They're still around, they've merged with Dairy Queen. Mmmmm, pina colada

I can't drink Jamba juice anymore. It was almost all I ate for about a year.

Orange Julius is in Westminster Mall and Main Place around here.

www.orangejulius.com

The malls around here used to have them, until they tore out all of the little stores and replaced them with the stupid food courts.

I find Jamba Juice juice to be wayyy too sweet for me.
Bleh. :(

Hell, I find just plain JUICE to be waaaay too sweet for me. I thin it out, 1:3 water:juice. Better for calories, too.

Mmm...Fake Orange Julius:

1C orange juice
1C milk
1C granulated sugar
plenty of ice
raw egg optional

Blend until proper Orange Julius texture. Hope you don't die of sugar shock. Serves 1-2.



(Maybe that was 1/3 C sugar. I haven't made one in over a decade.)

I do the same.

I've learned that the older I get the less I can tolerate sweet stuff. Not saying that LSPE is old... :)

Even better is one I have made since High School:

2-3 cups pineapple-orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
13-15 ice cubes

Blend until smooth

add a healthy dose of light rum
add a shot of dark rum

blend some more

enjoy and stay home upon drinking

Vanilla! 1 tsp. I knew I left something off my recipe.

But yours sounds good, too.

Ididn't start adding the rum until about a decade ago. I use both versions of rum because the light adds the achohol, but the dark gives it an extra kick. I have also tried regular oj and regular pineapple. The regular oj ends up wtih a tad of bitterness and the pineapple gets too foamy.

Mmmm . . . pineapple foam . . .

I've often thought that a shot of rum would go nicely in a dole whip float.

BevMo has little bottles of rum...

I made a monk cry the other day.* How many people in this world can say that?



*I received a donation/tribute card in the mail for a 94 year old brother that passed away recently. He was a good friend of the monk that works here. I asked him if he knew him and he cried. Really depressing...

You made a monk cry? I guess that means in your next life you'll be coming back as a mongoose or some such thing.

Totally. Riki Tiki Tavi was a kickass mongoose.
:D

I loved Rikki Tikki Tavi so much that I actually found a copy on ebay recently and made the whole family watch it. Sadly they didn't love it, there must be something wrong with my family!
My husband made me find The Point too. The kid didn't appreciate that one either! My husband walked around singing Me and My Arrow for weeks though!
Kids these days with their new fangled cartoons and everything computer animated just can't appreciate the good old stuff!!

So....my 6 and 12 year old each have Gameboy Advance. The 6 year old comes down and says the 12 year old won't share her games, as they commonly do.

I go upstairs and inquire with her very gently as to why she does no wish to share. After she says "I just don't want to", I say, "Well, they're yours, but I'm surprised with you. You aren't using them, he won't break them, he won't wear them out, so your only motivation is being selfish."

Out of left field, she breaks down into a 15 minute sob fest on everything wrong with her life.

Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.

After a few hugs, I left her room.

I am moving out until she is 18. I don't think I'll survive the next several years.

I'd like to extand a warm welcome to a new set of hormones to the SCA household.

Word.;)

(Truly, I feel your pain. The Girl has been like this for the past six months).

What's it like with menopause and puberty in the same household, WB?:evil:

(did I just write that? Uh-oh)

Menopause has not struck yet, Scaeagles, which is quite fortunate for you. Remember, I have a stalker friend who knows a good deal about you.....:evil:

Oh scaeagles.... I fear the worst is yet to come. With a 7.9 year old boy, and his newly 12 year old female cousin who I have in my home quite a bit.

Due to her newly aquired set of overdone female hormones, in one given day she's thought:
that playing gameboy/gamecube with an eight year old was fine. They can take turns.

To the end of the world to share with him, and her life is miserable. No one appreciates her to give her anything.

Biting people to the point of tearing their clothes in her anger.

And asking me how to pick up boys.

Begging me to convince her mother to let her be goth, and listen to music with warning labels.

I dont think I could do it full time.
Good luck.

Mine's 10 - I'm already doomed. I already "don't understand" and "never listen". Followed by the ever popular "why do you care so much what other people think" when she attempts to leave the house looking like a streetwalker.

At Ten my niece leaned across the Boll Weevil table and says to me "Auntie, I have christmas socks on, and its not Christmas time"

So?

"That boy over there is cute. Should I worry about it? What should I do? I might like him. "

<blink> Aunite says, a) I didnt hear that. b) socks dont matter. c) Boll Weevil is not where to go to pick up boys. d) ask your mother!

*snickers and wanders off to pat his canine (not to mention fixed) children on the head*

Good dogs. :p

Luckily for him, stalker friend is no where near monopause yet, but when it gets close, watch out.

All I can say is, I'm with you my brother. I thought by raising one from scratch I might learn something about the ways of women. Vast is the cavern of my ignorance.

Well, you always have a place here if you need it. Right here.

Dear fathers of daughters - From now until they are between 21 and 24 nothing you do will be right. Master this saying "I know sweetie" but don't agree with her when she says x boy is a jerk. Saying "I know sweetie, he is a jerk" will just prompt the statement "You don't know anything! He is not a jerk!" /stomp /rolleyes. And just accept that you will never understand women :p

Yes sweetie, I know. Mine just turned 21. She broke up with her boyfriend 2 months ago. She said she would never talk to him again. Then guess who she brought home for dinner last night? You guessed it.

But it's the 18 year old son I worry about. I think I'll be a grandfather times twelve in the next couple of years and not know about the little bast***s. :eek: The only thing that would prevent this is prison, which is just as likely.:mad: Or death............also as likey...........

A piece of paper in a bag of candy wants me to download a Tim McGraw and Faith Hill song. Trouble is, I don't care and I'd need two codes to make it work.

I demand better Cracker Jack prizes!




....never mind that this was a bag of York Peppermint Patties.

I hope it is not as bad what GusGus's EXTREMELY conservative mother told her daughter that giving birth to babies was very painful.

When the daughter was six. :rolleyes:

posting in a thread that my last post was 1991 posts ago.

You can have mine, if you like. I don't expect I'll be using it.

(Hershey's miniatures here, btw.)

Shakira! Shakira! :rolleyes:

"I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again"


Love ya lots, LoTters!!!

Goodbye!!! Hurry back! Safe flight! Call when you land!

And with this, Southern California just became a bit less swanky. Hurry back, Scrooge. We miss ya already. :)

I miss Sam!

I just ate a brownie from Coldstone. They have the best brownies. Chewy! :)

I just ate a caramel nut brownie Luna bar. Yum!

I'm too stressed to eat today, and the wife hid the only good stress food - being chocolate - because she knew I'd be heading for it. :(

Mega thunder and lightning in Boston, boys and girls. It's wayyy cool. Walked home in a storm with no umbrella. It was so cool. Loud thunder that makes you jump. Lightning that looks like it's from some horror movie. I love it.
:) :) :)

I just had a hand full of carrots and an energy drink. whoo hoo...

Um . . . no thanks. But I'll put mine up for grabs. Anyone want it?

Oreos (double stuf of course) and milk, great afternoon snack

I just pulled some fresh chocolate chip cookies from the oven......warm and gooey....mmmmmmmmm. Another perk of working at home.

I have been craving Monterey Chicken from Chili's for weeks. I finally got it today, along with some tasty midori/margarita thingy. My tummy is verrrrry happy right now.

I wanted the beverage to give me liquid courage to face my mom today. She said some rather nasty things to me on the phone last night. I had to go over to sign some papers for their bank (since I handle their finances when they are on the road). She must have been feeling guitly because the first thing she did was hug me and apologize. I made her feel worse when I walked in with a couple of goodies from DLR. It was just an antenna topper and some body butter from Basin, but it had the effect I wanted.

Mmm, I haven't had the Monterey Chicken, but Chili's sounds good tonight. I usually get steak fajitas. Too bad I don't get paid until tomorrow, it'll have to wait :P

My poor Mom

She's been visiting my sister for the last couple of days and waiting for me to get back from CA. She's so excited I'm here, but all I can do is b*tch because I'm having serious Disney withdrawals and I miss my friends.

She's being a trooper but I know she'd love to whack me upside the head.

I want to whack you upside the head, also- mainly because I was jealous! (Sympathy for the DL withdrawal though).

So I finished reading the 2L write-on submissions. Thankfully, there weren't any that (in my batch) that *totally* sucked, although some definitely would not be my first choice. I can not WAIT to have them on board, though. Doing it with half a crew sucks.

So, yesterday the daughter is vacuuming, and the vacuum, ancient as it was, gave up the proverbial ghost.

I went out and purchased a Dyson. A flippin' $500 vacuum. And this thing is amazing. Well that, and our old one sucked....no, poor choice of words for a vacuum that doesn't work well, but you know what I mean. Anyway, on the first usage, this Dyson filled itself up 1.5 times.

Ick. I can't believe that much crap was in our carpet.

I need a new vacuum, but I'm not shelling out for a Dyson. Sears has some well reviewed models. Consumer Reports is my friend.

I went to a Marriage Equality/Anti-Gay Marriage rally today at the Boston State House today. It was really cool to see. Both sides were spirited but not unruly and mean. It was nice seeing people be civil. Both sides chanted things I didn't agree with, but I enjoyed seeing people express their views in this public way.

I love Boston.
:)

Have fun stormin the castle!

Interesting thing about vacuum cleaners: when they suck, they don't suck.

But when they don't suck, they suck.

Think it'll work?

It would taske a miracle.

Sometimes they blow, too...

thats....downright profound:snap:

I suppose a similar thing could be said about prostitutes.

