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January 31, 2008
pssssttt...hey, Buddy...
....wanna buy a WII?
Noooo I don't have one for sale anymore - it didn't stay in the house for more than an hour after I bought it.
Backing up......
I was at the gamer store the other day schmoozing with the head gamer dude while trying to buy some present for my son who already bought something for himself - socks from now on. Anyway...before I left the store, I asked if they had any WIIs because my friend wants one. He allowed as how I ought to check back between noon and 3pm on Tuesday. So Alice and I show up around noon - no WIIs - no shipment as yet and the clerks are annoyed that I was informed when they have been instructed never to tell people. We decide to go to AppleBees since Alice was on her lunch break anyway BUT we sit where she can keep an eye on the counter at Gamestop. Too funny - we just barely finished and paid when she spotted unusual amount of traffic over there so off we went and sure enough two WIIs were going out the store attached to two "older" couples - older than me! hrumph - I bet they had inside information too!. So Alice got her WII and I bought another one because son#1 was on the look out for one for his friend. Within two hours that WII was bought, brought home, reboxed, slapped with prepaid shipping label, repaid plus shipping by friend using Paypal and back out the door to the post office.
Goodness...such techies....
Posted by frani at 09:19 AM | Comments (3)
January 29, 2008
Scenes from the Road....
At the Burlington International Airport:
The Gate agent at the Burlington Airport didn't want to wait on us because we used the Kiosk only entry line - there was no one around but us and 4 agents. He did, but mumbled something about people not reading signs to fellow co-worker.
At the Sea-Tac International Airport:
Our waitress greeted us with "Hi Guys are you drinking tonight?" Which in itself makes me all fuzzy inside when referred to as "guys" When Greg responded in the affirmative, she then asked for his ID. After much gafawing and comments about a big tip I realized she was serious. Yes, Sir, I believe you but it's our policy, we card everyone. If you think our reactions provided entertainment for our fellow diners, you'd be correct but it was nothing compared to the 75+ year old and his wife - I'm sure he is still pretty much slack jawed.
On the plane from SEA to EWR:
The man on my left had his headset volume too loud. For 4 hours and 33 minutes I could hear that grinding whispering noise coming from his seat. Why would someone call someone at 5:45am to tell them they landed and then tell them to go back to sleep?
...and BTW, I think it's time to stop telling passengers to "be careful when opening overhead compartments because contents may tend to shift in flight". Those things are so tightly packed because people people take everything they own on board these days, nothing is going to shift in flight. Actually passengers are in peril of being injured when one of those bins explodes in flight from over packing - one of those joke cans of peanuts with the spring snake comes to mind.
Scene outside the Burlington VT Federal Building yesterday after finding a prime parking place on the street:
Fran, having emptied wallet of all excess change for flight home frantically searching car for change for the meter, fails to find anything other than coin from Brazil...folds dollar bill to fit in slot of meter and runs in to gather IRS forms. Can't accuse me of stealing parking time....
Scene at my desk yesterday while making reservations online for next Seattle flight:
gggrrrr...slam bang...dial dial dial...punching in 15 digit card number now...what do you people mean my making a reservation tripped your fraud alert again! What unusual cluster? Do you not see thousands of dollars worth of airline tickets bought every year for 10 years? What is so unusual about this one or the last one for that matter....I don't want to have to go through this every time I try to plan a trip....gggrrrr.
Scene in the living room upon our return from Seattle:
Roomba tried in vain to continue his appointed rounds in spite of my attempts to give him a week off but he ran out of steam behind the couch. A few hours of charging and he was back on schedule Sunday morning...have I mentioned I liked Roomba?
Have a fine week all......
Posted by frani at 08:21 AM | Comments (3)
January 22, 2008
On the Road again.....
Actually, I haven't been "on the road" since July so it seems a little strange to wake up in a hotel room again. I wasn't expecting to come back to Seattle any time soon so I had already put details out of my mind...things like names of streets or the people who own the car service we use for the airport...there just isn't any room left in there to fill it with information I won't be using, ya know. Snort. I can accept change...most of the time but sometimes I need a little warning. I was pleased to see the construction in front of the hotel all done and I actually used the Trolley yesterday which was the cause of the construction BUT because of said Trolley, the hotel no longer runs their shuttle service...ACK! Whew, I got my groceries but it was strange. First I used the hotel shopping service for some staples - milk juice butter....ummm excuse me, since when did Country Crock Spread become confused with butter...eeewwww? That was really the only thing that was screwed up though. then I took the Trolley to Whole Foods...after going downtown...not bad, not bad at all.
