel 9 used to show topless shots or is this just the version that hulu shows? It's hard
to say because I only had a 13" tv back then so I may just have not noticed.
My part of Michigan is in prime fall color mode and it's beautifully warm (upper 60's), sunny day. This is truly
when Michigan rocks.
Time to get back to work and focus my energy on being allowed to leave early just because it's Friday and it's Halloween.
Peace. M
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A brief apology
Jeepers. I didn't realize I couldn't go back and edit my previous postings. Therefore, I apologize for the
difficult read some of my spelling errors may make for you. I even had trouble following my rambling sentences with
a few, choice typos. That is all. Peace. Now, that is all.
A suddenly busy week
The Algonquin Club meeting last night at the Windsor Airport was interesting. The guest speaker was discussing
plans to honor the Windsor are veterans of war (any war back to the mid 18th century) by building a military aircraft museum.
Among the features, and state in this order were: a space to display refurbished planes, an extensive military archive and
a pub. That's right, a pub. I've been to many different museums around the country and even the few that have
"spirits" available, did not have a full service pub. I have to hand it to them Canadians for knowing their audience.
The editor of our newsletter also introduced the webpage I had been working on for several years (
www.algonquinclub.info) and I think he may have tried to most of the credit. I guess if he wants to edit it, then I have no problem with it.
We'll see how that all turns out. Actually, it was fun to creat but I have since lost interest in maintaining it.
Wisely, I kept control of the domain name for the next 10 years.
Tonight is the 2009 Gesu Alumni Reunion Party planning committee meeting. I've been planning to attend but
I am still feeling tired after getting home late last night. It's out in Royal Oak so I think it will be a game time
decision on whether or not I attend. Besides I need to get my haircut.
I finally made plans to go apple picking next Saturday. Apple picking was an annual event when I was a wee lad
growing up in Riverview, MI. I remember the wooden bushels we would fill with apples. Back then I loved the Mcintosh
apples. Today, I'm more about Golden Delicious apples and Dutch apple pie. I'm salivating just thinking about
it.
Nothing earth shattering to report but I think I've said enough for now. Peace.
Monday, September 15, 2008
These past two weeks have been fabulous...
Wow! Life has been very kind to me and I feel compelled to write the words down even if no one else reads them.
Over the past 2 weeks I've been contacted by Cliff Salawage via DM on twitter, Brian Buckholtz via a phone call and Angela
Smith via a Facebook invitation. I was so close to cancelling the email address that Angela used to contact me.
It is so good to know that my laziness (in not contacting earthlink to cnc) has been rewarded. Strange days indeed.
Back on 9/24/2007, I blogged some names of people that I wished to be reconnected with and now I've been reconnected with
4 of them with nothing more than sending a want and wish out to the universe. Why do I ever doubt?
This post should be relatively short but it is morning and I'm known to be quite verbose as the sun moves westward.
Also, I have to maintain a high pace of "engagements" at my job & the morning is the best time. So briefly, this
weekend I spent Saturday driving & hydroplaning in the driving rain taking my bro Bill out to visit our bro Tim.
Tim has been battling an ankle ailment for nearly 6 months and the doctors can't seem to pinpoint the problem. He has
to use crutches to move around and has to take medicines throughout the day. Anyway, we watched MSU beat FAU and then
watched UofM fall to the lowly Irish of ND. Thankfully, all was not lost as OSU fell to USC. Hooray.
Sunday, I again drove and hydroplaned but this time to drive to Jackson to take Mom to lunch. It was good one on
one time and I fixed her hardwired smoke detectors. Two of them were beeping about every 1.5 minutes which apparently
was annoying to Mom. I did get to play the piano that my Mom recently aquired. Several years ago I made the decision
to abandon my piano and focus on the guitar. I was amazed yesterday at how much of the piano-playing I had retained.
Music is just downright one of the coolest things in the world and I could not live without it.
Well, with a smile on my face, I'll close this entry and get back to work. As always, I am grateful for all that
God has given me and I try to stay in a a state of being generous and grateful. Peace.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
This site's limitations
Sadly, I just discovered that I cannot add a place for comments with my current web provider. I guess I'll be leaving
Earthlink sooner than later. It will be a good day.
Hi technology! Did you miss me?
For many years I was a "have to have the latest electronics" kind of guy. I bought my first record player when
I was 7 years old with my First Communion money combined with change from bottle returns when they were only worth $.02 each.
My stereos improved with each raise in pay from my news carrier days all the way to my career in telecommunications.
By the time I had slowed down on my annual stereo related purchases(the mid-90's), I was already deeply entrenched in
computers. I learned FORTRAN computer language in college circa late 70's. My first PC was an AT&T Unix
bought in 1984. Seven or eight upgrades later, here I am with a smartphone as my constant companion. Again along
the way I started blogging and slowly joined the world now known as "social media".