So, I'm sitting on the balcony, in my Dodger stadium seats, drinking a beer and listening to/reorganizing my iPod and posting. And I'm feeling pretty happy about it. May have to run in and grab some Murakami to read while I'm at it. Meanwhile, I think seeing me move around out here just freaked Munchkin out a bit.

No cemetery tonight?

I wouldn't move it I were you,

Nay, no cemetery tonight. Among other things, I had to bring my car in this morning so I couldn't drive CP to work, and therefore we've got the 2 car problem. So we thought we'd save our weekend energy for Second 50th Eve tomorrow.

Oh, and if anyone's interested, BevMo's got Mac's Blackwatch cream porter on sale, and cold. It's yummy.

At least the one in Irvine does.

You have Dodger stadium seats at your abode?

Indeed. When they went on sale, I was overcome by the need to own them. One of my most spontaneous purchases, and mildly extravagent, but oh so worth it.

And you remind me that I've been remiss in posting, or even taking a photo of them. That has now been remedied...



And, of course, the view. Not ideal, but more than satisfactory for the experience. That's a new feature as of a couple months ago. Before that, you couldn't see the TV at all from them, this is much improved.



And now my laptop battery is depleted. Which is good, 'cause otherwise I would have been on this thing all afternoon instead of reading Murukami (the very book sitting on the seat in the photo above.

Very, very cool. Are they stable enough after a few Mac's Blackwatch cream porter? Should they be bolted down after say, 5 porters?

So... so so sooo much change in only a few days.

In the past 9 days, Mom's sold her house in AR and signed a contract on one here. I must say I'm impressed. Wheeled and dealed like a pro, she did. So much has changed for her in the space of twenty years.

This will be the first time in 28 years that all the surviving members of my family will share the same zip code. I feel oddly serene. Like maybe I should be apprehensive about this, but I'm not. It's gonna be nice having her around.

Oh well, I guess my construction plans can be put away.

So, there's a reason I don't go into bookstores....picked up the next LoT book club book, TWO books of sock patterns, and a Julie London compilation CD. *sigh* And then stopped by to see what my personal shopper (AKA mom) picked out for me - of course I like the most expensive purse, and all but one of the tops. So much for staying on budget...

I just spent all day at a beach party. We made a huge fire and now I smell like it. I need to take a shower but my couch is mighty comfy.

I wish I had my camera. It was a wonderful day for photos.

so...I got up this afternoon to find people in my house. No biggy. I then went out back for a ciggy and PoOf there was another dog in my yard. We now have a pit-mix puppy. He is about 6-9 months old. He belonged to Dawn and her kids, but the kids stopped taking care of him and her youngest has been really, really mean to him, to the point of abuse. David said to bring him over. I just wish I had been consulted. He is doing pretty good. I just have to remember not to leave the door into the house or the door into the garage open. With Pooh we can do both, and he won't try to get in the house or the garage, but Sox is still in his curious puppy stage.

We did NOT need another dog.

:confused: :confused: :confused:
You had zero input on whether you have a pitbull mix in your household?

If anyone tried to pull that crap on me I'd kick some serious ass.

Awwwww! I just got home from walking my pittbull mix Cassidy. She's the SWEETEST dog. I've sat more than a few pittbulls and they've all been really great dogs. I think yours will probably take a bit of trainng and reassurance, but he's probably young enough to learn well.

I want pics!

so... during an 8 hour meeting on friday, i was surprised by being called upon to be recognized for outstanding project achievement and presented with a very cool award.

:D

Congratulations! If there's anyone who continues to spread the Disney magic in Walt's spirit, it's you! :)

Congrats. Well deserved, no doubt. :) :) :)

You are probably the ONLY one surprised by this. The rest of us just expect it!

Congrats ML!!

I too will own the next book club book, but in a slightly less straightforward manner. I picked up a copy at the library. Then, while watching a movie, we heard a thud from the direction of Munchkin. We didn't think much of it. Then I heard munching noises where there was nothing that he should have been munching on. Seems he managed to reach up, pull the book from the table it was on, and was happily munching away. In mere seconds, the edges of the entire introduction were chewed. So now I get to pay the library retail + processing fee so they can replace it.

I wonder if that's tax deductable.

Sooo...

For anyone who missed our gig last night, I have only two words...Thank God!

Our regular drummer, who is amazing, couldn't make last night and recommended a sub. (He's done this in the past and we've never had a problem). So, the sub gets lost on the way to the gig. Not the most professional thing in the world, especially with things like Mapquest at his disposal, but whatever. He gets there a half hour after we are supposed to start. Only problem is that, as he is setting up, we happen to notice that he is really slurring his speech. Nope, not some medical condition causing this, he is completely hammered. He sets up, proceeds to the bar for a bloody mary, a beer, and a shot, and some nachos, then goes and sits at a table to eat. We have to explain to him that we already should have been playing. He grabs his nachos, sits them behind his kit, and we start playing. It becomes clear in the first 8 bars of the music that he is not going to be playing well at all. It was a tough night.

Needless to say, he has now been crossed off the future sub list.

so... My landlord dropped off the planet for close to a year. I finally get ahold of him, and get permission to fix issues and take them out of the rent.

One of them was expensive and I attempted to call him before I had it fixed, but his voicemail was full. So I had it fixed.

Now he's having a fit that I didn't call him (uh, your voicemail was full). I have a feeling I'm going to have to move. /sigh

He is basically a good dog. He is just a puppy. He listens to me pretty well. He no longer tries to get in the house when I am at the door. All I have to do is put up my index finger and he sits. He is also much more kid friendly than Pooh. I just didn't want to have to go through the puppy stage again, but as long as it is David's stuff that gets chewed....

After sleeping on it, I know he is much better off with us than his previous home. He has a muuuuuch larger yard to play in, and complete shelter from the elements. He also has a constant food and water supply, which is also something that he lacked (we have an automatic watering bowl that constantly feeds from the hose). Nickolas is also much better with him than Dawn's kids, so he doesn't have to worry about being hit and kicked constantly. He also has a constant source of company with Pooh, plus Nickolas goes out and plays with him and is trying to train him not to jump.

We are off to Target in a bit to get him some puppy toys and a collar/leash. He needs to be walked and unlike Pooh, he doesn't mind the leash.

NA, I will be taking pics tomorrow morning.

I just signed up for photo bucket, this is a pic of some of the girls...I just wanted to see if it worked.

Nick with both dogs:


Sox:


Pooh:

Cuuuutttee!!!!! :)

Nice Willys station wagon!

ayup

kudos

Your bunny actually ate your homework????

Righhhhht.........;)

He looks like a Stratfordshire/Lab mix. He's really cute and it sounds like he will be easy to train. He looks like a cutie! Thanks for the pics.

Soooo.....Had to stop by Victoria's Secret today for some new...things, and whadya know- they have a junior section for the little girlies now. So, Tori and I got to shop at VS for the first time together- fun! She also got a cute little pink dog* with no mouth, nose or eyes- kinda freaky looking.



*Stuffed type dog- not a real one!

can a dog teach an old trainer new tricks?



who new training would become such an enjoyable career!

One of Hubby's toys. The red thing is the gas powered gold cart that took down our fence and dented our trees.
Just out of camera range is the cab for his Model T. His other new toy is a '72 el Camino that he was given, but I won't let him bring it home.

So. I'm supposed to be at rope drop. In 4.5 hours. But I need a shower. So I'm supposed to be "getting up" in 2.5 hours.

I really, really can't sleep. Perhaps it's the cappuchino I had at 9pm? Although I did have a bunch of booze afterwards to counteract it. Then again, I woke up at noon yesterday.

Thing is, I still want to go. I'm thinking I'll hang for a bit then come home and sleep so I can be awake for my late shift, noon to 9pm.

Disneyland's birthday does weird things to me...although I could just blame iSm :D

Sooo...

Last night, we were both trying hopelessly to get to sleep in our oven, er, apartment. Usually we have a nice breeze but for some reason, we just couldn't get the place cooled down last night. And it didn't help that I got a really nice sunburn yesterday, making everything seem hotter and the sheets feel like sandpaper.

About 2am, we were resigned to the fact that it wasn't going to get any cooler when we heard a most unusual sound for Southern California in July...thunder. We got up and went out to the patio just as the sky lit up with a magnificent flash of lightning. We pulled up a couple of chairs to watch the show and were soon treated to a nice little bit of rain that felt unbelievably good. It also brought a cool breeze with it that finally knocked the hot air out of our place.

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a thunderstorm.

Yeah, that was some wicked weird weather last night.

It just rained here about an hour ago. Nice, but weird.

I hear that they were hoping it would rain in the wildfire areas to help the firemen. But I was thinking it could be bad and cause flooding in the already burned areas. ???

He's adorable! (The dog's not bad either...)
:evil:

For some reason the CD section at the bookstore's never tempted me. Now, I only bought one sock book, and the LoT book club book. So we're almost like twins--only you spent more. ;)

I'd also like to say that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is long. I'm wondering why we chose the largest Murakami book there is when I've got so much to do.

I have 'Love's Theme' in my head right now. Ya gotta love Love Unlimited. :D

Oooh! Which sock book did you get?

Best Song Ever!

well, until i can think of another favorite.

it's in my head now also... thanks for the memory!:snap:

Sensational Knitted Socks, by Charlene Schurch. I began a very unsensational sock yesterday, but got to the heel flap tonight, goofed, and ended up ripping the whole thing out. I may be having needle issues.

I bought the same book yesterday! I also bought Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patterns. I have to finish up the pair I'm working on already, though.

I looked at that one, but it said the patterns were for size 8-9 women's, which is a bit large for me. And I didn't want to do that math to change a pattern before I really understand what I'm doing. I do hate that the book I got will not remail open.

