*Big DumpTruck*

Cancelled My Old Account

Ahh, bittersweet moment. I love the new hosting company - my page loads lightening fast (from where I sit) but I'm kind of sad to bid adieu to my hold hosting company. The owner and I go way way back to the world of BBSes from back in the late 80s, and I've been a customer of his since at least 1996.

But times change, and I couldn't afford to keep paying higher prices for less storage space just because I like the owner of the company. Anyway, in case he's reading this (he used to): it wasn't you, it was my wallet.

Wow, we're #1?

Just saw the news report that Massachusetts tops the "State Technology and Science Index," scoring over 80 out of 100 (in what, I don't know) according to the Milken Institute, which conducted the study.

If we're number one, and the job outlook is horrific here, it must be a black hole in other states. Yes, I'm happy to have this contract job, but it's not like the full time jobs with benefits are being shoved in my face they way they were, oh, 6 years ago. I mean, recruiters used to call all the time. I was wanted; I was loved. But I got kicked to the curb in January 2002 and it's been one big pile of nothing ever since. Mr. Dump says it's the same for people in his field.

So if we're number one, I'm scared for numbers 2 through 50.

Freak Me Out, Man

Okay, if you read regularly, and you read the old site this past weekend, I made my standard "Oh, Junior rode his bike so it's going to snow in the next couple of days" ha ha joke. Flurries this morning. I nearly ran screaming back into the house.

Maybe that would have been a good idea. I think I'm a cool, with-it kind of mom who can handle kids pretty well. I volunteered for the kindergarten field trip to...the grocery store. There were 38 5 and 6 year olds from two classes, and while it always sounded like a sitcom cliche, but the time it was all over, I actually had a pounding headache.

The coolest thing was that they took the class photos in and had the bakery department turn them into those sugar photos for the top of cakes, and the kids had that (and pineapple) for a snack in the cafe section. Junior got to eat his own head! Okay, so *I* thought it was funny!

Hmmm. I'm still getting the old server

Looks like this DNS thing is taking its time. I'm still getting this page, instead of the new one.

NEW DOMAIN ALERT!

I am going to push through the new DNS server address for my site move. This change may take 24 or more hours to wind it's way through Internetland.

If things don't work right, the new DNS server ID is going to be http://216.65.85.77/.

If you use that address, you will see the draft version of a new template, and none of the historical content for the Dump. This will be fixed as soon as the change takes place. And remember, my email may be flukey for a bit as well.

See you later, alligator!

Crappy Book Report

I'm not even done with the book yet and I want to give a crappy review to it. Why do I keep reading it? I don't know. I just keep thinkging that at some point it will get better and things will be clearer to me. There was an improvement at one point, and I thought I was right, but then we went into that whole "what the hell is this all about" thing again.

I'm not giving the title because I don't want people to know I'm reading a crappy <whisper> romance novel, </whisper> but I'm working my way through the pile of books by the bed and this was next on the list.

So anyway, look, it's not mysterious if nobody can figure out what the hell is going on. I'm your audience. Do me a favor and not alienate me, 'kay? I think it's just a bit worse than the book with the crocheted underwear. That was amusing. This is annoying.

p.s Junior rode his bike again today. We should have snow by Tuesday.

Looking for Avon Walk Support

Okay kids, my sister is doing the three-day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston this year, and your support would be unbelievable. Click on the link below to donate any amount. She's walking in honor of my aunt, she of the amazing green pepper chicken thigh recipe.



It's tax deductible and it's for an excellent cause. Plus, if enough of you donate, my sister will think I'm far more popular than I really am. And you know, that's what's important!

My Commenting Software

Okay point taken in the comments of the entry below this one. My commenting software leaves something to be desired.

Here's the thing: the people who created it don't exist anymore, so there's no support (or wasn't, last time I checked) and I'm not a pro PHP programmer. But the key is that I'm not dependent on somebody else's server to control my comments - they live on my server, so if I'm up, they're up, etc. etc.

I need to find new commenting software. I promise, I'll look into it. I just need to find something blogger.com-friendly. And Jody-friendly.

This is a bigger issue for me right now because I'm moving hosts, possibly this weekend, and I haven't been able to get the comments to work yet on the new server. It's a whole paths thing, that I'm sure I can work out, I just haven't had the time.

Anyway, that's your head's up that for a brief time, we will be in flux between the two servers. I have no idea how it will affect my mail, so your best bet for reaching me once I tell you I'm flipping the switch, is to leave a comment. I'd post the DNS address for the new server here, but I don't want you guys using that yet, as that site isn't up-to-date, etc. So keep yer pants on!

