Some city in Minnesota today has a predicted high of minus 7. Yesterday in Oceanside the high was 88. I can't imagine waking up this morning someplace where it's 94 degrees colder. 94 degrees! Mrs. Ditchman asked what it was those people did all winter, a perfectly valid question. I imagine they all have Internet jobs in warm basements, but it's possible they can't bear the thought of working outside in the heat, building aluminum patio covers. Then again, now that I think about it, maybe nobody lives in these places at all, and their high and low temps are reported on the news for lack of any other interesting info. Seriously, what's going on in the world today? Nothing. Senate confirmation hearings? I'd rather read weather reports from around the world. (Honey! It's drizzling in Bilbao!)
Speaking of torturous Senate confirmation hearings, Jack Bauer is back! I missed the "hearing" part, though, as I had completely forgotten that 24 had even started up again, and just stumbled upon the season premiere while channel surfing the other night. And then, last night during the 2nd part of the premiere, which was really the third and fourth episode in the second straight night (networks and their deranged broadcasting logic), I dozed off and awoke to find Jack torturing his old buddy, Tony Almeida. Quick look at the clock and I had only been asleep for ten minutes! This show moves pretty fast. You gotta stay ever-alert, lest the plot thicken, harden, shatter and coagulate into something else entirely, all while you're in the bathroom. ("There's not enough time!") Seriously though, five minutes later, post-torture, Jack and Tony were buddies again, risking life and limb for one another.
Mrs. Ditchman and I have a romantic connection with 24, as it's been around since before we were married. There's a subtle bonding thing we have associated with it, taking us back to those carefree days of woo and courting. She went into labor with the Little Ditchman during an episode of 24, as a matter of fact, so, yes, the show can get that intense.
How is 24 this season? Not too shabby, I guess, assuming I didn't miss something unresolvably awful. No suburbs have been nuked yet, but there are planes in the sky, filled with hapless American passengers, that are being controlled by some bad guys with geeked-out laptops. It has something vaguely to do with saving the children in Africa, but thankfully, that plot point has been ditched. And torture! Plenty of torture! Everybody's doing it now and it seems to be working! I mean, seriously, Janine Garofalo's performance has me with my hand on the remote. Get her on one of those planes!
24, Mondays on Fox at 9:00PM (8PM Central).
~
Monday, January 12, 2009
What a difference a weekend can make! Or, rather, what a difference cleared sinuses and an ambient temperature increase of twenty degrees can make! Sunday was a day of near perfect weather. Everyone with half a brain was out in it, and driving down the road it made you smile just to see other folks smiling about it. Winter is over! And, man, two weeks of nighttime sub-50 temps is excruciating in these parts. Seriously. All the suburbs are just finishing up their extolling of a collective, weeks-long, whine.
And I'm feeling better, though not entirely, yet still enough to say so. Mrs. Ditchman has now what I had this time last week, and I suppose I'll have this time next week whatever it is that the person I meet tomorrow has. Let me tell you: there is an economic downturn, but it is nothing in the face of lasting illness. I have been sick since August, with a 48-hour respite every ten days, and I can't focus on World Issues anymore (though, it's probably best that way.) Anyway, let the record show that I had a flu shot, took antibiotics, religiously take a daily multivitamin, never eat fast food, and get regular exercise -and still I'm sick like a CDC lab primate. So I give up. How do I account for the general affliction? Well, it's from the children, obviously. Time-Outs for everyone!
Mrs. Ditchman will tell you that I don't take these things well, either. Pathetic, I know. She is currently congested to the gills and still gets up on Beijing time to nurse the younglings -and that without medication! I admire her. But it's not her fortitude with the sickness I admire, it's that she finds it in herself to put up with my own wimped-out suffering. (God bless her.)
So back to work this week. It's in God's hands and my attitude -what else is there? (I mean, what else is there that has any real bearing on our daily fate?)
