-  Ever since getting and playing with my precious, I’ve been getting the bug to upgrade my venerable desktop as well, which is still perfectly functional but starting to drag some with all the newer applications out there.  I’ve been looking around out there and salivating over some of the barebones systems I can get reasonably priced.  Trouble is, my MAD money has been very limited since I gave all budgeting control to my wife, and we have a lot more pressing financial matters (like adopting AJ) to deal with right now.  But it’s okay to dream a little, isn’t it?

- I know I bitch and groan a lot about work.  Management tends to be dysfunctional and unresponsive to the concerns of us production workers, they schedule overtime in huge swaths every week regardless of if there’s a need for it at any given position, they work us like dogs (seven day weeks are not uncommon at all) and tend to snipe about petty things, etc.  But the fact is that with the overtime I’m pulling in more money than I ever have before, even more than what I was doing in Georgia.  Figure that into a much cheaper cost of housing, and a dramatically reduced gasoline bill due to having only a five-minute commute, and I’m better off counting my blessings.

- As per my last post, I’m getting concerned with the Republicans not able to solidly support a candidate and having them tear each other down so brutally.  That plays right into the hands of an Obama re-election, something which I cannot reiterate enough that is totally unacceptable to this country.  Newt Gingrich’s surprise win in South Carolina just adds to my fears.  Don’t get me wrong, if the Republicans throw their weight behind and nominate Newt, I’ll vote for him.  But I’m afraid his personal baggage and blunt manner of speaking, while refreshing in a debate, will turn off too many moderate mainstream voters, and they are the ones who ultimately decide an election.

- AJ’s growing like a weed.  And acting like a two-year-old.  That doesn’t bother me too much (except when he screams outside the bedroom door while I’m trying to sleep after working all night), but it’s not the Terrible Two’s that I’m afraid of.  It’s the Terrible Threes, when they get a vocabulary and aren’t afraid to use it to smart talk you back.  That’s a problem with nephews L’il Buddha and twins ThingOne and ThingTwo (who are now five), and I dread when they start teaching it to AJ.  Also he’s discovered the joys of opening and closing doors.  Over and over and over again.

- Sort of an unofficial New Year’s resolution: I’m going to try to be a little less critical of my wife’s family on this blog.  They are who they are and bitching about them is just beating a dead horse.  Of course, I can’t guarantee that I won’t still go on the occasional rant about them (mind I did say TRY), but I’ll put a little more thought into deciding if their latest antics are really blog worthy, or if I’m just using them as filler.  Think of it as a challenge to be a little more positive about things I blog about.

- My wife’s got a nickname for that cowardly Italian captain that ran his ship aground and abandoned his passengers: Chicken Of The Sea. I call him the Anti-Sully.  Among a few other choice nicknames.

- For crying out loud, lay off of Paula Deen already.  Attacking her and her cooking habits is like attacking your favorite grandmother who loved stuffing you silly whenever you spent a week with her as a kid.  Yes, it’s not the healthiest stuff in the world.  So what?  Take a little responsibility for how you take care of yourself, but quit dictating to us what we should and shouldn’t eat, that’s none of your damn business.  Oh, and Anthony Bourdain?  Bite me.

- SOPA and PIPA are dying, but aren’t completely dead yet, at least not the concept.  Keep up the pressure, everyone.

- Have to admit I’m still somewhat mixed on this subject, but ripping a beloved parental figure away from this family is heartless and cruel, regardless of their lifestyle choice.  Especially since they were approved to adopt these kids, now they want to get rid of one of them over an immigration issue?  Bureaucracy at it’s finest.  And yes, the law should be changed, or at least exceptions allowed to prevent the breaking up of families, whether hetero or same-sex.

- Apparently I missed De-Lurk day, or week, or whatever, so I’m going to celebrate it late.  Whether you’re a regular here or just popping by, show yourselves!

UPDATE:  Fixed date.   Apparently I thought it was June.  Damn brain farts.

They don’t understand what’s at stake here in this next Presidential election.  They’d rather bitch and pout that the Republicans can’t come up with the “perfect” candidate, and either tear down the ones that are really viable or threaten to sit out the next election.

I found this article via Instapundit that illustrates perfectly my thoughts.  Particularly this passage:

“…The election of 2012 ain’t a conservative popularity contest. It’s a war to, first, last, and always, destroy any possibility of a second term for Barack Hussain Obama.

