Fleabit

With all the rain we've been having, it's no surprise the bugs are out in full force, especially the fleas. A couple of weeks ago I sprayed the yard. We kept the dog inside for a few hours while the grass dried. Trouble was, the sprinkles and intermittent rain made it a tough call as to when to let the dog out to pee.
Pepper likes to run the length of the fence barking at the Chihuahuas next door. Seriously, the dogs are good friends, they just play loudly. Of course Pepper ran under a few bushes and a early the next morning I had a hint things weren't going well for him. He couldn't hold his bowels for anything. Plus, he was foaming at the mouth. We took him into the vet who gave him a steroid and some heartworm medicine. He literally got better over a 12 hour period. Whew!

Demon Dog hates fleas!

Now the only problem is the fleas.
He loved his bed, but those nasty buggers took over his bedding and no amount of spraying and washing will convince him to try it again. I can't blame him.
One of my wife's friends suggested we give him a bath using Dawn dishwashing soap. Desperate and willing to do anything to ease his suffering, we tried it. I put on a bathing suit, picked him up and carried him into the tub. My eldest daughter and I gave him the best bath of his life.
Dozens, if not a few hundred fleas died in the soapy water. As soon as the Dawn hit his fur, the fleas popped off of him. My best guess is it interferes with their breathing. And you know how the saying goes; later, rinse, repeat.
After drying him off, I checked. Unfortunately there were still a few bugs on him, but noticeably less so.
Today we did the same thing again. I've noticed he's more relaxed. Checking him once more after his bath, I didn't see any fleas. It's been a few hours and he's been outside to relieve himself. I'm sure their are a few bugs on him.
I'm going to keep looking for other methods of flea control, but I thought I'd pass this along. It's cheaper than those foo-foo shampoos that promise flea control and it does a better job.
This might become our new weekly thing.   

It's the attitude

People have accused me of having a superiority complex. On the one hand, that's simply not true. I'm no better than my neighbors. But I like to stay busy and I can see why people might think I've got my nose up in the air. Generally I don't focus on the bad stuff that would bring me down.
Once upon a time a co-worker remarked to me, 'I don't like you, but you are good at what you do.' She said this in front of a group of people in the break room.
To which I replied, 'It's a good thing I'm not holding out for universal popularity.' There isn't a right answer to that. Don't get mad, don't get upset. Oh, no! This person doesn't like me? Perhaps it's the way we're wired.
Several people tried to warn my wife about me when we were dating. One day I'd like to meet those people who tried to discourage us from falling in Love. With the biggest smile I can muster I'd spread my hand out and touch my nose with my thumb all while blowing the biggest raspberry.
You see, if the universe worked properly, the hardest working people would be rich and famous. Personally I've met people who have the hardest jobs, the toughest lives. Hell, I think I'm in that group. In fact, there is a possibility I'm one of the founding members of the hard life crowd.
Like a very wise person once said, 'You've got to live with what you can't rise above.'
We have to make our own luck. Our greatness largely depends on our attitude. Every so often I meet a person and they remind me of who I was. This one person told me almost word for word what I once said a long time ago. The words echoed back to me over the decades.
"It can't be done."
"I wish it were that way."
"Why can't (insert name here) stop being a jerk to me."

Here goes, in order then.
It will be impossible until a person comes along and does it.
You can sit back and wish for a thing to happen, or you can go out and make it happen. That lawn isn't going to mow itself.
Generally, people wake up and do not want to kick puppies. A person is more or less self-centered and selfish. The degree of conceit varies, but I find it's a good yard stick. You are evil if you put your selfish desires above other people. The CEO's of Wal-Mart come to mind along with every bank president I ever heard of.
It's the difference between the jerk who cut you off and the one who gave you the right of way at the intersection.
The first guy could of been late to work or on his way to the hospital. He also could have been a rude asshole who wanted to get from point A to point B right away. Stop signs are more along the lines of a suggestion for them.
Those guys are the ones that think they're better than everyone else. The rules don't apply to them. Now that is a true superiority complex.
What got me thinking along these lines? This.
Ah, karma.