~
And I'm feeling better, though not entirely, yet still enough to say so. Mrs. Ditchman has now what I had this time last week, and I suppose I'll have this time next week whatever it is that the person I meet tomorrow has. Let me tell you: there is an economic downturn, but it is nothing in the face of lasting illness. I have been sick since August, with a 48-hour respite every ten days, and I can't focus on World Issues anymore (though, it's probably best that way.) Anyway, let the record show that I had a flu shot, took antibiotics, religiously take a daily multivitamin, never eat fast food, and get regular exercise -and still I'm sick like a CDC lab primate. So I give up. How do I account for the general affliction? Well, it's from the children, obviously. Time-Outs for everyone!
Mrs. Ditchman will tell you that I don't take these things well, either. Pathetic, I know. She is currently congested to the gills and still gets up on Beijing time to nurse the younglings -and that without medication! I admire her. But it's not her fortitude with the sickness I admire, it's that she finds it in herself to put up with my own wimped-out suffering. (God bless her.)
So back to work this week. It's in God's hands and my attitude -what else is there? (I mean, what else is there that has any real bearing on our daily fate?)
~
Friday, January 9, 2009
Seriously folks, there are a bajillion templates out there. It was something that disappointed me about Blogger, their dearth of creative and enticing templates, but then I remembered this thing called "Google" where you can find just about anything! If you're interested, www.btemplates.com has the best selection -they're free and they work, which is all I ask. I didn't even get through all of them, but was impressed at how many were dedicated to things like the beach, the holidays, the chocolate candies, the unflappable depression of all of life, and World of Warcraft. They all have impressive names, too, like "Darkness Inside" and "Chaotic Soul" and "True Contemplation". Tempting, every single one of them. I could have a different template for every mood on every day of the year. (Also tempting! But don't worry, I won't. I'll settle on one this weekend.)
Memo to Apple Inc.: You're doing it wrong. Apple disappoints! Just to remind, my screen went kaput when we had a power surge and the code of the flashing diode has been interpreted to mean "bad power brick". This is one of those infernal proprietary things, which I can only get through Apple, of course. (Fry's didn't sell it.) So I took the thing down to the Mac Store and there weren't any replacement power bricks hanging on the shelf, as expected. Someone asked me if I needed help. Yes, I said, I need a new power brick for my monitor. Employee made a face like she was passing a lemon through a bruised sphincter. Then she said, We don't sell those. You'll have to see a Genius. Do you have an appointment? No, I said, I didn't think I needed a genius. I just need a new power adaptor. Can I order one? Employee passed another lemon, this time sideways. That's something the Geniuses will do for you. Our first available appointment is Sunday. How does that sound?
Well, it sounds like Apple store management is run by Morons. Seriously, Apple, I can go to any store in the world, say, Autozone, and order any part to any car made in any country in the last thirty years right there at the counter, but go to Apple and you have to make an appointment with someone four days out to place an order for a simple item, which is probably just sitting on the shelf in the back room. She suggested that I try the Internet, which is like saying replacement parts for the space shuttle are on the space station. I mean, how am I gonna get there? (Okay, so I didn't mention that I had another computer.) Then she suggested that I try calling Apple Support, but I don't have Apple Support, it's too expensive, so she said try calling them anyway. Wonderful! Bummer! Wonderful!
It reminds me of something Dennis Prager said. He came on the show one morning, all worked up in a lather, and ranted, "New York City is not the greatest city in the world! I'm sorry! I don't care what everyone says! A city in which no cab will drive you to the airport is not a great city! And neither is Los Angeles! No trains go to the airport! The nearest train station to the airport is fifty miles away!" Well, he's right. And a computer store run by self-proclaimed "geniuses" where you cannot purchase or order a simple product made by the same company without having to jump over flaming razor blades and then waiting weeks on end -without a computer- is not a great computer store.
