Ah, finally, the weekend. I celebrated by getting out of bed a bit before 3:00 this morning. I think perhaps it might be time to put some more air in the air mattress. It’s starting to kill me. I may also need to go get the memory foam mattress topper from our real bed and put it on there. Might be a while before we get all our furniture over here, and if I don’t do something soon, I may be crippled for life. On the bright side, during my daily lunchtime pilgrimage to the old house to grab a few bags of pellets, I discovered two tool boxes filled with tools I’d long since forgotten, and a very nice looking plunge router that I only vaguely remember and have long since forgotten about. I think the damn thing was hardly ever used. So yesterday was kinda like Christmas in that respect.

With the move and lack of Internet access and all that, one of the things I’ve been neglecting to do is keep everyone up to speed on the progress of the Syracuse football team (plus, if I’m going to ignore the news, that pretty much only leaves sports, weather, and whether Michelle Obama changed her outfit during the flight to India – which, by the way, cost $20 million an hour because, instead of jet fuel, Obama insisted that the burn hundred dollar bills). Please let me take a moment to apologize for that. I know you’ve all been bummed out by the lack of updates.

After getting stomped on by Pittsburgh at home a few weeks back (which, I believe, was due to the fact that they somehow were under the impression that beating South Florida made them ‘good’), SU seems to have gotten their shit together (at least on defense), and beat first West Virgina (which looked impressive for about a week, until UCONN beat them too) and then Cincinnati (both on the road). With all due caveats as to the Big East being less than stellar, and that three of SU’s wins come against winless Akron (sorry, Kevin), the powerhouse that is the Main Black Bears, and the Colgate Raiders, Syracuse finds itself at 6-2 overall, and 3-1 in the league (good enough for 2nd place at this point in time).

And, while this is more a reflection of how terrible SU had become over the previous five years (under the coach whose name we dare not utter in these parts, lest he be summoned back from Michigan where he is busy destroying the Wolverines’ defense), in two seasons under head coach (and fellow SU alum) Doug Marrone, Syracuse…

…has already equaled the number of wins in the previous five seasons (with four games still to go).

…is 6-2 for the first time since 2001 (when they finished 10-3).

…3-1 in the Big East for the first time since 2004.

…beat Cincinnati for the first time since 2004.

…beat South Florida for the first time ever.

…beat West Virginia for the first tine since 2001.

All of which brings us to today’s game against Louisville (who is doing quite well under their new coach, Charlie Strong; preseason predictions – and past performance – had today’s game pegged as a battle for the league basement). If SU wins today, they’ll clinch a winning season and be bowl-eligible for the first time since, like 2004 (and with the plethora of bowl games these days combined with the dearth of quality teams in the Big East, they’re pretty much assured of going to one if they win). SU is favored, Louisville will be w/o their starting QB and running back, and the Cardinals haven’t won a league game on the road in the past 1 tries.

In other words, SU is ripe for playing like crap and losing. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen, or, in addition to ignoring the news, I’ll also be forced to ignore sports (for at least a week, anyway). Plus, I’ll be very, very angry.

And you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

Have a good day.

Not a whole lot to say this morning. I’m just glad it’s finally Friday, and I’m hoping this day will go by quickly. We’re supposed to get some snow today and tomorrow, though nothing major – just enough to remind us that it’s November. And it’s even supposed to hit 60 next week (when I’m at work, of course). If I was paying attention to the news, I’d mention that Patty Murray won out in Washington, which is a good thing. But I’m ignoring the news, so I’ll just say Happy Birthday to Art Garfunkel, Ike Turner, Peter Noone, Tatum O’Neal, Sam Shepard, Bryan Adams, and Elke Sommer :hubba: . Roy Rogers and Vivian Leigh, too, but they’re dead (not that there’s anything wrong with that; I expect to be dead one of these days myself). Have a good Friday.

Well, we now have a full house (critter-wise; much – if not most – of our furniture is still at the old house, and even when it’s all here, I don’t think we’ll have this place filled up. It’s much bigger than we’re used to). One cat was eluding capture, but Granny managed to catch her and stuff her in a box, so now we have both dogs and both cats (and the cats have officially christened the place by puking on the floor; once they get comfortable, I’m sure they’ll commence clawing the furniture and continue being the destructive little bastards cute cuddly fuzzballs they are. Now it’s time to start thinking about getting another puppy.

Bad news on the local election front, as the teabagger candidate has surged ahead in the race for our congressional district. The Democrat had led by a couple thousand votes, but returns from redneck Wayne County came in (Wayne – which is really a Rochester county – really shouldn’t have anything to do with us, but the district was gerrymandered for the previous Republican candidate, and hasn’t been gerrymandered back), and the teabagger has surged to a 650’ish vote lead. With only absentee and military ballots left to count, things don’t look good. Not that the one-term incumbent was a prince (he didn’t support single payer or net neutrality, for instance), but he wasn’t the evil wretch that this teabagger is. Oh well.

