How are you?

Post by **laurie** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 8:24 pm

CodeBlower wrote: I think crying/rejoicing with each other is what makes this all bearable.

I do too, CodeBlower. I also think the quasi-anonymity of this site makes it somewhat easier for people to discuss their difficulties, and perhaps receive good advice from someone who has experienced a similar situation.

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:19 pm

It's raining and I need to mow. I have to stop by U-Haul and I'm worrying about all the stuff that could go wrong on the way to delivering my aunt's furniture to her this weekend. My wife called me at work - the boys have been out of school for one week and they're already driving her batty.

Post by **laurie** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:51 pm

CodeBlower wrote:My wife called me at work - the boys have been out of school for one week and they're already driving her batty.

I have a feeling you'll have company for your delivery trip. Either your wife or the boys -- but not both.

Post by **Kvetch** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:23 pm

I'm awake at 2 am, typing up my second year project. Serves me right for appointing myself 'person in charge of collating' for my group. It isn't helpful that we all have very different modes of thought, and our proofs are horribly dissimilar.

mccormack44 · Post by **mccormack44** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 7:56 pm

I'm feeling emotionally pretty pleased this evening; in the roughly 11 weeks since I wrecked my database of our personal library, I have restored almost 2000 entries and I have checked about 2/3 of those which were retrieved.

By the time the quarter has ended, I will probably be about where I was when I caused the disaster. AND while doing this, I have refined the database itself; it is working much more smoothly, the computer screen isn't cluttered with all the windows I had been using to check my progress, automatic lookups are beginning to enter data for me, and so on.

(Now that I have done this brag, I shall probably do something stupid and loose ground! But at least I am backing up each day and the pencil drives don't seem to be in any danger of failure.)

Sue

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:34 am

I'm entirely bummed out that my lads played so badly in the Stanley Cup finals. After those five games, they truly didn't deserve the cup, and I have to concede that Anaheim earned it (and the Niedermayer brothers are truly fantastic players of the game! If only they played for our team LOL). I'm hoping that next year, if the lads make it to the finals, they will not be so reckless as to rest on their laurels until AFTER they've won the cup.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:06 pm

tollbaby wrote:I'm entirely bummed out that my lads played so badly in the Stanley Cup finals.

Hey, at least the Senators made it that far. I'm a Capitals fans

I'd like to see them just make it into the playoffs again.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:09 pm

Well, we've been in the playoffs for what, 10 years? And this is the FIRST time they make it to the finals, and what do they do? They got lazy. They played abominably in the four games they lost, and only marginally up to par in the game they won. I was sorely disappointed

Post by **wolfspirit** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:11 pm

tollbaby:

Possibly you can explain the sport of hockey before the next time they make it to the finals.

while "HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY" explains that you are enthusiastic about the sport, it explains nothing else

Or is it mostly a Canadian thing that I will have no chance of understanding?

Scott

Post by **PolarisDiB** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 2:59 pm

Well, this is certainly a bad year...

I got into a car accident three days ago. I was driving along the right lane of a three-lane street when a man turned left right in front of me, causing me to ram into his passenger-side door. My car's totalled, but we've both been in contact with Geico and so far they've been taking pretty good care of me. In the meantime, I have to drive my mother's truck, which has a driver-side door that doesn't open and is a bit more, how do you say it, lunky? than my usual car.

I'm okay though. I kind of ached from whiplash for a day, but it went away surprisingly quickly after some hot-water-bottle use and an hour of massaging. I'm going to go see a chiropractor soon just in case.

Still, this kind of sucks. I just replaced the transmission in that thing a month ago! According to the other guy, Keonte, his car was pretty much brand new.

--PolarisDiB

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:01 pm

Yeah, that last thing you said, ws.

When are you done with university, Kvetch? The college kids here have been out for weeks now. Are you going home for the break, or staying around London?

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:46 pm

PolarisDiB wrote: My car's totalled, but we've both been in contact with Geico and so far they've been taking pretty good care of me.

I hope they don't say you are at fault. GEICO will raise you premium way high, or they might even drop you. They seem to take good care of you until they have to pay out, then they make it so you'll want to find a new insurance company.

Post by **gollum** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:28 pm

On Tuesday (last) I had this mad idea to upgrade my computers BIOS. Well as usual, when one is supremely confidant, something turns up to bite you. In this case it was a serious crash, and I spent the next few days trying - without success - to restore things back to normal, or at least gain access to my drives so I could retrieve all those files I should have backed-up before I started!

So, it's a wet and wild Friday night, I finally manage to get some of my files back and retire for the night despondent but determined not to lose my biscuit over one of life's little trials.

Just nodding off, when an unusual noise seems to be getting louder. Switch on the light and see there's an inch of water pouring in under the back door. Bloody Hell!!

Mad scramble to find enough towels, etc. and attempt to stem the flow. Finally realise the futility of it all, ...race around the house, lifting computers, books, etc. and stumble into bed about 4 a.m. to wake on Saturday morning and find that while the floor is soggy, at least there's no more water coming in, ...look outside to see that I'm cut-off from the road (and village) by the biggest flood seen in over 30 years.

