Snce oil reached $50.00 a barrel it will be interesting to see how high a gallon a gas will go. The crazy thing is various economists are casually observing that oil could conceivably reach $60.00 a gallon by Christmas time.
Heating costs will go through the roof. Everyday costs of living continue to rise but income levels are unchanged, that's a formula for failure.
We will see if this is a harbinger of worse things to come.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Counting to 40 - Part I
I will be 40 years old in February. I am just sitting here thinking about the differences that my son will have that I did not enjoy but have seen come to fruition in my lifetime. I know this is nothing new and generation after generation have the same speech but now I do see the wonder of it as technology and societal mores change and advance. I want to catalog this so when I give my son the "In my day" speech I'll have footnotes to review since I don't have the sharpest of memories right now and don't see that as reversing any time soon.
The first thing I will mention is television, or I should say: Television. I capitalize it because Television is such a mainstay in my life.
As a youth it was television, a large wooden piece of furniture housing smaller tubes and little electronic components surrounding a large picture tube. You would have to walk to it to turn it on, waiting the few minutes it took for the CRT to warm up. Our family was on the low end of middle class so we had a black and white set instead of the nice color sets. When the picture would start to lose its horizontal or vertical hold a slap or kick on the side of the set would fix it.
Once it warmed up we had a smorgasbord of options to view, within the 3 major networks, 3 smaller local networks and 3 public television networks along the VHF and UHF airwave spectrums we had availble to us. Television began broadcasting between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning and stopped at 3:00 or 4:00, and those were the major stations, the smaller ones began later and ended earlier.
That was broadcast television in the 60's and 70's. There was no cable television, with Manhattan being the sole exception. All sports events were aired on regular broadcast television. The only major cable station was HBO which was captured with an antenna, hundreds of antennas sprewn about the outer boroughs aimed towards the Empire State Building. Our first color television was a small 9 inch television which sat on top of the big black and white set.
Friday and Saturday nights was for Creature Features. Saturday mornings was the day for cartoons. All morning long, cartoons. Sunday mornings was for the Bowery Boys (East Side Kids) and Abbot and Costello. On Thanksgiving day, cartoons would air as well. Christmas was the season for Rankin-Bass, the company that seemed to only work with claymation. Also on Christmas was the venerable March of the Wooden Soldiers: Laurel and Hardy, and It's a Wonderful Life. All day long on any station that you would turn to you would find It's a Wonderful Life.
Television is a bigger thing now, a media Juggernaut that sweeps along at 500 channels. A multimedia conglomerate that pushes itself along lobbying for regulation and then lobbying for deregulation and then lobbying for regulation again in 12 year cycles, each time saying it is for the consumers benefit. In all these years the only people I've seen benefit are the television and cable stations. The consumers always end up paying more and more. It's always the consumers that foot the bill for television's expansion, both in the form of monthly fees and taxes. That's why I now call it Television with a capital T.
The first thing I will mention is television, or I should say: Television. I capitalize it because Television is such a mainstay in my life.
As a youth it was television, a large wooden piece of furniture housing smaller tubes and little electronic components surrounding a large picture tube. You would have to walk to it to turn it on, waiting the few minutes it took for the CRT to warm up. Our family was on the low end of middle class so we had a black and white set instead of the nice color sets. When the picture would start to lose its horizontal or vertical hold a slap or kick on the side of the set would fix it.
Once it warmed up we had a smorgasbord of options to view, within the 3 major networks, 3 smaller local networks and 3 public television networks along the VHF and UHF airwave spectrums we had availble to us. Television began broadcasting between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning and stopped at 3:00 or 4:00, and those were the major stations, the smaller ones began later and ended earlier.
That was broadcast television in the 60's and 70's. There was no cable television, with Manhattan being the sole exception. All sports events were aired on regular broadcast television. The only major cable station was HBO which was captured with an antenna, hundreds of antennas sprewn about the outer boroughs aimed towards the Empire State Building. Our first color television was a small 9 inch television which sat on top of the big black and white set.