A little something to write about

Went to see the Mad Max movie and it did, and did  not, disappoint. No spoilers from me. Visually it rocked me. I had to fight the urge not to drive like Max on the way home. Although I'm thinking about installing spikes and a grill on my truck...
The craptions, I mean captions, cut out 2/3rds of the way into the movie. This time the unit I had simply ran out of juice. I talked to the manager and told her how to clean the contacts to get a full recharge out of the damn thing.
Way to go, Regal Cinemas. Your record of 50% success is secure. Every other movie I go to has problems, but still, you guys are the only theaters in town with open captioning. Sure, wi-fi has opened up the movie experience to the deaf, but there are still a lot of glitches in the system. When I went to see the Avengers, the device didn't work. Well... I got part of the previews, but nothing after that. Since then I've learned to sit on the end of the row near the door so I can run out and get a unit that works/or is fully charged.
Needless to say I missed the first three minutes of the Avengers. 
Getting angry and yelling wouldn't have solved anything and I told her that, but I let her know without raising my voice that I was furious with them. My restraint was something to proudly behold. Call it passive-aggressive but I'm taking this to a higher court. I'm going to write the corporate offices. In the mean time I'm just going to write about it. I want my deaf friends reading this blog to know that you will only get an enjoyable movie experience from Regal Cinemas half the time. Worse if they don't properly recharge their devices. Trial by public opinion Regal Cinemas. You asked for it.
The manager did give me two passes to see the movie again, but at this time I'm not sure if I will go. Perhaps it's best to see the movie when it comes out on DVD. At least there I know the captions won't fail.

the ol' switcheroo

Bait and Switch. Last minute substitution. You have no life, deal with it. 
Ever hear these expressions before?
Yesterday I got the news. That day off I had coming? Forget about it. The whole store got pulled in to work Memorial day weekend, myself included. I'll only have one day off this week. Trying to appease me, they said I could have next Friday off.
I'm whining, I know.
I was really looking to spend time with my family this weekend. Contrary to what my bosses think, I have a life!
I found a recipe to make cider and I'm going to give it a try soon. When are you coming to visit again, Oversomnia?

Back to normal?

It's now been two days since we got back to town. Forty-eight hours. I'm almost caught up on the sleep I'd missed over the weekend. In a few minutes I'm going to get the wife and head to bed.
All my family is under one roof again. Musketeer number one cooked dinner. The fact that it's gone is testament to her culinary skills. I've got to start planning for Memorial Day. The grill needs a serious cleaning before I put anything on it.
Every year, we have a 'You bring it, I'll grill it.' sort of holiday.
Musketeer number two casually remarked with teenage snark, that I needed to talk about different things.
Despite my wife's belief that I have a one track mind, a lot of things actually get my attention. Now holding that attention is a different thing.
I am a self confessed Nerd and Geek. Proud to bear the title and scoffing when people don't get a Monty Python reference. One of my proudest achievements on my parenting resume is that my daughters are all things geeky and nerdy. A recent peek at their iPod audio tracks has sci-fi drinking songs next to Iggy Azeala.
Wanting to know what my daughters listen to even though I can't hear what's going on is a tricky business.
With that intro, I present the Doubleclicks.
Two sisters, Angela and Aubrey Webber, write some pretty fun stuff. Okay, I'm reading the titles of the songs. Spock impersonator? Internet National Anthem? Worst superpower ever?
Just perusing their web page I gathered some interesting observations.
The girls are very intelligent and highly creative. They are doing this without a major label backing them. The Doubleclicks are geek girls and proud of it. I think they're awesome.
I'll just leave you with this.
They're great role models for my girls. I found out they're playing up in Austin at Dragons lair tomorrow and I'm seriously trying to figure out how to get the girls up there.

Ugh!

