Monthly Archives: April 2012

My buddy Il is moving in with his girlfriend (fiancée now!) and is getting new Comcast service at his house. He scheduled everything to happen at once, so he asked for help waiting for the cable guy. I hate waiting, whether its for a cable guy, a delivery guy, or for a repair guy. It usually drives me nuts. But it’s Il, so I got up early, drove to a sketchy neighborhood, and waited in a mostly empty house for two hours and the cable guy never showed up. Turns out it was scheduled for NEXT MONTH. Bah. But I did get the lawn mowed, and I went to get … Continue reading →

Especially one full of puzzles I already solved. I’m so tired that I keep playing Heist on my iPhone. Someone stop me.

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference sold out in TWO HOURS this year and was first announced at 8:30AM EDT. Or, as we on the left coast like to call it, FIVE F*CKING THIRTY IN THE MORNING. And it sold out before 7:30AM, much earlier than most nerds get up. What a mess. Fortunately, this nerd was up and I got a ticket. There’s really no great reason that I go to the Apple conference, but I figure I might learn something and I get to spend a week in San Francisco. It’s as good a reason as any, isn’t it?

So it’s the dead time before the final sweeps month of the year where all the TV shows air their finales, so that means NOTHING TO WATCH. And my radio is so quiet that I wonder if the antenna fell off (it hasn’t). So I may actually get to bed on time! Someone pointed out to me that I’m supposed to be happier now because in your 50′s (or close) you figure out that shit’s just the way shit is, and you’re OK with it. That sounds about right to me. Heck, even MIT called asking for money and I’m finally not mad at them for making it the undergraduate … Continue reading →

I know something was going on tonight and I wasn’t invited, but that’s how I feel every night on the radio. There has to be someone on the radio from some foreign country that I could talk to if I was only on the radio. Heck, I’m sure I talked to Croatia tonight but I forgot to hit the button to put it into my computer log. As far as talking to all states go, I’m missing Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont and I still haven’t confirmed North Dakota, Idaho, and Kentucky, though I specifically asked the guys from Idaho and Kentucky for cards. That’s what I get for being … Continue reading →

You’d figure after being a ham for 35 years and finally buying a big expensive $5000 radio that I’d spend a whole lot of time playing with it. It’s been a week and I’ve been staying up late listening to a lot of static and sometimes a few guys talking. Yesterday, for example, I had a very short exchange with a guy in Moldova, and a longer conversation with a guy in Guam. I meant to go to bed early (as I also meant to today) but of course I ended up playing radio. There doesn’t seem to be as many people on tonight, which is a good thing. One … Continue reading →

Just as expected, my mom just couldn’t find a phone and she was just fine. Now I can go back to celebrating my birthday the way I usually do, doing nothing much at all. Microwaved a burrito and now I’m finally finished playing with my radio and confirming that I can hear just about nobody. I did find out that a whole lot of people still use Facebook and they all sent me happy birthday greetings. I also got two text messages and one phone call, plus an email that made me realize that ONCE AGAIN I FORGOT MY FRIEND SUN’S BIRTHDAY. I am a chump. A 48YO chump at … Continue reading →

My aunt just called several times from Japan, worried about where my mom was. My mom’s plan was to fly into Tokyo, spend the night, and then get on a train headed for my aunt’s place (at least 7-8 hours of train time). We talked about how hard it would be for my mom to call my aunt until she got on the train. The bad part about the ubiquity of cell phones in Japan is that it killed the pay phone industry and I’m guessing my mom’s having no luck finding a way to call my aunt. I had to call the hotel to make sure my mom checked … Continue reading →

Several people who I trust aren’t just screwing with me have suggested I go see the doctor about my stomachaches and I finally had enough of it and went today. It went pretty much the way I thought, and he was happy (unlike me) that I’d gained weight over the winter. I guess if my problem was something serious, I would have been losing weight. But he told me things I didn’t want to know. I might have to avoid fried foods. I might have to quit drinking beer. I might have some sort of digestive problems that require a colonoscopy, TWO YEARS EARLY. The worst part is that I … Continue reading →

I wanted to buy a new, expensive, ham radio and my current radio is acting up. I’m sure I can fix the current radio, especially since it was a kit and all the parts are still available, but this is just another reason to buy a radio where the base model is TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. With the accessories I picked, it was FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Well, I told myself that if a certain event occurred, I’d treat myself to that radio. (The event was related to a goal that might or might not be tied to my vocation.) Anyway, I got good news today, and that good news helped me … Continue reading →

I usually have pretty darn exciting Friday nights and this week’s was no different than most. I left work a little early because it was the end of spring break week for us and it was pretty darn quiet. Plus, my stomach was starting to bother me. When I got home I thought I’d take a short nap, which most days ends up being five whole minutes before I wake up. This time it was two and a half hours. At that point, I decided I’d just take it easy on Saturday and skip the gym altogether. Saturday wasn’t all that exciting, but it started up with a dream where … Continue reading →