And if you use Blogger and have good commenting software, don't be a stranger!

Ode to Spring

Ha! I'll bet you were expecting a sonnet or something! Well the joke's on you! I couldn't write a decent sonnet right now if you paid me. Well, okay, maybe if you paid me I could put a little effort into it and come up with something.

So ignore that whole first paragraph. And the title of this entry. I'll try to write a haiku for you by the end of the day.

I Love the Night Life, I Love to Boogie

Okay, not really. Am I getting old? I don't like to stay up late anymore. If I'm not cozied up in bed by ten, I feel like I'm going to be a miserable wreck in the morning. I thought the older you got, the less sleep you need.

I think I'm reverting to needing my original 20 hours of sleep a day, you know, like I did as a newborn.

Things You Need to Know About *ME*

Hey, it's time for me to make you all just a little bit more informed about ME. Because when the rubber hits the road, it's all about ME.

• At work, I use the fourth stall in, unless someone else is using it. If someone else is using it, I feel someone is trespassing. But I try to not cause a ruckus.


• I usually sleep facing left


• Peanut butter gives me a sinus headache but I eat it anyway, because I've weighed the cost/benefit and have decided I love peanut butter far more than I love not having a headache, but only until I am experiencing one of the headaches and then I hate myself for the rest of the day. The headaches are usually a day or two after I eat it, so I do not learn from my mistakes. It's like hitting the dog's nose 2 days after he pees on the rug.


• The color shirt I am most likely to buy: Red. Blue is second.


• If I could only choose one cartoon to ever be able to watch again, I'd probably pick The Simpsons, but we can't watch that in the house because Junior's a bit young, so I'd go with runner-up The Fairly Oddparents.


• The song that is fingernails on the blackboard to me: "Islands in the Stream".

Mes Dents

Hey, Mom! I got a good checkup!

Why yes, I am a Crest kid, why do you ask?

Importing Information of the Day

Today's trivia question brought to you by the PowerBar. Co-creator Brian Maxwell died of a heart attack at age 51. Another example of a really fit person dying extremely early. I'm thinking I need to do whatever he didn't do if I want to live long and prosper.

So the discussion this raised was: Is Jack Lalanne dead?

The answer, of course, is no. He's busy selling juicers. Therefore I win. I'm going to make Mr. Dump, who thought Jack died 6 years ago, eat a PowerBar.

Penny Candy? Ha!

Dropped 20 bucks at the penny candy store, which means we spent about 4 bucks each. Not too bad, but still, it would have been nice to see things that were, oh, a penny.

I ended up with some Mike & Ikes, a thin Charleston Chew, Sixlets, Cowtails (like bullseyes) and Lik-M-Aid. Others got swedish fish, Sweettarts, jelly beans, ring pops, and assorted Sour Patch-kids type candy. And other stuff.

What's funny is that tomorrow Junior and I both have appointments for cleanings at the dentist. I'm glad he ate the blue lollipop last night because his lips and teeth and tongue were completely blue until this morning. I think I'd get in trouble with the hygenist.

Candy!

We're off to the penny candy store...so if you were going, what would you buy?

Heavens to Betsy, Where Did You All Go?

Man, you skip one day, and then forget to ping blogrolling, and your traffic drops into the toilet. Please, people, you have a moral obligation to stop by at least once a day, just so I know you're still out there. You are still out there, right? I see your eyes glowing in the dark.

This is going to sound stupid, but I'm proud of myself for setting up a 529 account AND getting it funded with direct deposit all by myself. I used the Fidelity.com website, filled in the form, and boom, account created. It was harder for us to set up a Savings account for Junior. (Oh I have to tell you, they made him sign the form...cutest damned thing ever to see his printed signature on a legal form. I should have asked for a copy of it. I laughed because 10 years from now, if they use that to check his signature, there may be a discrepancy.)

New Show I found very very funny: Cracking Up, the new Molly Shannon, Christopher MacDonald sitcom. I can't say enough about the treat it is watching scenes with the two of them together. Let me put it this way - Jack Black guest-starred as a scared-straight type drug prevention person, and he was nothing compared to Molly and Christopher. TiVo this one, kids.

I Want a Garage

Okay, which one of you is going to donate a garage to me? It's not a tax write-off, but you'd have the warm feeling that comes from keeping my car out of the snow, and giving Junior a place to store his bicycle. Every boy needs a garage for his bike, don't you think?

Snow Accumulation

I didn't actually handle the shovelling duties, so I'm not sure what we got, exactly. However, the very same weather website that yesterday said 6-10 inches? This morning I read "Total storm accumulations 12-18 inches." So I wasn't so far off with my "ha ha they stink" comment about accuracy yesterday. 6-10 is not the same as 12-18. I'm just saying.

