Friday, Aug 15, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 141 days and counting...

         

Happy birthday to my Brother-in-law Andrew.  I hope you have a great day celebrating!

37 Years ago today was my first day of basic raining in the USAF active duty service.  How time flies!  

                          

Retirement planning

Today we found out that we have to pay almost $10,000 back for our military payback.  This will allow us to add our active duty military time to our retirement pension, which will give us significantly more money when we retire.  I was over in the payroll office for about two hours trying to get the finance specialist to accomplish the task.  We finally got it accomplished correctly, we think.  Nothing is guaranteed these days, so now we are just hoping for the best.  What a really painful process it was.

Snoopy’s Recovery

Snoopy is still recovering from her minor surgery performed last Friday, and the good news is she has gone through her additional medications as of yesterday.  No more slipping the pill inside a piece of cheese trying to fool her.  She catches on pretty quick that something not kosher is going on, but we got through this battle of her meds consumption this time.  She can be awfully stubborn at times. J

Data Migration

We have been trying to migrate our data for over a week now from this slightly older Mac (Mac1) to our newer Mac (Mac2) with little success to say the least.  We are going to go to the Apple Store tomorrow to have the Genius Bar pros perform the process for us and save us some time and headaches.  The process somehow seems to get hung up and the data migration process never completely finishes.  After so many attempts and even trying different ways of trying to perform this process we decided to just let them do it for us, even if it takes overnight.  After a while, you just gotta call in the specialists Geek squad and let them do their thing.          

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

Life is short… live it.

Love is rare, grab it.

Anger is bad, let go of it.

Fear is a mind-killer, face it.

Memories are sweet, cherish them.

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Thursday, Aug 14, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 142 days and counting...

                                                           

These past few days many people have spoken up regarding the passing of Robin Williams.  I read a statement his daughter Zelda had released to the public and it just made me want to cry.  She said something like, “What could be so bad that it made you not want to stay”.  I teared up a bit realizing that all that this man had… talent, wealth, respect of many, fame, loving… it was not enough to make him not want to stay.   Suicide is never the answer. 

MacBook Air

I recently bought protective covers as well as keyboard covers for both of my MacBook Air notebooks and I just noticed that the keyboard layout of the top row of buttons on my 2010 and 2012 version models have changed.  The covers I have bought are for the newer versions, so the one for the older model makes using those buttons a bit confusing.  L  Luckily I rarely use the top row of buttons, except for audio volume control and screen brightness.

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

“Cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money.”

                                                                                    - Robin Williams

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Wednesday, Aug 13, 2014

For What It’s Worth                                                              - 143 days and counting...

                                                           

Robin Williams

Last week we wrote about comedic tragedies and how too many comics ironically leave us way before their time.  They have this curse of being so very talented and inside they are full of self-doubt and depression.  So, Monday was a very sad day when we all found out that Robin Williams had passed away.  Not only did we lose a comedic genius, but also an accomplished dramatic actor.  He had this soft side to him, almost child-like innocence, to some of the characters he portrayed.  Even from his early TV days on Mork & Mindy, he showed his ability to touch our hearts with his acting talents.  I remember the debut of Mork & Mindy in 1978 very clearly because the next morning I was deployed overseas for a three month tour.  Upon my return n late December I asked someone whatever happened tot hat show.  They replied that was the comedy hit of the season.  Robin had this insane side of him that could only be harnessed by his own inner self.  His acting range was truly diverse and was demonstrated by his roles in Mrs Doubtfire, Hook, The World According to Garp, and Dead Poet’s Society, just to name a few.  He had this very sensitive side to him that he occasionally let out and allowed us to see but he used that insane, one thousand mile an hour wit that he could intentionally hide his vulnerability behind.  We all lost our innocence this past Monday.  God speed, Robin Williams.

Within a Month

In less than a month I will be eligible to retire!  My plan is to wait until Jan 2, 2015 to do so because that will give me an extra year on the books that will apply to my retirement pay.  I have so much to do prior to then, including paying back about $10,000 into my retirement system before I retire.  So, these last few months of the year will be saving money time for me.  So, no more online shopping impulse buys for me.  I do have a couple of more major purchases to make, but they will have to wait until I save up enough to pay this large debt off since it MUST be paid PRIOR to retirement.  Lean times are ahead for the next several months.

Data Migration

We received my new MacBook Air Laptop Notebook and I have been having major difficulties trying to transfer all my data to the new machine.  This past weekend we tried several times and it never did fully get accomplished.  In fact, none of our music files and none of our document files were transferred over.  Only photos seemed to have success.  We did manage to transfer this document from the new machine to this older machine using my memory stick, which was a minor accomplishment to say the least.  At least we can do that basic procedure properly. This may take some major time.  Wish us luck!

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom

“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone.  It’s not.  The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.”

                                                                                    - Robin Williams

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Snoopy says, “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time... Be Good!

