Like most of us here, I like gizmos, but the bluetooth headset wearing fools are grating on me. I used to not really care that our fellow citizens like to walk around looking like Lt. Uhura with metal sticking straight out of their ears. I guess the use of hands free stuff is good for the car drivers and such. The past week and half however, I've been pressed into service at various Time Warner payment centers and these chucklheads are popping up at a high rate of speed. People so abosorbed in a phone call they can't be bothered to pay attention to the person directly in front of them. I used to think that the biggest sin was in being too fucking lazy to reach into your pocket ( or god help us, to your belt clip) and answer the fucking phone. Has it not dawned on us as a people that just because we can take a call anywhere does not mean that we actually have to take the call anywhere.

I set a guy up with internet service without him actually speaking to me. I wandered to the front of the Buffalo Time Warner building the other day and there were no less than four people carrying on intense conversations with people who were not there. Happens all the time on Allen Street, except the people doing the talking there really have blue teeth, if you know what I'm sayin. I mentioned this to my supervisor and we agreed that if we could set em all down, you'd have a helluva round table, prepared to castigate the mayor, tell the Islanders to quit whining that it was a goal and many other issues.

I couldn't resist. As each person got to the counter, none of them got off the phone. Each clerk had to wait for lapses in the conversations or episodes to transact business.

Oy, in other news, I got invited to a short party at Pearl St Brewery tomorrow at the start of the Sabres game, get to have my picture taken with the Stanley Cup. The fact that this is exciting is a tad worrisome to me, but what the hey.

Beta testing for digital phone means I'll have a home phone in the next couple of weeks. TW is going to make a full launch in June. As soon as the prices are determined, I'll say something. Anybody with an adelphia.net email is going to complete the Road Runner change soon.

Lastly, how about that thursday??!?? I only got a little sun at the end of the day, but damn going from Lancaster where I was working to Wegmans on Amherst for foodstuffs was the most fun I had all week. Window down, Ipod cranking some decent driving music, hell, I was giddy just walking to the car.

My firefox weather add on says 68 and Sun tomorrow. People will be hugging spontanously in the streets. Could almost smell (e:joshua)'s grill firing up, as I got closer to down town turned out it was just Cocoa Puff Day at the Cheerios plant.

My Dad stopped by the office to leave me some souvenirs of him and Mom stocking up on Canadian pharmiceuticals. A case of Sleeman's Draught - damn fine beer, yet another reason to believe that the best liquor store around is still the Ft. Erie Duty Free.

Dad needs to stop by work more often.

I have to work in Lancaster today and the journey did wonders for my morale. I was cruising down the 90 doing 55ish. A doofus in a Toyota didn't think I was properly showing my manhood. He was riding my bumper and just as we past the Ogden Street toll barrier, he blew past me, bird flipping all the way. Also at the Ogden St toll barrier is a favorite hiding spot of the New York State Troopers who saw the whole thing. Said Trooper spots the doofus as we collectively make the turn to head north. Trooper waits until the turn is finished for him and cranks on the lights. I pass the stopped cars to see the doofus getting a ticket and looking properly red faced.

Made my morning and we're just getting started.

Hopefully an omen for the day.

Can't say you weren't warned

Lot of death lately. A couple of peripheral people in my life are gone or feeling the effects of losing somebody close to them. That combined with my recent posting about the passing of my former Anderson Place neighbor has me feeling, well a little morbid. My now former dad-in-law is in week 3 of chemo. His potential mortality has me thinking. It makes me want to pull over on my way to work and kick the folks smoking under the Roswell No smoking banner in the shins.

This has hit my ex even harder. I'm doing my best to help, but I'm coming to the fact that I signed my lease to leave the house formerly known as mine 3 years ago today. In the six months that immediately followed, I got to deal with the useless response from family members, at one point, she told me that she "wanted the family of her, our kids, and her partner" to find their way with the initial holiday season. Given that I didn't stray, that I took crappy jobs at night to support her and be there for the kids, I was dumbfounded. Point of that anecdote, other than to gloat that the partner is no longer in the picture I guess is to illustrate that despite being generally cool with each other, I resent the circumstances that brought us to this point. I think I'm pretty much over it all, but occasionally something can stir and piss you off all over again. I thought it would be best and easiest that I move (and it was), but it sort of felt like that me guilty in some way. I've struggled at times to remain Dad and buy into the logic that we were just broadening the sphere of people who care for the kids. I mentioned to my eldest that I didn't think a certain person held much regard for me. She, being an enlightened child, replied that I shouldn't sweat it, the certain person is like that with everybody.

Alas, it has made me wonder if I disappeared who'd notice, but when you think hope is evaporating, conversations can reveal a lot. We cleared the "table" of a lot, how things progressed too fast at the house after I left, steps we take together for the kids, etc.

I'm not quite sure where I'm headed with this. Figured getting it down would be better than having these things rattle around in my head. The first bad divorce realtionship send me an email the other day to say hi and I guess that triggered the flipping pages of my mental rolodex.

So, I'm trying to help and be a stand guy and help her when her transitional lesbian relationship takes up with a mutual friend, both of whom insist it's not a relationship from next door to the kids. They are pissed off at me because my kids know them both well, so I made them come clean to kids.

I'm such an asshole.

end of pity

Interesting take on the whole soap opera, written by an African American Columnist

Saw the Elmwood "White Lady" twice yesterday and once today on my way to work. Pretty sure I saw the "Buffalo Shall be Judged" Holy Roller outside the Allentown Trading Company this morning on the way to work.

Kinda wished I had my camera with me. I just drove in via Washington St and as you got closer downtown. You could see a veil of frost on the top of the HSBC arena that faces the lake. It would have made for an interesting pic. Alas.

Beatiful thing about (e:strip) -- getting turned on to something new. Stumbled across (e:joshua) 's myspace page and became a fan of Warren Haynes' acoustic work. Went on a mini itunes shopping spree to collect the awesomeness of it all. Knew the great electric stuff, but my ipod is happy to have a bunch of new tunes.

off to work, great day, peeps

Having stumbled through journalism school and almost home on the Masters, and generally being a bit of a media junkie, I've had a lot of food for thought lately.

Last week's reporting of who raised the most money campaigning for president made me wonder if all the national media outlets (aside from the Onion and Utne Reader) have gone around the bend. The thing that ultimately pisses me off a little is that such reporting basically annoints candidates as viable and to a degree influences voter choices. And before I incur (e:Joshua)'s wrath for picking on Fox again, it struck me that MSNBC (home of the newly color blind Don Imus) was worst at this. They were continually harping on how much the money tally means for Obama versus how much it means for Clinton. Should other candidates reorganize? etc. Since the republican tallies weren't quite as high, MSNBC didn't spend a whole lot on those candidates. Mitt Romney raised the most (the hell kind of name is Mitt?) and they ignored him preferring to overanalyze on Guiliani & McCain. If I haven't bored you to tears yet, you might wonder what difference this makes. All it means is that they can all afford to keep campaigning (shocker there) long before we wanted them to. It's funny because of none of this has anything to do with what any of these people would do as president. It's literally reporting because there is nothing else to say, but continued reporting like that could prop up somebody not worth propping up (cough, John Edwards) or deflate somebody unnecessarily (carping on McCain for being weak as a fundraiser hardly seemed important

(e:jenks) mentioned her love of TIVO. I hold mine in similar high regard. Mine offered up Bill Maher's last show on HBO. Maher was asking about the candidates in talking with Chris Rock. Rock's initial answer was he wished "Gore would get in it soon. He's more qualified than all the others out there." Not sure, I agree, but an interesting take nonetheless.

Don't remember a presidential campaign getting this ramped up so soon. When I was in school the first time, I made a good buck working for all the news organizations who couldn't be bothered to come near St. Bonaventure and the surrounding area. They all hired the week before. If we are voting in February, it would be cool if they (the candidates, the news organizations, etc) would cool it till the fall at least. We're not going to find anything out in the interim.