This is not a “Vote-For” election. This is a “Vote-Against” election. This is not a “Sit-It-Out-And-Pout” election. This is a “Get-Obama-Out” election. That is what it is about and that is all it is about.”

Click on the link and read the whole thing. 

A second term under Obama would be an unmitigated disaster.  Free from the burden of having to run from reelection, Obama would have four more unfettered years to do whatever he pleases and completely destroy the American system as we know it, without having to give a damn about public opinion.  The damage done the past four years is nothing compared to what will happen the next four years if Obama is reelected.

Mitt Romney is far from perfect, but right now he’s the best hope for keeping Obama from a second term.  At this point, none of the other candidates need apply.

The real key is to elect people to Congress who will use their powers of checks and balances to keep whoever occupies the White House from abusing their office and straying too far from the will of the people.

And a “protest” vote for cranks like Ron Paul, or not voting at all, is quite literally a vote for a second term of Obama.

Think about it.

In no particular order:

Dead

1. Robert E. Lee
2. George S. Patton
3. Vince Lombardi
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan
5. Phil Harris

Living

1. Stephen King
2. Lee Iacocca
3. Margaret Thatcher
4. Chesley Sullenberger
5. Adam Savage

Bloggers

1. Mrs. Who
2. Da Goddess
3. Pamibe
4. Andy
5. Shannon

Ok, don’t feel slighted if you didn’t make my previous list (I only had room for five!).  In actuality, I’d love to sit down in a room and meet every one of you who has the patience and understanding to suffer through my bloggy mumblings, whinings, and bitchings.

The problem with lists like these is that I always end up kicking myself later when I discover perfect entries that I omitted.

Got a list of your own you care to share?

But something that is concerning to me and should be to others.

Early last month, I committed an egregious error at work that resulted in a bunch of parts scrapped.  Not severe enough to jeopardize my job (provided there are no repeat occurrences), but enough to earn me a one-day unpaid suspension.  I was able to make up the time lost, so the tangible damage was limited to my personnel file and my pride.

What bothered me the most, though, was the fact that on my next pay stub there was a notation clearly declaring the suspension and the hours allocated, underneath all the entries for hours worked, overtime, vacation accrued, etc.  Other such entries include unexcused absences (luckily none on mine), hours sent home due to lack of work, etc.  Note these accountings of hours at work aren’t coded, they’re in plain English as to the reasons.

If I were trying to rent a house, or take out a loan or mortgage, and needed to provide my paystubs as proof of stable income, such notations may lead one to believe that I’m having issues at work that may compromise my job stability, and possibly result in a declined application.

Now many businesses like banks may have procedures in place to where they are only to pay attention to the part of the stub that states the income, but a private landlord would not be bound by such rules, and thus possibly have misgivings about renting to someone with what could be perceived as a checkered work record.

As a side note, we may be looking for a new place to rent here in town within the next few months, due to electrical and structural issues with the place we’re currently in.  Which is why this matter has my attention.

Fortunately the notations fell off as a new year’s payroll cycled forward, so it’s not a current issue with me.  But what if it happened earlier in the year?  What happens if I have to take some unexpected time off this year because someone in my family falls ill or has an accident?  Or, God forbid, I have some rotten luck not catching something I should and end up with another suspension?  (Of course, I likely would then have greater problems than just the notation on my paystub, but just want to illustrate)  I would have to wait all the way until the first week in the next January for it all to fall off.

Until then, there would be a lot more information than I’d feel comfortable sharing available on my paystubs open to anyone who wants to view them.

Shouldn’t this stuff be considered personal and private information, available only to the HR department at work?  Should there be any laws or regs about sharing such things anywhere other than on an internal HR document or computer at work?

Feel free to pitch in your ten cents.

It’s a Dell!

The long-awaited replacement for my old Dell laptop, which finally had to be euthanized a few months ago due to a myriad of issues.  Like an old dog, it was faithful to the end, and most of the internal components were still functional, but the combination of  busted hinges,  a dead battery, a finicky AC connector that didn’t always charge or connect, and two dead AC power cords finally finished it off.  I was able to salvage the perfectly good hard drive, though.

This is a refurbished Latitude D630, with an Intel Core 2 processor, running Windows 7.  As much as I enjoy my beloved XP, it’s time to catch up a bit with a more current OS (I had no intention of getting Vista).  Of course, once I get used to Win7 they’ll likely be releasing 8, so I’ll stubbornly be holding out with 7 until it too becomes hopelessly obsolete.

