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Ramble Archive: 07.01.03 - 12.31.03
...from the incredibly dusty cobwebs of my mind |
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SELECT A DATE BELOW TO JUMP DIRECTLY TO THAT RAMBLE |
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2003 |
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Blame Canada! Proof that Canada is trying to take over America! They sent us Mad Cow disease! Check out this link... FoxNews.com
Okay, okay... to be fair, this just says that the cow was *born* in Canada. There's apparently no word on *where* the cow contracted the disease. Still, in absence of solid proof, I always prefer to Blame Canada!!!
Furor Over Muslim Football Tournament. I just don't get how these people can think their choice of team name isn't offensive on many, many levels. Here's a blurb...
Mujahideen, which means "holy warrior," is associated with several Islamic groups that are on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
and this...
"There shouldn't be young Americans chanting the name Mujahideen as American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are put in danger and attacked daily," Cooper said.
I totally agree with the above. It's completely inappropriate. Check out the quick-read story here: FoxNews.com.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2003 |
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Merry Christmas! Kim and I had a great time spending Christmas day with her family. Dinner was great, as usual, and included ham and hand-stuffed polish sausage. There's a deli that Bob (Kim's dad) always goes to - can't remember the name - and they make the best polish sausage on the planet. Really good stuff. Bob's always good about sending us home with some, which he did again this visit, and I can't wait to cook it up.
Job Update. Well, I found out last week that it'll be the first week of January before I hear anything about that consulting gig I mentioned below. I was really hoping I'd hear last week, as it would have made a great Xmas present for Kim and I, but oh well.
New Year's Eve. Kim and I are looking forward to spending a quiet night in on New Year's Eve. We thought about hooking up with friends for dinner, but in the end decided to spend it alone. It's only our second NYE together and I think it'll be nice to spend it just us.
Ramble Archive Adjustments. In preperation for my having to archive the second half of 2003, I decided to go back and clean some things up in the archives.
For one, I had the archive dates all screwed up. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I didn't have the archives split down the yearly middle. So, I corrected that.
I also changed the way the Ramble Archives are listed. Instead of having each individual archive listed at the top of the front page, I decided to create a seperate "rambel archive index" page that contains all the individual entries. I then put a link to that new page at the top of the front page and also in the SITE INDEX listing.
To you, the viewer, it's not a big deal. To me, however, it cleans things up and makes it a bit easier for me to add new archives in the future.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2003 |
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Funky Blurb Posting. I noticed tonight that the blurb I posted last Friday got all mangled and futzed up. The blurb looks okay on my end, in my custom database, but it somehow got duplicated and all munged up when posted online. I've corrected the problem, so for anyone who read the blurb and wondered what in the heck I'd been smoking, suffice it to say that I don't smoke anything (but cigars) and it must have been a computer error. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So there.
End of Year. Another End of Year is approaching, which means I need to archive the second half of my 2003 rambles and start a new front page. While I've managed to automate much of my posting process via database, the archiving process is still very manual. It's not like I have to spend three days doing it, or anything, but I really should sit down and see if I can automate that part of the process as well.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2003 |
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Great Thanksgiving. Kim and I had a wonderful time downstate visiting with my family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving dinner with the Heaps was fantastic, as usual, and they really made a great effort to deal with Kim's food allergies. It was nice to have a big holiday/family dinner like this were there was plenty that Kim could eat without having to worry about eating something she's allergic to. It really helps us to relax and just enjoy the experience.
So, we spent Thanksgiving day with the Heaps. Friday we just sort of futzed around. Kim and Sue went shopping, and Dad and I went to visit with my Uncle Jack. We had a ball. Uncle Jack has a make-shift recording studio in his garage. The three of us sat down and jammed for nearly an hour, just playing and having an absolute hoot of a time.
Playing around like that makes me really miss having my Roland V-Drums around. I'd give anything to have those suckers back, but we just don't have room, so they're over at a friend's place in his basement. Someday, I suppose, I'll have them back.
The following day, Saturday, we headed back over to Belleville to have our photo taken in the Heap's greenhouses. Every year the Heaps have their family photos taken among the poinsettas for their annual Xmas cards. They always look beautiful. Since we were in town, Kim and I rode over with my parents to join in. You can check out the shot Kim touched up ever-so-slightly here (1024x768/480kb).
