Monday, December 31, 2018
Christmas Toy Decorations Supplemental
Here's a whole bunch of pictures from my holiday decorations show.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Lazy Or Controlling?
Saw these at Costco and couldn't help but remember what Rish said in our last episode about Crimes of Grindelwald about there being no book from the Fantastic Beasts series.
Who wants to read a screenplay? Aside from an aspiring screenwriter, I can't imagine anyone who would do it. It makes me wonder why there is no novelization. Is that a thing that people don't do anymore? I've got my share of novelizations of movies that I love on my shelves:
Okay, I don't love all those movies. I wonder if I should keep those prequel books, now that millennials have come of age, people are trying to say the prequels are good. Maybe I could sell those off for a profit, and I might be able to forget about that time that I got swept up in the fervor. The Terry Brooks book is signed even. Oops, I'm getting off topic.
I also have plenty of Harry Potter on my shelves:
And I'll be adding each new edition as they come out.
Do they really think people would rather read a screenplay than some journeyman writer's novelization of that screenplay? Is it lazy? The screenplay is already written, so there's nothing they need to do to it before they can release it.
Or is it J.K. Rowling being super controlling of her property. She wrote the screenplays. Does she want to make sure no one else's name appears on the spine of a Harr...er...Wizarding World book? I can't imagine that it's greed. She's got money coming out her ears. She uses bundles of $100 bills...oops, I mean £100 notes to stoke up her fireplace. So, it seems unlikely that she's grubbing for money. In fact, I think Rish said that all the proceeds are going to charity. So, why not do something worth reading? Hmmm...
Who wants to read a screenplay? Aside from an aspiring screenwriter, I can't imagine anyone who would do it. It makes me wonder why there is no novelization. Is that a thing that people don't do anymore? I've got my share of novelizations of movies that I love on my shelves:
Okay, I don't love all those movies. I wonder if I should keep those prequel books, now that millennials have come of age, people are trying to say the prequels are good. Maybe I could sell those off for a profit, and I might be able to forget about that time that I got swept up in the fervor. The Terry Brooks book is signed even. Oops, I'm getting off topic.
I also have plenty of Harry Potter on my shelves:
And I'll be adding each new edition as they come out.
Do they really think people would rather read a screenplay than some journeyman writer's novelization of that screenplay? Is it lazy? The screenplay is already written, so there's nothing they need to do to it before they can release it.
Or is it J.K. Rowling being super controlling of her property. She wrote the screenplays. Does she want to make sure no one else's name appears on the spine of a Harr...er...Wizarding World book? I can't imagine that it's greed. She's got money coming out her ears. She uses bundles of $100 bills...oops, I mean £100 notes to stoke up her fireplace. So, it seems unlikely that she's grubbing for money. In fact, I think Rish said that all the proceeds are going to charity. So, why not do something worth reading? Hmmm...
Monday, December 24, 2018
The Christmas Minefield, Part Three
Another day of the minefield. Today we had a big bucket of cookies.
And the huge bucket of fudge as well.
Argh! Can I make it to the end? Is this the end? Or will more show up tomorrow? Yeah, I've gotta be there for that too.
And the huge bucket of fudge as well.
Argh! Can I make it to the end? Is this the end? Or will more show up tomorrow? Yeah, I've gotta be there for that too.
Eraser
I was at Aldi the other day, and I saw this box of soda on the shelf:
Is it just me, or does it seem like someone just went in with the eraser tool on Photoshop, and removed just enough stuff from this package to keep them from getting sued?
I suppose it's always been that way, and I shouldn't even notice it, but for some reason I did. I think it might have been the font.
Is it just me, or does it seem like someone just went in with the eraser tool on Photoshop, and removed just enough stuff from this package to keep them from getting sued?
I suppose it's always been that way, and I shouldn't even notice it, but for some reason I did. I think it might have been the font.
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Fant4stic
Here's a bunch of pictures from my Fantastic Four show.
Glitter Bomb
If you haven't seen this video yet, which is probably unlikely considering we've even talked about it on the news now, then I want to suggest to you that you do so. It's really funny, and entertaining.
I suggested it to my wife and kids, and they, of course, ignored me, and watched everything available that wasn't it. Since the suggestion was coming from me, they knew not to take it. It was probably another intermittent fasting video, right? So, I forced them to sit down and watch it.