Six years ago, I was ready to get out of computers and figure out what I really wanted
to do. Now move ahead to 2008 and I've come to the decision that I want to jump back into the computer world.
In some areas, it has been a bit of a struggle to get up to speed. Hence my creation of many webpages for family, alumni
and a local historical society (albeit using templates to get me started!) followed by a smartphone purchase back in March
and my finally first (well, it quickly became 3) domain name purchases a few months later. I was making leaps I didn't
even consider making just a few short years ago. I rekindled a part of me that had been dormant for too long.
My current job is to post comments and replies on behalf of the company I represent. I literally fell into this
job 18 months ago, just happy to continue working when those around me were laid off. The job description as it was
presented to me was "something to do with computers and customer service." The job and I are growing and changing together.
Although, I had some feedback from different areas, the number one thing I heard is that "there is nobody in this industry
doing exactly what you are doing." I must admit, that scared me a bit because I couldn't help but be cynical and think
that it was just a clever way of saying "we can get rid of you at anytime."
Now I know that this has been and continues to be a huge opportunity for me. As I've made contacts and posted hundreds
of posts on various sites, I have a really comfortable feeling about posting. Tomorrow I'll be attending a meeting that
is bringing a few departments together to figure out our company's strategy going forward.
I know this post has been rather long and I do apologize. But stay tuned. I promise I will avoid being
such a windbag unless absolutely necessary. Hi internet, did you miss me?
Friday, June 6, 2008
I have a moving gargage can
I put my garbage can down by the curb last night for pickup today. I heard the garbage men at 5:45am picking up trash as
usual. When I backed out of my driveway for work, I noticed my trash can lid was still on the garbage can and the garbage
can wasn't on its side somewhere in the street. I thought, "How strange that they put the lid back on." Since
I put my garbage in a garbage bag and then put the garbage bag in a trash can (a bad experience with a critter tearing open
trash). When I came home from work, the garbage can was in the middle of my driveway. Apparently, my new lawn service company
figured I didn't need to drive up my driveway when I got home. They specialize in lawns and not pavement. To my surprise
the trash was still in the garbage can. I called the city, they said they'd try to come out tonight but would probably not
be there until Monday. My taxes at work. So I left the garbage can outside. This begs the question: For 6 years they never
missed a pickup. So how did they not see a tall, 50 gallon green garbage can down by the street? All my neighbors trash
was picked up. Sometimes I just don't get it but it still makes me smile.
5:01 pm pdt
A new direction
In an effort to stay focused on cute and funny thing I experience, I'm going to redirect my blog topic. I may comment on
things that have happened (and memories I choose to document) but the overall theme is happiness and irony. Is being ironic
a good thing?
4:54 pm pdt
Thursday, May 22, 2008
It's a good day
If God is a water fowl then I was in heaven this morning. Two ducks were perched on my front lawn. This has
only happened one other time. I wonder if these are the same ducks. Anyway, then just before arriving at work,
traffic was halted as two geese waddled with 2 baby geese (goslings?) across the street. Is it a sign I need to move
back to the canals and the insane geese of Venice?
I went grocery shopping last night for both the camping trip and the barbecue. I have to get some Kowalski
kielbasa tonight as is tradition in my household but otherwise all finished with the shopping. I also have to get excited
about mowing my lawn tonight as the grass is growing at an obscene rate. What I finish tonight I won't have to worry
about while I'm camping. As far as mantras go, this doesn't flow well but the sentiment is spot on.
I'm looking forward to another great day at work and a fun-filled evening at home. Peace.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
verizon wireless and my xv6800 smart (alleged) phone
I still can't get my phone to display an unplayedback voicemail on my phone. The webpage says it should be there
but most enthusiast sites say that verizon removed that option. On the phone it looks like it has been set up correctly
but the indicator does not display. It works fine with emails and text messages so I don't know what is up. I
don't like wasting time on hold calling customer service but I guess I'll have to suck it up. Later gator.
Just a quick one
I hadn't blogged in awhile. It's not because nothing is happening, it's just that I haven't taken the time to write
it all down. I blame twitter. I've been reminiscing (sp?) about family camping trips of my youth as I prepare
for a few days of camping bliss this weekend. I'm still grateful for all the camping trips my Dad took us on.
His patience was amazing. Of course, we were all great kids and he had that going for him. That's all for now,
carry on.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hmmm. Earthlink is not allowing the postings I wrote today to update. It seems silly to complain about here
since either it won't work and you can't read my complaining OR it will work and my complaining was premature. Jeepers,
I can't believe I've been so loyal to Earthlink. In time, in time....
