Friday, Aug 29, 2014

For What It’s Worth - 127 days and counting...

Happy birthday to my Great-nephew Tyler Hill and to Mr Michael Spratt!

Holiday Weekend

It’s the Labor Day weekend, the observed and unofficial “End of Summer” holiday.  Here in Southern California, there are always plenty of parties and BBQs happening all over the place.  Back in the 90s when I lived in Hermosa Beach, I would grab my 35mm camera and a pocket full of film and just walk down the strand, which is basically a sidewalk on the beach provided for bicycling, rollerblading, walking, etc and crash different lively parties along the way and just start shooting photos of peeps at the parties.  This was long before the day of everyone having cameras on their cell phones flooding all media with selfies.  After running out of film I would find the party host and in a few days return with photos of their party guests.  Later I figured out it was just easier to hand them the film I shot and let them incur the expense of getting the film developed.  Someday when I do switch over to another 35mm camera, I will of course switch over to the digital capability.  I do plan on getting one some day, hopefully before the road trip, money permitting.

The Digital Age

I do like the capability of being able to review the photos taken right then and there, but I do miss the artistic side of photography just using the camera on my iPhone 5s.  I mean, there is not much creativity with a point and shoot camera.  I guess a lot can be done in post production with all the software tools out there that are available.  I do look forward to learning more about the digital editing capabilities.  I figure I’ll have plenty of time to learn and read up after I retire.  

Footwear

Yesterday my hiking/camping boots I ordered for our US road trip arrived at the crib.  Now I have to get them broken it nicely so I can avoid any chance of blisters forming.  I anticipate these being my day-to-day footware, along with sneakers and sandals.  I also want to spray them really well with scotchgard water repellant to repel water and keep my feet nice and dry.  My older boots I got in the early 80s and I figured I could use a new pair, especially since I got them on sale for about fifty bucks.  They look like they will suffice for my purposes, but I have not tried them on yet.  I was just too lazy last night and didn’t want to bother with lacing them up.  It’s on my to do list for the weekend among plenty of other tasks that I have been procrastinating on doing. 

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

If you haven’t grown up by age 50, you don’t have to! :) 

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Snoopy always says, “Wag More and Bark Less!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Thursday, Aug 28, 2014

For What It’s Worth - 128 days and counting...

Sorry folks, I was out yesterday with some chronic baclk pain, so I was in no mood to do any blogging.  Some days I just don’t want to feel like I do.

Retirement

I was curious, how many friends or former classmates plan to retire this year or are already retired?  I told someone recently that I was planning on retiring at te end of this year and they said they thought that was quite early to do so.  My Grandpa, on my Dad’s side, died at age 66, way too young.  My Dad lived to age 72, but his quality of life had deteriorated quite a bit the last few years.  

Road Trip

I want to spend some quality years doing some quality things such as traveling the back roads of the US as much as possible and camping.  Our first trip planned we have been discussing for years now, a clockwise tour basically around the perimeter of the US mainland.  No timeline really, just traveling wherever we decide to go.  We do have some places in mind what we want to see, but nothing is written in stone of course.  We are still struggling with what to take along and what to leave out of the equation.  I need to reduce the list of things down to a manageable amount of items being that we are quite restricted on stowage space.  The large, bulky, and heavy items are really the major concern here.  We only have so much limited floor room to work with in the cargo cabin area, so it will be a wee bit crowded, to say the least.

New Guy in the Office

We have a new guy in the office here at work and he is from Chicagoland!  How cool is that?  He is a nice guy and I look forward to having another Chicagoian in the office with me, at least for the next four months.  We already bonded and I think we will stay friends long after I retire.  I kinda think I may have met him someplace, he seems so familiar to me. He likes to spent ime outdoors so many we have a new camping partner?  We will see what happens, but it is good to have him aboard!