Refilled Seeds

Poor little spring birdies are all atwitter at the sudden dumping of snow in these parts. I saw a couple of them struggling on my birdfeeder and realized that they'd cleaned it out. So now the feeder is refilled, and hopefully my little feathered friends won't feel the need to head back south. The snow is icky and a pain, but it will disappear fairly quickly. One hopes.

My headcold (a mild one) travelled to my chest last night. So far, I can deal with it, and it hasn't destroyed my voice. Yet. I play to drink lots of fluids and take things easy. I'd like this to be GONE.

Squatters - Get Out!

Can I just vent here? So we're expecting a snow storm. 2-4 inches by tonight, a total of 10 or so overall. We all know that means we could get a dusting to 2 feet of snow, because accuracy is an art form the local forecasters have yet to master.

Anyway, I got to work at the regular time, and headed for my regular parking space, which is in a fairly undesirable part of the parking garage, as far from the door as possible. I do that to make myself walk that much extra getting to and from the building.

When I normally get to work, there are maybe 5-8 other cars in that area. It's as close to an assigned space as you can get.

Until today. Damned if ALL THAT SECTION of the area isn't full of people who decided to avoid the snow by parking in the garage. And yes, I know it isn't MY parking garage, but please, I have parked there every day since last June! I have EARNED a space in that area! It's a danged good thing there was a space available, not in the exact area, but close.

But I think it stinks that people can freak and force out the regulars. Booger heads.

Warning - Weather Post

Look, I'm mundane. Deal.

So there's a winter storm watch in effect for tomorrow night through Wednesday. SIX TO EIGHT INCHES OF SNOW!

Words cannot express how much I am NOT thrilled. And I'm telling you, this just proves that there is a connection between Junior riding his bike and snow. Two Sundays ago he rode for the first time without training wheels and boom, snowed enough the next day to blanket the lawn (not so much the roads). And then white-out flurries on Friday.

So then he rode again this weekend because it warmed up and almost all the snow was melted... and now 6 to 8 inches are predicted. Actually, last night the Yahoo weather forecast had us down for snow on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Lord knows how much, but that's beside the point.

We Won't Be In The Front Row

On our way to Jordan's Furniture to go to their Imax theater (yes, for you out-of-towners, it is in fact the coolest furniture store ever - unlike the Boston Museum of Science, this one has a concession stand. 3D movies AND movie popcorn...and the soda fountain serves Barq's. It is nirvana) we heard the "concert alarm" for 104.5 so Mr. Dump and I dug out our cell phones and got dialing. All weekend if you were the right caller, you got Sting's newest CD and a chance to win front row seats to his concert at the Orpheum tonight. I saw sting a whole bunch of years ago at the Centrum with my friend Dave and it was UNBELIEVABLE. I really really wanted these front row tickets.

So me on my T-Mobile, him on his AT&T - I only got busy signals and he was caller 6, 10 and 14! Cripes, does the phone company play favorites? So he won the free CD, but this morning someone else won the front row seats. I hope she goes, cause if those seats remain empty I'll be one unhappy person.

The Biking Video(s)

Okay, one week later, he's an amazing little bike rider! I promised you some video, so here it is. First is last week, when he still needed daddy to help him out, and the 2nd is from today, when he was basically riding as if he was born doing it. So odd, how it just clicks for them, and suddenly they aren't wobbly or anything. Sure, his braking leaves something to be desired, but that's why we brought him to the middle school parking lot where he could practice without worrying about cars, other people, etc.

biking.wmv - the first lessons and then

bike2.wmv

Problem Solved

Tracked down the person and had a conversation and all is good. Man, did I ever feel like an ass for bringing the topic up. But it had to be done or I would have died from migraine-like headaches. Not cool.

[Editor - This eventually turns into a rant. You have been warned.]

I wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper yesterday, but they won't publish it unless I give them my phone number. They will then call me and say "Did you write blah blah blah" and I'll say yes and then they can print it if they want. The thing is, by the time they got to asking me for my phone number, some of the steam had burned out of me, and now I'm wondering if I should let them publish the letter. I enjoy writing them, in the heat of the moment, but then 6 or 12 or 24 hours later, you start wondering if you really want your letter in the local paper. I was ranting at some brainless wonders who had attended a prayer service against gay marriage. What really set me off was a woman who said something brilliant about there being male and female animals. Well, ya. So what? There are male and female people. Your point? Well, her point was that they pair up that way. Interestingly, the Daily Show JUST did a segment on gay penguins two nights ago. It's verified fact that some animals pick same-sex partners. My favorite exchange in the interview was
"Just because it happens in nature does not make it natural!"
"Uhhh...I think by definition, it actually does."