We made it home after a killer drive. In the past I've always had respect for the long haul truckers. That appreciation has greatly increased these last few days. So if you know a trucker, Thank them. The stamina it takes to drive over vast distances is truly remarkable. Now I know I'm not up for that task.
The leg up to Colorado was dark and rainy. My wife and I switched off regularly if one of us felt tired in any way. Knowing that neither of us were fully rested was unnerving enough. We were taking a route we've never taken before so the road conditions were dubious. Add to the fact that storms up in the panhandle are impressive and frightening at the same time. It was sobering enough knowing one mistake and they'd pull your body from the wreckage in a few days. Ambulance time response is measured in hours out there. That thought alone is enough to make me drive even more cautiously than I did. More than once I reminded my wife not to outrun the headlights. If a deer or hog strayed onto the road, there would be no time to swerve or react. Our trip would end before properly beginning. Confession time: I did see a frog jump out of the way and a jackrabbit decided to play chicken with us the following morning. Thankfully, we didn't hit anything.
Playing Tetris all those years ago gave me good practice for what lie ahead.

Packed to the gills

Memo to me: Next time have her mail whatever can be boxed up before hand.
Who needs rear view mirrors? We managed with the side mirrors for the return trip.

She had no wriggle room

We got her dorm room cleaned out just before the electronic locks were to change. If any boxes were left inside after twelve noon, than that was too bad. Well, I'm sure we would have gotten an R.A. to unlock things, but that would have been a lot of trouble. 
My friends warned me of snowfall in Denver recently. I cautiously kept an eye out for bad weather and hoped for the best. There were a few patches on the ground, but most of it had melted, so I felt optimistic.
A few hours later we made it to Red River, New Mexico, and rented a cabin. Unbeknownst to us, bikers were starting to ride in. 
Memorial day weekend and bike rallies. When did they become synonymous?
My mind told me it was the middle of May. My eyes had a visual update: Snow and sleet flurries.

I think that video got embedded into this post. Here's a pic of one of the mountains the next morning.

A light dusting

Nothing stuck. Just chilly enough to wear the jacket you had the foresight to pack. Coming down it was certainly pretty. I'm especially grateful the cabin had a wood stove. We had dinner next to a cozy fire while white flakes drifted down outside the window.
Memories like that are the ones that will stick with you for the remainder of your days.
The shops in this quiet little hamlet were closed for the most part on Sunday morning. We left shortly after seven in the morning and had breakfast and pinion coffee in nearby Taos.
In my travels, I try and look for the silver lining... the good and interesting stuff that turns the journey into an adventure.
The morning we packed Musketeer number one's dorm, we had breakfast at the Campus Cafe. Not only do they serve an awesome breakfast, they have cinnamon rolls the size of your head. There are pictures up in that link to show I'm not exaggerating.
In Red River I'd like to give a shout out where we stayed, The Three Bears lodge. A family owned business that fits my idea of a perfect vacation stay. They certainly lived up to everything I could possibly have hoped for. The people were friendly. The cabin was perfect. Inviting as the pictures look, they don't do it justice. It was that good.
My wife hinted on our way back to San Antonio that we should take a vacation and do the tourist thing in New Mexico. I'm not opposed to that. In fact, I think it's a wonderful idea. The trip would have to be carefully planned, there's so much to do depending on what time of year you wanted to visit.
This post is perhaps long, but I wanted to get it out of my brain before it evaporates completely.
The drive back took a little over fifteen hours. Since I am at my best during daylight hours, I took the first thirteen hour stint. My body, especially the legs, are paying the price. 
I'm fighting to stay awake as I type this. The wife wanted to see Albuquerque on the way back. It was only a little out of our way and I had an ulterior motive: I wanted to avoid the smell of the Texas Panhandle if I could. I'd forgotten how bad the sulfurous rotten egg odor permeates everything. We came down interstate 285 that went through Roswell and Carlsbad before hooking up to I-10 in Fort Stockton. The trip itself would't have been bad at all if we weren't so short on time. The wife had to be back in San Antonio to teach her class this morning. For my part I had to empty the rental and return it. As much as I hated to admit it, I had to call in. My mental facilities and sleep deprived body weren't in any condition to do what I normally do during the week. My ego did write a check my body couldn't cash.
Sleep is in my future.
One last note: When planning a trip using your phone for a map, the shortest route isn't always the best way. Last year when I dropped the kid off for college, we ended up on a cattle trail winding through the back country of someone's property. Shortest route as the crow flies? Possibly. Can you fit a car on the road or go more than fifteen miles an hour at a stretch? It's best to stick to the major highways as much as possible. At least I didn't go over any cattle guards and have to drive through a herd of cows like last year.

