EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT.

I have no idea what that means.


I do, however, know that I have neglected this poor little blog for far too long. I shall try to fix that now.

NEW JOB
I'm a shut-picker-upper now, I quit my lucrative career as an avionics instructor for a well known college in favour of a crappy job as an animal caretaker. I haven't put gas in the truck in a week or so - I see my darling wife everyday - I make less money but I get more hours - and, funnily enough, I'm quite happy.

Yea for me!

Everyday is basically the same - my little furry friends looks at me in the morning a wait patiently for their food, then calmly get out of their stall while I make their poo disappear. Then its 'sweeping and shoveling the aisles' followed by 'cleaning out the drains'. Next is feeding the furry monsters in the afternoon and sweeping up again. Yep - I get to push a broom twice a day, or more if I want.

I must admit, I always joked that I'd get a job picking up shit when I retired from the force just so I could boost my self image, and now I have. But it's not a joke when you look at the little guys in their pens, and you know that there's no way in hell that they could use a shovel or a broom to do what I do. Ummmmm Makes me feel good.

makes me feel like Chuck Norris.

well maybe not.

Late update

Wow, its been a while since I've written anything, I've been busy with the job search - found position with these guys Spartan College teaching avionics on an on-call basis.

Pay isn't too bad, the drive sucks, but they're paying me to sit through the course and work up my lesson plans, so that's pretty cool. Actual money coming in - there's an idea. Much better than my normal quantum bank account.

I'll keep you posted....

Coal, the other fossil fuel.

Wonder of wonders! I finally got my new coal forge set up and the flue plumbed in. Yippee! Now I can play again. It's been ages since I had a decent forge, my last gas rig was just that - a rig; not very good as far as forges go. This new coal forge is a real beaut. Time to start making new tools now - its amazing the things you don't need with a gas forge; I've never had to rake the fire in a gas forge, and I don't know the last time I used a gas shovel to put more gas on. Never had a clinker in one either.

So I should be turning out the knick knacks again here shortly. Guess what everyone's getting for christmas........

Arthur 'Two Sheds' Jackson

I do so love Monty Python. I think I shall start heading all my posts with a sketch or quote.

I have arrived back from Portland after my friend's wedding in mediocre shape, it's only taken me a *couple* of days to recover from it. But what a beautiful wedding. 17:00 on a Saturday! what bride wouldn't blush - reception in a vineyard, no drunken family members vomiting on the dress! And now the lucky couple is on safari in Kenya. Oh what fun they'll have. Lions and tigers and bears - Oh Criag! (If you don't know him, you won't get that.)

On another note, (about me, I mean,) The interview went, (I think,) quite well. As long as I can stick in the mind of the hirer and beat out four other well qualified applicants I'll be ok. I know I have the skills and the drive to do the job, not sure I have the smarmy interview skills though. Oh well, still applying for other jobs as we speak just in case, But I have to say that if they can find a better candidate they better hire him.


Now I have to check out some libel over on weaselkeeper's blog. Something about a rocks glass. He started it - remember that.

Partly cloudy; chance of job.

For all of you familiar with British radio announcements and/or Mike Harding,

"This is a warning for all shipping in the Oklahoma area: Bugger off, there's no water."

But seriously. I've been quiet of late, lot of stuff on my plate. Got some responses on my job hunt - only one seems likely to pan out. But still, thats good. Nice job, some travel, (well mostly travel,) but home on weekends. No idea what the pay is yet, but it should, nay must, be good.

Now that I'm fairly sure that my future employment will have a 50-70 mile commute I've decided that, (if and when necessary,) I shall buy a commuting vehicle. That is to say a vehicle that fits only one niche - commuting 100-140 miles a day. If you know me, (and you probably do if you're here,) you know that that means I'm getting a new bike. But what fits like a glove? I'm looking at the Honda Silverwing, Suzuki Bergman, and Yamaha Majesty. All "maxi-scooter's" all with good mileage, and all with great element protection. Of course they're all scooters too, so I don't have to worry about scaring old biddies at stop lights - really, even I won't look dangerous on a scooter. I'm leaning towards the Bergman at the moment, but that could change quickly - I need to find the one that fits the commute role, and not the cool role. I'll figure it out in the end.

I actually can't wait to get back to honest-to-god bike commuting, I really miss it. I have several bikes in the stable that I could use, but none that would deliver the comfort and mileage of a maxi-scooter. I can't imagine commuting for long on the Triumph (at 34mpg/120mph) or the Ural (at 40mpg/55mph) The BSA is right out because I have to be able to trust it and it's, well, a BSA. A new scoot with good MPG and a dependable name that can pay itself off in gas savings, or at least reduce the cost, is what I'm after.

I suppose I could buy a cage..........

I'll let you know what I think after I get a couple of test rides in.



Cheers

An understanding of Digital watches

I haven't posted in a little while, not because I've been lazy, but because of computer troubles. I lost the adapter for the power supply on my windows box the other day and haven't had time to replace it. I thought that this would be the ideal time to get the Linux box functioning again. And so it was, I suppose. Had the usual teething problems, everything except the wireless worked fine. But what's the point of a laptop if you have to plug it into something? After a couple of v.frustrating sessions loading and unloading stuff and generally messing around with the programs I found this. Worked as advertised, trouble free and quick to install. I feel as if I have an understanding of computers...............

So I'm back online, and here's the full quote from Time Bandits for those that didn't get the reference.

"Evil Genius (David Warner) When I have the map, I will be free, and the world will be different, because I have understanding.

Robert (Derek Deadman) Understanding of what, master?

Evil Genius Digital watches. And soon I will have understanding of videocassette recorders and car telephones. And when I have understanding of them, I shall have understanding of computers. And when I have understanding of computers, I shall be the Supreme Being! God isn't interested in technology. He knows nothing of the potential of the microchip or the silicon revolution. Look how he spends his time: forty-three species of parrots! Nipples for men!

Robert Slugs.

Evil Genius Slugs! He created slugs! They can't hear, they can't speak, they can't operate machinery. If I were creating the world, I wouldn't mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would've started with lasers, eight o'clock, day one."

Time off for good behavior

Today we're off to the lake for some relaxation and possibly to engage in some exotic red-neck courtship rituals, e.g. falling from a high-speed jet ski into a semi-submerged tree inhabited by poisonous reptiles of the family Ancistrodon piscivorus.

It should be a good time.


And I'll be unreachable until the swelling dies down and the bandages come off.




POST SCRIPT

Well, we made it back from the lake without encountering an Ancistrodon piscivorus, or a semi-submerged tree. Please notice that I did not mention the falling from a high speed jet ski. I didn't fall, I was ejected at about 35mph, sideways. I'm not in too much pain, just a bad rib that only hurts when I do something silly - like stand, or sit, bend, or breath. Dawn has only a headache, but she earned that and it was from the late night with Pabst Blue Ribbon.

So it's a slow Sunday for both of us, but that's what Sundays are for.