Somebody explain this to me...

Cause I'm seeing this, (and I want one) but I sure don't understand how it works.

Want!

Very much want! Apparently not yet available for sale but when they are, you can get me one here.

Found over at Uncle's place.

OPERATION ORDER 12-05: OFFICIAL VISIT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL S. CLAUS

All personnel will settle their brains for a long winter nap no later than 2200 hours, 24 December. Uniform for the nap will be: pajamas: cotton, light-weight, general purpose, olive-green; and cap: battle-dress: utilities – Woodland pattern. Equipment will be drawn from supply prior to 1900 hours. While at supply, all personnel will review their personal hand receipts and sign a Cash Collection Voucher, DD Form 1131, for all missing items. Remember that this is the “season of giving.”

You really must read the entire order at LawDog's blog! It's terrific!

That UPS delayed package of software-

The one I complained about 2 posts back- it arrived yesterday. Two day air delivery took 7 days. In a way, that's pretty remarkable, compared to the old, "mail off a check or money order, wait for it to get processed and the item mailed back, 3 weeks minimum" of the pre-internet, online shopping cabability, and I know we've all gotten pretty spoiled with nearly instant delivery to our doorsteps. But this little screw-up cost me $30 in the difference between what I ordered and what I purchased in town to replace it when I couldn't wait any longer.

Other than that- things are fine.

Funny!

Do you know why there haven't been any significant terrorist bombings since April 2009?

That was when the Susan Boyle meme swept through the internet and they could all see what a virgin looked like…

Stolen from another blogger I like, Dave.

Still not here...

See the previous post. Stoopid United Parcel Service.

This is beyond ridiculous!

I've been waiting on a package of software to arrive from Amazon.com and for some reason, this simple package has taken the busman's holiday route to (not yet) get here. You have to read this shipping info starting at the bottom and working up but check this out:

Date Time Location Event Details
December 17, 2010 10:02:00 PM Salt Lake City UT US Arrival Scan
December 16, 2010 08:26:00 PM Louisville KY US Departure Scan
December 16, 2010 05:09:00 PM Louisville KY US Arrival Scan
December 16, 2010 11:45:00 AM Poughkeepsie NY US Departure Scan
December 16, 2010 04:34:00 AM Poughkeepsie NY US Arrival Scan
December 16, 2010 02:45:00 AM Latham NY US Departure Scan
December 16, 2010 12:16:00 AM Latham NY US Arrival Scan
December 15, 2010 08:46:00 PM Poughkeepsie NY US Departure Scan
December 15, 2010 06:40:00 PM Poughkeepsie NY US Arrival Scan
December 15, 2010 11:22:00 AM Poughkeepsie NY US Possible delay in delivery due to arrival at incorrect carrier facility
December 15, 2010 09:00:00 AM Ogden UT US Arrival Scan
December 14, 2010 07:00:00 PM Salt Lake City UT US Departure Scan
December 14, 2010 06:24:00 PM Salt Lake City UT US Arrival Scan
December 14, 2010 04:38:00 PM Louisville KY US Departure Scan
December 14, 2010 01:53:00 PM Louisville KY US Shipment received by carrier
December 13, 2010 02:52:20 AM US Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

Do you see that? My package shipped on the 13th, arrived here in Ogden on the 15th, then departed for multiple stops in NEW YORK before heading back into the correct time zone! I can't blame Amazon for this delay but I'm mighty unhappy since the software has to be installed on a computer before I can ship off the computer as a gift.

I just find it bizarre that with all the amazing tracking that shipping firms use nowadays that we can see everywhere my package has been but they can't seem to get it SENT to me!

When sledding behind Dad's stationwagon just isn't enough-

There's always a Saab jet to tow you around!

What fun!

The BSU is gone for the weekend!

What kind of trouble should I get into?

If only I didn't have to drive my kid's laundry into SLC tonight, move a fire extinguisher and sign and a banner and hang 4 paintings at church tomorrow and then move a pew and set up the nativity creche on Saturday, why, I'd have a bang-up time getting into trouble!

I'm also supposed to buy, set up and decorate a Christmas tree and locate the BSU's missing wedding band this weekend! I think I'll go to bed early tonight!

Anybody else using Open Office?

I decided to try something new with my laptop when I bought it a few weeks back so I installed Open Office Suite for my word processing and spreadsheet work. I've found it, so far, to be fast, intuitive and easy to use and since you can save files in Microsoft formats, the files I've created open equally well in Word or Excel. I haven't used it extensively and really dug into every feature but I'm enjoying this very professional yet free software.

You might give it a try if you don't want to pony up the funds for an expensive Microsoft package.

Ogden Clear Headlights gets an upgrade

Yesterday my buddy Kenny rang me up in the morning to invite me to visit a couple new stores that were opening in Ogden, a Black & Decker outlet store and a Pro Tools store. When I got there, the first person I encountered, before I could get inside, was Mayor Godfrey, followed by aat least 20 members of the Ogden Chamber of Commerce. I had arrived just in time for the ribbon cutting!

Once the ribbon was cut and the photos taken, I was able to finally catch up with Kenny and we had a pleasant ramble through the 2 new stores. In the Pro tool store, I found an interesting toolbox, a Stanley Mobile Work Center. After looking at it carefully, I decided it would adequately fit my tools and materials for my headlight cleaning business, so I bought it.

Everything does fit very nicely. Instead of the plastic storage tub and the plastic tote tray with a cardboard box duct taped to the end, everything I need to restore headlights fits in 1 mobile box. I really need some Ogden Clear Headlights decals to decorate it but for now I've got a nice, new tool kit.

And I told the BSU she could call it a Christmas present!

