Dethatching, USB adapters, and BSG

(and more...this is a catchup post!)

What a busy week, I've barely had time to keep up on reading posts, much less writing. Where to start...

Monday was a FULL day - a very busy day at work, but then meeting with Jere, my basement finish guy, to go over the details on doors and trim in the basement (finally getting done - starting next week!), subbing for my old (IBM) jazz band, stopping by the monthly card party with work guys (even though I could only stay for an hour) and then a 9:15pm softball game - we lost 11-13 but it was SO close, and still a fun game to be playing in - this was the best team from last year, so I felt pretty good, and was wide awake for awhile when I got home (turned on a DS9 episode and that fixed it :)

Tuesday, another very FULL day. Monday-Wednesday was a very big transition for some stuff at work, which I was in charge of. Plus the team had planned a golf outing and happy hour...I had to skip out on the golf, but did stop by for an hour of the happy hour. But I couldn't stay too long because I had my weekly 5:30pm trumpet lesson. And then, right away, headed over to our bell director June's house for our end-of-year bell grill out party. I made it in time for most of it - I'll be taking over as director next year as June is "retiring" (but she'll still be there to play for us - hooray!) I'm looking forward to directing but I'm also not sure if I'll be ok with not playing...we'll see.

Wednesday...well things FINALLY started calming down a little. The refrigerator had been acting up, so I called Appliance Village and they sent out a technician to check it out. It had been going on and off intermittently, and had also leaked a bunch of water one day. The two problems were unrelated, he fixed the leak, and told me the compressor was going out (BAD!) but that it was still under warranty (GOOD!). After a short trip home for some dinner, poker night (different group) until 12:30am. Went right to sleep, but still didn't sleep enough!

Thursday...beautiful day! I was going to ride my bike in to work, but just got up too late. Another super busy day at work, and I especially wanted to tie up a bunch of loose ends in preparation for the upcoming week of being out on vacation. Lunch out for my friend Wayne's birthday, and then home at 5:30 just in time for our Salsa Band rehearsal - the first one we've had in awhile - and it was fun! The piano player was back from college for the summer, and things are looking up (although we still need a regular guitar player). Hoping to get some gigs this summer (plug: If you're looking for some great festive music for a party or social function this summer, we're available for hire!)

Friday...finally Friday! Another beautiful day. There were only two people in the office in my bay (the bay holds ~ 40). People seem to either take Fridays off now or work remotely. But my buddy Matt was still around, and we had lunch at Chipotle and sat outside and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Worked until about 5:30, trying to get everything ready to leave (still a little to do today). I got home, to find that some wonderful person (Erin) had put the dethatching blade on the mower and did the whole lawn - a lot of work given that the blade is 5" shorter than the regular mower blade so it takes a lot longer. WOW! Headed over to Paul & Anne's at 6 for some grilling and more nice weather out on their new deck. LP (their son) was in top form, running around and entertaining us - with a 1-year-old around, you really don't need TV! Left around 9, and got home in time to start watching Friday's new Battlestar Galactica episode (which started at 9, so I started at 9:15 which was perfect for missing all the commercials). Holy cow - the ending was a jaw-dropper. I won't spoil anything, but man it's getting good.

Which finally brings me to today...I got up earlier than Erin, so I finally caught up with my news feeds, and chatted with Shelley on google talk, since she's working the early shift today. Some highlights from the news feeds:

California Supreme Court strikes down gay marriage ban:
http://365gay.com/Newscon08/05/051508cal.htm

Edwards endorses Obama:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/14/john-edwards-endorsing-ob_n_101749.html

As The World Turns ratings skyrocketing with Luke & Noah (ok I admit I'm intrigued by this because it amazes me how much it's affecting the ratings):
http://www.mrsardonic.com/2008/05/can-gay-kisses.html

as well as some entertaining lists on my friend Robin's blog.

Breakfast and coffee at Panera with Erin - always great! Erin left for work...now I'm blogging and trying to update my hacked TiVo with some new drivers so I can continue to have it network connected - my original Linksys USB network adapter (which BTW is the only thing I've seen from Linksys that is REALLY BADLY DESIGNED!) has been held together, literally, by electrical tape...I should have taken a picture before I took it apart this morning. They don't sell that model anymore, I bought a newer one, but the drivers I have on this ancient TiVo won't support it. I tried uploading a patched version of the driver but to no avail...I'm going to have to open the box and hook it up to the computer and hack into it some more. Or try to find another of the same adapter somewhere (probably less likely/harder). I am like 3+ years behind on the TiVo version that's on there, I should just blow it away and start over I suppose...

Yet to do this afternoon - clean up the house, get Andy's desk and TV stand downstairs for him (he moves in on Sunday), and get started packing, as we leave on the train from St. Paul tomorrow night at 11:00pm - yes, the trip is 11:00pm-11:00am (arriving in Williston, ND) where we will meet up with dad, (sister) Erin & Chris & the two nieces. Then it's off to a week in the Black Hills, coming back next Sunday morning at 7:00am.

I'll try to add some pics during the trip, and more to follow when I get back!