The day of the photos was sunny and beautiful, which would normally be good, but inside of the greenhouse it was muggy and the sun was blinding. The Heaps use a professional photographer who makes sure the lighting is right and all that, while we just had Debbie's husband Brian take our shots with our digital cameras. As such, there's a bit of squinting, sunlight and shadows, but they still turned out well.
After the photos, we were back in Alton for a Crider family get-together at my parent's place. Not everyone could make it, unfortunately, but it was still great to see two of my three sisters and most of the kids. It was a wonderful afternoon.
Job Hunt Action. I had an interview this morning for a 6-8 week consulting gig. I'm supposed to hear from the recruiter later this afternoon. Not sure if I'll know for certain if I got the gig or not. I may get asked back on Monday for a second interview. Hope not. It'd be nice to just get the job and be done with it. It'd be a nice Christmas present for Kim and I if I were to get this. Still, I'd be more than happy for a callback instead of a flat out 'no'.
The only bad deal about all this is that, if I get the job or a callback, then I won't be able to head downstate to visit my family for Christmas this weekend. The 'Crider family' Christmas get-together is always the weekend before Christmas, as it's easier to get everyone together given that most everyone has in-laws and such, resulting in multiple get-togethers.
So, I'm more than a little bummed that I may not get downstate this weekend. But, at the same time, I'd be absolutely thrilled if I couldn't because that'd mean I either have a) a callback, or b) a job.
I hope I get the call soon as I've had my fingers crossed for over an hour now and have lost all feeling.
Consulting? Again? Funny how things come full circle. While I've worked as an IT Manager for the past eight years or so, before that I did some consulting and even had a few gigs on the side while doing the IT Manager thing.
I got tired of pulling double-duty and enjoyed the full-time experience, so pretty much shelved the whole consulting deal. Since being laid-off back in March, I've really only been looking for full-time IT positions, but recently began thinking about consulting. I have a few friends who are in the consulting biz, and after Kim and I talked about it in the car on the way down for Thanksgiving, I decided to contact them and get some feedback on getting back into the game.
I'm still not sure how I feel about it at this point. While I am eager to land this current gig, I'm not sure if I'll commit and go the consulting route or continue looking for something full-time.
The money is there in consulting - holy crap is the money there - but there's something to be said for the safety and steady paycheck that comes along with a full-time position. Although, now that I think about it, there's not much safety these days wherever you work, so maybe that's not as important anymore.
I guess I'll just have to see where this leads. Maybe I'm about to head down a new and exciting career path. Then again, I could just be stepping into a huge pile of dog poo. Guess we'll find out soon!
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2003 |
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Mmmm... Turkey... Kim and I are heading downstate to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it as I'll get to see not only my parents, but cousins I haven't seen in quite a while. I'm hoping my sisters will have some time to get together as well. Maybe hit the riverboat and play a little blackjack. Like I have any money to gamble away. Phhht.
Myth Busters! My new favorite TV show is now Myth Busters on the Discovery Channel. This show is an absolute riot! Basically, you have these two guys who go around and try to prove/disprove various urban legends and myths. The way they go about doing this is not only hilarious, but also very interesting, enlightening and educational. Seriously!
The hosts, Adam and Jamie, are an absolute hoot! What really kills me, is that Adam is like a cross between two good friends of mine - Tony and Grant. Adam looks more than a little like Tony and has the same sadistic humor, but he also has the truly evil-genius mind of Grant (who's an engineer). If you're a friend of mine and know who Tony and Grant are, watch this show just once and I dare you to disagree. I dare ya!
A neat example of a myth they worked on was the myth about how a person peeing on the third-rail of a subway train track could/would get electrocuted to death. I kid you not. If you haven't heard of this myth, it basically goes like this:
Subways in New York and Chicago travel on tracks much like regular railroad trains, but they have a third-rail which is electrified and literally powers the train. The myth says that if a person stands near the rail and pees on it, electrical current will travel up the urine stream into the person's body and kill them. Dead.
Well, they had this dummy they put together using stuff called ballistic gell, which is something used by the FBI and is supposed to mimic the electrical properties of the human body.
They take this dummy and devise a method of 'peeing' urine out of it with a homemade pump onto an electrified third-rail in order to determine if enough electricity could travel up the urine stream into the body and kill the person. They had all kinds of sensors and stuff setup to measure the results.
