Boob tube

OK, the flat panel is installed and showing a loverly HD image. After much debate in the corners of my mind and searching for a good deal, I dropped the coin and drove off into the night with a reasonable Toshiba LCD. It's only 32" (I'm confident that the size will take care of the needs, much like something else...) and tunerless but the cable box will take care of that and since it has an HDMI input I can run the digital signal into it and let the DVD run on the component input and clean things up visually.

Now the fun begins with respect to getting stuff (movies, photos...) from the computer onto the screen. I had thought a while back about getting into the HTPC scene, but all of that seemed fraught with compromise and excessive tech-geekery, which is not necessarily beyond me but that I'm not all that interested in all that mess. So Apple has this Apple TV media extender just out and that may suit though it's limited in what video codecs can run though it, but the hacking is rapidly changing all that. But maybe it's still not what I want out of such a device so the HTPC concept hangs out in the back of my mind taunting me with possibilites and promises of better days ahead. Decisions, decisions...

Ah the things we think about to forestall the inevitable sloughing off of the motal coil...

Kiss me I'm Irish mostly German...

...but kiss me anyway you fool.

Yeah so I have an Irish surname, but my grandfather was half Irish and half German (and served in WWI as a translator plus was gassed there by his kind), and his wife was totally German and my mother's family is German, Dutch and French. So while I have a bit of a the old Teutonic touch to me, I still have a romantic penchant for lazily idling my time away while knocking back some whiskey or a black and tan and dreaming of better days ahead.

Beware the Ides Of March...

Funny how the mind is sometimes. Walking from the cafeteria back to the office this morning it felt like it did 30 some years ago when I was a kid in Minneapolis. I don't know why maybe the foggy, overcast sky and the cooler temps mixed with the barren trees gave me that feeling of nature lying in wait, ready to blossom in the spring once the temperatures rose above 40 degrees and the snow and ice receded like a glacier. The feeling engulfs you like a blanket as the senses determine the location, then all in an instant as your conscience recognizes the flood of memories it's gone not to return no matter how hard you pause to reflect and recall them. So it goes, nice as it was...

Numbness in my extremities

Mostly in my psyche... The migration has me at a loss in more ways than one. First off I can't find anything, and second off I'm not sure where anything will go exactly should I find it.

Cable is finally on and I can watch 155 channels of nothing on, buy some pay-for-pr0n, surf the net and dream of a big screen LCD and media center. But alas Time Warner has questionable service with regards to Roadrunner's setup and execute. I don't recall much ado when setting up my Cox accounts but it seems that the login and password T/W provided are not working so I can't setup my email app.

Oh well big deal, there's boxes of shit to unpack, furniture to buy, beer in the fridge and a motorcycle to consider.

Done deal!

The loan is funded - \/\/Ø؆ !!!

Let the moving begin (followed by Miller Time ®)!

The great migration

Ah yes so now the fun begins, addresses both real and virtual must be ordered, created and changed, new phone number and area code and then remember who I should inform of these changes. That's the fun part. Oh yeah ordering up all the necessary services and what not, then getting to know the surroundings.

I did scope out the gas station and grocery store, 2 important suburban life requirements and there's a reasonable looking Italian place in that same mini mall along with a donut shop, independent video store and a host of other stuff that should prove interesting from a reconnaissance angle. I haven't seen any bars or lounges of note yet, but there's plenty of time for that soon enough.

The boxes are piling up at the condo and are eagerly awaiting transport, I am not eagerly waiting to move them though. Does anyone ever enjoy moving? The change is good, but the getting there is sometimes a bear. Last time wasn't too bad and hopefully this one won't be either. And don't be prayin' for rain...

Time to be moving on...

Looks like a northerly direction will be in the cards, and if things don't work out then it's on the buyer's dime not mine. I guess I'll miss the old place and all that came and went with living here. A lot has transpired and a lot of nothing as well. I never made my first million, didn't bag 'The Big One', Haven't won the lottery. I did how ever manage to survive some dismal periods of my life with relative success and came out on top almost without trying. I must be mostly Irish after all...

We tried to recall some of the past residents the other day, some both of us remembered, some only either one of us did, and their cars and habits as well and some we both had a hard time recalling much of anything about that person. Tried to remember the residents at the previous place on Palm as well, funny how time flies and memories fade. A good deal of people that were here when we arrived are still here, still plugging away at life. Some have of course moved on, some have died; Here's to Joe the WWII vet, Arlene and the lady in 24 who the HOA had to place a lien on her place after not paying the HOA fee for some time, and to Richard whom I went to high school with and never met him 'til I moved a few doors down from him. Oh well so it goes.