I called Apple Support, by the way. They were not supportive. The nice man said that it was a $78 part (!) but since the screen was outside of the warranty (by 2 months) he was going to have to charge me an additional $49 to place the order. They suggested that I take it into an Apple Store. Not happy in the Land of WTF. Today's Apple Support: as useful as damp toilet paper, as fun as cleaning the catbox. Not like yesterday's Apple Support, which was all smiles and thank-you's and cheery dreams of coming technologies.
Anyway, the weekend is in sight, and if I can just make it through this day, I'll be all right. I'm late for work, but I admit it, I'm stalling. I don't want to go. It's cold out there. My illness has moved to my chest. Everything is gray. Mrs Ditchman put it perfectly, "Okay, we had Christmas. I am now ready for summer." True that. Life in Southern California. We're spoiled here. A few gray days and we're left without hope, all the horrors of life made manifest.
Still, it's Friday!
~
Memo to Apple Inc.: You're doing it wrong. Apple disappoints! Just to remind, my screen went kaput when we had a power surge and the code of the flashing diode has been interpreted to mean "bad power brick". This is one of those infernal proprietary things, which I can only get through Apple, of course. (Fry's didn't sell it.) So I took the thing down to the Mac Store and there weren't any replacement power bricks hanging on the shelf, as expected. Someone asked me if I needed help. Yes, I said, I need a new power brick for my monitor. Employee made a face like she was passing a lemon through a bruised sphincter. Then she said, We don't sell those. You'll have to see a Genius. Do you have an appointment? No, I said, I didn't think I needed a genius. I just need a new power adaptor. Can I order one? Employee passed another lemon, this time sideways. That's something the Geniuses will do for you. Our first available appointment is Sunday. How does that sound?
Well, it sounds like Apple store management is run by Morons. Seriously, Apple, I can go to any store in the world, say, Autozone, and order any part to any car made in any country in the last thirty years right there at the counter, but go to Apple and you have to make an appointment with someone four days out to place an order for a simple item, which is probably just sitting on the shelf in the back room. She suggested that I try the Internet, which is like saying replacement parts for the space shuttle are on the space station. I mean, how am I gonna get there? (Okay, so I didn't mention that I had another computer.) Then she suggested that I try calling Apple Support, but I don't have Apple Support, it's too expensive, so she said try calling them anyway. Wonderful! Bummer! Wonderful!
It reminds me of something Dennis Prager said. He came on the show one morning, all worked up in a lather, and ranted, "New York City is not the greatest city in the world! I'm sorry! I don't care what everyone says! A city in which no cab will drive you to the airport is not a great city! And neither is Los Angeles! No trains go to the airport! The nearest train station to the airport is fifty miles away!" Well, he's right. And a computer store run by self-proclaimed "geniuses" where you cannot purchase or order a simple product made by the same company without having to jump over flaming razor blades and then waiting weeks on end -without a computer- is not a great computer store.
I called Apple Support, by the way. They were not supportive. The nice man said that it was a $78 part (!) but since the screen was outside of the warranty (by 2 months) he was going to have to charge me an additional $49 to place the order. They suggested that I take it into an Apple Store. Not happy in the Land of WTF. Today's Apple Support: as useful as damp toilet paper, as fun as cleaning the catbox. Not like yesterday's Apple Support, which was all smiles and thank-you's and cheery dreams of coming technologies.
Anyway, the weekend is in sight, and if I can just make it through this day, I'll be all right. I'm late for work, but I admit it, I'm stalling. I don't want to go. It's cold out there. My illness has moved to my chest. Everything is gray. Mrs Ditchman put it perfectly, "Okay, we had Christmas. I am now ready for summer." True that. Life in Southern California. We're spoiled here. A few gray days and we're left without hope, all the horrors of life made manifest.
Still, it's Friday!
~
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Still working on the new template.
And this broken computer thing is getting old, I know. Macs! Still I'd rather be broken down with a Mac than broken down with a PC. To me, it's like the equivalent of either having a flat tire in Hawaii, or a flat tire in the Gobi Desert. (Former preferred.)