Friday and Saturday nights was for Creature Features. Saturday mornings was the day for cartoons. All morning long, cartoons. Sunday mornings was for the Bowery Boys (East Side Kids) and Abbot and Costello. On Thanksgiving day, cartoons would air as well. Christmas was the season for Rankin-Bass, the company that seemed to only work with claymation. Also on Christmas was the venerable March of the Wooden Soldiers: Laurel and Hardy, and It's a Wonderful Life. All day long on any station that you would turn to you would find It's a Wonderful Life.
Television is a bigger thing now, a media Juggernaut that sweeps along at 500 channels. A multimedia conglomerate that pushes itself along lobbying for regulation and then lobbying for deregulation and then lobbying for regulation again in 12 year cycles, each time saying it is for the consumers benefit. In all these years the only people I've seen benefit are the television and cable stations. The consumers always end up paying more and more. It's always the consumers that foot the bill for television's expansion, both in the form of monthly fees and taxes. That's why I now call it Television with a capital T.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
Baby dates
Today my son is 10 weeks old. Not a major milestone but a nice even number.
It looks like we have a quiet weekend ahead. I'm looking forward to it.
It looks like we have a quiet weekend ahead. I'm looking forward to it.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Drats!
I got a speeding ticket on the way home today.
Damn, that's gonna give me a boost to my insurance payments.
Damn, that's gonna give me a boost to my insurance payments.
Visitor
We had a meeting with the President from a sister company to show them our methods and practices with document handling.
It seems we have become the standard that all the companies are following. We follow the principles of Claims Management: Every document is important!
We track every piece of paper that comes into our office and maintain a redundancy factor of making sure every piece of paper is duplicated or triplicated.
It greatly increases our paperwork, but when you have to file a multi-million dollar claim, it pays for itself.
It seems we have become the standard that all the companies are following. We follow the principles of Claims Management: Every document is important!
We track every piece of paper that comes into our office and maintain a redundancy factor of making sure every piece of paper is duplicated or triplicated.
It greatly increases our paperwork, but when you have to file a multi-million dollar claim, it pays for itself.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Monday, September 20, 2004
Bad morning
My wife wakes me up at 4:30 in the morning, just as I should be getting ready for the workday. She needs me to take care of our son, she's exhausted. I spend the next 2 1/2 hours getting him to sleep.
I got to work late. This is happening more often, not just on the weekends.
I got to work late. This is happening more often, not just on the weekends.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Better day
Today is a better day for our son, his fever finally broke and he's handling things better.
We went to Babies R Us to get him a few things, among the things we picked up was a baby monitor. Wow are those things sensative. I don't know how but we managed to spend $200.00 on a few things.
We got home after a short drive. Today was a beautiful day and I wanted to just drive around a bit. We drove around for a short while until our son started getting cranky, we went home shortly afterwards.
The rest of the day way a boring day. Just the way I like my Sundays.
We went to Babies R Us to get him a few things, among the things we picked up was a baby monitor. Wow are those things sensative. I don't know how but we managed to spend $200.00 on a few things.
We got home after a short drive. Today was a beautiful day and I wanted to just drive around a bit. We drove around for a short while until our son started getting cranky, we went home shortly afterwards.
The rest of the day way a boring day. Just the way I like my Sundays.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Day 2 Vaccine
We didn't do a damn thing today. Our baby boy had a fever all day at 100.4. Light by any standard. Waiting to see how it goes. So far so good.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Restless sleep
He managed to sleep tonight, but it was a light sleep. He had a fever the entire day after getting his shot.
Pediatrician visit
Our visit to the pediatrician was typical and atypical at the same time. He peed on her, that's the typical part.
He is now 23 1/2 inches long and 13.12 pounds heavy. That's almost twice the weight as he was at birth.
On a more painful note, he received his first round of vaccinations today. 3 needles for 4 different diseases, Tuberculosis, Diptheria, Hepatisis B and something else that i'm not sure of.
He's due for his Polio shot next month.
He really cried when he got the shots, but after a little crying he fell to sleep. We took him home and he's somewhat better now. A little crankier but he'll be fine.
