Gas Prices Begin to Rise

Up at 5 am... woof down my vitamins, hard-boiled egg, and half a can of red kidney beans, and out the door. Passed another opossum on the side of the road this morning, but luckily he did not run out in front of me. Was at the gym shortly after 6 am. Today was a shoulder, chest, and tri's day. It was a good challenging workout.

Then to the office to sweat. As I was pulling up I saw that the irrigation sprinklers were spraying outside. I have wondered for weeks why the paint is peeling from one spot on the over hang infront of the neighbors door. Now I know. One sprinkler head sprays a hard stream straight up into that spot. I hope the landscapers see it and fix it.

Inside the office it was nice and cool... almost cold. But there was no condensation on the registers. I guess our visit from the AC guy helped !

At lunch I ate a Lean Cuisine chicken dinner. Then I took my walk. It was hot and muggy, but there was a breeze.

Fay went out after I came back. She went to fill her gas tank up. She had to wait in a line. As she waited, the man with the letters and the long stick came out to change the price on the sign. Just as she finished filling, the price went up 10¢ per gallon.

I stayed after work and talked with Craig for awhile. Did not get out until around 7 pm. He was still there returning phone calls and e-mails. On the way home I noticed that every gas station I passed had a long line of calls running down the street waiting to get in. I have not seen that in 30 years ! If a store with gas pumps, like 7-Eleven, did not have a line - it was already out of gas. They say gas will be over $3 a gallon by Monday.... I think it will cross that tomorrow.

The next few months are going to tell, but I think this is just the beginning of long-term rising oil prices. OPEC is trying desperately to get the price back down, but they are unable to increase production. If prices go too high, alternative fuels look attractive and they will lose business.

Anyway, a long Labor Day Weekend is coming... next week will be especially short. After returning to work on Tuesday, we have to begin getting ready for the Florida Restaurant Association show at the Convention Center. That will eat up Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Maybe Sunday too if I have to help take it down.

Kissimmee, FL

This morning I had a hard-boiled egg, two slices of cheese, and three dill pickle wedges for my meager breakfast... then got into the truck and went to the gym. I am glad I get paid soon -- I really need to get some groceries. I have a dollar in my wallet and maybe two dollars in quarters in the ashtray of the truck.

Today was another busy day in the office. Atleast we are starting to process more orders again. We had the air conditioning guy come in an tweak our system because it has been getting warm in the office on sunny days. Fay started working on the Borgata Casino project so I had to take phone messages for her so she could work undisturbed.

Because of the long holiday weekend coming up, Greg Olsen said I could take off at 2pm on Friday if I want or feel like I need to. That is good because I am going to run up to Panama City for the weekend and getting out early will make a big difference in how late I arrive.

Reading in the news how terrible things are in Mississippi, Alabama, and New Orleans. Things are only going to become worse as the heat settles back in and nobody has electricity, food, or clean water. One million refugees. Damn.

I found a few links of interest today while surfing too:

• Some low-down thieves stole Judy Garland's ruby slippers from a museum.
• Cassini space probe discovers jets of ice spewing from fissures at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
• A new material has been created that is harder than diamond.
• Don't let your wallet be nano-sized. Nanotechnology investment guidance.
• A new antibiotic is successful against antibiotic resistant superbugs.
• An interview with the heliodisplay inventor (this is the gizmo R2D2 made famous in Star Wars).
• Download Snippy to cut portions of your screen without having to open the image.

That's about all I have. I am running some gym clothes through the washer right now so I will have something to wear in the morning. Back and bi's again tomorrow. Have not weighed or measured yet, but the time in the gym is paying off... some of my gut is gone already. Will weigh on Thursday -- that will be one month.

Kissimmee, FL

I felt like poop all weekend. I was sore and achy in my arms, legs, back... I had a cold and it was kicking my butt. I did not even leave the house all day Saturday. On Sunday I forced myself out. I made sure the tires were aired on the truck and I drove up to Orlando.

I drove around MetroWest and looked at apartment complexes, then I drove over to Baldwin Park to look around. They have changed everything so much in there ! The big oak trees along the "streets" at RTC are still there, but they have done so much landscaping it is hard to see where anything else was. The Grinder is completely gone now. That is where Bluejacket Park is now.

Got sunburned on my left arm from driving.

As luck would have it, when I got up to go to the gym this morning, the soreness was gone and the cold was about gone. Just stayed long enough to ruin my weekend.

