2017/02/14 10:00

2017/02/22 14:00 Yesterday I took Robert and Tristan to the mall and dropped them off so they could have some Father/ Son bonding time.

A woman walking by said to me, about the life size model of 'War Machine' which has a price tag over 10K. OMG can you believe that price. I said, "I know, right? That's why I only have one".

2017/03/06 16:45 I am the one that answers the phone. Such is my lot in life. I am not complaining but rather just stating the fact. What do I mean by this? Well, I call my daughter and she doesn't answer the phone. In a few minutes she calls me back. I call my youngest son and he doesn't answer the phone. In a few minutes he calls me back. If I didn't answer the phone and just called them back we would be stuck in an endless loop. So, I am the one that answers the phone. Such is my lot in life.

This weekend I made a Key lime pie. I made it because Tristan said he loved Key lime pies. It was very easy to make and was exceptionally tasty. I am going to make another one but with a shortbread crust instead of a graham cracker crust.

I might go to the movies tonight to see "Logan". Looking up the show times now.

2017/03/08 18:00 Shopping today at Wegmans. Here is an update on the construction.

The boy is easily distracted by bright and moving lights. At this point one could say he is showing early signs of being 'presidential'.

2017/02/16 10:30 Fun at the mall this morning.

2017/03/03 12:00 

2017/02/20 09:00 Last night I went to SubCat Studios for the latest Sub Rosa Session.

It is supposed to be in the 50s today. Sounds good. The long term forecast is for warmer weather this week coming up. Another week of colder temperatures after that. Then, hopefully, Spring!

I was supposed to have posted my first YouTube video by the end of January. Didn’t happen. James Surowiecki is a staff writer at The New Yorker; there he writes a regular column on business and finance called “The Financial Page”. Mr. Surowiecki has written, “Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather than risk failure, they prefer to create conditions that make success impossible, a reflex that of course creates a vicious cycle.” Or as Mark Twain wrote: “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.” The rants, rambles, and ravings continue.

2017/03/10 11:00 Last night Karen, Robert, and I went to the Jordan Elbridge Elementary School to see Tristan's science fair project. We were all very impressed.

2017/03/16 12:00 I went to get Elliott this morning. The roads are pretty well cleaned up. I sincerely hope this is the end of Winter. Looking forward to a big thaw.

2017/03/07 23:00 Had a busy day today. I picked up Elliott in the morning. Usually on Tuesdays Karen takes Elliott to the library for story time. She had a doctors appointment so I took him. He loves when they play with the parachute. After story time I took both the cat and the dog to the vet at the same time. I took the animals by myself to the vet. After I brought the animals home, safe if not somewhat traumatized, I picked Robert up from his appointment. 

Last night I went to the movies with Robert and Michael. We went to see "Logan". The review on NPR said the movie was bleak and violent. It was. It was very well done and had an amazing homage to the film "Shane". This was one of the best Marvel movies and a perfect swan song for the Wolverine character. I would highly recommend the movie but not for the youngsters.

2017/03/11 12:00 The plan for today had been for us to go to the Syracuse St. Patrick's Day parade. It is brutal cold outside, wind chills in the negative numbers, and so we have opted not to go. Not sure at this point what we are going to do today.

khan tiki mon's rants and rambles v.11.12

2017/02/23 22:00 I picked Elliott up this morning and we went to Wegmans. We got a few groceries but first we checked out the construction site.

2017/03/01 22:00 I have been doing a lot of work in the area that my wife calls Scott World. I put in a new TV. It is a smart TV that gets Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. I added Roku express so I can use Sling TV to watch CNBC. I have added an APC UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to my setup. It will protect my PC and if there is a power outage my WiFi will stay on. Solution to a first world problem. I have added new speakers. My old speakers I am giving to my grandson for his desktop he is setting up. I have added a USB 3.0 hub where I can hook up my Yeti microphone and my Logitech cam. I tore everything apart, cleaned everything (some monstrous dust bunnies), and then restrung my ethernet cables. I will try and post some pictures of all this tomorrow. 

Today was the first of March. The first month of Spring begins. It is supposed to really kick off with snow flurries tomorrow. That's all right Spring is close and that makes me happy.