What needles do you use? I could use some help.

Actually, the different patterns fit different sizes. The adult version of "Child's First Sock", for example, fits women's 6 1/2 - 7 1/2, as does "Evening Stockings for a Young Lady." Most of them are 8-9, though. (Men's are all over the place.)

I'm currently using Takumi Bamboo needles (Clover is the manufacturer). What pattern did you start with? Socks are really hard and confusing the first time through when you don't know what you're doing or what different stages look like. The good news is that once you've done one it starts to make way more sense.

Shall we move this conversation to the crafting thread? I'm happy to help - with wordy descriptions and photos as necessary.

I think a talk with the current drummer is in line as well!

That happened first thing the next morning. :)

I woke up this morning around 4 to hear it raining, hard. I had to go out and put up my windows. It is now icky from the humidity. It is already 85 on my patio with 57% humidity.

No offense to any smokers here, but Beefy Goodness lit up a ciggie before boarding the train this morning. I was crushed. He didn't even look cool doing it, it looked odd as if he just started smoking this morning.
Smoky Beef is okay for a BBQ, but...

I just wrote a letter to someone named 'Than Kim'. They wanted me to thank him, so I did.
:)

Sooo... I'm out of here folks.
See you Monday or Tuesday after I return from Comic-Con.

Those of you who are attending, I'll see you there.

and yes, that means those of you who havent talked to me about it in ages. Just call me when you arrive. You know my humber. If not, I hereby give permission to the switchboard to give it to you.
Toodles!

humber?

Good idea. I'll resurrect it shortly.

We're leaving tomorrow mid-day! See you there, Ponine! Man, I feel tired already! :blush:

So... I got as far as the 7th & Metro station - connection to the Blue Line and no trains were running. Through the barely audible speakers I discerned that there was an accident and there would be a delay. Not wanting to be stuck underground with a bunch of sweaty commuters, so I'm now on the roof of the Standard having a sidecar - when life gives you lemons, have yourself a refreshing cocktail.

Sounds kind of like how my Monday went :D

San Diego here I come!! YAY!!!! :)

It's somehow comforting to know that whenever there's a commuter train accident somewhere in LA, there are good odds that € is having a cocktail.

Isn't that what he did the last time?


:cheers:

Seesch...

I was talking with a co-woker about my upcoming Hawaii trip.

She said: "Oh you have to go to the Dole plantation, they have this frozen pineapple thing that's really good...."

You don't say?

Sadly, the part of town I was in last time gave me the choice between live poultry and a creepy strip club.

Hey, there was no accident, but a couple of incidents during my trip to Disneyland were taken care of with a nice Louisiana Lemonade :)

I get strange looks when I have a cocktail on my commute home.

Lol!!!!!!

Hmmmm....which did you choose?

Neither - their proximity to each other being too disturbing in a PInk Flamingos sense...

Heh heh....hadn't considered Waters; I was leaning more toward Lynch/Tarantino on that one. Definitely Waters material.

People are so quick to judge.

Is it because they've never seen somebody shaking a martini while changing lanes? :)

It's more exciting trying to light a Flaming Moe with your cigarette lighter...

Some dinglecheese pulled the fire alarm again this morning. Evacuate the building, wait for half an hour on the sidewalk, get the all clear, go up the stairs because the elevators aren't unlocked yet, deal with the flashing lights in the hallways until the fire marshall comes by to turn them off...
Hysterical.
Luckily, it wasn't a real fire.
:)

Perhaps that's because your are an airline pilot.

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
:D

Have you ever been in a turkish prison?

Surely you can't be serious?

... and don't call me Shirley!

When you're not in drag, I won't. :D ;)



Someone in my office just gave me 1000 copies of a letter to fold. (Yeah, my job's a winner.) And as I'm folding it, I say, 'Hmm, did you notice that you dated all these letters 7/19/2007?' The response I got was, 'Just send 'em anyway.'
:rolleyes: Oy.

Dawn's truck is going to be repo'd (she hasn't paid her payment in a few months~no one is bailing her out this time). The finance company keeps calling here and leaving messages for "David Layton." If I ever answer the phone, at least I don't have to lie when I tell them to stop calling, that there is no David Layton here. I refuse to lie and since tehcnically they are wrong, I don't have to. They are using his first name and the name of our street. Too Funny.

So I'm totally addicted to this season of "So You Think You Can Dance?" and I have a HUGE dancer crush on Benji. Enormous. I haven't wanted to dance this much in years.

So, I think I'm going to cave and get a manbag. Fumbling to retrieve my wallet from underneath my iPod in one pocket, and my keys from underneath my cell phone in the other is growing very old, very quickly. A small bag would be really really nice. I've got a couple early contenders..



and



Of those, I think I prefer the first. Better color, a little bit narrower, and no silly logo. But those are just a couple I happened to see at a store at lunch. I'd like to do some more shopping...but I don't even really know where to shop. I might purchase online, but I'd definitely have to see any candidates in person before buying.

I will never own a manpurse.

Even though Jack Bauer carries a manpurse, I will never carry a manpurse.

Have you considered a backpack?

MacGuyver carried a [man]bag, too. Isn't he manly enough for you?

LOVED when they asked him "Do you have wheels in your sneakers? Did you rip your shirt off?" last night.

I'm so over Dmitri, and the roller sneaker thing was just stupid. I think rollerboy and Martha will be going tonight.

I don't think I've seen one MacGuyver episode.

No, far too unweildy and far too likely to accumulate crap. I need something just big enough to hold a cell phone, an iPod, a digital camera, maybe some paper and a pen, with a bit of room left over for another small item. Otherwise I'll just fill it with crap.

How about a lipstick and some eyeliner, too?:D

The puppy is stupid. I turned a fan on in the patio to helop keep the air moving so that the breezeway area would not be so fly friendly. If it is just blowing, no problem. If I make it oscelate, he barks at it.

Today, when I go out, I am stopping by Petco to pick up a small chain so that we can chain him when we are doing stuff that requires the door to the garage be open. Poohdog won't leave the partio, but Sox keeps running into the garage and taking off down the street. Last night he took off on Nickolas, and went right to Nick's friend's house. It was 105, dark, and I hear my son yell and then all I hear is "Stupid dog!!!" Poor kid had to run after him. I met him 1/2 way with the leash.

We are just so used to Pooh not trying to leave that it is hard to keep the door closed.

On a side note, last night I made good use of my insomnia and cleaned out our pantry. I found open boxes of cereal from 1999.

Gee, I didn't know something with a shoulder strap could be so threatening to your manhood!

I really like the first one. The second one is too.....blah.

He's just deperately clutching on to what little of his manhood remains. :)

Oops, did I say little? My Freudian slip is showing.:blush: ;)

Well yeah...after you took that bite out of it

Then it shouldn't have been covered in mustard!

So my back is killing me, and my right hand is typing-fatigued. I'm thinking about going home early.

:eek:

And thank you. You reminded me that I need to go through my moms pantry and clean it out while she is away, because... well she thinks stuff from 2003 (which is the last time I cleaned it out and it had stuff from 1985) is still good. Uh. No.

My mom still has stuff from when I moved out in 1987 - and some of that was there when we moved in in 1976.

Sooo...

I had two interesting things happen today.

The first occurred at the newly opened bank next my house, one with a spiffy new drive through ATM. I was in a hurry and zipped through to get some lunch money, figuring it would be a nice quick stop. I do my thing at the machine and, when it spit out my $20, it got caught inside the machine and ripped in half when I grabbed it. It took almost a half hour at the bank while they opened the machine and tried to find the other half, to prove I wasn't scamming them, I suppose. Did I mention that I went there because I was late and thought it would a quick stop?

The other thing is one of those strange coincidences. I've been working on a short story for the past few days (which, BTW, I posted a couple of days ago. If you haven't read it yet, please don't. It's been reworked extensively and the version I posted is awful. Forget that post ever existed, please!)

Anyway, for some reason, I decided to give the main character a southern way of speaking and at one point, where I needed a location, I just put in a ficticious place called "Jasper's Creek, up off of Highway 17.

So today, I decide to google "Jasper's Creek" and the only reference I can find is from the 1800's in coastal N. Carolina. "Interesting", I thought, but of course a place called Jasper's Creek would be in the south, right? It just has that sound. The strange part was when I found out that Hwy. 17 runs near the coast in the same area of N. Carolina. I totally pulled that location out of my ass and it was a bit of a shock.

BTD, I helped my mom clean out my grandma's kitchen and house after she died. The things this woman kept would boggle your mind. I don't know how many jars of crud we through away that had been tucked in the back of the cupbaords for decades.

It is hot and very icky. Here in the southwest part of Bakersfield it is 108 and muggy. On the other end, in north Bakersfield, it is 96 and raining. My sister should be getting a good light show right now, there is some serious lightening over Tehachapi.

Wow.

Well, I DID leave work early...and paid quite the karmic price.

I figured that I was early and that a side trip in the wrong direction to pick up a manbag wouldn't be too big of a deal. Traffic heading there should be lighter, and traffic the way back is nonexistent.

Hah! Traffic was horrible heading there. No problem, I know an easy alternate route, so I cruised the exit lane, got off the freeway and headed down surface streets...only to find a major intersection (Talber and Magnolia, for the locals) with a blinking red traffic signal and a 1/2 mile backup. :rolleyes: No problem, I know an easy detour to this alternate route. So I flip a bitch, and make the turn for the detour...only to run smack into a "road closed except for local traffic" sign. It seems the easy detour around the easy alternate route is closed for construction :rolleyes: Ooookay, fortunately, I know simple detour around the closed easy detour around the obstructed easy alternate route to the jammed freeway, right? Oh hey, the simple detour around the closed easy detour around the absturced easy alternat route to the jammed freeway is also closed! :mad:

So yeah, I'm yelling at this point. Not helped by the pain in my back and the doofus drivers causing me to miss lights. Grrrrr. But I finally made it (5 minutes with no traffic, 45 minutes today) and got my manbag (first one posted above).