Hurricane Katrina sure smacked New Orleans hard ! It is going to take awhile to clean all that up now. As bad as it was, I guess it could have been even worse. NO needs to get some bigger levies and more pumps if they are going to keep there below sea level !

Busy day with orders... processed $64000 worth of orders this morning. Craig was in Tampa all day. He will be in Miami tomorrow. I think he is getting weary of travelling so much.

I had to fill out the paperwork for my health insurance today. The company puts us into an Aetna HMO. We get dental too, but no life insurance or disability. The insurance that we get is paid for by the company 100%.

Today was shoulders, chest, and tri's. Tomorrow will be back and bi's.

Hooray !! Another Friday !

Found this chart lastnight while surfing. It shows how much it costs to fill up some SUV's at California gas prices. The models above the red line cost over $100 a tankful ! I think we can count on gas prices continuing to rise for awhile. Unfortunately that means food and everything else will become more costly too.

Today was back and bi's at the gym. I pushed myself a little and added some weight to each of my routines. Plus, I added another four minutes to my cardio.

Just another busy Friday at the office. Everything was proceeding normal until Fay pulled her back getting some drawings off of the Test Kitchen table. With that I had to sort the drawings out and make a single organized set for her to work from. By the time I was done with that MY back hurt. That is a huge set of drawings. Some casino hotel in Atlantic City called "Borgata".

Since I only have about $6 in my wallet and just a little change I don't see a trip to the bars or to the grocery store this weekend.

Found a few links for you to browse and enjoy:

• Check out this invention to help with Women's Lib and Equal Opportunity.
• Here is another new invention - iArm... as if you would cut off a good arm to get an improved one.
• The author of Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, comments on our healthcare system in a New Yorker column.
• New rappelling device for Marines and Special Forces.
• The millions of acres under powerlines are a blessing for bees.
• Scientists have discovered that earth's core rotates faster than the crust. Read how they discovered this.

That's about all I have for now. Maybe I can spend sometime time at the pool this weekend. Getting some sun wouldn't hurt my complection.

Kissimmee, FL

Yesterday morning when I woke up I felt exhausted. I decided then and there, in my bed, to skip the gym and sleep in a little.

Debbie demonstrated the Blendtec blender to the guys from Big Kahuna's and brought guava flavored smoothies out for me and Fay. I thought it tasted bland and would definitely be better with rum.

At lunch I went to Super Target and I bought a couple of cartons of strawberries and some blueberries. When I returned I topped the strawberries and made my own, superior, smoothies.

When I got home lastnight I balanced my checkbook and realized to my horror that only thirty-some dollars are left in checking. Time to stop spending and wait for my paycheck next week.

This morning I was up at my regular time and off to the gym. Today was shoulders, chest, and tri's. After awhile you find yourself easily doing the weight that was hard in the beginning. You have to keep challenging yourself by adding weight. When I look in the mirror, I can see some results now, no Ahhhnold yet, but I am a little slimmer now !

Just Fay and me in the office today. Craig was in Tallahassee busing tables for one of the Circle K concepts and giving them advice, not sure where Debbie was. Continuously busy today. Fay is very very busy quoting a huge project for a hotel expansion in New Jersey. She is making progress, and I know she is glad to have me there to catch the phones.

I got enough time today to enter the Darden invoices and file all of the orders, confirmations, invoices, and correspondence. It just piles up until I have time to take care of it.

Even had enough time to surf a little bit:

• Interesting story about nanotechnology and the space elevator. Only way that elevator will get built will be with materials improvements.
• Astronomers pinpoint the exact date of Ansel Adam's moonshot.
• Get more energy out of coal by using it in fuel cells ? You still get CO2, but the whole process is more efficient.
• An idea for using engineered bacteria to prevent HIV infection.

South Florida is bracing for Hurricane Katrina tonight. That storm is going to dump a ton of rain. It rained three times at the office today... very very hard at times. Breezy all day with some high wind during the rainstorms.

Just one more day... tomorrow is back and bi's in the gym. Craig will be in the office in the morning. No big plans for this weekend -- almost out of money. Speaking of money... after work, as I was walking to my truck, I looked down into a puddle and saw Abe Lincoln staring back at me ! I found a $5 bill in the parking lot !! Yeah !

