hmmm...

that's weird. got a comment from jennkitty indicating that the links to the boots didn't work. i'm not sure why that is, but she correctly identified which boots i liked and which i ended up with -

the ones i liked are the Diamond Peak, but those were the ones that dug into my toes, so i ended up with the Bonanza Peak. the color of choice was the darker brown.

so let's see if just putting the links here will work:

Bonanza Peak (the winners)
Diamond Peak (the non-winners)

thank you jennkitty.

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nearly forgot

i nearly forgot, after having ongoing issues with my phone (which i've had for a year and a half), i finally decided that it was time to look into getting a new one. the problem is that i like verizon wireless, i've found them to have the best overall service and coverage. unfortunately, they are really fucking conservative with their phone selection, which really limits some of the options. so i've opted for the LG VX6100. my first camera phone, but i've only used it to play and it's more of a tool than a camera. i've found i can take pictures of something in a store as a reminder (like which boots i liked, so i'd know what to look for). i have no intention of mailing the pictures to myself (or anyone else) as i don't feel like paying for that option. i'm pleased with the ability to actually type an email or take a picture and crop it before sending which phones don't really have. we'll see how i like it in the next few days. being on vaca has meant i don't use the phone too much, but once i'm back at work, i'll use it more.

the nice thing however is that the battery that this phone uses is identical to the battery in my previous phone, so i have a spare battery and charger now :) the only thing i don't like right now is the holster is rather stiff. so it takes some effort to pry it out, where past phones i've had with holsters, they've just clicked in and out w/minimal effort and i've never had problems with them dropping or popping out. i'll have to see if i can get a 3rd party one that isn't so stiff.

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misc stuff

last night i saw a commercial for urine gone and remembered that TK had gotten some for his cats. i wonder if it actaully works, and i seem to recall something about not getting the scientific blacklight that went with it. i wonder if that arrived...

right now history channel has a show on Harry Houdini (which is interesting on its own), but i couldn't help but chuckle at how Teller (of Penn & Teller) is filmed during his interview bits - completely in shadow. it's certainly him as i've seen him actually speak (i have a picture of him holding a little eeyore when i was in atlanta in 2000), but this keeps the illusion of no one ever sees Teller speak. very clever.

tomorrow is going to suck purty hard. the biggest reason is i have to go back to work. i've enjoyed having time off, even tho there were a few times where the pressures of work overflowed into my vacation. fortunately, it's been quiet the last few days, so i've actually felt like i have had a bit of a vacation. i really do need to better plan my vacations, at least this year i know there are a few things that i need to take time off for. now i just need to know when that is.

so on my last day of freedom, i was able to get my final xmas present. i've been searching for a new pair of hiking boots for a little while now, and this year M gave me a card that was good for one pair of boots, so after searching around and a couple of misses, i finally found a pair that i liked. i liked these too and for a little while, they were the front runners, but when i tried on a pair that were a 1/2 size too big, i didn't like how they flexed at my toes (dug into them) which knocked them down a bit, so when i found the ones i chose in the right size, i was very pleased. it was a last look at a kohls that i hadn't been too that actually had them. (and in the same plaza was a TJMaxx that had a jacket that M was able to pick up.)

so all in all, it was a pretty good day. good run at the gym, so that was a nice start to the day. hopefully i'll be able to get back on wednesday, but that's more dependent on the weather (which is sposed to be really shitty tomorrow) and whether i get screwed into going to SW for this fucking drug book thing we have to put on laptops. that would suck as we have 2 scheduled blocks of time (7am-9am and 1pm-3pm) and it's for both offices and apparently there are a ton of people signed up for wed morning in SW. i'll find out tomorrow, but i'm certainly hoping that i don't have to go. i can deal with getting to my office early, but going to SW bright and early is a real pain in the ass.

well, i just remembered i wanted to hit the atm so that i'd actually have money for the week, so i'll do that now. i expect traffic to be a nightmare tomorrow, plus i'll prolly forget so i'll do it now while i'm thinking about it. drive up atms are nice that way...