He is now 23 1/2 inches long and 13.12 pounds heavy. That's almost twice the weight as he was at birth.
On a more painful note, he received his first round of vaccinations today. 3 needles for 4 different diseases, Tuberculosis, Diptheria, Hepatisis B and something else that i'm not sure of.
He's due for his Polio shot next month.
He really cried when he got the shots, but after a little crying he fell to sleep. We took him home and he's somewhat better now. A little crankier but he'll be fine.
Another Ramone passes on.
With the passing of Joey Ramone we lose yet one more conduit to the past, a piece of history of music, particularly the Punk-Rock scene.
The hierarchy of remaining Punk-Rock Gods are dwindling: Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and John Lydon (Johhny Rotten of the Sex Pistols for those of you who don't have a clue), HR (the qunitessential Rastafari with the fastest vocals in the world, representing Bad Brains and Jello Biafra.
Iggy is the godfather of Punk. Anyone that knows music knows The Stooges is the band for raw, unmitigated power (hm...Raw Power...go figure).
I'm sure I'm missing some other Punk greats but to me those are the building blocks that I want my son to learn about and hear.
The hierarchy of remaining Punk-Rock Gods are dwindling: Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and John Lydon (Johhny Rotten of the Sex Pistols for those of you who don't have a clue), HR (the qunitessential Rastafari with the fastest vocals in the world, representing Bad Brains and Jello Biafra.
Iggy is the godfather of Punk. Anyone that knows music knows The Stooges is the band for raw, unmitigated power (hm...Raw Power...go figure).
I'm sure I'm missing some other Punk greats but to me those are the building blocks that I want my son to learn about and hear.
Baby dates
Today our son is nine weeks old. We have a doctor's appointment later today. We'll find out how long and heavy he is.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
So much for trust
I didn't attend a meeting i was scheduled to attend because I thought all the issues I was attending for were resolved.
Little did I know the Project Manager on the other side of the table was totally dishonest and completely lied about the agreements reached at the last meeting.
So much for relying on verbal agreements.
Little did I know the Project Manager on the other side of the table was totally dishonest and completely lied about the agreements reached at the last meeting.
So much for relying on verbal agreements.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Long time sleeping
Our son slept for quite a while throughout the day as well. He looks fine, he's not running a fever. I guess he's just getting all the sleep he hasn't been getting all this time.
Between dinner and my checking out my Star Wars Galaxies character it was time for me to go to sleep. I brought the baby in with me since he was tired, that gave my wife some time to be alone.
Between dinner and my checking out my Star Wars Galaxies character it was time for me to go to sleep. I brought the baby in with me since he was tired, that gave my wife some time to be alone.
Good night
Our son practically slept throughout the evening. Maybe he's starting to get used to day and night. We'll find out today.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Lazy Sunday
We had more company today. My wife's half-sister came by with her son and boyfriend for a little bit. They had a nice time but our son was a little hot and wanted to be alone, he was cranky throughout their visit.
I fed him and changed him and he stayed calm for a short while.
He actually relaxed after they left. They took my wife out for dinner, so my son and I were alone for a bit, we had a nice time. Well....actually, after everyone left our son fell asleep.
My wife came home maybe 3 hours later, sat down on the couch while I was writing checks at the dinner table and fell asleep, our son still sleeping.
I fed him and changed him and he stayed calm for a short while.
He actually relaxed after they left. They took my wife out for dinner, so my son and I were alone for a bit, we had a nice time. Well....actually, after everyone left our son fell asleep.
My wife came home maybe 3 hours later, sat down on the couch while I was writing checks at the dinner table and fell asleep, our son still sleeping.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Anniversary
We will never forget the events that took place three years ago today.
I wasn't as close to the spot as some friends were but everyone was affected by it. My wife was six or seven miles away in midtown but she too was trapped there.
Manhattan was shut down for hours, she managed to get a ride out of the city that evening. I will never forget reading the newspaper the next day. The powerful photgraph of a severed hand laying among the rubble. That image was removed from later editions of the paper but it managed to slide through. I was stunned that it made it there.