Kissimmee, FL

Today was a back and bi's day at the gym. I was a little late and when I drove up there were two hispanic women walking in - the had an appointment with a trainer. I think it was their first time and I think it was the chubbier one's idea. I predict that I won't be seeing them very much.

Work today was a madhouse. It was so busy all day long. Not processing orders, but following up on trouble calls, arranging start-ups, order confirmations, mailing price lists, UPS shipping parts, generating quotations, and gathering info for reports. I went out at lunch time to Chik-Fil-A and used the last August coupon on a broiled chicken salad. The deal was if you buy a large Diet Coke, you get the salad free.

I called SunPass this morning about the note I got in the mail. Seems that when they sent the new transponder, they created a new account for it, but the credit card number did not follow it. Once I gave her the cc number and expiration date it was all good again. I am glad I called - there was $1.25 left on the account !

The afternoon was as busy as the morning, maybe more because the phones were busier. When Craig finally returned to the office around 4 pm, he had drawings and other bid information for a big job in New Jersey. Took him three trips out to the car to bring all of the drawings and stuff in! He said it is the biggest job he has worked on in 6 or 7 years.

Fay is going to be very busy over the next few days working on that job so she is going to need me to keep the phones quiet and not bother her while she works on that one.

Kissimmee, FL

This graphic came out last week on t-shirts and they are selling thousands of them. It is available as a 12 x 16 poster too. Just another reason why I worry about Becky and Bill playing the housing market. I hope they get an offer soon. Mom said they lowered the price to $198. They are supposed to close on their new house October 1.

Back to work today. Shoulders, chest and tri's at the gym this morning. I think my arms will be sore tomorrow because I worked them so hard this morning.

It was a hectic day at work. We have so many trouble calls for Darden restaurants. Atleast staying busy makes the day go by quickly. Fay went out at lunch so I heated up a Lifechoices dinner in the microwave and ate at my desk. After Fay returned I went out and made my walk about the office park.

It rained briefly at 5 pm.

Sorry kiddies, no links to click on today.... just did not have time to browse and find them.

Note in the mail from Sun Pass... they want me to find another way to pay my Sun Pass bill because the Visa card was declined for some reason. Hell, I dunno why it was declined, there is a balance in there now. I will have to call those clowns in the morning and sort it out.

Kissimmee, FL

Here is the chart that illustrates how gasoline prices, adjusted for inflation, are not any higher than they have been in history. Is the latest climb just a temporary disruption ? Or is it a sign that we are passing Peak Oil ? It looks like prices steadily declined until around 1996, then began to climb again. If prices keep going up consumers will have less money to spend at Target and Wal-mart. Those chains will feel it first -- Neiman Marcus shoppers will view high gas prices as annoying and little else. As people begin spending less, the economy will begin slowing down dramatically, just as costs for everything begin to rise.

Last night, as I predicted, I stayed in. After a long day I do not have the energy to clean up and go to Orlando to hang out all night. Besides, I really do not need to be drinking beer right now anyway.

I did laundry this morning and I have to press three shirts tomorrow, but I am putting off grocery shopping for a few days. I have $150 and it has to last me ten more days.

Finished reading The Rocketman on Thursday night. My September issue of Wired magazine came today. It has gotten so thin I can read it in an hour. I am not going to renew my subscription. After pay day I will shop for a few more books. Man, I have a huge book collection.

Here are a few of my ever-popular links:

• If your file is too big to email, use this.
• Blogger for MS Word. Now how helpful is that ?
• A bridge that turns into a tunnel and then turns into a bridge again ? Yes, the MMBT... but remember, the Chesapeake Bay BT does it twice !
• Luxury toilet paper is going to be the next big thing ? I will take Charmin.
• Nanotube sheets and ribbons are easily produced.... watch this take off.
• Windmills in the sky... litterally the Mother Of All Kites.
• Oh yeah, I found this precious 1973 Disney classic online -- VD Attack Plan.

That's about it. That's enough. My little list of links is like an aggregation of the latest and most interesting found on the web I guess.

Besides ironing some shirts, not sure what else I will do tomorrow. It will definitely be too hot to do anything outside.

Dog Days of Summer

Yesterday morning as I was leaving for work I realized that my padlock was missing. Without my padlock I won't be able to lock my clothes and wallet up at the gym ! When I got to the gym I found my lock hanging on the same locker I used the day before ! Big sigh of relief.

Shoulders, chest, and tri's. Then off to work.

