Archives July 2004

I have had problems with a-holes blog spamming for quite a while but it was never more than 10-15 at a shot so I just went in and cleaned them up. I really don’t understand the point of it. Basically they would add comments to entries that promoted porn, penis growth, cheap drugs and so on. Well today I got blasted, when I got home I had over 500 spam comments that were posted on the blog! I did some quick research and found a plug-in that not only will block known spammers with a blacklist, if some jerk does manage to get through, I can clean up his garbage in a matter of seconds. So to any and all blog spammers EAT SHIT and DIE!! The ride here is over. That is all.

Could Jack be ready for round 2 or could this simply be a hoax by someone looking to find humor in my unfortunate neighbor arrangements? You decide. 🙂

All entries in the “Imitate Jack” contest are welcome!

I feel bad. Last night on my way home from doing some side work I decided to stop and get gas and grab a couple burgers from McD’s for supper. As I was waiting in the drive thru line I noticed there was a bigger woman in an early 90’s mustang backed into a parking space with the car running. As I sat there I saw white smoke start to trickle from under the hood. Soon the smoke was heavy and I could see coolant dripping from underneath it. More than likely a radiator hose broke. She did not even notice the problem until it was steaming like a locomotive. Just as I got my order she had gotten out of the car and observed the mess and was just kind of standing there looking pissed off. At that moment I had to decide if I was going to stop and assist or not. On the con side I just got my food, I was already late for being home, and we were in a crowded parking lot so there was a good chance someone else could at the very least let her use their cell phone to call for assistance. I also have to be honest and admit if the woman was attractive I probably would have ignored the cons and came to the rescue. So in the space of 10 seconds I weighed everything and decided to head out of the parking lot. I felt guilty about my decision and the reality that her looks affected my decision making process. Now if it was an emergency, like her car was on fire or she was in a threatening situation there is no question I would have jumped to her aid even if she looked like the elephant woman. Still, I feel bad about it. I’m sure other then the inconvenience it caused her, everything worked out fine. Hell when my Buick was burning it took a dozen cars ignoring my frantic waves for assistance until someone actually stopped. I guess normally I would expect better of myself so it will bother me for awhile.

Ali flew out for PA this morning for a visit with her family. The trip is basically because she wants to see her Pop Pop. He is 91 and although he still is kicking and has his wits about him, you never know when that could change at his age. So I am solo for 3 days. I have no huge plans other than busting my ass on Saturday getting the house related work done so I have the other 3 days to do as I please.

I am a bit tired this morning because I stayed up and watch the Kerry acceptance speech. I thought he came off well. The speech was a bit corny in spots but overall I think he addressed the issues very well and attacked Bush without resorting to name calling. He also had a demeanor that made me feel like I can imagine him as president. That is a feeling that I never had about W. Kerry delivered the speech without sounding like he never heard some of the words before. I can only pray there will be debates between him and W. However when Gore ran against W, Gore mauled him in the debates and made W look like a dumb ass and W still won. (kind of) I’m sure a lot of what Kerry said made the rich cringe like 200k plus a year people getting tax breaks rolled back. It’s tough to go against the big money since they have so much influence but hopefully that influence can be beat down by sheer numbers of people coming out to vote against Bush. Did I mention am a registered republican? I can never remember there being such anger regarding a sitting president. Has any other sitting pres had a movie made about the deception going on throughout his administration? If he manages to win despite it all there really is little hope for progress for our country for the next 4 years.

Mr Ricci was the woodshop teacher I had in 7th grade. Mr Ricci had quite the reputation. He had been at the school forever, my dad even had him. His nickname was the “CHeese” I believe the nickname came about because he sort of looked like a mouse in the face with his pudgy disposition along with a bushy moustache. The reason he was famous was because he had a bad temper and used to yell and even sometimes assault students. If someone was out of line it wasn’t unusual for Mr Ricci to “chop” the offender. What he would do is put his fingers together so his hand looked sort of like a spatula and then he would deliver a short blow to the sternum with the end of his fingers. It left no mark but was painful enough to make you remember it. Of course this sort of behavior would be outlawed nowadays in our politically correct world. However. although I feared getting the chop, when I compare that to the general disregard students have for their teachers today I think exisiting under the threat of mild physical punishment was a better option. Kids behaved in Mr Ricci’s class and by the end of the year, most actually came to like him.