I suggested it to my wife and kids, and they, of course, ignored me, and watched everything available that wasn't it. Since the suggestion was coming from me, they knew not to take it. It was probably another intermittent fasting video, right? So, I forced them to sit down and watch it.
They enjoyed it, as pretty much anyone who watches it does. So much so, that my daughter asked if he had other videos like it. I told her to go to his channel and see. Now they are binge watching all of his videos...and they're pretty good too. Probably worth checking out as well.
Christmas Toy Enthusiast
I said in my post yesterday that I was minutes away from posting my next episode. Well, now it's ready, so I figured I'd post it here so you all can check it out.
In it I talk about how an Amazon toy catalog made me nostalgic for those department store catalogs from the 1980s. Rish makes his longest appearance yet, as well.
In it I talk about how an Amazon toy catalog made me nostalgic for those department store catalogs from the 1980s. Rish makes his longest appearance yet, as well.
I actually have one more Christmas one that I was going to post this month...I'm never going to get it done before Christmas however. It'll have to be a little later than that. But I'll definitely get it in before December is over.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Gamorrean Guard Highlights
I got an Instagram account to share pictures from my toy show. Here's a bunch from my first show, the Gamorrean Guard.
I think I'll try to embed most of my posts from it here on my blog as well, but you could also follow me there and see them if you do the Instagram thing.
I think I'll try to embed most of my posts from it here on my blog as well, but you could also follow me there and see them if you do the Instagram thing.
The Christmas Minefield, Part Two
Day two of the minefield posts. Let's see what I had to avoid today.
Two more pecan pies:
What'd I tell about the pecan pies last time? This is probably the 19th and 20th pecan pies we've had in the station this month.
Then there was this candy and chocolate covered pretzels:
And this cake:
Also, one of my coworkers gives a Christmas gift to almost everyone. She says it's a thank you for all the help you've given her throughout the year. I don't know if I deserved one, really, but I got one all the same. It was this giant bag of candy:
This bag is heavy. I figured I would set it aside, and use it to load up the kids' stockings on Christmas Eve. The worst part was that I opened the bag to share with someone I work with, and for the rest of the night, I kept smelling those peanut butter cups. It was the strongest when I was driving home. The scent filled my whole car with deliciousness. I wish I could be one of those lucky people whose metabolism still functions properly, although I get the feeling that the only reason there's works right is because they didn't spend their lives eating as poorly...and more importantly as frequently...as I did.
It's possible that I might be in the clear now. Most people are taking vacation next week. So, I might have a better time of it. At the very least, I'll have a weekend of relief.
Two more pecan pies:
What'd I tell about the pecan pies last time? This is probably the 19th and 20th pecan pies we've had in the station this month.
Then there was this candy and chocolate covered pretzels:
And this cake:
Also, one of my coworkers gives a Christmas gift to almost everyone. She says it's a thank you for all the help you've given her throughout the year. I don't know if I deserved one, really, but I got one all the same. It was this giant bag of candy:
This bag is heavy. I figured I would set it aside, and use it to load up the kids' stockings on Christmas Eve. The worst part was that I opened the bag to share with someone I work with, and for the rest of the night, I kept smelling those peanut butter cups. It was the strongest when I was driving home. The scent filled my whole car with deliciousness. I wish I could be one of those lucky people whose metabolism still functions properly, although I get the feeling that the only reason there's works right is because they didn't spend their lives eating as poorly...and more importantly as frequently...as I did.
It's possible that I might be in the clear now. Most people are taking vacation next week. So, I might have a better time of it. At the very least, I'll have a weekend of relief.
Toy Enthusiast
I thought I'd see if I couldn't get the word out about a new thing that I'm doing these days. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've probably noticed how often I post something about the toys that I've gotten, or how I've got them displayed on the shelves of my study. My study is my pride and joy, and collecting toys is a hobby that I've enjoyed for pretty much my entire adult life. For about the same amount of time, I've been involved in the creation of films and TV. Now, I've decided to merge the two things, and start putting out videos about the toys that I love on YouTube. So, I started a channel on YouTube called Big Anklevich on Toys.
I've got two videos out so far that you can check out, and I'm seconds away from posting my third.
I've got two videos out so far that you can check out, and I'm seconds away from posting my third.
