Spring, Sprang, Sprung

Not a lot of explanation necessary...

Numbers

I'm not sure what it is with the movies right now, but there are a couple of numerical flicks out there. The Number 23, with Jim Carrey, which I'm not going to see (and which is redundant because once I write it stars Jim Carrey I don't need to add "which I'm not going to see"); and 300, which I will see.

I have a new favorite number: 4442.

That's the tax refund check that just appeared in my mailbox. Another happy number is 6, which is the interest HSBC is going to pay on new deposite until April 30 (after which is goes back to 5).

And in the number arena, 9 is a bad number -- my Sallie Mae student loan interest rate -- but 3.9 is a better number, and I was able to transfer most of my outstanding student loan to a Discover Card with a 3.9 fixed rate on balance transfers until 2011. I'll get the rest paid off myself in the next month of so.

The Thumbs Say "Yea!"

The Blackberry is the bomb.

I've had the 8700 for about a week now, and although it hasn't saved my life or won us any contracts all on its own, it is handy, light, cool and fun.

(It did settle a bar bet when Diane and I were out the other night, but since she was right and I was wrong I consider it a knock against the device...)

I don't know if my timing was right in buying it -- I wanted to wait until we were busy enough to justify it -- or if buying it influenced business directly, but whichever way it was, it's working. We're busy. People I've pitched in the past are calling, and for the last week or two I've been scrambling to try to keep up.

So why, might you ask, am I taking the time to write this post, when Blackberry isn't giving me a cut for this quite positive testimonial? Have you seen the post below it? Isn't it obvious?

Off Kilter

Let me say up front I know this is a bad idea. When you have sisters and brothers-in-law as smart, clever, funny and merciless as I do, you don't have to give them any ammunition to work with.

Having said that, here's a picture of me in my kilt. Like I said, the Elliott tartan is quite striking. The sporran is a great place to carry your Blackberry!

I led a foreign policy discussion this afternoon (I get asked once a year for the past three years) and today's topic was immigration, and I thought I'd remind them we all came from somewhere else. Besides, it let me make a good joke.

"I suppose I should address the way I'm dressed," I said. "I've been doing this for three years now, and this is the first time I've worn a tie."

Yeah, well, polite laughter is still laughter...

Doubters? Doubters?

It has recently come to my attention that some of you out there -- and you know who you are -- doubted that we've been getting "real" snow here in lovely Avery, Calif.

Hrrrumph.

Lest anyone doubt again, last night we got 10 inches. I got home around 7 p.m. in Diane's Hyundai. Measured the snow on its roof this morning, so it wasn't accumulation. Here's a picture of accumulation -- since last Thursday.

Here's some other pictures, just for the hell of it.

And even a few arty ones.

Snow Day

I had a dentist appointment Friday but a took a snow day instead. Here's what it looked like around here when we woke up Friday morning.

Since I own cross coutry skis, I thought I'd use them on our morning walk. The snow was too deep and powdery, though, so it was just like having very long and skinny snow shoes.

As you know, Spanky likes the snow. I'll spare you any more pictures of Spanky eating snow (although if I could have recorded sound last night I'd put up an audio file of him crunching icey snow.) We got home around midnight and just took a quick walk to the corner and he'd run 5 feet ahead, tail wagging madly, then crunch crunch crunch hardened snow off the side of the road. We'd catch up and he'd sprint forward then stop and crucnh crunch crunch again. The. Whole. Way. To. The. Corner. And. Back. Silly dog!

Idgie is more regal in the snow. She likes it, but when Spanky plows through the deep drifts, she's more likely to pick a path of less resistance.

In Praise of Z-Chains and All-Wheel Drive

When I bought my two-wheel-drive truck, we didn't live in Avery, at 3,400 feet, where snow is a certainty every winter. I didn't sweat it, though. I figured there'd be 10 days a year or so I regretted the decision, and 355 I appreciated the better gas milage.

I did buy good chains, though. Z-chains, which turn out to be the cat's frickin' PJ's when it comes to snow chains.

