gubmint perks

~~Should have been posted on Friday, 12/21...more technical difficulties...the form of short term memory loss this time... ~~ ------------------ We said goodbye yesterday to another young life. D.O. had the biggest smile ever, and shared it with everyone. Didn't even get to see 30 years old. His mom was the mom that everybody called mom. J Family and friends (so many!) spent the afternoon and evening together at a very beautiful service. It's never the right time, and it's never the right age. I loved that guy. … It's kinda cool working for the gubmint. They *say* that they're operational during the holiday season, but that's a far cry from the truth. The whole system is pretty much shut down from today until into the new year. I'm taking the time off to hang out with the fam and have a relaxing holiday. After about 4pm today, until Jan 2, I'm done with this shiznit. (no breaks from the bartending shiznet though – most people have more of a reason to get their drink on during this time of year) The kids all get out of school after today, too. We've got a hectic set of plans on Christmas Day, so we're doing an early Christmas tomorrow night. They're all worked up over it, and I gotta admit to being pretty excited myself. I've got a whole list of stuff I'm going to buy me if I don't get it for Christmas. :P A safe and happy holiday to everyone! ============================================ 'tis the season…. This is for the 3 people out there who haven't seen it yet… http://www.elfyourself.com/ Mark's favorite holiday tunes: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ebA2ptx8bU&feature=related http://youtube.com/watch?v=QFQyib5ZQZY http://youtube.com/watch?v=W-LaQ1ev4AI I got this in email recently, but didn't want to jam up the servers with em, so they're all posted *temporarily* on my home server. CSI When I think of internet snowflakes, this isn't what popped into my head. Tim has a nice little musical game here: http://aadvantagemilestones.com/snowflake/ Unseasonal wasters…. Robbie sent me these storyboard advertisements for 42Vodka. You dumb people won't appreciate it, but those of you with 3/4 of a brain or more will be able to decipher the story after a minute. http://tinyurl.com/3daany Mrs. Waster Master (yes, she wastes time, too) sent me this 'make your own punk music' link, b/c she makes a lot of her own punk music. http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-548.htm …and if you need your time wasting to feel REALLY wasted, Kerry's got the perfect answer. This is pointless, and not very exciting. There's just something that feels rather sneaky about reading other people's stuff, though, and it's very hard to stop once you start… http://www.grocerylists.org/lists/100/

Quick Little Quickie

~~This is for Friday, 12/14, but techinical difficulties prohibited timely posting.~~ ----------- I’ve been locked in a secure room all day, so your Friday entertainment has suffered. I just got back to my office a few mins ago, and I’m getting outta here as soon as possible. Here’s your stuff… Work has been crazy. We’re trying to get some stuff off the table before the end of the year, and it’s just more fun every time I turn around. Sometimes, being the “stop / slow” guy on the construction site doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. I took my final exam on Tuesday evening. Nailed a B on the exam, and walked with an A for the semester. I’m done with class for the next couple of weeks, then it’s right back to the grind at the beginning of January. My kid has taken 4/5 exams already. He effed up the Statistics exam, but prolly has enough other grades to carry him. He breezed the other exams, and the one more he has tonight will be a piece of cake too. He’s driving home from school tonight. I’m sure I’ll see him at the bar so he can get me to buy him dinner. He’s back to work starting tomorrow morning. No rest for the weary. He’s working all day at Blimpie on Saturday, followed by a full day at the Redskins shop on Sunday. I’m heading to the bar in a few minutes. I’m totally ready to turn off my brain and break some glasses. ================== Mix and match, holiday style: Jessie has the holiday spirit: http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/ Seca says its filler. Sometimes the fluff is the good stuff. We all need good fluffers, ya know? http://www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/online/ Jules knows what’s on my Christmas list: http://www.pongalong.com/Beerblog/index.php/the-33-best-beer-pong-tables-ever-created/ A little bit of musical interest: http://nargothebortsdeviantsubculture.blogspot.com/ Crazy Canadians – thanks mike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0rWt8REus With this, I’m done. Time to get outta here! http://www.lostvectors.com/prelude/index.html