So if this kind of stuff interests you at all, I'd love it if you gave it a look. Check it out, like, subscribe, hit the bell for notifications, and whatever else it is that YouTubers say.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
The Christmas Minefield, Part One
December is always hard for someone who is trying to keep their blood sugar down, and take care of themselves. I suppose it's probably bad everywhere, but I get the feeling that it might be worse where I work, because we have shows that air every day that are dedicated to making food or promoting restaurants. There's always treats around to tempt the weak-willed. And if there's ever been a word that describes me well, it's weak-willed.
For fun, I started taking pictures of all the stuff I have to avoid. Here's day one.
Cookies:
Pecan pie:
There's always pecan pie. I guess pecans are a specialty of Texas, so we get pecan pies like...I don't know, Germans get schnitzel or something.
This is some kind of homemade peanut brittle or candy or something like that. I can't tell you any better, because I didn't try it:
So, that's just one day, and I think there was another gift basket at the other end of the newsroom that had a bunch of candy and cookies too, but I didn't go past it, so I didn't take any pictures. We'll see what they have for me tomorrow.
For fun, I started taking pictures of all the stuff I have to avoid. Here's day one.
Cookies:
Pecan pie:
There's always pecan pie. I guess pecans are a specialty of Texas, so we get pecan pies like...I don't know, Germans get schnitzel or something.
This is some kind of homemade peanut brittle or candy or something like that. I can't tell you any better, because I didn't try it:
So, that's just one day, and I think there was another gift basket at the other end of the newsroom that had a bunch of candy and cookies too, but I didn't go past it, so I didn't take any pictures. We'll see what they have for me tomorrow.
Pushers
Since becoming a diabetic, I've become a lot more cognizant of things like advertising campaigns designed to keep you at the trough, with your head down, chogging away, and never noticing what is happening to your health. There's a lot of them out there, sometimes they're more shameless than others. Like this one from Doritos that I saw at the convenience store the other day:
Is it just me, or are they coming out and admitting that they've got you addicted, and they're encouraging you to keep at it?
I've been reading this trade paperback from Marvel Comics of the original appearances of Cloak & Dagger. I was pretty unfamiliar with these characters, but they always interested me. I discovered that one of the effects of Dagger's light powers is that she can cure junkies of their addiction. We need a real life Dagger to cure America of its carbohydrate addiction, because we're all riding on a train over a creaky old bridge that has collapsed just ahead. We're going to plunge into the canyon headlong soon. There's so many, many ways that it's going to destroy our entire society if we don't turn things around. Sigh...
Is it just me, or are they coming out and admitting that they've got you addicted, and they're encouraging you to keep at it?
I've been reading this trade paperback from Marvel Comics of the original appearances of Cloak & Dagger. I was pretty unfamiliar with these characters, but they always interested me. I discovered that one of the effects of Dagger's light powers is that she can cure junkies of their addiction. We need a real life Dagger to cure America of its carbohydrate addiction, because we're all riding on a train over a creaky old bridge that has collapsed just ahead. We're going to plunge into the canyon headlong soon. There's so many, many ways that it's going to destroy our entire society if we don't turn things around. Sigh...
Vegetarians
We went to the Christmas party at my wife's work the other day, and there was so much food to be had. My six-year-old was happy to eat the brownines, and chocolate chip cookies, but he didn't want to try these cookies at all:
Why? I couldn't believe he said it, but it was because they were green...so they looked like vegetables.
Kids are funny.
Why? I couldn't believe he said it, but it was because they were green...so they looked like vegetables.
Kids are funny.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
People Of Walmart
I was at Walmart the other day, and I saw these two walking the aisles.
I know there's that website called People of Walmart where they post pictures of all the outlandish, startling, and even downright horrifying things that people do at Walmart, but I definitely do not lump these two into that category. No, these two are quite the opposite. I think they are completely awesome.
I don't know the story behind the outfits. I did walk by them and tell them that I liked the duds, and the Dad said, "Thanks. They're jammies." I said they looked comfortable, then went on to find what I was looking for. My guess is that the kid was wearing his dinosaur jammies, and didn't want to take them off for the trip to Walmart. Maybe he asked his dad to wear them too, maybe the dad volunteered so the little guy wouldn't feel weird wearing them at Walmart. Hell, I don't know, maybe the dad wanted to wear his jammies, and begged the son to join in so it would look like it was all his idea.
All I can say is that they were having fun, and they were doing something together as a family, and it warmed my heart this Christmas season. My heart grew two sizes and all that. Hear, hear for the people of Walmart!
