Filled with Fear and Trepidation

Aw geez, here we go...... I'm leaving on an annual trip to Northern California tomorrow morning. The weather, to date, has been just fine, for weeks. It all ends today, there's a major winter storm pounding Northern and Central California right now. I'm going to 7000' elevation, snow level's supposed to drop to 4000' (!). Oh man, this is gonna suck, I can see it coming........

Oh, BTW, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just Kickin' Around the House

Hey, good morning! Just kickin' it around the house today, am LOVING the slow time around the holidays. It's about time we had a slowdown at the bus company! I'm sure there's already drivers worrying and fretting about the suddenly-reduced income right at Christmas, but not this boy! I am going to go hike the mountain this morning, guess it's time to get my ass in gear. BTW, my weight's down to 156 now..... Have a great day!

Life in the fast lane

A month or so ago, I sprung for Cox Communication's "Premier" high-speed Internet service, with an advertised rate of "up to 9Mb/sec". Well, it *was* noticeably quicker, and downloads were faster, but I wasn't quite getting the "kick" I'd hoped for. I looked at my cable modem, and went, "hmmmm, that sucker's about 6 years old now". Did some looking online, and came to realize my modem was quite obsolete. After reading some reviews, I came to the conclusion that the Motorola SB5120 looked like the best bet. Furthermore, I read a posting to a forum somewhere, where a guy said, print off the online ad from Wal-Mart, where they have it posted for $57.57, bring it to Circuit City, have them do the 105% price match, buy the modem for $55, then print out the rebate offer from them for $20 off, and mail it in. Net price= $35! I did exactly, that, it's hooked up and running great, noticed an immediate speed increase. I'm a happy guy..........

The posting below

What's with the tiny print in the posting below? Simple, Blogger doesn't allow cut-and-paste from another application (I now know this...) and I'd typed out the letter in Word, to be uploaded later. I *really* didn't want to retype the entire thing, so I did a "capture" and converted it to a JPG, which I then uploaded. Great, except Blogger wouldn't make it big enough. GRRR, I give up. Read it if you can, consider it a vision check (grin).

Great Cholesterol Numbers

Family and friends are pretty familiar with my battles with my cholesterol numbers, a heredity predisposition I contend with. Well, it's been an up-and-down battle, with me making big efforts to reduce my slightly-overweight body and increasing my exercise, resulting in great results, followed by "resting on my laurels" for a while, getting a little sloppy, eating the wrong food, and watching the numbers creep up again. As mentioned in an earlier post, the wife and I started on the South Beach Diet about 6 weeks ago. We've stuck to it, and my weight has dropped from ~178 to ~160. VERY impressive. Even more impressive were my cholesterol numbers, at the dooctor's office today. Total cholesterol= 132! Amazing! LDL=59 Off the charts! HDL=61, very acceptable, and Triglycerides=60 Incredible! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic, and am reinforcing my need to watch the recidivism.

Good for the Sanity

I guess every job has its redeeming features; if the bus driving career has one at all (grin), it has to be the ability to request a "block" of days off when it's relatively slow, like, say, over Thanksgiving! I'd requested Wednesday thru Sunday off, with several events planned with family. Not only did I get the days off, I got today, Monday, as a "bonus". I was scheduled to work today, but the run cancelled. Of course, even then, sometimes they get you. There's SPAB class today at work, and I really need the hours (10 hrs a year). I *SUPPOSE* I really ought to get down there :(

Geez, dunno what to do with all the time...

Got the days off I'd requested, hurray! It's Tuesday now, I'm driving an empty bus (not even any seats in it) up to a business in Gardena that fabricates new seats. I return to San Diego with the new seats, where the shop installs them. Pretty easy day, no guff from any passengers (grin).

A Day Off!!!!

Damn, I turned 82 hours in one week! That was *incredible*. Also extremely unwanted! Oh well, I guess I can coast this week, with a little cooperation from dispatch. Would be fine with me, I've put in for "off" from Thu to Sun. We'll see............
Time to go hike a mountain!