It’s a shame it’s only Thursday, because I’d very much like for this week to be over with already, although it’s supposed to be a cold, crappy, rainy day (snow showers tonight and tomorrow, and pretty darn cold on Saturday). I’m really quite content to just stay right here at what I now quite clearly feel is “home,” and it’s quite annoying to have to leave. But it gives me a chance to pick up a few more bags of wood pellets at lunchtime, so I guess it isn’t all bad.

Oh well, I guess I should get ready to get ready. Have a good day.

If you’re reading this, it can only mean one thing: I have the Internet once again. It didn’t happen without a struggle, though. After a very smooth washer/dryer delivery, I waited (and waited, and waited) for the cable guy. I was kind of hoping it would get taken care of early so I could go and buy some of the High Efficiency laundry detergent (have you ever heard of such a thing?) that my new washing machine supposedly requires. My appointment “window” was between noon and 5:00. At about 4:20, they called and said the dude was running late, wouldn’t be there by 5, and could I hang out? Well, duh. So, they (supposedly) were crediting me $20 for my trouble (which doesn’t cover the wasted vacation day, but twenty bucks is twenty bucks). The poor kid (who I’m pretty sure was Lt. Dan Choi, but I figured I shouldn’t ask, and he didn’t tell) didn’t get to my place until almost 6:30. I then helped him trace out the cable and all that (no easy task with the rat’s nest of happy homeowner wiring here), and, as predicted, the work order didn’t include the Internet (nor did it include HD). Lt. Dan was cool, though, and got things straightened out. Then of course there was the hassle with my TV. As I learned about three years ago, my TV requires that the output resolution of a component be set specifically for one it supports. On my DirecTV box, this could be done with a hardware button, but on the cable box, it’s software. So I had to get an old TV, hook the box to that, set the resolution, and then we were good to go. By the time the guy left, it was almost 9:00, and, therefore, I was up too damn late (new remote to figure out, new channel numbers…. Oh, what a pain).

Otherwise, I didn’t follow much on the elections, but here in NYS Chuck, Kirsten, and Andy all won big (but Howie and the Greens got over 50,000 votes, and therefore secured their ballot spot). My Congresscritter is only a couple thousand votes ahead of his teabagger opponent (please, God, no!). Nationally, the Republicans took the House (oh boy, a minimum 2 years of John Boehner), but not the Senate. Russ Feingold lost, but so did Meg Whitman. Prop 19 lost, too (damn you, California! I thought I could count on you).

It occurs to me that it was on this same day back in 2004 that we suffered through the “day after” John Kerry “lost” to the monkey man (Kerry, as you no doubt painfully recall, conceding rather prematurely later on that day). As on that day, I shall now be entering several months of self-imposed news blackout. I’m just gonna hang out and watch my cable TV and surf mindless, innocuous websites.

And go to work, of course, to pay for it all. Which I suppose I ought to get ready to do.

Well, after a week and change off, I’m back at my desk at work this morning (after a visit to the dentist first thing – another $100+ down the drain). I’m not very happy to be here, but at least I have the Internet. It’s been pretty sucky to be without it. Hopefully that will all change tomorrow when they’re supposed to come and hook up cable and the Internet. Just when I found the best position for my OTA antenna, too. I’m actually pretty pleased with it (there are a lot of channels out there that I wasn’t getting before), and am wondering if paying for cable might not be kind of stupid. But, what the hell, it’s only money, and by tomorrow evening, I’ll be able to watch all those exciting cable “news” election returns as the GOP takes over the House and maybe even the Senate. Not that they don’t actually already have control of the Senate, of course (at least in terms of being able to prevent anything from passing), but this will give them power to set the agenda, run the committees, and have subpoena power (which I once was excited about the Democrats having, “ooh, just imagine Waxman and Conyers with subpoena power, now we’ll see some changes!”).

President Hopey Changey will of course bend over backwards to pass whatever the Republicans come up with (in the spirit of bipartisanship), and Republicans will cry about the Democrats do-nothing partisanship over any vote that isn’t unanimous, while looking like the party that “gets things done.”

Oh, it’s gonna be great.

The return of my Internet, however, I’m somewhat less than optimistic about. It’s supposed to happen, but for reasons I don’t feel like typing, I guess I’ll just take a wait and see. Don’t be surprised if I’m unable to post anything again tomorrow.

Snowed like crazy for a while last night. Didn’t totally cover the grass, but there was an appreciable amount on the ground. There was even still some on the roof when I left this morning (and snow on the way in, too). :cold: Not quite ready for winter, but, well, it’s November, and anything can happen now.

Oh well, just thought I’d check in while I had the chance, but I better get some work done.

Hope y’all are having a good Monday.

Oh well, just thought I’d check in while I had the chance.

Normally, I’d be rather excited by the fact that it’s Friday. OK, maybe “excited” is a little extreme. But at least pretty happy. Today, however, marks the last day of what I’ll refer to as my “vacation.” The thought of going back to work next week (that other kind of work where I sit at a computer all day and wish I could be – or at least see outside) depresses me no end. Oh well, whattya gonna do?