What I'd really like to buy, but haven't so far that would also be a big improvement to my restoration business is this Dewalt portable air compressor. The Pro-Tools guys had this for sale for just about 1/2 the price on the Amazon link, which is a killer deal. I'm 99% certain that this compressor will even fit under the tonneau cover on the truck. Sanding headlights with air power would be a huge improvement over the cordless drill and rechargeable batteries that I'm using right now. Donations would be gladly accepted if you're inclined!

Well the truck is fixed...

You didn't even know it was busted, did you?

Well it was. Yesterday evening on my way home from the car driving gig, it stopped backing up, that is, 1 wheel, the left front wheel, stopped rolling in reverse. I had to have it towed to a garage... Grr!

Turns out the caliper slide pins on that wheel had seized into the caliper mount and ruined the brake pads and the rotor. Getting fixed at the Firestone store cost $552 tonight! Argh! But everything's fixed now and I was able to get it home tonight. I am very soon- I suppose in January, going to have to put rotors and pads on the back of the truck. One of the pads back there is getting very thin and apparently the caliper back there needs attention too. But I'll plan on fixing all that on my own time just as soon as I can afford it.

I didn't want to Christmas shop this year anyway!

An idea for a real reality tv show

I don't watch reality television shows mainly because they aren't real! I especially don't, and won't watch any of those dumbass cake baking shows with snotty, wannabe cake bakers trying to outdo each other with ridiculous monstrosities of ugly, weird cakes. I do see the advertisements for some of these bandwith robbing programs because the BSU insists on watching the murder-death-mayhem programs that frequent the same network.

But tonight I had an idea for a reality show involving bakers that I would watch. Here's my idea: Take 6 or 8 newly minted from culinary school graduates, let them pick a town where they would like to operate a bakery. Give each of them enough start-up cash to open a storefront shop. Then leave them alone with the exception of a 1 man camera crew for an entire year except for monthly check-in visits. Let them hire people, set up shop, advertise, pay their bills, build a customer base and prove they have what it takes to really be proud of themselves.

Ditch all the phony drama, the foodfights, the petty bickering and the hidden direction from the program producers and just let these folks succeed or fail on their own merits. Let the monthly check-in episodes show the financial books and how each baker comes up with their own ideas about what success is and how to achieve it.

Make that into hour long episodes without all that fake drama BS that is apparent on the programs today and I'll watch it! Same goes for the chopper builders and all the other programs of the genre!

Time to bring in the Thanksgiving decorations

The pumpkin and corn stalks get thrown away and the pilgrim children and turkey plywood characters can get put away for another year. The hay bale will be pulled under the carport until I break out the nativity scene for Christmas. I'm going to do that today.

I'm also going out to the shop to get to work on a nativity creche for the church Christmas Eve service. I promised to build it some weeks back so I suppose I better get busy on that little project. I can see a trip to Home Depot in my schedule today as well as I'm certain that I won't have everything I need on hand.

Some guys get all the best toys...

I never had a Hot wheels track as awesome as this one.
I guess nobody else ever did either though.

But what a toy!

This is really gonna make you laugh!

I got turned on to this blog through a Facebook friend and it's just too funny and smart not to share with even those of you that might not see it over there. This gal's writing and drawings are hilarious and I can't wait to see what else she posts in the future. Go check out Hyperbole and a Half for a great tale!

WWF or WTF?

I've been entertaining myself in the evenings lately perusing Failblog and one of my favorite things to look at is the submission of ugly tattoos. It truly is scary what people have voluntarily had permanently inked onto their skin and looking at the awefulness is kind of like staring at a terrible auto crash or train derailment. But I just couln't help but share this picture with those of you that wouldn't normally wander over to that odd part of the internet.

see more Ugliest Tattoos
Weird, huh?

Al Gore says something I can agree with...

This morning I discovered that former V.P., wanna-be savior of the planet & Nobel prize laureate Owlgore is actually able to learn new things and admit that some of his Save Mother Gaia ideas were mistakes. Using corn for fuel fer instance: "First generation ethanol I think was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small."

And if you were ever uncertain that politics did NOT play a crucial role in his save-the-planet lofty words of wisdom, there's this quote:

One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president."

Emphasis is mine.

Ok, let it snow!

I've got Fish Slayer back from the boat store where it has been tightly shrink wrapped for the winter and pushed it back to the fence and out from under the carport. I also got the neighbor to help me back the camper behind the fence today and once I get the battery out of it and the tarp tied down, the weather can just go wild and bring in the snow- which is due beginning on Saturday.

I've been up to Powder Mountain Ski Resort to try and obtain employment for the winter and I expect- since the guy doing the hiring remembered me from previous years handing out chocolates, that I'll be working once the resort opens. Powder Mountain isn't using dedicated ticket checkers any longer so I's have to be part of the lift operations staff, meaning I'd have to bump chairs and operate the lifts but I've done all that in the past so I guess I can do it again.

And I had a job interview! I actually had a sit down interview yesterday for a logistics coordinator for a big company here in Ogden that makes interesting and big stuff that requires some really cool machine tools. Now I'm on pins & needles waiting for a follow-up call to see if I got the job. I really think I'd like this job and company so I am very anxious for them to call me.

So I've taken the day off...

Slept in today even skipped church for the first time in months. All I've done today was complete an insurance claim for pharmacy copays, completed a job application for a job I applied for a couple weeks ago, sent my resume to someone I met at last week's job fair, sent my resume to another company looking for an inventory specialist, and cooked myself 2 eggs, 4 strips of bacon and a tube of bisquits for lunch.

Other than that I've just screwed around on the interwebz and played around with some of the features of my new computer. Haven't even been outside today! Back to a full schedule tomorrow!