And got home later than if I had just stayed at work and left at 5. Sigh.

But no matter, I had some quality time with my lover (aka one of those car seat massage mats that I just plug in, lie on, and, well...mmmmmm), got some kisses from Munchkin, had me a sidecar, and a nice chicken picata dinner with CP. I'm feeling much much better.

Sounds like a perfect evening. :)

So, you two cook things in a wok together?

I went on ToT 3 times on Sunday. Each time I did the obligatory golf-clap during the sight part of the TV show. And it hit me. Maybe the guy who inspired it had heard someone else clap for some reason and had no idea why he was clapping, but it was funny and he kept it up. I wonder if I inspired anyone to clap.

GD, do you still clap?

This one?

Wait, that's the last one. My bad.

If you don't mind - what's the brand on that first one? That one looks really spiff.

That was so cool! Point *more* than made.

My name is Prudence, and I'm a dance geek.

Dmitri's always been way too full of himself. Rollerboy did pretty damn well last week, but I think he's peaked now. For me, it's always been about Benji. From the cheesy audition shows until now. His extension during his solo last night?! *swoons* Makes me want to get back into dancing just so I can track him down for one dance. Even the crowd loves him, which is so cool because he is clearly the geek. But he always looks like he's having so much fun, which is what I remember about dancing. (Well, not ballet. That hurt.) Someday I'll have a consistently free evening and take swing lessons again. Or join an adult tap class. Something to get the feet moving.

Oh, and Donyelle is my favorite female dancer by far. Bootay!

Soon, I will be posting from the home of the Mouse(pod) but first, I have to pack and get up at the crack of dawn.

I have to go to David's aunt's wedding sometime in August. I am not looking forward to it. We are going to have to get a hotel room for 2 nights and spend 5+ hours in the car each way. I havn't even been trying to find someplace to stay. It is in Walnut Creek (or near there) and I just plain don't want to go.

Enjoy your Blazing Saddles, Superman, Spiderman, and Three Stooges marathon on the ol' 61 incher.

It's supposed to rain for the next five days here in Boston. I'm actually looking forward to it. I wish to do nothing this weekend. Not a dang diddley yang thing. :)

Eagle Creek. It's the "guide bag". I found it at REI, and so far I love it.

Even though I hate the idea, I am sleep deprived enough to consider getting Sox a shock collar for his barking.

Did you try this: A spray bottle with a teaspoon of regular Listerine in it. (Now before anyone goes PETA on me, I learned this from two well known licensed dog trainers in Monterey.) It doesn't hurt the dog at all, but they detest the smell of the mouthwash. When Sox barks... squirt squirt. After awhile, he'll just detest the spraybottle. So when he's not supposed to do something, just show him the botte.
It's worth a shot.

I tried it on Frodo. I only sprayed him once.

I've never tried a shock collar.

There is the option of having the ability to bark surgically removed.

Okay, now that is just wrong wrong wrong. My landlady before this one had a Papillon dog that had its voicebox removed. It was the saddest thing ever. The dog sounded like it smoked and was whispering. It was horribly sad and kind of funny at the same time. Poor thing. The landlady rescued it from a shelter after the owner (who gave the dog the surgery) couldn't stand the whisper noises the dog now made. Horrid.
Dogs make noise. That's what they do. They eat, they poop and bark.
:)

I agree, but sometimes perhaps it is the best option. There is a dog that barks a lot. Neighbors complain. Moving isn't an option. Dog doesn't ever shut up. Should that dog be sent to a shelter because it won't shut up or should it remain in the family with the surgical option?

I really have no idea.

I'd find the dog another home. Or send it to a rescue or something. It's sad. People should be able to rent dogs before they buy one. Then they can see if they can really handle being a dog owner. I swear, if there was a way to flush cats and dogs like people do with fish, people would do it. Ugh.
I used to be pro-declaw cats and now I'm not. Even though cat scratches make my arms red and inflamed.



I look up from my desk and everyone's gone. They just up and left for the weekend. It's noon for crying out loud... :rolleyes: :D

They've got the right idea ;) I might have another 30 minutes to give to this place, TOPS!

And yet, somehow living here in REI central I haven't seen this one yet. Thanks! BT's "satchel" is starting to look a little the worse for wear and we haven't yet found a good replacement. That's a serious contender.

I had thought about a squirt bottle with water for some of his other behavioral issues, but not for the barking. He doesn't bark much. Last night (at 1am) the care workers next door were outside, and he freaked and wouldn't shut up. I chained him, which stopped his barking. He then knocked over some of David's car parts and it scared him to the point that he was yelping. I unchained him and calmed him down and he didn't bark again until 8am, when he woke both Nick & I up. This time he was barking at someone moving around in the yard behind us. I think he is becoming more aware of "his" yard. Pooh will do the same thing, but when I say, "Poohdog, hush!" he does. Sox will learn, in time.

I will try the listerine & water. I would only use a collar as a last resort. I would never even consider surgery.

Luckily, they have both gotten tired fomr the heat and they let me take a nap. Now I get to spend the next few hours in the kitchen getting stuff fixed for David's b-day party tomorrow.

I wish my new neighbors would consider something. They let their dog yap for hours on end. How do they deal with him? Shut him outside so the rest of us can enjoy. They make no attempt whatsoever to quiet their dog.

Wow. I'm completely in love with the Gnarls Barkley CD. Love it, love it. :)

Sounds like my parent's neighbors. They put the dog outside, and they can't hear it bark, so in their minds it isn't barking.

It drives me nuts when my dog(s) bark. I will do everything in my power to get them to stop. I have even considered diffenbacia (dumb cane) oil. It paralizes their vocal chords, but I'm not sure how to go about it without stuffing the plant down their throat ;) .

So, Munchkin's home from the vet, and she's doing okay, though a bid groggy and nervous.

Yes, that's right, she. And not "she" as in "haha, he lost his balls." "She" as in Munchkin is female. As is the case with many rabbits, their outside bits are a tad ambiguous. Doctors can make educated guesses, but aren't always right, especially when they're young. When we had him checked at 6 weeks, the doctor said she was guessing that she was a he. And even the surgeon today said he was pretty sure too, until he got inside and found no testes :eek:

I'll probably still say "he", 'cause it doesn't matter and it's what I've grown accustomed to.

Try a citronella collar for Socks. It is sound activated and will spray a citronella scent when he barks, which dogs don't like. I watched several dogs that have used them in training with great results and no harm to the dogs.

I tried to ignore this, but I can't. The thought of surgically maiming an animal for no other reason than a human's selfish desire is just disgusting and quite honestly infuriates me. There are far too many options rather then needlessly ripping out a needed part of the body.

Sorry, but this is an unforgiveable act given the reasons stated.

I have never heard of that before. It is definatly worth a shot.

I did talk to a firend who trains dogs. I am totally bummed. She just started her last class of the year. There is no way I am going to be outside for 2 hours when it is 110. In the meantime we (meaning Nickolas & I) will keep working with him to keep him socialized so that he doesn't get like Pooh.

Get back to me when they have mute buttons for kids... :)

Could not someone says this about fixing an animal as well?

I'm not pro-voice box removal. I just brought up the option. But is it any different, really? Fixing an animal has to do with easier pet maintenance and not having to take care of offspring or keeping it away from members of the opposite sex, in effect surgically maiming an animal to make life easier for the human.

Which would you rather lose - your balls or you voice? Neither is a good choice.

If I say something that Nickolas doesn't want to hear, or if I sing, he says mute and acts like he is clicking a remote. If a commercial comes on that he doesn't like he says mute. It is sort of cute.

After today's wake up bark I am ready to shell out the $100 for the citronella collar.

No. These are two very different issues.

There IS a HUGE pet overpopulation issue in this country. I am very pro-spay/neuter. Every cat we have ever owned is fixed (if we had dogs, the same would be true). Every cat we have ever owned has been a rescue off the streets (because not enough people spay and neuter!). We don't spay or neuter our Dragons because it is too expensive, so we keep them separate where necessary and are careful about not overbreeding.

IF Susan and I had all the children we wanted (unfortunately for us, the opposite is true: we WANT children, but thus far have not been successful), I would not hesitate to get a vasectomy.

Communication abilities and reproduction capabilities are not equivalent!

And as someone said to me in a private comment, declawing a cat is also a bad thing. Declawing/debarking are two "convenient" (for the human) ways of taking care of an inconvenience (to the humans) that the human is too lazy/unwilling to look at at/make the extra effort to resolve the issue in more humane ways. The same cannot reasonably be said about spay/neuter of an animal.

Good explanation, but I would still argue that fixing a dog that typically doesn't roam around without the owner isn't necessary. Isn't the instinctual desire to procreate within most living things?

However, I am truly just playing devil's advocate. Fixing animals is a good thing, of course.

I will point out that I do not own a pet and I would not be a good pet owner.

The problem is the dog or cat that "typically doesn't roam around" always seems to escape into the neighborhood at the exact wrong time. This is how we ended up with our dog as a kid, her mother who never roamed around, apparently did.

Fixing a pet doesn't harm anything other than their ability to reproduce. And I think that unless you are a breeder, there is no reason not to have your pet fixed. There are so many unwanted pets out there already. One of our cats was rescued from out in the woods where someone had left her.