100% Alcoholic

So I was all ready to be funny and creative and send out one zinger of an email today, but got side tracked just a bit. So you’re left with this one instead. We had an adventure in the office today – the fire alarm went off unexpectedly. At first, we all thought it was just another test or drill. Then we saw the facilities lady running around like crazy, smelled the smoke, and realized that it was for real. We all had to march down the stairs to go out to the parking lot. The whole building was evacuated. I did grab my coat & hat, but forgot my cell phone. I wish I had my phone, b/c there was a freaking buttload of firetrucks outside. I’d have really liked to take some pics. There was at least 6 trucks, plus a couple of ambulances, too. They had hoses running into the front door. They even had a ladder truck extended up to the roof (6 stories tall). We watched the guy get the ladder extended. He was at the controls, getting it all straight. He’d step to the side & look at the position, then go back and move it around some more. After while after while, he was satisfied. Then he disappeared. We kept waiting to see him shimmy up in the cold & rain, but never saw anybody make the climb. Anyway, we all hung around outside for a minute, then realized that it would be a while before we get back in the building. We headed over to Jimmy’s for an early lunch. I love Jimmy’s. I got my final punch on my lunch card there, so the next time I go back it’ll be free. Whoohoo! Nine lunches = approx $180. Jimmy better be able to slide me a free sammich for $180. When we returned, the building was open again. We found out that it just opened a few minutes earlier, so there must have been some people standing outside the whole time. Dumb. One of the offices downstairs was open to the hallway, so we went it to check it out. Parts of the ceiling were taken down, and holes were punched in the walls. No evidence of fire damage, other than the smell. The rumors around the office are 1) electrical fire 2) burned bagel on the second floor 3) cigarette burned the mulch outside. I don’t really care what happened, actually. I just know that it was prolly some ‘tard doing something ‘tarded. Have a safe weekend, and don’t burn up the mulch! ============================== Yes, I did score a 100%. Imagine that. http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/booze But I sucked at this winter ice-skating game. I kept waiting for the abominable snowman to appear, and Yukon Cornelius to throw his ice pick. http://www.nitrome.com/games/thinice/ They made a whole game out of one joke. Oh so creative. http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gran-prix.jsp ==================== Mikey found the most dangerous site ever. I love it. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/7208 A whole slew of 1980s TV commercials. Reminisce at seeing these again, or laugh that the older generation was so effing uncool. http://www.giantmag.com/2006/12/tv/the-50-greatest-commercials-of-the-80s/1 happy weekend!

Will the real story please stand up?

Wow, what a crazy number of days. My kid was home from college for the holiday. Cool to hang out with him for a bit, even though he still has the talent to drive me crazy. Nothing bad, just typical teenager stuff. I was about ready to break the dishes he left around the house rather than clean up after him. Thanksgiving we spent with the fam at my mom’s house. Good times, good food. I think we just finished the leftovers last night. My oldest sis didn’t make it down from WV, but she still had the chance to hang out with my aunt for a while. We missed her, but she was still with fam somewhere. Work has been just nuts. We’ve got a couple of different, but very similar, projects progressing thru various stages of delivery. I’ve also got a couple of side projects within the company that seem to exist just to interfere with my schedules. Every time I turn around, I’ve got reps from one company or another trying to schedule time and access on our systems. It’s cool, b/c I get to work with a lot of diff people, but I’d much rather sit at my desk and listen to George Thorogood mangle some classic rock. (live version of Suzie Q at the moment, via Pandora) I’ve got at least 6 hours worth of work to do in the 3 hours before I leave for the bar. Riiiiiiiight. I’d so much rather hear the breaking glasses than to be sitting in this office right now. Kids and school and housestuff are all moving along without much of an issue. I’ve got a yard full of leaves to clean up, Christmas lights to fix (hung on Monday, in the rain) over the weekend, and a big a55 fishtank to clean over the weekend. Not sure yet where "fun" comes into the picture, but we’ll find something. In the rest of the world news: I’m waiting for the real story of Stacy Peterson. (They’re getting close on this one – they’re looking for the blue barrel that he put her body in.) I’m waiting for the real story of Sean Taylor. (a – he did it himself by putting the gun in his waistband. b – the girlfriend did it. c – my intuition is way off base, and there really was an unknown man who broke into the house while people were home, left everybody alone except for the biggest guy, who just happened to be carrying a machete.) (I hope it’s c, but it just doesn’t ring true. The latest word is that there have been 3 arrests made, but I think it may just be rumors.) I’m waiting for the real story of Trent Lott’s sudden retirement. (Mr. Flynt knows about Benjamin Nicholas, mark my words. I’d LOVE to see another hypocrite dashed on the rocks.) In the um, wtf? Category: Women in Waders now your favorite part of the day… so simple, and so frustrating: Ball Bounce no one over 12 should like this, but I just couldn’t help my self: NickSplat OK, I’ve got at least one decent game for the afternoon: Totally Game LoveYaLongTime

Just getting started here. Check back later for the goods.