2015/09/11 23:30 Today was the anniversary of the attacks that brought down the twin towers in New York City. Some people on social media have posed the question, “Do you remember where you were?” That got me thinking about other moments in history that I have lived through. On Friday, November 22, 1963 the president of the United States, John F Kennedy, was assassinated. I was six years old and I was in school. This was a time in history when we did ‘duck and cover’ drills in preparation for a nuclear holocaust. We did not shelter in place. There were too many windows in the classroom. The theory was that when the bomb blast came the pressure would shatter the windows and we would be cut to ribbons by the flying shards of glass. We filed into the hallway and formed single lines against the walls. We got as close to the walls as we could and assumed the duck and cover position. The theory was that when the bomb blasts brought down the building we would have a better chance of survival being next to a structural element. I mention the duck and cover drills to illustrate the mindset of the time. There was an announcement made that fateful day that the president had been shot. I remember someone crying. Not sure if it was a teacher or a lunch lady. The decision was made to close school and we were to be sent home. It was very confusing because I remember I was placed on a bus that wasn’t my usual bus with a bus driver that wasn’t my usual bus driver. I don’t think I was scared as much as I was confused. I wasn’t sure where I was going and I certainly didn’t understand the news about the president.
2015/09/11 10:00 I have got to be one of the luckiest people in the world. What would make me say that you might ask. Well, today I opened my e-mail and I have won another $500 gift card. This one today is from Kohls. I pretty much win at least one gift card everyday. Sometimes I win three or more in the same day. Over this past year the total I've won has got to be over one hundred thousand dollars. I have been hesitant to cash in any of my winnings because of taxes. You see, not only have I won all these gift cards but this guy from Scotland, who has been detained in some small African country, is going to give me hundreds of thousands of dollars for helping him to get his money into the United States. I fear if I start cashing in all my gift cards on top of the money from the guy from Scotland then I am going to be in an oppressive tax bracket.
If you should happen to ask me how doing the whole daycare thing is going then yeah, "I'm already tired tomorrow" seems about right.
The little baby Elliott sleeping in my arms today.
2015/09/09 20:00 Not sure how taking care of a little baby can be as exhausting as it is.
The siding for the back of the shed is done.
Elliott in the coliseum enjoying the horse show.
Fish tanks at the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) pavilion.
The old deck extension has been completely removed.
I have started the staining here and you can see the remnants of the old deck extension.
2015/08/21 09:30 My swimming pool did not survive this last harsh winter. The pool was over twenty years old. We had a new above ground pool installed. The new pool is taller than the old pool. There was an addition on the deck that hung over the old pool. I had to demo the extension before they could install the new pool. The contractors put the new pool as close to the old deck as they could. I have to add a new section to the old deck to bring the level of the deck up to the level of the new pool. I can’t put the ladder on until the new deck addition is done. I don’t know how old the old deck was because it was here when we bought the house. I am guessing that it is at least thirty to thirty five plus years old. The deck was looking pretty weathered and pretty beat. I have been working hard the last few weeks to spruce up the deck. I am trying to bring some new life to the old deck.
Al's Wine and Whiskey is a happy place.
Amanda Rogers and Jonah Matranga
2015/08/19 13:00 Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of my heart attack. The day passed and I didn’t even think about it until today. I was and I continue to be a very lucky man. Nature wanted me dead but modern science intervened. I sometimes think that the cosmos wanted me dead but I cheated the grim reaper. A temporary reprieve of course as no one cheats death forever. Live in the moment because that’s all you have. Peace out my peeps.
2015/08/17 09:00 Sean and I went to SubCat Music Studios for the August SubRosa session last night. It was a great show as always and afterwards Sean and I went to Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge.
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. And yet, I still don’t care if anyone reads any of this or not. Read or not as you see fit. I make this website because I want to and because it is a kind of cathartic hobby. Sometimes when I am alone in the car all by myself I scream as loud as I can. It feels good but it’s probably better that no one can hear me. Maybe the noises I make here on the interwebs are best left unheard as well.
“Now I’m all for the weight of gold when it’s mine to spend it
I buy some respite from the cold and rum for those befriended
And when I’m light I lean on them and they don’t seem to mind it
But gone’s the thrill of gold and gem the moment that you find it.” … “Smuggler’s Cove”
by The Crazed Mugs
Rants, rambles, and ravings. Shake your fist at the devil. Spit into the wind. It won’t change anything. The truth is that whatever you have is what you have, no more, no less. Marcus Aurelius wrote; “No one can lose either the past or the future - how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? ... It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived: and if this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.” One needs to find a way to embrace this truth.