I'm no vet, but doesn't it do something to hormore production, particularly in males?

That's also kind of like saying all it does is stop a dog from barking if you surgically remove their ability to bark.

Poohdog isn't fixed. I can honestly say he doesn't EVER leave the yard. He has had plenty of opportunity, but he won't, just like he won't come in the house if the door is open for hours. The main reason he isn't fixed is because the only way for him to get to the vet is for me to take him. He won't walk on a leash, and he is too heavy for me to carry. I also need to get him a muzzle.

Sox will be fixed ASAP. With his personality it is the "right" thing to do.

IT'S TOO F'N HOT!!!!!!

And humid! It was 109 for criminies sake!

The thingy on the wall says 80... and the display on the front of my computer say 40... What ya talkin' bout, too f'in hot? :p

It hit 115 here, then the winds and some rain drops. Now it is down to 100 and feels almost good.

Sooo,

Today, I will be purchasing at least of two the most powerful box fans that I can find. That is, if the stores aren't sold out.

This is supposed to be a beach town. It isn't supposed to go above 90. You aren't supposed to need air conditioning. These are the thing I was repeating to myself at 4 AM when the inside of our place was still in the high 80's. Oh, there was cool air to be had. It was probably 74 outside. It's just that we couldn't coax any of that cool air into the apartment. I almost slept on the patio. If I could have fit in the refrigerator, I would have considered it.

The friggin box fans had better improve this situation or I'm going to start looking into weekly motel rates until this heat wave passes. Grrrr.

Allow me to save anyone who might be looking for a fan from wasting their time.

There are none.

Costco (x2)
Target
Wal-Mart (x2)
Rite Aid Drug
Long's Drug (x2)
Staples (x2)
Home Depot
Ace Hardware
Ralph's (yeah, I know. I was desperate)

All there are at any of the above stores are racks of empty shelves where the fans used to be.

I give up. I'm taking a cold shower.

According to my parents, it was 119 in Woodland Hills yesterday, the hottest recorded temperature in LA County ever.

It felt even worse than that, due to the humidity.

It's anywhere from 105-111 here, depending on where you are at. Luckily, it really is a dry heat, and what a difference that makes! I can't imagine how hot it is in LA right now..... :eek:

I'm going to get the monkey from LAX - oh how I've missed her this week.

Phoenix had the 4th hottest day on record yesterday (or perhaps the day before?). 118. ONly hotter days ever were 122, 120 and a 119.

But it's a dry heat. :rolleyes: I hate it when people say that.:)

It's been hot and gross here. Humidity is curenntly at 59% - bleh. I just love having a car with no air.

It's now about 79 out, with a breeze. I have two fans going and the inside is cooling off nicely.

I still have a 4 page paper to write that is due on Tuesday. It's been too hot to do anything/

Did we really have to mention this part? ;)

Did you check the Target and Home Depot by me?

It's been abnomrally humid here in SoCal too. Obviously still nothing compared to real humidity, but definitely more than we're used to. And thunderstorms. A bunch of thunderstorms. Really out of the ordinary.

We just got our electric bill. I thought I must have forgotten to pay last month's...but no such luck. With the bunny, we've been having to run the air a lot more and we're paying the price.

So....I type a note to a friend and try to type the word "moron". I mistype and type "mofron". She responded and asked if a mofron was a mother f'in moron.

While unintentional on my part, I liked her definition. I think mofron should be a new word.

WOOHOO! A new word.

Hi, my name is BTD and for reasons to remain unknown to the bar, I am a mofron.


Hi BTD...

I didn't even know you had a Home Depot near you. ???? I went to the one near Saddleback College. Is that the same one?

I did try Target, however. No dice.

Luckily, it's a little better than last night. Might even get a couple of hours of sleep. :)

It's too hot to study. And I have to go to special collections tomorrow because the mofo author just HAD to cite to an 1828 version of Webster. Or, rather, she cited to a source that cited the 1828 Webster, so I have to go to special collections. I'd fake it with the cite from the other source, but that didn't mention the page number, and I'm not going to make it up. And she still hasn't gotten back to me on her other cites that needed checking, which she will probably do when I'm trying to study for my Saturday final and I'll of course be expected to turn it around immediately. I hope she never ever needs anything from me. Or, rather, she'd better hope that. Mucking Runt.

Sooo...I may be able to catch up on conversations elsewhere but the Sooo thread is too daunting.

I finally started looking for a hotel for Walnut Creek. I found one 5 miles from where the wedding is going to be held. I really don't want to go. *sigh*

I dislike formal events. *sigh*

There is one on La Paz and Aliva/Pacific Park (in the shopping center with Longs and Henrys, down at the other end).

It is 7:20am and 78 degrees.

I have never been happier to have to go to work.

A lady fainted on the subway this morning. A couple of people went to get her help and she told them not to. Someone next to her gave her their water bottle. She ended up being fine. Just overheated and possibly dehydrated.

I was just thinking that people can be so cool sometimes when bad sh!t happens. :)




Grrrr. Smoky Beefy Goodness was walking to the subway hand in hand with a whore in scrubs this morning. I hate Beefy Goodness now. He's such a tease.
:D

It is hot already here as well. I woke up with a head that feels like it is bruised on the inside. Hmm. What ever have I been doing to myself???

I am now afraid to open our electric bill. It's always high with all of the crap we have.

GC~ I am so jealous. I have no Beef Goodness of any kind to admire on my way to work or at work.

Oh well. When my lean beef comes home I'll be alright. :blush:

Anyone read 'Bush On The Couch'? I was recommended it by someone this weekend.....

Back to work.....

So.....I'm doing this conversion from one account structure to another account structure. Throughout about 500K lines of code, there are various hard coded literals and account formats related to their current account structure.

They are changing about 800 account numbers.

I have to search through 500K lines of code for those 800 account numbers and formats related to them to find where I must change the code.

Each search takes about 3 minutes. Long enough to make it really boring, short enough so that I can't do anything else productive while waiting for each search to complete.

Sigh.

And I thought cleaning up my Outlook was tedious....


I guess the jack hammering starts at 8:30 a.m........I know it goes on all f'ing day long. As does the dog barking at the workers.

It all sounds like it is in my living room.

Oh, joy joy.

I have been up since 5. No good reason, just up.

I found the registration for one of David's cars. I think that was why I was up, it was bugging me that I couldn't find it and I knew it was due.

I got a local number for Efax to help with sending out resumes. I had been passing the numbers to Dawn and having her fax them for me, but since she is alos looking for work, and after stuff that happened this weekend, I just don't want to deal with her. It is worth the $12.95/month to just do it myself.

I just got done cleaning the girls' cages. At least that is done. Now I am going to get dressed and take Nickolas out to breakfast.

So far I feel like I have been semi-productive this morning.

It is going to be too hot to do much else today, so I will keep puttering around the house.

Maybe we need a "Soooo.... Part 2"?

111 right now, and muggy. I will be staying in for the rest of the day.

Perhaps there is wisdom in the policy of other boards to close threads when they reach a certain size. 3000 post threads can be quite daunting when one falls behind or is new.

The number of posts is still the same.

Just don't read them all. Click on "first new post" in the thread and go from there. I haven't read all the posts in this thread.

It's hot and ikky out still. My house is going to be a sauna too.

MBC - I went to Target in RSM, they only have table fans, and 2 air conditioning units for $180 each. They don't look easy to set up either.

Have you guys considered ordering something online and paying a little extra for speed shipping?

I used to be in an apartment with one of those window-unit AC's. They don't look like they could do much, but the one I had worked very well, and didn't take up much room in the closet in the winter.

MF - the problem with window units here is the windows slide from side to side, so you have to do a lot of prep work before it can be installed.

There do exist stand alone air conditioners that you can put out in a room, no attachment to a window. My Great-Aunt has one. It's fairly large though and I'm guessing more of a swamp cooler than an airconditioner. Not sure it would be worth the costs but it does work for cooling one room at least.

I guess our power co is running at peak capacity and is requesting people turn off as many appliances and such as they can until tonight. Looking at the news, it seems likely that California is going to have some real problems soon as well. Hope no one out there loses power- maybe it might be a good idea for those who can to stock up on ice, batteries and stuff.

Parts of LA have been losing power. The MySpace Data Center keeps having power failures. There are strong power warnings in effect. The prez of our company wants the thermostat at 72 and everyone is in sweaters. It could easily go up to 74 and no one would notice.

That reminds me though to stock up on ice and batteries. And water. Mainly because I am out of water bottles anyways. Thanks WB.

Also make sure you have one non-portible phone. If the power goes out for a while and your cell dies at least you'll have one phone for emergencies.

It's like a thousand degrees outside, and I'm on a cleaning tear. I've cleaned out the pantry, which has needed a really thorough hosing since 1999, and then ventured into truly frightening territory: the top of the refrig.:eek:

Tomorrow we get our new dishwasher installed- yeah!

dish hiders are the greatest invention ever!!

that and air conditioners

I need to remind David to service the generator in the motorhome. If there is an outage I will need somewhere to head. ...if he ever gets home...

Gah!!! Just lost power for almost 2.5 hours. Just as the Vicodin, which already makes me feel nauseated, was taking effect. Ugh. Thought I was gonna lose it at one point. But I cooled off with a cold shower, and crashed in the bedroom (which was slightly cooler). Then my mom called (I had called her just after it went out to let it go)...and as soon as I answered the phone, the power came back on (thanks mom!).

So....why the hell can't politicians stand up to radical environmentalists and get some nuclear power plants built? It's flippin' insane and America should not have to deal with rolling black and/or brown outs!