It had just started snowing as I drove to school today. It was a production day, so skipping wasn't really an option. Got it about half done, and there's a late story coming in, so that was about as far as I could get, so I came home around 3 p.m. And the snow starts in Murphys.

I went about two miles above Murphys and it was building up on the roads enough to make me pull over. I got out my Z-chains, read the instructions, then put the first one on. These chains are great -- you don't have to lay them out and drive over them. They just sweep around the tire from behind, latch here, here and here, and snap on a rubber tensioner. I put the first one on, and honestly wondered what I had done wrong. "Is it that easy?" I asked myself. Second went on in less than a minute. Truck trucked right on home and into our drive. If you need chains, Z-CHAINS ROCK!

But tonight we had to go down to Angels Camp for play rehearsal (I still don't know how I got dragged into the Calaveras Follies...) and we went in Diane's Hyundai Santa Fe. All-wheel drive with traction control. Started raining in Angels Camp while we're running the numbers. Then started snowing in Angels Camp (ele. 1,400 feet). So when Diane's number was done (she's the star, by the way) we started up the hill. An inch-plus in Angels. Snowing steady. We have chains in that car as well, but I decided that I'd see how well we did without them.

So we motored. And motored. And motored past a spin-out. And a second. Going uphill I could feel an occassional stutter as the wheels tried to spin and the traction control told them not to. But other than that, it just pulled steady. Turned off 4 onto Avery Sheep Ranch, and that had been plowed, but a while ago. Two to four inches of snow. No problem. Turned onto Roan -- six inches of snow. No problem. Turned into our driveway -- a berm and 12 inches of snow. Got there, then started spinning the wheels. In the driveway. Home.

Snow Jackalopes

Only Diane qualifies as a snow bunny, but she had Frankie and I with her today. Here's proof:

So I haven't skied since high school, and then I only did it once. And I never got past the T-bar and onto a chair lift. Today we went to Bear Valley, where both Diane and Frankie have considerable experience. Peak rates because of the holiday weekend, but Frankie was home because of the holiday weekend. And Bear's only about 40 minutes away, so what the hell. We got up early and headed up.

On the plus side, I never fell. Not once. Two times down the bunny hill for some instruction, two times down Cub, three times down Super Cub (both sides) and I didn't face-plant once. Turned, stayed balanced, zipped around pretty well for the first time. (There was one near-fall and a couple of "turn...turn...TURN...TURN!!! moments, but no falls.)

My big question was when did I turn into a complete and total wussy when it comes to heights? (Or was I always?) Chair lifts are way up in the air, and sometimes they rock back and forth. This is NOT GOOD. I did it, and the last two runs down Super Cub I really enjoyed, but I never got comfortable on the lifts. Maybe in time, I guess. Maybe in time.

Further Updates

We have more Spanky news, and it isn't what we hoped.

The pathologists are pretty sure what they're seeing in Spanky's biopsies is cancer, so we do have an answer. Because of where it is as much as what it is, treatment isn't much of an option. The doc is looking into one drug that might shrink the swelling, but beyond that, there isn't much to do. We have drops that seem to prevent the bleeding pretty well.

So that's the news. Spanky's home and happy. He led us on our 2.5-mile run yesterday and a 3-mile walk today. He eats and sleeps and likes his biscuits, and as long as he's happy and comfortable, we're happy. We'll value the time we have, and say goodbye when we have to. Thank you for all your good thoughts and wishes. Spanky wagged his tail for all of them.

Spanky's Home

Spanky came home today and slept.

And slept.

And slept.

We had visited him Sunday and he looked great -- happy and frisky and excited to see us. He was excited to see us this morning, too, but it had a "I want to go home now!" edge to it. But he got to, and we have drops and no results. Probably start to get those tomorrow, although the fungus test takes weeks, apparently.

Anyway, we're happy and poorer, but Spanky's home. Yea!

A Spanky Update

Spanky had biopsies done today and came through the surgery fine. We were gonna go see him around 4, but the doc thought it was best not to excite him.