So what kind of pigs are we raising in the good old US? Huh? Huh? I got back to the room this afternoon after visiting my brother and met the cleaning person just leaving our room - she complimented me on the condition we left our room - hello? I realize we really are low maintenance because we do travel light but still..us? Clean? Please...makes me wonder what messes other people make - well actually I've seen some rooms as we have walked by - shameful piggies.
Remember that eBay debacle last month -I "won" another auction for the same item I was trying to buy before - for less $$ after shipping so let's just hope this goes smoothly. xxxfingersxxx
I found a new juicer I want at Williams-Sonoma...nnniiiiccce... I need this for the 2 oranges I juice every morning, right?
Have a good evening all
Posted by frani at 06:46 PM | Comments (1)
January 16, 2008
Slowly I turned...
...step by step...
Actually, I'm a little on the spastic side when it comes to playing Lego Stars Wars The Complete Saga on our Wii. I am improving, however. I find that I really, really don't care for the "high places" in the game ie ledges outside of buildings..in the rain..slippery you know. I also don't like walking on high narrow ledges...my character can't seem to walk a straight line so he just walks off the edge most of the time. Thank goodness I have "invincibility"! I don't mind jumping through lava pits - it's just frustrating when I fall in but I don't get the shakes as I do when I'm up high, as I also do in real life I might add.
So I ask you...if a grown adult with lots of real life experience can be reduced to a quivering mass of jello over what is actually only a flat screen display (cartoon at that)and experience the nausea that comes with fear of heights...what does it do to kids? If they go flipping through these games leaping and double flipping to run faster and jump higher without a care do they then NOT get trained to fear heights? What about the violent nature of some of these other games? Can we then make a case for young kids also not being trained in the reality of violence when exposed to many of these games?
Just a thought....if you can follow my drift that is...
Obviously I am getting caught up in my games again. Last night I only dreamed about where the canisters and red brick are that I LOST when the game froze while I was playing. I have to go back and do it all over again. At least it wasn't the lava pit - it took me over 2 hours to get through the lava pit....;-D However I lost over 100,000 studs as well and I needed 250,000 more to buy my stud x2 brick...geesh - don't you understand? Heheheh..
What was that In a name thing that said I tend to do something intently for short periods of time? That would be me.
Have a fine day all......
Posted by frani at 01:32 PM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2008
What's in a name
Hehehehe I stole this from Dru Ann:
What My Name Means |
 You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings. You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun. Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. |
Update: Dru Ann reminded me I should agree/disagree here....Yes, I am a lot of those things...wouldn't say I was type A though or jealous type...hehehe yeah doing something intensely for a short period of time...that is me!!
Posted by frani at 11:35 PM | Comments (2)
January 11, 2008
o/'o/'o/' He's got no strings....
...to tie him down o/'o/'o/'
Soooooo looks like we are now only down one monitor. The new lid/screen arrived for Greg's thinkpad so he installed that this evening; no both our laptops have new kids/screens so we no longer have to be hooked up to monitors to see what is going on. Funny (funny/strange - not funny/ha ha) how two laptop screens and one flat screen monitor took dives so close to each other. MCS for sure.
There was some snow on the ground when we woke up this morning but it pretty much rained off and on all day - I hate rain. Not sure I ever mentioned that before....;-D
I'm reading True Evil by Greg Iles....
I've stopped dreaming about Lego Star Wars for the Wii....I'm better at maneuvering my guys around - well maybe still a little spastic when it comes to jumping and shooting but it gets the job done.
Obviously nothing too startling going on around here...have a good weekend all
Posted by frani at 08:42 PM | Comments (1)
January 09, 2008
o/'o/'o/' I've got no strings....
...to tie me down o/'o/'o/'...
MYYYYYYYYYYYYY HHHEEEEERRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Greg bought a replacement lid/screen for my computer, installed it and I'm back in the living room wireless!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!
Ha!...and the PC fix-it boys down the street had 3 tries at it and couldn't fix it. Guess Greg's T-43 is next for a new lid....
wow...this screen is so clean and clear and pretty! Ahhhh...I was getting a little concerned about having to take the Motion Computing tablet PC to Seattle on our next trip, as well. Whew...it would have been fine - it's what I've been using in the living room but it's just not the same as my baby T-41. I do like my thinkpad.
Thank you, Honey.
Posted by frani at 08:24 PM | Comments (2)
o/'o/'o/' We're havin' a heat wave....
.... a tropical heat wave o/'o/'o/'
Well, not really but it's been record setting - temps in the 60s. Around there here parts it's referred to as the January thaw. Good grief - nearly two feet of snow - gone, kaput...ain't no more. One good thing about it is all that snow compressing on my roof thawing refreezing etc is gone before it backed up into the house....and the best part is I didn't have to pay to have it removed. We do have a roof rake and I can pull about 2 feet of snow off the edge of the roof but that still leaves a lot of snow up there to cause some potential damage. All gone - for now - until the next time it snows. - which I think is sometime this weekend.
