The good ole days July 30, 2009
Posted by joedob in personal.2 comments
“What did we do before computers?”
For those of you who don’t live in this area, and don’t have access to weather or news reports, it’s been horrific these past few days. Severe storms have been wrecking havoc throughout the Garden State, complete with heavy rain, high winds, tornadic activity and the ever popular power outages.
Such was the case last night. We had just finished feasting on Shake N Bake pork chops, cleaned the few dishes and pots, and I had cozily settled into my comfy recliner to partake in my favorite pasttime ”Mindless TV”. Recently, I’ve taken an interest in an inane show called WIPEOUT, where various contestants risk life and limb to pursue the grand prize of $50,000. Albeit, a fine undertaking, the torture inflicted by the sadistic producers of this show nowhere near compensates for the physical pain and suffering.
But I digress. The show was almost over, the 1st team had set the benchmark time to beat, and the 2nd team was on their way. It was at this point that Mother Nature showed her mean streak. As I found myself rooting for the current competitors, BANG!!! A loud clap of thunder, a bright flash of lightning, and darkness. Was it Armaggedon? Had the world come to an end? Was it ’The Big One’? No, just JCP&L. We lost power.
After a few minutes of darkness, a change of underwear, and a re-evaluation of the situation, I realized everything was OK. Or was it? Granted, I would never know who actually won the grand prize, but since I wasn’t in the running for $50,000, no big deal. The next blazing question was: What do I do now? No power means no internet, no TV for DVD playback, no light for reading (not really an option), no computer, NOTHING but solitude.
So, after making a mental note to keep my laptop battery charged at all times, I proceeded to do the only logical thing that was available to me: GO TO SLEEP. Mental note #2: after a power outage, shut off all ligths and TV’s. Power was restored within about 20 minutes (YAY JCP&L), and since everything was left status quo before the outage, all lights, TV’s and alarms came to life. I was able to resume the mindless pasttime of TV watching, just in time to catch the evening news and receive a recap of what I just personally witnessed.
Fortunately, this is not a regular occurence, but it does give one pause to ponder the reliance we all have on electricity and the many conveniences it affords us. It also brings to light the need for contingency plans in the event of another such occurence… Install a gas powered generator !!!!!
Coincidence? July 20, 2009
Posted by joedob in general.add a comment
“It’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small, world”
This past Saturday, my wife & I had tickets to a production of ‘The Producers’ at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. Now, the Phoenix Group, a non-profit team of amater actors & actrsses, puts on ONLY 4 productions a year, & this was the 2nd this year. (We missed the 1st) Prior to the play, which by the way was fantastic, we met friends, who also attended the play, for dinner.
After indulging in a great Italian feast, which I paid for the rest of the evening, we still had about an hour to kill before the start of the production. So, since we always eat at the same place and are getting antsy for a change, we decided to search the surrounding area for a new feeding trough.
After an unsuccessful attempt to find someplace new, we, & decided to head back to pick up my wife who had to sit out most of the expedition with a bad back. Upon crossing over to head back up the street, I, for some unknown reason, glanced to my left & found myself peering into the large window of an eatery which looking intriguing, but escaped my eagle eye before. At that moment, who should I see in the restaurant, but MY SON. Now, realize that my wife & I only go to this particular city 4 times a year. Also realize that my son frequents it even less. It’s been too many years since college, so I won’t even attempt to figure out the probability of us running into each other, given the infrequency of both parties visits.
My son, after noticing not his father, but my walking companions, immediately temporarily deserted his friends & came out to say hello. Seems they had just ordered their meals, so he had time to run out & visit. We walked the half block to join up with my wife, who was just as surprised as I was to see my son. We both laughed at the thought of what was goung through the minds of his buddies, as he quickly rose from the table & darted out to meet us, with little or no explanation to his dining companions.
The ultimate moral of this post is:
Be careful where you go & who you’re with. You NEVER KNOW who you’ll run into.
Need for Speed July 14, 2009
Posted by joedob in general.add a comment
“No matter how fast you go, it’s NEVER fast enough“
Truer words were never spoken when dealing with computers. This fact has become painfully obvious over the past few weeks. It has always been true that when a new system or processor is announced, it’s always faster, sleeker, and more powerful than it’s predecessor. Now, with the advent of FiOS, DSL, & cable, and 1GB network cards, communication speeds have reached lightning speed.
Now, in an effort to save money in these budget tightening times, I recently took a look at our company network costs & found they were astonomical. (Thanks AT&T) After much research, I found that replacing our existing T1 lines with a hodge-podge of protocols, I could save about $5000 per month. Elated with these new found savings, I immediately began the daunting task of throwing out the old, & bringing in the new. But a funny by-product of today’s techonology quickly became apparent… The new network runs SIGNIFICANTLY faster.
In it’s day, T1 lines were the fastest thing around, & it was with great pride that I bragged to all that would listen about our state of the art network technology. As time passed, & we added more drops to our network, things slowed down, not dramatically, but enough. Advances quietly occurred, & soon, our hi-tech lines were as antiquated as their owner. So now, we have the latest new, bright & shiny technology.
However, the improvements came with a price. I now find myself impatiently waiting at home during my web surfing escapades, cursing at the snail-like downloads I’m suffering through. My company is advancing into the 21st century, while I’m locked in last millenia’s “2 cups & a string” at home.
Someday, FiOS will be available in my home area. Until then, as the infamous commercial goes, I’ll be waiting while my internet connection is “buffering, buffering, buffering”.
TwEnglish July 7, 2009
Posted by joedob in general.add a comment
“‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.”
While this passage from the poem Jabberwocky may seem like nonsense, it comes to mind when listening to my adorable granddaughter talk. Most times, her chatter makes perfect sense, if you can fill in the holes with actual words. But in her own way, she gets her point accross.
Her latest “cute-ism” is in her reference to us. Originally, we (the paternal grandparents) were Ma & Pa, which explains the blog title. However recently, Ma had morphed into Mee-Ma. I remained “Pa”, until last Thursday. It was then that I began my slow transformation to Pee-Pa. So now, instead of Ma & Pa, we’ve become Mee-Ma & Pee-Pa.
I’m assuming that, in time, we will ultimately emerge from our granddaughter’s loving cocoon to become grandma & grandpa, but for now, we will remain Mee-Ma & Pee-Pa.
