My back is all better after the pressure washing whirlwind last weekend. In fact, this morning I felt like I had more energy than I have for quite awhile. I’m taking a day off from work tomorrow so I can expend some energy on the yard and house before the party on Saturday.
Bike odometer: 196 miles Current reading:I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli Recent listening:Science Friday, John Prine, Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute by Red Hot Chili Peppers Recent viewing: Countdown, CBS Evening News, American Masters: Gene Kelly, High Stakes Poker Recent playing:Zuma Recently accomplished: Cleaned and disinfected CPAP equipment, bank, post office, FedEx Imperative To Do: Hair cut, new rear fender for bike, mow lawn, follow-up phone calls for birthday, finish old blog entries Cool Link:Drug-danger league table: When ranked according to the harm they cause, which drugs are the most dangerous? (Hint: the top two are legal.)
I sold my truck on Thursday night. Tina has a friend, Robert, who has a nephew who wanted to fix it up and resell it. When he showed the conversation went like this:
He: How much are you asking?
Me: Fifty bucks.
He: Will you take forty?
Me: (rolling eyes and laughing) Yes.
I hadn’t been in the truck for quite some time so I was surprised how familiar it smelled when I sat in it the last time to start it (with a jump from the van). I suppose I’ll miss it but our last few years together were rocky. It’s probably better we go our separate ways.
According to MPG, an auto tracking program I’ve used for most of the time I had the truck, my total vehicle cost (including gas) was around $7500. I purchased it in the fall of 1995, when Tina was pregnant with Thomas. I drove it about 80,000 miles in the twelve years since. It ran better on “Plus”. It leaked a little oil and the transmission would get cranky when it was low on fluid. I bought a case of each just for the truck. The cab was always messy but it was perfectly functional and had everything I needed for truck use: tie-downs, rope, chains. It had a pretty cool cassette deck with an iPod jack that Tina got me one year at Costco. I pulled it out before selling it, but I don’t know what I’ll do with it. I had to slide the seat all the way back when I drove. The seat back wouldn’t fold forward when the seat was all the way back though. The truck came with a locking gas cap. Someone broke the key once and I had to replace it. Eventually, I replaced it again with a non-locking cap because it was such a pain in the ass to explain to the station attendants here how it worked. Nobody stole my gas after that. I’ve driven that truck to four different jobs over the years and hauled many loads of yard debris and junk. I guess I will miss it.
Bike odometer: 111 miles Current reading:The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford, The Prince by Machiavelli Recent listening:Spillane by John Zorn, Grace by Jeff Buckley, One Hot Minute by Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Decemberists Recent viewing: 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Late Night with David Letterman Recent playing:Zuma, poker Recently accomplished: Sold truck, recycling, grocery shopping, sprayed the driveway weeds Imperative To Do: Install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs, fix Newton server, kill and pull weeds Cool Video: Colbert and Stewart at the Emmy Awards (“Good evening, godless Sodomites”)
My friend, Don Fitzgerald, helped me construct a bench on Saturday to reinforce the sagging rail on my deck. The bench turned out great and now the rail is rock-solid. Don was proud that we only had 4 scraps of wood left when we were done.
I’ve got some pictures from the sleep clinic that I’m sorting through. I’ll have those up some time this week.
Bike odometer: 82 miles Current reading:The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli Recent listening:NPR Story of the Day, Science Friday Recent viewing: Brainiac, 2006 World Series of Poker, Monk, FIBA Championships, Emmy Awards Recent playing:Zuma Recently accomplished: Finished Zuma, built a bench on our deck, deck maintenance, cleaned up the work bench in the garage, cleaned and lubed bike, paid bills, helped Thomas design a Lego steering mechanism Imperative To Do: Install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs, pay bills, fix Newton server, kill and pull weeds, design a better steering mechanism Cool Link:Why not impeachment? by Bill Maher
Graham and Tina are at Cub Scout Camp this weekend so Thomas and I are having a bachelor’s weekend. Some of the agenda items include: returning cans and bottles to the store, poker at Jonathan’s, Halo, Bust-A-Move and maybe some yard work if we find time.
Current reading:The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli Recent listening:Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dead Kennedys, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan Recent viewing: Sportscenter, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Brainiac, Mythbusters Recent playing:Bust-A-Move, Halo Recently accomplished: n/a Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, burn CDs for my sister Cool link:Gaussboys Super Magnets: Purveyor of rare earth magnets. These are super-powerful – check out the Crazy Pics link.
It’s been very hot in Portland the last few days but it cooled down today. On Monday, we set a new high (102) the venus factor for June in Portland. Usually it’s still raining in June so I think this is a nice departure for us. It’s back down to the 80s today, though, which makes for a much nicer bike ride to work.
Yow! I started this entry over 10 days ago! Time flies by in the summer. Tina’s dad, Leroy, was here to visit this week. The boys really enjoyed that. The NBA Finals are over and so I’m expecting some free time to become available, but it probably won’t work out that way.
The weather has been great here but it’s getting hot today. Probably need to put the air conditioner in the window.
Current reading:Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon Recent listening:Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, NPR Story of the Day Recent viewing: My Life On The D-List, NBA Finals, Sportscenter, Pardon the Interuption, Futurama, Cars Recent playing:Poker Room Recently accomplished: Deposited checks at the bank, mowed the lawn, stripped the picnic table, made appointment with sleep doctor Imperative To Do: Install air conditioner, call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room Cool link:Flash Flood: Flash animation illustrating the sequence of events that led to the flooding of New Orleans.
Just woke up. I’ve been sick since Friday morning. Sore throat, cough, feeling like crap – that kind of thing. Everyday I think that maybe another day in bed will help, but then I wake up feeling like crap again. I guess I’ll just throw in the towel tomorrow morning and go back to work.
Current reading:Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon Recent listening: n/a Recent viewing: Heat at Mavericks, French Open: Men’s Final Recent playing:Poker Room, Halo Recently accomplished: n/a Imperative To Do: Get better, call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room Cool link:The Week in Unnecessary Censorship: My favorite “bit” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Bike odometer: 6307 miles Current reading:Heaven Is A Playground by Rick Telander, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon Recent listening:Express by Love and Rockets, Story of the Day, Hindu Love Gods Recent viewing: Last Comic Standing, Sportscenter, Countdown, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report Recent playing:Poker Room, Halo Recently accomplished: Cleaned the garage, strung Tina’s art project, paid bills, receipts Imperative To Do: Call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room Cool link:Driving Test: GMAC Insurance 2006 National Driver’s Test
