Well, it's December and we still have no President. Ok, technically, we do. For better or for worse, Texas Governor George (Dubya) Bush is the President-Elect of the United States of America. Al Gore just won't admit it. The minute Florida certified their results, Bush won. I don't believe challenging this in court is the best thing to do for America, but since when did that matter? Thank you, Mr. Gore for proving to this nation and our neighbors that we can't anything without a lawyer and a lot of whining.

Had a good night at Volleyball this week. Every single game was close, coming right down to the final point. I don't mind losing when everyone is playing their best and the games are tight. We ended up splitting the night. We lost a team member, since she moved out west this week. I'll miss her. A very consistent player and a nice person. We have a replacement lined up when play resumes next week.

I got a phone call from a new neighbor on Wednesday night for a spontaneous get together. He and I went out for some drinks and dinner at a local bar. It's nice to be able to walk there. I got home in time to watch South Park. They did a remake of "Great Expectations" starring Pip, the little Englishboy.

Band practice got moved to Thursday, so I made plans to drive from there directly to church. I'm glad I was a little late for church, since the annual Victorian Walk took place in Saratoga last night. There wasn't any parking to be had anywhere near the bars. Since I was late, I found one as a group of folks (dressed eerily like the characters in the previous night's South Park) climbed into a not very victorian SUV and vacated the town. Band practice was a lot of fun. We worked through 16 songs that are really sounding tight. We worked a little more on our original song. It's very funky and fun to play. I think folks will like dancing to it.

I might go to New York City to see a band tomorrow night. I'll probably have to go alone. If it's a nice day, it would be perfect for a road trip. We'll see what happens.

Normally, this would go into the links section, but the articles are so good that I have to mention them here. Hunter S. Thompson is writing for ESPN Online. Check out his columns, titled "Hey, Rube!"

This month's photograph is from work. This is my view, day after day. Cartman lives on top of my monitor along with a stupid plastic whistle, a slightly damaged rubber computer, and a Tazmanian Devil Pez dispenser.

The Linkfest

Saw The Grinch on Friday night. I'm glad that I saw it. I really liked it. Jim Carrey did a great job and didn't overpower the character at all. There were so many funny scenes. I think the DVD for this film will be worth the price just for the outtakes.

Got up early on Saturday and dialed up the NiMo web site. You can get your bill right away if you go online. Since we just had a meter reading on Friday, everything was calculated right to the minute. Then I figured out all the monthly bills and got those taken care of. I sat in the living room sunshine and restrung my guitar with some of those cheap Mars Music strings (12 sets for the price of one). They're not that great, but good enough for practicing with. So, I practiced for awhile. It got to be afternoon, so I went out and bought a replacement headlight for the car, found a Metroland, and stopped for a chinese buffet lunch. I got home and popped the bulb in and tightened the alternator belt. Flushed out the buffet shortly after that. That stuff never stays with you long.

New York City didn't happen. I didn't feel like driving it alone so I just hung out at home. In retrospect, this was probably the best decision that I made for two reasons. My brother came up with the idea that he and I go Christmas shopping at a local mall. As it turns out, malls are not that full at 8 o'clock at night. We closed the place, and I got 90% of my holiday shopping done. On Sunday night, my brother borrwed the BMW to pick up his girlfriend, and the harmonic balancer seperated from the crankshaft (again!). The .15 cent Woodruff key that I just replaced had sheared due to the pressure, and the pumps stopped working. Luckily, it was a cold night, so I had him limp the car home the way it was. I had it towed away this morning and repaired (liquid weld and a 6 foot throw on the wrench.) I'll pick the car up tomorrow after work, since they recommend the liquid weld sit for 24 hours.

Somewhere over the weekend, I installed a software based firewall on my home computers. Found out that I was getting a lot of hack attempts from a-holes in Canada and Argentenia. If you don't have one, get one.

I also made good use of my free time on Sunday and cleaned out an old file cabinet. It had been sitting at my parents house for the last 5 years, and I have been growing in need of a place to put all my files and bills. What memories! I found a lot of material from my college days and high school side projects. Drawings, some poetry, lots of jokes, Cory Snyder Fan Club, Exaggeration (a private joke) and The Green Book. All neatly stored away and filed now.

I went out for lunch today with some coworkers. I rode in a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires. Danger! Danger! The owner hasn't been able to get his tires replaced yet. When I ordered a drink, I said "I'll have a stout, please." The waitress frowned and said that they don't have that and offered to tell me what draft beers they carried. I said, "Sure, please do." She began her list with "Guiness." I stopped her right away and said - "You got it. A Guiness is a stout." She said that she didn't know it was a stout. Actually, she didn't know beers had categories like pilsner and lager.

The Linkfest

A friend of mine took off for California (state motto: "As far west as you can get without getting wet.") last week and is due back today. Just in time for a nice Northeaster. If I were her, I wouldn't get on that plane. I can still remember sunsets on the beach, and the taste and smell of the ocean.

