Also: 50 Intense Nail Polish Designs! Today's Image of the Day!

Next day was off to Gloucester to do a day of beaching. Couldn't get into Good Harbor because it was too busy but we did end up going to one called Wingaersheek which turned out to be a fine alternative. Most fun I had was playing ball in the water with our entourage although today I think we all feeling quite sore. Bunch of old folks we are becoming!

bar bands of the 1970s: a picture thread.

Now I just need a name for the little guy. Any suggestions? For some reason I'm leaning toward "Ringo!" though I am unsure as to why this has popped into my head.

COOL!

We've had three straight days of rain here and it makes me want to sleep and be lazy. The rest of the week I hear is supposed to be gorgeous though, so I'm psyched about that!

Now that we own an actual Ms Pac machine I suppose I should go ahead and put it in the census of machines out in the wild.

Also, flies appear to have gotten more stupid. Seem easier to swat than before.

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Ok! Off to Rhode Island to pick up a Ms. PacMan arcade machine for the game room!

I definitely need to check this out next time I'm in Boston. It's ready!

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In other news, my sis is back in the hospital this time getting surgery on her hand, which she somehow broke last week. The operation only lasts a couple of hours - putting some kind of metal in there so that it heals properly. Apparently she broke it in such a strange location and in such a strange way that to not have it addressed would result in it healing incorrectly. The kid is a walking hospital.

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I's also like to get this drive for all my backups. I heard the software that it comes with sucks though which I can realte to because I have a similar drive already and I can attest to that. Hmmph.

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Learn to swear in any language. NSFW obviously.

Thanks to Steve R. for the videography. Don't quit your day job though.

Geezus!

Finally found this statue!

Has anybody else noticed their water bill rise dramatically since the city of Somerville installed these newfangled devices to the sides of everyone's house to measure water/sewage use? Hmmmm....

Got a lot done today since I'm going away 1st thing in the morn - car readied, hair cut, supplies purchased, read a bit, paid some bills, updated website, packed, yadda yadda...

Originally I was what I would call, a runner, basically running coats and shirts hanging on hangers that were ironed by Haitian women on the second floor of the factory were they were processed, down to the first floor into bins were the delivery guys would pick them up the next morning to deliver to customers. I remember many of them being doctors, or lab workers - even at a place I would later end up working at years later in their food labs, though I had no inkling of that at the time. After doing that for a while I moved up, if you want to call it that, to loading up the trucks. After the hospital items had been sorted, washed, and ironed and folded (of which they had these giant machines that would do all that work), I would get an empty pushcart and give it to the woman manning the output from the ironing machine. At the front of the machine, two people would hold one corner of the sheet and feed it through the ironer. It would come out the other side already ironed and folded - a pretty amazing device actually now that I think about it. All she had to do was stack it into the bins with wheels that you would have to drag through the plant which was very crowded and hot. In some ways, that was the worst part of that job - just trying to get by people and objects to get to the head of the machine. You needed to get it there hopefully before the previous one got full so that that line could keep moving, since time is money, and the owners wanted to get as much throughput through there as quickly as possible. These things were on wheels but when fully loaded they weighed a ton. Or almost. I would then drag these things to a scale, trying to maneuver them around various people, carts, and machinery, where the contents of the bin were weighed, minus the tare of the cart, and then you'd have to load them on the trucks parked out front. Lower the back lift gate, try to push the loaded cart up the small incline, hopefully not have it tip over because doing so would result in the entire contents of the cart having to be rewashed and go throughout the entire process again. The owners didn't like when that happened I can tell you, but it did occur every now and then. Usually the sheets weren't too bad but these heavy blue things that I think they use in operating rooms were a real pain. Those carts must have weighed a good half ton. Then you'd have to deal with the weather conditions, winters were especially difficult since the Haitians did not like getting cold, so you'd have to open and close to the doors to the plant every time a cart needed to get loaded.

Anyways, I'm getting away from the point. Eventually in my quest to make more money, I opted to work more hours. And the only way to do that was to work on the night shift, asking for a raise in that place was unheard of. Not really a shift, but me and a driver who used to be a Revere cop (his story being that he lost his job and did some time due to taking some money from the evidence room from a drug operation) and once in a while, a third part time worker to help us out. The ex-cop was in charge of us and his job was to sweep the plant and place all the detritus of the day into waste baskets to be dumped out to the dumpster out in back. There would be all kinds of various things there, some chicken bones from workers' lunches, old rags that didn't make the cut, lots of bed pan liners I guess you would call them, naturally not looking all that clean. You tried not to touch those with your body if you could, but sometimes you'd grab some gloves to pick it up, or if feeling brave just grab what you thought was an unsullied part with your bare hands and get it onto the shovel you'd use as a dustpan. Funny that he would be doing that job since he had sort of an OCD about being clean and didn't like being touched, ala Howie Mandel.

My main task on this night shift though was to clean the machines. I would climb inside and outside of these ironers, walking on top of them if need be, and they were hot from the day's work. It was easy to burn yourself on certain parts if you weren't careful. I was supplied with an air gun and a shop vacuum. My job was to use the air gun to blow the lint out of and away from the surfaces of the machines and then use the vacuum to suck it up. The bag when full would then be discarded along with all the other trash. And this is were I can relate most to the book talking about the migrant cleaners working in slaughterhouses - although the conditions weren't as bad as they have it. You'd blow the lint around and it'd get a weird kind of lint-foggy if that makes any sense, getting all over my body and in my hair, making my lustrous black hair prematurely gray. Temperatures around the machines were easily close to a hundred degrees if not more (the boiler room was the worst!) Climbing under the machines you'd also find more of those discards: the bedpan liners, unused plastic wrappings, remains from workers' lunches - apparently they were too lazy to just throw it away proper. I remember there being much chicken and white rice under those things. I think when we finally got done it was probably around 9:30 or 10 pm. The ex-cop always wanted to get out as quick as possible since he was paid salary, not hourly, so the earlier he could get out, the better for him.

