Category: General

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Home again

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I’ve been away too long.

According to the computer I’ve been away 40 days, considering the movie Noah is in theaters I think the coincidence is ironic.

My Time Capsule backup drives are really pissed off! After my computer making many apologies and spitting 80 or so gigabytes of changed data at them they’ve quieted down and all is happy in the land of my home network.

During the backup process I noticed that it’s getting to be about time to add some additional network attached storage. Planning ahead, the question is what kind of NAS do I want to do? Also on my wish list is a new 16 port gigabit switch. 

While this may sound like overkill I suspect it’s going to be necessary especially since I think we’re leaning toward killing the cable TV altogether. If we go down that path I foresee that we’ll be streaming a lot more video from our local storage devices to our Apple TV.

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For several years now I’ve been tinkering with the possibility of purchasing something like a Mac Mini to use as a server or simply a media server. Perhaps now is the time to do that, but before I go down that road I really want to investigate some of the simpler options.

For now it’s off to breakfast and then the hardware store. Got me some ants to kill and a magnifying glass is just too damn slow!

 

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On the Road

Sitting in a Starbucks whose WiFi credentials are questionable so I have no idea when this is likely to be posted. I’ve turned off my WiFI but it might be too late if the router is being run by a bad guy.

Sadly, there is no LTE cellular connection either.

I’m in Pensacola after a rough nights sleep.

The room I got was a disaster, it smelled like an ashtray mixed with harsh chemicals. One of the beds hadn’t been changed and whew when I pulled the sheets back, there was a powerful stench. Thank goodness there was another bed that had been changed.

Ah, the little surprises of traveling.

I was too tired to fight about the room last night. I’d planned to stay in Tallahassee but refused to pay 139.00 or more a night for a hotel room. I checked with several hotels outside the Tallahassee city limits. Apparently the Florida senate is in session and all the hotels were full of lobbyists. “Your tax dollars at work” are being bought and paid for by entities outside your government.

I’ve been noticing folks having bible meetings in public places like restaurants, and this Starbucks in fact. That’s strange to me but what the hell, as long as the Christians and Satanists don’t try to have meetings in the same place at the same time I guess it’s going to be cool.

Of course God help them both if the Atheists, (who’ve made atheism a religion in and of itself) should happen to show up. I’d be outside selling tickets and taking bets. In this area I don’t know if I’d bet on the Atheists or the Christians, both are probably packing heat!

I will say there are a lot of damn cute and generally fit men in a lot of the places in FL I’ve been. Even the guys discussing religion are damn fine! LOL I suppose I could convert them. Uh Oh, they’re quoting from Luke and talking about forbidden things… I suspect the next topic will involve the abomination of homosexuality!

Oh give me a few hours… I haven’t converted anyone in a long time! I’d love to give Torquemada a run for his money.

What would Jesus think about the horrific expense of a cup of Starbucks coffee? Wouldn’t that $4 be better spent feeding the poor? If I was a real bastard, I’d point that little hypocrisy out to them… After all there’s a dunkin doughnuts across the street.

Nah… Not worth the time, but amusing to think about.

I’m taking the trip back to CA more slowly. I’m actually not sure that I want to go back to that way of life. Perhaps by the time I get home, I’ll have a better idea for the next direction my life will take.

I hope you’re enjoying your day as much as I am.

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Ding, Dong, Fred Phelps is dead!

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I thought I’d feel happy about it.

I don’t.

I’d planned a pilgrimage to his grave site so that I could piss on his grave, I find myself not wanting to waste the gas or time.  It would be relatively easy and not that far out of my way, since I’m driving back home soon.

It’s not worth it, I’m just not that much into the symbolism and all I feel, is that a very sick, very sad caricature of a religious man is dead. He’ll never learn anything about the consequences of his hate, or how to let that hate go.

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Perhaps he has taught me something though, holding on to hate, anger, and sadness, prevent you from seeing that there is more in the world.

Oh, I’m nowhere near being enlightened! 

I’ve spent years trying to connect the dots about anger and hate. Maybe another 30 or 40 years and I’ll get it right. Hey, I have issues, so sue me! Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning to understand why you’re so knotted up.