Yesterday was a bad day that included serious thoughts that it might be time to put Spanks to sleep. His nose is worse; bleeding off and on. The problem was that when we had him in last week they didn't actually do anything to figure out what was going on with his nose. Our vet did non-invasive tests, basically looking for signs of cancer that has spread. He saw signs that something was up, and expected the test results to confirm the worst, so he didn't do the nose biopsy. The tests later came back negative.

But yesterday Spanky's worse and I don't want him to suffer and Diane and I are talking (and crying -- lots of crying) and wondering what to do. And I'm damn upset because we don't know what to do. We don't have an answer about what exactly is causing the problem, and because of that can't know for sure it's not treatable. So we're wondering whether to put Spanky down, knowing there's at least some chance he could be cured. It was not a good day.
I called our vet and vented, told him I was upset -- upset at him, upset at the situation. He explained his approach and basically offered to do the nose tests today instead of next Tuesday. (His partner, who is the specialist, even came in today to help him do it.) They're charging us for the tests and surgery but not for the hospitalization. Diane and I even had to work through that -- are we putting our boy through surgery just to make us feel better and not him -- but decided the potential good outweighed the bad.

So we don't have answers today, but hopefully we will soon. And maybe they'll good ones, because Spanky's a good boy! (banga-banga-banga...)

The World's Best Dog

This is the world's best dog.

If you get a chance, think a good thought for him.

Studio M and Style & Co. and Inc. - Oh My!

I amuse sales associates in Macy's.

Diane and I went shopping yesterday because she needed some clothes for her new job. One of the great things about working mostly from home is that it doesn't require a wide wardrobe, and the same pieces work over and over when meeting different clients.

Doesn't work as well at Davis, however, and Diane realized this week that in the six days she's been there, she wore the same cool Benneton jacket four times. So yesterday she had a haircut appointment in Modesto and I went with and we went shopping.

This is where the amusment part comes in. First, it appears not many husbands accompany their wives. Second, the ones that do seem to stand around in impatient huffs or resigned indifference. The ones who go through the rack and bring in different pieces and evaluate the clothes as they're tried on are in very short supply. And the fact that I have good taste -- as least as far as being able to tell what looks good on Annoymous Diane -- doesn't hurt.

So anyway, with two separate rounds of trying on stuff at Macys (interrupted by a trip to Gottchalks, where Realtors shop, apparently) we emerged victorious with several nice business basics, including shoes, that have AD set for a while. They include a Studio M skirt that has black and white stripes going several different directions. It was in the morning hold pile that I thought might not make the cut in the afternoon simply because of price. Then she tried it on again and left me no choice.

To avoid any Ryan Seacrest Awards, I also bought a 1" dial indicator and inside bore gauges because I'm working on my motorcycle again. Not sure it offsets...

Bigger, Better Benefits

OK, they're not bigger. But, despite what I wrote in a previous post about Diane's benefits not starting for six months, I was wrong. They start(ed) Jan. 10, her hire date. As soon as we sign up (like tomorrow!) we're covered, and it's retroactive to the start date.

So I have $1,400 in medical insurance premium bills on my desk THAT I NO LONGER HAVE TO PAY!

I have to go do my happy dance now...

Redneck Ice Sculpture

This is a redneck ice sculpture.

Any ideas what it is?

The negative space in the center... oh, wait, this is a redneck ice sculpture.

The hole in the middle was actually it's own piece of ice, but unfortunately I tossed it against a rock to watch it shatter before I thought of taking pictures. This picture is more interesting anyway.

What the photo doesn't give you is any sense of scale. Is that an inch across, or a foot?

Here's some other objects that will help clarify.

I had the oil pan stashed under Gina's car, but she came home and took her car, so the oil pan filled up with rain. The funnel was upside down inside the pan. (And apparently centered quite nicely.)

When it froze, ice poked up out of the top of the funnel, and all the pieces separated like they'd been greased, which seems entirely reasonable.

Yeah, I know. There's damn lots of fun up in the hills. Diane's column this week is about a bunch of Troglodyte high school coaches who want the school board to update the 1970 policy on the appropriate length of hair for high school athletes. Keep it, but update it to allow hair to reach the bottom of a standard shirt collar instead of the top.

Wow.