Some [mumble mumble] they later talked to actually said that "this is just propaganda. If you can believe that these are gay penguins, you're buying the gay agenda."

Are you kidding me? It's right there in front of his eyes, with no human intervention, and he's saying it's part of the gay agenda? This is like the joke about the guy in the flood who told rescuers in boats that God would save him, and when he dies and asks God why he didn't save him, God said "I sent three boats!"

You can show these people hundreds of examples like this (the zookeeper mentioned seals and monkeys too) and they'll be blind to it, because they refuse to see this as maybe, just maybe, that it's not "a decision."

Cripes. Sorry for the rant, but the Daily Show was too funny, and yet it ticked me off royally at the same time. And it goes perfectly with the "rally" they had in Fitchburg. *sigh*

To the Cologne-Wearers

Don't. Just don't. If you work in an office, for God's sake, don't. It's not subtle, it's not whatever you think it is. It reeks, and it invades my private air space and gives me a sinus headache.

Why you think you need to slather on perfume/aftershave/cologne is beyond me. You don't. If you are hiding something, some medical condition that makes you smell like feet, we can talk. But it is my studied belief that people who smell like feet are not the ones wearing cologne. No, those folks continue to merrily smell like feet. The ones with the cologne problem say "Oh, I smoke, I need it so I don't smell like cigarettes." I have news for you. Unless you store your clothes in an ashtray, the smell of smoke doesn't linger on you long enough for it to be an issue. And hey, I have another solution to your problem: quit smoking. Extend your life so you'll live to see your kids grow up and get to meet your grandkids.

And in the meantime, cut the crap with the perfume, okay?

Flying North For the Summer

Yesterday and again today I saw a lovely V-formation of geese flying north. Well, the formation was lovely, the geese, not so much. They must have been really ticked off to fly into a snow storm. Oh well, such is March in New England.

I can't stand Canada geese. They are so unbelievably messy. And dumb. And mean. They look great when they're flying, but have you ever seen the sheer quantity of goose poop these things produce? I've seen a pond "killed" because of all the goose poop. It made me angry.

I also worked in Waltham where they would wander into the middle of a three lane road, and because they are slow and walk one behind the other, either you stop and wait or you get nasty dead goose all over the grill.

A flock of them hung out near our building, and one day they trapped us in because the "leader" was dumber than a box of rocks and lead them into a corner and none of them would turn around and walk OUT of the corner. The glass acted like a mirror and they were fighting with their reflections. When we tried to open the door to leave, they'd all start hissing at us. What a way to end your day, trapped by angry, stupid geese.

One brave warrior finally found a broom (you'd be surprised how much stuff you don't have just lying around in an office building) and went out swinging. Phew. Saved from the evil hissing geese!

So that's my rant against geese for today.

Ocean-Front Rentals

Anyone out there have an ocean-front walk-to-the-beach rental available in late June? Anyone? Anyone?

Unknown Anne Frank Connection

While searching the web to find my dentist's phone number (you know, just in case *shudder*) I got a page that shows two of Anne Frank's maternal uncles lived in Leominster. I have no idea how long they lived here, if the way the page is written indicates they died here or what, but why was this never mentioned in school, when we were reading the book? I mean, I'd remember something like that!

I don't have time to look up any more information now, but if you do visit this page, could you give me your opinion of what it means that Leominster is in parenthesis after their names? Because that line talks about where they lived during the war, I was thinking it meant they lived here when they first came to the U.S.

I wonder if the Leominster Historical Society web page has anything on this?

Brought My Lunch Today

I packed myself a lunch today. I don't usually do that - I take advantage of the fairly decent, sometimes downright delicious, hot meals here at work. My lunch is usually less than $5.00, and it allows me to eat cereal for dinner and know that I had at least one good meal complete with veggies that day.

But I went grocery shopping yesterday and got some absolutely gorgeous strawberries, and this morning that was my inspiration to pack a lunch. That and having lunch meat and some potato rolls on which to place the lunch meat. There's nothing better than ham and cheese with Guldon's spicy brown mustard on a potato roll. So don't even try to discuss it with me.

Of course, now I'm nervous that they're going to be serving one of my favorite lunches today. If they are, what should I do? I should just eat what I packed, but you know I'll put the sandwich in the fridge and save it for tomorrow if they're serving either the chicken and sweet onion quesadillas, or that Tuscan pasta dish they started making a couple of weeks ago. Mmmmm.