At 10:30 Craig came and picked me up at the office. We drove over to Darden Headquarters to meet Kelly Hill. She is about my height, brown hair, sweet, innocent Indiana farmgirl... yeah yeah. She was mostly pleasant.

We met the people on the capital team too - Joyce Crosier, Terry Williamson, Dave Higgins, Rhonda Esh... they work in an office with big windows called "the fishbowl" in the big headquarters building.

Next stop - Walt Disney World to have lunch with Betsy Hummel. We met Debbie in the parking lot and went inside The Swan Hotel to Garden Grove. We had to wait on Betsy for a few minutes. I had fish and chips for lunch. As always, lots of new from Betsy. She is leaving the FF&E Team to work with the foods team again and they are moving to a satellite office in the studio animation building. So, just as she has to move her house, she will have to move her office too. News about Vulcan dropping their fryers, "Hey, that's good news for us!"

Big contrast between Kelly and Betsy. Craig and I would only shake hands with Kelly, but we concluded our meeting with Betsy with all of us hugging her !

On the way back to the office Craig and I were discussing the price of gas and the possibility the petroleum and natural gas supplies could tighten up and how it would affect our business. He loaned me a book on CD to listen to. It has a series of essays about "The Flat Tax", "Immortal Human Lifespan", "School Vouchers", "The Looming China Crisis", and "Carbon Nanotube Electronics".

I stayed after work and talked with Craig until about 7 pm, then I headed out to Disney to wait for Dad. I waited outside for over an hour for him. It was hot and humid... very humid. He finally made it at 8:30pm. We went to The House Of Blues and had to wait 20 minutes for a table. Dad and Todd, Big Ken's son, ate shrimp, and Cajun Meat Loaf. I just drank iced tea. It was after midnight when I finally got home.

On the way home I stopped at Shell for fuel. It cost $30 to fill my tank !

This morning I skipped the gym and got to the office at 7:30. Knowing that we had the Lunch and Learn with Darden Facilities today I got some of our presentation materials ready. When Craig came in at 10 he was looking for me to have a sheet ready with Cleveland Range model numbers that Darden buys. I used the current inventory sheet and I got the page out of the price list that explains the model numbers and made 30 copies of each as a handout. Craig was pleased.

We left at 10:30 to go to Smokey Bones on Sand Lake Road to get the food for the Lunch and Learn. $225 in food ! The AC was broke at that store and nobody was staying to eat since it was as hot as a sauna in that store.

At Darden we carried the food in and set up in the conference room. Today I met Patti Pedigo, Donna Flood, Monica Marcotte, Maria Hoover, AJ Johnson, Barbara Sewell, Valerie Masterson and a few others. We had a lot of fun. Craig gave a brief history of Cleveland Range and Delfield and explained the items that Darden buys... problems they had, how those problems were overcome, current issues...

Craig was making some joke about me playing Solitaire on the computer and they were laughing... then I said, "Yeah, we'll talk about my overtime later." They rolled with laughter!!

They are a really nice group and they are happy with me already too. If they are happy with me, Craig is happy with me.

The drive home was a nightmare. It took me an hour to go the first two miles. Just incredibly huge traffic jam. Maddenly humid. Thunderstorms are coming now.

The week is almost over !!

Kissimmee, FL

At 5:45, on Osceola Parkway, heading to the gym, I ran over an opossum. When I saw it, it was only 30 feet infront of me - no time to avoid it. It went right under my right tires with a thump thump.

Today was back and bi's at the gym. While I was running on the elliptical trainer I saw something interesting on CNN -- a Navy C-2 Grayhound airplane had to land on its belly, wheels-up at NAS Norfolk this morning. The C-2 ferries passengers and cargo to the aircraft carriers. Only 29 were built. Out of the 29, 28 were still in service - one was lost in the testing program. Maybe they will be able to patch this one back up. I have flown from George Washington to the beach on those twice.

More of the same at work. Trouble calls, processing orders, filing.

At lunch today I went to Chik-Fil-A and used a coupon Craig gave us. If you buy a large Diet Coke, you get a charbroiled chicken salad free. So, I handed over my coupon and a dollar-something for my lunch. While at lunch I called Dad.

Dad wants to have dinner, seafood, tomorrow night after work. He wanted me to drive down to Clearwater. I told him he was out of his 59-year-old mind. So, I guess he is going to drive up to Orlando tomorrow evening.

