Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Rumors of my Death...
... have been greatly exaggerated. Although I've been tired enough recently to feel like it wouldn't be too premature a pronouncement :)
Blogging has been light, and will likely remain so until after Christmas. Unless, of course, I'm suddenly gifted the extra 10 or so hours in each day that I need to get everything done. Lots to do with the approaching Holiday, Christmas Gifts to finish up, family events, and the ever present evil specter that is my day job.
I'll still try to squeeze out the occasional missive this month, when I can, and so far I've been able to keep up with the Weekly Girl Friday posts (be sure to check back tomorrow!).
Hope everyone is doing well and is having a safe and happy Christmas Season!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Girl Friday - 12/04/2009
This Week's Girl Friday is a lady I had a "crush" on all through my youth... and beyond. You may not realize that she wasn't born in this country. We have Sweden to thank for :
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Can you find me now?
I was watching Attack of the Show tonight, while throwing supper together. They did a story on Sprint providing GPS coordinates for some of its customers to law enforcement....
By "some", I mean 8 million pings in a 13 month period.
I found a story about the potentially troubling phenom onWired.com here.
By "some", I mean 8 million pings in a 13 month period.
I found a story about the potentially troubling phenom onWired.com here.
On Tiger Woods...
Disclaimer:
I don't care AT ALL about Tiger Woods. I don't play golf. I don't watch golf. I don't care if Tiger Woods is faithful to his Wife. I don't care what was going on last week, nor do I care what will happen in the future in regards to Tiger Woods. I don't read news stories about the ongoing drama, because it doesn't interest me.
At all.
That point aside, I've heard something over and over during the past week - and its driving me nuts.
"Tiger Woods deserves his privacy and whatever goes on in his "private" life is nobody's business. Everyone should leave him alone to sort it out in PRIVATE."
That might be true if Tiger Woods was a "regular" person. I think it would be true if Tiger had chosen to be a guy who was just really good at playing golf. He's not, though.
Tiger Woods' job is not "Golfer".
His job is being "Tiger Woods: Celebrity Golfer" (TWCG). Those are two very different careers, with two very different salaries and two very different job descriptions.
In 2007, Tiger Woods made about $11,000,000 by hitting a little ball into a slightly less-little hole. From what I hear, he's really good at it. Probably the best golfer in the history of EVER, some say. For that, he earned a huge paycheck. Now, he would have made that paycheck had he been the worst asshole on the planet, an alcoholic, and a chronic strip club patron - as long as he could still technically play the game of golf better than anyone else. $11 million is what being the best Golfer in the world gets you.
What to know how much Tiger Woods actually made in 2007?
About $110,000,000.
That's TEN TIMES his "golfer" salary. He got that increase in salary because he's NOT Tiger Woods Really Good Golfer. He's Tiger Woods Celebrity Golfer. It pays a lot more, due to endorsements, and sponsorships. It comes with lots of other perks. When you're TWCG, you get to visit the Whitehouse. You get to hang out with Oprah. You get preferential treatment at clubs and restaurants. You are loved by millions of adoring fans.
But you don't get all that extra bling, without taking on extra responsibilities and job duties. Do you think Tiger would have gotten the gig as TWCG if he had been the boozing, strip club creep that I described before?
Not likely.
Unfortunately for Mr Woods, he's discovered that one of the extra responsibilities that comes with all that income is extra attention from the public and press - even when you don't especially want it. He was very happy to have the media and public attention when raking in cash by selling Buicks. I don't recall him spurning invitations from Oprah or The President himself, on the grounds of wanting to maintain his "privacy".
I don't care AT ALL about Tiger Woods. I don't play golf. I don't watch golf. I don't care if Tiger Woods is faithful to his Wife. I don't care what was going on last week, nor do I care what will happen in the future in regards to Tiger Woods. I don't read news stories about the ongoing drama, because it doesn't interest me.
At all.
That point aside, I've heard something over and over during the past week - and its driving me nuts.
"Tiger Woods deserves his privacy and whatever goes on in his "private" life is nobody's business. Everyone should leave him alone to sort it out in PRIVATE."
That might be true if Tiger Woods was a "regular" person. I think it would be true if Tiger had chosen to be a guy who was just really good at playing golf. He's not, though.
Tiger Woods' job is not "Golfer".
His job is being "Tiger Woods: Celebrity Golfer" (TWCG). Those are two very different careers, with two very different salaries and two very different job descriptions.
In 2007, Tiger Woods made about $11,000,000 by hitting a little ball into a slightly less-little hole. From what I hear, he's really good at it. Probably the best golfer in the history of EVER, some say. For that, he earned a huge paycheck. Now, he would have made that paycheck had he been the worst asshole on the planet, an alcoholic, and a chronic strip club patron - as long as he could still technically play the game of golf better than anyone else. $11 million is what being the best Golfer in the world gets you.
What to know how much Tiger Woods actually made in 2007?
About $110,000,000.
That's TEN TIMES his "golfer" salary. He got that increase in salary because he's NOT Tiger Woods Really Good Golfer. He's Tiger Woods Celebrity Golfer. It pays a lot more, due to endorsements, and sponsorships. It comes with lots of other perks. When you're TWCG, you get to visit the Whitehouse. You get to hang out with Oprah. You get preferential treatment at clubs and restaurants. You are loved by millions of adoring fans.