- cb

Thursday, Aug 7, 2014

                                                            - 149 Days and counting

                                                                                                - Eligible to retire in 35 days

For What It’s Worth

Happy Birthday to my little brother Greg!  It seems like just the other day… Enjoy, my Bro!

The new MacBook Air Notebook arrived yesterday that I bought off of my buddy in concert with his biennial upgrade.  Thanks again Karl! J  It seems a lot lighter in weight to my current Mac, which is kinda nice.  It is supposed to be faster also but I thought my current one was pretty fast already.  I think I’ll be keeping my older model as to have two available for usage.  I can keep one at home and one in the office under lock and key.  I already have the new aqua blue cover on it for protection from rough handling that I seem to have with electronics.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  More accurately it probably should read a pound of treatment!  Anyways, I’m looking forward to finding new features and new capabilities.

Gonna take both laptops to the Apple Store tomorrow on my day off and let them perform the data migration and copy from the old to the newer version.  I probably could attempt it but I’ll take it there just to ensure it is done properly.  Most of you know that my technical skills are not the sharpest when it comes to Apple products these days.  The transition from PC to Apple operating systems has taken much longer than anticipated, but I still believe the product is far superior than any Microsoft product.  It is like driving a Ferrari or a Buick… there is no comparison!

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom   

“If you have to try to claim how awesome you are and post on FB, then you really are not awesome.  I don’t believe Steve McQueen ever said that he was awesome.  He didn’t have to.  That’s what awesomeness is all about, isn’t it?”

"They need a notification when someone unfriends you on FB you so you can thank them for that!"

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Snoopy asks that you please… “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time… Be Good!

-           cb

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

                                                            - 150 Days and counting

                                                                                                - Eligible to retire in 36 days

For What It’s Worth

Preparing For On The Road

I know I can’t be prepared for everything that can happen on the road, but I have been trying to think of any situation or obstacle that could happen and be at least halfway ready for it.  Breaking this down into smaller parts, there are things that can happen while driving, things that can happen when you are camped, and things that can happen when you are out exploring while camping.  Those subjects can all be broken down even further into sub-categories.

Driving issues

Mechanical car problems, road conditions, and traffic conditions are all factors that need be taken into consideration.  Minor and major bus failures can happen unexpectedly, some may require repairs needing replacement parts, which could take several days or even weeks to acquire.  That can be a major detriment to any tentative schedule or agenda you have planned.  I have been trying to plan for most conditions that I can foresee, buy sometimes shit happens I guess.

Camping issues

This can also be broken down into sub-categories such as campground issues versus boondocking issues. 

Campground issues can be a lack of a spot to camp in, or maybe environmental issues such as a loud and unruly bunch of campers making a racket, or even fauna issues such as wildlife animals like bears, bees or wasps that could become issues.  Maybe they don’t allow pets?  Maybe the camping fees are exceedingly higher than expected? 

Boondocking (i.e. camping NOT in a campground) brings it’s own special set of possible issues.  Maybe there is no level ground available nearby to park the bus at?  Maybe there is no shaded area available?  Maybe there is no available water source available?  Maybe food, drinking water or fuel supplies are running low, which should have been better planned for?  All these things need to be considered and planned for.  

To be continued…

Comedians

I hate it when someone I really like and think that they are hilarious ends up dying, for some stupid reason.  Many times it is from those same demons that made them choose comedy.  Steve Martin put out an album titled, “Comedy isn’t Pretty”, which is actually true.  Many comics have lived tragic lives and many still do.  They hide behind their comedic abilities to laugh at it when deep down inside it is what’s killing them… slowly.  Too many comics die from taking their own lives, either by substance abuse or they end up killing themselves some other morbid way.  Some just fade away into obscurity.  It is a shame, but it what makes them turn to comedy in the first place.  It becomes an escape from their deep sadness or depression they try to hide from us all.  I’m going to try to touch on some of these comedic geniuses that I loved and hope I can open your eyes to their plight.

Mitch Hedberg

You may have seen Mitch performing his stand-up comedy on TV some time in the past 20 or so years, even though he passed away back in 2005.  Mitch had a huge cult following due to his unusual subject matter, his on-stage presence, and his unique style of delivery. He would hide his shyness by facing backwards, closing his eyes, hiding behind his long hair and his ever-present sunglasses.  His cadence was his own unique style and his one-liners were legendary.  Many of his cult followers would yell out the punch lines before he could say it.  Some people never got his humor, it was similar to the comic Steven Wright, so it was up to us weird ones to watch his act and enjoy it.  You can catch some of his shows on You Tube, which is nice.  Unfortunately, he left us way too early and we loyal followers really miss his brand of humor.  Good speed, Mitch Hedberg!

Simple Joys of Life & Words of Wisdom   

“Some people just lack the ability to laugh at themselves.  That’s where I come in.”

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Snoopy asks that you please… “Bark Less and Wag More!”

Until next time… Be Good!

-           cb