I know there's that website called People of Walmart where they post pictures of all the outlandish, startling, and even downright horrifying things that people do at Walmart, but I definitely do not lump these two into that category. No, these two are quite the opposite. I think they are completely awesome.
I don't know the story behind the outfits. I did walk by them and tell them that I liked the duds, and the Dad said, "Thanks. They're jammies." I said they looked comfortable, then went on to find what I was looking for. My guess is that the kid was wearing his dinosaur jammies, and didn't want to take them off for the trip to Walmart. Maybe he asked his dad to wear them too, maybe the dad volunteered so the little guy wouldn't feel weird wearing them at Walmart. Hell, I don't know, maybe the dad wanted to wear his jammies, and begged the son to join in so it would look like it was all his idea.
All I can say is that they were having fun, and they were doing something together as a family, and it warmed my heart this Christmas season. My heart grew two sizes and all that. Hear, hear for the people of Walmart!
Friday, December 7, 2018
TGMG 215: The Crimes of Biggenrish
If you haven't seen this one yet, Rish and I did a podcast talking about the new Harry Potter...er, I mean, the Wizarding World of J.K. Rowling movie.
(EDIT: This one was on the Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine feed. Now that the feed is gone, the only way to hear the show is over on the Dunesteef Podcast YouTube page, which I am embedding below).
Monday, December 3, 2018
Episode 204: Bunnies Of The Apocalypse by Gregg Chamberlain
As per my goal of pimpin' the show more, here's a reminder that we put out a new episode, and you should check it out if you haven't already!
You can find it on the feed, or go to this link to listen as well. Mr. Chamberlain would love it if you did...and so would I.
(EDIT: Now that the feed is gone, the only way to hear the show is over on the Dunesteef Podcast YouTube page, which I am embedding below).
The King Of Christmas
At my work, we are one of the few places still allowed to have a holiday party for the children of the employees. My wife says it could never happen where she works, because the people without kids would complain so much that they didn't get an equal amount of money spent on them too. Of course, the answer to that complaint is ALWAYS to spend less money all around, and NEVER to spend more. But I guess people like math and how we can break things down to the lowest common denominator or something.
Oh, crap! This post is supposed to be about the king of Christmas, and not people who ruin things for other people because of envy, and instead I went off on a rant. Let me get to the point.
So, they were setting up the lobby for the party, and they got out this chair that Santa sits on during the party. Only, this is not just a chair. This thing is a freaking throne. Check it out:
I don't know why, but the sight of this thing made me think of that picture of Notorious B.I.G. with his crown:
Me and Biggy don't really have that much in common. Just the one thing really. But I saw that throne, and thought of the picture, and felt compelled to try and pose like a badass on it. A Christmas badass. I'm the motherf***ing King of Christmas y'all!
Right, right. I know. I don't look like much of a badass at all. At least I tried.
The funny thing is that they have this throne in the station all year long. It's the same throne every year for the kids' party. I wonder if the big boss is ever tempted to pull it out and sit in it during meetings or something. Good thing I'm not a big boss, because I would totally do that.
Oh, crap! This post is supposed to be about the king of Christmas, and not people who ruin things for other people because of envy, and instead I went off on a rant. Let me get to the point.
So, they were setting up the lobby for the party, and they got out this chair that Santa sits on during the party. Only, this is not just a chair. This thing is a freaking throne. Check it out:
I don't know why, but the sight of this thing made me think of that picture of Notorious B.I.G. with his crown:
Me and Biggy don't really have that much in common. Just the one thing really. But I saw that throne, and thought of the picture, and felt compelled to try and pose like a badass on it. A Christmas badass. I'm the motherf***ing King of Christmas y'all!
Right, right. I know. I don't look like much of a badass at all. At least I tried.
The funny thing is that they have this throne in the station all year long. It's the same throne every year for the kids' party. I wonder if the big boss is ever tempted to pull it out and sit in it during meetings or something. Good thing I'm not a big boss, because I would totally do that.
Rest Assured
You can all rest assured. It's still here, and it's still safe. Completely unbroken. It made it through another year in a box in the garage in one piece.
The spirit of Christmas lives on.
The spirit of Christmas lives on.
Aitch Two Oh
My daughter was thirsty the other day when we were visiting the "Specialty" grocery store, and she found this on the shelf. She wanted to buy it, but I didn't think snake oil was a healthy drink.
Seriously, hydrogen infused water?
