Sports

Jeff Garcia, Mr. Nice Guy

3 Comments

Preseason football can get rather ugly in the latter stages of the game. A lot of guys who will not make the team are in the game, fighting to show something that will enable them to make the practice squad or catch on with another team. Sometimes, that can be exciting. Mostly, it isn’t. Even with some regular players, sometimes the only excitement is wondering if they’re actually going to catch the ball. Matt Jones, we’re looking at you, One Catch, Zero Yards Guy. That first throw to you from Leftwich was his fault, but the other drops were on you. And why, while we’re on the subject, do so many players follow Leftwich’s amble back to the huddle? The guy looks and acts like he’s sleepwalking, and Matt Jones does that same slow jog back to the huddle. Hustle! You guys could learn a thing or two from someone like Nick Sorensen.

At the end of the game, the players head for the tunnels, or, in some cases, to the sidelines for interviews. Who showed up right in front of the section we’re in? Why, none other than Jeff Garcia. Aubrey skipped down to the rail and caught his attention while he was waiting for the interviewer to be ready.

“Jeff, Jeff! Can you look up?”

“Is that all the smile we’re going to get?”

As it turns out, no, it wasn’t. Stats for Jeff this evening: 6 of 6 for 43 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Very preseason-like. And even though his team lost, he flashed a big smile for Aubrey.

“Thanks, Jeff!”

Yes, thanks, Jeff. Made my sister’s evening by smiling for her. She wants to send you a thank you note. And she thinks you’re cute.

Gardening

Let there be green

Leave a comment

Garden two, after manually turning the soil, and adding half a ton of topsoil and compost, then manually turning that in and manually forming the wide hills, on June 28:

What to plant, what to plant…I know! Corn! And lots of it!

July 10:

July 16:

July 26:

Geek stuff

Dialing it in

Leave a comment

The great dialup adventure is history.

Dialup, for generalized (i.e., home, or personal) use would probably be workable. But my productivity level dropped fairly significantly, and adding just a couple of minutes to everything that I need to do online adds up after awhile. So, in mid-July, I had this planted in the garden.

Why this space? It’s close to the run for the television satellite dish, allowed the access hole to be drilled right next to the tv dish cabling, has a clear view of the sky, and was a good enough place for a six foot pole to sprout from the ground without being an eyesore. Since that area of garden one has nothing in it, and won’t, that’s where I decided to have the installation done.

I set up a wireless network in the house, so now everyone has access to it, and my personal productivity levels have gone back to what they were – and that allows me to get things done and get outside for work there.

Cancer, Gardening, Homestead, Life in general

Work in progress

1 Comment

When it all comes down to it, life is just a series of small steps on the way to somewhere else. It’s never as simple as, say, telling someone you’ve bought a house. What you’ve really done is saved up the money for it, decided what you want, scouted properties, negotiated the deal, signed a thousand pieces of paper, taken the keys, packed and unpacked, sorted things over, and then started the things you want to do. But it’s much easier to say “I bought a house.”

In the same way, it’s easier to say you’re improving the soil on the property. What has actually happened is that you’ve looked over the soil, discovered that fill dirt and sand from other lots was dumped on yours, dug down a foot or so in various places looking for the real soil you know is there, tested the soil, brought in a ton of topsoil and compost, and sweated your way into what is the beginning of returning the top layers of nothing to a form that is rich and loamy and beautiful for growing Stuff.

Continue reading Work in progress →

Cats, dogs, chickens, and other critters

Care for a swim?

Leave a comment

It took us awhile to get the dogs in the pool. Newton isn’t a big fan of it – and I have the scratches to prove it. Not that he meant to, of course, but he was desperate to get out of the water and back on dry land.

Mickey, on the other hand, has turned out to be part fish, or so it seems. It may just be the puppy in him, which makes him rather fearless (like any child). Or it may just be that he loves to swim. Or a little of both.

Take a look.

Geek stuff

Right, that’s why we do this

1 Comment

Thanks, person who shall remain nameless, for reminding us just why we do anything at all for people.

“Your righteous attitude and cold indifference to my plight are disappointing. Cancel my account again.”

Ah, yes. You were the one who wrote to us instead of your old host to cancel your account and didn’t bother to make any backups of your Very Important Files. This is what we get for digging around to find what we could for the account rather than just telling you outright you were out of luck because our terms clearly state that we don’t retain backups of removed accounts. A sure indication of…well, nothing like you’re saying. Next time maybe you’ll use that tiny brain of yours before you do something. At the moment, you’re just a regular, run of the mill jackass blaming someone else for your own failure. I’d be surprised, but quite frankly, we’ve seen it all too often.

Reflections on gardening, cooking, and life