April 02, 2007
What I've Been Doing Recentlhy...
Posting here has been rather light of late.
Family, Work, Family and Work.
See Mrs. OWW's entries to find out what's been soaking up everyone's time.
It's a great life, if you can dance fast enough....
Posted by ward at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2006
Rolling Up on the End of The Year
Well, we're all back home from Christmas visiting.
Christmas is the most turbulent time of the year at our house - much running around doing the last-minute shopping. This year, after all the turmoil, on the 24th we went down to the in-laws for Christmas Day.
Chickie and Meelie-No had a fine time with their five cousins, Grammy and Poppa, and aunts and uncles.
OWW had to come back up for work on the 26th, leaving Moogie and Da Gurlz to hang with the rest of the crew.
At work, we've been prepping for End-Of-Year, which for IT people in a SFI (Small Financial Institution) is a Very Big Deal. On Sunday (the 31st), we'll do all the necessary stuff starting at 9AM. Presuming no glitches (a LARGE assumption) we'll be done by 1PM.
LATE ENTRY: Just saw on Yahoo News that the Iraqis made Saddam Hussein dance on air.
Good. One less murderous dictator in the world. Just desserts and all that.
Posted by ward at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2006
A Long Week
It's been a long week, and it's only Tuesday!
Servers need to be defragged, OWW's own personal PC needs a tuneup, one of the Idiot Doggies is gonna get kicked right into next week, and my cursed automobile is puking coolant, but only when the weather gets below 64F.
And... my #2 daughter (Chickie, that'd be) has been dodging her homework, AND the #3 daughter (Meelie No) decided that her Science Fair Project is "boring".
Sigh.
I need mass quantities of liquid mind-altering substances.
Posted by ward at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2006
Birthdays and Other Miscellanea
Mark Foley? All been said.
National pools showing the Dems win big in November? Ho-hum. I'll go out and vote, and the day after, we'll see who was right and who was wrong.
Iraq? The news, and the selective emphasis of same continues.
Afghanistan? See Iraq above.
Work? We are about to drag Exchange Server out and shoot it. Not fair, really, as our firewall is what's getting in the way. I am exasperated, though.
Had two birthdays last week. Chickie is now twelve! Jeez, I let her live that long? Amazing... especially considering that she has to put up with me as a Dad....
The other birthday was mine. I'm now (mumble-mumble), but I was born in 1949. YOU do the math. If you can do the math without moving your lips or counting on your fingers, you're 'way ahead of the current curve of measurable accomplishment.
Prior to The Big Day, I had some car trouble. The '01 Saturn SL2 developed into a hard-starting, rough idling PITA. Turned out that a simple coolant temp sensor was sending bogus info to the on-board computer. Simple fix - took less than 1 hour, and the sensor cost less than $20. SaturnFans.Com was an invaluable resource - and a prime example of what the 'Net can be.
Finally, I have yet another Acronym Of The Day
|
YAHOO - You Always Have Other Options |
Posted by ward at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2006
Col. Jeff Cooper
It is with great regret that I note the passing of Col. Jeff Cooper at the age of 86.
Col. Cooper was a distinguished Marine who became a legendary propronent and instructor of firearm use, safety, and effective employment. He was also a prolific writer on the subject of guns, shooting, and current political affairs.
My first exposure to his writing was in a copy of Guns and Ammo while I was waiting for a haircut. His literate and lucid writing got my attention, the subject matter held it.
Posted by ward at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2006
Labor Day
We took five kids to the Catfish Festival today.
Didn't eat any catfish. Did have a Polish, with onions and peppers and mustard, a pint of designer water, and a bloomin' onion.
For dinner, we all had steak and baked.
I'm now working on my third brewski.
And there is absolutely nothing else to report. This is a good thing. Excitement, in general, means that somehow, somewhere, somthing got screwed up.
Gimme some time - there's absolutely no doubt that somewhere, somehow, I'll be in the middle of something "exciting". I'll be the one yelling "Oh....CRAP!"
Posted by ward at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2006
Where's Old Wierd Ward?
I am:
1. Overworked, underpaid, and nobody loves me.
2. Children back in school, which means...
3. Running from point A to point B to Point C...
4. Which leaves very little time for the other things that life requires.
It's only Monday. I need a weekend.
Sheesh.....
Posted by ward at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2006
A Bad Scene
A couple that were neighbors of mine are no longer a "couple".