Right now it’s connected via Ethernet cable to it’s venerable mothership, my trusty old desktop, so it can copy all the necessary goodies that’ll make it (and myself) happy.  Including my blogging folder.

I know, there’s much better laptops out there.   But for my uses, and what I paid for it, this will fit me just fine for a while.

Many thanks to my stepmother, who’s unexpected generosity allowed this late Christmas present to myself.

Saw this particular recap format in a few places, and think I’ll try it out.  The only exclusions will be my periodic Musical Interludes (unless it’s a special occasion) and Brain Dumps.

By month:

January

After ten days into the year without posting anything, decided to create my own band and debut album cover.  I talked about my problems with conflict and confrontation.  I finalized plans for my family to move out to Arkansas with me, even as the job situation was still unstable.

February

I enjoyed a couple days off from work due to illness and a huge Southern snowstorm.  Tried my hardest to comfort and reassure an emotional nephew that I would always be a part of his life and wouldn’t abandon him, with mixed results.  Discussed some truly horrid marketing ideas.

 March

I answered a prospective rental ad on Craigslist only to discover it was a scam.  Talked about the worst move I ever did, and the dubious living arrangements for us all once my family came out.  Shared a picture meme about myself.  Expressed my views of natural disasters and the Japan earthquake/tsunami, and how such occurrences bring out the Chicken Littles.  Had a long and deep conversation with myself about some things on my mind, with the help of a long-lost friend (literally).

April

Blogging was sporadic this month, for a variety of reasons.  I complained about getting pulled into tedious, repetitius tasks on my overtime days at work, making me question whether it was worth it at all, despite the fact that I needed the money.   Then at the end of the month, two critical items came together: a place for us to live, and a new job just minutes away.

May

Had my doubts about Ron Paul vindicated (which have only gotten worse recently).  Got totally turned off by a commercial, and even more turned off by reports of adults literally behaving like infants.  Had a dig at an apocalyptic doomsayer who didn’t know when to quit when he was losing badly.  Was then tearfully reunited with an old friend I thought was lost, but had been found.  Got some news about our prodigal daughter, resulting in mixed emotions.  Celebrated my three-year blogiversarry (sort of).

June

Had a fun outing at a local waterpark with the extended family and all the kids.  And speaking of kids, shared my thoughts after reading an article about roughhousing with your kids.  Enjoyed a good laugh after finding a video about the greatest movie insults.   Discovered another video that takes an interesting perspective on the history of 20th (and 21st) century warfare.  Wished everyone (including my dad) a Happy Father’s Day.  Given some of the unflattering and sometimes downright crude media treatment of Mormons, I decided to air a few of my thoughts on the subject.  Got into a little dare and some musical sparring with Da Goddess.  Found out far more about Carol Brady (Florence Henderson) than I ever cared to know.

July

Got completely grossed out by something in the news.  Read about one of the worst, most heartbreaking cases of child abuse I’ve ever heard.  Shared my take on the Casey Anthony trial.  Talked about my beginnings in blogging and how I was initially inspired to do so.  Gave my take on ADHD kids and parenting, including some examples within the family.  Did an update of an old post about goofs in church bulletins.

August

Did some bitching about Yes Dear’s family taking advantage of us without any gratitude, shortly followed by her declaring she’s not putting up with it anymore.  Was proud of my daughter PBJ for standing up to an abusive jerk and protecting her charges while babysitting.  Shared a few thoughts on common-sense gun safety.  Celebrated AJ’s second birthday (protected due to pics).  Had a good laugh about a child who says the darndest things.  Went on a rant about people who don’t use their common sense about guns, kids, and proper storage.

September

Shared my thoughts and feelings about 9/11 after ten years.  Talked some about celebrities and musicians whose works we love, but personal and political views we hate.  Discovered that maybe all of society isn’t totally rotten, yet.  Ranted about how Facebook and social media tries to put it’s tentacles into every facet of our private lives.  Reflected on how our home sometimes seems like a haven and refuge for lost and misunderstood children.  Found a cute Sesame Street video spoof on The Deadliest Catch.  Played a little old-fashioned floppy music on my blog.

October

Discovered my secret super hero name.  In the spirit of Halloween, talked about horror movie scenes that scared the crap out of me.  Looked back on the last two years of my life, and all the changes and challenges it brought.