I didn't buy ice or batteries, I have both. I did buy food. Of course it's perishable so if the power goes out I'm screwed. Shiny is on the charger but if the power goes I'll lose the wifi.

Soooo..... did anyone else see this on the news page of IMDB?

So who said it? :rolleyes:

p.s. Notice the post #for me?

that I did my friend....that I did. conga rats
:D

I think I have a ways to go...which is amazing considering how much I babble on and on and on and on and...:blush:

edit: 491...more than I thought but yeah, got a ways to go

Thank the deregulation/reregulation politics on that one - price of electricity needs to go much higher before anyone wants to plunk down a half billion for even a natural gas facility - but don't worry, eventually competition will lower the prices in the long run .

We left SF just at the first fog in days was rolling in. DAMN! It was heinously hot up there and it's the same here. WTF?

I'm sorry we're not doing much to helpt the blaco out situation at the moment. The AC unit is on as well as all of the fans. Poor melted cats!

It's still hotter than hell in our house, but then I'm running around cleaning so some of it may be from exertion. We have very big house that cools downstairs wonderfully but rarely achieves the target temp upstairs, in winter or summer. Next time they ask us to conserve, I'll turn off everything but the air conditioner.

It is 1:30am and I am doing laundry, not because of the threats of blackouts, but because it is too freakin' hot in the garage to do it during the day!!

How well is your attic insulated? I just added a bunch of extra insulation and it made a big difference. The upstairs/downstairs temps are much closer. It was easy to do and didn't cost too much.

DPR- Our attic is only over the garage part of the house, so I don't think that would be of help. (But ty!) I have always thought that perhaps it was because of the fact that nearly every air outlet has an animal draped across it.:rolleyes: We were told that we should have two conditioners, but I already pay the utility company too much money as it is.

The AC is out at my work today. After lunch, I said "F*** this" (quietly, to myself - don't need to get fired) and came home. It's much cooler here, and I can play on my new pretty shiny.

We're no supposed to get over 100 the next several days. Lots of cloud cover and storm activity cooling us off at night.

I can handle how hot it gets during the day. No problem. What makes me ill is when it's still 108 at 10pm.

pretty shiny?!

Are your electric bills horrendous? does the a/c go on all the time? or is your house well insulated?

We had the same issue, until one day I happened to notice a warm breeze coming from the kids bathroom. It turned out the exaust fan was installed directly to the outside with no protective flap so hot air was just flooding into the top floor. Once I fixed that it was MUCH better. You might want to go around with the candle test and see if you have any air leaks. Don't forget to look at outlets for leaks also.

Don't forget that cell phones can be charged in your car.

Hotel lobbies are nice, air-conditioned places to sit and read or whatever if you're home and dying and need somewhere to go. (And no one knows that you're not supposed to be there!) So are bookstores.

Stay cool, everyone.

How does our weather compare? At about 5 PM right now, it's 90 but "feels like" 96. 54% humidity.

Actually a well balanced two-zoned system can save you money in the long run. With a balanced load both systems have to work less to keep your house at the right temp. Also you can use a programmable thermostat that only heats/cools the sections of the house when you need them (ie if the bedrooms are all upstairs)

They are pretty large, but necessary and worth it. We don't have natural gas for heat or the dryer or water heater, either. There are a few things our electric company does that makes it easier to handle.

To put in context, we have a 2 story 2200 sq ft house.

We are on a program that allows us to pay the average of our real bill for the last 12 months. Right now it's $216/mo. The real bill over the summer has run as much as $360 (vs. $70 for a couple months immediately pre and post winter).

We also participate in a program that encourages electric usage at night. From 9pm to 9am and all day on Sat and Sun, the rate is 1/3 what it is from 9am to 9pm. So we make sure the dishwasher and laundry is done during these times, etc. We also crank the AC down to 64 from 6am to 9am to cool the house way down, and then the AC doesn't typically come on again until early afternoon.

We have decent insulation, typical for a Phoenix home, with dual pain windows, shade screens, etc.

Funny, right as I opened this thread, my grandma came up to me asking questions on how to fill out some form so we can save on our electric bill.

That, and I'm trying to figure out whether "dual pain" was a misspelling or a freudian slip...

Ha! A slip for sure. They are a pain, but not for insulating purposes. Some of them have some sort of leak allowing small amounts of water to get in between them. When the water disappears a nasty residue is left. I have three windows I can hardly see out of anymore and need to replace.

I bought a new computer this weekend.

We got home last night and my first throught was the we flew into Orlando instead of LB.

Hey!




OK, I give. The humidity here can suck (the life right out of you). But you get used to it after a year or two.

SHARE!!!!!!


Do outlet insuliators really make a difference? I saw them in Home Depot, and they are really cheap but I'm not sure what, if any difference they would really make.

yay! a classmate just shared some of his birthday cake with me. And it's the last class of the term.

He didn't tell you that it was in the trunk of his car for three weeks?

Oh, sorry about that!:D

No! It's all mine. I won't share with nobody! ;)

It's a HP with a dual core Athlon 64 4600, 2G RAM, 320G hard drive, 19" monitor.

And what is her name?

I'm jealous. I bought a new computer but I have no idea what it is....I did when the box was next to me but I cleaned up the living room.....

But, it is an HP. :D

Are you talking about the little foam covers that you put under your electric outlets?

Ya huh.

Pehaps, but cell towers cannot

bleh.

I just got home. Our power went out about 7:45 and just came on 10 mins ago. When it first went out it was 108 outside. David was in the shower and just went straight to bed. Nickolas and I dealt with it for about 30 mins, but ended up going for a drive. We got home and went next door to hang out in their motorhome.

The power came back on for about 10 minutes and then crashed again. Hopefully it is back on for good. Just to be on the safe side I am going to take my shower as soon as Nickolas gets out of the bath.

I decided I want to go to a different school. One where I will learn something. So, these are the requirements that I have and I am open to suggestions:

BA or BS in IT (network admin direction rather than programming)
Distance learning

So, Jack made an emergency visit to the vet today. Not sure what the diagnosis is, but it seems like a urinary tract infection. That's 5 cats out of 6 to the vet in 3 months. Scoundrel had better not eat any shoes, because he's the only healthy one left.

Needless to say, I'm a worried mommy again. Maybe having children WOULD be easier. :(

What kind of food do you feed Jack, NA? I've used the Purina One Urinary Tract health formula for years and haven't (knock wood) had any problems with the boy kitties as yet. Big hugs to Jackie Boy- he's such a sweet guy.

Holy freakin' cow.....if I had half a brain I would turn off the computer instead of use it, because there is the frickin' biggest t-storm I can remember in Phoenix ever right now. SO much lightning the sky isn't remotely dark, and deafening thunder every 5 seconds. We are getting hammered. No chance at sleep till this is over.

I started typing this a while ago.....now the whole house is awake! Oh boy!

My truck, which doesn't fit in the garage, has had the alarm going set off 10 or 12 times. I felt bad until I stepped out on the porch and heard about 5 or 6 others cars going off, too.

Sorry to hear about the cats, but at least college (and the college fund) isn't in their future . :)

I am off to work. I have a temp assignment, beginning today and lasting through most of next week. I am a bit disappointed it isn't longer, but any money is good money when you have nothing coming in. This is my first assignment, so hopefully it will lead to others.

John's computer. (I don't name them, sorry.)

On a happy note, the AC is working at my work! I get to work now... yay(?)

No it wouldnt. You just have to trust me on this one.

.... Ever have one of those days where you wake up, less than a perfect amount of sleep, get dressed, put on a little make up, or whatever it is you do, and STILL decide that you look pretty good?

Today is gonna be good, I can feel it.

And perhaps they will be so impressed by you they will keep you on for ever and ever and ever and ever.

They are now on a brand of food called Felidae, which comes highly recommended from my pet nework. We put them on this because of Buster's FUS and he's been fine. I'm wondering if I need to re-think this again.

Jack is doing better today. He was MISERABLE and in pain last night. But, this morning, he hopped up onto the bed with his little "announcement" he makes when he leaps and had a purr fest. I haven't heard from the vet yet.

Every day, sister.:snap:

Girl, you ALWAYS look good ;)

Surprisingly, my vet recommended this food over Iams, Science Diet, et al. I was a bit leery, but no more- they love it and there have been no health problems in the past 5 or 6 years.

Poor Jack- I hope he continues to feel better!

Would it be callous to throw in a "death to all cats" comment right about now?

Only if I can retort that children should be kept segregated from the rest of the world until they are 21.

You may be surprised to learn that as a parent I agree with that a lot of the time.:)

No, merely suicidal.

Soooo..... I'm not dead. Carry on.

This is good. Was your demise something we were to have been expecting?

Har har!

Actually, thanks... :blush:

I normally think I look like crap in the morning... but accept it because it's a morning thing.. :)

True, but in that case, it wouldn't matter if your cell ran out of power.

Will this help? http://college.sparknotes.com/search/

I would love that. I have NEVER felt so welcomed on a first day. The entire office is very friendly and low key. I still have almost no idea what I am doing, but I still have a good feeling about being there.

:-)

That's great MG!! I am so happy to hear this! I hope that they decide you are so amazing they must keep you!


MF - thank you! I'll check it out

So....my son turns 7 tomorrow.

Also, today my 4 year old daughter, who turns 5 on Sept 17 and misses the kindergarten cutoff by 17 days, was approved to go to kindergarten after going through some testing this morning.

My kids are getting big.

One day soon they'll be able to kick your ass.:D

I've told my two daughters flat out they'll never be able to.:)

My son is huge. He is only turning 7 and is 52" and 75lbs. He may be able to by the time he's 10. But for now, I can beat him up with one finger.

