Ten Tentacles - So many arms, so little time.

…and pumped you full of rocks and mud.

That’s how I feel. Sicky-sick. Bleah. It’s not as bad as it could be, I suppose, but it’s bad enough. The silver lining for today is that my DirectTV DVR with TiVO package is getting installed as I type this. So, at least when I’m vegging on the couch tonight, feeling miserable, I can surf all the new channels and play around with TiVo. It’s the little things…

I have a cold. My wife and son have had it since last week and it’s finally caught up to me. Usually I spend a few good days trying to fight it off, but it doesn’t seem like I’m going to win this time. It started yesterday as an annoying cough and today I have the dry, scratchy throat. Bleah. I remember now why I hate spring. Hate, hate, hatey, hate-hate.

We did finish up Devin’s pinecar this weekend.

I’ve mentioned, in detail, my issues with Echostar/Dish Network. Well, as of noon tomorrow all those troubles will be over. DirectTV is coming out tomorrow to install our new system. Yay! I can’t wait to play around with DVR. Ahhh, no more messing around with video tape, trying to figure out what’s been watched and what can be taped over. Man! I can’t wait.

Tonight I have the pinewood derby to judge. Should be fun. It’s a riot to see how seriously these kids and their parents take this. It’s serious business, let me tell you. The weigh-ins alone are a source of much debate and final tweeking. I guess it really shouldn’t come as any surprise being that this is the land of NASCAR. Hoooooo, doggie!

First, a couple of memes I found amusing and filled out:

What would your Anime life be like? by hearthlight
Name:
Gender:
Your looks:	Ethereal beauty.
Your best friend:	A talking magical animal.
Your powers:	Control of shadows.
Your beloved:	A valiant hero.
Your occupation:	Minion of evil.
Your ending:	Sweet and romantic.
Created with quill18’s MemeGen 3.0!

And here’s a quick picture of what I’ve been doing today. This is a shot of the pinecar my son will be racing in a Pinewood Derby I’m judging on Monday. No, no, he won’t be racing offically, so there’s no conflict of interest. He’s four and last year was heartbroken that he didn’t have a car to race in the open races at the end of the official competition. So, I decided to make him one for this year. These things usually start out as a block of wood. This is what I’ve reduced ours to. Not bad for a first try. My son will be handling all the painting. As you can see he’s already added some pen squiggles. Should be interesting.

Volo anaticulum cumminosam meam!
“I want my rubber ducky!”
Okay, so you’re a little childish.
You know how to have a good time.

Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Oh, and new user pic. Weee!

Ok, here’s a word I could have gone my whole life without knowing the definition of - santorum.

I mean, I think it’s rather amusing. Sort of like that bit in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, “From now on all the toilets in the kingdom will be called Johns.” I also don’t have a problem with the subject matter itself; live and let live, don’t knock it till you try it and all that (not that I have, but I’ll get to that). No, I take issue with the word ‘frothy‘.

Frothy should only ever apply to cappuccinos. As a result of my foray into the twisty world of vocabulary I will never be able to look at another Starbuck’s Grande Cappuccino in quite the same way again. In fact, I venture to say here and now, that I will be sticking to Double Espressos from here on out. On the upside, as I’ve shared my newfound knowledge with my wife, I can now turn to her the next time she’s having her much loved Starbuck’s and say “Mmmmm, frothy.” and likely get at least a spit-take if not the ever hoped for ASNeR, or Acute Spontaneous Nasal Reflux. That’s shooting your drink out your nose for those of you not familiar with DSC.

I suppose that I’ve been entertained as well as scarred, so that’s a plus. As to me not having tried this sort of activity, as mentioned above, this sort of topic often gives me pause. This is because I realize with an almost shame that the life experiences I’ve gained in thirty-three plus years on this miserable little rock of a planet amount to a hill of beans compared to some segments of the population. I often feel like one of those kids, both horrified and facinated, in the creepy carnival in Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Then again, I’ve repelled out of the hell-hole of a CH-46 in the middle of the night, one-hundred feet off the ground, so I suppose it all balances out.

Another project down. Today I tackled the dreaded kitchen sink. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I meant to take a before picture, but forgot. So, you will have to settle for a picture of all the crap I pulled out from under the sink.

And, just incase you can’t see all the tubes and valves and filters, here’s a close-up.

I don’t know what the previous owner thought they were doing, but there were no less than four filters under that sink and a water softener. Who puts a water softener on a kitchen sink? Well, apparently this guy. I’m going to probably install it on our whirlpool bath sometime soon. Mmmm, water softened whirlpool bath…

Ahem…

The whole idea of this project was mostly to get all that crap out from under the sink. As you can imagine, from those pictures, there was hardly any storage under there. Also, all those filters were reeking havoc on the water pressure and just a breeding ground for bacteria. We have a well; the water is clean and there are sediment filters under the house. It’s clean as a mountian spring, because it is one! Why all the filters?! Here’s what it looks like now.

Since I was already doing all this plumbing hooha, I went ahead and installed the new faucet. My wife had bought it a year ago. She’s very glad I finally got around to putting it in. Here’s a shot of the new faucet.

With that done my list of house projects in the maintenance category is quickly dwindling. I’ll soon be able to get to the for fun stuff. Next on the list? Replacing a GFCI receptacle and fixing the GFCI circuit. Hope I don’t die!

Ok, for whatever reason I’ve gotten a hankering to try grog. Can’t really buy grog in the store, so I have to make it. This has led me to google for grog recipes. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

This is the recipe I’m going with. If anyone has a better one out there, feel free to post it in the comments, otherwise this is the one I’m trying this weekend. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

In other news my internet connection at home sucks. Being up in the mountains my only option for broadband access is satellite. I’m prepared to have conections issue in inclement weather. I am not happy to have them when it’s crystal clear outside and I can see every star in the sky. I don’t know what the freakin’ problem was. I tried every trasponder configuration I could think of and got no improvement or made it worse. And, of course, it’s working like a champ this morning. Stupid satellite. My neighbor uses a different satellite provider than I do. They don’t seem to have the same issues. I may be switching soon.

It’s Friday!