In the end, Adam and Jamie couldn't get enough current to travel up the urine stream in order to kill a person. So, they determined the myth was just that - a myth.
I really don't do the episode or show true justice in my description above. While what I posted is true and accurate, it doesn't account for all the humor and stuff that went into the experiment. Please understand that this really isn't some kinda sophomoric-humor type of show like you'd see on MTV or Fox. These guys are smart, ingenious and serious about what they do, but they also enjoy the hell out of it. It really is a wonderful show and I highly recommend it to anyone who has even the tiniest of inquisitive mind.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 |
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Congrats Billy! I just talked to my friend, Billy - who now resides in Georgia - and he just accepted a new job. I'm really happy for him as it sounds like a great new opportunity. I think Bill has had something like thirty-seven jobs in the past three years. Seriously. Okay... not so seriously. But he has had a few jobs since he moved down to Atlanta a few years back.
Regardless, I'm really happy for him. Congrats, Billy!
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 08, 2003 |
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Blah. Looks like I got lazy again regarding site updates. Oh well. Such is life. I've been busy with job-search stuff over the past several weeks, so that's kept me occupied. Unfortunately, things haven't worked out with any of them, so I'm still in job-search mode. For those of you who have been holding onto those great job leads, now would be a good time to send them over. K? Thanks.
Congrats, Jeff! I failed to mention how happy I am for Jeff and his family. They moved into a brand-spanking-new house at the end of September. Jeff sent me over some digital photos of the place and it looks great.
They moved from the west side of Springfield over the Rochester, which is a small town on the east side. It sounds like the new place is real close to where another friend of mine grew up. Heck, I even spent a year in Rochester back in the second grade. I think it was just the second grade.
I have a few vague memories of living in Rochester, including the following...
- Living in an apartment for the first time, I remember asking my mom how Santa would get in since there was no chimney.
- I think we lived on "East Mill" something or other.
- There was a church across the street that had these tall steps leading to the front entrance, and these steps were hollow underneath. I recall a friend and I were playing under those steps one weekend while a wedding was going on, and we got stuck hiding underneath as the wedding party exited the church down the steps.
- The elementary school had this huge concrete drainage tube section sitting on the front playground, which us kids used to play in.
- There was a girl in my grade (I think) with the last name "Kreider" or some spelling like that. I think her dad ran a car dealership and that her first name was "Beverly".
- The first kiss I can ever remember having was with "Beverly" in that concrete tube above.
- I used to get into a lot of fights at school and swats were common.
- I think my teacher was named "Mrs. Dewer" who must have been an ex-nun that previously worked at a Catholic school because she liked to hit hands with a big, wooden ruler.
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Cubs... ugh. As most everyone on the planet is probably aware by now, the Cubs lost Game 7 the other night, putting the Marlins into the World Series against the Yankees. I'm still pretty pissed about it all, so I'm going to leave it at that and move on with my life.
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Zambrano... ARG! Okay, so my prediction for the Cubs during the NLCS pretty much went up in smoke the moment Zambrano took the mound Tuesday night for Game 1. Well, actually, they could still take the series in six games (as I predicted), but the win/loss order is blown.
I thought for sure Zambrano was due for a win, too. Boy, was I wrong. And talk about a huge waste of a heroic at-bat by Sosa to tie it up in the ninth inning. A player generally only gets one of those during the post-season, and it kills me to think Sosa wasted his during Tuesday night's loss
Don't get me wrong... big-name players often get all kinds of big-game hits during the post-season - that's why they're big-name players - but they don't get all that many, truly heroic moments like what happened Tuesday night. Bummer.
Prior did his job (and then some) during the Game 2 pasting of the Marlins Wednesday night. Not to mention the Cubs were hitting everything like high school batting practice. Man, they were hot.
So, it's up to Kerry Wood to win Game 3 in Miami. That really needs to happen, too, as it'll most likely be Clement on the mound for Game 4 and then Zambrano again for Game 5 - both of which are in Miami. Given that you never know what you're going to get with Clement and Zambrano, it's crucial that Prior and Wood continue to win their games in order to keep the Cubs in the running.
Assuming Wood wins Game 3 and Clement/Zambrano lose Games 4/5, then it'll be up to Prior and Wood to win Games 6/7 back in Chicago. But, that's a great deal of pressure to put on just two players. As such, Clement and Zambrano need to stop sucking ass and pitch well. Two pitchers cannot carry a team through to the World Series and out the other side on top.