But you don't get all that extra bling, without taking on extra responsibilities and job duties. Do you think Tiger would have gotten the gig as TWCG if he had been the boozing, strip club creep that I described before?
Not likely.
Unfortunately for Mr Woods, he's discovered that one of the extra responsibilities that comes with all that income is extra attention from the public and press - even when you don't especially want it. He was very happy to have the media and public attention when raking in cash by selling Buicks. I don't recall him spurning invitations from Oprah or The President himself, on the grounds of wanting to maintain his "privacy".
Monday, November 23, 2009
Gingerbread Men Generations
I picked up a plush Gingerbread Man for the Grandbaby while at Barnes & Noble this past weekend. Lots of wonderfully illustrated classic children's Christmas books were there too - but I'll wait until next year to start with those. She's more likely to try to eat the book pages at this age. She seems to be particularly fond of munching on my Sportsmans Guide Catalogs right now :)
Next year, though, there's potential that she might show interest in the actual pictures and story. Looking forward the that, I am.
Here's the little Gingerbread man that will snuggle in her stocking on Christmas day from her Mema and Scruff (that's the Mrs and me). Its along side my very own old Gingerbread Man that was given to me over 40 years ago. My Mom has kept it all these years.
Mine is a little raggedy around the edges (like me)... but seeing the two stuffed friends together gives me have hope that as weird and disjointed as life can be these days compared to when I was a little boy, loving your kids (and grandkids) is one of the constants that will see us through.
Next year, though, there's potential that she might show interest in the actual pictures and story. Looking forward the that, I am.
Here's the little Gingerbread man that will snuggle in her stocking on Christmas day from her Mema and Scruff (that's the Mrs and me). Its along side my very own old Gingerbread Man that was given to me over 40 years ago. My Mom has kept it all these years.
Mine is a little raggedy around the edges (like me)... but seeing the two stuffed friends together gives me have hope that as weird and disjointed as life can be these days compared to when I was a little boy, loving your kids (and grandkids) is one of the constants that will see us through.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Paladin's Random Crap - Fairy Lamp Project
Finished one side of the backyard fence project this weekend, in spite of the all day rain we had Friday. Looks really good and should last a lot longer than the crap fence my neighbor put up last time. I'll try to work on the short front section and gate over Thanksgiving - weather and time permitting.
The Display table project for my Daughter's Christmas present is progressing nicely, too. Should be able to get it done by Christmas with no problem. I even had a couple of minutes this weekend to work on a lamp project.
A while back, we picked up a crappy looking old ceiling light fixture at a flea market:
Doesn't look like much, but the Mrs and I really dug the heavy glass shade. Its extremely thick and heavy. Glass on lamps today tends to be really thin and light. I'm pretty sure that I could bludgeon someone with this bad boy and not even crack it.
As you can see, the fixture itself is pretty worthless. The wiring is brittle and the metal is sad looking.
We both thought the same thing when we saw this old mess: Fairy Lamp. The glass shade would be perfect for a modern take off on the old Victorian Fairy Lamps. I found an Ebay store a while back that carries modern castings for replacement lamp parts. I ordered a short base that we liked.
The glass shade is pretty narrow, so I cut the old shade holder (harp) off the ceiling fixture and soldered it to the harp bracket for the new lamp. I picked up a bakelite pull chain socket from the hardware store and put everything together with left over connectors and a threaded lamp rod scrap. A coat of paint and an electric cord, and I was done:
It has a 25 watt bulb, which is just about perfect for beside use. The old glass gives off a nice, diffused, almost amber tinted light.
The Display table project for my Daughter's Christmas present is progressing nicely, too. Should be able to get it done by Christmas with no problem. I even had a couple of minutes this weekend to work on a lamp project.
A while back, we picked up a crappy looking old ceiling light fixture at a flea market:
Doesn't look like much, but the Mrs and I really dug the heavy glass shade. Its extremely thick and heavy. Glass on lamps today tends to be really thin and light. I'm pretty sure that I could bludgeon someone with this bad boy and not even crack it.
As you can see, the fixture itself is pretty worthless. The wiring is brittle and the metal is sad looking.
We both thought the same thing when we saw this old mess: Fairy Lamp. The glass shade would be perfect for a modern take off on the old Victorian Fairy Lamps. I found an Ebay store a while back that carries modern castings for replacement lamp parts. I ordered a short base that we liked.
The glass shade is pretty narrow, so I cut the old shade holder (harp) off the ceiling fixture and soldered it to the harp bracket for the new lamp. I picked up a bakelite pull chain socket from the hardware store and put everything together with left over connectors and a threaded lamp rod scrap. A coat of paint and an electric cord, and I was done:
It has a 25 watt bulb, which is just about perfect for beside use. The old glass gives off a nice, diffused, almost amber tinted light.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Add this to the Bucket List
This is footage from the recent launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis... I've about run out of time to see a launch in person, what with the shuttle fleet on the verge of retirement next year. Maybe I'll get around to seeing a launch of the replacement rocket they are switching to one day. I need to start a bucket list, and start checking items off.
I actually saw a shuttle re-entry several years ago. I was on my deck in the back yard in the wee hours one morning. Great big blazing, meteor-like trail of fire went across the southern sky. I actually thought it was a meteor, until I heard later that it was the shuttle.
Beautiful video, below. Makes you optimistic that we can actually do great things in this country without necessarily screwing them up every time.
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