SHE decided that ultimately, her drugs and her skanky new male "friend" and drug supplier was worth more than the hard-working decent guy she was with.
SHE showed up today and emptied out HIS house.
All of HIS furniture, that he had before they hooked up.
All of HIS dishes, that he had before they hooked up.
All of HIS linens, and the TV, and the stereo.
I haven't seen the garage, but I suspect that all HIS tools are now HERS.
What's left is four bare walls, a dog chained in the back yard (hers) and a cat (hers).
I don't have feelings of kindness and charity towards HER.
She's a BC.
Posted by ward at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2006
The Heat is ON in California
A few years back, shortly after Pacific Gas & Electric was "deregulated, California had a monster heat-wave. California was forced to buy power on the "spot market". Various unscrupulous "energy traders", some employed by Enron (remember them?) used various methods to manipulate prices so that they made some truly obscene amounts of money.
Looks like it's happening again.
Just one of the many reasons that I'm sure glad I don't live in California anymore.
Posted by ward at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2006
Eeeevil Capitalist Company Conspiracy Exposed!
My dearly beloved, Mrs. OWW, works for an Eeeeevil Capitalist Behemoth Company that is involved with supplying our armed forces with weapons. This Eeeeeevil Capitalist Behemoth Company is so depraved, so eeeeeeevil, so underhanded, so oppressive that they're giving their minions, of whom Mrs. OWW is one, Monday July 3rd off as a holiday, with pay!
I, of course, being a poor down-trodden noble employee at a SFI (Small Financial Institution) that is a noble Not For Profit, will be doing my usual IT-ish things tomorrow.
Mrs. OWW gloats! She chortles! She sez "neener-neener-neeeeeener!"
When I become King and absolute Dictator of All I Survey, there's going to be some changes, I tell you. Heads are gonna roll....
In the meantime, have a good time for the rest of the extended weekend.
Posted by ward at 08:21 AM | Comments (1)
June 29, 2006
The Acidman Memorial Sip
Since I couldn't be at Rob's memorial service, I figured I'd do it up after I got off work.
After doing all the running around that a Dad has to do, I finally got a chance to sit and sip.
Rob, this Red Dog's in your memory.
The one with the red toenails is waiting for you...
Posted by ward at 06:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 09, 2006
TGIF!
TGIF!
Amen.
This week has been busy with:
Meelie No (8 yrs old) being shuffled from one best friend's house to another best friend's house, and back again. I haven't seen her for more than 5 minutes in the last three days. Our sitter is demanding to know "What have you done with my favorite!" And yes, Miss Merry does speak in italics, with exclamation points!!
Preparations at work are proceeding apace. The new server racks are in, the old are out, the switches' Cat5 wiring has been ruthlessly rationlized, the new Alpha is installed and booted (it's operational and running Open VMS, which is the operating system, but the application software it runs hasn't been loaded yet.)
My travel arrangements have been made. I spend a week in Valley Forge, PA, learning about new features and gizmos in the application software mentioned above. Plus, my unindicted co-conspirator informs me that Geno's in Philly makes the Best Cheesesteak "wit" in the known world.
Chickie (11 yrs old) has had her friend Alyssa over to keep her company for the last two days. I was a little dubious, but it has worked out well. They were both so well-behaved and helpful with housework it scared me.
The above makes minor stuff like the death of Zarquawi just a blip, as far as I'm concerned. Of course, the long and difficult hunt carried out by US and Iraqi forces finally bore fruit, and that rascal is DOA. My heart does not bleed for Al Quaeda - I save my sorrow for their victims. Al Quaeda claims that their battle will continue. But they've got to be thinking in the back of their heads.... "Am I next?"
Now, for the next Important Thing.... Brats on the grill, w/potato salad and a brew.
Posted by ward at 07:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 04, 2006
Weekends and Music
I could comment on World Events, or discourse on the Oneness of It All, but I'd rather listen to R&R, and chow down on Mrs. OWWs fabulous Prize Winning Chili:
Music: "Ride My See-Saw" (Moody Blues)
"Satisfaction" (Rolling Stones)
"Magic Carpet Ride" (Steppenwolf)
"El Lobo" (Herb Alpert)
"TCOB" (Bachmann-Turner Overdrive)
"Wolfman" (Guess Who)
"Forest Line" (John Denver)
"Old Time Rock 'n Roll (Bob Seger)
And that's just a minor selection...
Ummm.."Typo Alert!" That should be "Forest Lawn" (John Denver)...
Posted by ward at 06:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 29, 2006
Memorial Day 2006
Today is the day for those went, and never returned.
Today is the day that I pause and remember the men of my age who will never grow older, but will always remain bright in my memory, and forever young.
Posted by ward at 05:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2006
It's OWW's Anniversary!
Today is our 18th Anniversary.
Mrs. OWW has put up with me for 18 years.
A most remarkable woman, Mrs. OWW is.
Of course, since I'm such a splendid fellow, she has been extremely fortunate to be associated with (ahem) me.
As Cosby would say, "Riiiiiiiiiiiight!"
Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart...ILY!
Posted by ward at 08:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 11, 2006
End Of The School Year
In two weeks, school lets out for the year here in Jawja.
"No more homework, no more books!"
"No more Teacher's dirty looks!"
Also, no more Mom&Dad's Taxi Service for school functions and dance class.
There is, however, One Last Dance Class function - The Great Dance Recital.
This involves special costumes, hair-do's, and makeup.
Hoo-boy! I'm just looking forward to all the .... fun we're going to have this Saturday.
Fun. Riiiiight!
Posted by ward at 06:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2006
Taxes and Names
Nobody I know actually enjoys paying their income tax.
The remarks heard by OWW around the water cooler range from "shucks" up to "hang 'em all by their toes, then get creative".
Most of the really creative invective targets the IRS, aka "The Infernal Revenue Service".
One suggestion that seems appropriate is to combine "The" with "IRS" - which translates to ... "Theirs".
Now, before you start howling for heads on platters, and specifying IRS people, stop and think. Who, exactly, writes tax law?
The pressure you want to apply would properly be directed at the folks who write tax law (the Congress and Senate), and the one who signs the bill authorizing the law - the President.
I will have a full-house essay/rant on taxes and tax law in a month or so. Meanwhile, take a look at the FairTax - HERE
Posted by ward at 06:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2006
Long Day
Work sucked. I spent 4 hours in the car, visited 2 sites, installed new equipment, wrestled with recalcitrant printers, picked up a PC that's decided that it doesn't want to launch any applications (it boots OK - but it won't launch ANY application. Completely weird...), shifted 2 PCs complete with keyboards, displays, speakers and printers to new locations and I didn't get home until 8PM.
"Train for an exciting career in IT" the ad said.
Right.
On the one hand, Tax Day is past. On the gripping hand, I had to write a pair of hefty checks.
Mrs OWW is doing well - much better than I expected.
Weird Coincidence Department - Mrs. OWW and her brother went in for surgery on the same day. Both surgeries were related to the same sort of ailment. What're the odds on that one?
As we say down heah in Jawja, "Ahm whupped".
G'night....
Posted by ward at 11:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
Short Hiatus
Mrs. OWW has been dealing with health issues - which means that I have about two seconds to rub together.
She's recovering nicely, but it's going to be a while before I can get cranked up to properly roast, toast, and puree assorted politicians, activists, immigrants that have annoyed me, and showbiz idiots who are really sub-room temperature morons.
Posted by ward at 07:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2006
A Long Normal Week
Monday - well, it's... Monday
Tuesday - Follows Monday. Oh, whoop.
Wednesday - Midweek. Yawn.
Thursday - Gettin' closer...
Friday - At 5PM, the Dead Come Back To Life! Then die again, at 9:52PM.
Saturday - Slept in until 7AM. Loafed until 9PM. The lawn looks like Fido's Butt, but heya, I ran the dishwasher! (Was there anything actually IN the dishwasher?) I'm sleepy and it's quite late... at 9:15PM... And no political commentary this week! Wow! Astounding! Amazing!
I may swoon....
Posted by ward at 09:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 04, 2006
Comment Spam
I have over 400 comments on this incarnation of this blog.
Most of them are comment spam.
Godfather, Inc., is looking for you...
Heh.
Comments are turned OFF until I can clean this mess up. I might turn 'em back on later, if I want to take the time to clean it out on a regular basis.
Crapheads.
Posted by ward at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2006
There is nothing here today...
It's been a long week, and "Ahhm whupped".
I ain't daid, but I am some kind of weary.
I've been in Georgia for a while, and I think it's rubbed off on me.
