Orlando, FL

Took Buddy to the dog park yesterday evening. He ran and played. When we came home he took a shower, then I cleaned his ears. For some reason, after I went to bed, he stood in his crate and peed on his bedding. I was mad. I took him outside to finish, then put the bedding into the washer. He slept on the plastic tray lastnight.

This morning he peed on the carpet before I could get him outside. Thank God for the carpet spotting machine! I was merciful with him this morning because I figured he did it because he was scared of me since lastnight. We have to make sure he gets outside right before bedtime!

Today was a long day at work. There were only a handful of orders, but those needed to be checked carefully. Literature requests, packages arriving, packages going out, service calls and demos to keep me busy.

We get paid tonight at midnight. I am glad because I am $21 overdrawn. Thank goodness for my overdraft protection!

This evening I had sausages, onions, peas, and a glass of wine for dinner. It was a good meal. Tomorrow I want to get back to my diet and into the gym.

Weekend Linkfest

• This was a funny ice cream commercial. I can't remember the brand name.
• Speaking of ice cream... have you tried Pepto-Bismol-flavored ice cream?
• Size of the earth compared to other planets and the sun... the sun compared to other stars.
• The WTC collapses while this man is on the phone with 911.
• Your George Foreman grill is already obsolete. Now there's the USB 2.0 iGrill.
• Barebones, online graphics editor. Handy for cutting, cropping, resizing on-the-go.
• The Topsy-Turvy upside-down tomato planter. This would great on the balcony!
• Easy to keep your USB thumb drive updated with Windows Briefcase.
• Guess who's gay this week. Lance Bass. Gay. Who would have thought?
• License plate reading technology goes a little too far. Big Brother 2.0.
• This can't be good - The Amazon basin is turning into a desert.
• Johnson Atoll in the Pacific is for sale.
• The TSA is placing innocent people on the watch list to make their quota!
• Did ancient viruses contribute to human intelligence?
• Oprah Winfrey's Debt Diet.
• 10 Cool Summer Drinks. Recipes and nice pictures too!
• How to get rid of chlorine-green hair.
• Conservative columnist William Buckley has criticism for the Cheney Administration.
• Space Shuttle Atlantis moved to launch pad. To launch August 28.
• Motorized scooters for the handicapped now being used by the lazy.

Orlando, FL

Yet another busy busy day at FER. Fay was in an hour and a half late because she called on Matthew Tang at Fairway. The phones kept me busy while I was there alone. I guess it's gonna remain busy until school starts and the fiscal year ends for most of these companies.

Craig was in from 2 pm til 4 pm. He had to go to Tampa this evening to chauffer Edward Don salesmen around in a rented van. He took a big stock pot and taped a "Tips" label to it. I wondered if he'd get enough tips to pay for the van. "Shoot, these are Edward Don salesmen. They'll piss in this pot before they drop money in it!"

I had to make a list of nice, sit-down restaurants near the convention center for Dan Wood in Hollywood. They needed a list to draw from so that they can take dealers out to dinner after the FRA show.

Our trips outside have become less and less about opportunities for Buddy to eliminate and more about chances for Buddy to terrorize the hapless lizards he finds sunning on the curb or near the bushes. He chases them down surprisingly quickly and even jumps over the bushes to pursue them! It is funny to watch!

Orlando, FL

Lastnight I found that Buddy had chewed into his mattress and there were cedar shavings all over the inside of his crate and the floor around it. I put the mattress into the trash and vacuumed up the wood shavings. Then I went to the garage and found an old towel to throw in there for bedding.

When I got to the office this morning I noticed that the newspapers were already brought inside, so I figured Craig must have gotten them. When I got to the door I found to my surprise that the front door was unlocked! Inside I found the alarm disabled, but the lights were all still off. I went to the back and found Nancy and Nick ransacking the place... loading up catalogs and equipment into their car!

I surprised them when I yelled, "LOCK THE FRONT DOOR!"

"Oh Vince! We didn't hear you come in!"

I went to my desk and called Fay on her cell phone. I asked her to hurry up because I found a surprise in the office. Fay was dismayed that they were taking all of that stuff too. The whole thing was disturbing.

As usual, we stayed very busy. One of our dealers is hitting Craig up for a $500 donation to his campaign for the Lake County School Board. He expects donations from each of our factories too... LOL!! What a dimwit!

I made a short movie of Buddy practicing "sit" and "shake hands" and "lay down". I will download it from the camera to the pc then upload it to Motionbox Video for viewing. There are a couple of movies featuring Buddy there now.

Orlando, FL

This seemed like another Monday. The big problem today was a dealer who was mad because their order shipped on time. They did not want the order until Oct. 1, but they never got a PO revision to me. They were so mad, labeling me the "Bad Guy" that Fay had to take care of it.

Fay told me not to worry too much about it. She was getting pissed with them too because their story was showing inconsistencies.

At lunch Fay went to Walmart and she was gone an extra long time. When she returned she had a potted chicks-n-hens plant for me! I need to go to Pier 1 and use the rest of the gift card from Christmas 2003 on a nice pot for the plant.

When I got home I was dismayed to find that Buddy had chewed into his mattress and pieces of shaved cedar were all over the bottom of the crate and the floor around the crate. I threw the mattress away, ran the vacuum, and just threw another old towel from the garage in there. Now he just has two towels for bedding.

For dinner I made spaghetti sauce with some mild sausage, onions, mushrooms, olives, tomato juice, tomato paste, and assorted spices. It tastes good!

Craig flies home from Southern California tomorrow. It's good to have him in the office so we can ask him how to handle issues.

I can't wait til payday. I am out of everything.

Orlando, FL

I picked a tick off of Buddy's chest on Saturday and after seeing him accidentally pee down his left leg decided that he needed a shower Saturday night. He smells sooo clean after a shower that you like to hold him!

Sunday I began reading Richard Preston's book The Demon In The Freezer. It's 233 pages, but so compelling that I will probably finish it tonight. It's hard to believe this is non-fiction!

Today was very warm and very humid. I am glad I was working indoors.

FER processed about $45k in orders, mostly from Darden today. Rest of the day was spent handling start-ups and demos, sending quotes, and answering questions about quotes sent last week.

We found out today that FER will be representing In-Sink-Erator in Florida. There will be a couple of days of intensive training next month to bring the reps and quoters up to speed. This should be very interesting. I hope we don't have to handle all of the residential issues too.

After lunch today it rained hard for about 20 minutes. It looks like it wants to storm again right now. I took Buddy for a 30 minute walk when I got home, then I microwaved a Lean Cuisine turkey dinner. I will finish Preston's book this evening.

The next book I am starting is called Naked Economics. It is on the high school recommended reading list for this summer. I think that it will read easy and clarify some economic ideas for me. Shoot, I might even take notes!

Weekend Linkfest

• Flash 9-base in-browser video editing.
• Wow! I never would have solved this problem this way. Too much work.
• Spanish firm claims it can turn plankton into oil! I dunno if mucking around with the bottom of the food chain is such a good idea.
• "I don't wanna baby-sit some city boy who is afraid of stepping in poop." - for Farmers Only.
• Turns out with higher speed limits our highways are only getting safer.
• Use Brain Bench to get that certification you need.
• Sightseeing companion to Google Maps.
• Baghdad collapses as people flee for their lives.
• Take that dirty dog to the car wash.
• Easily mis-pronounced URLs... I laughed at these -- www.WhoRepresents.com (www.whorepresents.com) etc...
• Five reasons Americans are getting fatter.
• WSJ believes R&D funding decreases will cause the repeal of Moore's Law.

Saturday

I made some little blackberry pies this morning. I made a short crust with 2 cups flour, 5 oz butter, mixed until it became crummy, then added cold cream to make a smooth dough.

The dough was wrapped in waxed paper and refrigerated 30 min while I took frozen blackberries from the freezer, added water and sugar, and reduced on medium heat to make filling.

When the dough came out I had to roll it to 1/8-inch thick. Because I don't have a rolling pin, I used a plastic soda bottle filled with cold water. It worked. But you have to flour the surface you are rolling on, and you have to flour the top, else everything sticks together. I lined some small ramekins with dough and then baked them 10 min. After they came out I spooned the filling into them, then put the top on. They baked for another 30 minutes. I think they turned out pretty good.

Folded my laundry up while the pies baked and cooled. Otherwise, I haven't been doing very much today. I found out how soil was getting out of the big pot holding my palm in the bedroom. I knew the dog was connected to it. He is eating it! I put a quick stop to that today.

On Animal Planet I saw that alligators kill 100 dogs a year in Florida. I ominously repeated that fact to Buddy, but I don't think he understood.

This evening I am making the Easy Chicken Pie with Bisquick. I think I posted the recipe here before, but I can't find the date that it was posted. You can follow this link to find lots of Bisquick recipes.

No plans for this evening. Maybe read more of my book. Watch some TV. Nothing too exciting.

Friday

Well, I have a correction to issue. July 20 is the day the Eagle landed at Sea Of Tranquility. After shutting the rocket down, the astronauts slept for the next six hours. Today is the actual anniversary of astronauts stepping out onto the moon's surface.

Lastnight the dog really pissed me off. I went to bed and left his crate gate open. While I watching CNN, I heard him chewing on something. I got up to see and he went running out of my bedroom to his crate. The little fucker pulled a book off of the shelf and started to chew the binding off of it!

Well, I was pissed. I went to get him, but he wasn't coming out, so I grabbed his collar and pulled him out. I had to show him why he was being punished. Well, while pulling him I broke open the cut on my left index finger again - blood dripping all over the carpet. But I did not let that distract me. The dog had no doubt in his mind I was angry.

Spotbot cleaned all of the blood spots up pretty well. I stayed angry with the dog all day. Nice thing is, when he thinks you are pissed, he acts very meek and is very easy to handle on the leash! I should get angry with him more often!

Today was another work day like all of the others. Phones weren't terribly busy though. I had a few quotes to work on for Disney -- they are spending money left in their budget from FY06.

Ran the dishwasher yesterday, I still need to put the clean dishes away. Right now the whites are in the dryer and darks in the washer. Dog is being good laying down in his crate. I think I will finish 1968 this weekend. Next book I have on the pile to read is The Demon In The Freezer - a true-life thriller about disease germs by Richard Preston.

Otherwise, I am not sure what I am going to do this weekend. Relax I guess. Maybe visit the gym - I need to use it to justify the membership fee each month! LOL!

"In the colonies the truth appeared naked, at home in the mother country, they preferred it in clothes." -- Jean Paul Sartre

Moon Day

This is the day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the moon. "We came in peace for all mankind."

I am still reading 1968 and I am about 2/3 of the way through it. It is another good Kurlansky book and I have to say I recommend it.

This picture showed up while I was surfing the Internet this afternoon. I found it slightly humorous, so I decided to save it and share it with you.

While cutting a bagel this morning I sliced right into my left index finger. Fay said, "Yes, the nice thing about those Barracuda knives is that they cut clean so the cut should heal quickly!" Great, now I'm a walking ad for Wearever®. Truth is though, if I can keep it from opening back up, it looks like it actually will heal fast.

Yet another busy day for us, but the phones were not so bad. We've taken $264k in orders now. There was a mandatory webinare for one of our factories today. Fay had me download and install the software for it and she dialed in to the conference to take notes for Craig. Booorring! I think one of the participants fell asleep during the event because I could hear them talking about someone breathing heavily into the phone! I am glad I did not have to waste time on it.

I just finished walking Buddy. It is so tiring to walk him because he gets sooo excited and he wants to run and pull and jump... today I held him close on a tight leash the entire walk to keep him out of trouble. Now I have the dishwasher running.

Tomorrow is Friday again!! Yay!! I just need to buy some groceries to get me through next week and then we get paid again!!

"Despite the best that has been done by everyone . . . the war situation has developed not necessarily to our advantage." -- Emporer Hirohito radio address August 15, 1945

Orlando, FL

Strong thunderstorm came through lastnight. Just as I was nodding off to sleep I heard the thunder. I thought it was the fireworks at Universal first, then I started to see the lightning. Soon Buddy was up and in my room to look out the window.

After about an hour it moved on and Buddy wandered back into the living room and into his bed in the crate.

It was hot today, but atleast the office was tolerable with nobody running the hood. We stayed very very busy today. Lots of service issues to handle. So far only about $164k in orders.

At lunch I came home to get Buddy out. I noticed the maintenance man pressure washing the stairs and walkways in the building. They sure needed it.

This evening I walked Buddy when I finally got home. Then I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors, vacuumed, and made some chili using ground turkey. I am hot, sweaty, and tired.

Orlando, FL

It was another hot day. There was a 60% chance of showers, but it never rained.

I was at the office before 8 am, I put coffee on because I knew we had Insinkerator coming today. I looked out the window, and there was Nancy and Nick in the parking lot already! Damn. They make me nervous because they take so much stuff with them! LOL!

When Fay came in I told her the coffee was on and that I had not seen Craig. Because of the meeting this morning, I wondered if she wanted me to run down to Publix and get a fruit plate. She got some money and sent me to Einsteins to get bagels. So, I got 19 bagels (13 free with her repeat customer card) and some cream cheese.

Nancy's perfume is sooo strong. The office reeked of that stuff for hours after they left.

I stayed out front and answered the phones while the meeting was held in the back. Evidently we are just being interviewed by Insinkerator. They want us to rep them, but the current rep does not know they are being fired yet!

The number of demos we are being asked to do is starting to climb - mostly school jobs. I expect that we will be very busy next month.

After the meeting Nick stayed behind to practice on the ConvoTherm oven. Fay and I don't care for the hood running because it sucks the AC out of the office and makes us hot all afternoon. It was very uncomfortable all afternoon.

Now my maniac dog wants to play. He has too much energy after napping all day in the crate.

Interest-Only Mortgages and ARMs

I found the following on The Big Picture blog - a blog mostly devoted to investing and economics. It has the "ring of truth" to it and is important enough to copy here.

"As home prices appreciated from ridiculously high to unbelievably higher,
more Americans began using mortgages that allowed them to buy more house for
less of a monthly payment. Next year, a large portion of those rates move up and
homeowners who opted for the exotic mortgages could find their payments doubled.
Talk about bloody. They need to find a way to minimize the pain.

Many will refinance their loans. But for others, whose mortgages now exceed
the value of their homes or whose debt payments exceed 40 percent of their
incomes, there may be no other solution than to get out of their houses. With
the housing market cooling, selling it may not be easy. Some may default on
their loans.

With more homes on the market, prices could begin to fall. That reduces
home equity — the difference between the amount borrowed and the total value of
the home — and could force people whose loans change in 2008 and 2009 to
consider selling, further accelerating the drop in prices. Some of those cities
with the highest proportions of interest-only loans are also at the greatest
risk of falling prices."

"In 2003, of all new mortgages, 10.2 percent were interest-only, meaning
the homeowner paid only the interest for the initial period of the loan.
According to Loan Performance, a research firm, 26.7 percent of all loans were
interest-only last year and another 15.3 percent were payment-option adjustable
rate mortgages, which allow homeowners to choose how much they paid each
month."

"Traditionally, interest-only loans and adjustable-rate loans were used by
people who expected to live in a house only a short time, but such loans have
turned into “affordability products” as housing prices rose. The interest rate
on the loans, while below that of conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at
the beginning, resets after 3, 5, 7 or 10 years, depending on the loan. So,
homeowners who took out loans in 2004 could find, for example, that their
initial 4.25 percent loan climbs to 6.25 percent or 7.25 percent next
year.

Someone now paying $350 a month for a $100,000 interest-only loan could be
facing payments of $680 both because of the shift to the higher rate and because
the borrower would have to start paying off the principal as well as the
interest."

The market has already changed dramatically. Craig is trying to sell his house while he rents another one. He's had a lot of people looking, but no offers yet. He said that his neighbor had to drop the asking price $50k in order to close. Insanity. Over $200 per square foot!

Orlando, FL

Space shuttle Discovery returned to KSC this morning. I was on the phone when the double sonic boom hit the building. To me it sounded like someone pounding on the window, but then I heard Fay exclaim from down the hall that it was the space shuttle. It landed at Kennedy a minute later.

It's kinda funny... when the space shuttle went up, we could see it, but we couldn't hear it. When it returned, we could hear it, but we couldn't see it!

As usual, we were very very busy. So busy infact, lunch almost got away from us. It was about 12:30 when we decided to take lunch. I came home to get Buddy out and walk him quickly. Then he ate some food from his bowl. I got a cucumber, two eggs, two bell peppers from the fridge and took them back with me. Fay and I made salad from Friday's demo leftovers.

This afternoon some very strong thunderstorms came through! Lightning, thunder, driving rain. "Since it's lightning like this, remember to save your work often." Fay agreed that was a good idea.

In the news today, I guess there was another tsunami off of Java today. An undersea earthquake caused a six-foot wave to wash up to 900 feet inland! Conditions continue to worsen in the middle east. Robert H Brooks, the 69-year-old chairman of the 425-restaurant Hooters restaurant chain has gone tits up has passed away.

• Life (briefly) near a supernova... earth would last about 100,000 seconds (one day).
• Call the future and leave a voice message or reminder.
• Is the United States already bankrupt?
• Flickr inspectr returns details about Flickr users.

Supposed to have more storms tonight. I know it will be humid tomorrow! Tomorrow we have Insinkerator visiting the office. Nancy, Nick, Debbie and Craig will be in the office for that presentation.

Friday!

Friday!

I am glad this day is behind me. It was long. It was hot.

It began easy enough, but there was added stress from the oven presentation today. We had to straighten and prettify the test kitchen for our guests. Then Debbie began with all of her favors... "Please call Cleveland Range and get a Procuitto Asparagus recipe for the ConvoTherm" or "Please order 50 of the ConvoTherm Buyers Guide" (limit is 5), and oh yeah, this one, "You work a digital camera, right? Take pictures of me while I cook and demo the ConvoTherm." I did not take any time off for lunch. The leftovers from the demo were given to Fay and me. There was chicken breast, fries, salmon, salad, asparagus.

While the hood fan ran, it sucked all of the AC out of the office. Our afternoon was miserably hot. We had our fans running, but it made the stress that we had to deal with worse. I stay so busy with service issues, messed up pricing on orders, and demonstrations.

After work I came home and got Buddy outside. We got into the truck and went to the West Orange Dog Park. He got to run and play with other dogs for about 2 hours. Then we came home. Whenever we come home from the park, Buddy has to get a shower. He got one. He is not scared anymore, he just tolerates it. Alot of dirt was running off of him. Now he is chewing on his rawhide. This bone has lasted almost a week!

Orlando, FL

I found this cool picture of a sunflower on Flickr. If you look closely you can see ants crawling inside it!

Lastnight after our late walk, I was about to bring Buddy upstairs when I saw the biggest tree frog I have ever seen! He was perched at the stairs on the stringer at the bottom banister post. I pointed him out to Buddy, but I almost had to push the dog's nose into it for him to see it. When he finally saw it he chased it across the walk and into the bushes!

Today was an extremely busy day for us in the office. There were orders, but they are not very large. Just seems like I spent alot of the time on the phone and in email trying to correct service issues or get proof-of-delivery and things like that. Craig was in Hollywood today taking training on the new line we are going to rep - Insinkerator.

It looks like Buddy is sprouting a new button tumor on his rear left leg. I hope he doesn't scratch at it like he did the front one. I saw him biting and chewing at it yesterday.

Two Isreali soldiers were kidnapped in Lebanon this week. Isreal is invading Lebanon to get them back. Lebanese fired missiles into Haifa today. This news made the price of oil jump up and stocks to fall. More fires to put out in the Middle East.

I am still reading Kurlansky's 1968. It is very good. The history is not focused on just the US, but worldwide. It cuts to Warsaw Pact Europe, to Vietnam, to civil rights issues in the South. I am enjoying it.

Tomorrow morning we will have eleven (11) people from Edward Don visit the Test Kitchen while Debbie prepares lunch for them in the ConvoTherm oven. I am sure glad it's not me demonstrating a piece of equipment I barely know how to operate!

Mid-Week Linkfest!

• Man who was comatose since 1986 wakes up and thinks Reagan is still the president! He can't be a Republican.
• Another man attacks subway riders with a power saw!
• Some cool web development tools. If it sucks, it won't be here.
• Do stay-at-home moms really need business cards?
• More about the disappearing honey bee. I still haven't seen any.
• “If we could succeed, at a small expenditure of labour, in converting carbon into diamonds, their value might fall below that of bricks” – Karl Marx Capital
• Have you ever heard of the blue people of Troublesome Creek? Beware of inbreeding!
• Some very good Etch-A-Sketch art.
• With the price oil high, this process should be competitive now.
• RipIt4Me makes backup copies of copyright-protected DVDs.
• The world's oldest crow died on Sunday. He was 59.
• I think this crate cover and interior set would make Buddy more comfortable.
• Got a dark shower? Use this!
• "MMM... Peach-Mint Tea" sounds like something we could all use.
• The 1957 Plymouth will be dug up in June 2007.
• DIY cartoon kit... funny!

Orlando, FL

Isn't this door fascinating? I saw it on a website called Pure Contemporary lastnight. Even though it would be alot of work, I bet I could make this myself. It would be a good door for a room that needs light and air intermittently - a laundry room? Sure would be a bitch to dust it!

Today was another one of those steadily busy days. There were only about 7 or 8 orders, but the service issues kept me almost continually busy. Meanwhile the pile of stuff that needs to be filed keeps getting higher.

I guess the D-worm worked on Buddy because I have not seen anymore traces of the tapeworm. Not that I've combed through his shit looking for it, but there haven't been any obvious segments visible.

It rained this afternoon. Heavily at times. Humidity is starting to creep back up again.

I will have a list of links posted soon. I am saving them up in a Notepad file. I just need to write a dedicated post for the linkfest.

Monday

I quickly read through the Wired magazine lastnight because I had already been through the most interesting articles online. I am not renewing my subscription. The picture to the right is from this month's "Artifact Of The Future" page. Here entries are submitted that represent a plausible fantastic future product.

Today was the first day of what is promising to be a long week. It will be a 'full-size' week. It was hot today and it even felt warm in the office.

As best as I can tell, the apartment staff did not come through today for their fire inspection because the inspection tag has not been changed on the fire extinguisher. Most likely they will come tomorrow.

Buddy is driving me crazy this afternoon. When I got home I took him for a quick walk around the parking lot because it was still so warm. Next he wants to play with me and the rawhide bone, but I am not interested in that. Then he begins baying like he needs to go outside. So we take another quick walk, but he didn't need to pee. I know how Mom must have felt when we were little -- always following her around the house, having to shut the door to keep us from following her into the bathroom, etc.

I gave Craig that book back and told him to give it to someone who is having trouble falling asleep at night. I began reading 1968 this morning. I know it will be a good one - most of Kurlansky's other stuff has been very good!

Tapeworm!

I've been meaning to take a picture of this sign for some time. The "Casket & Urn Superstore" is for real and it is about 2 miles from my house near the dog's vet. How bizarre.

Just hung around the house lastnight. I was kinda tired. After getting the DVD player to working, I took its box down to the dumpster, and then took the dog to the garage, moved the truck out, and swept the garage out good. Leaves and sand have blown in these past couple of months.

After that I put the dog into his crate, I got a shower, and just watched TV until around midnight. I slept well. Slept until almost 7 am!

Got up, peed, pulled shorts and t-shirt on, poured a cup of food into the dog's dish, pulled socks and shoes on, got the dog out, harnessed up, leashed and went out to walk.

As he was taking his dump, I was standing by with my blue dog walk bag, ready to move in and pick up the waste. I noticed a small piece of white something on his poop. It looked like a flattened piece of rice. When I picked the droppings up, I looked at it some more. It was flat, white, and squirming around on the droppings. I tied the bag shut and tossed it into the dumpster (next time I will try to take a picture of it first).

Came home and begin investigating what it could be on the Internet. According to the articles I read, there are only four or five kinds of worms dogs typically get -- heartworm, ringworm, hookworm, and tapeworm. While the squirming thing in his poop did not look like an entire tapeworm, it did look like one of the segments on a tape worm, and tape worms shed segments all the time.

I was dreading a trip to the vet for this (I barely have money for food for the rest of the month), but then I began reading on the treatment for tapeworm - a drug called "praziquantel" that comes as a powder or tablets. I even found a website where you could order it online. Obviously dog pharma is controlled as well as human viagra on the Internet!

If worse comes to worse, the tapeworm infestation would have to wait until payday. It won't kill him to have it for a couple of weeks. To keep tapeworm under control, you have to eliminate fleas in the dog's environment. He probably licked up an infested flea at the dog park.

We went to Eola Park and walked. While walking through the farmer's market he passed a table selling "natural" and "organic" dog food. The lady talked for awhile with us, gave Buddy a peanut butter treat (which he for some reason refused to eat), and gave us an 8 oz free sample bag of their lamb and rice feed. We will see if he eats it, but I doubt I will buy it -- a 25-pound bag is $26.95

After the park we got into the truck and drove some more. We passed a discount pet supply store on SR 50 and we stopped in. They had all kinds of wormers there. I got a small bottle of "D-worm®" 5 tables with praziquantel 34 mg. The bottle was $15, but that was about $2 cheaper than the Internet site I had found, did not have to pay freight, and I have it right now.

When we got home I just pushed the tablets into the Biljac® liver treats that he likes so much and he gobbled it right down. Now I just need to keep an eye on his stool and make sure that it was effective. The drug kills the worm, then the worm is just digested inside the dog. I should not see anymore tape worm segments at all.

This morning I pulled the hanging loose scab off of the lesion on his shoulder. I looks like his button tumor is starting to shrink down now. It is not as high off of the skin as it was before. It will probably be about gone in another month.

I have tried to read this book by Lee Simon called Restaurant Dream? that Craig gave me, but it is sooooo boring. I am giving it back to Craig tomorrow. I like to read for recreation, but this book is just a long lecture.

On my last trip to Borders I found another Mark Kurlansky book called 1968 - The Year That Rocked The World. I am going to begin reading this one right after I finish this month's edition of Wired magazine.

Next month, I am going to see if I can get the bottled water I like so much in shrink-wrapped cases. I will buy 4 to 6 cases and just stack them in the garage. That will reduce what I need to get at the grocery store. Maybe a BJ's or Sam's membership is needed?

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." -- Ben Franklin

Orlando, FL

I wrote yesterday to tell you that I got one of the $35 cheap, Made In China, DVD players from Target. I moved my 13-inch RCA TV into the bedroom, but found that the 9-year-old TV only has coaxial cable input in the back. The DVD player has three RCA jacks on the back - Left Audio Channel, Right Audio Channel, and Video. So this makes a small problem.

A quick trip to Radio Shack looking for a special cable. But the sales man said, "You need a Radio Frequency Converter." It usually costs $29, but it was on sale for $19. So, I pulled the dress out again, plugged in the RF Converter, plugged the DVD player into it, plugged cable from the wall outlet into it, and ran an coax cable from the converter to the TV. It worked as soon as I started up the DVD player!


So now I have 75 channels on cable and a small, full-featured DVD player working on the 13-inch TV in my bedroom now. I am surprised how many things this new player can do -- it can ZOOM in 2x, 3x, and 4x; it can play the movie SLOW speed - 1/2 speed, 1/4 speed, 1/8 speed, and 1/16 speed. You can set bookmarks on the disc and you can specify footage to repetitively loop. Pretty good for $35!

I stripped my bed today and washed sheets. I tried to read that book by Lee Simon about the restaurant business, but it is sooooo boring. I am just going to have to tell Craig that it sucks.

A note came today warning us that the apartment management will be walking through the apartment for their annual "fire inspection" on Mon and Tues. Great, I wonder if I should take the dog to work with me. Fuck it. It's not like they will have a copy of everyone's lease when they walk through.

After my trip to Radio Shack, I ran the emergency generator for about 20 minutes. Trying to use up all of the gallon of gas in the tank. Running it every couple of weeks is a good idea anyway. After it cools back off I will put the cover back on it. I need to sweep the garage out too.

There was a crew here with a cherry picker trimming the palm trees and only the palms. They were putting all of the trimmings into a dumpster behind my apartment. They need to trim the oaks before the big storms come and beat the buildings up!

Buddy fallows me from room to room. If it looks like he is sleeping, he will jump up as soon as I make a tiny noise - so nosy and afraid he will miss something! Right now he is napping up under the computer desk, which is a natural place for a dog to bed down.

Tomorrow? Maybe go to Eola and walk. Finish relaxing because this will be a regular long work week.

Orlando, FL

It rained most of the day. At times it rained hard!

At work today, Craig had Bob Marsden of Saniguard in to explain the product and how to sell it. Nancy, Nick, Debbie, Neal, and Fay sat in on it. I stayed out front and got the phones. Craig brought in bagels and fresh-ground coffee for the meeting.

Craig and Debbie took Bob to lunch and then back to the airport. Craig offered to bring something back but I declined. Fay let them bring her a salad.

At lunch I came home and let Buddy out. I had a turkey and cheese sandwich.

Today was already Friday. The weekly report showed that FER-Orlando did $260k. Not bad at all for just three days!

After work I went to Pier 1 Imports and bought some tapered candles with my three-year-old Christmas gift card. Then I went to Target and got some grapes, some nectarines, and a new DVD player. The DVD player is tiny, only cost $35, and was made in China. I am going to use it in the bedroom with the 13-inch RCA TV.

The DVD player in the living room has been messing up. I think I am going to get another one of those cheap DVD players, or maybe a combo DVD-VHS machine to replace the DVD player, CD player, and the oldest VCR which has a porno tape whose title has long been forgotten stuck in it.

This evening after moving the small TV to my bedroom, I plugged the cable into the wall just to see if I could get any channels. Oh yeah. I get 75 channels!

Then I cleaned the floors and vacuumed. Rainy cool evening. Nice night to stay in and read.

Remember, tomorrow is Dawn and Georges's Wedding Anniversary. Who would have guessed they'd still be together? I wouldn't have put money on it.

Orlando, FL

Yes, I knew there would be alot of work returning from a four-day weekend. Fay and I were very very busy. I processed almost $200k in orders on Wednesday alone!

When I got home from work lastnight I took Buddy to the dog park. He ran and played for about two hours, rolling in the dirt and mulch, hopping on some of the other dogs and getting chewed on.

I should have been concerned about how much water he was drinking, but I saw him peeing alot there in the park too.

One thing was certain -- when we got home Buddy was going to get a bath! He was filthy! As soon as I got undressed, I started a load of darks and just threw his harness in with the laundry, then I gathered the dog up in my arms and carried him to the tub. He hates the shower. He tolerated it pretty well though.

Later, after we were out and I was dressed, I had just finished feeding him and closed up the laundry room. He went to his crate and I sat down to read. All of a sudden he runs out of the crate toward the kitchen. I hear him peeing on the rug! "NO BUDDY!" Then he runs back to his crate.

I immediately get still-wet harness and the leash on him and start toward the door. On the way we stop so that I can rub his nose in the puddle -- he needs to know this is not acceptable. Then we get outside so he can finish peeing. He really needed to go too.

For the rest of the evening he stayed in the crate and he knew I was pissed. That SpotBot was the most practical thing I could have bought with my tax refund! It sure has been useful!

Today was another busy day. Altogether, it looks like FER will bring in over $250k in just three days this week. We have a factory guy from Saniguard visiting tomorrow to train our reps. I will answer the phones while everyone else sits in the Test Kitchen learning about Saniguard products.

Hard to believe this week is already over!!

Independence Day !!

We stayed in almost all day yesterday. It was just so hot. I think it rained around noon. It rained this morning a little bit too.

John and Amy, the new couple that moved into Bldg 11 thanked me for telling them about the West Orange Dog Park. They took their dogs and had a good time yesterday.

Today I began reading Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed (On NOT Getting By In America). Almost half way through already! It is very compelling reading.

While I was walking Buddy lastnight I noticed bats flitting about. I took the dog back inside and went out with my camera to try to photograph them. The camera hesitates before it opens the shutter. All I got were blurry pictures.

The space shuttle Discovery lifted off at 2:38 pm today. I went outside and took a picture of it ascending (see photo). It went up very quickly! It is supposed to rendezvous with the ISS tomorrow.

No plans to go to any area fireworks displays. The traffic started getting bad around the area parks this afternoon. Jockeying for a parking space or being stuck in traffic afterwards will not be fun.