Fay coughed up the pizza cutter wheel that she promised me today. Now I am just waiting on the Mobil credit card. As an added bonus, I get out of the office for a few hours tomorrow. I have to go with Craig to meet Kelly Hill, the kitchen equipment manager at Darden Restaurants. After that, we are going to meet Betsy for lunch over at Disney. I think we are eating at the restaurant in the Dolphin hotel. I don't mind seeing Betsy, but Kelly Hill is very aggressive and difficult.

Still on schedule to meet the rest of the Darden purchasing team on Thursday. The whole thing just wierds me out.

There was a quiet time this morning where I was able to surf for a few minutes. Some of the links I looked at:

• Scientists have produced Y-shaped nanotubes which act like ready-made transisitors. Today's IC transistors are about 100 nanometers across, there are just 10's of nm across and will be reduced some more !
• With high-speed photography, scientists can now tell you why dry spaghetti breaks into more than two pieces when snapped.
• Interesting chart about cuts of meat, how they are inspected, prepared, and served.

That's about it. Not a lot of spare time. I stay pretty busy. Of course the days just fly by that way too.

Another highlight today: my first set of business cards arrived today. Now I have a card to pass out at trade shows or when meeting vendors. I think I have a copy in my e-mail of the proof. If I can find it, I will try to post it here.

Kissimmee, FL

Whew ! Today sure was a busy one ! The phones were only moderately busy, but they were full of intractable problems. Very stressful day today. Glad it is over.

This morning was a shoulders, chest, and tri's day. Was in the office shortly after 7 just sweating like crazy. You could tell Craig was in on the weekend -- he left a pile of things on my desk with Post-It notes on them, "File This In Yadda Yadda.."

Craig was in Shreveport, LA today touring the Frymaster and Dean factories.

It was very hot today. I took my after-lunch walk, but my head was covered with beads of sweat by the time I returned. I think it was 95 today.

Everyone over at Darden is looking forward to meeting me Thursday. I am going to go in dressed like Craig with charcoal pants, white shirt, and red power tie. I will do my gym routine in the evening Thursday.

Reading my way through Rocket Man - Astronaut Pete Conrad's Incredible Ride to the Moon and Beyond. Did I tell you that I accidentally crashed his funeral at Arlington ? Hahaha !

I was visiting Geoff at Fort Myer. Geoff went to work that morning and I went out to find something for breakfast. When I returned to the base I used the back gate and proceeded to take the short cut past the chapel. As I drove down the lane I passed a bunch of Honor Guard sailors in dress uniforms looking at me with slack jaws. I realized I was someplace I shouldn't be.

Back in Geoff's room I was eating my bagels and reading a book. Geoff came in at lunch. Suddenly some F-14's flew over really low! "What the fuck was THAT ?" "Oh yeah, they're having that astronaut's funeral today." "Hahahaha... well, guess what I did..." "Sounds just like the efficient Fort Myer MP's -- leaving the gate open when it should have been shut for a funeral."

About six months later I met the POIC in charge of the Navy funeral ceremony that day. A new fireman down in the engine room on George Washington named Benjamin Keller. He had a jacket on that said "US Navy Ceremonial Guard" on the back. I mentioned to him the one time I saw them in action. "OMG ! You were the guy driving the tan truck? !!" All I could do was smile.

I am sure Pete wouldn't have minded or cared.

Halfway through the month of August now. It is so terribly hot. I am sure the hurricanes are going to begin coming after this.

Finally Friday !!

Today was an extremely busy day for me... following up with service calls on two schools and two Darden restaurants. Quote requests, invoice requests, purchase order revisions, etc etc.

Biggest problem is that the kitchen equipment manager over at Darden is a little ladder climber and she insists that everything go through her. She has an army of people sending me trouble calls and quote requests, but she is supposed to be my sole contact over there. I think she needs to get all of her shit in one sock before she criticizes us. We only have three people to handle all of her issues.

Next Thursday I get to meet all of them too. They are really looking forward to meeting me. I feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter for some strange reason. I'm not that much to look at so they shouldn't be looking forward to it so eagerly.

It was a very hot day, and it rained this afternoon. Lots of lightning on my way home. I guess it will rain more tonite.

I spoke with Dad this morning. He is going to be in Florida next week. I told him to have a good time and that I hoped he wasn't expecting to stay at my apartment. He is visiting Big Ken's son in St. Pete. I guess we will have dinner or something next week after work.

Too busy to surf today. No links.