Also, my Dad, Charlie recently passed away after a long slow decline in his health. I'm so grateful for having
him in my life and I truly believe he is as close to a saint as I have known. I'm so glad that I returned to Michigan
and was able to spend so much time with my parents. There's a link to his beautifully written eulogy (by my brohams:
Bill & John) at macdelavenice.com. Peace be with you Dad.
Well I registered macdelavenice.com today. How exciting! For today, I just forwarded it to my existing earthlink
webpages but the plan is to be free of earthlink by the end of July 2008. I hate to give up my email address that I've
had for over a decade but that is a small price to pay I suppose. My buddy, Chris has been tremendously helpful in all
this stuff and we're looking forward to further online experimentation.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Earthlink & trellix screw it up again.
I'm frustrated. Earthlink & trellix won't allow me to update the mcelhone reunion page. I chatted on line and they finally
entered a service ticket. They have another 24 hours before I'm supposed to contact them again. Once again, their internet
service is great until they create a problem for you (remember the Outlook security updates they did and then spent an hour
telling me I need to update outlook. They didn't take my advise the customer first suggestion.) Not only can I not update
the site, they broke the link to all but one of the pictures AND lengthened the URL. They are the worst.
4:03 pm pst
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Blogging at work
I'm finally pushing forward with bringing all the various online and blogging related activity at work together. I've
also decided to jump back in the world of computers. I'm going to update my knowledge of podcast, blogging and web design.
I'm a little rusty but I'm looking forward to it. It should also make my work a little easier. Stay tuned and
enjoy the music below as you read my blogs. Later and Peace.
Monday, September 24, 2007
People I fondly remember, miss and would like to see again
Jacquie Oregel (last known location, Los Angeles), Rebecca Limb (Los Angeles/England), Candy Davis (Los Angeles), Katherine
Bradley (Ann Arbor), Brian Buckholtz (Idaho), Anne Mitchell(Royal Oak), Sharron Love (TX), Susan Hennigan (CT), James Paschetag
(San Diego), Gayle Reddick (MI), Julie Nutt (MI), Cliff Salawage (TX), Angela Cate (MI), Len Winter (San Diego), Mary Danca
(CA), Mike McDermott (CA), Pat O'Keefe (IL), Mark Schram (MI), Steve Schwartz (CA), Sue's friend Tara (SD), Mike Mortka (St.
Louis), Brett Conway (TX), Roberta Reust (Vermillion), Joe Hohman (Vermillion), ...
I'll come back when I'm back from lunch. I just had to get that out there.
Blog 2
I'm still unable to find my old dear best friend Brian Buckholtz. It's like he fell off the face of the earth.
It's been over 3 years since I last spoke to him. He was living in Idaho with his friend L. and their 2 sons.
I haven't called his mother because the last time I spoke with B. he was disenfranchised (I don't know if that's the
right word but he wasn't talking to them.) I hope he is alright and that God will find a way for us to get back together.
I miss his friendship and the truly wonderful years we spent in San Diego and Los Angeles. Peace my brother from another
mother.
For the past 2 months
I apologize to all my faithful as I have not updated this site in awhile. Over the past two months I've taken trips
to Toronto, Connecticut/Rhode Island and to Wyoming. I've been busy around work and on the remaining weekends, I went
to visit my folks. I may be going to London in November or Peru next year, if my schedule and life agrees to it.
I've been working around my house and yes, I even did some yardwork beyond mowing my lawn. I've had to purchase top
soil to help even out the yard where the old trees were cut down. The ground is sinking to a meteor crater. They
have to be filled in. I'm also taking a good look at how much work will be needed to repave my driveway. That
sucks.
The spiritual journey continues with new books to read, movies to see and trips to plan. I missed the registration
for yoga classes this fall (somewhat purposely as I would've missed the first 3 classes of an 8 week course. I have
totally underused my meditation/yoga room. But at least it is there! :)
I have to get back to work reading comments from people that are filled with anger, spite, frustration over something
as stupid as a sunglass holder in a car. Whatever!!!!!! :) PEACE
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Another never
I will never think that being an attorney is a respectable profession. I deal with lemon law attorneys and they
are the snakes in the bottom of the oily slimy barrel that are lawyers. Class action and injury specialist, who work
only in cahoots with insurance companies (whatever your maximum insurance payout is equals the amounts they are going
after in a trumped up lawsuit regardless of the circumstances). That is why I only buy the bare minimum of auto insurance.
If I'm insured for $300,000 per incident, then that's the amount of money an attorney will file for. Attorney Firms and
Insurance Company czars keep their respective industries going by digging into our pockets and taking money. Neither
group is ever held accountable for the damage they bring and sadly no politician ever seems to want to go after them.
Is there such a thing as an honest attorney?