Somebody explain to me how this can possibly be a thing? Does the H in H2O not mean anything? How did they infuse the water with hydrogen? If they put extra hydrogen in water, doesn't it stop being water? What is H3O? I know that CO2 changes substantially when it becomes simply CO.
Anyway, humans don't need crap like this. We evolved to eat and drink certain stuff, and snake oil was not one of them. There just wasn't enough snakes around to be a large part of our diet.
Seriously, hydrogen infused water?
Somebody explain to me how this can possibly be a thing? Does the H in H2O not mean anything? How did they infuse the water with hydrogen? If they put extra hydrogen in water, doesn't it stop being water? What is H3O? I know that CO2 changes substantially when it becomes simply CO.
Anyway, humans don't need crap like this. We evolved to eat and drink certain stuff, and snake oil was not one of them. There just wasn't enough snakes around to be a large part of our diet.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Hanging With The Cool Kids
The other day, I got invited to hang with the cool kids and talk Star Wars Bounty Hunters on the Delusions of Grandeur Podcast.
You can check it out over at Marshal Latham's Journey Into site.
Is it a coincidence that Delusions of Grandeur is abbreviated as DoG, and they're talking about Bounty Hunters? I think not.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
TGMG 214: Stan, The Man
If you haven't seen it yet, we did our tribute to the life of Stan Lee on That Gets My Goat the other day:
(EDIT: This one was on the Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine feed. Now
that the feed is gone, the only way to hear the show is over on the
Dunesteef Podcast YouTube page, which I am embedding below).
Friday, November 23, 2018
Black Friday
Didn't do any shopping on Black Friday this year, except a little of it from my computer while sitting in my jammies. I know most people look at the melee like something any sane person should avoid and many other see it as some kind of horrible indictment on our society's addiction to consumerism, but I actually find it kind of fun. The few times I've ventured out were all enjoyable adventures, and resulted in great stories to tell. Of course, I have never been shopping at one of those place where violence, beatings, shootings, or Mortal Kombat erupted. Maybe I'd have a different impression...although it did come close to that the one time I tried to get my son a video game.
This year, however, I used Black Friday for its even more traditional use. It wasn't Black Friday, but instead The Day After Thanksgiving, which is the traditional day that you decorate your home for the holiday season, just like New Year's Day is the traditional day you pull all that stuff back down. Last year, I posted about going shopping on Boxing Day...which with a name like that really ought to be the day that violence, beatings, shootings, and Mortal Kombat erupt, right?...and finding some good decorations on for half-off. I had to stuff them in a box and leave them for a year, but now I can finally bring them out and see how they look.
The tree that I bought in an effort to soothe some of that burning nostalgia inside me finally got to see the light of day. Here is how it turned out:
What do you think? Does it look anything like this one:
I don't know how well it matches, but I still love it. Now I just need some more of my mom's homemade decorations to fill out the rest of the room...but I don't think I'm going to do that. I was thinking more along the lines of a Wampa cave for Christmas...What do you think?
I did a bunch of stuff like that. I think I'm going to do a show about the whole process. Watch this space!
I spent the day decorating, and it looked like this when I was done:
Nice and cheery. A perfect place to spend some time with a mug of cocoa and significant other to snuggle with. I probably ought to skip the cocoa, though, and my significant other doesn't want to support my toy habit unless my toy habit can support itself somehow. So, I guess that's not going to happen. Ah, well. If only I liked my cat, because she is always curled up on top the overstuffed chair in my den...leaving great wads of cat hair all over it...
This year, however, I used Black Friday for its even more traditional use. It wasn't Black Friday, but instead The Day After Thanksgiving, which is the traditional day that you decorate your home for the holiday season, just like New Year's Day is the traditional day you pull all that stuff back down. Last year, I posted about going shopping on Boxing Day...which with a name like that really ought to be the day that violence, beatings, shootings, and Mortal Kombat erupt, right?...and finding some good decorations on for half-off. I had to stuff them in a box and leave them for a year, but now I can finally bring them out and see how they look.
The tree that I bought in an effort to soothe some of that burning nostalgia inside me finally got to see the light of day. Here is how it turned out:
What do you think? Does it look anything like this one:
I don't know how well it matches, but I still love it. Now I just need some more of my mom's homemade decorations to fill out the rest of the room...but I don't think I'm going to do that. I was thinking more along the lines of a Wampa cave for Christmas...What do you think?