Long weekend = long entry. I am using up left over vaca time before my year rolls over in mid-august. On Saturday it was a workfest, we cleaned up the house because Alison’s friend was coming down for the weekend. After the indoor work concluded we moved to the outside. Alison took to the tractor while I tackled weeding, pruning, pool maintenace and various other tasks.

On Friday the pool looked like hell, it was all cloudy from algea that I had been battling for awhile. Since company was coming down I was desperate to clear it up. So I dumped a shitload of shock into it, brushed the sides down and left the pool cleaner running in it all night to keep the algea from settling on the bottom. To my surprise, when I woke up Saturday morning it looked tons better, very cool.

Alison admitted that mowing the grass isn’t as much “fun” on the new tractor since she has to change gears now. I offered the “fun” of operating the weed whacker instead, I think she will stay on the tractor. I tackled a few jobs that have been on my mind forever but for whatever reason I had been putting off. I had the pressure washer out and finally blasted the stone and sand out of the bed of my truck that had been sitting there for months. Then I went crazy and got up on the one side of the shed roof and blasted away the mildew that was on the non-sunny side. The interesting/stupid part of it was I was too lazy to put on appropriate footwear to do this so I was up on the wet vinyl siding roof with flip flops. I was constantly aware that I was one slip away from surely breaking something. I was even thinking about how I would explain why I would be dumb enough to tackle this job in flip flops. Luckily my balance remained steady and I finished the job without a 12 foot fall. So much for not worrying about things that noone else will notice but me, huh? Roof looks better though.

Saturday evening we watched a funny movie, think it was called About Polly or something like that. It had Ben Stiller, the chick from Will & Grace and Jennifer Aniston in it. Lots of laugh out loud moments in it. I got my high capacity cell phone battery(s) from a seller on ebay from Hong Kong. It took about a week to get it. As a bonus, the seller accidentally sent me 2 batteries even though I only paid for one. It was funny seeing something from Hong Kong show up in the mail. I kept the envelope to show Ali. If the guy wants his 2nd battery pack he can fly over from HK to get it. 🙂

On Sunday, the girls were going shopping so it was my day to do whatever. First I went out early to Wal-mart and Sam’s club with the intention of picking up the supplies needed to perform the maintenance that was suggested by Nissan as well as some tools and supplies for the other vehicles as well. I also intended to pick up a DVD/VCR combo player at Sam’s since our VCR died. When I hit Sam’s club I got a bit side tracked and also purchased a “SkeeterVac” to replace our broken “MOsquito Magnet” The SkeeterVac is different as it uses more lures and is cordless. It uses the propane to do more than generate heat, it also operates the fan unit.

So I took all my toys home, set up the SkeeterVac and then got ready for part two of Shawn’s day of fun, a trip to the dog track! Well it turned out to be anything but fun. On Sundays, there is no live racing, only simulcasting. The clubhouse level where I always go is closed and instead you have to go to the grandstand area. The grandstand level isn’t nearly as nice. I waited to eat until I got there, a big mistake. Unlike upstairs where they serve good food, downstairs my only option was food from a one person food stand run by an old lady that didn’t care much about sanitary food practices. She would work the register, handle money, prepare the food and take smoke breaks without ever washing her hands in between. I got a shitty burger, shitty fries and bad tasting diet coke from her and tried to balance everything with my simulcast book as I looked for an open place to sit. It was extrememly annoying as I looked for a spot and realized that many people where spreading their books over 2 desks to artificially create the illusion that someone was sitting there. After seeing no open spaces and getting increasingly annoyed, I finally asked one of the guys with such a setup if there was anyone actually sitting there and he reluctantly admitted that noone was. Yay, I sat down and piled my food and betting info into my small workspace.