National Dog Appreciation Day 

Yesterday was National Dog Appreciation Day and I spent the whole day with my pup, Snoopy.  She mostly slept the entire day which was what she wanted to do I guess.  I was not in any shape to do much with her anyways, so it worked out good for us both.  We both actually just layed around the house and did as little as possible.

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

The past should be left in the past, otherwise it can destroy your future.  Live life for what tomorrow has to offer, not for what yesterday has taken away.

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Snoopy always says, “Wag More and Bark Less!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Tuesday, Aug 26, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                       - 130 days and counting...

Pizza for Lunch

Today we had Costco Pizza for lunch.  I think I ate too much.  Eating so much makes me always want to take a nap.  I need to eat less and want more.  

Dodgers

We just found out that for $20 through work, we can get a Dodger game ticket with unlimited food and it is considered an alternate work location that day.  $20 to have a half a day off from work, plus a baseball game and free food.  How can you beat that?  Sometimes things work out just right.

Pyro loose in El Segundo

I saw on FB this morning that there is a pyromaniac loose here in ES.  Apparently the suspect it is some 50-60 year old woman who is going around starting fires (appoximately 6-7 so far) at barsand churches located on Main St.  I saw a surveillance video where she was caught on tape apparently lighting a patio umbrella on fire with her lighter.  It is just a matter of time until they locate and apprehend this pyro in our small community of 16,000+ people.  There is not much area she can hide in.  WTF is up with some of these peeps?

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

The Dali Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, 

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.  Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.  And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

                                 -  HH XIV Dala Lama

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Snoopy always says, “Wag More and Bark Less!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Monday, Aug 25, 2014... from a new Mac

For What It’s Worth - 131 days and counting...

Music Transfer

Today I finally got my music transferred onto this new Mac, so I am a happy camper!  :)

It would be nice if I knew what I did correctly and what I was doing wrong.  I chalk it all up to dumb luck once again. Better lucky than good, is what I always say.

Military Payback

I have to save up and pay @ $9600.00 by Dec 1 this year to have four years added to my time in service and my retirement years, which will pay off in the long run.  That means that I can’t spend money loosely at all and I have to curb my entertainment spending, which I have already been doing for the past 3 years.  I wanted to have some money saved up before retirement, but I think this bill I have to pay off will take that cash away from my immediate usage and my rainy day savings nest egg. :(

Medical Membership Card

In December I lost my wallet and in it was my Medical Membership card.  Since then I have been trying to get a new card.  I have made multiple phone calls, numerous online requests and spoken to 3 Member Services supervisors, and I still have not received one.  Today I again requested a new card and we will see what happens before I decide to change HMO carriers.  I will most likely have to change anyway since mine is not available in the midwest where I will be spending some of my retirement time.  I guess I’ll go switch over to Blue Cross which is available almost anywhere I guess.  Not really familiar with any of the other HMOs since I have had my current carrier since 1981. Does anyone have any suggestions of a good one or which ones I should avoid?

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

“The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless & free your action will be.”

- HH Dali Lama 

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Snoopy always says, “Wag More and Bark Less!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Thursday, Aug 21, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 135 days and counting…

Happy birthday to my good buddy, Kent!  Enjoy your day, my friend!   Love ya man!

Piloting a VW Bus

I was reading some things online about the VW bus and the lifestyle it promotes.  You can’t drive down any road and pass another one without them waving at you, either with a peace sign, a “Shaka brah” surfer greeting, a fist in the air like a biker would do, or just a standard wave.  Even most of the old VW Beetle drivers will give you some kind of visual greeting when you pass each other.  It becomes a welcomed addition to a drive down the road.  You are surprised when you pass one and they do not wave somehow.  I just figure they were probably messing with the radio changing stations or something and didn’t see our wave.  It is quite a close-knit culture.  Even during the short drive home from work I usually will encounter some pedestrian standing on the corner who will smile and wave.  Whoever would of thought that driving a 36+ year old vehicle would make you into an instant semi-celebrity with people you don’t even know wanting some of your time.  If you don’t believe this, I’ll let you pilot Linus for half an hour and I bet one of these things will happen to you too!  J

Trip Necessities

It seems that I am constantly going over in my mind what I will need to take on this long road trip that is in our future.  I also wonder where the heck will we store half of this stuff?  I foresee us taking everything out of the bus and then populating it with the equipment “must haves” and then trying to fit in the “would like to have” items that we want to take also.  Some of the things I would like to take may not make the critical spares list. 