And after 4 years of being an HOA board member and putting up with the typical crap, I did see the place get painted (oh what a battle for something so simple), the parking lot resurfaced twice (currently ongoing second resurface), new management company (a near disaster), numerous notices to residents, 4 years of Christmas trees in the dumpster after 4 years of notes telling them to do otherwise. New mailboxes and new laundry equipment (of course just as we're leaving the place) thanks to yours truly and plenty of other nonsense that I hope to avoid in my future as a renter.

Also during the past 4 years I have scraped, textured and painted the ceilings. Painted just about every surface at least once. Installed a new stove, dishwasher, AC unit, ceiling fan and kitchen sink. I did not install those low E vinyl frame windows we had discussed very early in our stay or add a washer/dryer area anywhere within the 999 sq feet we called home. I did break a plate glass window in a fit of rage and then paid $66 to have it repaired after removing it and taking it to the place while I waited. And then in another fit I punched a closet door and had to repair that. The key is using expanding foam and Bondo. After it's dried, sand it smooth, primer and paint. You'll never know I lost my temper into that door.

Yeah I guess I'll miss the old place, but I will have my memories and though we'll reminisce from time to time, those too shall fade... Somewhat.

Sacrificial ham for the gods

Oh gods of relocation how might I appeaseth thee?? What? Ok, say nothing you say? Yes oh great and glorious gods of relocation I will truly and absolutely keep my festering gob shut. Thanks...

Back to square one...

Well the Cookie monster dealt the death knell on the deal, by not calling our Realtor back and paying off the assorted escrow fees. Oh well so it goes. Start at the beginning, pass go do not collect $200, whatever the hell... Relisted on Tuesday as a 'just in case', plan B now plan A, and plan C now plan B. Plan B now refi... On a positive note or maybe a not so dim one, the fed probably won't be moving the rate one way or the other so if it comes down to a refi within 3-6 months maybe things will hold together. Oh and maybe the Israelis will keep their pants on about attacking Iran.

Nope...

Jan 5 came and went without the anticipated event, glad I didn't hold my breath... It seems Salvatore bought another house and the loan company wouldn't approve anymore money for him. Putz, thanks.

Maybe the backup will pull through if Cookie gets her shit in line and produces the paperwork in a reasonable time frame. But if it's like the last time around, she'll drag ass and piss us all off in the process. Relisting today as a backup. And if the dump gets no action, refi will be the only course. Oh joy!

Signed, sealed, delivered...

It's yours Sal...

Escrow in motion. Now let's enjoy the season, 'cus when it's over it's Miller time!

Closing time...

Word is Jan 5... Baited breath now, but certainly not holding it.

Holy Space dust Batman!

I always wanted to be an astronaut, but now I have an even stronger reason for wanting such...

Smart, talented and beautiful and all in outer space. Fly me to the moon!

Ok I'm being ridiculously male, but well that's me sometimes. And besides who can resist such a nice smile?

Waiting for Godot, or someone like him.

Hmmm, so the appraiser came by today, things will get interesting now. Can he make the numbers stick/jibe with current trends or am I just foolish enough to feel this whole thing will close escrow soon and we all can get on with our lives and I can buy a motorcycle.

First he has to send his report to the lender, they pass it on to the underwriter, it then goes to someone else and then the escrow company. Oh yeah the appraiser says about 48 hrs to complete his appraisal. I think I'll think about other things for the next week or so.

We shall see, shant we then...

Yes baby, show me the money!

"Sold? Ah jus' a sec, hold yer horses boy. Doan be a countin' them thar eggs b'for they's hatched..."

"But dam it Ah like a doin' that, let's me know if'n Ah will need to git a 6'er or 12'er of Schlitz..."

Signed more papers today, just waiting to open escrow. Yee haw, hell yes!

Ah but wait... Wait!

Dr. Doom has a lot to say about Peak oil (PO) and all that it may, or may not entail. He doesn't deny that it's an inevitable possibility from our demands on the earth's petroleum geology, but he does question the PO dogma and it's proponents and he gives no quarter for he feels that our technological abilities can work to overcome our gluttonous ways. I guess we shall see... or not.

Apocalypse Now?

Right now I'm feeling like a character in a 50's sci-fi/horror flick when the aliens have landed and I must save the ones I love, but kinda like (in essence...) Sophie in Sophie's Choice I'm torn between the ones I love and some greater good.

Peak oil.

Economic breakdown.

Global warming (note first mention of greenhouse effect is 1897!).

Collapse of civilization (as we know it).

Now I'm hep to the jive of worrying too much over things you can't control and just taking a chill pill, but let's face it some things hang in the balance right now and I don't think we're all much too concerned save a few brave, prescient souls who are spearheading the downsizing revolution (well the talking and planning parts, I imagine some actual hard work is being done by some who want to head off well in advance any discomfort by already getting used to discomfort...).

And of course many will scoff, and granted I admit I'm a bit credulous at times and led astray, but I think the reality lies somewhere between heaven and hell and I think John Michael Greer has found that spot. He presents his case in a reasonable manner without too great an alarm and in a lucid and readable form. All I can say is that I hope he is more right than wrong then some of the other gloom and doomers.

Something that does bother me is the amount of plastic(s) we as a society consume/require/put in use etc. Everything has some bit of plastic in it and most if not all of it comes from petroleum. And my god at the plastic crap we bestow upon our children in the form of playtoys, bullshit and otherwise and for what exactly? So they can play and have fun, can't they do this with metal, wood, paper or their minds? Oh no, plastics offer so much more in terms of longevity and stability, so let's just have a polymer orgy shant we?

It's all like sex, how long can this last until you're spent and have nothing left in you? And yes it was fun while it lasted.

The Real Estate analogy

Or rather this piece quite simply, puts in plain english with regards to unlimited growth, expectations and our survival in the face of loss of our perceived notions of what is and isn't society. It's been a fool's game with regards to the Real Estate market here in So Cal and elsewhere. But it seems the sun has affected our mental constitution here to such a degree that we or at least some (many?) of you thought things could continue unabated. Ha, and a big fat one you dopes.

Any way on to the punchline, things all over are in the same mess. And this guy very adroitly spells out in long form (but worth the read) what is and what may just lie ahead.

Make no mistake sports fans, things are not as they seem. Fool yourself into believing 'the same old same' old will prevail but I for one have been changing the trim of my sails. Things are a blowin' in the wind and I'll be goddamned if I know what they are per se, but they will not be 'the same old, same old'...

Wither thou goest

I'm pretty sure we all had in our childhood a friend, a pal, a tag-a-long companion made of fabric and poly fill. I vaguely (oh so vaguely..) recall a floppy hound tan with long, brown ears but this has been 40 years hence so I can't verify the accuracy of this memory. Anyhoo Doodles has a poly fill stuffed companion in the form of a penguin. He goes everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and he is loved. To death practically... But I digress.

Penguin Baby as he is known to us all has made his way to the Georgia, Yosemite, Fisherman's Wharf, Bodie and countless other locales far and wide. And of course he has made a few unscheduled layovers as well. Once in the backpack of the child above us for several days, and was almost returned (by mistake) by his mother to the child's daycare. Whew, close call Penguin Baby. Then there was that junket in the movie theater, fortunately for us we didn't have to resort to our substitution doctrine... Yes thank god for eBay. Since Penguin Baby was a commercial entity, finding a clone was reasonably easy on fleaBay. Doppleganger in hand the wife and I were prepared for any situation, of course now we had to work on our substitution speech but this was a small price and easily reconciled to the larger problem of not having 'the' Penguin Baby.

I did say that he is loved, right and to death? And that it shows? Well a penguin is normally black and white and possibly a touch or 2 of some other colors but the dominant ones being black and white. And penguins love the water right? Not this one. He started out predominantly white and black but as time goes forward he begins to take on a gray and black appearance. Unless of course you wash him, or at a minimum scrub the outside with soap and a sponge.

So this is what I found myself doing this Sunday night. Good god was that guy dingy, so I gave him the once over and sat him in front of a fan to dry. Doodles is always happy to see that Penguin gets a bath, but he never wants to participate or take the initiative to do it hisself it seems. I guess he's content to leave it up to us like so much else about life, why stop at Penguin Baby...

Not again..

Oh well 1st offer fell through, as did another more recent one. Just can't get above the bar on this one it seems. Refi looking high on the board again, but damn it I'd rather cash out and have some funds to work with instead of being in the same place but only less broke at the end of the month... hmm could be worse, could be rainin'. Wait a minute it's threatening to...