I did a bunch of stuff like that. I think I'm going to do a show about the whole process. Watch this space!
I spent the day decorating, and it looked like this when I was done:
Nice and cheery. A perfect place to spend some time with a mug of cocoa and significant other to snuggle with. I probably ought to skip the cocoa, though, and my significant other doesn't want to support my toy habit unless my toy habit can support itself somehow. So, I guess that's not going to happen. Ah, well. If only I liked my cat, because she is always curled up on top the overstuffed chair in my den...leaving great wads of cat hair all over it...
Friday, November 9, 2018
The Thing In The Woods
Oshay McGrogan asked me to help him out with his new show called Lurking Dusk. It is the first episode, in which we first visit Graniville. His show description says:
You can listen to the show at this link. Looks like you can also find it on YouTube, so you can listen there as well.
Graniville is a town filled with urban legends and conspiracy theories. Some old, some new. Benny Paulsen has made it his duty to uncover them one by one.
You can listen to the show at this link. Looks like you can also find it on YouTube, so you can listen there as well.
Check it out...if you dare!
Friday, November 2, 2018
Hit By A Bus
I was almost to work the other day, just about to take the last turn before pulling into the parking lot, when I heard a crunch from my right. A big, green stage-lines bus had decided that it needed to be in my lane as well, and either didn't know or didn't care that my car was already there. I looked to the right, and saw what amounted to a 15-foot tall brick wall closing in on me. I freaked out, and yanked my steering wheel to the left to get out of his way. I think that he saw me...or heard the noise or felt the bump that resulted from sideswiping my car...and he pulled back into the lane he'd just vacated.
I let off the gas; I was pretty rattled. I kind of coasted along for a moment as I approached the intersection that I was headed for. The bus driver must have been on some kind of a tight schedule, because he didn't slow much at all. Only just enough to take a left turn just as the light was turning yellow. He went on through the intersection, and kept on driving, disappearing from my sight, because I didn't make the light before it turned red. I was too busy, unlike that bus driver, slowing down and acting as though I'd just been in a traffic accident.
I stopped at the light, and several of the people in the cars around me who had just witnessed the accident were catching my eye, then shaking their heads and throwing up their hands as if to say, "What the heck was that bus driver doing?"
When the light turned green, I took a left, and drove on down the road to see if the bus driver had actually not meant to abandon the scene, but instead had pulled over down the street and was waiting for me. It was not to be. He was gone, gone, gone.
So, I went to work, pulled into the parking lot, and surveyed the damage. My side mirror seemed to have taken all of the damage of the encounter. When the bus hit it, it moved on the joint that side mirrors have, and flattened against the car. I had to pop it back into position.
The plastic of the reflector was cracked, and a portion of it had fallen off. The plastic housing of the mirror had split apart a little, but it was holding together.
And that seemed to be the whole extent of the damage. I couldn't see anything else in any other areas.
Either my jerking the steering wheel to the left or possibly the bus driver's move back to the right had saved my car from sustaining any real damage. It all happened so fast that I couldn't really say exactly what happened. I want to say that when I jerked my car to the left, it jumped up the curb onto the sidewalk for a minute, but now that I think back on it, I don't think it did. That probably would have resulted in some big damage to the car, because they have steep, straight curbs all along the sides of the roads around here. They always say that eyewitness testimony is unreliable, and in this case, I definitely believe it. Because my eyewitness testimony is definitely garbage.
But, even though it was a hit and run, everything turned out okay. The damage is minimal, something I'm not even going to bother trying to fix. I've done worse damage to my own side mirror in the past when pulling out of my parking spot (Rish Outfield can attest to it, he was in the passenger seat), and I didn't fix that either. So, I'm definitely not fixing this. And nobody got hurt. All's well that ends well.
I did see this scratch on the car when I was examining it for damage, but for all I know, it was already there. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from some other event--a door ding in a parking lot or something like that.
Who can say they got hit by a bus and fared so well?
I let off the gas; I was pretty rattled. I kind of coasted along for a moment as I approached the intersection that I was headed for. The bus driver must have been on some kind of a tight schedule, because he didn't slow much at all. Only just enough to take a left turn just as the light was turning yellow. He went on through the intersection, and kept on driving, disappearing from my sight, because I didn't make the light before it turned red. I was too busy, unlike that bus driver, slowing down and acting as though I'd just been in a traffic accident.