Kissimmee, FL

This morning I did shoulders, chest, and tri's at the gym. The tricep machine was broken, and I had already done the exercise with the free weight behind the head, then I remembered tricep push-downs with the machine with the cables and pulleys. I did push-downs on that and found that I could push down about twice as much weight in that position too.

Fay came into work right about 8am. I was surprised to see her because I thought she had therapy. Quite a few troublecalls this morning and very few orders. We are not having such a hot month for new orders. I had to quote a few things for Disney, so hopefully those things will turn into new orders soon.

Craig was in Tallahassee this morning and we never saw him today. He called in a few times.

I watched the billboard company come and change the sign on the billboard outside my office on I-4. Those billboards are just big canvasses held on with straps !

Found some time today to read a few interesting articles:

• Maybe this guy should start using UPS ?
• $100 Million trips to see the farside of the moon ?
  
• Computers assist with deciphering Incan quipus.

I left work 30 minutes early so I could beat the traffic going back to Kissimmee. I told Fay I needed to get a haircut and if I left work ontime the traffic would slow me down so much I would not make it. She had no problem with that... how could she ?

Now, we are at the end of yet another week. I am glad.

Hump Day

Yesterday I was on my way to the gym, going down Conroy Road when a police car comes flying up behind me. I checked my speedometer and I was going 40 in a 35...thinking to myself, "Damn. Fay warned me they like to set a speed trap down through here." Well, the cops pulled around and passed me on the right. I guess Krispy Kreme musta just put out the hot donuts.

Have fallen into the pattern of doing back and biceps on one day and doing chest, triceps and shoulders on the alternate day with cardio and abs everyday. Back and bi's, chest and tri's.

Fay did not make it in at all yesterday either. Work just kept piling up. I helped out where I could and we sent a lot of work south to Hollywood to be quoted. At lunch I went out of the office to get a break. I went to the Ruby Tuesday restaurant at L.B. McLeod and Kirkman Road.

Did not feel like blogging last night when I got home. So, there was no entry. Today I really did not have time to collect any links, so there won't be any today.

Today Fay showed up for work around 8:30. She has a Chevrolet rental car. Her back hurts alot, but she stayed all day and got some of her work caught up. She said she feels guilty for being out so much, but she is glad that we could give her the time she needed to do the things she needed. Craig told her that he understood that it was unplanned and that it could happen to anyone.

I ate my Lifechoices meal at lunch and took my walk about the office park. It was very muggy. I sweat so badly too. That is one thing I don't like about the gym -- when I leave, I keep sweating for about an hour.

Had to get a tank of fuel on the way home. $2.39 a gallon. It is probably going to keep going up too.

For dinner I had some stir-fry chicken and vegetables. I am washing some gym clothes up right now too so I will have something to wear in the morning.

Tomorrow I am going to ask Fay if I can leave 30 minutes early. That way I can be in Kissimmee in time to get a haircut. I am getting shaggy again.

Kissimmee, FL

At 6 am, I was waiting at the traffic light at the intersection of the I-4 off ramp and Conroy Road when a white Honda pulled up next to me. As we entered the intersection, I looked over to see if the GPS antenna was on the rear window. It was. I said to myself, "Hey ! I know that car ! That's Craig on his way to work." I continued on to the gym while Craig made the right turn onto Vineland Road and to the office.

At the gym I ran, then I worked on back and bi's today. I did the lat pulldown, Roman sit-up, seated rowing machine for my back. I did bicep curls on the machine and curls with the 10-pound free weight. Did some crunches and finished off with running.

I proceeded to sweat for the next hour. I really hate that.

Fay did not make it in today. She had a doctor's appointment and the insurance appraiser had to come look at her car. She had a doctor's office visit tomorrow too, but she hopes to come in to work around 10:30. Yeah, the rest of us hope she makes it in too.

Overall it was not a bad Monday. There were no orders waiting on the fax machine, but they trickled in throughout the day. Craig had to go to the doctor this morning and then to Florida Hospital, but he was in the office most of the afternoon. Evelyn was in today working with him on either an Excel spreadsheet, or html tables. Which one, I am not sure.

It rained this afternoon. Weatherman said 60% chance. It did not rain very hard.

Took a short break this morning to read the news right before lunch. Here are a few things I found:

• World News Tonight anchor, Peter Jennings died this morning from lung cancer. He was 67.
• Anheiser Busch sent a check meant for the SC GOP to the Democratic Party !
  