I've endured mild depression this week, perhaps you can tell. I suppose it's all the grand plans I made for my new year, and then only living to see them T-bone me with frustration. The weather couldn't be nicer, but I've got a set of work-related problems that are just dragging me along. Then this bum computer. Then the pinhole leak in the house piping that caused some of the ceiling to come crumbling down in the garage. Then the sickness. Then this whole two-kids thing, which is more than twice as hard. (Seriously, Whack-A-Mole is best left at the carnival.) Anyway, it's Mrs. Ditchman who's been bearing the brunt of that flank, and we've got to keep her happy! so what'd I do? I made the coffee this morning to help out. We'll press on -and get those X-Mess boxes back up in the attic already! (Don't worry. I'll pull through.)
Stayed up late last night to get away from it all and actually watched a movie, for crying out loud! I catch maybe three whole movies a year, because I can't handle the two-hour commitment anymore, but last night I watched Frequency with Dennis Quaid (2000) and had forgotten what a fine flick it is. It's sort of a B-grade mystery flick with a sci-fi bent to it -perhaps you've seen it. The script really moves at a good pace, and though I think it's stronger in the first half than in the second, I still found it compelling -if only for the love-of-family theme that drives the action forward (seriously, you never see that.) I saw it when it came out and it's still every bit as good. Not enough movies like this anymore. Anyway, I'll take a hundred of these first-rate B-movies over Iron Man any day of the week, and they could make a hundred of them with that Iron Man budget, which was my whole point in mentioning it. So why don't they? I wonder forever.
Dainism quote of the week: "Life is too short to sit in one place all the time, and live life repeatedly."
Maybe that's my problem. I've just been living life repeatedly.
~
And this broken computer thing is getting old, I know. Macs! Still I'd rather be broken down with a Mac than broken down with a PC. To me, it's like the equivalent of either having a flat tire in Hawaii, or a flat tire in the Gobi Desert. (Former preferred.)
I've endured mild depression this week, perhaps you can tell. I suppose it's all the grand plans I made for my new year, and then only living to see them T-bone me with frustration. The weather couldn't be nicer, but I've got a set of work-related problems that are just dragging me along. Then this bum computer. Then the pinhole leak in the house piping that caused some of the ceiling to come crumbling down in the garage. Then the sickness. Then this whole two-kids thing, which is more than twice as hard. (Seriously, Whack-A-Mole is best left at the carnival.) Anyway, it's Mrs. Ditchman who's been bearing the brunt of that flank, and we've got to keep her happy! so what'd I do? I made the coffee this morning to help out. We'll press on -and get those X-Mess boxes back up in the attic already! (Don't worry. I'll pull through.)
Stayed up late last night to get away from it all and actually watched a movie, for crying out loud! I catch maybe three whole movies a year, because I can't handle the two-hour commitment anymore, but last night I watched Frequency with Dennis Quaid (2000) and had forgotten what a fine flick it is. It's sort of a B-grade mystery flick with a sci-fi bent to it -perhaps you've seen it. The script really moves at a good pace, and though I think it's stronger in the first half than in the second, I still found it compelling -if only for the love-of-family theme that drives the action forward (seriously, you never see that.) I saw it when it came out and it's still every bit as good. Not enough movies like this anymore. Anyway, I'll take a hundred of these first-rate B-movies over Iron Man any day of the week, and they could make a hundred of them with that Iron Man budget, which was my whole point in mentioning it. So why don't they? I wonder forever.
Dainism quote of the week: "Life is too short to sit in one place all the time, and live life repeatedly."
Maybe that's my problem. I've just been living life repeatedly.
