My weekend report….

Normally I work Thursdays through Mondays. But this weekend was different. With the all the smoke from the wildfires, the air quality was listed as unhealthy. And since my commute home does now involve serious cardio (I have a bike), I can no longer afford uber, and my plantar facsiitis precludes me from walking 4+ miles, I decided to stay belowdecks Monday, and I called out. Technically, I wasn’t really sick, but I was calling out for reason of my health….

My birthday was Saturday. Normally I celebrate it with a day off. This year, I didn’t. Same as last year. Though last year, I had just started at my job, and I hadn’t accumulated enough time off to take the day off (nor was I inclined to ask for a day off when I had been there for less than a week). And this year, I was trying to transfer to another position, and did want to throw a spanner into the works while this was still in the works. BTW, I did get the transfer, though it won’t be effective for a couple of weeks.

Essentially stayed home for the past three days. Mainly due to the aforementioned poor quality air.

And according to the forecast the weather will be about 70 tomorrow. And today should’ve been the last day of 80+  weather. Perhaps in the next weeks, I’ll be retiring my AC until next summer…

Like I said, it was my birthday my past week. And as usual, I bought my birthday present myself. I don’t need a new computer. My tower still works perfectly. And so does my laptop. But I did get a new case for my tower. I bought a CPU cooler a year ago, and I’ve never been able to install it, since I couldn’t get it to fit. And want to use a second hard drive in my tower.

And lastly, for all those who are inclined to celebrate it, I bid you Eid Mubarak….

Birthday misadventures and e-commerce…

My birthday was yesterday. I received lots of well-wishes from my friends on Facebook. But the actual celebration was this past Friday (my brother planned it). My sister gave me a Russell Wilson jersey, and we promptly watched the pre-season game where the Seahawks dismantled the San Diego Chargers. This was a complete surprise, as tradition dictates that my birthday never gets celebrated by my family. And I’m usually happy with it. Normally, I’ll take the day off, and enjoy a quiet day to myself. Actually I should correct myself. The past two birthdays, my brother has made sure that dinner was provided (I’m always happy with pizza or Chinese take-out). My father gave me a Spamazon gift card, which has all been used up. About this time, I had also been making some purchases (I’ve long since figured out that if I really want something, I’m going to get it myself).

Long story short, this is what I got:

With the Spamazon gift card:

• A Samsung BD-F5900 / BD-FM59B 3D Wi-Fi Blu-ray Disc Player. It has Wi-Fi on it, so I can play Netflix on my 60” TV. There was some initial difficulty in setting it up, as it initially thought that it was still in Mexico (I saved a few dollars and got it refurbished). But I got it reset, so I can now use Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video. Though I currently don’t subscribe to either (that’s probably going to change, though…)
• 300: Rise of an Empire. I liked the original 300, but I’m not going to pay movie theatre prices.

And I then got some other items on my own:

• It was time I retired both Gateway EV700 monitors that I had been using for the past 14 years. So I got an ASUS VN279Q 27-Inch Screen LCD Monitor. Replacing 2 17” CRT’s with a 27” LCD. I should’ve done it soomer. I really like the HD display. And playing FS is going to be a blast with a 16:9 aspect ratio display. I no longer have to use my tv if I want a widescreen display (which is good, as it only has one hdmi port, and my Blu-Ray player only connect through HDMI)… And with the retirement of the EV700’s, I now am no longer using any component from my original Gateway computer that I got in November 2000.

And I’ve also purchased some DVDs:

• Henry V. I used to have this before. Then I loaned it to a friend, and never saw it again. Shakespeare always makes a good epic. There are times in my life when I could use Derek Jacobi to narrate my life. We could all use a chorus… Though it is ‘out of production’ so I had to get a used copy….
• The Princess Bride. A storybook story with the Dread Pirate Roberts, Princess Buttercup, and Andre the Giant….
• The Austin Powers Trilogy. I liked all three films, and this was chance to own them all.
• The Naked Gun Trilogy. I remember seeing these many years ago. This was Leslie Neilson at his finest. Play LA’s finest…
• Robin Hood: Men In Tights. My. Favorite. Movie. Of. All. Time. And to think I never owned it on DVD. And somehow Mel Brooks’ retelling of the story is so much better than the Kevin Costner treatment. Rabbi Tuckman is better than Friar Tuck.
• Spaceballs. When it comes to Lord Dark Helmet vs. Darth Vader, you have to go with Rick Moranis. And I even got an extra copy for my co-worker, Pizza the Hutt (see Rene, I did mention you…)
• Top Secret. A spoof of both Elvis films and war epics. And it’s funny. Especially that one scene with the cow…
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Once again, I used to have this version, but I lent it out, and never saw it again. Now that I have it again, I shall grin, and then feast upon the lambs. And sloths. And carps. And anchovies. And orang-utans. And breakfast cereals. And fruit bats. And large… On second thought, skip a bit, brother.
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Special Collector’s Edition). I have the regular version (along with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). For another birthday a while back, I got the Director’s Cut of that film, and so I’ve always been on the lookout for them.

Some of these items (like the Blu Ray player and the monitor) were purchases that I had been planning for a while. But most of the DVD’s I got on impulse in a moment of weakness.

I’ll try to be stronger. I promise.

A little older, hopefully wiser….

When somebody posts to my Facebook wall, I get the usual email. I also get a text. It comes in handy. If I know who’s ‘freinding’ me, I can confirm it without having to open my browser. However, this can have it’s drawbacks/ Like when my birthday comes around, and everybody posts their wishes. And they have to do it at three in the morning. Fortunately, I remembered I can put my phone on silent mode…

My birthday was today. As of this writing, I have about 20 minutes left of it. I didn’t get much this year, which is alright with me.  The well wishes I got from my friends (and my sisters. And you, Mom & Dad) throughout the day were the highpoint of the day. And Steve, shall hunt you down, and repeatedly say ‘NI!’ at you until I get my shrubbery…

Aside from the well-wishes, I did get a couple of items. Mother gave me a case of Coke Zero. I told my father I really didn’t want anything specific, so he gave a couple of Federal Reserve gift certificates.

Surprisingly my boss hasn’t tried selling me a phone this year. Three years ago, he sold me his Shadow. Last year, he sold me his HD2. But this year, he’s selling me a computer desk and a monitor (to go with the old tower I already have. When I’m not screwing around with that tower, I’ll use it as a workstation, ie keyboard, monitor, and mouse so I can fix other towers, something I still get called upon to do….).

Almost forgot…..

While trying to get Windows ME to install in VirtualBox (gave up after 8 hours.  And I had really high hopes for it too, but that will be another post), it occurred to me what yesterday was.  I almost missed my father’s birthday.  I did call him and wish him a happy birthday, but I thought I’d use my virtual soapbox to say:

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Spin the Dreidel! Light the Menorah!

OK, so Hanukah started yesterday.  I was going to blog it, but my cell phone decided not to cooperate with me.  Anyway, it was also my boss’s birthday (I actually work for a married couple).  And It was my cousin’s birthday (Happy belated Birthday, Tomara), too. 

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Sure, it's a day early but…

Happy Birthday to my sister, the Little Dutch Girl. Happy Birthday Karen. See, I can remember such things.

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