I knew it was too good to be true

Just a few days ago, the lawn was turning brown for the first time in three years. Fast forward to today. It's been raining the past few yours. Sure, it's good for the grass but I have to mow that shit. Plus, Basenji's hate getting their feet wet. This also applies to Basenji mixes like Belle. Oh well. At least I should be able to get some fungus and/or turtle and frog pictures once it stops.

For a short week, this one seems really long. Probably because I'm fixing bugs in Tony's code. I wish I would have been involved in the project at the start instead of patching things at the end.

Just about sandwich o'clock by my watch...

Post birthday post

Is it just a coincidence that the day after I turned 33 I got a postcard for four free hearing aid trials in the mail?

Another birthday has come and gone. Apart from the splinter underneath my thumbnail that I can't get out, I have no complaints.

So what's with this octopus that supposedly predicts World Cup results? It sounds like the plot to a Dirk Gently book Douglas Adams never got around to writing. Here's the link. While we're on the subject, why does LinkedIn even have the option of sharing things like this? I thought it was supposed to be for professionals.

Not much else to report, what with spending the day at work and all.

Birthday Eve

I'm convinced that Independence Day is my favorite holiday with the same name as a Will Smith movie.

We had a lot of fun yesterday. Brunch with Alexis and Tom, always a pleasure, dinner with Carrie's family, and the DeSoto fireworks. But don't take my word for it. Here's a link to my pictures on Facebook.

In other news, I'm really tired but have recovered some due to a power nap I took while my pictures were uploaded. I'm due over at Carrie's in a little while for some white lasagna.

Independence Day

Weren't they supposed to make a sequel to Independence Day at one point? It seems like some of the aliens could have escaped the final battle and went for reinforcements or something.

Had dinner with Carrie's extended family at The Wood last night. The food was only satisfying in a "eating so I don't die" kind of way. Carrie's cousin's daughter, Trinity, is a little firebrand. Her parents will have their hands full when she enters her rebellious stage in a few years. I also learned there are caves in Maplewood that are concealed by manhole covers. These are not just sewers as I initially guessed.

Full day ahead. I'd better absorb a couple hours of solitude while I can.

Saturday Morning Slurry

Slurry? I guess I couldn't think of another S word.

My caffeine IV isn't quite empty yet so I thought I'd spend some time on the old blog.

I had a dream last night where I was a teacher at a high school. Some girl was worried that she'd never be able to write a book. I told her I didn't finish a single story until I was 27. She asked why I hadn't published anything. It was one of those dreams where my brain is trying to tell me something. Like "Get off your ass and publish a book already. I don't want to be a computer programmer forever!"

It's going to be time to switch back to the crime books pretty soon. Six or seven fantasy books in a row is plenty. I've got lots of Parker and Scudder books left to blow through. Plus, I've noticed my unread pile is growing at an alarming rate. I'm almost back up to 80.

I'm hoping it doesn't get as hot as they are saying this weekend. I was just getting used to not having back sweat every time I walk the dog.

How long is too long?

So, a little while ago, mid March, to be more precise, I ordered a book from a secondary seller on Amazon, Deadly Honeymoon by Lawrence Block. It shipped the next day. I saw neither hide nor hair of it. Six week later, I emailed the people at Once Upon a Time Books. They assured me my shipment would arrive within a week or two. After three weeks, I emailed them and asked for a refund. I got no response and no refund. I wrote off the three bucks as a loss and forgot about it.

Today, amidst the credit card bills and my driver's license renewal notice, I found a book sized package. It was Deadly Honeymoon. And it only took ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN DAYS to get to me! I could have walked to Arizona and back several times by now. Maybe they strapped it to the back of a particularly slow snail or something.

My negligent neighbor's hoodlum son brought his overly aggressive pitbull to her house again and has it chained to a tree by a woefully inadequate chain, much like the one it snapped a few weeks ago. People that irresponsible shouldn't be allowed to have dogs. Or kids either, for that matter.

Looks like I spoke too soon...

It appears my neighbor isn't lying on his floor decomposing after all. Not only that, he has two grand kids visiting. No word on where he's been the past couple weeks but I haven't been interested enough to inquire. Speculation is much more fun anyway.

I think my mouse might be nearing the end of its life. Every click acts like two clicks. I know it's not the shift key sticking because the pad and the two buttons on the keyboard work fine. I guess I can't expect to get more than five years out of the cheapest optical mouse I could find at Walmart...

Not much else going on. I figured out that Belle was waking me up in the middle of the night to go on investigation walks because she had energy to burn due to not wanting to walk when it was so hot. She's been going on more walks these past few temperate days and our nocturnal outings have disappeared. I still think there's a skunk in the neighborhood though.