black friday

december 1.

the date that changed my world.

this year, it happens to fall on a friday.

had the events that occurred seven years ago on this date never happened, i doubt i would be here in arizona right now, typing this blog. but they did happen. and i am here. i used to attempt to minimize contact with people on this date. tomorrow, i have to work, i am going to race a radio controlled truck for the first time ever, and go out after that. the work is unavoidable. the latter two events i debated about doing. but then i decided why not. i guess that is the biggest lesson i learned from this.
life can be cut short. my life. everyone's life.
it doesn't matter if you are 8 months old, 21 years old, or 101 years old.
many people died on this day in 1999. many births occurred on this day. just like any other day.
there is never a day people won't die. there is never going to be a day people aren't born. well, if our planet blows up, then life on this planet is over. PEROID. until the earth blows up, the above holds true.
my point is, life is precious. it comes. it goes. yust like that. so why not live life to the fullest. and help others do the same. because no ones life is any different than yours. no ones is more valuable. no ones is less valuable.
it has never been easier to loose sight of this. people value silly things. money, clothes, fashion, cars, food, alcohol, sex, power, fame, blah blah blah.
pain is funny. in a bad way. it can be contagious. it has been my personal observation that a majority of those who experience pain 'pass it on' to others. misery does seem to love company, it makes us humans an excellent carrier.
i do truly believe everything happens for a reason. the good, and the bad. there is a reason.
i could go on, but instead i digress. it is somewhat late, and i have a busy day tomorrow.

~peace

butt cold

that was the term i heard (on the radio) used on the radio to describe today's weather. high of only about 50-55. strong, blustery winds all day only exascerbated the chilliness. i was damn glad i did get my doors on my jeep last night. felt weird driving today, but at least i was warm. it is nice to have the side view mirrors again. the only thing: both inside and outside, the cleaned and armor all'ed doors are the cleanest thing on my jeep.

speaking of cars, did anyone hear about the world's fastest street legal car?
top speed: 253 mph
there is a special key one must use to go this fast
engine type: 'W' 16, 8.0L, quad turbo
horsepower: 1,001!
it actaully has a gauge that reads the horsepower.
torque: 922 ft lbs
transmission: 7 speed manual with dual clutch (i can't even drive a single clutch)
configuration: rear engine, AWD
0 - 60 MPH: in 2.5 seconds
253 - 0 MPH: in less than 10 seconds, about 1/3 of a mile
this seems more amazing to me than the top speed. in 10 seconds at 253 MPH, one travels approximately 3/4 mile.
tires: 14.4 inch michelins
they are the widest tires ever made for a road car. they only last 10,000 miles. two of them cost $12,000! there was no mention of the front tires.
manufacturer: bugatti
model: veyron
price: damn near priceless, at $1.2 mil a pop
oh yeah
MPG: city = 9.5, highway = 19, top speed = 4.0
dude!

ok, i just (finally) got my memory card, memory card reader, & the cd of all of our pics of our hiking / camping trip to ventana canyon trail / the window back yesterday. you know where to find the six best pics. :)

oh yeah, no sings of 'enpy froggy' in the plant tanks at work. maybe he / she is hopping their way back home.

froggy

it is official. winter has arrived in tucson. almost got down into the 30's last night. must put the doors back onto my jeep, very soon!

so, as usual, the weekend flew by. had a good turkey day. i never did stay awake for the da vinci code. went to a wedding saturday night. good times.

the brownies got crushed, 30-0. glad i didn't watch that.

so, today, i am loading up my jeep at the yard gettingh ready to go home. it is dark, and my headlights are shining on the back of the van i am now driving, as my work truck is once again experiencing the same tranny problems. i open up the back door of the van. i look down on the floor, and staring back at me is a face. that of a frog! my fourth and final job of the day was a pond cleanout. i removed two 5 gal buckets of debris and muck from the pond. this pond does contain frogs. i often catch frogs and tadpoles when removing the debris from this pond, but i usually always sight them and return them to their habitat. i guess this dude (or dudette) 'slipped thru' unnoticed, and returned to the yard to be thrown out. but he / she thankfully escaped thru the rest of the muck in one of the two buckets. so i relocated him / her to the 'for sale' plant tanks at our yard. hopefully, he / she will prosper in his ' her new environ. maybe he / she can become our new company mascot. he / she did exude charm when he / she was staring at me from the van. ok, guess u had to be there.

go seattle! set that rain record.

this is mein teil!

gobbledigoo

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

i love this holiday. but it also has the dubious distinction of being the last day i saw two people. back on turkey day of 1999. that is sorta hard to forget about.

i am going to try to watch the da vinci code and not fall asleep.

~peace

woa

i wasn't going to do a posting tonight, but tsuki sorta freaked me out tonight. he was in his usually happy-to-see me mode shortly after i got in (late) from work, when something freaked him out, big time. it started by my bedroom window. i am petting him, he is purring, when he suddenly jumps up and goes into scaredy cat mode (huge tail, hair on back sticking straight up). he goes to the window and stares out it for awhile. after a short while, he jumps down, and then preceeds to stare at the bedroom doorway from the hallway. then he retreats further, seemingly cowering by the recliner by my 'puter, still in scaredy cat mode. IT WAS WEIRD. maybe 'someone' was passing thru. he is back to normal now, and i am going to bed.