Another friend of mine just returned from two weeks aboard a cruise ship somewhere south of here. Sucker. Welcome back, man. I'll buy you a consolation beer.

I had a great Hash on Saturday. We had the run in a city block, so the beer checks actually happened in local bars along the route. In each one we had a glass and sang a song (much to the delight of the regulars, who were propping up the bars early on a Saturday). The after party was help at a participants house, and he set up a big bonfire for everyone to enjoy. The heat was welcome.

Read through about a million comic sections and Dave Berry articles on Sunday. My Mom saves them for me and from time to time I get a care package filled with the occasional piece of mail that still comes to their address and many, many comics sections.

Also over the weekend I saw the movie Frequency. Not a bad movie at all. Just one hokey part when they fell in the water together and the bad guy got away. He either held his breath or was able to dry off so quickly that he didn't leave a wet footprint trail behind him. I also had terrific dinner at a local restaurant. The spinach fettucini was excellent and the teryaki chicken/beef combo was too die for. The cheesecake wasn't half bad, either. After dinner, I saw the Christmas lights in the park and checked out a local band.

I taped Robert Klein's HBO special last night. He does a song called "Colonoscopy" (it's a riot) and an ugraded version of "I can't stop my leg." I remember seeing Klein perform at Proctor's in Schenectady when I worked there. A friend and I snuck backstage after the show and met him in his dressing room. He was introducing people. When he got to us, he said without missing a beat, "And I have no idea who these two are."

Getting in the Christmas Spirit! I taped most of Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer and watched that. I think I missed the animated Grinch special, but I did see the movie. Last night, it was a Charlie Brown Christmas. I've just realized that this weekend is our company party. I only work 2 days next week, and then it's the long weekend to Christmas! Wow. Time sure flies.

I bought some tickets for a Barenaked Ladies show in February. I've always wanted to see them live, so here's my chance.

Work has been absolutely crazy lately. All I know is that my renumeration upgrade finally went to the next step up the ladder, so I am very close to hearing about it now. It's also retroactive. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Linkfest

It must be Christmas. I got an actual job title and a raise today. You can call me "Systems Engineer." The money was nice and even though it applied only to last year, I feel the company went above and beyond to lift the increase higher than it normally would have been. Heck, I can't complain that it is retroactive. I also got approval to take a series of certification courses. And hey - I'm up for another review for this calendar year in just 4 months.

Thanks to a little research and a Russian web site, I was able to figure out how to permit UUCP traffic to flow through our Cisco AS5200 PRI router. Between the cryllic text, I found a stub of a TACAS+ config file that I could use. I saved the company some big time money today.

I have to stop by the Post Office today and get a package in the mail, and then go home and change for a small Holiday get together with some friends. I'm looking forward to a nice intimate evening with a few glasses of wine and cheer.

And (finally!) America gets a new President for Christmas. Vice President Gore will conceed tonight at 9. Our new nutjob, er, President-elect will address the nation at 10. I can't wait to see him read this speech off the teleprompter. I grabbed the following paragraph off CNN today:

Gore said thanks and farewell to his Florida legal team Wednesday in a conference call from Washington to about 30 lawyers and staffers in Tallahassee. "That was some election night," Gore said at the start of the call, prompting laughter. "He said he would have more to say to the nation tonight," according to a legal aide who listened to the call, "but said he was calling to say how grateful he was to everybody who had worked so hard and put their lives on hold."

The lawyers said "You'll get our bill, sir," prompting laughter in Tallahassee as they rang off.

(Ok, so I added the last bit.)

The Linkfest

Today begins my annual holiday vacation. I try to take a few days off before the holiday so that I can take care of last minute details. I don't have many this year, and this is a nice thing. I wrapped some presents today, paid some bills, and cooked up a batch of my secret sauce for dinner. It's been perking for a 4 hours now, so it's just about done. I hope so, because I've just been snacking all day and it's smelling good.

At church last week, we were visited by Nancy, designated town drunk. It is amazing what people will do when they are drunk. Though we were complete strangers to her, she sat right down at our table, sampled everyone's beer (I am sure that the bar had cut her off), over-creamed some coffee and pressed one gentlemans head against her bosom and gave him a face rub. She attempted to get us all to sing along with the radio tripe, and to our credit, we did try but we didn't know the words. Later that night they changed the radio station to songs that we could sing but chose not to. They included: Elo: Do you want my love, Genesis: Abacab, Bob Seager: Love to watch you strip, The Guess Who: Hand me down love, Led Zeppelin: Goin' to California, Boston: Let me take you home tonight, The Doors: When you're strange, Brucce Cockburn: Rockers, AC/DC: Shook me all night long, A Neil Diamond tune, Pink Floyd: Money, The Easybeats: Friday on my Mind, and The Cars: Let's Go.

Beer, Excaliber cigars, and peppermint patties yields a most interesting taste combination. Don't try it at home kids.

Last Friday we had a "western day" at work. It was actually just a theme party for our office so that the incoming employees could meet and greet and tour their new workspace. In the middle of it all, the UPS decided to take a break. I was hoping that it was an easy fix and checked the 175V fuse for the battery subsystem. Turned out to be 3 bad batteries. I was there fairly late testing the batteries with the tech. Each one weighs 100 pounds and we had to take 7 out to get to the 3 bad ones.

Must see movies: Demolition Man (Sly Stallone and a then-unknown Sandra Bullock).

The Star Wars Christmas special. Remember it? A Wookie family Christmas. Get Chewbacca home in time to celebrate Life Day with his family. I'm not kidding. He has a wife, a son (Lumpy), and his Dad (Itchy). Bea Arthur, Harvey Korman, and the Jefferson Starship all appear. See it at Blue Harvest. (Warning, it's 18MB)

Rented Waking the Dead with Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly. Ugh.

I was able to take advantage of a warm spell on Saturday morning and fixed the Onboard Computer in my car. Just a little 50 cent fuse that you can get at any Radio Shack. It meant taking the whole computer out of the car first, since the fuse was inside.

This past weekend we had our company Christmas party. I had a good time. The food wasn't spectacular, but everyone went home with a prize. I actually got very lucky and won the grand prize as well as a gift certificate to any establishment that accepts American Express. (But will they take VISA?)

In radio's heyday, Ish K. Bibble asked of Kay Kayser (on Kay Kayser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge) if he knew the difference between a duck. Kay allowed he didn't, and requested Ish to answer his own rhetorical question. Ish said: "The difference between a duck is that one of its legs is both the same."

Ish is also known for the following poem:

"I sneezed a sneeze into the air;
"It fell to earth I knew not where:
"But you should have seen the looks on those
"In whose vicinity I snoze!"

From the Internet guide to Jazz Age Slang - ish kabibble (1925): a retort meaning "I should care." Was the name of a musician in the Kay Kayser Orchestra of the 1930s.

The Linkfest

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've been wrapping madly here at my house. I think everything is ready to go. The stockings are hung and filled with goodies, the mantle is lined with Christmas cards, and there are even some holiday lights decorating the front window. I'll be taking off in about an hour for points North, and I won't be back until after all the gifts are unwrapped, the pies eaten, and the last football game played.

Yesterday was a busy day. I had a hash in Glens Falls. The run was fairly short but fun. We got mixed up on a couple of bad trails but made it to the "beer near" without fail. I received my hash name yesterday. They sort of wimped out cause they couldn't think of a good name and came up with "The Hasher formerly known as Don." I think I'll devise a special symbol of my own and have a t-shirt made. When I got home I went to a Holiday Cookie Party. It was almost like a trip back in time. I saw a lot of people that I haven't hung out with for years. It was good to see them all. The usual promises of getting together "real soon" were made anew before I departed. Well, we'll see, won't we? Got a nice big plate full of cookies to share at home. Yeah, I know, like we needed more treats around here. I think there is a good 25 pounds of chocolate in the living room.

I can hear breakfast cooking, so I'd better go. Be warm and well!

The Linkfest

Did everyone have a good Christmas? I did. I enjoyed very much traveling around the Capital Region playing Santa of sorts, dropping off presents and picking some up wherever I wandered. I took to a jolly red hat repleat with a ball of fur at the point and didn't take it off all weekend. Well, enough of this. Let's get right to the annual loot report, shall we?

Christmas Loot 2000, a report: Homer Simpson slippers (more comfortsble than you'd think, since the foot goes in his mouth), a sweater, a shirt, jeans, programmable remote, The Beatles White Album, Pete Townshend's Empty Glass, Cash, a Dilbert desk calendar, a bucket of candy, and a leather jacket.

Band practice got cancelled again, so I went out after work on Wednesday and had dinner and beer with a buddy. He brought me Lifehouse's new CD and a video. I'm listening to it right now, as a matter of fact. Not bad.

Taxes suck. I need to elaborate? Boy, I'd better get a nice return this year. I have installed Turbo Tax, and I await the final paycheck so that I can estimate everything before the W-2 comes. I plan to file electronically this year.

New Years Eve is coming up. I think I have been invited to 3 different parties. Bummer! 2 of them were last minute things, but I would have enjoyed being with friends. I'm not changing my plans - I have a chance to meet some new people, and I'm anxious to do that.

I was unexpectantly busy at work today. Seems a water main break caused some electrical trouble with the phone company, and I had 3 T's go wacko on me. They are all back up now and things are rumbling along nicely but I sure lost most of the day watching this puddle dry up. Should I start bringing towels to work?

The Linkfest