Sick day

Yes, its true, I'm ill, and in a capacity other than mentally. It really stinks. I missed work, I missed class and I sat and rotted on the couch all day, well most of the day, anyway.

The last couple of hours I spent on installing a wall-mounted stand for televisions. This particular stand is now being used to hold a good-sized monitor for my living room computer. I mounted it a little high but I think it'll work out. The end table which used to be primarily occupied by said monitor now fits beneath the stand. The couch is moved over and the space of the room is better utilized.

It's still impossible to concentrate in the living room with the TV on but it's also still pretty chilly in the basement. I guess I'll just have to choose what I need to do and where.

This illness blows goats. Not only do I have a sore throat combined with body aches but my mood seems to have deteriorated to that of a pustulated badger. I feel like biting someone. I'm really hoping I start feeling better soon. I have no desire to bite my friends' heads off.

Quote on touch

In the absence of touching and being touched, people of all ages can sicken and grow touch-starved. -Diane Ackerman, writer (1948- )
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This one goes rather well with my "Hug" post so long ago.

School Starts

Another semester dawns and a new group of students trundle forth into my classes. I can only hope that this semester's students are better than last. It is with good hopes and promising expectations that I start this next 16 weeks. Here's hoping disappointment is but a lost memory.

Quotes

A teacher who is attempting to teach, without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron. -Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859)
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That man is truly good who knows his own dark places. -Beowulf
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In a pond koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, koi can grow to three feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world. -Vince Poscente, Olympian (1961- )
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We all love animals. Why do we call some "pets" and others "dinner?" -k.d. lang, singer (1961- )
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Scriptures, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based.
-Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) [The Devil's Dictionary]
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Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either. -Gore Vidal (1925-)
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A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- )
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What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. -J.D. Salinger, writer (1919- )

Return Journey

Obviously I've not posted for a while. At first it was because I was too busy having fun on vacation and then it was because I was swamped at work from the vacation. I'm still swamped, but I wanted to enter a quick update.

After the post on the 10th, the time in Florida went very quickly. We managed another beach run, I managed to help one of my friends with her computer issues (though I have recently learned that some issues still exist) and I sat in on a meeting for my other friend as on "outside consultant". I gave her some good ideas on ways of improving the performance of her existing computer presence without expending gobs of money.

Wednesday, we did laundry and packed. Thursday morning, we said our good-byes and managed to squeeze in a quick motorcycle ride. I still think I'd like one but it's amazing how much your perception is heightened from the inside of a car to the back of a bike. You suddenly become aware of not only ever ridge, bump and pothole in the road, you also become aware of every other driver and their potential actions. It can be quite a rush. Unfortunately, I still have reservations about procuring a vehicle I would only be able to use 1/4 of the year, at best. *shrug* Time and money will tell.

The return flight on Thursday was interesting. We actually missed our first flight because I mis-read the amount of time we needed to be there before the flight actually left. Fortunately, we were able to catch another with only a minor monetary inconvenience and a bit of additional wait time. As it turns out, I'm glad we took the alternate flight. The first flight was supposed to fly over Lake Michigan. Flying over that particular body of water makes me nervous. The second flight flew into St. Paul and then back to Appleton. The land-winds were a bit rough but the drive home was on clear roads instead of heavily snow-covered.

So that's it. I like Florida, at least at the moment. I plan on visiting again relatively soon including at least one visit during the heat of summer. I'm curious how bad it would really be to live there. I guess the hurricanes would worry me the most. Other than that, I think I can deal with the heat, etc. I am glad to be back but I can honestly say that I miss my friends more now than I have for quite some time. I just have to evaluate carefully the reasons for any choices I make regarding a potential move. Moving just to be closer to my friends is a bad idea. There would have to be a lot more in the proverbial offer. We'll see.

Lizard Hollow

The title refers to the affectionate name of the place I'm staying. It seems relevant as there tend to be quite a few lizards around.

Warning: This may turn out to be a long post.

Shelling in Sanibel: Saturday, three of the merry four drove down to Sanibel and walked along the beach looking for pretty sea shells. Overall, this was a very pleasant experience. The water was just a hint cooler than I would have liked but strolling through the calf and occasionally thigh high waves was quite enjoyable, not to mention the company of the people with me. I found some nice enough shells to keep but a number more that were occupied and thus left beneath the ocean's waves.

Riding the Busches: Busch Gardens fell high upon our list on Sunday and in fact took most of the day. As far as roller coaster rides are concerned, Six Flags is still better but everything else (and I do mean everything) is better. The food, albeit a bit more than a fast food joint tastes better and is still less than other theme parks I've attended. The animals were marvelous to watch and interact with from time to time. The lions were very impressive. I was able to stand within a foot of a feeding lion with naught but a moderate sheet of Plexiglas keeping him at bay. They were quite impressive. The alligators were even more intimidating to me, however. Their massive bodies and long, tooth-some mouths stirred racial memories I had not even been aware of. The only creature there that worried me more (other than the humans, which always bother me) were the hyenas. Although not as large as the lions and certainly not as large or toothy as the 'gators, these powerfully built predators had a look about them that made me want to either leave the area or acquire a decent gun.

And now, bed time.

Flight of the Snow Valkyrie

Flight of the Snow Valkyrie

I'd like to say that I awoke early this morning to clear skies and a dusting of snow. Unfortunately, I never awoke as I never slept and the skies were full of a great quantity of white precipitation with an even greater part on the ground. The trip to the airport was grueling and very hard on the nerves. The lesser roads were not ploughed at all while Highway 10 had only one lane ploughed in any given spot. To be truthful, both lanes had been ploughed at some point during the night but the snow was falling so fast that it was hard to tell anything had been done at all.

Thankfully, we made it to the airport intact and with plenty of time to spare. We went through the baggage check in and the carry-on check in without incident. I had removed all metal from my person other than the rivets in my jeans and the eyelets in my shoes and for the first time ever, I was able to walk through the scanner without it detecting an undue amount of metal. I still felt less than fully dressed without my Leatherman and other assorted pocket knives.

The trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul was uneventful. I was mildly concerned that the heavy snow would delay the flight, but with only a quick wash-down with de-icer, we were on our way. I slept through most of the trip. It wasn't until the plane was descending for landing that I awoke. I assume it must have been the pressure change.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul airport was pretty much the same since the last time I had been there some six or more years ago. In neither airport did I notice significant signs of heightened security. There were no military troops standing around with loaded assault weapons, no strip searches (that I saw), not even a close examination of my carry on luggage, though they did have me send the laptop through separately. *shrug* I guess that's okay. Hopefully we don't need it anymore.

The trip to Tampa was also uneventful. Again, I slept through most of it. I did awake briefly when the flight attendants were passing out pretzels and orange juice (their excuse for a meal) but went back to sleep when that was done. Again, the pressure change awakened me. I don?t know if it?s because the 757?s fly higher than the little commuter jets or for some other reason, but the discomfort in my ears was intense. Fortunately, several hours later, it has mostly passed.

Renting a car was a little more work than I anticipated. First, I had requested and confirmed a Mazda 6 from Hertz rental. They didn't have the Mazda here, but they did have a Chevy Malibu. The Malibu would probably have been an okay car, but the control for the side mirrors was broken so I got plunked into a Toyota Camry. I'm sure I have one without a lot of options, but let me tell you, this thing has all the power of a whipped squirrel and when I?m running at speed (65 ish mph), it sounds like it's being pushed to the limits. I guess I?m just used to having a vehicle that can roll past 85 in a pinch and still have plenty left. This one certainly doesn't.

The drive was pretty good; it was straightforward anyway. My friends are doing well and all seem pleased to see everyone else. I am unsure on anything else at this point and may or may not post further on this topic depending on what I discover.

We went to dinner tonight at Quaker Steak & Lube, a nice little restaurant dedicated to racing fans and spicy chicken wings. I had a sample (of 5 wings) of their Atomic Wings. They were pretty spicy but were so spicy that they didn't have a lot of taste. *shrug* Oh well, I received a bumper sticker for my troubles, anyway.

I think that's it for tonight. More later after some much needed sleep.

Almost gone

I'm just dotting my "i"'s and crossing my "t"'s here before the big trip. I think I'm even looking forward to it, but I'm not sure yet. I'll know better once I get back.

Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart. -Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)

Gandhi really knew what he was talking about. Maybe, someday, I will become 1/10th the man he was.

Quotes

The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all. -Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (1876-1973)

This is so true, especially for Martial Art forms.

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Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols. -Thomas Mann, novelist, Nobel laureate (1875-1955)

Happy freaking New Year

Yeah, it's a new year. Big whup (or is that whoop?). As far as I can tell, other than a "five" instead of a "four" I'll have to write on various bills, it isn't any different. It's still winter, it's still cold and the wild festivities I partook of consisted of watching a lame-assed movie (Anchor Man) with my girl friend. At 12:03 on the first, I looked over and said, "Happy New Year". That was it folks. I guess it's a step up from last year in which I got bitched at for trying to wake her up so she could watch the ball drop. It has become painfully obvious what an incredibly vile social life I have. Not one party invitation did I receive nor did I invite one person over. I have yet again let one person (significant other) rule over my social life.

In other news, if you are planning on purchasing a Pelican Wireless Dance Pad for use with DDR, etc., DON'T!!. I picked up two at Best Buy on Friday night as they were having a sale. I can see why they were on sale. They suck! They have settings so that, in theory, you can use two of them on different wireless channels. When this is attempted, neither works worth a damn. Even when only one is used, I experience latency and thus receive more "goods" and "almosts" than I normally would. Finally, they claim to have a "Revolutionary Non-Bunching Non-Slip design". I don't know about bunching, but as far as slipping, the pile of crap slips worse than my wired pads and once the Infra-Red emitter is more than about 45 degrees away from the receiver, the pad ceases to function. So, in short, they suck donkey shit and will be going back shortly.

I think that's about it. The great holiday let down seems to be in full swing for me. I hope your New Year is going better. :-p