THE END

quickrecap

the trip was awesome!
the meteors were somewhat disappointing though. hiking 6 miles to camp IS rough. my legs are still sore. i was fine on the way down on sunday, which is weird when compared to the troubles i experienced going up. it was worth it though. more on that later, in its proper place.

so bafbwogr, were u at o'malleys tonight? maybe one day your proposed experiment will occur. but tonight i worked till 18:30, and i wasn't in the mood to go out, so i didn't even call anyone.

it is late, and i still have to unpack.

~peace

thorn in my finger

ok, it is semi late, considering i have alot i plan on doing tomorrow. but i doubt i will have time to post anything tomorrow, and i KNOW i won't be posting anything on sat, and sunday will be busy too. so here i am.

of everything i am going to do tomorrow, packing for saturday and going to get my certification to substitute teach are my two biggest priorities. speaking of the latter, i went downtown to do so last friday. that is how i learned about it being veterans day. D'UH!

thankfully, i had my work toolbag with me tonight. i needed my needlenose pliers to remove a thorn from my index finger. that and a needle and a lighter. the thorn decided to become one with my finger the day i went on the picacho peak hike. it was really bothering me today, so i had to finally take action. my finger feels soooo much better now that its buddy is gone. sorta reminds me of a camp lazlo episode involving a tapeworm (i believe).

pain. three days grace has a song called pain. an interesting song, to say the least. more on that later.

thursday has come and gone, and i haven't turned on the tv. yeah

i can't wait to go hiking, and camping, and see meteors! the new count is six 'for sures' (counting me), one 'maybe', and one 'doubtful'. there was a drop out because no fishing would be involved.

it is 01:04, i am out.

ummm K

so little time....

the pics of the picacho peak hike are up, FINALLY.

minimal write up, but the pics are up.

that's all folks!!!

for tonight that is

of course

:)

the waiting was the best part

didn't do anything special this weekend. mostly just lounged, and got some stuff done around the apartment. i watched the brownies for a change on sunday, and they won! against the falcons, in atlanta. i doubt i will see them this sunday play their HATED long time rival: pittsburgh. i heard jesus hates the steelers also. their superbowl win last year was just to make them fall farther this year. proof in point: they have the same record this year as the browns, 3-6. and if we would (somehow) win sunday, oh my. there would be some major heartache in steeler land. anywho, i doubt i will be back from the leonid shower camping trip that is planned for sat afternoon / night. i have three 'for sures', and some 'possiblies' to boot. i can't wait. the last meteor shower i went to see sucked all the way around. i went to reddington by myself to watch it on may 6th. { NOTE: i usually remember events on and around the birthday of my sister.} i got up late, and only saw 3 meteors before dawn's early light came forth. and the 3 i saw pailed in comparison to the shooting star i saw a couple of weeks later while hanging out at the U of A campus lawn. back to may 6th, i didn't wear enough warm clothing, and it took me seemingly forever to warm up. i literally was chilled to da bone. then i had to be a pond rep for my company for a koi and pond tour. i felt sick all day. hopefully, this time around will be much better. camping, campfires, good company, and some ETOH make a great foursome. throw meteors in the mix, and WOW.

last night i was at the rialto to see the def tones and deadsy. the tones were alright. never really listenned to them too much. deadsy was a dudsy. they had potential, but was beavis would say, they try to hard. there wasn't any flow or smoothness. it was like every member of the band wanted to be numero uno, there was no harmony. there was good stuff, but they wouldn't allow it after too long. weird. i saw two people faint. that was sorta weird too. my buddy was too beat up from hanging out in the front row to go anywhere else afterward, which i was sorta bummed about.

then there was today. today was slightly a bummer day, from the start. i probably was 'sufferring' from a slight case of concertius. so i slept in (till 6:30), checked my e-mails and websites (which is my evening ritual normally), and worked on some work documents on my 'puter. i only had two jobs to go to, both in tubac, the first one scheduled at 13:00. so i finally get to the yard at 10:15. i head out at 11:30. my truck was running beautifully yesterday and on the way down to tubac today after coming back from the shop for the tranny problems it was experiencing last week. it always amazes me how many people one can pass on the highway just doing 5 to 10 over the limit. anywho, i finish my first job. now, my tranny won't shift. i could only do 25 mph max, when i was going down a hill, on a 55 mph road that led back to I-19. so i crept to the exit, and called for a tow. in my hour wait, i eat my lunch, went rock hunting on the nearby hill, and took pics of the beautiful mountainous surroundings. that explains the pics above. i normally do not take my camera to work everyday. usually just when i know i will need it, and on rare occasions i bring it just for the heck of it. today was a latter day. and as for the rocks, which were washed and scrubbed for your viewing pleasure, i swear the one rock is a fossilized bone. it is the one on the RHS above the triangular rock.