We have a wagon we would like to take to help lug things around such as firewood, various supplies or even water-filled containers.  With a broken back I need to plan for moving heavy or awkward things around by myself. The problem is that it takes up a lot of valuable cargo space inside.  But it is almost a necessity for the long term. We have a small microwave we would like to bring also, but then again it takes up space.  But it would be used quite a bit for quick heating of leftovers, making a cup of hot tea, etc.  It is small in size, so hopefully we can squeeze it in. I also have a bunch or emergency gear that we will need to take such as a first aid kit, emergency food (dehydrated food), tow strap, come-a-long (a hand winch w/cable), etc.  There is just a lot to think about and maybe that is why it is constantly on my mind.

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

Some people come in your life as blessings,

Others come in your life as lessons.

Learn to realize the difference.

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 136 days and counting...

Happy 55^th birthday Butch!  I hope you have an enjoyable day, brother!

Today has been so hectic at work that I did not have a chance to pen our blog, so now during lunchtime I will attempt to get it published.  So, here goes nothing…

Poor Leadership in the Workplace

I will be so glad to get away from my workplace here and these people who love to point fingers when they themselves are the biggest violator of whatever they are trying to accuse others of being guilty of.  Our boss (and I am using that term very loosely) is the biggest loser of all time.  He is never at work on time, he is never in the office when he needs to be, his time spent daily at the gym working out is always during work time, he is constantly going on business trips when everyone else knows that he has to real purpose supporting that trip except to get away from the office and his responsibilities, and he is the biggest violator of the conduct rules that are in place.  When we do have some offsite for team building or whatever planned, his first comment out of his mouth is, “I hope it this event is going to be held north of here because I want it closer to my house in West Hollywood.”  I mean, what an f-ing loser this guy really is. 

None of us know from day to day if our boss will be in the office or not.  We usually just play the odds that he is travelling on business or he is on a vacation or travel compensation day.  It is a joke among us workers in the office, sort of like “Where’s Waldo?”… but it is, “Where is Joe today?”  I hope the investigators that come in after I have retired really do a thorough job and audit the hell out of his behavior during the last few years.  This loser is just another reason I am retiring as soon as possible.  If we believed in “Lead by example”, then nobody would ever be in the office here. 

136 calendar days to go…

Data Migration to new Mac

I am still having some difficulties with the data migration to my new Mac.  I have got some of it accomplished such as the photos, but having some difficulties with transferring some of the music files.  I guess I can do them one at a time, but that can be quite labor intensive.  I’m still struggling with it all… oh well…

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”

                                                                                    - Susan B. Anthony

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 137 days and counting...

Robin Williams

I am still having a hard time dealing with Robin William’s suicide.  I never realized that he was born in Chicago, and not in San Francisco where he was known to be from.  He was kind of a distant friend even though we never really met.  I could relate to his ADD and his fast wit as well as his softer, vulnerable side.  He was a kid stuck in a man’s body and an adult world.  Remember the movie “Jack” where he played a kid in a man’s body?  I always thought was really was his dilemma… he was a kid that didn’t want to grow up. I believe that was his plight and the burden he carried.  Sort of like Peter Pan, he didn’t want to grow up, and maybe he never really did. They must have needed more laughs in heaven.  God speed, Robin Williams!