I am still working on updating the site so that all the pages display properly on both desktops and mobile devices. The closer I get to finishing the more difficult and time consuming it becomes. Obviously I started with the pages that were easiest to complete first. All the low hanging fruit has been picked. I am satisfied with 91 out of 124 pages.

2017/03/02 04:00 I am awake at four in the morning. The winds woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep. I just tossed and turned as I listened to the winds rage outside. It sounded like the gutters were going to be torn right off the house. I finally gave up trying to go back to sleep and got up. So, here I am now. When I got up I stood in the living room looking out at the trees moving in the storm. I say storm but all it was was wind. There was no snow or rain. It was lighter out than I would have expected and as I looked out into the parkway I saw a skunk scurrying up the street. The skunk was moving right up the street in the middle of the street. The skunk seemed very purposeful. It seemed like it knew where it was going and was anxious to get there. Whenever there is a storm like this it makes me feel small and insignificant. Nature is not to be controlled.

2017/02/18 10:00 I went to Chili's last night with Adison, Michael, and Elliott. I introduced Elliott to the corndog.

2017/03/14 22:00 I got up this morning and I drove to my daughter's house and picked up Elliott. The storm was just starting and the roads weren't that bad. The storm has been named Stella. Stella was here by the afternoon. Elliott's Dad got out of work early and he picked up Elliott from our house. Elliott went home and shoveled out his house. I should have had him shovel my driveway before he left.

Space Carnival.

Karen was babysitting Theresa's kids today. It was a beautiful Spring day. The temperatures were in the 50s. Of course it is still Winter and it is supposed to snow on Sunday.

2017/02/25 23:30 I took Alice to the mall today. I dropped her off at Billy Beez and left her there in the care of her Aunt Adison. Adison was there with some of her in-laws. When they left Billy Beez they were going to TGIFridays to get something to eat. Alice wanted to go too. So, Alice and I joined. We were sitting at the table with Alice next to me when she started crying. I looked at her and it was a bloodbath. She was holding up her hand which was dripping with blood. There was blood all over the table. She had cut herself with the steak knife. I scooped her up and ran her to the men's room. I didn't know where she was bleeding from or how bad it was. Once I got her washed off it turned out she had a little teeny tiny cut on the tip of her finger. A little pressure was applied and the bleeding stopped. A waitress had brought a band aid everything was good as new. I can't believe how much she bled from such a small cut.

2017/03/05 18:00 There is a saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". Of course what the saying is implying is that that isn't true. I was thinking of this saying this morning because my dog wants to eat the cat food. The cat wants to eat the dog food. And both the cat and the dog want to eat what's on my plate. But not the vegetables or the fruit.

2017/03/02 11:00 I finally went back to bed a little after five in the morning. Then I overslept and was late picking up Elliott. When I went back to bed the ground was dry outside. I woke up and everything was covered in a blanket of snow. Driving north to get Elliott the roads were slick and there were frequent whiteouts. Checking the news this morning it was reported that wind gusts as high as 64 MPH were recorded in Syracuse. That broke the record for March of 52 MPH which was set back in 1950.  

We enjoyed a little time in the parkway. Later I went to the movies with Robert and Michael. We went to see "Fist Fight". It was funny and I enjoyed it. The movie was cohesive and flowed well. It stayed entertaining and funny right up to the ending.

2017/02/27 23:30 For the first time ever since records have been kept, we had four consecutive days in February with temperatures over 60 degrees. We had an all time high of 71. This is going to be the second warmest February on record. We aren't done with the cold and snow just yet though. The forecast says the first two weeks in March will be very Winter like.

2017/02/21 09:00 Last night I had an allergic reaction to one of the meds that I take. I had lip edema. That's a medical term to describe my swollen lip. I looked like I got stung by a bee. In my lip by a lot of bees actually. My bottom lip looked like one of those starlets with too much botox.

No knives for the little girl after the bloodbath yesterday.

2017/02/19 10:00 I stayed up later than usual last night watching television. When I went up the stairs to go to bed I heard this raucous cacophony coming from the bedroom. I wondered could that possibly be my wife snoring like that? Turns out it was a duet. It was my wife and the dog. Like a symphony, the sum of the parts was more than any one instrument solo.

It was a warm day yesterday with temperatures climbing into the 50s. I went to the gym. I had not gone to the gym for close to two weeks. Some of the reason I missed was due to either me or someone else in the household being sick. But if I am being honest some of the reason had to do with the weather. I like going to the gym and then just coming home to shower. Not pleasant leaving the gym in shorts when it is below freezing.