Success with the South Beach Diet

Many of you know Jacqueline and I have been fighting our weight with the South Beach Diet. It's been nearly 3 weeks, here's the results so far: My weight was ~180, is down to 165! Jacque's has fallen proportionately (she only weighs 2/3 my weight). So, are we happy about these numbers? You'd better believe we are! I want to lose about another 10 pounds, would lkike to be 155 again (my driver's license still says that, but I haven't weighed 155 in 10 years). Even with the bus company working my ass off, I've continued to "work my own ass off" (grin) at the same time. It's difficult, because there's constantly food being offered to me in this job. It takes a lot of discipline to NOT eat some of the stuff being offered. Today, I was asked if I'd like this really yummy looking chocolate muffin. Nope, I said, thank you anyway. But, I gotta admit, it *did* look good!
I'm involved in a "marathon" day, 16 hours long, to be followed by another long one tomorrow. Let me put it to you this way... tomorrow's the end of the FIRST week of my 2-week pay period. I'll have around 80 hours as of tomorrow evening ***GRRRRRRR***. I DON'T LIKE working this much!!!!

"Welcome Back, Scotter"

Remember that 70's show, "Welcome Back, Kotter"? Well, the title of this post is a toungue-in-cheek variation of that (grin). It's my version of what the boss and dispatch were saying when I came back after my 1-month hiatus. Know how they show their thankfulness that I'm back? By piling the hours on me, that's how!!! I'll put up with this for a *short* while, then the shit's gonna hit the fan............
Right now I'm sitting in Central L.A., have a Sociology group that's been running me all over the L.A. basin. We've been to Watts, South Central, a protest in West L.A., now lunch in Central L.A., then to Homeless City in downtown L.A. (I can hardly wait.....). After that, Olvera Street, then back home to SDO. WHEW! I'll sleep good tonight. I *do* have tomorrow off, but pay for it, in spades, on Monday. Oh well, I didn't want a "life" anyway......
Jacqueline and I are planning a FULL day tomorrow, getting out of San Diego for the day. Have to pack enough fun into one day, that's all I'm gonna see for the next week-plus, I'm afraid. Oh well, *tomorrow*, I have a LIFE!

Rain in San Diego

Yup, it's raining outside today, geez, I'm REALLY looking forward to going to Tijuana in the rain (grin). Yeah, "International Travel" is in my job description. If you can call Tijuana "International". Oh well, my alarm just went off, telling me it's time to pack this laptop up and get ready for work. It's not just a job, it's an adventure...............

Apparently, being gone on vacation hasn't cost me anything.... I had over 50 hours in at work, 5 days after returning. Guess I'll be looking forward to *next* vacation, haha. Today, while at NASSCO (National Steel & Shipbuilding) here in San Diego, I was doing a US Navy shuttle, and had a little downtime. Was looking out over San Diego Bay, which was about 20 feet away. The temp was ~70 degrees, the sun was out, there was a light breeze, and the harbor was beautiful. I was reminded once again of what a beautiful place I live in. Just helps to get that reminder now and then.
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After a lot of frustration with Linux, the "alternative" operating system for computers, I finally found a GOOD backup program. The problem's been, simply put, that Linux is WAY too easy to screw up! You go to install a program, and with Linux, it's part of a "package" of "dependencies", other files that are necessary. And maybe aren't compatible with the current files on your computer. So, what can happen is, it just *removes* all the files that lack compatibility, right off your computer!! Suddenly, you're left with a shell of an operating system. Until now, I haven't been successful running Linux backup programs. In fact one of them hosed my system one time. So, I tried a different tactic. Found a Windows program that recognizes a Linux partition. I dual-boot on that computer anyway, so why not? It works flawless! So now I can backup before doing any major installations. Life is good [GRIN].

Well, the Blog is alive again! I'm currently sitting in Redlands, CA, east of San Bernardino, waiting on a wedding party I brought up from San Diego. They are certainly having a grand time of it *grin*. I cruised a few miles back into Redlands just because having a tour bus in a residential neighborhood isn't the best idea. As it is, all the neighbors came out to gawk when I arrived. That was pretty humorous!