November

Gave my thoughts about the Penn State scandal.  Remarked about the cluelessness of some members of the family.    Enjoyed a tasty breakfast on a cold, rainy morning when I had a couple days off from work.  Got a good laugh about how a fellow blogger dealt with rude people.  Shared my Thanksgiving in a couple posts.    Found the proper way to chew out an erring subordinate with class.

December

Gave my feelings on the whole Occupy movement.  Discovered some questionable products and their commercials.  Talked about what I think is the eighth deadly sin.  Went to Houston to my stepmother’s for Christmas, and had a little rant about those who don’t give their kids a decent Christmas, even though they’re perfectly capable of doing so.  Talked about some things I miss here in Arkansas that I can get in Houston,  not to mention the surprise gift that I’m still anxiously awaiting the arrival of via UPS (hopefully tomorrow).

Welcome 2012.  Hope it’s a happy and prosperous year for everyone.

One such place is Fry’s Electronics, also known as The Toy Store For Computer And Electronic Nerds And Geeks (according to myself). Anyone familiar with the San Fran Bay Area or LA probably knows what I’m talking about. There are also stores open in a few other select big cities, including Atlanta, Dallas/Ft Worth, and of course Houston.

Fry’s is a computer and electronics paradise. From whole systems to components, not to mention software and gaming consoles, this place has it all, and most of the time with fairly decent prices. No doubt if you shopped around, or found the right Mom and Pop computer or electronic stores, you likely will find cheaper prices, but as far as having it all in one place, Fry’s is the place to go. It puts Best Buy, IMHO, to shame, especially as far as selection goes. Of course, you’re best off if you know exactly what you want rather than relying on a salesperson, because the sales staff does tend to be hit or miss, particularly when they get busy. How do I know this stuff? Because I briefly worked for them, back in my Bay Area days before I got married, around 1994.

Good thing I swore off credit cards a long time ago, or I’d run up a bill there to rival the federal deficit.

Another place I found that very recently opened here is Carls Jr.

Do any of you know what it’s like to go fourteen years without a Western Bacon Cheeseburger? Almost like going without sex.

Okay, sorry for the TMI there. And any associated visuals.

But seriously, I haven’t been to one since I left California, since they didn’t seem to proliferate past Arizona until recently. And even though Hardees is owned by the same company that owns Carls Jr, and they can be pretty good in their own right, they don’t have a Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

Which, by the way, I picked up one today while I was out. And it tasted just as good as I remembered. Mmmmmm. Like rediscovering sex.

Oops, did it again. Okay, no more TMI.

But I think the most fun part was driving to the stores. Getting up early yesterday morning, getting in the van by myself, putting on some appropriate music (the local rock station) and zipping down the multi laned freeways of Houston. Watching the city sprawl go by, all the buildings and stores, and going with the 70mph choreographed flow of Houston freeway traffic. For a moment, I thought I was driving in LA again. I only had a vague idea of where the nearest Fry’s in town was (there are two) so I noted the spot on Google Maps, got driving, and trusted my inner GPS and observations of both sides of the freeway to guide me, which it did very well. All that was missing was a little “Radar Love” on the radio, or perhaps “Highway Star”.

(And by the way, the most reliable and accurate GPS in existence resides in Dave’s head. Thank you very much.)

But I got everything I wanted, and needed to, done, and now I’ve been lounging in front of the TV in my stepmother’s recliner. That is, when I’m not in front of her computer surreptitiously blogging, like I’m doing now. Thank goodness she keeps her computer in a semiprivate room.

And also, I was able to get an unexpected gift.

My stepmother cornered me in private, slipped me a wad of cash, and whispered, “This is for YOU to get whatever you want for Christmas.”

So I got online and ordered a laptop, to replace the one that completely died a couple months ago and is currently rotting and stinking up the bedroom. To be delivered sometime within the next ten days or so.

Nothing super fancy, just a refurbished Dell laptop, like my old one. But I find them comfortable to use and just the right size for me. And this one, even though it looks the same, is considerably faster and can hold more than the old one.

I can hardly wait.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the jist of what’s going on. AJ is being spoiled rotten by his mamaw, and staking out claims to everything he can see and get into. We may have trouble leaving Monday with him, my stepmother wants to hide him so he can’t leave.