Argh

Had one this week, a biopsy that is. It turns out to be no big deal, but such a little word can send your imagination out for an impressive walk. My dad-in-law is in week two of chemo at Roswell so I didn't want to say boo to anybody about until I knew I had a much a due about nothing situation. The mental anguish made for a stressful week until horsing around with number one son reminded me made me want to cry like a little girl. He managed to smack right where at the fun happened (in the chest, ya pervs). Had my attention right from there on out.
So, it's all good.

Anybody notice the weather went to hell the moment (e:theecarey) and (e:ladycroft) went south? just sayin...

Took my bike in for a springtime tuneup last Monday when it was all nice and it's back to sitting in the basement waiting for the snow stupidity to stop.

Because one of my boss's can't plan a coffee break, I had to spend friday and all of this week at the front counter at TW waiting on customers. It may be a good omen, because I got a job query on Friday. "Would you be interested?" said a guy in charge of hiring for a cool sounding media project. "Sure" I cleverly countered. So, who knows, investing time in taking cable bills might be an unorthodox way of networking upwards.

Firefox has a bunch of cool add-ons that I'm getting a kick out of. The latest is a weather forecast that works like a cartoon network promo. "Now: Light Snow, 27 F, Later 33."

Wore a nice suit to a memorial service and three women came up to me to chat who ordinarily given me the time of day. (e:imk) and (e:jenks) do know of what they speak. I looked pretty good in it if I say so myself.

Enjoy your sunday everybody, may there be plenty of tasty chocolate rabbit parts just when you need them.

Later

This weather blows, but at least we aren't alone. It's 33 in NYC at the Moment and the Detroit Tigers cancelled their home game last night because of single digit wind chill.

Shit apparently happens, but in an increasing number of places, freezes on impact.

You'd think we'd all have better luck pairing off to stay warm when crap like this happens.

My younger sister announced that she is getting married on Sunday night. This is a good thing. Her intended is a good guy who genuinely cares for her so all should be well. No longer being kids, they aren't particularly obligated to any one tradition or another and can basically do as they please. I figure the exact details will be undergoing some transmogrification over the course of the coming weeks. Her current plan consists of a big party in Manhattan since she resides there. Ordinarily, I'd be down for an extra trip to NYC but she wants the kids to come. While I'm happy for her, all I can really hear are dollar signs racheting in my ears of feeding and sheltering my lovely children at Manhattan prices. It's not insurmountable, it's just money I don't happen to have at the moment, spent creating false smiles at the pretentious bastards that are bound to fill out the gathering.....but I'm happy for her.

Elsewhere, I'm pretty sure one of my bosses has gone round the bend. In a staff meeting in late january, she basically through a rather impressive shit fit about being overly generous approving time off, that the needs of the business come first and we can't be okaying every request. She carefully stopped short of admitting that it was her own fuck up. She basically screamed that it can't happen again. Well, would have been nice if she backed that up. Instead of scheduling with some care, she basically okayed training schedules, sent some other staff to another weeklong seminar and granted some folks time off (NOT yours truly) and basically if you have to wait inline at Time Warner next week, it is her fault. There will be skeleton crews everywhere. I wouldn't care, but the last time I spent a week waiting on trade, I got yelled at for not getting much else done. Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

A few of my fellow Tw worker bees have to go to the Bisons game on Friday and glad hand in the 30 degree weather. Suddenly, my load seemed a little lighter

I was never a big boxing fan growing up, but Showtime is running "When We Were Kings" a lot. I tend to stop and watch a little when I'm channel surfing. Ali was an artist and it is riveting to see him at the height of his powers, plus he pummeled George Foreman. Worth a look when you get a chance.

Can Sanjaya, Anna Nicole (and all her periphals), disappear?

Asked a woman to Lucinda Williams and was turned down? I was shocked.

Bloodied but unbowed, I soldier on....