Ugghh... back to work tomorrow. Craig told me on Friday that $80k in orders came in after I left for the doctor's office Friday. Short week. Busy week.

Sunday

The space shuttle liftoff was cancelled again. Now it is rescheduled for the afternoon of July 4. The earlier it gets moved up, the better. We are having afternoon showers daily now.

Last night while reading I heard water dripping in the closet. I investigated and found water dripping from the A/C unit onto the hot water heater. Atleast the HWH sits in a watertite pan. I opened up the unit in the living room, pulled out the air filter, and yes, found the drip tray overflowing and filled with slimy growy stuff. I tried to clear it, unsuccessfully, with wire. Finally I got the canned air from the computer, pushed the stick into the drain and plugged with my finger and sprayed. That did it.

I will have to pour some bleach down that drain periodically.

This morning I began making a big pot of vegetable soup. It turned out good. I will eat that for the next few days and I will freeze several single-serving containers of it.

Around 11 am I got out to the garage to test the portable emergency electric generator. Filled the crankcase with oil, poured some gas in, turned the Engine Run switch to "ON", opened the fuel valve, closed the choke, and pulled the starter cord. It fired right up!

Ran it for a few minutes, then plugged the extension cord into it to test it. I ran some of my powertools off of it. I noticed that the receptacles on the generator have the special plug my welding buzz box requires! Hey, hey! I can run the welder off of the generator.

Next I got the folding table out and put my dependable, thirty-some-year-old, sewing machine out there to start working on the dust cover for the machine. I spread the fabric out on the floor, took measurements from the generator, and marked the panels and folds for the hem on the wrong side of the fabric with a Sharpie pen. Then I cut the pattern out.

I pinned the hems and began sewing them with the machine. I used white cotton thread. If I had thought about it, I would have used dark blue or black thread to make the seams invisible. But as it is, it did not turn out bad.

After I got it fitted up good, I stitched the seams twice to make sure they don't come apart. Then I hammered grommets into the corners so it can be tied down or held on with bungee cords when it is being transported.

I made the sides shorter than the top so that the frame would stick through. This allows the generator to be carried with the cover still on it. Doesn't look too bad, does it?

I still need to get a shower and maybe go out. My friend Gregory wants me to go out, and I am overdue for a trip to Full Moon Saloon.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

This recipe was put out on Cooking for Engineers. I decided to give it a try.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 vanilla wafer cookies
• foil cake liners

Mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract, eggs, and sugar until creamy.

Place 12 foil cake liners in a muffin pan or on to a sheet pan.

Drop one vanilla wafer into each cake liner.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into each cup.

I garnished mine with Mandarin oranges, but you can use whatever you want.

Put into the oven for 15 minutes. Cook them on a rack. Serve chilled.

Makes 12 cheesecakes. This recipe can be scaled too.

Holiday Weekend

First thing, after writing the rent check, I sat down and paid my bills online, then I went to the grocery store and filled a cart up! Spent about $225, but I will be in good shape for the month and incase a storm comes.

Got some black table cloth material with red and yellow peppers on it. I am going to sew a dust cover for my generator out of it.

After the groceries were put away I made some cheesecakes. Little cupcake cheesecakes with Mandarin oranges on top! (see next blog entry)

I headed out in the afternoon to go to the Cape to watch the shuttle go up, but the weather did not look promising. Anyway, as it was, the traffic going east on 50 was so heavy, I saw that it was, if not impossible, atleast something that would be stressful. So, I turned around and drove the 408 all the way west to the West Oaks Mall where I shopped Borders bookstore for a couple of hours. I picked up a couple of paperbacks there. When I came out it was just about time for the rocket to go up, but the launch was cancelled because of the weather.

Next stop was Supercuts to get my hair shortened and goatee trimmed up. The cosmetologist was a skinny black girl from New Jersey who is trying to become a fashion model in Miami... seriously crazy chick, but she did a good job.

Just finished walking Buddy and balancing my checkbook. I need a nap, but I wanted to stop and write the things down that happened today.

Plus, I have been saving some links up to post:

• The link that goes with yesterday's picture: Competitive Eating.
• Most Americans are wild about Walmart?
• Most Americans are not wild about Bush.
• Just in time for the Fourth - How to Photograph Fireworks.
• Is Mister Annoying at the bar bothering you for your number? Give him this number!
• Transvestite gang terrorizes New Orlean's Magazine Street!
• Awkward moments abound in penis pump trial.
• The new all-smoking luxury airline.
• I am sure Becky did not cut this one out of the Wilmington Morning Star and I am sure she is glad she isn't Muslim.
• Yes Scarecrow, it is possible to live with only half a brain.

After cooling off and resting, I will get a shower to get the hairs washed off, shave, brush teeth, and go to the bar for a few boring hours.