Something doesn't feel right

I'm not last on the Audient files sidebar anymore.

Weird

I'm bored

Friday night, I'm home. I've no beer or chips or popcorn. Just water.

I am the only white person on my street, and I don't care. My neighbors accept me, and have made me feel welcome, for that I am thankful.

We all need to think about what we say before we say it and be able to take criticisms as easy as we dish them out. Understanding that our opinion isn't the only one is a good thing too, and letting people have theirs is important.We also need to leave peoples business to themselves. We also need to be nice, and not so openly critical of people.

Hole in the water

I went to the Edgewater Yacht Club tonight for a work function and was talking with members about boating. I know this much ][ about boating.

Steph thinks I need to buy a boat.

I bet I could afford this one...

Thanks for the party, Audient

I think these are my two favorite pictures from Halfway to Dead

the first tailgate

a good time was had by all.

Man, it's Friday already.

A fast week indeed!

I was out all day yesterday on calls, and I'm happy to report that my Great Balls of Fire Dell laptop is intact. No flamage here.

Tailgating this afternoon should be a blast!

I'll leave you withthis picture taken some time ago from atop (about 170 feet up) the St. Stephens bell tower on the west side of Cleveland.

I was still a roofing inspector

I remember the day clear as a bell. It was about 10:15 or so in the morning. I was on a roof participating in a progress meeting with Doug Dangerfield. We left Charles Orr School and Head over to JFK off 55th.

The sky was clear as an early fall day could be. I remember noticing all the planes coming in, and it didn't seem like any were going out.

We got to JFK and I had the radio on, when I got of my car, I walked up to Doug's Jeep. WIth a puzzled look he asked if I heard what was gong on. I had.

We started another meeting, and I wandered away to find the principal hollering then found the head custodian glued to a 5" portable black and white tv.

That meeting ended and I followed Doug to another. I don't really remember it.

I remember trying to find my way up 55th to the freeway with all the other folks around 12 that day.

My mother called me, she was hysterical. She had been trying to get me on my cell "for over an hour", she cried/mumbled/blurted out, I've never heard panic or terror in her voice like I did that day, not even the night I wrecked my car and called her from a ravine. I told her I was fine, that I was on my way home and that I would call her when I got there. I did call, and she seemed a little better, just a little.

For the next three days I watched footage and reports and clips and talking heads and pundits and the press and the president and congress sing "God Bless America" on their steps and I cried almoast as much as I have ever cired. Thinking about it makes me well up. My Dad called, he was in a hotel in Pheonix I think wathcing it too.

In spite of my comments on my thoughts of the events over on Jess' blog, it was a hell of a day. I remember it like the day I watched the Challenger footage in Mrs. Schupska's 5th grade class and the Columbia footage in Steph's living room; clear as can be.

I'm not ready to see the Twin Towers movie because of my thoughts or political leanings, I'm not ready to see it because I'm not ready to cry again. Just seeing the comercial for the movie brought all these thoughts to the top of my head. Seeing the satelite shot of Lower Manhattan smoking into the atmosphere gives me pause.

The day I saw the hole, I cried like a baby. I have the pictures somewhere, I don't like looing at them.

I'm not sure what happened that day, but I pray it never, ever happens again.

phones in the bathroom

Twice now I have seen posts on friend's blogs relating how they were in the can at work. Not unusual to have to back out a steamer at the office, I say, done it myself many a time. However, these friends of mine told tales of overhearing co-workers having conversaiton on their (the co-workers) cell phone and also mentioned thier apprehension at flushing for fear of being rude.

I say to hell with the person on the phone. I hate it when I talk to people and they are in the can. I wouldn't stand in your bathroom at your home and talk while you are taking a leak or dropping duece. I think it's rude to be part of a phone conversation when the other person is making boat soap, and I don't do it to my friends.

So the next time you find yourself in that predicament, flush, flush, flush away!

Another thing that doesn't make sense; I heard a radio comercial for Walgreens pharmacy (spoken in english) bragging up the fact that if a costomer don't speak english, they can have their local pharmacist call another pharmacist that speaks their language. Think about it...

If you don't speak english, will the english spoken comercial mean anything to you? And second, how they be able to ask for the other pharmacist?

I hope the pharmacists don't take calls while they're in the can whipping up some septic fruits!

thanks dave

to the dave, thanks for stopping. I sit here in the back yard, and am a loner. Not sure when I'll have folks over next.

in the yard

Mr. Bebout and I are in the yard. Where are all you?

For the record

There was never any "poop" next to my garage or anywhere on my property. There may, however, be an eronius peice of scat from Bella.

I do not "dig in poop" nor am I a "poop digger".

Thank you.

White House Memo

If you don't want people to sure you, change the laws, or write new ones that keeps them from suing you or bringing crimnal charges against you.

See it here. Or here. Or listen to it on NPR.

How can our President parade around the country and world shoving "The War on Terror" up everyones nose, but not call the individuals held as a result of this WAR prisoners of war?

If your not outraged, your not paying attention.

back yard

Since there is no more thrid row seat, I'd like to extend an invitation for friends to stop by Friday evening and enjoy a couple cold beers in my back yard. the garage will be open andthe stereo tuned to WNCX, and there might be a fire in the ring to go through some of the pear tree that I took down. I'll have some hi-life and maybe some natty light

Delerium

IF you can get a ticket, go see Cirque Du Soleil's Delirium, it is absolutely amazing. Almost spiritual.

Huge thanks to Vera, the gal with some childrens non-prof that got Steph two tickets along with some other folks from town. We got a back stage tour as well.

If could run away with this circus, I would in a second.

I'm so... smart?

I really shouldn't drink at home by myself.

I end up starting fires and cutting down my pear tree with my saw-zal.

outrage

I'm watching the NBC Nightly news with Brian Williams. So far, three thigns have given me cause to feel outrage.

1 - Don Rumsfeld trying to use crafty terms to explain away the continued violence as NOT a civil war.

2 - The health of Castro, and the fact that the US has "a plan in place to deal with a regime change."

3 - Complete support of Isreal in the conflict (are you kidding? it's a fucking WAR! guess that's the fourth thing to be outraged about) with Hezbola.

I guess one thing I can be happy about is my mortgage has a fixed apr for five years.

Who the fuck is the US to have "a plan" to deal with Cuba. What are we gonna do, lift 40+ year old sanctions that have had a quetionable effect on their economy?

We're a hell of a nation, huh?

Gmail

After 8 years of chadsteven@yahoo.com, I'm switching to chadshelms@gmail.com.

I feel so cool.

Employee of the Month?

Not me, but I might need to use my time this way tomorrow if I don't get this report done...

Procrastination

I'm at my kitchen table where I should be working on a report for work.

Instead I've pulled about 13 odd nose hairs out. A couple made my eyes tear up! I should get a trimmer.

I'm just not really in the mood to write things like "excessive mortar build up on the cavity drainage medium due to improper striking of the inner face of the outer masonry wythe potentially eliminates exfiltration paths for water potentially accumulating in the wall cavity space" or "randomly cutting the outermost wire of the ladder truss type reinforcing compromises it's integrity and poses a building risk considering the structure is built in a documented seismic zone" or like "not providing the specified mastic to the joints of the rigid insulation boards installed in the wall cavity creates a pattern of decreased thermal efficiency through out the entire wall system."

Just some excerpts from the report I'm struggling through. Wanna help?