The Benefits of Benefits

Don't think we've told anybody yet, but Diane got the writing job at U.C. Davis and started on Wednesday. She has an office and everything. She's the part-time writer for the Plant Sciences Department, and will be on campus one to two days a week and working from home as much as possible.

Best of all, she's bringing home full University of California benefits for both of us -- health, dental, vision, disability, retirement, the works. They start in six months. By my conservative estimate, it should save us about $20,000 a year. And she gets paid, too.

Woo-frickin-hoo!

Black Dog, White World

Spanky likes the snow.

Do dogs get brain freezes?

The Beauty and the Basement

Van Gogh had Starry Starry Night.

Michelangelo had the Sistine Chapel.

Anonymous Diane has the basement Storage Area.

As I mentioned, when we brought up Christmas boxes, I discovered the bottoms of some of them were rotting. I don't want to encourage rot and decay in the foundation area of our home, so I decided the basement needed to be a cardboard-free zone. At least no wood or cardboard in contact with the dirt. A few days after Christmas we bought 14 storage containers, 18-gallons each, and on Jan. 1 we bought six more. (By my math, that's 360 gallons of storage...)

Then I stood back and let the master work.

Diane got ON it. (Yes, she gets into things...) For days our living room was the site of serious sorting. One pickup load went to the dump. Another load is going to the thrift store. And 360 gallons of stuff was packed into labeled bins and stacked in the basement.

I bought pavers to keep some stuff off the ground. A table in the back wears soup-can shoes. My bunker supplies are labeled and handy.

I promised NSO we could play cards down here. I'm not saying we have to, but we could.

Unabashedly '80s!

OK, Frankie may have a point.

Frankie, who has memorized more music than I've ever heard, gives me unrelenting grief for my musical taste (or lack thereof.) And yes, I'm still an '80s guy.

Driving back to the office in Stockton today from lunch, flipping around and come across a song that makes me stop, then turn the radio up. It's got that rich keyboard bubblegum sound and Patty Smyth vocals. "Shooting out the walls of heartache, bang bang, I am the warrior."

The '80s rule.

Worth the Money

Reading Koji's Kitchen's list of lessons learned in 2006 made me think of a few things I learned last year. Fortunately, the only common mistake we made was The Good Shepherd (I only buy bras at Victoria's Secret...) so the list won't be too redundant. Mostly what I'm thinking about are things worth a little extra cost -- especially if you can get them for less.

So, here's This Land's List of Things Worth the Money:

1. Hot tubs. Get a fully insulated one and use the chemicals they sell at Wal Mart. (And that's not because they're cheaper, but because they work great.) There's a cost to running a tub, but we use the thing damn near every day. It's worth it.

2. Shoes that fit. I used to buy sneakers at Big 5, only on sale, and only spend $20. Until I discovered Sketchers. These shoes fit my feet better than any other brand I've ever worn. I still only buy them on sale, but I'll spend the extra for the comfort.

3. Cotton dress shirts. Sometime back in the spring I saw an ad in the New York Times (which is another thing worth the money) for Paul Fredrick's. Special introductory offer for one of their basic white dress shirts for $19.95. I ordered one. Then got another on clearance. I've picked up three others at The Gap, all on clearance, and all 100% cotton. They look so much better than the cotton-poly blend shirts they sell at Mervyns or Gottschalks. The cost here isn't money -- on sale they're just as cheap -- it's ironing. I don't mind.

4. High-speed Internet. No explanation needed.

5. One nice fountain pen. This is an absolute luxury that most people would not include on the list. But I write for a living so it's on mine. I have a Waterman Charleston.




And, for the heck of it, here's a few Things Not Worth the Money.

1. Watches. The New York Times is filled with ads for very nice, very expensive watches. I have one I bought for $8 at Wal Mart and I defy you to tell the difference. At least from a respectable distance...

2. Edward Jones. Maybe it is worth it for some people, but the fee Edward Jones was going to charge to manage our small retirement holdings was excessive. Besides, since I've taken responsibility for it, I find I'm more actively interested and focused on building our retirement savings.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to add to either list!