Same problem. Ours was $162 last month. Having five dragon enclosures, each with a basking (read: heat) lamp, really makes the AC run a LOT.

What's daunting about the "nothing" thread. This is like the Seinfeld of threads.

Don't be too sure about the girls; I could totally kick my dad's ass. Of course, he's in his seventies, but still....

It's important to maintain a psychological edge- I can still go up to my much larger younger bro and make him flinch simply by pretending to punch him. He always grabs his arm and backs away.:D

Depends on the car...

If it makes you feel any better, friends of ours have a son who is bigger than that, and he is only five :O

I forgot to mention that I do throw in the caveat of "until I'm 80".

Yikes!~:eek:

Are you sure that you're the father? ;)

You're only saying that because he's already taller than you are.

Look at Nick. He is only 9. He measured himself against my mom tonight, he is now just past her eyes.

Can you stick them outside? :) Why cool off what you are heating?

So, he's pasturized??:rolleyes: :D

Just for Leo:

pellet guns and rat traps also work

Thank you, NA. I do appreciate that. However, and I'm really not trying to be offensive, I just find it ridiculous that it should be my responsibility to keep someone else's animal from pooping in my yard.

I have tried a couple of things, but they fade over time or rain washes them away, requiring me to work at keeping someone else's animal from pooping in my yard.

I called animal control once to see what they suggested. All they told me is that it is legal to trap on my own property.

While I really dislike cats, it is not my desire to trap someones pet and send it off to a shelter.

You could get a badger. Tie it to a stake in your yard. That'll scare 'em away.


:D

Would probably scare my children away, too. That wouldn't be a problem, but then they'd just be in the house.

How about a scarecrow?

This works great on the seals in Newport Harbor. I bet it would work on cats.

That's a good idea! :)

My annoyance remains, though, that it is expected to be my responsibility to control an animal that belongs to someone else.

I would catch the dang thing, post Found pictures all over and when the owner comes... sick the badger on him/her... I mean talk to them.
I know it's against the law and all but...

I think it would be tough to be a cat in phoenix. Outside, no AC, and a big coat. Scaeagles out to get you...

Domestic cats should not be outdoor animals anyway.

You know, I think I have to stop reading posts about potential animal cruelity - even in joke form. It REALLY irritates me.

NA, what is an acceptable solution? Is trapping an animal, as animal control suggested, cruel? Cruel to the owner of the cat, certainly.

I don't want to hurt an animal and won't. I just don't want to have to expend effort of money to keep them out of my yard.

Personally, I don't think cats should be outdoors, but people make decisions all of the time that are not good for their pets. There is no immediate solution. Your neighbors have cats that they let roam wild. It's not the fault of the cats, they are just doing what comes naturally to them. You can implement the humane suggestions that have been given so far and, beyond that, you can accept the fact that you have a giant catbox in your backyard and, until your neighbors decide to keep their cats indoors, you will have to deal with it.

Therefore, the only appropriate response is keeping my own fecal material and chucking over the fence.

Yes, because you have an inborn instinct to chuck your own recal matter over a fence.

Psst - that was a joke, NA.

I think I've lost my sense of humor on this toipc.

I would guess so if you think I am serious about flinging my poo over the fence.

*giggle*

Overheard probably 20 times a day at the San Diego Zoo:

"Mommy, why is there a big window here at the Chimp area?"
(sound of poop hitting big window)
"Never mind."

Well...afer 2 hours of sleep last night (which wouldn't have been bad last week, but with me working it is Hell), I stopped on the way home and bought "the collar." It says it shouldn't be on the dog for more thna 8 hours at a time, and since all I am wanting is 5-6 hours of sleep it should be ok. I must admit, I realllllly wanted the shock collar, but realized that was just my sleep deprived mind, so I coughed up the extra $$ and went with the citronella.

Let us know how it works for you. I have several clients with bark-infested dogs that have used the cotronella collar with much success.

I have 17 dog walks/cat visits to do tomorrow. Each is 1/2 hour or so. There is travel time involved. My day will start at 8:00 with an insulin injection and continue through a 7:00 insulin injection. It's going to be a long and hot day.

Saturday will not be quite as bad.Only 9 visits and an overnight. Somehow, in the midst of that day, I will go to the cemetery for a film. HA!

I should be in bed. But I'm eating a bagel and watching baby fish swim.
:)

Fun with context.

I found a new school. Now I just have to get accepted and figure out if I should contine where I am until I can start or take a break. I love trying to atriculate credits across state lines.

And on the pet topic,

I've woken up at 4am two nights in a row to cats growling at each other. Last night I turned my hose on and sprayed the area near them (not ON them). They went away.

That was so funny, it'd make milk shoot out a cows nose...

It's just a choice: remain annoyed or do something about the problem.

My annoyance is the expectation. While annoying to clean up after someone else's animal, it is better than any action I can think of as an alternative. There is no action I can take to change the expectation of people who allow their animals to poop in my yard.

I can lend you Poohdog. You won't have any cats in your yard...but then no one else could be in your yard either.

OK, this reminds me of a fricking dog that seems to be about a neighborhood away with a huge bark that starts around 1:30 and does end until my brain gives up on it around 2:30ish... I dunno what this is about, and it's a regular dog... But I have to wonder who's sitting through that in their back yard. It is most certainly a dog, not a coyote, so unless it's a complete stray, it has to be in someone's yard, and it always seems to come from the same direction, so I'm disinclined to believe that it doesn't belong to someone.

Oh well... Perhaps tonight I'll pass out beforehand.

Well...either it worked or I was just so tired nothing could penetrate my sleep. I got at least 4 wonderful, uninterupted hours of slumber last night.

The one thing I am not real fond of is that it has to be rather snug around his neck for the sensor to work.

I have this weird image in my mind of scaeagles throwing feces around his yard like a monkey.
:D


Well, a big file came today via email. I guess I actually have to work on a Friday. Download. Import. Mail Merge. Send Acknowledgements... Meh.

Was this part of your dream with Circular Saw Boy and Spy Madonna? And properly, the image shoiuld be me throwing it over the fence.

I hope your neighbors don't have a pool. Baby Ruth bar time.

No, this was a non-midnight snack induced image.

Speaking of feces...
There's a guest here at the shelter that people call "the Artist". She paints the walls of the bathrooms with... well... you get it, I'm sure.
:eek:

On my second Diet Pepsi of the day. Not good. Very sleepy.

Going away for the weekend to Portland, ME. Need relaxing doings...

:)

Huge storm hitting right now. Lightning and thunder. So much of both that I feel like I'm in a cheesy horror film. :D

I so fu<king hot right now.

We only got to 96 today and have nothing in the 7 day forcast above 97. Vey unusual for Phoenix in July.

So....it's going to be a cool weekend here. High 60s, low 70s. Ahhhhhhh......

So go for some hot fu<king.

It's bad enoug having a furry ***** on my lap, let alone a hursute man. ;)

Having nothing to do with the above, I saw this picture and had to share:

That's a Shar-pei.

I thought it was a Mugwump

It looks like a big pile of ground beef when I don't have my glasses on...

I was watching Law and Order when I heard a familar scuffing of feet approaching the front door. It was a tearful Nickolas. He said he was homesick and missed me and did he have to spend the night at his friend's or could he come home. All I could do was hug him. I think he has missed me not being home the last 3 days.

It was all really touching and sweet...right up until he mooned me as he was getting ready for bed.

.

I thought it was Joba The Hut. I had to stare at it for some time to fure it out. Wow. I'm not even on meds anymore.......

sooooo....the evidence exam sucked. really really sucked. a lot. die evidence exam die!

But, my post-exam reward of seeing Pirates was worth it all! Hysterical, as usual.

That's Penzance, not Caribbean.

My mom will be 69 tomorrow. I am kidnapping her to see Pirates. That's Caribbean, not Penzance.

I can't sleep.

I just got out of the shower and am now doing laundry. Not sleeping sucks.

I don't think much apartment searching can be done on Sundays.

That means I'm relaxing and cleaning the apt today.

I just sorted my laundry (it's not put away yet, jut in piles on the living room floor) and did a pen purge. Any pen that didn't write went in the trash (unless it had some other redeeming "but Lisa brought this all the way from Paris" quality).

What's next? Shredding? Filing? Putting clothes on hangers? Brunch? Only time will tell...

You can go over to FS's for a packing party. ;)

Nickolas and I just got home from taking mom to the movies. We didn't get to see Pirates. That is a movie that David realllly wants to see. He had to take a friend to the urgent care after a car accident this morning, so no movie for him. I was a good wife and chose not to see it until he can watch it too. Instead we saw Monster House.

Now I think I am going to read for a bit and then take a nap.

We just saw 'Monster House' today, and it was quite a bit better than I imagined it would be. I am not hugely fond of the animation but the story was decent and there were a few humorous parts- I thought it was superior to 'Over the Hedge'.

I really am looking forward to 'Happy Feet'. I just love the previews for it.

I liked Monster house also. Lots of character development for an animated movie, and good plotline. I liked the animation better than the plastic flat uninteresting animation of Hoodwinked!..... I realy wanted Hood to be as good as Shrek, but it fell flat in my opinion.

The animation fell a bit short for me too, but overall it wasn't bad. Now Nickolas is bugging me to see The Ant Bully.

On a side note, I just took off Sox's collar. He smells lemony fresh. I also had to refill it, so I am thinking it is working.