O life doesn't get any better than this surely.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:49 am

Scotty, if you ever come visit during hockey season, I'll take you to a hockey game, and then you'll understand. I've gotten Chris and Rob addicted (bf and best friend that Steven got to meet this weekend) as well

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:49 am

Whenever I see your posts, gollum, I picture you as your gargoyle avatar, talking in this droll, proper English butler kind of voice. So do you rent, or own? I guess you must still have power. Hope the water recedes soon!

Sorry to hear about your car, Polaris. We must have cross-posted about the same time, so I didn't see your post until I came back and checked the thread. Didn't mean to seem callous about it. It stinks when life throws you a curve ball.

Post by **PolarisDiB** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:57 pm

gpackin wrote:
PolarisDiB wrote: My car's totalled, but we've both been in contact with Geico and so far they've been taking pretty good care of me.
I hope they don't say you are at fault. GEICO will raise you premium way high, or they might even drop you. They seem to take good care of you until they have to pay out, then they make it so you'll want to find a new insurance company.

Nah I'm good. They took a look at the intersection where it occurred and realized there was no way I could have been at fault. It's working out.

--PolarisDiB

Post by **gollum** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:09 pm

violetblue wrote:Whenever I see your posts, gollum, I picture you as your gargoyle avatar, talking in this droll, proper English butler kind of voice. So do you rent, or own? I guess you must still have power. Hope the water recedes soon!

The village name is 'Wollombi', an aboriginal name meaning 'meeting place of the waters'. At times like these one can appreciate the relevance.
Thankfully this flood was a short-lived. Most of the waters receded in 24 hours, and - apart from the damage - 48 hours later things looked much as they always have around here, bucolic.

As for the avatar, an uncultured 'aussie' twang is closer to the mark

To quote Russell Ward's 'The Australian Legend' (1960's)
According to the myth, Ward said, the "typical Australian" was "a practical man, rough and ready in his manners and quick to decry any appearance of affectation in others ...He is a 'hard case', sceptical about the value of religion and of intellectual and cultural pursuits generally. He believes that Jack is not only as good as his master but ... probably a good deal better ... He is a fiercely independent person who hates officiousness and authority ... Yet he is very hospitable and ... will stick to his mates through thick and thin, even if he thinks they may be in the wrong.

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:59 pm

gollum wrote:On Tuesday (last) I had this mad idea to upgrade my computers BIOS.

I update the BIOS when I build it -- and never again. If it's old enough that it actually needs an update, it's old enough to be relegated to another family-member and be replaced with a new machine ..

(Glad to hear the flood was brief. Hope the computer's functional again.)

laurie wrote:I have a feeling you'll have company for your delivery trip. Either your wife or the boys -- but not both.

She kept one and I took one (plus the two neices). Just got back last night.

I discovered: (1) there are actually a few spots with roads worse than Illinois, (2) our roads *still* suck, (3) driving 5 states away and back in 4 days is no fun, and (4) I need to print better maps before I go ..

oh, and .. (5) read the hotel listing carefully to make sure "indoor" precedes "swimming pool" or you end up with unhappy traveling companions.

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:00 pm

I was reading a piece about the passing of Mr. Rogers (for those that don't know, he was an icon for children's programming here in the US). He died a few years ago, not recently. Here's the article, if you'd like to see it: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/5943?rss.

Have you guys ever wished, just for a while, that there really was a place like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, or a real Sesame Street? I do. I think I'd go there and stay for at least a few hours, take a ride on the trolley, have tea with Mr. Rogers, then head out again, all refreshed. I like the ambiguity of life, but it would be nice, at times, to go back to the straightforwardness of childhood.

I think I'm being a little nostalgic and tired today and this article hit a spot. I'd better gather my energy back up for the next attack from Mr.
T. You know that saying, "age and treachery beats youth and skill every time." How true, how true.

mccormack44 · Post by **mccormack44** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:57 pm

A moving article on Mr. Rogers.

One nit-to-pick:

Despite being an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a man of tremendous faith, Mister Rogers preached tolerance first.

I have been attending the Presbyterian church for about 64 years, in six different congregations with approximately 18 ministers (this is a rough count from memory). I have heard many statements from these pulpits about the value of appreciation of other ways; I don't recall EVER hearing that there is only one way and that we should condemn other ways.

I am not saying that there is no bigotry in the PCUSA; any denomination, and any faith, will have some bigots. I simply feel that the tolerance may be BECAUSE of his ministry rather than IN SPITE of it. I would feel this had he been a minister from another denominationâ€”but I wouldn't have such a long-term experience of another denomination.

Sue

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:55 am

mccormack44 wrote:I simply feel that the tolerance may be BECAUSE of his ministry rather than IN SPITE of it.

I could not agree more. Anyone who truly understands Christianity should know that. The core of Christianity is love; God loves us and wants us to love others as he does us.

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:03 am

I would add that most religions also teach the same. It is just very unfortunate that too many people who call themselves religious act in a bigoted and sometimes violent way.

gpackin · Post by **gpackin** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:54 am

voralfred wrote:I would add that most religions also teach the same. It is just very unfortunate that too many people who call themselves religious act in a bigoted and sometimes violent way.

True on both statements

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:47 pm

gpackin wrote: True on both statements

Nice to have someone agreeing with me, for once!

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:21 pm

So, for voralfred, we could say in answer to "how are you" that he is having a good day, because someone agreed with him today. But that's no fun.