• I wish I had found this website before I went globetrotting on Space-A.
• Wired article about engineering bacteria to make drugs inside of our bodies and using them to train the immune system.

That's about it. Now I will read some news, go to bed, and repeat tomorrow.

Kissimmee, FL

Trying to get anything done with my Internet connection coming and going all the time is frustrating. The Bright House technician came out on Saturday morning to supposedly fix my problems. He said that the signal strength was way too high. He put a splitter into the line and said it was perfect. Two hours after he left, it began messing up again. I called and the man on the phone, Scott, had me take the splitter out of the line. Now the signal was perfect again. WTF ? Bright House will have someone come out again next Saturday.

I was by myself almost all day Friday -- Fay had a fender bender on her way in and she was out all day dealing with the insurance company and visiting the doctor for her back. Fortunately I did not have serious problems. Infact, I did not have to call her for anything.

Saturday I did my laundry and very little else. Went out lastnight. Went to Studz bar for a little while, then I went down the road to the notorious Hank's. Mostly curious. That was my second time in there. I finished the night off with a visit to my familiar Full Moon Saloon. It is hard to believe my weekend is over again already.

Pressed a shirt this morning, vacuumed the floors, and made a trip to Target today. Now I need to pick out the clothes I will wear to work tomorrow.

Found a few links of interest this weekend:

• Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate - articles about the humble punch card and companies still dependent on them.
• Wired magazine article about AJAX and the web applications it can be used to create.
• Found this huge time-waster. It does randomly produce interesting sites.
• I found the old School House Rock lyrics. Remember these from Saturday mornings ?
• 31 years ago today...

It rained really hard this afternoon. The rain cooled things off, but it is still dark and gloomy outside. Makes me feel like taking a nap.

Kissimmee, FL

This morning I did cardio, then chest, biceps, back, shoulders, and crunches. Not quite as much weight as that first day either. I am still a little sore, but I can straighten my arms again and I am regaining my flexibility.

Craig was still in the office when I got there. He was a little late getting out the door. He had to meet some people in Tampa today.

There were no orders waiting on the fax this morning. With nothing to do, I went to Craig's office and began to clean off the typing table. Filing stuff left out, putting the business cards together, putting his personal stuff in his Inbox, and putting the typing materials into the typing table drawers. Well, when Fay found out that I did that, she got all serious, "I know you have a good heart and you are trying to do the right thing, but stay out of Craig's office. He knows where all of that stuff is, and if you move it he won't be able to find it. I know him much better than you do." I am thinking to myself, "C'mon old lady, give it a rest! If I messed it up, he will let me know!" Craig seriously does not care. He wants help getting some of his clutter out.

At lunch I went over to Wendy's and had the Chicken Mandarin Salad and a Diet Coke. After I got back from lunch we began to get busy. The phone rang constantly and the fax machine sent over a bunch of quote requests.

Found a few blog-worthy links for your enjoyment:

• How many paper punch cards would it take to encode a 3-minute mp3 file ? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a . . .
  
• The Carnival of Personal Finance. Some interesting articles.
• Website of Sam, the world's ugliest dog.
• How to burn DVD's for backup or video recording.
• Index card templates for personal finance.
  

Craig returned to the office at 5, and Fay cut right out at 5 heading to some meeting. I stayed with Craig for another hour and a half -- waiting for traffic on I-4 to dissipate before I went out into it. We talked about my attempt to straighten up in his office and we talked about working out at the gym and we talked about taking Betsy out for lunch before her birthday in September.

At 6:30 I hit the road and flew home. Clouding up and getting dark...could see lightning strikes in the east. Now it is lightning, thundering and raining outside. Cable internet was upto its same old tricks so I called technical support. The technician, Sandy, said that it appears to be a weak signal. They are sending a technician out here on Saturday morning to find out why I am having this trouble.

Kissimmee, FL

This picture pretty much sums up why we are a fat country. Just incredible. I am glad there is no elevator at my gym. I laughed when I saw this picture.

Today at the gym I ran for about 20 minutes, did crunches, and I used resistance a little - chest, bicep curls, and lat pulldowns. It hurt and I reduced the weight a little bit.

Today there were only two orders waiting for me on the fax machine when I got to work, but more trickled in through the day and there were 10 orders by the end of the day. If every day were like that we would have very lucrative weeks !