I decided to keep it simple and just bet the dog races at one remote track to keep my betting regulated and to avoid having to scramble and make picks without thinking. As I started eating my bad food, I also realized that it was hot in there and where I was sitting there was no hint of any moving air, making me feel cramped and uncomfortable. The guy on my right was maybe 50, with his young kid on his right. This guy was one of those guys that said everything he was thinking. At first I thought he was actually speaking to me, I soon realized that he was just talking out loud. He was very verbal as his races were running. He would snap his fingers, encouraging his horses to move up, he would curse the horses that he didn’t have money on that were ahead and generally was just annoying. I didn’t think it was very cool for him to be dropping the f bomb regularly with his 10 or 11 year old son sitting there. To my left was an inidian man that said nothing and simply stared at the betting books and his tv, I could never tell if he was winning or losing his bets. Behind me where some funny sounding koreans. It was amusing hearing them cheer their horses on with their accent.

So as I was trying to throw down my crappy lunch I looked over the lineup at the track I was betting at. I did my normal analysis and placed my bets. Loser! In total I bet 9 races and lost everyone but 1. It was a bad day. By the end I was in a pissy mood. Pissy enough that I didn’t even bother cashing the $1.40 credit slip I had left, I just threw it out and walked out. In total I lost about 45 bucks, a mild hit but losing so consistently really sucked the fun out of it. I doubt I will ever do the simulcast only days again, it was miserable.

Sunday evening I felt like crap from eating that junk at the track, so much so that I begged out of going to dinner with Ali and her friend, so they went by themselves. I used the time to play a new game I got for the XBOX, Top Spin Tennis. The game is awesome. The graphics are so realistic it is scary. Plus you can create a player from scratch, having total control of their appearance. My first character I made insanely ugly as well as huge. He was 6’9″ and 288 pounds. An impressive physical specimen, but I soon learned that his body type didn’t work too well on a tennis court. So I recreated my character this time making him much smaller but just as ugly. The game even allows you to taunt, encourage and even throw temper tantrums as you see fit. I usually only used the temper tantrum option, I enjoyed watching my guy slam his racket on the court in disgust and then kick it. I went online a little bit and played a handful matches and got destroyed in every match except one. Evidently before you go on XBOX Live you need to train your player so he has the maximum skill possible in the game, otherwise you have no shot of being remotely competitive online. I’m working on it.

Monday I played auto mechanic in the morning. I did all the maintenance that the Nissan dealer recommended for the Sentra. What probably would have cost me well over 100 bucks at the dealer was accomplished for 10 bucks in parts and about 45 minutes of my time. Then I tackled replacing the passenger side door lock motor on the Vette. It was a bit of a challenge but I got it in and working. As a bonus, when I put it back together, I took some time and actually got the door panel installed correctly so it doesn’t sound like your are rattling a tin can full of screws when you close the door anymore. So far I have fixed at least a dozen little things on the Vette and it feels like I have only put a small dent in what needs to be done. The rest of Monday I spent a lot of tennis time, and cursing my UPS’s that have bad batteries that kept clicking off during play, causing me to lose my progress. That is on the short list to get fixed.

We had a lot of rain this weekend, we have standing water all over the property again. I took some pictures of recent projects/purchases that I will be adding soon. I didn’t shave all weekend so I had some considerable facial hair action. I decided to go with a modified goatee/ beard thing for this week for fun. Alison said I look like Abe Lincoln, haha.

It’s somewhat ironic that I would hate the profession that employed me for 14 months in my early 20’s but I just can’t help it. I bought my first new car back in 96-97 and have replaced it with another new car ever since. I can’t recall one of these dealers that I had a pleasant experience with. The upfront process of actually buying the car is filled with so many half truths, deception and outright lies it is sickening. However today my thoughts aim at the other half of the rip off, dealer service. When I first started with new cars I used to take it to the dealer religiously for service. Since I never had new cars before, I wanted nothing but the best and only the dealer could provide that, right? Dumb. Well after one sour experience after another mostly related to the obscenely high labor and part prices they charge, I wised up. The other part is the BS the service employees pull on you, trying to sell you additional maintenance at ridiculously inflated prices and then acting as if you are ignorant for not wanting to pay them this ransom for their service.