“Within the valley of shadowless death
They pray for thunderclouds and rain,
But to the multitude who stand in the rain
Heaven is where the sun shines.” …“Mad Man Moon” by Genesis
khan tiki mon's rants and rambles v.9.62
2015/09/13 09:00 The forecast yesterday morning was dismal. Mother Nature delivered as promised and the rains were heavy. It was the day set aside for Tikipalooza V: Ghost of the Tiki. I wasn’t about to let a little rain discourage me and so I drove to Rochester, about an hour and a half away, to attend my third consecutive Tikipalooza. What was very impressive was the turnout. There had to be over one hundred people huddled under tents and umbrellas. I know if I threw a party in a monsoon I couldn’t get that kind of attendance. Bob and Bev are the best hosts. The meats were fantastic; Spam sliders, turkey, chicken wings, pork, and brisket. There were super delicious cocktails and home brews. The drinks were awesome. I stuck to the mixed drinks but I understand the home brews were good as well. I left the party and expected to get home about 11:00. The rains at this point were getting so bad I decided to pull off at the Port Byron service area. I put the seat back and slept for about an hour and a half. I woke myself up with my snoring and by then the rains had subsided somewhat. It was still raining but not with the same intensity. I drove the rest of the way home and got here about a half hour after midnight.
About a week before the attacks on the World Trade Center I had found a bunch of film that I had never sent in to be developed. I mailed it off and forgot about it. Truthfully I couldn’t even remember what was on the film that I sent in for processing. A few days after the attacks I got the prints from the film back and I was going through the pictures and was shocked (a little creeped out actually) to find photos of my wife and kids standing beneath the twin towers. These were pictures from a trip we had taken to NYC. We had stayed in the Marriott next to the World Trade Center towers. At one point during the trip we contemplated taking the trip to the top of one of the towers but it was seven dollars each to ride the elevator and we decided to save that for a later trip. It never occurred to any of us that that would be our last chance.
I have never done siding before. The starter strip on the bottom is upside down. I need to remove it and start this side over.
2015/09/06 12:00 My wife says I have a fear of completion. She's been saying it for years. I think that her observation is based in the number of started and unfinished projects that I have all over the house. Fear of completion is a real phobia. It is also known as completion anxiety and the feelings are part and parcel of depression and anxiety. There is a sense of loss leaving something you have become attached to once it is completed. I am trying to finish things. My Dad and I built a shed in my backyard. We built the shed more than fifteen years ago. Not sure exactly how long ago but at least fifteen years. I never finished siding it. I never built really decent and fully functional doors for the shed. I am working now on finishing it.
2015/08/30 10:00 Karen, Adison, and I took the little baby Elliott to the Great New York State Fair yesterday. It was Elliott's first trip to the fair. We ended up staying much longer than I thought we would. The little baby Elliott is a near perfect baby and he seemed to enjoy the fair.
2015/08/29 09:30 Karen and I went to Texas de Brazil for an anniversary dinner last night. Karen had very little meat. She was content with the salad bar and the sides. The meat was fantastic. I had three Caipirinhas, the national cocktail of Brazil (made with Cachaca, sugar, and lime), and they were very good. Karen suggested that maybe I married the wrong girl because she didn't appreciate a good cocktail like I do. I countered that since she was driving home maybe I married the perfect girl.
He is a good little dude.
While I worked on the shed Karen and Alice played in the pool.
2015/09/06 23:00 I got up early this morning and got quite a bit more work done on the shed. I finished one side completely and got a good start on the back.
2015/09/04 20:00 I had my annual physical yesterday. I see my general practitioner three to four times a year. I see my cardiologist three times a year. I see my eye doctor once a year and my dentist four times a year. With some other assorted specialists thrown in I average about one doctor appointment every month. My physical went well but we won't have all the test results back until next week. I have lost ten pounds since my last appointment about four months ago. That was by design and took a lot of work. Ten lost and only fifty five to go.
Elliott sleeping through the bond report. "Pop, the bond market is boring. Stocks are exciting. How's our position in Apple holding up to the market correction?"
The little baby Elliott's first meal at the fair. I had a steak sandwich with peppers and onions.
There was a good crowd but it never felt too crowded. The weather was perfect. A great day at the fair.
Whenever I see the butter sculpture now I want to go home and watch the Jennifer Garner movie "Butter" again. I loved that movie.