I guess all I can do is hope Zambrano has gotten it out of his system and Clement hikes up his skirt and figures out where the strike zone is. If these two guys can't pull it together, the Cubs are screwed.
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Way to go Cubbies! Well, they did it. They pulled it together and beat Atlanta IN Atlanta to win the fifth and final game of their National League Division Series. The Cubs now move on to the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins - first game Tuesday at Chicago.
The Cubs have home-field advantage against the Marlins, so here's the schedule...
Game 1: Tue 7th, 7:00pm central @ Chicago (Zambrano)
Game 2: Wed 8th, 7:00pm central @ Chicago (Prior)
Game 3: Fri 10th, 7:00pm central @ Florida (Wood)
Game 4: Sat 11th, 6:30pm central @ Florida
Game 5: Sun 12th, 3:00pm central @ Florida
Game 6: Tue 14th, 7:00pm central @ Chicago
Game 7: Wed 15th, 7:00pm central @ Chicago
You can also see the schedule here.
At this point, according to Cubs.com, it looks like Prior will pitch Game 2 and Wood Game 3. There's no info posted for Game 4 and beyond. My guess is Clement will take the pill for Game 4 and then back to Zambrano for Game 5. If they have to come back to Chicago for the final two games, it'll be Prior and Wood to wrap it up.
Here's my prediction for the series: Cubs will take it in six games. They'll win games 1 and 2 at home, win game 3 in Florida, lose games 4 and 5 in Florida then wrap it up by winning game 6 back in Chicago.
Clement is due for a win, but you really never know what you're going to get with that guy when he steps on the mound, so I'm guessing he's gonna blow it again in game 4. Zambrano is another one who is more than a little hot-n-cold and, while I think he'll win the series opener Tuesday night, he'll lose game 5 in Florida.
From there, it'll come back to Chicago with Mark Prior on the mound to wrap things up and move the Cubs to the World Series. You heard it here first!
Disclaimer: If the pitching assignments change and/or are different than what I'm going with above, then I reserve the right to change my prediction. So there.
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Go Cubs! They made it into the playoffs and are looking pretty good. Winning Game 1 in Atlanta, the Cubs showed they have the stuff. Of course, a wonderful outing by pitcher Kerry Wood certainly helped. While they looked good in that game, the Cubs left waaay too many men on base. I think they stranded something like eight guys before getting their first run. You just can't do that with Atlanta. The Cubs need to take advantage of ever scoring opportunity they get.
Unfortunately, Game 2 Wednesday night didn't go so well. As in Game 1, the Cubs managed to load the bases at one point, but failed to capitalize. That's not the only reason the Cubs lost that game, but it's a big part of it.
It's not like the Cubs aren't getting on base. If they weren't getting on base at all, then you either credit Atlanta pitching or scorn Chicago's batting. But the Cubs are getting on base; they just keep failing to make the big play when needed.
Tonight's game will be killer: Mark Prior goes against Greg Maddux - arguably one of the best pitchers ever in baseball. Prior will become that someday, but right now, it'll be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of post-season play. I'm a big fan of Prior, so here's to hoping he can pull it off.
I'm wondering how the weather here in Chicago will affect tonight's game. It's been in the 40's all day, and I'm told the wind is really blowing down in the city. Figure the temp will drop a good 5-10 degrees around game-time, add in the wind and the conditions could be miserable. If that wind is blowing out, it could be a very high-scoring game. We'll see.
Happy Birthday to Me. I made out like a bandit on my birthday this year. Kim got me both the 3rd and 4th seasons of Stargate SG1 on DVD (to go with seasons 1 and 2 I already have [she got me season 2 for my bday last year, I think]), and a blue polo shirt with "crider.com" on it. It may be totally geeky having that shirt, but I've wanted one ever since my buddy Ned showed up at lunch with one (with his domain, steinke.us). What can I say... yes, I'm a geek.
Kim took me out to dinner last night, too. She wanted to take me out on my birthday (Tuesday), but I wanted to stay home and watch the Cubs game. So, she asked about Wednesday, and I'm like, "Cubs are playing". She asked about Friday and I said, "Cubs are playing". She goes, "Okay, fine... when are the Cubs NOT playing this week?"
So, we went to Bob Chinn's last night and totally pigged out. Surf-n-turf, baby. Crab legs and a juicy, rare filet. Mmmmm... makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Kim's so good to me. She took me out with the money she won gambling while up north with her family. How about that? The money she won she spent on me? I mean, I'm totally worth it, but still... she so awesome.
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Way to go, Coach! It's so awesome that the Cubs are going to retire Ron Santo's #10. Santo has done so much for the Cubs, on the field and off, and it's a great tribute to the man for this to happen.
Speaking of the Cubs... ...they seem to have pulled it together this last month of the season to make the NL Central Division race an exciting one. For those who read my profanity-laden rant about the Cubs (see below), I'm glad to see the Cubs pull it together.
I still stand by my earlier rant about how the bullpen imploded, giving away games the team should have easily won. If they had won those games, then the Cubs might not be in a tie for first place (as of 9.22.2003), but rather alone in first place by a few games.
I know... I know... playing the "only if" game can lead you nowhere fast, but the point is, if the Cubs can self-destruct like that during the regular season, who knows what might happen during the playoffs.
Look... I'm all for the Cubs making it to the playoffs and - God forbid - win the championship, but a team isn't going to do that if they let things go so badly at the same time. It's not so bad if one or two bullpen pitchers suddenly start sucking ass at the exact same moment. That's baseball. What is bad is when the entire bullpen goes south and gives up games like candy to children.
So, while the last two weeks have proven to be exciting for the Cubs, I'm still not comfortable that they can hold it together. Hopeful? Absolutely. But I'm not holding my breath.
All that being said, including tonite's game against Cinci, there are six games left in the season. Three at Cinci and then three home against Pittsburgh. I think it's safe to say the Cubs need to win every single game.
The good news is, Houston has two against San Francisco - to whom they lost last night, so if San Fran can do a number on the Astros, the Cubs could get some help here.
The bad news is, Houston's final three games are home against Milwaukee. While the Brewers were the hotest NL team at one point recently, Houston took three of four during their last series a few weeks back. Point is, I don't know that Milwaukee is going to be much help here. As such, we really need San Fran to step up and knock the crap out of Houston. Go Giants!
Holy crap... ...I just sneezed and about killed myself. Up till now, I've been able to snifle my sneezes in such a way that the force of the sneeze disappates. This time, however, I wasn't so lucky and *bam*... I sneezed, screamed like a little schoolgirl and scared the crap outta the cat. Man... just when I thought these ribs were getting better.
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Kim's leaving me! Yup... Kim's leaving me. No lie. Not forever, thankfully. She's leaving this Friday to go up north to spend a week with her family at this cabin they rent every year. She's real excited about going and it's totally cool, though I keep giving her shit about going... "I can't believe you're leaving me for a whole week," I whimper in a sad voice. I swear she's gonna strangle me in my sleep sometime.
Why am I not going? I'm welcome to go, to be sure, but truth is, I'm just not a backwoods kinda guy. Besides, it's important that Kim and I feel like we can do things with friends and family without the other. It's not like we don't want to do things together, but sometimes you just need to go off by yourself, you know? I think it's good for a relationship to have that ability.
Like I went off for the Mackinac race. I was scheduled to be gone an entire week, but ended up coming straight back home after the finish. Regardless, it was nice to be able to go away like that without a bunch of shit from Kim. And she deserves no less. Just because I don't want to go shouldn't mean she can't.
And just before any of you troublemakers out there go thinking I'm being some kinda ass for not wanting to spend time with Kim's family, it's not about that. Her family is great and we get along just fine. It's not about me not wanting to spend time with her family at all. So drop it.
Me = stoopid. Man, I'll tell you what... I can be a complete moron sometimes. (we'll just pause here for the collective "no shit" from the peanut gallery.)
Back on Saturday, 9/6, I went sailing with Tom. We missed the race start so just sailed around for a few hour. Had a really nice day, actually. Until, that is, we got back to port.
We were all squared away and I was getting off the boat to head home. At the point where I was stepping off the boat onto the dock, I somehow managed to slip and fall between the boat and the dock, landing with all my weight on the edge of the boat and then sorta bouncing onto the dock.