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happy frakking new year

another day, another year, so let's start off with some odd factoids courtesy of the BBC

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i found this on a site i keep an eye on, and for some inexplicable reason, the post that had the link was pulled, which for the person who posted it originally, is extremely ODD. (he's high on the list of Dumbass pointer-outer-of-mistakers-to-us-idiot-masses)

now, i can't say that univision is a bastion of journalistic integrity, but it is certainly interesting. and rather believable as i can see Dumbass thinking this way. bablefish it if you can't read spanish for the basic translation.

it will be interesting to see if it is true, but as i haven't seen it posted anywhere else, i'll wait until i see confirmation of this before laughing too hard. i wonder if this kid/jackass wandered around the property in question...

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a quiet footnote in history

fred the baker has died. i certainly remember the commercials, but i actually have a little story about him, so i figure this is a proper forum for it.

years ago, he used to live down in stockbridge (prolly best known for the Normon Rockwell Museum), and i had a friend who's mother had a little bakery (specialized in muffins) in lenox, so when SS was working there (cheap, child labor type situation), mr. vale would stop in from time to time for some muffins and would chat with him and his mom. apparently, he had a low opinion of the donuts that dunkin' was making, so i always found added humor in the commercials after hearing that.

time to make the donuts indeed...

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quick update

i figure i should put something up here so that those very few of you who actually manage to waste your time reading my drivel can have a brief sense of what is going on in my relatively lowly and pathetic life.

item: my vpn connection to work is really screwed up right now and i don't know why. i can make it work, but the hoops i have to jump thru to make it work are irritating. but then i'm sposed to be on vaca, so why am i bothering to care? good question.

item: RB had to call me twice about the phones. someone decided that the receptionist could go home early on xmas, so she wanted the phone forwarded to the answering service. in the past before we got the new phones, it wasn't an issue. now that we have new phones, it's an issue and RB was stuck, so he called me and i helped him sift thru things, but in the end, RB was able to find the solution, so he gets an extra chocolate chip cookie with his milk. then there were issues the following day with our Wells office not forwarding to the answering service, but the main office. after fussing with things (and this is when i discovered the vpn issues), again, RB was able to come to the rescue, so he gets an extra cookie for the next 2 days.

item: the entire family was together for the first time for xmas in several years. it's been at least 4 years since we were all together for xmas, so mom was pleased as hell. me, i felt like my brother was an intruder and that he shouldn't be here. dog was dog, and discovered that he likes the real egg nog (cream, sugar, eggs, rum, none of this cooked stuff). he tends to be underfoot and mom spilled a little accidentally. she cleaned up most, but there were a few spots she missed and he found. he went from being attentive to full bore attentive with ears in full "oh boy do i like that!" perk very quickly.

item: found out a little more about mom's side of the family. insanity really does run in the family, so that may help explain why i can be so fucked up at times. heard a few funny stories about my uncle (whom i have not spoken to/with since 1988) when he was a kid. learned a little more about my grandfather who died when i was 2. found out that i made my great aunt very sick when i visited her for the first and last time.

item: xmas presents were fairly laid back, a few useful things, a few whimsical things, nothing overly exciting. i can stuff them all into my new tool box which is useful (as my current one is having issues).

well, time for bed. i can't sleep in today as i have stuff i need to do in the morning. i'll see about filling in some of the details after i get home tomorrow.

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hahahaha....

by pure random chance (i swear):

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Download twice as much music as last year. Get your resolution here

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fucking jackass

i still remember him as a halfass monkey boy anchor for fox 5 news in NYC. he sucked them, he sucks even more now.

merry xmas you fucking wingnut.

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what a fucking nutjob.

if by some chance this is made permanent, i suggest to Mr. Letterman that CBS blackout his show down in Santa Fe.

maybe he should start doing that now....

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oooooooo....