Just going back to your beginning isn’t going to help unless you’re in a place where you can understand objectively what you’re seeing and not get caught up in the minutiae. You kinda have to take the wide angle view and see your place in the interactions and you gotta accept your part in the mess. Yeah, you’re not a victim, even though you might want to think of yourself as one, you’re more often an active participant.

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I’m sure there will be plenty of people that will want to cause the Phelps family as much grief and pain as the Phelps family has caused. And they will… For my part, I think stopping the cycle of pain, anger, and grief is a better choice.

Fred Phelps deserves nothing but my pity. His legacy will be a footnote in history as a person that was misguided and who used religion to cause others pain.

Moving on…

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Beautiful Sunday

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Got laundry going, had my morning coffee outside listening to the birds and critters in the trees.

I was reading the paper on my iPad and generally at peace.

I made a new friend while I was sitting there.

A little treefrog decided he wanted some company or that I needed company, and jumped on my leg.

He sat there for a long time looking around then hopped down to go on about his business. 

This morning is was lightly breezy, as the afternoon has progressed it’s clouding up. There’s a storm coming later tonight, it will probably hang around all day tomorrow. This is FL so its “normal” and I admit that I do like regular rain.

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see some sites as I exit FL. I’m collecting my energy for the drive home and checking out different routes. I want to see places I haven’t’ seen before, so I’m actually looking forward to the long drive home.

I hightailed it to get here, but going home I’m going to take a little time to test the hayfever meds!.

Hope you all had a great Sunday.

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Some free time…

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I’ve caught a cold while I’ve been looking after my folks.

The sneezing, coughing and hacking took the wind out of my sails. My Mom has it too and frankly it’s a lot worse for her. 

I think this is going to be a quick little thing. Last night I was a mess. Today I’m feeling much better although I can’t get more than 10 paces from a kleenex box.

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I’ve been able to continue doing the stuff that I’ve been working on. Moving furniture, scrubbing floors and trying to catch up on all the stuff that my folks haven’t been able to keep up with.

I’ve suggested that they get someone to come in and help them with the cleaning and stuff like that. That suggestion went over like a lead balloon. It’s a full time job keeping up with forgotten glasses of water, tea, or diet coke. Plus cleaning up the spills and little messes caused by them not asking me or each other for help.

I’ve been told my halo is getting brighter. My response is that it’s about to burst into flame.

Yesterday I took a couple of hours off, and drove into Tampa. I visited a BMW dealer to pick up an update for my navigation system.

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Expensive, but on the trip here there were several times when the navigation system was really wrong.

I’ve been trying to do the updates about every other year. The one I purchased yesterday was dated Jan 2014.

FL roads and highways are a bit strange to someone that has been driving in California for the better part of 30 years.

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In California turn lanes are pretty well defined and you’re usually warned well in advance of a Left or Right turn only lane by the striping on the road and a sign.

Not so here!

I was driving along on a main surface street. I knew I needed to make a left turn in less than a quarter of a mile and so I got into the left hand lane. I’m driving along and suddenly I’m in a left turn only lane that leads onto the freeway. Without any warning, the lane I was in just became a turn lane. No little jog to the left, no change in the striping on the road, nothing except an arrow with “only” printed under it. The next lane over was a “left or straight” lane but there wasn’t enough time or warning to get over.

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Sigh, no way out! I got on the freeway and just as I was making that turn, I saw the dealership I was trying to get to. 

Briefly on the freeway, then next exit, two lefts later, I’m exiting on the street that I got screwed on. On the second approach I made another left and avoided the left turn only lane this time.

This dealership is cool, think of any European car and they had it. The BMW building was the first, then Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Range Rover, Audi, VW, you name it,  and it was all the same dealership. 

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It was kinda like being at a car show. I got to see an Audi R8 up close and personal. NICE!

It was nice being out on my own and I took a meandering path back to the house.

It took me a lot longer than I thought it would but I didn’t care, I was enjoying the down time.

Ya try to be patient, kind and loving, but in the end you need time away.