I think I bounced onto the dock, anyway. I remember sorta catching myself on the lifeline as I hit, but I don't exactly remember how I got onto the dock. Thankfully, catching myself on the lifeline kept me from falling into the water.
The reason that's good is, I really hurt myself. Cracked the shit outta my ribs. I was in such pain that, if I'd fallen into the water, I'm really not sure if I could have kept myself afloat. But, Tom was there and would have probably saved me in time. Right, Tom? Tom? Tom!
I gotta tell you, a week and a half later, my ribs still hurt like a sunofabitch. I shattered (yes, shattered) my ankle in yet another stoopid accident back in 1997, and after two surgeries, a plate and eleven screws and several months of physical therapy, I don't ever recall my ankle hurting as much as these ribs do. Un-freaking-believable.
I managed to drive myself home from the boat, which in retrospect, wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Seeing that I was in a good deal of pain, Tom had suggested he drive me to the hospital to get checked out, but I begged him off. My hope was that I'd hurt myself, but given time it'd mellow out a bit and I could deal with it.
About halfway home, I decided that something wasn't right and the pain was just terrible. I called home but Kim was still out checking out wedding venues. I thought about driving myself to the hospital, which is thankfully just down the street from us, but decided to first go home and then figure out what to do.
Imagine my relative delight when, just as I was getting out of the car - where I'd been sitting for ten minutes because I was in such pain I couldn't manage to get out - Kim pulled in. She pulled in next to me, I stumbled into her car and said, "Take me to the hospital", or something of that nature.
So, Kim's sorta freaking out as I tell her what happened and wince with every bump she appeared to be purposefully hitting (not really, but it sure felt like it), and we make our way down the street to the emergency room.
Now, I'd been to this place once before nearly a year ago when I'd broken out in hives during the night. Seriously. Hives. Big, splotchy, itchy-ass hives. Never had 'em before, but there they were and it was hell. So, I'd gone to the emergency room and they fixed me all up.
Here I was again, though this time in a great deal more pain (agony!). The docs took several x-rays and even a CAT scan of my belly. They were worried that I'd damaged my spleen and/or kidney as I'd landed smack-dab on my left side ribs.
Well, both the x-rays and CAT scan turned up negative, meaning, no major damage. I was shocked, actually, that the x-rays didn't show any kind of break. I mean, I know I'm a pansy-ass, but come on... all this pain and no break?!?
The good news is - beyond no major damage - I got some great drugs while there. They hooked me up with an IV of something-or-other that took, I kid you not, maybe twenty seconds to take effect.
There I was, sitting on the bed - I couldn't lay down for the pain - just hurting like hell, when all of a sudden I was Happy Camper Number One! It was goooood. I literally fell asleep sitting there like that. For like twenty minutes! I woke up and Kim was just laughing at me. I didn't care. Hell, I was in La-La Land, baby!
Long story long, it's been about a week and a half and I still hurt like hell. I'm just now able to lay on my right side - which is the side opposite the injury - and can even manage to lay on my stomach at night with a pillow propped the right way. But, that only lasts a short time before I have to move over on my back which is the only position that doesn't cause major pain.
I had water go down the wrong pipe the other day, and the resulting coughing fit nearly made me pass out. Furthermore, I've had to stifle sneezes recently for fear of literally dropping dead on the spot. Yes, it hurts that much. Think twelve-inch butcher knife in the side. Okay, fine... the pain has gotten slightly better, so it's more like a ten-inch butcher knife in my side rather than a twelve-inch blade. Joy.
Kim, bless her heart, has been taking wonderful care of me. She's such a wonderful and amazing person. I honestly don't know what I'd have done without her these past two weeks. I'd probably be sitting on the couch in my own filth, most likely. But that's another story for another time.
By the way... ...the smartest thing I've ever done, at least to this point in my life, was to attend Neddy and Laura's 2002 Superbowl party. Don't know what I mean? Check this out.
Pardon the language. Okay, so I got a few emails about my use of profanity in my Cubs rant (see below). One person suggested, for various reasons, that I stop using such language. I very politely told him to fuck off.
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Fucking Cubs. Please forgive me for the following, rather pissed-off diatribe. I'm just so pissed about the Cubs loss tonight that I couldn't help.
When it comes right down to it, there's always at least one aspect of the Chicago Cubs that folds under pressure. A few weeks back, it was the starting pitching rotation - including the so-called phenom Kerry Wood. Several weeks back, it was the entire batting order that couldn't buy a run or a meaningful hit to save their lives. Tonight, against the St. Louis Cardinals, in a HUGE game, it was the bullpen.
The fucking bullpen that, aside from Antonio "Give-Me-An-Ulcer" Alfonseca (the quotes are mine), has been brilliant nearly all season long, and suddenly decided to collectively implode as if on some self-loathing, we're-not-worthy ego-deflating-psycho-trip.
The really amazing thing about the bullpen's performance - or lack thereof - is, they all sucked major monkey ass! Every single one of them! Even Remlinger, who always seems to be able to get the job done, couldn't make it happen.
Look, I know players have their bad days. Hell, players have their bad weeks and sometimes months. But it's unforgivable for an entire bullpen - who is clearly in the midst of a playoff race - to so completely self-destruct as happened this evening. If it were one or two pitchers, fine. Dusty could have dealt with that. After all, the Cubs have a great bullpen. But, nooooo... it was every single pitcher in the bullpen that sucked monkey ass. That's just not right.
The season's not over, but from what I've seen, the Cubs just don't have it. As much as I wish they did, they don't. At some point during the season, one major aspect of the team has crapped out. I just don't see them pulling it all together in time to get past the Cardinals and Astros, and then make it through to the series.
Then again, if they've made it this far with the various aspects of the team crapping out, maybe that says something. Maybe they do have what it takes, if they've made it this far with things not always going "just right". Ugh. It just seems too much to hope for.
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Mable!! Billy's coming into town next weekend. I'm so excited! I haven't seen him in soooo long. I really hope we can manage to get together. I know how tough it is for him to come home from Atlanta to visit, having to squeeze in family and friends. I go through the same thing when I go home to visit. It can be really difficult and you feel bad when you can't see everyone you want.
I left my heart.... Kim and I are going to see Tony Bennett at Ravinia next Saturday night. She's so excited. Me, I'm like, "yeah, whatever". I guess I'm excited because she's excited, but truth is, I'm not exactly a big Bennett fan. Still, I am looking forward to it as it should be a nice evening under the stars. Unless it rains. Or the skeeters are out. Or it's like 95 degrees.
Wedding stuff. Kim and I are going to start looking at wedding reception locations this weekend. Kim's been doing research for several weeks and I even got her to put all her scribbles into a spreadsheet the other night. She just rolled her eyes when I asked her to do such, but she did it. I'm thinking of putting together a database so we can store digital photos of the locations along with the info.
What can I say? I'm a computer geek and I'm unemployed. It's either this or sit around torturing the cat all day.
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Airport security still sucks. Check out this 2-page Wired artcile about airport baggage screeners. It's a quick read and gives a bit of insight into that world. If you're planning to fly anytime soon, you might not want to read this. Check it out here.
Grant & Erin's party. There's an engagement party for my friends Grant and Erin this Saturday. Looking forward to it. Should be fun. I haven't seen Grant since Kim and I got engaged, so he's bound to give me the obligatory guy-ribbing and all. It's only fair, I suppose, as I chased him around the volleyball court for five minutes after hearing about his engagement.
Okay, okay... I only chased Grant around for like a minute and a half. Let's face it, neither Grant nor I are in good enough shape to be running around for five full minutes.
Tick... tock... tick... tock... I figure I have about another month or so of being picky about finding a job before I have to break down and find some kind of work. July was a rough month for the job search as the available IT jobs just dried-the-hell up. It seems to be getting better here in August, but I'm still not seeing a whole lot that's floating my boat.
Yes, I'm being picky because I'm not interested in job-hopping. I hate the whole job-search thing anyway, and I hate the idea of taking a job with the intent of continuing the search while working full time. I'm waaaaay too lazy for that.
But, like I said, time is running out and sooner or later I'm going to have to break down and take some kind of job to start bringing in some dough (over and above the meager amount I'm getting from unemployement). I don't want to have to do that, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right? Lucky me.
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Mackinac photos online! After a final bit of urging from my dad, I finally got off my lazy arse to code the pages and post all the photos from the Mackinac race. You can see them in the PHOTOS section.
Family visit. Kim's parents came to visit a couple of weekends ago. It was nice and I'm glad they came. We totally pigged out on food, too. Had amazing, handmade, Wisconsin Polish sausage for lunch on Saturday (w/ kraut!), killer pizza for Saturday dinner, wrapped up by ribs-o-plenty for lunch Sunday. Mmmmm... ribs. I think I put on ten pounds.
The only incident of the weekend occurred while cooking the ribs on the grill, when Kim attempted to burn the building down. The foil wrap around the ribs punctured and grease flamed up like crazy. The flames were huge! I remember looking outside as Kim went out to check on things. When she opened the lid on the grill, she all of a sudden lit up in orange. Followed by smoke and me jumping up, running out and seeing five-foot flames leaping out of the grill.
We got the fire under control without having to use the extinguisher, but not before I didn't realize it was a grease fire and squirted water on it. Yup. FOOOOSH!!! Ten foot flames! It would have been totally cool, if I weren't scared shitless.
Sailing barf-fest. I finally got Kim to go sailing with me this past Saturday. Tom invited us to go along on the "Lady Skipper" race, which is this deal where only chicks can drive the boat. It's supposed to be fun and a generally more relaxed event.
Well, the wind was blowing 15+ knots out of the northeast, the waves were huge and I - once again - got seasick. I'm talking totally green in the gills. Funny thing is, Kim was fine. She, who has never sailed before, was fine. It was all I could do not to lean over and toss my cookies all over the side of the boat.
Besides me, three other people on the boat got sick as well. It was so bad, in fact, that Tom decided to call it a day and take the boat in, even before the start of the race.
I feel so bad ruining Juliann's big day and chance for a trophy. Both she and Tom were very cool about the whole thing, but I still feel bad.
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Finally! Okay, I finally finished everything up and made the new CRIDER.COM website live. What you're seeing right now is the newly re-designed CRIDER.COM. I've gone over it all and I believe I've made all the necessary changes, but there may be something I've missed. Hope you like!
Few quick notes. For those familiar with my website, beyond the obvious cosmetic changes, I created a new section called PHOTOS. This new section will contain - you guessed it - all the photos posted, both past and present.
The WHO AM I? page was getting a little messy. Besides, I decided I wanted a dedicated section for photos, so I moved all the existing/old photo links from the WHO AM I? page over to the new PHOTOS page, and then I'll continue posting new photos there as well.
The 'new' WHO AM I? page now contains only information about who I am. So, if you're looking for the photos that were once posted there, head on over to the PHOTOS page and you'll see 'em there.
New photos. I have a ton of photos to post from the Mackinac yacht race, along with a few from our engagement dinner. That's next on the list. Now that I have the re-design complete, I'll be focusing on getting these photos online. Sometime within the next week, I'm guessing.
When they are online, they'll be posted under the new PHOTOS section.
New content. Besides standard ramble updates, I'm working on a write-up on both the Mackinac yacht race and our engagement dinner. I'm hoping to have them finished shortly to go along with the photos.
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More Design Updates. I finished up the mods to the content database I designed using FileMaker Pro. It took longer than expected to make the mods as it's been so long since I've futzed with the database that it took me a bit to get back into it.
It's a highly effective database, though, so I'm glad I took the time to make the changes. I put the DB together in the first place to help ease content updates on the front page - otherwise known as "Rambles". There are all kinds of 3rd-party, pre-built, solutions that I could be using -- and I've tried out a few -- but they were all way too much trouble and didn't give me the flexibility I needed, along with the ability to tweak the code exactly as I wanted.
So, I put together my little database and it's been a big time-saver. It's certainly not as full-featured as most of the other solutions out there, but it does exactly what I need with a minimum of fuss.
Banner Graphic. Still working on the banner graphic for the top of the page. Might end up looking for help from a friend of mine. We'll see.
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Design Update. I've finally finished a website design update that I've been futzing with for the past, oh, two or three months. The files are going online at this time, but I'm still working on a banner graphic for the very top.
Content Update. I'm also working on a few significant content updates, including information on Kim and I getting engaged (yeah, baby!), and the recent Chicago-to-Mackinac yacht race I took part in. There are photos to go with each, and the updates should go online in the very near future.
Sorry! Apologies to those who have been frequenting my website over the past few months, only to find it dead in the water. I should have been posting updates, but I got so caught up in the design overhaul that I just never got around to making content updates. Sorry about that. I think now that I'm finishing up the design update I should be able to get around to content updates on a more regular and timely manner.
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