The Thrill is gone

Awoke this morning to find out B.B. King passed away last night.
Rain poured down from the sky as if it knew what occurred in the night.
Seems it is raining the whole world over.
I am fortunate to have heard him play. There are even a couple of his songs in my collection. He was one of the greats. We shall miss him as the King becomes legend.

twas the night before the road trip

Not sure if putting this out for all to see is a good idea, but here goes. Tonight I alternate between packing and doing laundry in preparation for the drive. I'm going to go get the rental around noon and pick up the wife as soon as she get's out of class.

From there it's straight out of town for the weekend. With luck and a dedicated copilot, we should get to Alamosa, Colorado by Saturday morning. Musketeer number two and three will keep the dog company and try not to get into any trouble. (for certain values of the word 'trouble'.) Well, let's hope the police or fire departments are not involved.

This is not an invitation for my daughters to step out of line any further than they already do. There will be no parties, no friends coming over to say hi. There's no way I can enforce that statement. Simply put; there is no rule that can't be gotten around. I have to trust my child's judgement. Raising them right is one thing, being given the opportunity to demonstrate the faith we have in them is part and parcel of growing up.

I believe they will do the right things. I've stocked the fridge with their favorite foods and snacks. All the precautions have been taken. There is simply no need for them to get out of bed this weekend. One has to trust.

Now that's out of the way, I'm going to call them every few hours. I'm also going to have friends and neighbors keep an eye out for trouble.

I trust my kids. They will behave pretty much like I did when I was their age, which means:

If there is a party, the house will be cleaner than when I left it.

I'm also going to count the number of mead bottles I have in my wine rack.

35. 

There are thirty-five bottles.

Trusting my daughters is easy. Trusting their friends and people who visit is another story.

The early test

Officially, the summer season kicks off Memorial day weekend, the last week of May. That's all well and good, but we're getting an early start.

Yesterday I put my summer batch of beer together and I'm watching it closely to see if it decides to start to ferment. Nothing happened in the first 24 hours, that's when it's supposed to kick start like a Harley-Davidson. So I added some more yeast and it is now starting to bubble.

It'll be a short work week for me. The wife and I will be driving up to Colorado to retrieve our eldest musketeer. I want to say it'll be fun, but there's a bit of work and hustle involved. The way we have it blocked off for time leaves little margin for error. Also there is little room for sleep. The way I figure it, the wife and I will trade off and tag-team drive. It's a bitch, but we've done it before. All this for love of our child. 

With the hectic pace I've led this past month, I should be racking up some serious karma. We're starting to get more on an even keel at work. They hired some help to take the pressure off of me. We'll see how it turns out.