I have not worked at all on the YouTube channel. I have still been doing a lot of work on the website. I am really pretty pleased with the progress I have been making on the site. 

Elliott enjoyed checking out the construction.

Not a food truck.

2017/03/15 15:00 We survived the big storm called Stella.

Happy birthday Michael!

Looks like they had a good time.

I got my ticket today securing my spot on the bus.

Elliott loves the snow. I am so glad someone does.

Michael and I were going to go to the movies tonight. I decided I didn't want to clean off the van or shovel a path to the van or shovel out the driveway so the van could get out. It's a good thing we didn't go to the mall to see the movie because they closed the mall. They also closed Wegmans. A lot of stuff has been shut down.

Today is Valentine's Day. We are also halfway done with February. I hate February here in this land of sometime ice and snow. Last night Michael and I went to the movies to see "John Wick: Chapter Two". I enjoyed the movie; it was exciting and it was fun. It was also one of the most violent films I have ever seen. It is still so very cold outside and there is snow everywhere.  

Adison sent these pictures of Elliott shoveling their driveway.

Elliott playing with the parachute.

2017/03/04 20:00 It was brutal cold today. A good day to stay inside and just be lazy.

This latest iteration of my rants and rambles will still be much like past versions. I will continue to share way too much information. I will continue to be as weird as always. I am most likely still incredibly boring.

Karen and I met Adison and Elliott at the All Night Eggplant for breakfast this morning. Elliott is enjoying an apple piece in the picture above.

2017/02/17 09:00 I spent a fair amount of time the last two days working on my income tax return. I admit I approached the task with some trepidation. Last year I owed an obscene amount to the government. A soul crushing amount. It was fallout from my early retirement. I wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen this year. I only knew it wasn't going to be as bad. It ends up I will get a modest refund this year. I am positioned for a large refund next year.

Baked Potatoes.

2017/02/15 10:30 I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up several times during the night. I had some very weird dreams. I go to a fair amount of music events. If I like the band I usually buy their CDs. In one of my dreams last night I was at an event and there was a girl with a cash register selling CDs by the band. I was buying two studio CDs that were five dollars each. The girl said that I would probably like a live CD that had been recorded the night before. I said okay add that on. Then she said that my total was $3,010.00. I said what!? She explained that the live CD was three thousand dollars because there was a special guest performance by George Carlin who had done a comedy set. I protested that George Carlin was dead and she said that's why the CD was so much. He had returned from the dead for one night only and his performance from the grave was sure to be a collector's item.

I went to Wegmans to do some grocery shopping yesterday. I go to the Wegmans in Dewitt at least three times a week. It is my favorite grocery store. The Wegmans in Dewitt is the largest Wegmans in the world and it is about to get bigger. The store is undergoing another addition.

2017/03/09 14:00 Elliott and I went to Panera at Destiny this morning. We changed up the routine a little bit. No highchair. Elliott sat in a regular chair.

After Tully's we went back to the house for the birthday cake that Karen and Alice made. Alice decorated the cake.

Construction at Wegmans.

2017/03/12 07:00 We lost an hour this morning with the time change. The temperature is still in single digits this morning. We canceled our plans yesterday to attend the Syracuse St. Patrick's Day parade. Last year was the warmest parade ever in the 34 year history of the parade with temps in the 50s. This year was the coldest parade ever in the 35 year history of the parade with temps in single digits and a negative wind chill. I have been up for at least an hour and I think I am going to go back to bed.

2017/02/28 14:00 For the first time ever the city of Chicago had no snow in January or February. I read that in the news yesterday. Climate change. It is forecast to be in the 60s here tomorrow.

2017/02/24 10:00 Thunderstorms woke me up this morning. I came downstairs and made some coffee. The thunder woke up the dog also. Brego hid under my desk while I worked at the computer.

The joke I read in the newspaper was that we had all four seasons in one week. I actually think we had all four seasons in one day last week.

2017/03/13 10:00 It was quite cold yesterday. It was too cold to do much of anything. Karen and I took Alice to the Get Air indoor trampoline park. We met Adison and Elliott there.

2017/02/26 20:00 Today was Michael's birthday and we celebrated at Tully's.