I stopped at the light, and several of the people in the cars around me who had just witnessed the accident were catching my eye, then shaking their heads and throwing up their hands as if to say, "What the heck was that bus driver doing?"
When the light turned green, I took a left, and drove on down the road to see if the bus driver had actually not meant to abandon the scene, but instead had pulled over down the street and was waiting for me. It was not to be. He was gone, gone, gone.
So, I went to work, pulled into the parking lot, and surveyed the damage. My side mirror seemed to have taken all of the damage of the encounter. When the bus hit it, it moved on the joint that side mirrors have, and flattened against the car. I had to pop it back into position.
The plastic of the reflector was cracked, and a portion of it had fallen off. The plastic housing of the mirror had split apart a little, but it was holding together.
And that seemed to be the whole extent of the damage. I couldn't see anything else in any other areas.
Either my jerking the steering wheel to the left or possibly the bus driver's move back to the right had saved my car from sustaining any real damage. It all happened so fast that I couldn't really say exactly what happened. I want to say that when I jerked my car to the left, it jumped up the curb onto the sidewalk for a minute, but now that I think back on it, I don't think it did. That probably would have resulted in some big damage to the car, because they have steep, straight curbs all along the sides of the roads around here. They always say that eyewitness testimony is unreliable, and in this case, I definitely believe it. Because my eyewitness testimony is definitely garbage.
But, even though it was a hit and run, everything turned out okay. The damage is minimal, something I'm not even going to bother trying to fix. I've done worse damage to my own side mirror in the past when pulling out of my parking spot (Rish Outfield can attest to it, he was in the passenger seat), and I didn't fix that either. So, I'm definitely not fixing this. And nobody got hurt. All's well that ends well.
I did see this scratch on the car when I was examining it for damage, but for all I know, it was already there. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from some other event--a door ding in a parking lot or something like that.
Who can say they got hit by a bus and fared so well?
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Happy Halloween
The weather guy told me that Halloween was probably going to be wet and miserable...again. I had to work last Halloween, but my wife told me that they only trick-or-treated down half of one street because it was so miserable. My six-year-old, who was dressed as a teen wolf-looking werewolf in jeans and a flannel shirt, had to quit because his pants had gotten so wet from the rain that they were giving him a rash scratching against his legs.
I was determined to give him a better Halloween this year. I took the day off so that we could trick-or-treat together. And then the weather guy told us that it was going to rain again this year. We just finished having the best weekend weather in a month, but a storm was coming in, and it was going to be a big one. Severe storm warnings for the whole area. I was super irritated. Shouldn't we only get rainy days on Halloween once every few years? That seems only fair.
All the weather people did say to get out early and get your trick-or-treating done as soon as possible, because it was going to get worse as the night wore on. So we did. At 5:30, we were out the door. It was already drizzling. We took the umbrella and tried to stay together underneath it.
We got to about six houses before the rain really set in.
But my six-year-old ninja wasn't interested in going home. I kept trying to convince him that we could go home and have some dinner, put his costume in the dryer for a while, and wait for a break in the rain to go back out again. When he said no, I was willing to keep going, because I truthfully expected that there might not be any break in the rain at all. If we went home, we might never go back out. I didn't want that, and neither did he.
But it kept raining, and getting worse. I stole these two frames out of a video I shot of us walking around. Look at how full the gutters are:
It was a mess. At last, he relented, and we went home as quick as we could for some dinner and a tumble dry low.
We were home for about fifteen minutes, still waiting for dinner to be ready, when the weather changed. The rain slowed, and then all but stopped. Afraid we'd miss our chance if we didn't go right away, we pulled his costume out of the dryer, grabbed the umbrella and headed back out. The funny thing was that for the next two hours, the weather was almost perfect. It barely sprinkled, and the temperature was completely pleasant. Those stinking weather people who said to get out and trick-or-treat early were totally wrong. If we'd only ignored their advice and waited, we could have had a completely dry Halloween, instead of a waterlogged mess.
Also, we could have waited a little longer and had some nice hot dinner. Since we ran out the door when we did, we didn't get any dinner until 8:00 when we finally called it a night. By then, the food wasn't nearly as good. It was Navajo tacos, which are great when the scones are warm, not so great later when even the chili is cold.