~
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Computer broke again. Yes, yes, I know, but this time I don't know who to blame. Mrs. Ditchman had no pity on me, as it was she who gave me ample forewarning. We got the letter in the mail from San Diego Gas and Electric a week or two ago. Evidently, they were going to shut off power for a time, on this day, at this certain hour, and they apologized for the inconvenience (and no restaurant gift certificates were enclosed, the bastards.) Mrs. Ditchman reminded me about it yesterday morning at 8:55 when I was responding to a few emails (if you didn't get yours this is why) and she mentioned that it was going to happen at 9:00. I knew this, but figured it meant "some time after 9:00" (have utility appointments ever been on time for you?) So the power shut down at 9 sharp and the screen went dark and the whole house made that low-pitched winding-down noise like you heard when Obi-Wan turned off the tractor beam and that was the end of it. I got up to take a shower.
Note to self: tankless water heater uses electricity, so, no shower. Anyway, when I got home from work the computer never came back on, so I'm back on old reliable. And yes, before you say anything, I did have it all plugged into surge protectors. What can I say? Surge protector fail. At least the new router works.
Did a little research and it looks to be the power supply to the monitor, which other folks out in Macland have been having trouble with. I plug it all in and the computer boots up, but the screen just signals a weak S-O-S from a tiny blinking light in the housing. Pathetic. And I failed to renew the service warranty. More patheticism.
Mrs. Ditchman, when I told her about it, delivered no sympathy and gave me a curt I-told-you-so, which no husband enjoys.
Still sick, tough day, nothing seems to be going right, but with a template like this, how could I be anything but pert?
~
Note to self: tankless water heater uses electricity, so, no shower. Anyway, when I got home from work the computer never came back on, so I'm back on old reliable. And yes, before you say anything, I did have it all plugged into surge protectors. What can I say? Surge protector fail. At least the new router works.
Did a little research and it looks to be the power supply to the monitor, which other folks out in Macland have been having trouble with. I plug it all in and the computer boots up, but the screen just signals a weak S-O-S from a tiny blinking light in the housing. Pathetic. And I failed to renew the service warranty. More patheticism.
Mrs. Ditchman, when I told her about it, delivered no sympathy and gave me a curt I-told-you-so, which no husband enjoys.
Still sick, tough day, nothing seems to be going right, but with a template like this, how could I be anything but pert?
~
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
No, no, no. This won't do at all...
I wanted to start off the year with a fresh look, but by all appearances, seem to be having a bit of trouble. Truth is, we're all sick again round here. Yes, yes, I know. Head is stuffed. Face is flushed. Everything is blurry. Blotchy. It's hard to go for a new look when I feel like I look terrible.
And a busy week of aluma-nonsense. Also, stuff is piled high on the desk, Christmas crates need to return to the attic, things like that. So I'll be in and out. New Years are always a bit bumpy for me in the beginning, anyway.
I was going to spin off on the thought that "resolutions" are somewhat unrealistic for people, and better suited for nations in committee. I was going to suggest that goals were more in order, as a goal is more tangible, more attainable -a destination with a certainty of arrival. Yes, yes, I was going to write some on all this, but then the alternate universe Sean beat me to it. Good on him. (He's right, by the way.)
The good news is we're starting off the new year with a brand new router, so that problem's been routed altogether.
No excuses now!
~
I wanted to start off the year with a fresh look, but by all appearances, seem to be having a bit of trouble. Truth is, we're all sick again round here. Yes, yes, I know. Head is stuffed. Face is flushed. Everything is blurry. Blotchy. It's hard to go for a new look when I feel like I look terrible.
And a busy week of aluma-nonsense. Also, stuff is piled high on the desk, Christmas crates need to return to the attic, things like that. So I'll be in and out. New Years are always a bit bumpy for me in the beginning, anyway.
I was going to spin off on the thought that "resolutions" are somewhat unrealistic for people, and better suited for nations in committee. I was going to suggest that goals were more in order, as a goal is more tangible, more attainable -a destination with a certainty of arrival. Yes, yes, I was going to write some on all this, but then the alternate universe Sean beat me to it. Good on him. (He's right, by the way.)
The good news is we're starting off the new year with a brand new router, so that problem's been routed altogether.
No excuses now!
~
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