Also, can someone please tell me why my tooth hurts? It's making me nervous.

We're Outside, Are You?

It's 45 and sunny and we are having fun today! It wasn't windy enough to fly kites today, which was a bummer, but we filled the kite-flying time with...Junior riding his bike without the training wheels! I got a lot of it on tape, so I may put a few frames up here on the site for you to enjoy...I just can't do it now because I promised I'd head back outside.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow, which really makes you appreciate the current temps.

MSN Search: clown toilet paper holder -- More Useful Everyday

I left this blog entry title the same as an MSN search results page title. The page in question, is on the topic of clown toilet paper holders. I don't have any, never did, and can safely say I never will. But someone out there is apparently looking for one, and for whatever reason, my site is a hit for this search phrase. Sir or Madame, might I suggest something in a more tasteful brass or ceramic? I'm just saying...

So I like the thought that a clown toilet paper holder is more useful everyday. I'm not sure what would make it more useful. It's going to pretty much be a toilet paper holder, right? Holds toilet paper? No other purpose? (Hey, this ought to push me right to the top of the MSN search results in a week or so.)

I'll be frank - I'm okay with just resting the roll right on the window sill. I know, I'm tacky and crass. But the windowsill is perfectly functional in that area. I mean, I have toilet paper holders in both bathrooms, but I'm not above using some that isn't on the holder.

How did this start again? Cripes, it must be Friday. And a rainy one at that. Junior wants to give the new kites a try tomorrow but it's not going to be kite weather, unless the definition of kite weather changed to include rain.

The Big DumpTruck -- More Useful Everyday

Dear White Trash,

If you can't afford to leave the waitress a tip, don't take your three children (I think they were all yours, none of them looked like you) out to a restaurant to eat. Period. I know it was only Friendlies, but I'm guessing that you could rustle up Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and French Fries for a bit less money than you paid for your youngest daughter's meal.

When you jumped up out of the booth with your food in your hand and your kids had to figure out how to carry all their stuff, I asked Mr. Dump if he thought you were leaving or just moving to another table, because your movements seemed a bit unusual. Three minutes later the waitress came to clear and stated to the hostess, who was seating someone else, "I got stiffed again."

I hope to God she only meant the tip. If you bolted on the whole bill, you are doing worse than stealing, you are teaching three children that it's an okay thing to do. It's not like the waitress makes a fortune, it's Friendlies for goodness sake.

I am not going to comment at all about the makeup of your family, my thoughts about your situation, or what have you. None of my business, and I'm sure there are plenty of similar families who have decent values. But I'd better never see you eating with your kids in another restaurant I'm in, or I *will* say something to you. Loudly.

And I gave the waitress a $5 tip on a $20 check to make up some of the difference, because she works too hard for her $2 an hour, and it's not her fault you are a total loser.

Angrily,

The person in the next booth

Public Service Announcement

Start at the dessert table first. There will always be casserole left, but someone might grab the last mini eclair before you, if you don't grab it first.

==Mini Commercial Mode==

For those of you who originally got to my site from my articles on about.com, Mary Shomon's new book, Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia was released yesterday. If you are wondering if your symptoms point to CFS or Fibromyalgia, there's a warning sign list at her newest website, Living Well With CFS and Fibromyalgia. Go buy the book. I'll wait here until you get back.

==Commercial Off==

If anyone out there owns a Sony MiniDV camcorder, could you drop me a line about how easy/hard it was to get the video off the MiniDV onto your hard drive for editing? I'm interested in the "additional costs", things like cables, software, and, as it appears, a digital i.Link port (IEEE 1394) for the computer.

New Art

I have a new piece of art in my cubicle...it's a drawing of a frog from famous artiste Junior.

My cubicle art rulz.

p.s. If you don't hear from me for a while, it's because the Girl Scout Cookies have arrived.

Happy Switch the Calendar Day!

Time to change the page on all the calendars in your life. Today we have a picture of a maple sugar house, steaming away out in the middle of the woods. Can you just smell it? I can.

We took Junior to a farm where they were sugaring, but he was less than interested. They had geese and chickens in a pen nearby and that was FAR more interesting.

The write-up for this picture says that this photo was taken in Ashfield MA, and it was once the center of the peppermint industry. Huh? Get out! For the whole country? That's cool. Something to maybe do a little research on, anyway. Massachusetts ranks 8th among the major maple sugar producing states. I would have put us higher than that, but there you go. I wouldn't guess we were higher than Vermont, NH and Maine, and I know my friend's grandfather used to make maple sugar in upper New York state.

Damn. Now I want some waffles.