Every now and again I'll have a dream about that place. Or maybe it's a nightmare. Either way, it taught me quite a bit about how some people have to get by.

First it was north to the coastlines of Maine, now it's south to the Jerz to see a new family member!

Stroke my ego?

In the mid-80s he went to law school and got his degree and started doing less and less of the writing work as he became a public defender. And here's where the story get sad.

In 1992, he was struck by a car while rollerblading and suffered severe head trauma (The driver of the car fled the scene and has never been identified). He has since been institutionalized and is not expected to ever recover and needs 24-hour assistance. The sale of this book helps pay for his medical care. It's sad that he is no longer the bright person that he was, but I am looking forward to reading about his experiences before the accident, and like I said, I'll always have his tales to reread and enjoy.

Now even next week, she's planned for me a mystery trip as a birthday surprise where I can, her words, be luxuriated. Where in the world can any guy find a woman as wonderful as this? It's almost like a dream, but I need to not get too full of myself. She understands me for who I am, and actually seems to like my crazy sense of humor and gets it like I do, and laughs with things as I do, and loves as I do. I can remember first meeting her and not being intimidated but impressed, but little could I have realized at the time how incredible she really is - her intelligence, beauty, dedication, laughter, and love.

No one else in my life has ever taken the time to allow me those kind of privileges, and I consider it a privilege to have come to know such a wonderful woman. I guess I don't say it much to her because being a man I figure she already knows plus I'm not to most vocal man on the earth - I joke that I consider that being "man-style" but it's probably more just my insecurity than anything else, but nevertheless, now and again I need to express it, not sure if it's the therapist in her or just by her being a woman, but I'm sure she'd still like to hear it from me sometimes.

I love you LD, you give me so much. Thank you for being my best friend and so much more, and for opening me up and letting me flourish and grow and to learn what living life really means. That's the best birthday gift anyone could ever have given me.

Earlier this evening I went out to check my town's participation of National Night Out, basically getting kids to heed to message of drug prevention. I only stayed like 10 minutes though because I quickly became disinterested in it. Although they were giving out free water and pizza to everyone and anyone who wanted any.

I heard Shaq might be coming to the Celts - what a sight that would be, especially on opening night when we face the retooled Miami Heat. I'm actually for the move, assuming he's cool with taking a big pay cut and playing second fiddle - might be entertaining, although you have to wonder how far can these aging guys can go?

Is this really me in 3D? Does anyone have some red and blue glasses to try it out? I'm experimenting again! Needs more work I think.

Awesome book, but the ending haunts me.

You can't end it there dude!!

7/24 - Renting bikes to ride the CCRT
7/25 - Seal Watch Cruise
7/26 - P-town day trip/Moby Dick's/Marconi Station (awesome beach)
7/27 - Nantucket Day Trip, bought Scrimshaw (repro - not real as they go for thousands, which is interesting since when they were made they were considered worthless).
7/28 - Beach on Oceanside/Drive-in (been a long time since been to one of those!)

The Whaling Museum and Seal cruise were probably my most favorite parts of the trip, seconded by beaching/pooling, eating out (although one place which had a lobster tank where you pick your own lobster was OK, but children there were basically using it as a touch-tank which probably shouldn't be done IMO). Pix in batches over the next few days most likely.

Check it out: Cape2010_01.kmz

I look like ass.

Is Outlook supposed to be this slow???

Bwhahaha!

So, rock show tonight!

But as you can see, computers don't always get the right grasp on words - much better suited to mathematics I'd say.

Map of the flooding - I happen to live on a street that is colored in blue.

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Other news: Dog is at vet hospital undergoing tests to decide fate...

NY Times review - pretty spot on if you ask me.

Afterward hit the Home Depot across the street from the place to purchase a sump pump for the cellar here so if we get flooded we'll be better prepared. I only remember the cellar flooding maybe once or twice in all the years I lived there and thankfully nothing was damaged, kinda good that it's an unfinished basement. A bunch of people had to throw out a lot of stuff. I also finally picked up some newer keytars for my keys because I'm such a rocker and my old ones pretty much have fallen apart by now since last time I bought them.

Late this afternoon I found out my sister's beagle which she's had for over 10 years apparently has taken a turn for the worse and may need to be put down. Funny how things can be fine one week, and the next -- bam. Docs are checking over blood work now but whatever it is it's not a good prognosis and he hasn't been eating for three days. Almost like he's lost the will a bit but appears comfortable. Naturally my sis is pretty distraught over the prospect of what she may have to do in the coming days. I feel sad too. I think I'm going to go for a walk and think on this. I wish I had a better word to describe "think" right now.

Update: Book talk was pretty good - just goes to prove some things aren't all they're cracked up to be. I especially found the interesting part to be when she has a change of heart and goes over it through therapy. I think my S.O. who is a therapist would really find that part thought-invoking. Tomorrow is another talk with a different author dealing with cartography, which is what I do, which I may also take in.

Just need to find some time to mess with it one of these days.

Crazy.