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damn that's fucking funny. kudos! (and congrats to the happy couple)

now that was pretty fucking cool too. made a pilgrimage to the land of newbury because i needed to pick up the afore mentioned items by Tool. just listened to both of the Lustmord mixes of Schism (20 min) and Parabol (11 min, no Parabola mix) and both are very cool and different, taking elements of the song, but more in a secondary way. Schism actually takes nearly 10 minutes before we get the first real hints of the song.

didn't listen to the comentary for Schism (David Yow i think), but Jello is pretty funny. both songs have a dual commentary thing where one commentary is on the left channel, and another on the right channel. Jello was his always entertaining self, and for part of it, his commentary is nearly in sync, talking about record labels and how he interpreting the imagery. pretty funny stuff.

and the best news was on the packaging, where it says that there will be a new album in Spring 2006. WOO HOO! finally. but when i saw that, i started thinking that when Salival (to quote Maynard - JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!) came out, it was almost exactly 5 years ago to the day (5 years 8 days). that certainly bodes well for a spring release of

happy happy joy joy.

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holy shit!

it took a LOOOOOOONG time, but it's finally here. and if that wasn't enuff (because it never is), this is coming at the same time.

WOO HOO!

i love this band.

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holiday spam

To One and all of my Good E-mail buds:

As the holidays approach, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me forwards over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

• Extra thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
  
• Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
  
• I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
  
• I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
  
• I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
  
• I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
  
• I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
  
• I no longer receive packages from nor send packages by UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
  
• I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
  
• I no longer eat KFC because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
  
• I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
  
• I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
  
• I no longer worry about my soul because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.
  
• Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
  
• I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time)
  
• I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email tracking program.
  
• Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor! If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (CDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next-door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician....

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today was fun

after a nutso opening, 2 friday day off storms (snow and snow/sleet/ice), i have finally experienced Ikea. i've seen the catalog (which i forgot to grab on the way out, oh well, i'll be back) but never actually been to Ikea before, and i didn't know quite what to expect. all i've heard is that they are always busy, and most of the stuff isn't bad.

so bright and early, M picked me up and we headed south to pick up F and the 3 of us were headed go Ikea. the first order of business was to get something to eat, and as it happens, Ikea has a restaurant. cafeteria style, but for $0.99, you get scrambled eggs, home fries and bacon. and it's pretty good, and rather filling. so, for short money, we had a full bfast w/coffee and juice (lingonberry, i liked it). a quick pit stop and off we went. it's a VERY big store with LOTS AND LOTS of stuff to look at. some of it quite nice, some, less nice, some a little overly country (but if you like that look, i'm sure it's very nice), some of it nifty, and all in all, a lot of it very affordable. and i even managed to get some presents for mom.

i'm not sure quite how to describe it, other than it's quite an experience the first time you go to ikea. there's a ton of stuff to take in, and for the most part, it's actually pretty nice. i liked some of the kitchens they had set up. picked up a new paper towel thing (we'll see how long it takes me not to cut myself), some roman shades for the bedroom ($7 each!), and a few other odds and ends. now i need to start looking around and see what i may want to look for.

so after we paid for our stuff, i brought it out to the car, and we headed upstairs for lunch. the swedish meatballs w/gravy and lingonberries was quite tasty. so was the salmon and lox and deserts. so we finally left ikea at ~230. we got there just before 10am. like i said, it's a BIG store. very cool tho. i can certainly see why people like it so much. and i certainly don't mind putting stuff together.

afterwards, we went to see The Chronicles of Narnia. i wasn't sure i wanted to see it or not, but i enjoyed it. i haven't read the book, so i can't say how faithful it is to the book, but it was certainly quite entertaining (in the good way). i liked the gryphons. the battle scene was hard not to compare to Lord of the Rings, and M thought the coronation scene reminded her of Star Wars (w/o the wookie roar). but all of us enjoyed it, and if you get a chance to see it, it's worth seeing. and the beavers were certainly very nicely done. they were funny :)

dinner at bugaboo where we had to endure 2 1/2 birthday claps (2 next to us, 1 on the other side of the restaurant, hence the 1/2) so it wasn't that bad. dinner wasn't bad. steak and baked tater.

and home we went. got a real xmas tree from the landlords (it's a 12" colorado spruce) w/bon bons. it's nice because M&i hadn't gotten around to setting up and decorating my tree, so i'll use this instead. i'll pull a few ornaments out, but this year i'm not going fancy.

and now i'm tired. it's been a long day.

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