My eBay agony is nearly over...the seller and I have reached an agreement to end the transaction and withdraw negative feedback from each other....stay tuned, there may yet more of this to deal with. Let this be a lesson to all of us - really really check a seller's feedback rating before bidding - I didn't and boy it's been a mess. Ought there be a rule that one has to be literate to sell/buy on eBay?
We've been playing Lego Star Wars The complete Saga on our Wii - *I* have been playing it in my sleep - or more accurately lack of sleep. It's what I do when I get into something intently or frustrating - I grind away at it in my sleep...hard to do a sudoku puzzle in my sleep when there are no numbers - hard to sort out Wii strategy when you have no clue what the next "chapter" is all about....save Princess Lea? Sure - but didn't C3PO and R2D2 disappear off someplace else with Chewie when last I saw them...Help me Obi Wan....;-D I need sleep. Sigh...
So I got an email from one of my favorite places online to get snacks and goodies - Nutsonline
Now these people have the very best dried fruit and nuts and candy all in one place. Shipping is fast and we all just ooooo and ahhhh over the goodies we buy from them. Their chocolate pecan turtle type candies are awesome but I originally bought from them in order to get some dried raspberries. So yes, they send me an email...asked me to fill out a survey...at the end they mentioned they would send me free gummie snacks as a present for taking the time to fill out their survey. Yeah sure thanks...I see your ploy. Ha! I have until April to put in my next order and still receive my free Gummie snacks...can't fool me...I see your ploy - offer up free gummies and she'll put in an order she didn't intend to just to get free gummies. I see your ploy so it won't work on me...nope...no way...hey what are these new malted milk balls? Malted milk balls surrounded by milk chocolate, surrounded by dark chocolate surrounded by white chocolate and swirled? HHmmm... Yeah, so I still saw your ploy and so maybe it worked...so? so what? Now, where are my milk balls? Hhhmmm? and my gummies...and raspberries and snack mix....and whatever else I ordered? ( BTW if you want to order something and are interested in getting 10% off your order, email me and I'll refer you - we'll both get 10% off)
In case you are wondering...Roomba and I are still good friends even when he escapes the living room into the kitchen and demands to have his brushes cleaned. Knoel refused to give up his bed and made Roomba clean around him yesterday. ~Elmo still just glares from the hallway just the other side of the barrier marker. Yes, Still pretty entertaining at 9am every morning.
Have a good evening, Fans....
Posted by frani at 03:28 PM | Comments (1)
January 04, 2008
This and That and Interesting (not) stuff
I know there must be something in my life more exciting than Roomba to talk about but ..
ummm...
nope.
It doesn't get any more exciting than this folks: Roomba did not balk and want his brushes cleaned half way though his daily living room cleaning this morning. Does this mean there is a chance we have caught up with the cat hair in one small portion of the house? Reward for Roomba - he gets to come into the den. Hehehe. Poor Roomba...I wonder if there is an internet Roomba abuse hot line - he's pretty smart ya know, he'd find it if there was one. At any rate, I like Roomba. (update: Roomba has been under the ugly pink chair for a long time - ha *I* haven't moved that chair in years)
You see....I really really don't like to clean; Roomba makes me feel better even if he doesn't get it all - he certainly gets more of the dirty stuff around here than I would.
On the weather front, we've received about another 10 inches of snow this past week and it's been COLD. The kind of cold that when you see blue sky in January you know it's COLD - below zero cold. Freeze your nose hairs cold if you go out there. I personally try not to go out there but then once in a while it is necessary.
I'm experiencing my very first issue with an eBay purchase...idiots but I just may have to give in and try to complete the purchase - again. I really don't see anyway out of this mess since they just don't understand why I am attacking them. Hello - what's so hard about just claiming my payment to begin with? Oh? can't access that email? How about giving me another way to pay? No? Hello? answer my emails? Report me to Ebay as a non-payer? Oh yeah - that makes me happy to be doing business with you. Sigh....
Some friends came over on New Year's Eve...we introduced them to Wii - hehehe I just love getting people to buy stuff...I knew they would like it. Of course there are no Wiis to be had - hello? Ebay?
Roomba has a glowing blue light and circles around and around if he finds a particularly dirty spot - poor thing must be getting dizzy under that pink chair - and the end table....I know I'm getting dizzy watching him...snort Oh to be so easily amused - envious aren't you?
Happy New Year to all....make yourself a good day...week...month... Year ;-D
Posted by frani at 01:51 PM | Comments (2)