For days we were glued to the television watching the constant replays.
Three years later and the memories are still clear as yesterday.
I wasn't as close to the spot as some friends were but everyone was affected by it. My wife was six or seven miles away in midtown but she too was trapped there.
Manhattan was shut down for hours, she managed to get a ride out of the city that evening. I will never forget reading the newspaper the next day. The powerful photgraph of a severed hand laying among the rubble. That image was removed from later editions of the paper but it managed to slide through. I was stunned that it made it there.
For days we were glued to the television watching the constant replays.
Three years later and the memories are still clear as yesterday.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Baby dates
Today my son is eight weeks old. I was misinformed that we had a pediatrician's appointment this week for vaccinations. This is next week. For now I just hold him a bit longer and try to get his gas moving so he's not in too much discomfort.
Personal day
I had to take a personal day today. My wife has not slept for three days and she is starting to frazzle. She's in deep need for sleep and I just have to watch our son.
All in all, it's a good way to spend a Friday. I got work done at home, since I have e-mail and faxing coupled with the capabilities of generating PDF files. I have my phone list with me and I can perform most of office duties here.
All in all, it's a good way to spend a Friday. I got work done at home, since I have e-mail and faxing coupled with the capabilities of generating PDF files. I have my phone list with me and I can perform most of office duties here.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Final meeting of the week.
I walked into a meeting that had been taking place for over 4 hours. This time I had to discuss with the corporare office the status of change orders for our projects. We did not have such a bad case on our jobs but the ones we did have were doozies.
Perhaps we could do a better job of it with more attention paid to obtaining final resolution however we are limited in manpower and our job loads just get bigger.
I have no desire to stay in the office all day, not when I have a wife and child to come home to. This wasn't the case 4 years ago, but things change.
Perhaps we could do a better job of it with more attention paid to obtaining final resolution however we are limited in manpower and our job loads just get bigger.
I have no desire to stay in the office all day, not when I have a wife and child to come home to. This wasn't the case 4 years ago, but things change.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
STARTREK.COM�:�Article
I never purchased the Star Trek episodes because I always thought that it was a rip-off to have only 2 episodes out at a time per disk. At least now you can have the entire season in one pack. This is definitely worth it.
It just sucks for those follks that dished out thousands of dollars to get the 2 episode disks.
STARTREK.COM�:�Article
It just sucks for those follks that dished out thousands of dollars to get the 2 episode disks.
STARTREK.COM�:�Article
Take the long way home.
My best options for highways home were all backed up, with my usual one closed due to flooding.
I took the side streets to get a little further South to an open portion of the highway.
Once I got connected to the highway I was home in 35 minutes because the roads were practically empty. Sweet! I expected heavy traffic because of all the flooding this morning, actually I expected the flooding to continue.
I took the side streets to get a little further South to an open portion of the highway.
Once I got connected to the highway I was home in 35 minutes because the roads were practically empty. Sweet! I expected heavy traffic because of all the flooding this morning, actually I expected the flooding to continue.
Meetings, meetings, meetings
My afternoon was spent in meetings, 2 meetings to be exact. We have several million dollars in hung up paperwork and trying to get it resolved can take months.
The biggest problem is that the trail gets cold if you don't stay on top of it. With all the paperwork I'm pushing around and the 2 months backlog i'm in I don't expect to see final resolution of this until next year.
Now I have to explain all this to the folks at corporate tomorrow.
The biggest problem is that the trail gets cold if you don't stay on top of it. With all the paperwork I'm pushing around and the 2 months backlog i'm in I don't expect to see final resolution of this until next year.
Now I have to explain all this to the folks at corporate tomorrow.
Hurricane Frances
Because of all the flooding we've received due to the remaining bits of Hurricane Frances it took me 3 hours to get to the office.
My car almost floated away. It was a scary feeling, and way too much traffic. I got off the highway and stuck to the side streets after 2 hours or so.
The ride home will be a horror show if this rain persists.