I had a relaxing weekend. We drove up to Portland, ME and chilled. We went antique shopping and ate a lot of lobster. I've decided that eating lobster in a lobster roll is the way to go. If you ever go to Maine, eat at Red's Eats. They have the bestest lobster rolls.
Frodo had a good time, too. He met a Corgi that was his exact twin at a MA rest stop. Amazing. "Corgis, identical Corgis..."
:)

I can't decide if I hate you, or if I just think you have a lovely life.

lol! :D
We're not that love dovey. He's kinda part Vulcan in public. I really needed to get away this weekend. I was feeling burned out.
Would it make you feel any better to know that we waited in 90 degree weather for an hour for our lobster rolls? :D

Yes!

(ashamed)

Maine is great. I don't know if I'll get there this year. Perhaps over Labor Day weekend...

So, I'm in technical hell again. My phone battery is not holding a charge, my mouse is unresponsive, I think I'm supposed to be cleaning house or something instead. ACK!

Oh yeah, sca-what'shisname will love this. We drove by the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport. It's pretty amazing. Bush Sr. was home at the time, too. Lots of black vans. Frodo took a poop at the beach next to their house. (Yes, we picked it up.)
:)

Has your phone been turning off spontaneuosly? Like when you pulg it in? Or unplug it?
Mine does... and drives me nuts. The t-mobile guy thinks I am insane.
But they also dont hold a charge as well as other phones.

Yeah, I charged it overnight and, when I unpluged it, it turned itself off and won't turn on. THe battery is apparently not charged at all.

However, after taking it apart several time, it seems to be charging now. Who knows.

Maybe dirty contacts. Try cleaning them with the eraser on a pencil.

WTF, is there something in the air? Just the other day, my phone rebooted itself when I plugged it in to my car charger during a call. It's never done that before.

My contacts are clean, I pulled out the sim and cleaned that. I don't know what's up but it FRUSTRATES the hell out of me. My and my phone are really joined at the hip. (Is this news?)

My phone goes through phases where it'll say it's charged, but after a say two minute phone call the battery will be down to one bar. It did this when I first got it, it's a razr, and they replaced it. Worked fine for a few months but now it's doing it again, but it's hit and miss. Usually if I charge it - then unplug it and plug it back in - it will fully charge.

Maybe the solution is to get one of those phones that no one seems to like. My Sony Ericsson hasn't had charge issues (the charge doesn't last as long as it used to, but that's to be expected; I've had it for a couple years now).

But I've also been told that it's a crappy little phone. I happen to like it.

My sister saw this message on the marquee of the high school from which I graduated.

“Our Goal – Basic or better.”

Wow. Good to see that they've finally started to raise their ambitions after 10 years.

So today's "Leanne we need you to come with us on an errand and bring your UW credit card" trip involved stopping at Fran's Chocolates. Any errand that involves me being able to pick up some salted caramels is okay in my book.

Our new phones have issues.
Its not so much a battery thing.. its a psycho wierd thing
When it turns off of its own accord, it doesnt WANT to turn back on.
If these phones werent brand spankin new, I'd think that we had dirty contacts.
I think its a phone flaw.

I spy Blooregard! I love me some Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends!

kinda partial to Eduardo myself

I h ave had this bag of Fran's chocolates on my desk all day and I haven't eaten any. My will is most strong.

It will crack like cracky crackling thing once I get home, though.

I perfer Cheese. The Boy and I are always quoting Foster's. My mom thinks we're nuts.

I'm watching Full House. I think I've seen some of those outfits in the store again.

Belted long shirts/sweaters, right? :eek:

(Just perused the latest Limited Too catalog with the Girl, and am having serious flashback issues).

Ya. I saw a shirt loop in Urban Outfitters a few months ago. $8!!!! Time to go through my old stuff and see what I can profit from :D

Double belts.

I saw double belts.

Pegged jeans. It was bad last time, it's bad now.

And sweater vests. So help me I saw sweater vests.

I accidently tried on a pair of jeans with zippered ankles.

And I think Guess brought back their zippered ankle jeans..

Ring Ring.

Hello 2006? This is 1989 calling. We realize now that tapered legs and jeans with zippers on the ankle do not look good. Please cease and desist this style replication right away.

Thank you.

But, I WANT my ass to look larger!

Might I direct your attention to the cupcake thread?

Oh, and the oversized sweater, off the shoulder, with the giant caul neckline.

And leggings. Don't forget the leggings.

LOL all this is just in time for my 20 yr reunion!

It's a sad day when you have 'The Twist' by Chubby Checker and the Fatboys stuck in your head all morning.
:D

*yawwwwwn*

Something was going on last night. Poohdog barked until 2am. He doesn't bark like that unless something is wrong. First it was the care worker next door moving trash cans, but then it was somebody in the yarf behind us. Sox was quiet. Pooh finally shut up after I ordered him to lay down by the back door.

I am getting really tired of dogs.

Indeed, you are even beginning to speak like them ;)

LOL!:D

Yes, yes you do. :snap:
I had the joy of meeting Bloo at comic con.

And Eduardo, whom I enjoyed immensly! (Did you know he was Sponge Bob too?) and I met Terrance too!...

And my son loves Cheese. He scored himself a cheese shirt at comic-con.

I love Fosters, and I enjoy Bloo all the time. Did I expect him to be african-american? Hell no. Later when I have more time I'll post my Foster's story.

What in the HELL are you people talking about?

Television. Specifically cartoons.
You know, that big thing in the corner of the living room that you never watch? Well, ok, you use it for dvd's...
I'll find you a few episodes, and you too can watch the extremely cool cartoon!

By Mennen!

There, all gone.

You guys and your phone issues! For a minute last night at 8:30 you had me thinking my phone was on the fritz.

It chimed. I thought, "but I just charged it last night."

Then I remembered that I set it to chime at me about an "appointment." (Not an appointment, but there's no good category for "call brother.")

Insomnia..........................

There's been an update to the signage:

"Our educational goal- All students better than basic"

:cheers:

That is a mighty high goal there GD.

What about C++?

I have no idea where to post this, but I needed to write it down, soooo...

I'm watching a baseball game right now and the SF Giants are losing yet another game. The commentators are having their usual fun scribbling on the faces of fans using their telestrator, which is a typical way they entertain themselves during the predictable lulls in play.

There's a little cove behind the ballpark, where people bring their boats and float out there during the game, in hope of retrieving a "splash hit".

The cameraman zooms in on the face of a guy sitting on his boat in the cove, the commentators scribble on his face, and then one of them says:



I swear. I'm still laughing.

C or C#.

Considering how excruciatingly boring baseball is I cannot blame them for looking for a way to entertain themselves.

I'm still think about the Portugese Water Dog story.

exactly what i was thinking...

well, that and JT Snow's tight uniform pants:evil:

I debated about posting this.

I called my jerk teacher a jerk. To his face. I had had-it-up-to-here with his arrogrance and mis-information. Final straw was during our test tonight, and someone was still taking it when he decided to start our presentations. The class alerted him to the student still taking a test and he said it was ok, we were going to start. I said that's rude, he is trying to concentrate (at no time did the teacher give us a timeframe to take the test, nor ask the student if he wanted to leave the room, or if he was ok taking the test during presentations). The teacher came back with "I am the instructor, I can do what I want" (not the first time this has been said). I looked at him and said you are a jerk. The entire class gasped. He went to threaten my participation points and I told him I didn't care. :rolleyes:.

So jerky teacher. You, sir are a jerk. And that proclamation was for all the jerky teachers in all the world and for all the students who can't call it like it is (not that I could, but I am leaving the school and already expect an F in the class, so I had nothing to lose).

Man that felt good.

And after having insomnia until 12:30am or so, I get into bed and fall asleep. Then at about 1:20am, the air conditioning goes off. Click. We now have a power outage. It's about 88 degrees in our apt and I'm sweating my skin off. So I have a hard time sleeping all night. I think I may have had about 3 hours of sleep.
Power is still off right now... Luckily I'm at work. It's supposed to be 100 degrees here but it's supposed to feel like 115.
Nice.

Should be an interesting day of GC posts.
Fasten your seatbelts. Margo Channing's grumpy.
:D

(((hugs))) GC.

Ours went out last week. It was out for over 2 hours. Luckily Nickols and I had alternatives (neighbors running the ac in their motorhome). If it hadn't come back on my parents would have gotten 2 over night visitors.

Thanks, MG! :) I wish I had that option. My folks are in Hawai'i. Then again...

I can't imagine what it would have been like if it was the middle of winter and the power went out... :eek:

They have set up 5 "cooling centers" in my city today to help out those that don't have AC. We're getting the same weather prediction as Boston - temperatures with heat index into the 110 F range.

GC, I hope you get power back. Is Frodo at home with no power? :(

Power is not back on yet. Bleh!

Frodo went to work with Ralphie. Big air conditioned science building with A/C paid for by Harvard. Lucky dog. He gets to play with a three legged dog named Annabelle. She's a fluffy black Chow/Corgi mix. We think. And he also gets to play with his buddy Shiloh, a Kelpie. Lots of doggies on that floor.

Boston has set up cooling centers, too. We got an answering machine message from the city controller or someone like that.

The shelter is staying open longer to allow the guests to hang out in the air conditioned parts of the bldg, too.

Whew, it never got that hot when I was up there, but I'd imagine there'll be lots of pissy Margo Channings today in greater Boston.

Watch yourself!

CG, I hope tonight is better for you, and the power is back on before you get home!

We had tripple digits and high humidity for a few weeks (rare for us, and we have no AC in our home) but now Mother Nature has turned on our natural AC in the form of the on-shore air flow. Now it's clowdy in the morn, and highs in the upper 70s. Cools down to upper 60s at night.

Thank you Mother Nature!