Posted by ward at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 22, 2006
Sunday At The Swamp
After spending part of my Sunday watching the Steelers beat the Broncos, and the Seahawks purely whup up on the Panthers, I was completely amused to receive this via email from our friend Sharon...
|
Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. |
I've always known that I was quite pleased to be male. And, I've thought about each one of these items at various times - just never all at once.
Y'know, it's cool being me!
Posted by ward at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 14, 2006
Stayin' Alive
I could post about Alito.
I could post about the dog-ass 'Niners.
I could post about the "3 and out" Jags.
Instead, I'll post about winter in Jawja.
It's 47F, with a 25MPH wind.
Wed, Thurs, and Fri it was 70F+, with gentle 5 - 10 MPH breezes. And now it's the weekend.
"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get."
Crap.
Posted by ward at 08:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 03, 2006
The New Year
We have returned from California.
I hate airplanes.
My rump is numb, but it hurts. Go figure.
Bro-in-Law Michael is married off to a fine lady he absolutely doesn't deserve. Maureen, on the other hand, has gained at least one bro-in-law she doesn't deserve.
I'll leave it to you to figure out if that's a good deal... or not.
As we say here in Jawja, "Ahm whupped".
G'night....
Posted by ward at 12:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 22, 2005
Christmas for The Boys
These wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992.
Brought to my attention by Michelle Malkin HERE. Read the whole thing.
Posted by ward at 11:02 PM | Comments (5)
December 20, 2005
Christmas Hiatus
Old Wierd Ward is sorta going on hiatus for the next two or three weeks.
Since I'll be busy with The Mad Christmas Dash to The Big Day, entries for Swamp Gas will be hurried and slap-dash, if they happen at all.
While we're celebrating Christmas here at home, spare a thought or two for all of "Our Boys and Girls" who are far from home in a land far away. And when you see one of them here at home during this happy time, wish them a "Merry Christmas" and give them a "Thank You" - it's the least we can do.
Posted by ward at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2005
I Am Mr. Grumpy
I've worked six hours of OT in the last two days, which wouldn't be so bad, but it all came after the last of the employees of the SFI (Small Financial Institution) went home - which translates to ME going home after 10PM.
In a word, "ah'm whupped", which makes me grumpy.
So, here is my Grumpy Report:
1. Talk radio - where in hell are the "liberals"? Short answer, they can't get an audience out here in the hinterlands. Guys/Gals/Other, I want an opposing viewpoint to listen to whilst I'm driving along from point A to point B! Get your act together!
2. War On Drugs - obvious failure. OWW
3. Taxes - the current system is obviously not working. After durned near a century of experimentation, it simply Does Not Work. Go to Fair Tax for a look at an alternative that might be worth trying.
4. Rap "Music" - RapCrap is more like it.
5. Telemarketers - I may sue AmeriFirst - I've NEVER been their customer, I do NOT have an existing "business relationship" with them, and I certainly do not want one. Buttheads.
There's more, but I'm really tired, so it's off to sleepyland for me.
Posted by ward at 07:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 22, 2005
Not Much
"There's nothing here for you today."
Two-beat pause.
"Move along."
It's been a long, routine day. Ah'm whupped.
Posted by ward at 10:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 08, 2005
Hammered Flat
This has been One Of Those Weeks, and it's only Tuesday, fer cryin' out loud!
1. Acquired a new dog. "Ralph" makes three. I will say that he's the quietest dog I've ever seen. He's also our littlest - at about 8 pounds. Yep, a "yard rat". The ladies think he's "cute"...
2. Yesterday (Monday), Mrs. OWW underwent a test for the condition that landed her in the hospital for a week last year. Fortunately, no further action is indicated... trust me, this is a Good Thing.
3. Also yesterday, whilst Mrs. OWW was ... recuperating ... from the general anesthetic required by #2 above, OWW receives a phone call from work about a backup that hasn't actually been performed on a server since said server wall installed - OSOD! Fortunately, the directory in question had been merely misplaced, NOT deleted. Backup solutions have been moved to the absolute top of the list by the guy that makes the Priotity List - thank you veddy much, pliz!
4. Today - put in place the stopgap backup strategy, only to have the Big Boss unplug the backup drive in the middle of the XCOPY operation. If he wasn't a nice guy, I'd puke on his desk. And I still have to figure out a cheap and reliable backup of the Domain Controller, of which we have just one, with no backup domain controller. (Note to self: fix this ASAP, if I can just convince the boss NOT to mess with the hardware without asking if something's going on...)
5. Also Today - Pick up Meelie No (age 7) from dance classes (Tap and Jazz), and go to Tuesday Dinner At Her Favorite Fast Food Joint.
Ladies and Gentlemen, A'hm whupped.
I just can't wait until tomorrow...
G'night...
Posted by ward at 11:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 03, 2005
Where Has OWW Been?
I just looked - and the last time I posted was Oct 19th!
Yikes!
On the gripping hand, things have been rather interesting of late...
... The SFI (Small Financial Institution) had a minor flooding issue due to mass quantities (2 inches in 1/2 hour) of rain about two weeks back - and the main customer area is still undergoing "bacterial remediation". What that means is remove everything - dead PCs (that were sitting on the floor, and fried when water reached the motherboard, thereby causing catastrophic failure), including furniture (some trashed due to water damage), carpeting (all trashed), from 6 inches to 2 feet of drywall to be removed & trashed, mass quantities of sodden paper, and the list goes on. Now the "remediation" folks are carefully removing all traces of mold from studs and the floor.
OWW is involved in this because the dead PCs had important (and in one case, critical) business data stored on the PC hard drives instead of on the network drives. Instant panic: "OWW, can you puh-leeze salvage our contact info?"
As it happens, no data was lost, it just took a few days to find the data, and then move move it from the PCs' hard disks to the network drives.
It took a while longer to configure the replacement PCs with the software that is peculiar to the SFI (Small Financial Institution) - one of 3 different versions of MS Office, a terminal emulator, and one of three specific-to-the-job applications.
Annnnd....an OWW innovation: using Norton Ghost to back up the basic configuration of each configuration.
Next will come a talk with the IT Manager - who's a lot like my brother-in-law Ray - nice, reasonable, unflappable, polite-at-all-times, and just as easily moved from a firm position as El Capitan at Yosemite. I have to convince him that the IT Department will not guarantee the availability of data that is not stored on a network drive - and I have to convince him that we can do this transparantly to our users by mapping their "My Documents" folder, and their email folders to said network drives. After that will be convincing all the users that they must log into the network in order to make their data safe.
In the meantime, my co-worker, the IT Manager and I are busy prepping another location about 200 yards away to temporarily house 3 tellers and 3 or 4 customer service types - which is a major PITA because routine financial institution operations Do Not Stop For Any Reason Whatsoever Unless The End Of The World Has Actually Happened.
Part of the interview process for this postition was a conversation with the CEO (he personally meets & chats with every applicant for an IT position - because IT people "have the keys to the Kingdom" - and he wants to eyeball them), in which he mentioned that working in a Financial Institution involves a lot of routine, boring, repetitive tasks. I reminded him of that conversation yesterday. He grinned an evil grin, and said, "I remember that. Now get out of my face and get on with the next 'boring' job." We startled the daylights out of the folks in Accounting when we couldn't stop laughing...
IT is a great job - in the right place, with the right people. As you might be able to tell, I really like these folks - and that's 95% of the job, isn't it?
Posted by ward at 11:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 16, 2005
Last Week
I looked back at my last few posts, and noticed that I hadn't done any about life here at The Swamp.
- The flood at the SFI (Small Financial Institution) - 'puters kaput, furniture likewise, but the servers are OK, and Yours Truly has been runnin' his butt off.
- The bugs resulting from two weeks solid of rain - them little bastids really do Bite Me! Now that I've put a new cannister of propane in the Mosquito Deleto, they might tone it down a bit, I hope!
Posted by ward at 05:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2005
New Home
Old Weird Ward has moved to his new home.
Over the next few days/weeks/months, I'll be moving stuff over here from oww.blogspot.com. When all is complete, I'll either delete OWW's old place, or archive it, or something.
Meanwhile, on with the show.
I'd especially like to thank Miss Zoot for setting me up with Movable Type and giving my wife the idea for a masthead. Further thanks to Mrs. OWW for persuading Miss Zoot to lend a hand, and for her work on setting up the templates and everything else you see on this page (she's still working on it). I should also mention that I, Old Weird Ward, had final say on the appearance of this place, so if it looks GawdAwful, It's my fault, not theirs.
More later...OWW
Posted by ward at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)