In the meantime, I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all my readers and their families, and hope that Santa is good to you and your stockings.  And may your Christmas be filled with peace and joy, a minimum of stress, and a maximum of good food and good cheer.

And, as I promised earlier, some samplings of my favorite Christmas music:

And one more:

Sadly I have to be back by Monday evening, because they scheduled me to work that night. Even though my area is completely caught up on production and parts are scarce. Bummer!

This’ll be AJ’s first real Christmas that he has any awareness of, and the first time he gets to see his meemaw (my stepmother). Hopefully by summer we can travel in the opposite direction so he can go see his Grammie Jo (my mother). Needless to say, he’s going to make out like a bandit this Christmas, at least, as much as a two year old can.

In the meantime niece Stevie will be house-sitting our place with kids Bea and L’il Buddha, as well as her boyfriend. We benefit by having someone watching our place while we’re gone, and she benefits by getting away from her family and actually spending Christmas morning with just her own, with an actual Christmas tree and decorations.

Wonder why I italicized that last sentence? Because there is no Christmas tree, and no decorations, at her mother’s house.

Yep, you heard that right.

My SIL, like last year, “wasn’t in the Christmas mood”, and never bothered to decorate the house with even a cheap tree and a few ornaments. Even though there are three kids under the age of ten in her home. Yes, they’re getting a few gifts, but it’s not the same without the rest of the Christmas trimmings.

And it’s not like they’re poor and can’t afford it. Her and her husband easily make over twice what I bring home. We’re quite literally one missed paycheck away from destitution, yet we made sure there is at least a small tree and some basic decorations. Nothing extravagant, but they were enough to get squeals of pleasure from AJ, and wide-eyed wonderment from the other kids whenever they visited.

I would be more sympathetic if there were no young’uns in the house. But as a parent, no matter how you feel about it, you owe the little ones something about the Christmas spirit (assuming, of course, your faith and beliefs celebrate the holiday). Let them feel and experience the magic, even if you can’t. We made sure that our kids always had a Christmas, no matter how down and out we were, and that it looked like Christmas. And we’ll make sure that AJ will always have the experience as he grows.

A few nights ago, JJ asked us if he could come to Houston with us so he could have a Christmas. We had to tell him that it wasn’t possible for a multitude of reasons, including logistical and personal. But both Yes Dear & I found ourselves almost wishing that we could. We do have tentative plans to allow him to stay with us for New Year’s, and we may entertain the possibility of including him on a family vacation sometime in the near future, just so he can have a few happy memories for himself.

Poor kid.

Sorry, I just realized that I posted a bit of a downer, without intending to. I guess it’s just been bothering me a bit and decided to come out here. Oh well, that’s why I’m here. Anyway, at least we can ensure that some family members and their kids can spend a merry Christmas morning with abundant joy and an absence of dysfunction, even if for only a day.

Internet access will be limited and sporadic in Houston (my stepmother has a wired desktop, but no router), but I’ll try to check back at least on Christmas Day. In the meantime, I wish everyone the best wherever their holiday travels may take them, or in their own homes, and keep happy and safe.

And I’ll leave you with a little parting music. Not Christmas music (yet), but something appropriately lifted from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.

So instead, I’ll leave a tribute to the dearly departed Dear Leader, Kim Jong-Il, as he was called home to spend the rest of eternity with such stellar company of humankind like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, and of course his own daddy, the late Kim Il-Sung.

Here’s my dedication to you.

Roast in peace, you murdering bastard.

The one sin that destroys the spirit of charity, of giving.  The one that makes all too many of us become bitter, feel used, close our hearts and pocketbooks, and makes us question if helping or giving was even worth it in the first place.

Of course, that shouldn’t stop us from being charitable.  Because there will always be people grateful for any help they can get, and that gratitude makes it all seem worthwhile.  And letting others dictate our actions because of their buttheadedness might be considered a sin in and of itself.

But it’s much more difficult when you have to deal with it within your own family.

Appreciation is not hard to show at all.  It doesn’t require that you prostrate yourselves before those that give to you and wail about how unworthy you are.  It doesn’t require your indefinite servitude to those that serve you.  It doesn’t require gratuitous butt-kissing or brown-nosing.  It doesn’t even require you reciprocate, especially if you’re unable to.

All it requires is either a simple thank you, or a small, simple act of kindness in return.

That is all.

And keep your bitching and grumbling to yourself.