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GRAFFITI -- December 27, 2010 thru January 02, 2011

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Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.



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MONDAY    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
December 27, 2010

Wait for it ....

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Mon    TUESDAY    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
December 28, 2010

2201 - Hey. Still hacking up half-a-lung, but overall I'm feeling much better, thanks. I had a busy, full day at the office yesterday, taking a new piece of gear live integrating it with some older stuff. Fun, good plan, but nail-biting until it works at the end of the day. And it did. Work at the end of the day, I mean.

I've blown through the holiday gift cards, too. Stuff is wending its way from Amazon (Censorship Central, at least when you're talking Kindle, which I ain't) and Sweet Maria's (Caffeine Central, Happy Joy!!). Yesterday, I got my copy of The Best of Larry Niven, a collection put out by Subterranean. That was pre-ordered back in October. But before I dive into that pool, I want to finish reading Destroyer of Worlds. That and I have a short demo/construction project that needs doing downstairs. Pictures and details as the work gets done.

Now, some reading. Ciao!

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Mon    Tues    WEDNESDAY    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
December 29, 2010

1956 - Hey, look at that! I wrote a post yesterday, but it sat here on my screen, all night and through the day. I *could* have posted it from work, but what I wrote wasn't saved, as such. So a rewrite was in order, and I had a busy day at work. Instead, I came home, saved that, then started writing this. Just as well, really.

Sadly, part of this day was spent talking with the vet about Molly's suite of problems. It's time, we think, to send her along. So tomorrow evening we're going to take Molly to the vet for the last time. Her bad days outnumber her good days, and she's got that aggressive new growth on her jaw, which started bleeding yesterday. That plus hips and vision and lumps and liver ... it's time. Last year, I had paid for and was waiting for Lucy's new dog tag to come when she stroked. Earlier this year, the vet lost Molly's collar. I "neglected" to replace her license tag, out of an abundance of superstition. Last week, I paid for Molly's new tag ... and here we go. Dog license tags are definitely bad for dogs.

Also, I'm on call for the next week. Three day weekend, though, so that's something to look forward to. Ciao!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
December 30, 2010

1942 - Molly's moved on.

Molly, wave buh-bye.

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
December 31, 2010

2229 - Well, there goes another year. And as noted yesterday evening, there goes another dog. A year and two days after Lucy, we sent Molly on to join her in the land of slow bunnies and bacon ice cream. Lexi is a young dog and we hope not to have this sort of heart-breaking activity for more than a decade.

Current listening: Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, "Pastoral" ... good gentle music for a day like this.

This has been a full year for me. I've taken and gotten A's in six classes at UMUC. Two more years to go at the current pace. This year I "discovered" Cheri Priest and her fine book Boneshaker, and enjoyed the follow-on novel: Clementine. Her Dreadnought is on my list for the upcoming year, after I get though the incoming batch of Iain M. Banks Culture novels. I also read some Charlie Stross work, and enjoyed that, too!

In February, we had Snowmageddon! About 27 inches in our back yard in the first 36 hours, and another 18 or 20 inches a few days later. Me and my prius were the Saint Bernard equivalent, skating from home to Columbia to work and around, because I was plowed out, and my cow-orkers were not. Fun, really, but then we didn't lose power at home.

I refinished two upstairs rooms between March and May, moving Marcia's sewing and fabric rooms downstairs, and making the two "spare" bedrooms upstairs into a guest bedroom and an exercise room with a pull-out futon for further guests. Lots and lots of spackle and sanding - and this time I installed the bamboo floors instead of paying someone else a thousand bucks to do it. We're pretty pleased with the results, overall.

Also in March, we got our fourth rescue dog, Alexis "Lexi" Kay, a 15 pound chipuggle. A few months after we said goodbye to Lucy, Marcia decided she wanted another small dog to have around the house as a lap dog, with a secondary role of keeping Molly company (or antagonized, as it turned out, not that Molly minded much).

We had a lovely trip to Paris in August, joining my siblings, their families and my folks to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Fun in museums and boats and buses, wonderful company, great weather, fantabulous food - we could not have asked for a nicer time!

In the Fall, I built a table around a piece of NHL board glass. Pictures here.

More stuff happened, from surgeries on Molly and Marcia to other fun stuff, but those are the high points of my year. I prefer to dwell on the high points, I think. Be well, and Happy New Year. Ciao!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    SATURDAY    Sun   
January 1, 2011

No Post......

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    SUNDAY  
January 2, 2011

2108 - Good evening. Only 356 shopping days until Christmas, so now you're warned. Our hearts go out to Isabelle and Phillipe, who lost their mum not long ago (we just heard the news). Today was a quiet day around here. I got the shopping done, and made a dent in the pile of periodicals. Supper out at Mi Hacienda was yummy, as always. Facing the first 5-day work week in a while, but at least I only have three more nights of on-call duty.


Our condolences in this New Year to the families and units of these fallen warriors.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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