So I finally got m y birthday presents….

So, my birthday was a month and change ago. My sister got my brother and I tickets to Whose Live Is It Anyway. We saw the show this past Saturday. Greg Proops can not pronounce Puyallup. My brother paid for the Uber to/from the Fair, and also for the Earthquake Burger. Normally, I’d just buy the big present myself. I grew up in a not-so-well-to-to house, and I don’t want to break somebody else’s bank. But still, I appreciate what I got this year. It’s the thought that counts first. And seeing the show live and a Really Large Onion Cheeseburger aren’t all that bad.

SO last week, I took a look at my finances, and saw that they were in sufficient order that I decided to get myself something special. An AMD Radeon RX6600 CLD 8G. Unlike my previous card, this one was not DOA from Newegg (though props to them for the quick and painless replacement of that one).

I built this tower in June of 2019. Since then, the only part that I haven’t replaced is my TV Tuner card. Yes, it’s a work in progress….

Just chillin’

I’m just chilling out right now. The over night lows are starting to get into the ‘40s (fahrenheit if you’re keeping score at home). When I ran the AC, only the fan ran. It was too cool for the compressor to kick on. So, tonight I’ve taken down the AC hose, and I’ve put my window fan back in. I figure in a couple of weeks, the fan will be taken down, and I’ll close the window until spring….

Didn’t go to work tonight….

So, yesterday was my Grandmother’s birthday. And so we had a family reunion. Lots of fun. Good food. But it was right in the middle of when I should’ve been sleeping. I know what my priorities are. So, I booked the night off. And I got it. So I have the night off.

In memory of Mother, I brought a two liter of strawberry soda. There’s a story behind this. When we were growing up in Graham, mom bought a bottle of it from the local Safeway. Somehow on the car ride home, it got shaken. All I’m going to say is that I didn’t do it. Any how, it gets home, and she opened it. And I think to this day, there’s a stain on the ceiling from it.

So, I brought it as a throwback my siblings and I to remember she who could be at the family gathering anymore….

Russell was back....

What a way to start your weekend. With a Seahawks game on Monday night. He got booed. The same treatment that Mark Langston got when he left the Mariners. It went down to the wire, bite in the end the Seahawks won on the last play. When Denver chose to pull Russell Wilson for a kicker to make a 64 yard kick (with a only 1 in 8 chance of making it). Ave there are also the red zone fumbles. Denver, you're supposed to score with the ball, not give it back to us.... 

The Seahawks won the game. By one point. Russell Wilson will need a booster seat for the flight home, after he was handed his ass. 

More fun with public transportation….

Got to the bus stop on time tonight. I had seen on the Onebusaway that my bus was a little late, but I still have to try…So I get to the bus stop, and it keeps getting later and later. To the point that I’m now going to miss my connection in Tacoma to get to work. So I’ve called out. Again. There were no notifications of a missed trip or detour for this run.

But this isn’t the only time recently that Pierce Transit has dropped the ball. There is ongoing construction going on in Downtown Tacoma that is requiring detours for every downtown Tacoma route. And there are no maps, no guidelines, nor are there any clearly marked stops. Fortunately, I found that out on the way home (rather than coming in). So I’ve been making connection outside of downtown Tacoma. But tonight, I can’t make it there at all….

Sorry co-workers. The spirit is willing. But Pierce Transit isn’t having any of it…

The last day…

This is the last day (night) of my vacation. It was also my birthday today. Got all the well-wishes on Facebook.  I tried to respond to each one. This is even better than any birthday party for me. One of the things I’ve learned is that friendship is a far more precious thing than anything material.

But having said that, I’m going to see Whose Live Is It Anyway at the Puyallup Fair this year. Thank you Karen.

The agenda for tonight is get ready for my return to work tomorrow night. Which basically means putting my suspenders back on my jeans. And turning on my alarms again.

The price of global warming….

The way the household finances in my apartment work out, I brother gives me a lump sum when it’s time to pay the rent, and I take care of all the bills (he includes his share of the utilities with his rent). So last night, the electric bill arrived. I new it wasn’t going to be cheap since we’re running 2 portable AC’s and I think we’re on heat wave #3. Even still, it was shocking. About twice of what it was last month. But I still paid it. So, my apartment will still be comfortable for the time being.

This global warming thing ain’t cheap….

I was toying around with the idea of getting back onto Usenet, but after this month’s bills, it’s just going to be an idea….

A Late Vacation Day 4 Update:

I was so successful at doing nothing that I didn’t remember to write about doing nothing…. Oops. But rest assured, I spent all day either napping or sitting on my ass. The most strenuous thing I did was to sign in to YouTube on my TV (actually the cable box) to watch the Mariners games.

Vacation Day 3 Report:

After realizing that Colbert and Seth Meyers were in reruns this week, I took another 4 hour nap. So, I was successful in doing nothing last night (I didn’t even get all the way through Battle Red Snapper). This morning would’ve been a trip to Wally World, but I realized that I only needed bread, and it wasn’t worth the bus trip. So I went across the street to Saar’s for that.

Tomorrow’s agenda: nothing. No plans whatsoever. Just chilling at home…

Chairman Kaga is still wearing pants….

So while at lunch with my sister, somehow Iron Chef came up in the conversation. Not Iron Chef USA or Iron Chef America, but the original Japanese version. Apparently it is available on Pluto TV (as a whole ‘channel’ even).

I’ve never watched Pluto TV before. It appears to be completely ad-supported, just like regular broadcast TV. I can deal with that. So I’m now watching Battle Red Snapper.

And Chairman Kaga is wearing pants in this battle….

Vacation Update, Day 2:

Took a four hour nap last night. Which is why I’m still up right now. My sister came by, and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. Apparently she had intended to pay, but per my habit I had already paid for the meal (Red Robin now has a terminal at each table so you can settle your check right then and their). We then went to Sumner specifically to 7-11 to visit with my old boss form Mrs. Fields. A stop at Safeway on the way home (I wanted to look at their deli, bought the line was too long and prices too high).

So, I’m going to bed soon. For day 3, the agenda is currently just stream and chill….

Edit: I should also add that today is my 5 year anniversary with my current employer. And yes, I did plan my vacation deliberately so that I’d be off on both my work anniversary and my birthday. It’s good to have a job, and if the job has paid vacation, then it’s good to use it…

Vacation Day 1 Report, The Final Edition...

Didn't even make that snack run to 7-11. Ordered some groceries and  had then delivered. Ave played some Flight Stimulator. Watched since more of The Hundred.

And now to retire. Goodnight... 

Vacation Day 1 Report:

Did almost absolutely nothing last night. Finished rebuilding my computer after my experiment with Windows 11. The time will come for me to upgrade to it, but not now. Did laundry, did dishes, and took out garbage. Maybe a snack run to 7-11 later, but I think I’m staying indoors today. A vacation is about resting and doing as little as possible. I shall try my hardest at that…

Vacation: Commence!

A couple of months ago, I booked some vacation time. And it was promptly approved. Initially, I asked for three days off (plus my two day weekend would make 5 days off). A month later, I realized that I could take an extra day. So, I booked it. And again it was promptly approved. So now it’s 6 days off. And it now begins. First off, I’m watching a The Hundred match. And then, it will be off to do as little as possible…

Vacation: Commence!

It worked. Big deal…

So when we last left our hero, I had decided to finally install Windows 11. It worked. I was satisfied with it. But there were a couple of things. Through the use of Winaero Tweaker, I was able to restore the Windows 8/10 ribbon to my windows, and bring back the context menu. And with Open Shell, I was able to restore the Windows 10 taskbar. And then it occurred to me that I was looking for Windows 10 features, so I should probably just go back to Windows 10. So I did.

Don’t get me wrong, Windows 11 works just fine. But I prefer Windows 10 more….

Not going to deal with it tonight….

Got up on time to go to work. Got dressed. Drank coffee. Put pants on. Left for work on time. Got to the bus stop. Waited. And waited. And waited. Still, no bus. By this time, I would’ve most likely missed my connection in downtown Tacoma to get to work. And I’m not going to deal with the hassle (it happened last fall, and I ended up having to take an uber back home). Uber is out of the question (too expensive, and I’m not spending an entire day’s pay just to get to work).

Long story short, I’m calling out tonight. The spirit was willing, but the Pierce Transit wasn’t there…

So far, so good.

I’m now underway on Windows 11. All of my hardware installed without any major problems. Even my problematic wireless game controllers. There were a couple of bugs features that I dealt  with via some judicious tweaking. There are a couple of others that, while annoying, I can live with for the time being.

With any luck, I’ll be able to just stick with one version, and not constantly switch between 10 nd 11…

Here we go!

This is why I upgraded the processor a while back. I am now clean installing Windows 11.

*posting this from my phone... 

Yes, it’s been a while….

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve written here. Sometimes in life you go through it, get caught up in the moment, and in the end, there is nothing going on that is worth writing about. It’s important, but I’ve written about it before, or to write about it would be TMI….

My vacation is in a little less than two weeks. After I had the original days approved, I realized that I would have enough PTO for an extra day, which I booked and my boss approved. So I have that to look forward to.

Got my haircut last week. So I’ve gone from rockstar long to Marine Boot Camp. And since I got right at the start of last week’s heat wave I felt much more comfortable than before. There is nothing like having all of your hats fit again…

Rebuilt my system a couple of weeks ago. Wiped everything. Reinstalled everything from scratch (as in I redownloaded all of my games from GOG, Ubisoft, and Origin as well as Steam, Spamazon, and Epic). And now Flight Stimulator X keeps crashing every time I try to fly it. So back to the old drawing board….

Pissed off a Door Dasher Monday Night…

Got home from work Monday. Immediately ordered for delivery from Target. Arrived without any issues. Now, Target uses Shipt. Basically, you place your order through Target.com, and the delivery driver will go to the store and shop the order for you. If there out of something, they’ll text you in real-time to find a sub. I’ve never had a problem with the serivce. In fact, I alway give a minimum of a 20% tip.

At the same time, I also ordered for a delivery from Wally World. They do delivery orders differently. When you place the order, it is ‘shopped’ by a store employee, and then staged for the delivery driver, usually DoorDash. They were booked up for deliveries (it was the Fourth, after all), so I booked it for the evening, between 9-10. At 9:15, I was notified that the driver was underway. At 9:39, the order was updated to indicate that it was delivered. It wasn’t. I went back to my computer, logged in and saw that it was indicating that it had already been delivered. So I left a one star rating reflecting non-delivery and cancelled my tip. Of course, it showed up right after I did this. Was I over-reacting? Possibly. But then again I had the same issue with UPS and my cell phone this spring. I guess it boils down to accountability. Don’t say that you’ve done the task until you’ve actually done it. If I pulled that stunt at work, it would not bode well for me.

So, I pissed off a Door Dasher. And don’t order same day delivery from Wally World.