2015/08/27 08:00 I have been married for 32 years to my best friend. That is more than half of my life. I suppose I have had some regrets in this life, I think most people do. One thing I have never regretted is marrying Karen. I still love her and can’t imagine a life without her.
2015/08/26 17:00 Today was my first day doing the daycare thing. I watched the little baby Elliott all by myself. I fed him fresh squeezed. I had bottles that were marked with the vintage. He had two 'Sundays' today. I changed his diaper three times but no poops. There should be some exciting posts and updates in the days to come.
2015/08/23 09:00 Sunday morning is here. I had a nice fire last night. The kids said the fire was too hot and they left me alone by the flames. The fire burned down and I sat for a good long time gazing into the red hot coals pondering many things.
Starting the deck addition.
I used a belt sander on the tops of the railings which were in really bad shape.
For the surface of the deck and the tops of the railings I am using the textured "DeckOver" product.
I want to build new stairs but that is a project that will have to wait until next year.
The Big Green Meat Machine.
Spam sliders.
2015/09/08 21:30 I was back working at my new gig today. Of course my new gig is doing the daycare for the little baby Elliott. I was up way too early and drove to Adison's house to pick up the little dude. Watching a seven week old baby is harder than I thought it would be. I don't mean it's hard watching the baby as much as it makes doing anything else next to impossible. And I am pretty wiped out after the day is done. I finished the back of the shed yesterday. I was going to start siding the other side but it was just too damn hot. I did manage to make it to Home Depot after Adison picked up Elliott. I got some boards to start making the door frame for the shed.
2015/09/07 09:00 Today is Labor Day. Labor Day is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. More than 80 other countries celebrate International Worker's Day on May 1st as their holiday to celebrate labor. On May 4, 1886 America had the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago. A peaceful demonstration by workers striking for an eight hour work day turned violent. The previous day several protesters had been killed by police. On this day someone threw dynamite into the police ranks. The police then fired into the crowd. Seven police officers and at least four civilians were killed. Many more were injured. President Grover Cleveland feared that having a worker's day on May 1st, so close to the date of the Haymarket Massacre, would make the holiday a commemoration of the carnage. So, the United States established their worker's day in September. The worker's holiday that has never really caught on here is the Worker's Memorial Day celebrated on April 28. Worker's Memorial Day was started in 1970 and coincided with the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act passed by congress that same year. Passage of the act led to the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1971. Worker's Memorial Day is about all those people killed, injured, and made sick by their jobs.
Labor Day is generally regarded by most people here as the last day of Summer. Labor Day here in New York is the last day of the Great NY State Fair. I was only able to make it to the Fair once this year. That's cause for much sadness. Someday I would like to go to the Fair everyday that it is open.
I am planning on working more on my shed today. I think I can finish siding the back and get a good start on the other side. I won't have enough siding for the other side. I will have to go back to Home Depot for more. I have enough pieces cut from what I used for the sides to do the front. Once the two sides and the back are done I can work on the front. I can't side the front until I build a frame for the new doors. Once the new door frame is built and the front siding is done I will build the new shed doors.
It was a hot one today.
2015/09/02 23:00 I am settling into the routine of my new job; watching the little baby Elliott while his Mom is at work. We watch the financial news on CNBC together. Elliott seems pretty engaged by equities and stock options but talk of bonds, the Fed, quantitative easing, and the like puts him to sleep. So, he perks up when Jim Cramer is on but fades out to Rick Santelli. My contractor came today to do final measurements for the siding. That job should start the first week in November I hope.
2015/09/01 23:00 Today was my first full time day watching the little baby Elliott. Just about nine hours all by my lonesome with my grandson. Milestone today was his first poop on my watch. Looked just like peanut butter. I was just at Wegmans tonight. I was wearing one of my Star Wars shirts. This guy came up to me to tell me how much he liked my shirt. He said he had one almost just like it but his wife won't let him wear it in public because she says it's too ratty.
Today is the last day of August. The final Summer month in 2015 comes to a close tonight. Tomorrow is September and Autumn is upon us.
2015/08/31 17:00 Karen had today off from work and so she helped me watch the little baby Elliott. I was somewhat concerned that her snoring might wake him up but he managed to sleep through the cacophony.
2015/08/27 09:30 Today is my second day on the new job. I am "The Baby Whisperer".
I got rained out of construction yesterday. Things are still pretty wet this morning. I hope things dry up enough that I can get some more work done today.