So, I am at the point that I will only take the car to the dealer if I need to and it is warranty work that shouldn’t cost me anything. Well I have had an issue with the Sentra now for awhile that I had been ignoring, the trunk leaks. I already bought one replacement trunk floor because it was warped from the leak, the replacement is also warped so I had enough. I took it in today, I also asked if they could change the oil while it was there. So I get call late in the morning, “We can’t find the leak” I wasn’t surprised to hear this but still a bit annoyed. My annoyance grew as the girl continued telling me there was lots of maintenance that should be done to the car. We got no further than her first recommendation. Your tires are starting to show feather wear, they should be rotated. “How much does that cost?” I ask, “50 dollars” she replies. WHAT? Hehe “No thanks” I replied. 50 dollars for what may take 15 minutes if the guy works slowly. What a f’in ripoff. So we went back to the leak issue. She said that the guys were spraying it with a hose but couldn’t find the leak. She said maybe I could bring it in on days where it is supposed to rain and they could check it out. “That’s not very convenient” I replied. So I asked her if they pulled back the carpet that lines the sides of the trunk and looked there? I explained that the water seems to be seeping in around the edges and it makes sense that it is running down behind the carpet liner. She wasn’t sure if they checked that so she said she would get back to me. Haven’t heard back yet but I am 90% sure I will get a call later saying they couldn’t find anything. Dealers just suck. I have no plans to ever buy another new car again. They depreciate like they fell off a cliff and the hassle a dealer provides outweighs the fleeting joy I get from driving something brand spanking new.

2 more gems

NUmber 1

Number 2

I serve 2 basic functions for Nicki. I am her protector when she finds herself in a situation she finds scary and I am her entertainment when she wants to roughhouse and play. Well last night we were playing, she was rolling around, trying to tackle me and use my arm as human chew toy. She was sprinting around and made a sharp cut and all of a sudden started crying in pain and pulled up her one back leg and couldn’t walk on it. She managed to get up on the sofa but was still wailing in pain. Ali and I immediately feared the worse, did she break it, tear something, screw up her hip? We sat with her for a few minutes and she stopped crying but was still holding the leg up and didn’t want it to be moved in certain directions. We decided to take her to the emergency Vet (the same ones that wanted to charge me my first born to treat the diabetic cat) So Ali called them to tell them we were coming in. Of course the first thing out of their mouth is “…minimum 69 dollar charge…” By the time we were ready to go, Nicki was again walking on the affected leg. She was favoring it a bit but could walk and was able to jump up into the car herself. By the time we got her to the vet it was hard to tell there was anything wrong with her at all. But we were committed at this point and Ali wanted to make SURE she was ok. So we spent about an hours time and 89 bucks for Nicki to have her heart rate taken, a thermometer stuck up her ass, have the vet move her leg around and give her a shot of some anti-inflammatory stuff. He couldn’t really detect exactly what happened, just that whatever it was it couldn’t have been too bad if she was almost back to normal already. I guess it was better to be safe than sorry. I felt bad that she hurt herself while playing with me. You always hear stories about how couples with no kids almost literally view their dog as their kid, we are definitely a prime example. Alison loves this dog like she gave birth to it. I don’t think I am to that degree but it is hard to imagine that I actually wanted to turn her back in in the beginning. I was wrong on that one.

When I was up in PA for the Rumble, they had a raffle to win a new Geo Tracker, 5 bucks a ticket. I felt lucky so I bought one. The drawing was July 5th. I am still holding on to the ticket for some reason just in case they haven’t gotten around to calling me yet. Silly.

Ebaum is truly a wonderful web site, here is just one of the many reasons why…

I was doing work at someone’s place last night. I ran across one of the kid’s PC’s that was a spyware/adware/pop up nightmare. It was basically unuseable as when it came up you were immediately deluged with an endless array of pop up windows and an always busy hard drive. I was able to get some anti-spyware stuff installed after some prolonged effort. A scan of the system revealed over 1500 spyware components on the system! Oh my. After multiple clean attempts both in regular and safe mode with both spybot and adaware I was able to get it under control. But there was still something lurking that I couldn’t get rid of. When I would try to run spybot or even regedit while booted up normally they would not start. By the time I got to this point it was late, almost 9pm so I wrapped it up for the night. This morning I researched it and found out that on top of all that spyware, the computer was also infected by the Bagle virus. What a mess. Evidently the computer is used a lot for chatting, downloading MP3’s via peer to peer networks and other activities common for teenager run puters. Parents don’t let your kids have free run over their computers unless you are ok with reformatting them every couple months.