damn, it is too late to post a baseball update. lots of good, and bad, stuff going on today baseball-wise. none of which the indians were involved.

tsuki (who is sitting on my lap right now) & i are out!

play ball

today was a totally excellent day, despite the 'final day' of a friend from work. and despite the fact that my work truck may have tranny problems. the 'save' was part of the fun though. and finally eating at sauce. a fellow employee was very clearly NOT happy she was forgotten when it came to our sauce stop on the way back from the shop. opps, sorry. andrea and i did drop the ball on that one. anywho, i was SUPPOSED to work on a maintenance manual for work, as i do not even have my 40 hours in for the week. and we cannot get our big bucks owed to us until i finish this project. but instead, i finally started my baseball-only blog. i have the link posted on the side. tomorrow, i should have pics and a write up of my picacho peak hike. unless i go out, of course.

ok, it is late. i do have the manual to type up tomorrow, plus some surprises i have in store.

out

inferior conjunction-itis

tomorrow, beginning at 12:12 (AZ time) mercury will start to cross the sun. 14:41 it will be in the middle of the sun. at 17:15 it will be done. supposedly, it can only be viewed with binoculars, with special special filters that keep the intense sunlight from blinding you. the last time this occurred was may 7, 2003 (my sister's 25th birthday). the next this happens will be may 9, 2016. i am sad, i did not buy filters for this event. d'oh! i will bring my binocs to work, just in case.

did you vote today??? i did.

the weirdness from yesterday continued thru the night and this AM. i had a REALLY weird dream, involving my sister. then, when as i am getting ready to hop into my jeep this (chilly) AM, i notice a red mini-rosebud-like flower on the seat. that was cool.

bedtime. excellent.

yadnom

i have been to the open house, now i am following the PML to mars. at least my name will be. i did this for the uber rovers (that thankfully keep going, and going, and going), now for the Pheonix Mars Lander also. that is enter my name so that it can be recorded on a dvd that accompanies the lander on its long journey to mars. you can too, by going to the planetary society's website. act now.... :) i am too lazy to post the link, so if you want your name to go to mars, you will have to do some work :P i believe the deadline is in feb, unless they fill up by then.

trivia: what is the largest city in the USA to have a one syllable name?

so far, november is off to an awesome start. friday i changed my own brakes pads. i can't drive a stick, but i now can replace my own brake pads! it feels sweet to be able to do something like that to your own vehicle! it is actually pretty simple (at least on a jeep) to do. but how many actually can / know how to do it? add me to that list now :)

i did a whole bunch o' errands before that. afterwards, i went with my buddy sean's place, then to his freinds house in scottsdale. stafford and keri, u 2 rock! from there, we went to the venue in scottsdale where we saw robert randolph and the family band play. the band was sweet, and we all had a blast!

yesterday i went hiking to picacho peak. it was my first time there. for glenn jr's wife amber, it was her first time hiking, ever. it was a tuffy for newbies. 4.0 miles roundtrip, 1300 ft elevation change. and near the summit, you practically are rock climbing. she did awesome, as well as the two other rooks we had go with us. we all had a blast! sometime this week i hopefully will put up a few of the many pics in my hiking blog.

today was the most subtlely weird day, ever. nothing 'major' happened, it just seemed so weird. all day. was hoping to do a bisonwiches / o'malleys jaunt tonight, but my buddy ( james) elected to work on his new place instead. can't blame him for that.

trivia answer: flint, michigan
i actaully learned this from alice cooper.
rockers, what aren't they good for!

tgifFRIDAY!

here he / she is. my new totem. my existing one now has a buddy.

i am going to that concert in scottsdale tonight. i do not know the bands name. my buddy sean and i have similiar musical taste, and he assured me this band rocks. that's all i need to know.

ok, i have a multitude of errands to run. then i will do my brakes. then go to my buddy's place. then we will go to scottsdale. probably won't be back at my place for another 16 -17 hours.
cool. tsuki won't be so happy about that.

countdown

hello november. it has been alright so far. hopefully, the highlight will be nov 18 / 19. that is the night / morning of the peak of the leonid meteor shower. earth starts to intersect the path of comet temple-tuttle on nov 17. the meteors i hopefully will see are debris left over from when the comet t-t travelled thru this space back in 1932. a 74 year old debris path! the thing i know is it WILL be cold watching them.

i AM finally doing my brakes tomorrow at the yard.

sunday i am going HIKING at picacho peak.

i MAY be going to a concert tomorrow night in scottsdale. if i do, it will be with the same buddy with whom i WAS supposed to go to the australian pink floyd show on monday. that is why i state MAY.

i found the above image today. I LOVE IT! jesus and i have something in common afterall :) if i could find i poster of it, it would be mine! that reminds me, congrats to the st louis cardinals on their very surprising world series victory. i didn't think they had it in them.

what i learned today: the north pole has no penguins. it is a penguinless pole.

too tired, that is all for tonight.