It was a trade off I was willing to make though, because me and the kid had a great time trick-or-treating. He got a super-full bag of candy, and a big smile out of it. Of course, after the candy rots out all of his teeth, his smile won't look nearly as good, but for now, we're happy.
I was determined to give him a better Halloween this year. I took the day off so that we could trick-or-treat together. And then the weather guy told us that it was going to rain again this year. We just finished having the best weekend weather in a month, but a storm was coming in, and it was going to be a big one. Severe storm warnings for the whole area. I was super irritated. Shouldn't we only get rainy days on Halloween once every few years? That seems only fair.
All the weather people did say to get out early and get your trick-or-treating done as soon as possible, because it was going to get worse as the night wore on. So we did. At 5:30, we were out the door. It was already drizzling. We took the umbrella and tried to stay together underneath it.
We got to about six houses before the rain really set in.
But my six-year-old ninja wasn't interested in going home. I kept trying to convince him that we could go home and have some dinner, put his costume in the dryer for a while, and wait for a break in the rain to go back out again. When he said no, I was willing to keep going, because I truthfully expected that there might not be any break in the rain at all. If we went home, we might never go back out. I didn't want that, and neither did he.
But it kept raining, and getting worse. I stole these two frames out of a video I shot of us walking around. Look at how full the gutters are:
It was a mess. At last, he relented, and we went home as quick as we could for some dinner and a tumble dry low.
We were home for about fifteen minutes, still waiting for dinner to be ready, when the weather changed. The rain slowed, and then all but stopped. Afraid we'd miss our chance if we didn't go right away, we pulled his costume out of the dryer, grabbed the umbrella and headed back out. The funny thing was that for the next two hours, the weather was almost perfect. It barely sprinkled, and the temperature was completely pleasant. Those stinking weather people who said to get out and trick-or-treat early were totally wrong. If we'd only ignored their advice and waited, we could have had a completely dry Halloween, instead of a waterlogged mess.
Also, we could have waited a little longer and had some nice hot dinner. Since we ran out the door when we did, we didn't get any dinner until 8:00 when we finally called it a night. By then, the food wasn't nearly as good. It was Navajo tacos, which are great when the scones are warm, not so great later when even the chili is cold.
It was a trade off I was willing to make though, because me and the kid had a great time trick-or-treating. He got a super-full bag of candy, and a big smile out of it. Of course, after the candy rots out all of his teeth, his smile won't look nearly as good, but for now, we're happy.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Ewwwww...
My son and I went to the pumpkin farm on Saturday, and we carved out the pumpkin we got there on Sunday.
We put it on the front porch with a little LED candle in it that cycled through colors as it lit up the inside of the jack-o-lantern.
It's been outside for one day now...a day and a half I guess. I was replacing the light bulb above our front door, and when I stepped down off the ladder, I totally stepped on it. I ruined that pumpkin, breaking it in several places, but that's not at all the thing that sticks in my mind from the experience. My son's going to be sad that it's broken, but much, much worse and more indelible in my mind is the cloud of flies that lifted off the thing when I bumped it. You can kind of see them in this picture, but rest assured that this picture only shows a small portion of them...
Out west, where I grew up, there wasn't enough moisture to foster so many frigging insects. You could leave a pumpkin outside for weeks before it ever started to rot and attract bugs. Not one day. Is this one day outside and it's a bug mess thing the common experience around the country and the world? I'd like to know. Please comment and tell me if it's me that's weird here or not.
And if it is the norm, then how did making jack-o-lanterns ever become a thing? They're gross!
We put it on the front porch with a little LED candle in it that cycled through colors as it lit up the inside of the jack-o-lantern.
It's been outside for one day now...a day and a half I guess. I was replacing the light bulb above our front door, and when I stepped down off the ladder, I totally stepped on it. I ruined that pumpkin, breaking it in several places, but that's not at all the thing that sticks in my mind from the experience. My son's going to be sad that it's broken, but much, much worse and more indelible in my mind is the cloud of flies that lifted off the thing when I bumped it. You can kind of see them in this picture, but rest assured that this picture only shows a small portion of them...
Out west, where I grew up, there wasn't enough moisture to foster so many frigging insects. You could leave a pumpkin outside for weeks before it ever started to rot and attract bugs. Not one day. Is this one day outside and it's a bug mess thing the common experience around the country and the world? I'd like to know. Please comment and tell me if it's me that's weird here or not.
And if it is the norm, then how did making jack-o-lanterns ever become a thing? They're gross!
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