Found a few blog-worthy links for you:

• News article describing some of the coming amenities on new jetliners.
• Myths about porn debunked.
• News article about the Air France plane crash yesterday in Canada.
• Directions telling you how you can surf anonymously using proxy servers.

My arms still hurt and feel very tight. I need to spend more time stretching.

It thundered for a long time today, then it rained for a few minutes at the office. Everything was dry about the time I headed home.

Hey, hey, this was 'Hump Day", and it is over, we are over half-way through the week now. Just two more days to go !

Kissimmee, FL

This morning I set the alarm to go off at 5 am. Unfortunately I woke up much earlier than that in great pain. I was trying to roll over and my arms were tight and sore !! I almost cried it hurt so bad. My arms have been sore all day. Anyway, up at 5, showered, ate my small breakfast, and out the door by 5:30-something. Got to the gym around 6:10. No weights for me today !

I used the elliptical runner and ran about 20 minutes, then I did two sets of 45 crunches. I think that was enough because anything else would make me use my arms to push or pull, and believe me, I could not push or pull if I had to !

Got to the office around 7:30. Nobody was there. Fay was in right around 8. There was only one order on the fax machine when I got there, but several more trickled in throughout the day.

It was hot. At lunch I had Lean Cuisine Steak Tips Portobello in Red Wine Sauce and Broccoli. Sounds yummy, huh ? Read the front section of the Orlando Sentinel, and then took my walk. I smeared Sunpot (SPF 25) on my face and bald head before starting.

During the day I found a few blog-worthy links for you, but unfortunately Bright House was messing up and when I rebooted the computer those links were lost. Ho hum.

Craig was back in the office in the evening. He said that Darden has not decided to buy another oven just yet. They are having a meeting to discuss it on Thursday. Fay told Craig he should be down on his knees praying. My demented sailor mind was thinking he should be on his knees doing something else, or grabbing his ankles !! LOL !

Weatherman said it would be hot with no rain today, yet I hear loud thunder outside right this minute.

When I got home I rubbed Tiger Balm into my forearms, biceps, and triceps. With the fan blowing on me it feels cold. I think it has already lessened the pain some. I am going to lift in the morning, but I will reduce the amount that I am lifting.

Kissimmee, FL

Around 3:45 am I heard my computer printer making noises. Then I heard my fan start back up. Great, the power went out. I had to reset the clocks and did not fall back asleep. Alarm went off at 4:30 and I got up to shower, shave, woof down something for breakfast, and head out with my gym bag, my work bag, and some clothes for work.

I was a little bit late for my appointment, but not as late as the trainer. He didn't show up until quarter til 6. I had already done about 6 or 7 minutes on the elliptical runner when he showed up. We went upstairs and we worked on a tricep machine, then we worked on chest, next biceps, then we used 10-pound dumbells to do tri's again. Then we did lat pulldowns, and used the bicep curl machine. Next we used a rower for my back, did curls with the 10-pound dumbell. Then he took me back downstairs and put me back on the elliptical for 15 minutes. After the aerobic work I went to the mat and did some crunches, but I was pretty beat now. That little man worked me hard ! I know I am going to be sore tomorrow !

Just over an hour. Showered, changed into work clothes, and out the door. Was at the office just a little after 7.

On my desk was a Post-It Note telling me that Fay was not going to be in until after 10. She was helping her daughter move this weekend and did too much. She was hurting. No problem.

The day was sunny with white clouds. I am sure it was hot, but I did not go outside. At noon I took my lunch. I ate a little Lean Cuisine entree and read the Wall Street Journal. My lunch lasted about 45 minutes.

I thanked Craig for the monitor. He did not even notice it missing. He said he might give the other one, a Dell, away to charity or something. He is a little down because Darden has decided to stop buying Garland ovens. It took a lot of work to get those ovens in there, and there were 7 or 8 good years, but now it is over.

The afternoon went quickly enough. I noticed that was achy all day from that workout. I am sure I will be tight in the morning. I will go in and I will run and workout, but not as hard as the trainer worked me.

Just found a few link-worthy items. It's not that there were a lot of things to read, but I did not think most of them were worth passing on.

• Smart thinkin' there Shrub. Send the man up who hates the UN to be our UN ambassador. Something really foul going on.
• How magicians use misdirection and suggestion to fool audiences.
• Lifehacking your grocery list.

That's it. I told you it was a short list. I will try harder tomorrow.

"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson