July August September

6 August 2003

Even after the rain stopped Monday, the street remained a river for quite a while.  It took us 45 minutes just to get out of the neighborhood with all the streets closed because of flooding.  The street is a river again as the rain falls.  Progress on the house has stopped but I have actually finished it except for the porch floors and the garage.  Maybe tomorrow a few breaks of sunshine.  All I know is I don't have to get back on a ladder 32 feet in the air for a long time.

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10 August 2003

Ya know, I have decided I like this place.  Granted, the routine political bickering and backstabbing both locally and statewide makes Bill James and The Gang of Five from Charlotte during the mid 90's feel like child's play.  The corruption and turf battles beat anything I've even dreamed of before. He said, she said, he said, blah blah blah. The taxes are a million times higher and I honestly can't understand where they go and there's always a labor strike or a threat of one.  The roads are horrible and the COLD winters.  But the people of the city overall are very nice and there is very little crime here.  Our neighborhood (Goose Hill) is quiet and visually very appealing.  Cool old houses and businesses on the main street.  A college is close by as is The Mohawk River.  Downtown and a lot of other streets have commercial areas have great old buildings that have never been torn down because this city has been on the decline for a long time but now it's turning around.  A new 12 cinema theater is being built downtown and a lot of other stuff is happening.  It may not be The City That Lights America anymore but you can still call it The Electric City.  (Maybe a few bulbs burnt out here and there.)  I hope to get some pics posted of Schenectady soon and I'm also working on a page for the house renovation.

Not being a big Gregory Hines fan, I am still sad he's gone.  It seemed very fast.

Albany, .02" of rain today.  Clifton Park, just a few miles north, 6.0".

Duncan will be back from Las Vegas tomorrow night.  I miss you dude.

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15 August 2003

We have survived the biggest power outage in the history of the country with few scars.  I promised not to complain (not that I never break promises) about such things last year after being forced from our house after the ice storm.  I remember it being 45° in the house and we just had to leave.  After all, we weren't in the city trapped because the subways weren't working and it's not cold and no matter what they say up here, it's not really that hot.

I also finished painting the outside of the house today.  I'm special.  And in case you're wondering, here's the total...

Pics soon, only because I'm so fucking proud.  And if anyone has a list of my favorite 18 radio stations, send them this way because I disconnected my battery while doing some car repair this week and I could cry because I worked so hard to set up my stations just right.  Yes, I did write them down.  Yes, I did throw them away, twice.  I remembered and pulled them out only once.

What did I ever do to Orlando Jones?

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20 August 2003

How did I miss this?  Lifesavers is replacing three of it's five basic flavors.  Cherry, lemon, lime, orange, and pineapple.  Who likes pineapple that much but that's one of the flavors they are keeping along with cherry.  The lemon, orange, and lime are being replaced by watermelon, raspberry, and blackberry.  The five-flavor pack is the best selling pack so it sure seems they would introduce the second pack and see which. sells.  Me?  I guess I'll be OK.  I'm really a Pep-O-Mint guy. ..........

21 August 2003

The Thunderbirds will be in Schenectady this weekend so today and tomorrow they are practicing and doing fly overs over the house.  Never seeing them before it really thrilled me to see some of their stunts.  They are very loud.  Kaleb ran across the driveway with this expression on her face, What the hell's going here?  Also, my folks will be here Saturday for a visit.  I'll tell them it's just normal airport traffic.

I do think that schools should take a more active roll in teaching kids how to eat what's right but regular reports of body mass on their report cards doesn't seem right.  Kids know they're fat and putting it on their report card would just embarrass them.  Besides, body mass does not really show how much fat a person has on them if they have a lot of muscle development.  How about more physical education that teaches children about real physical education rather than how one kid always has to be picked last.

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22 August 2003

That shit is bitchin' is my quote after seeing The Thunderbirds rehearse today.  Am I the only one who has not seen these guys?  That was good thing but mostly today has sucked for some reason.  I have planted grass and fertilized for the first time and hopefully it will grow.  We have a lot of bare spaces in the yard and the dirt is washing down the sidewalk a lot.  Hummm...  Maybe some Star Trek will do me good.

I also found out the reason my site has been so slow or non-existent the last couple of days is because one of my web host's ISPs, Quest, was being hit by denial of service attacks.  Strange how things trickle down.

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24 August 2003

Folks are in town, went to the city today and did a little exploring and saw 42nd Street.  I can't believe how much they both enjoyed it but especially my dad.  Secretly he did piss me off because he wouldn't tell anyone he was tired.  I know he needed to sit down but he wouldn't admit it.  I spent the whole time walking behind him in case something happened.  I could see his legs wobbling at one time so I made him sit down.  I guess I know where I get my stubbornness from.  All in all, a good long day.  The rest of the week will not be so tiresome.  Another good thing, found cheap 24 hour parking.

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30 August 2003

The folks have departed.  My mom got to visit NYC for the first time, my dad loves baseball so we went to the Baseball Hall Of Fame which even I enjoyed, we saw a boat get trapped in a lock, visited relatives which I haven't seen in years, and explored every square mile of this area.  They had a wonderful time as did I.  I also got to know a couple of cousins which I've met only once.  They're a LOT older than me and have always lived in Massachusetts.  They were grown when I was born so they had already flown the coop when their folks would come south to visit.  I had a good time with em' and should be seeing them more in the future.  I also learned about my grandfather who died when I was a few months old.  This was his house growing up.

Unfortunately, the visit also gave me a glimpse into how my dad is doing.  He had a really good time and I could tell.  Unfortunately, he needs to use a cane but is to stubborn.  Also he can remember any detail of his childhood or our childhood but his short term memory is in really bad shape, especially in the morning.  He kept forgetting details of the previous day.  Not just small details but the bigger events.  He doesn't have Alzheimer's but suffers from slight dementia brought on by some mini-strokes he had a few years ago.

They're expanding, maybe NY soon?

And my summer project is done!  OK, it's been done a couple weeks but here's the pics.

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31 August 2003

I plead guilty to this.  We have three vehicles between the two of us.  My old truck that I use to work out of, my Jeep, and Duncan's Status.  Hell, that ain't nothing, we have four lawn mowers.  Don't ask.

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