My car almost floated away. It was a scary feeling, and way too much traffic. I got off the highway and stuck to the side streets after 2 hours or so.
The ride home will be a horror show if this rain persists.
Monday, September 06, 2004
A trip to grandma
We went to see my mom and my step-dad one last time before they take off back to Florida tomorrow morning.
My mom is ecstatic about our son, you can see the joy in her eyes.
Man, is she gonna spoil him.
My mom is ecstatic about our son, you can see the joy in her eyes.
Man, is she gonna spoil him.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Sunday drive
We visited friends in Rockland County. A little bit tired since we didn't get much sleep because of the hospital visit but we haven't seen them for months.
We only stayed for a short while because the baby can't handle too much sensory input too fast or else he gets very cranky.
He was good for most of the day but he got very tired of people all around him. I was a little nervous too thinking we were going to experience more of the same from last night.
We only stayed for a short while because the baby can't handle too much sensory input too fast or else he gets very cranky.
He was good for most of the day but he got very tired of people all around him. I was a little nervous too thinking we were going to experience more of the same from last night.
First emergency room visit
The baby was in pain since 9:00 p.m. Saturday night, we tried everything we could think of but we couldn't get him to feel better or stop crying.
He would cry in great pain for some time then stop and be himself all of a sudden. This went on for several hours and we felt is was time to take him to the emergency ward after consulting with his pediatrician. We don't want to be parents that rush to the hospital over the smallest thing but I also realize there are a lot of things that can go wrong and one wouldn't know it.
of course once we got to the emergency room he was his old self again. We wanted him to be looked over anyway, just to be safe. They took x-rays, to make sure it wasn't an intestinal problem. Those came back ok as well.
Turns out it was gas pains. We got in the car and took a ride home and he slept all the way home.
It wasn't anything serious but having the peace of mind of knowing for certain that it wasn't anything is conforting.
He would cry in great pain for some time then stop and be himself all of a sudden. This went on for several hours and we felt is was time to take him to the emergency ward after consulting with his pediatrician. We don't want to be parents that rush to the hospital over the smallest thing but I also realize there are a lot of things that can go wrong and one wouldn't know it.
of course once we got to the emergency room he was his old self again. We wanted him to be looked over anyway, just to be safe. They took x-rays, to make sure it wasn't an intestinal problem. Those came back ok as well.
Turns out it was gas pains. We got in the car and took a ride home and he slept all the way home.
It wasn't anything serious but having the peace of mind of knowing for certain that it wasn't anything is conforting.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Baby dates
Today the baby is seven weeks old. He laughs in his sleep now, and he starts making sounds as if he's trying to talk.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Observation or imagination?
Republicans visited Shea Stadium yesterday and the Mayor made a grandstand of it.
Mayor Bloomberg paid homage to the visiting delegates and the game of baseball. They all looked elated wearing Mets jerseys and swinging bats on the field.
Where was Mayor Bloomberg when Mets fans who subscribed to Time Warner Cable didn't see any games due to contract disputes?
Politicians came out in droves on behalf of the Yankees during the Yes network's contract disputes. Where were they when the Mets could have used them?
It seems pretty clear, the Yankees is a Republicans team and the Mets is a Democrats team. The only reason they used Shea Stadium was because it's not in as hectic and congested area as Yankee Stadium. Plus I'm sure George asked them not to bother his team during the closing weeks of the season. He wants them to maintain their concentration.
Mayor Bloomberg paid homage to the visiting delegates and the game of baseball. They all looked elated wearing Mets jerseys and swinging bats on the field.
Where was Mayor Bloomberg when Mets fans who subscribed to Time Warner Cable didn't see any games due to contract disputes?
Politicians came out in droves on behalf of the Yankees during the Yes network's contract disputes. Where were they when the Mets could have used them?
It seems pretty clear, the Yankees is a Republicans team and the Mets is a Democrats team. The only reason they used Shea Stadium was because it's not in as hectic and congested area as Yankee Stadium. Plus I'm sure George asked them not to bother his team during the closing weeks of the season. He wants them to maintain their concentration.
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