The past comes up

By and large, I ignore reality shows. They are amusing for about five minutes... maybe. My life is interesting enough, thank you very much. In my mind the equation goes like this: People who watch reality shows are trying to live through those of us who do have a life.
My kids watch The Voice, I go into the next room to read or type a blog entry. Problem solved.
The other night my daughter comes in saying; 'You've got to see this.' She drags me in front of the TV.
One of the contestants, Amanda Brown, was singing Dream On, by Aerosmith. The girl looked like she was really into it. As the lyrics scrolled by on the bottom of the screen, I felt the eyes getting moist. In my mind I heard Steven Tyler belting out the tune, but here was this drop dead gorgeous girl giving a stellar performance.
I don't know what she did differently, but she did all the right things. The thought occurred to me; 'I hope Steven Tyler is watching this.'
The past is gone. Here was another reminder of my old life. I'll never know how well Mrs. Brown sings. The only way to tell will be by the audience reactions. After a point, it's all personal opinion and taste.
Truly I wish her well.
As I make my way in this life, I try not to dwell on the other life so long ago. Everything past a certain point is behind a veil. There's a definite break between the old and new me. All the stuff I remember might as well have been another person. In one respect, I was watching a reality show for the first thirty years of my life. A turn of the head, a glance in another direction and a new person walks away. I'm not better or worse than the other guy, just different.

Posting an afterward

Now that the dust has settled, I'd like to point out something that came to my attention last night.
Tim Duncan and Chris Paul go way back.
I can't find the exact website I saw yesterday, but I got a transcript of what was said between the two.
We all support our home teams, but what we have to remember is that a lot of these guys are friends. The rivalry only exists in the imagination of the fans.
Sure I wanted the Spurs to win the championship. We all want to see our favorite team do good. It validates our investment in them.
Despite beating us (it was a great game.), one has to respect the Clippers for giving a class act performance.
Their coach, Doc Rivers, once played for the Spurs. It appears he learned his lessons well from his former coach. The student succeeding the master and all that...
And just for the record: I don't believe that was the last we're going to see from Tim Duncan.
We'll get the ring next year guys.

A quick note

Some really fascinating things scrolled across my screen this week and I wanted to touch base upon them, but the Spurs lost to the Las Angeles Clippers by two points. They were neck and neck for the entire game with neither team taking a commanding lead. For the last three minutes of the game I thought they were heading to over time. Sadly, that is not the case. There is only one thing to say about the power forward for the Clippers: Blake Griffin, you're on my list.
With it being six weeks out before my vacation, I've collected most of the ingredients to make my summer beer. The remaining items will wait until next week when I put the batch together.
The new Avengers movie came out yesterday and I urge all of you to see it. The opportunity to see it with my family arrived with the Saturday matinee. No spoilers or anything resembling giving away the plot from me. My daughter tells me the soundtrack rocked. (The Avengers have a theme song? Who knew?) I'm going to catch it again simply because there was so much going on, I'm pretty sure I missed stuff. There was a minor incident with the open captioning. Near as I can tell, the battery for the unit crapped out at the beginning of the movie. Running back to the box office, I went into bad temper mode for a few seconds to get a fully charged unit. Those things pinch my head and nose anyway, so I better get a damn good movie along with the Tylenol moment I'll be having afterwards.
Right. On to the space stuff. The good folks over at NASAspaceflight.com have been testing an electro-magnetic drive that has far reaching implications. In short, it is an engine that doesn't rely on propellant.
Think about that for a second. The reason our MESSENGER spacecraft crashed into Mercury is that it ran out of fuel. What would that mean to the design of craft if we didn't have to haul rocket propellant around? To this end, various agencies around the world have been testing and peer reviewing the EM engine. In fact, NASA has been testing the engine in a hard vacuum. If tests are confirmed, it would be possible to go a fraction of the speed of light. (okay, 9% is a bit small, but still...)
This could literally open up the system to mankind. A trip to Mars would only take around 70 days, as opposed to 150 to 300 days it would normally take. Nine months to get to Saturn. We could get to Alpha Centauri in under 100 years.
In just sixty-six years we went from the first airplane flight in 1903 to the first lunar landing in 1969. Where will we be in the next fifty years?
We've been sputtering on the ground since the the dawn of the Space Age. Doing stuff in Low Earth Orbit is great and all, but that really wasn't our best effort. We've sent robotic emissaries to our neighbors and while that seems to be all well and good, we could have been doing more. Perhaps that's my opinion, but we should have gone back to the moon years ago.