ratman.com

my brother turned 48.

easter is tomorrow.

this week was long, as i was sick for half of it.

o & c are still at it. wish they’d just stop.

it is to easy to look at passport records.

it snowed… again…

being 50 is just fine. all down hill from here…

ok. well. i have a new gig at work. it is working on a project that has been years in the making. kind of like how the earth was created. throw some stuff against a core, and see how things turn out. so far. well, lets just say, same old thing – different cover. honestly my stomach was in knots going in this morning. i didn’t want to be on it. i have watched it morph from too many things and just feel that it’s a never ending slide into, since i started on a planet thing here, a black hole. that’s not to say that it can’t be something, but, well, i’m not holding my breath. and it started weird as well. like my introduction on the ‘agenda’ was listed under ‘issues’. issue? some of them don’t even know me yet! then there was the proverbial ‘who did you piss off’ questions. i sure wish i knew. oh well. on the good side, it is a job. diane l. no hard feelings. you’re still part of the ‘t’ party. always will be!

hey ted. you must keep in touch. use the ‘forgot me’ link on the right to give me your address. abul. dodin’t know you well, but i know from others, you will be missed.

believe it or not, i already miss working on sap chit. holy cow…

i had to move out of the frat house. no more hanging with jon, brian, dave and diane. my feet work so they will be able to call me rick 3.

past that. i worked on updating a site and walked a friend of my wife’s system after he was hijacked and it was making him old and crazy. hopefully we fixed it. he’s trying it now, and i am soon headed to sleep world.

seriously long drive in the snow, yet again. rear wheel drive. good sometimes. bad sometimes.

ok. more on the dilemma as it is warranted.

 till then… peace…

where i work is directly off of north avenue in west chicago. going west in the mornings is just playing ‘car roulette’. it’s not that people don’t pay attention, because i truly believe that they do. however, they aren’t always in a position to be able to watch out for trouble. there has been more than one time where, i could see the whites of the eyes of the person behind me, something that always makes the hair on my neck stand at attention.

today however, it wasn’t me. it was a friend. someone at work that was attempting to make the turn into our drive, that was caught up in ‘car roulette’. the pictures that you see are the result of that moment. a moment that none of us wants to reach, yet it happens.

thankfully, she is said to be in good shape. a little sore. a little shaken. but in good shape. however, when the adrenalin wears off, i suspect more pains will arrive. to her and her husband, all the best. my thoughts are with you.

here is a snapshot from this mornings events:

I talked to her.  She said she saw the guy was not going to stop so she tried accelerating but it was too late.  and then she just remembers spinning and spinning and then getting hit again.  then she blacked out and just remembers laying in the snow yelling for help.  Said she must have gotten out of the truck and fell out into the snow.  Some guy came over and put his jacket on her back and another guy took off his sweatshirt and put it behind her head.  Then someone called Chris and he came out.  crazy.

everyone should remember that we all have to get somewhere, and keep the eyes open and the phone, make-up and shaver on the seat. that should be done before you leave the house. you become a bullet without the gun. please drive intelligently.

[display_podcast]

ok. went to best buy yesterday. while shopping there was a broadcast that asked all customers and employees to leave the store. 2 hours later the store was still closed, and we still have no idea why. the parking lot was full of police cars and i haven’t seen anything on any news site to see what happened. so. no shopping there for the day.

bears are poised to loose another one. there’s 14 minutes to go, so there’s time. but i’m not holding my breath.

the charger hit 30000 miles this weekend. that should impress kathy and ted.

my eldest sent me a bunch of messages. i want to thank him for getting in touch. i haven’t replied yet, cause i’m not sure how.

been doing fall cleaning around the house. it is amazing how much crap i hold on to. however. it’s going now.

the whole starting xmas right after halloween, is just making me crazy. i hate it. it used to be all about thanksgiving as the start. the economy needs the start i guess, but i doubt that it makes that much difference.

well. it looks like the moment of silence is going down the tubes. that, for me, is a good thing.

snickers is now an it. that was wednesday. seems like he’s recovering better than i did.

the wife and i reached a milestone. 14 years of marriage. its been an interesting 14 years with peaks and valleys. but some of the best times of my life have bee in the last 14 years.

my oldest (from this marriage) turned 13 this week. finally a teen. not long till he drives.

however. the week, sucked. everyone in this house was sick, except dad and i. jon missed days of school, and now is a bit behind. devin has recovered pretty well. so has the wife. jon still sounds a little out of sorts, but he’s coming around.

soccer is done for the fall. i can’t say that this was a good year. the coaching was short staffed. the teammates were, well a couple anyway, totally unruly. not much team play. were getting ready for indoor in february 2008. we’ll see how it goes.

the bears gave me another afternoon of heartburn. wish they would quit that.

watched a couple movies this weekend. 28 days of night. not bad, but i could have waited for the dvd. the reaping. interesting, but predictable. babel. good flick. a movie that made me think. i enjoy movies that have a line of things that are connected.

till then… peace…

means nothing… but…

June Smith: there?
Jon Smith: If there was an IM 101 course, would you take it? 
June Smith: loser.
Jon Smith: Noob
June Smith: um,  er.. um — just a sec
June Smith: uuhh
Jon Smith: googling noob?
June Smith: wait a sec
June Smith: are you spying on me Jon??!!
Jon Smith: this may help
Jon Smith: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=noob
June Smith: Argh..
June Smith: it means…
June Smith: Newbie is usually used to refer to a new person who has recently joined the group of bored,
June Smith: atleast according to wikopedia
Jon Smith: or – more preferably spelled with two zeroes – like this “N00b”
June Smith: JON!!!
June Smith: there’s a photo of the pope!
June Smith: huh??
Jon Smith: I need to IM you more often!  It’s incredibly fun…
Jon Smith: Thanks for the info – ttyl (talk to you later)
June Smith: oh wait, i read further and it said something about me… apparently i’m supposed to hit you with a brick

Jon Smith: there?
June Smith: Good morning Jon
June Smith: There???????
June Smith: There what?
June Smith: are you out there Jon?
Jon Smith: There is a common IM way to ask if someone is actually there at the computer
Jon Smith: because even though IM shows you as “active” you might not actually be at your desk
June Smith: what is the common IM way to ask if someone is actually there at the computer
June Smith: ??
Jon SMith: there?
June Smith: oh
Jon Smith:
June Smith: there what Jon?
June Smith: perhaps you need a day off
Jon Smith: as in “Are you there?”
June Smith: ooohhhhhhh
June SMith: there.
June SMith: well you should have just said that
June SMith: there
Jon SMith: ANYWAY, can I stop over to ask a few questions?
Jon Smith: about either Chevy Truck or MYE?

i splurged. at the end of the month, i will have in my possession a new ipod touch. yeah. i have a phone that i like. and now i’ll carry some classic tunes with me as well. i’ll report back when in hand. yea jon. it was an easy decision.

the better half and i are looking forward into the future to go back to the mini-van. what a pain in the ass. congrats to the in-laws. they bought a buick.

at the time of this writing, the cubs look like they will be winners.

sap is on the road. looks like we’ll make it.

till then… peace…

on friday, my boss (one of them) and i were talking outside. we noticed that a co-worker had a tree branch hanging inside her cars passenger rear door. we found it strange and had another co-worker get the story. as it turns out, it was pouring outside when she was on the way to work, and when she opened the door, the branck just kind of ended up there. in the process, she just closed the door, and headed on in to work. needless to say, we all had a laugh to go with it.

leaving work, i noticed that the ‘branch’ had made its way to my car.

 

well. not to be outdone, and keep the chain going, i moved it on to the next intended victum…

And there you have it. it really was funny at the time…

till then… peace…