Music

I got into music at a very early age.  I remember watching when The Beatles were first on the Ed Sullivan Show back in the early 60s when I was just a little kid.  Also, my sisters being 5 years and 4 years older than me helped a bit also.  Mostly, I guess my sister Barbara got me into all kinds of music.  The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Chicago, CCR, and even The Monkees (yeah, I know J), they were all instrumental in my music listening.  From folk music to rock and roll of the mid to late 60s, I still listen to a lot of that music still today.  Great music is always in style.

The Workplace

Yesterday in staff meeting my boss tells me this project I have been working on for the past few months needs to be completed basically by September 5^th.   We just received additional guidance and it looks really labor intensive, so I’ll need to really start kicking some butt on it I guess.  Plus, it has to be coordinated with many other organizations, to which I will have little or no control over.  So, we will have to write our blogs when we can and get them published as we can.  I got kinda used to working leisurely and at my own pace, now I’ll have to shift into high gear I guess.

Time to bust a butt and kick some ass!

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

Don’t be afraid of death;

be afraid of an unlived life.

You don’t have to live forever,

you just have to live.

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Monday, Aug 18, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 138 days and counting…

Happy 16th Birthday, Annie! (aka Home Slice)

Apple Product Support

When I have an issue with either my iPhone or one of my Macs, I usually head over to the Apple Store, located in one of our local malls.  It is only just a couple of miles away and they are usually quite helpful.  I have been pretty satisfied with their service until this data migration process issue has arisen. 

I had made an appointment with the Genius Bar for Saturday morning, first thing, and their earliest appointment available on Saturdays is at 11:45AM, which I think is kind of a late start time for service availability.  Anyway, I go there and explain to the “Genius” that I tried several times to get this data migration accomplished, but the process hangs up towards the end of the several hour long process.  The guy tells me that they usually run the long processes overnight so it does not tie-up a workstation during their work hours.  He tells me that it should be complete first thing on Sunday morning when they open at 11AM.

First of all, you just can’t call in to the store directly… your call goes to the Call Center someplace and of course it is an automated service that you have to navigate through each time just to speak with a person.  You get put on hold several times before you actually speak with a person at the store. 

So, I begin to call at @ 11:05 AM and I finally speak with Bonnie, the supervisor there, and she tells me that it still has about an hour and some minutes to go.  I explain to her that the process rolls along fine and then it hangs up towards the end of the process and I ask her if she can keep an eye on it’s progress for me because I need it right away because I told her I was leaving town.  She said she will keep an eye on it for me and then call me in a half hour or an hour.  This was at 11:15 AM I spoke with her and I ended up calling them back at 3:30 PM since I hadn’t heard a peep from them.  I speak with Cameron and he said it says it has 27 minutes left to go in the process.  I again explain how it continues to hang up and I was expecting Bonnie to call me back hours ago.  Anyway, he ensures that he will call me back in an hour and give me a status update.  Well, 4:30 rolls around and my phone rings, and it is Cameron as promised.  He states that it is still processing and I tell him to just stop the process.  He thinks it is getting stuck on the documents, so I tell him just to copy over the photos and the music and I will be there before they close at 6 PM to retrieve both of my machines.

When I arrive at the Apple Store and of course it is not complete.  I tell them to just stop the process and give me my machine so I can get out of there.  So Cameron goes in back and in a bit he brings out my Macs and says my older unit might have some sort of issue.  I told him that it des not take a Genius to figure that out.  I thank him for his help and I head for home.  I get home and begin to try this process again and I see my new machine has had the User changed to “Genius” and password is not my password.  So I am locked out of my new machine and I can’t access it.  I try to call the store figuring someone would still be there and the automated system tells me they are closed for the day and it hangs up on me.  WTF?

So today at 10 AM I get to call them again and go through their automated system… and hopefully it won’t take me another 10 minutes to talk with someone at the store just to get access to my new machine.  Good grief, don’t we just love technology?

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

Every new day is another chance to change something in your life. 

Every new day is a chance to feel thankful for what you have.

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb