Archive for the ‘Just Stuff’ Category

Tagged

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

I guess I’ve been tagged — but thankfully not like the poor old bovine above. According to Rick’s post, what I have to do is…

… list seven random or weird facts about myself and then tag seven other people.


So, here goes, whether it’s right or not. But if it’s not, well I guess it’s not. And here goes in spite of the 49 posts stacked up in Draft status waiting to be finished. Guess a backlog like that is what happens when someone with SODS (Shiny Object Distraction Syndrome) tries to run a blog (does that count as a weird or random fact about me? Or two?)

  1. My first name is not David (not telling what it really is!)
  2. I got my driver’s license two weeks before my 16th birthday, but got picked up for speeding the same day and subsequently lost said license. Yeah; not one of my better moments.
  3. I met, fell in love with, proposed to, and married my charming & gracious Yvonne in a span of about 8 months. Yup; that was one of my better moments!
  4. My first job out of high school was with a casket manufacturer.
  5. I have no idea how many computers I have in my house right now, but I do know that none of them are PC’s. run Window$ as a native OS. (better?)
  6. I was a registered Democrat until 1994.
  7. My longest term of employment was with CCL Label — 1991 to 2005. The shortest? John Morrell & Co. — 7.5 hours. Yup; didn’t even finish my first shift. When I’d had my fill of the place, I tracked down my foreman & told him off, threw my checked out equipment at him, stormed off in a rage, then got hopelessly lost trying to find my way out of the building. (The decision to take the job there was definitely not a shining moment in the history of me.)

Well, there’s my seven. I don’t know how random or weird any of them are, but that’s what I could come up with on a Sunday afternoon. I think I’ll just leave it at that.

But now, who to tag…

My No-Year’s Resolutions

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

Since my track record for keeping past New Year’s Resolutions has been pretty poor — I usually end up headed in the opposite direction of what I resolve to do — I thought this year I’d maybe try a little reverse psychology. Maybe I’ll actually get where I want to go.

So, I hereby resolve to…

  1. Gain weight. I’m thinking at least 40 pounds. Just more of me to love, right?
  2. Not even think about exercising. I’d resolve to quit exercising, but I can’t very well stop if I’m not doing it in the first place. Total waste of time.
  3. Read less, and I’ll hide my Bible. Quiet time? Devotions? Spiritual disciplines? Who needs them?
  4. Watch more TV. I might even break down and get cable. From what people at work talk about, I’ve been missing some good stuff.
  5. Procrastinate more. Then again, maybe I’ll wait & do that next year.
  6. Take up a new habit: Maybe drinking. And smoking would be good too. And as long as I’m at it, I’ll start hitting the casinos.
  7. Spend more time at work.
  8. Spend less time with the wife & kids. That only deepen any emotional attachment to them, which interferes with #7.
  9. Take a vacation to someplace important: like to see the largest ball of twine.
  10. Stop going home for lunch or bringing a sack lunch to work: We all need to do our part for stimulating the economy, and fast food restaurants play an important role in that, right?
  11. Quit giving money & time to charity. It’s time to let someone else develop character in that way.
  12. Sell my car and buy a mid-’70’s Camaro or Monte Carlo with a really loud stereo system, mag wheels, air shocks and wide tires in back. I’ll also need to grow a mullet to complete the image.
  13. Shower and change clothes once a week, whether I need it or not. A guy has to do his part to to reduce water usage.
  14. Cash out my 401k accounts. The markets are going nowhere fast, and just think of the fun I could have with all that money.
  15. Stay up later still every night. Think of all the late-night TV and web browsing I can get done instead of sleeping. Most days at work I feel like I’m spinning wheels anyway, so showing up half asleep shouldn’t affect a thing productivity-wise.

Well, that should pretty much do it. Here’s hoping I keep a perfect track record. Of failing to achieve what I resolve to do.

Fourteen Below Zero

Monday, December 15th, 2008

We’re having a cold snap in Sioux Falls this week. Not just cold, but stinkin’ cold. The photo above was taken of the thermometer on the back of our house at about 6am this morning. 14 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (that’s -25.5° C for the rest of the world.) No idea how accurate that old thermometer is — it came with the house — but KELO’s weather page shows -15° F for today’s low, and the National Weather Service has an official low of -11° for today. Tonight should be at least as cold.

Thankfully the wind wasn’t blowing much outside this morning, so starting the Suzuki wasn’t too bad. Not long after snapping the photo I went out to start up the engine & let it warm up a little. It’s always funny how the cold sucks the bounce out of the seats & suspension; hopping in is like jumping on a log. No give at all.

The air on a cold, cold morning like this is crisp and clear, and sounds take on a different character. Aircraft flying overhead sound totally different, cars driving by sound totally different… It’s a very cool experience. And on many mornings like this in years past, I’ve seen light pillars — vertical shafts of light above streetlights, farmyard lights, or car headlights. I didn’t get out before it was light, so didn’t see any this morning, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if they were around.

The cold is brutal, and makes me not want to go anywhere, but the cold brings out special phenomena that make venturing outside well worth the trouble of bundling up.

My RJ-45 Zipper Pull Mod

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Last spring, the zipper pull broke on my light jacket. I used a paper clip as a temporary replacement, but that looked pretty nerdy. I wore it last week, and felt a bit self-conscious about it, and was careful to keep the clip hidden while out & about, and was thinking seriously about replacing it. After all, it was getting to be several years old, and not exactly the peak of winter fashion.

But last Friday I walked in the front door carrying my tool bag, I had a sudden burst of inspiration; why not use a bit of wire and an RJ-45 plug for the zipper pull? It’d be the perfect geek accessory on the jacket!

So here is the final result. I’ll call it Version 1.

It was pretty simple, really; I took a length of Cat. 5 cable about 4 inches long, pulled the twisted pairs out of it and threaded two pairs through the business end of the zipper. I then doubled the wires back, straightened them out — being careful to arrange the colored wires in an aesthetically-pleasing manner — and clipped them off about 2 inches from the zipper. Then the RJ-45 went on the end and got crimped down, and there you have it!

The same thing could be done with an RJ-11 plug and a single twisted pair, but the RJ-45 allows for two pairs, and presumably double the strength.

A couple of afterthoughts about this mod upon completion; a much cleaner installation could be achieved by slipping some Cat. 5 cable jacket or heat-shrink tubing over the wire before crimping the connector in place… Just enough to fit in between the zipper and the crimp. As it is, the small amount of exposed wire doesn’t really present the effect I was hoping for. Another option would be to use solid color wire, and the same color on all four strands. That would allow the color to be coordinated with the jacket, giving a more pleasing color combination. Or maybe just wrap some black electrical tape around the exposed wires… It’d be nice to have a molded end on the plug, but that’d probably involve a used cable as most of those are molded with the cable in place. There you’d have to do some kind of twisting and/or soldering on the backside of the zipper to keep it in place. But then again I have seen some patch cables that have hoods that aren’t molded in place and could be slid onto the thing; I’ll have to keep my eye out for one of those for Version 2.

The 3 Square Puzzler

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

I stopped at a garage sale a few weeks back and found a couple of good deals; one of them was this neat old game — The 3 Square Puzzler.

The box is pretty nondescript, and looks like it’s seen better days.

Inside is a milled & finished oak block with a series of holes for moving the pegs. The pegs themselves are pretty heavy duty; all metal. The finish on the gold-colored pegs is a bit worn, but it’s still pretty easy to tell which is which.

The goal of the game is for one player to move the silver pegs to the holes occupied by the gold pegs before the other player moves the gold pegs to the other side. The rules are pretty simple; you move the pieces one hole at a time, jumping other pegs when possible, much like Chinese Checkers.

It’s a fun game, and kind of a classy relic. The label on the box is pretty faded, but still somewhat legible;
SETKO MODEL NO. 8114
3 SQUARE PUZZLER
another HOYLE OFFICIAL game

In addition to the instructions on the inside of the box lid, there is a line that says the copyright was obtained in 1964 by the “Set Screw & Mfg. Co.” A Google search on that name comes up empty, but it kinda makes sense that a set screw manufacturer would make something like this.

Probably not much of a collector’s piece, but I like it. Not bad for 25 cents, eh?

Much To Be Thankful For

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Someone sent me this as part of an email chain letter. I won’t pass emails on to others, but this was good enough to share; this is a much preferable mode for this sort of thing.

Much To Be Thankful For
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags. 

You talk trash about your ‘buddies’ that aren’t with you. 
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again. 

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls. 
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is. 
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow. 

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong. 
He doesn’t get to eat today. 

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes. 
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean. 

You go to the mall and get your hair redone. 
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today. 

You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over. 
He’s told he will be held over an extra 2 months. 

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight. 
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home. 

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday. 
He holds his letter close and smells his love’s perfume. 

You roll your eyes as a baby cries. 
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they’ll ever meet. 

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything. 
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting. 

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him. 
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded. 

You see only what the media wants you to see. 
He sees the broken bodies lying around him. 

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t. 
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger. 

You stay at home and watch TV. 
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat. 

You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable. 
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long. 

If you support your troops, send this to 7 people. 
If you don’t support your troops well, then don’t send this out. You won’t die in 7 days, your love life won’t be affected, and you won’t have the worst day ever. 
You don’t have to email this. It’s not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your rights. 

REMEMBER our Troops, and do not forget them LATER 
Lest we forget

It drives me just a little crazy when people criticize members of the military. How often have they considered the fact that the freedom they enjoy which allows them the ability to make that criticism was purchased for them by soldiers fighting and dying on battlefields in many places around the world throughout history. They may not agree with the current war going on in the Middle East, in spite of the reality of the threat, but you would think they’d show a little gratitude for those who have gone before. But the privileged rarely give thought to the source of their

Just Desserts…

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

We drove to Rapid City — last weekend… what a long. boring. drive. But there was one bit of excitement on the way back that really made the trip.

I was driving along I-90 near Murdo, SD, with the cruise control set at about 77-78 mph. I came up behind a tractor trailer rig — pulling two full-size trailers — checked my mirrors, and moved to the left lane to pass. About half way past the truck, I looked in my mirror and saw some bozo approaching at high speed, probably over 100 mph. He slowed in time, thankfully, but sat within a few feet of my bumper — way too close for comfort. I taped the brake pedal a couple of times trying to get him to back off, but he stayed right there. When I finally got past the truck, he floored it, giving me a dirty look and the bird as he passed. What a jerk.

As the guy passed me I breathed a silent prayer, asking that his request be granted — driving that fast on Labor Day weekend, he was just asking to be caught. Sure enough, a short time later we saw a patrol car with lights flashing at the side of the road, with the same Iowa-plated VW pulled over in front of it.

That was so terribly gratifying. Nobody on the road that day deserved a ticket more than that guy, and he got it. I shouldn’t have, but I tapped the horn a couple of times as we passed. That’s probably considered gloating, but it’d take a bigger man than me to resist something that tempting.

When Geese Attack

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

So, there I was, minding my own business riding my bike to work. When out of the blue, a Canada goose attacks me. Stoopid goose.

It’s not unusual to see geese on the Sioux Falls greenway bike path, but usually they scurry down the side of the dike to get out of your way. Just last week there was a herd of them not far from this morning’s encounter, and most of them just moved out of the way. There was some hissing, and one ended up trying to get out of my way by moving in the same direction & taking flight, but not this morning.

I was going north on the path near the fairgrounds when I saw him. My first thought was, “Aha! My nemesis!” (that actually did cross my mind.) It looked like the goose started moving down the slope, but as I approached, he opened his beak hissing & took flight right at me.

I was buzzing along about 20mph (thanks to the handy dandy electric motor) and stuck my left foot up to at least keep him out of my face and hopefully stay on the bike. That worked pretty well; my foot caught him square in the breast, and he wasn’t able to lay a wing on me.

I looked back & saw him picking himself up off the ground, so I don’t think he was hurt too badly. I had thoughts of going back and finishing him off, but that might have some, ummm, repercussions if someone were to see it. Besides, something tells me that particular goose won’t be pulling anything like that again any time soon.

Stoopid bird.

It’s Called A Turning Lane For A Reason!

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

My biggest pet peeve when driving around Sioux Falls — and anywhere else for that matter — is when people looking for a quick way to turn left out of a parking lot or side street onto a busy street jump first into the turning lane and use it to merge into the flow of traffic. Gah! I hate it!

It’s called a TURNING LANE you ignorant lump of human debris, not a merging lane, so use it for TURNING, not merging!

Thanks. I needed to get that off my chest.

But then, while looking for info on this topic, I find that in some states it is legal to merge into traffic using the center lane. Go figure. At this point, I’m not even sure if South Dakota is one of those state; the codified laws are less than clear on that point (or most any other point for that matter.) So I guess I’ll do a little digging and report back. Even if it is legal here, it still bugs the heck outta me when people do it; you just can’t tell if they’re going to go barreling into the flow of traffic or if they’re going to wait, so every time someone does it I have to brace for impact.

The Return Of The Weatherball?

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

The Argus Leader ran a story today about a Sioux Falls guy — Greg Allis — who is leading the charge to resurrect one of the weatherballs that used to operate in town.

When the weatherball is red,
Warmer weather is ahead.

When the weatherball is white,
colder weather is in sight.

When the weatherball is green,
No change is forseen.

When it blinks in agitation,
There’s going to be precipitation.


There are only two weatherballs left in Sioux Falls; a 5-foot ball at 33rd and Minnesota and a 10-foot ball at 9t Street and Main Avenue. Neither one works. Apparently there is no desire on the part of the banks to get them working again, so Allis wants the city to pick up the project and place one of the balls in a city park, in the name of historic preservation. But the city is balking because they aren’t really old enough to qualify for the “historic” designation.

I love the idea of putting a weatherball back in action, but I don’t necessarily like the idea of it becoming a city government thing. I’m surprised though that one of the local news & weather stations hasn’t grabbed the idea and used it for promotion. KELO-TV was one of the original sponsors; wouldn’t it be great for them to put a weatherball on top of their tower in the downtown area? Just think of the mileage they’d get out of that thing. Or if KSFY picked up on the idea and placed one on a prominent billboard with reference to their weather forecasting…

That would be pure genius. At least I think so. (more…)