Meanwhile, I exist in two places at once, which is getting to be a pain in the ass. Progress, however, is slowly being made. I picked up my new pellet insert from the terminal yesterday and, with the help of my friends (who happen to be my sister and her hubby, who I’ll never be able to thank enough for everything they’ve done for us), we managed to drag it into the house and up on the fireplace hearth (it’s basically a 300 pound cube of metal, and it was a royal pain in the ass).

I cursed the fact that it didn’t come with a manual – until we found it in the ash pan, which happened to be not only the last place we looked (and we even took all the goddamn covers off), but also the place that made the most sense (in retrospect, at least). At that point, we decided to call it quits, and regroup again this morning. Anybody know where I can get a piece of 2″ flex duct? It appears to be harder to come by than you’d think.

Anyhow, I really hope to have a fire going in the goddamn thing by this afternoon (but everything seems to take about 100 times longer than I think it’s gonna, so who knows).

We’re pretty much down to the moving shit part, now, and, along those lines, we had a storage “pod” delivered yesterday. It’s 16x8x8, and I don’t know how that sounds to you, but when you look at it, goddamn it’s big. Should be able to cram an awful lot of shit in it. The plan is to pack it full of boxes and then have it delivered to the new place, where we can unload it. Then we’ll get the furniture moved. It still seems quite overwhelming to me.

Come Tuesday, the cable and Internet (supposedly; I have my doubts that they won’t screw things up) are set to be hooked up. Since I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be spending the weekend (plans are to spend it at the new house so the dogs can get used to being there 24/7 without having to be totally alone), that means I may not be able to post anything for a couple of days. So, if you don’t hear from me, don’t got thinkin’ I’ve been killed in a tractor rollover accident or anything (though I suppose I might be; it would be quite a coincidence). If anybody would like to jump out there and put something up, feel free.

Otherwise, I’ll see ya when I see ya.

I have to go in to work for half a day today. That sucks. Yesterday was a great day – warm and sunny – and I got some tractor time in as I started clearing a trail through my woods. Many hours of fun there – I hope winter decides not to kick in until late this year. Oh well, I guess I’ll get going. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can leave.

Apparently there’s a new straight to DVD documentary coming out about Carmelo Anthony called “Carmelo’s Way.” For those who don’t know, he’s all of 26 years old, and, while I certainly have a soft spot in my heart for him (again, for those who don’t know, in his one year playing here at Syracuse, he was part – arguably the most important part, but by no means the only one – of the team that brought an NCAA National Championship here in 2003, before I knew you all), and he’s got a somewhat interesting story (from being born in Red Hook to “Life on the Streets” in Baltimore to NBA multimillionaire), I’m not sure he rated a documentary. But it’s an important video because in it ‘Melo calls his time in Syracuse the best time of his life (so if you have a business, you should think about relocating it here to bring us jobs and give yourself the life that you so richly deserve), stating that “[w]e were The Beatles up there.”

I’m not only glad that Carmelo liked it here, but am also pretty impressed that a 26-yr old kid knows who The Beatles were, and understands their importance. And, along those lines, I’d also postulate that the 2003 National Championship team is (in Central New York, anyway), more popular than Jesus Christ. Hell, at 5-2 and coming off last week’s win at West Virginia, even football coach Doug Marrone is more popular than Jesus Christ around here (at least until SU loses to Cincy on Saturday). But then, what has JC done for us lately, anyway?

I was kinda bummed that the site was down yesterday, ‘cuz I wanted to mention that Dallas lost yet again, dropping to 1-5, and basically stinking up the NFC East. So, I’ll mention it today. Sorry Tony Romo got hurt (not really, actually, but, as a human being, I hate to see another human being suffer, and I suppose I can stretch the definition of a human being to include a Cowboy).

Oh well, time to head out and try and get some more work done on the new house. Cable and Internet ordered yesterday, new washer and dryer ordered this morning (all should be hooked up next Tuesday), pellet insert hopefully to be delivered by the end of this week, and hopefully at least a fair amount of shit to be moved by next week. Way too much to do, so I’m trying not to think about it.

Things are going a little more slowly than hoped for out at the new homestead. The dog containment fence is in place (with a greatly reduced area of coverage), but I’m slightly disappointed with it. We were unable to get a couple of the post hold deep enough, due to rocks and some of the hardest clay I’ve ever seen that hasn’t been fired in a kiln. The result is one slightly out-of-kilter post. A bit of a bummer, but, well, it works, so screw it. The bottom line is that the dogs can come and hang out, which is all that matters. Now we can work on extending the fenced-in area as time (and weather) allows. Oh well, time to get out there and seize the day.

Congratulations to you San Fran fans, as the Giants beat the Phillie, and will now face the Texas Rangers in the World Series. The Nancy Pelosi’s godless Liberals vs. the god-fearing Real American Christians. Well, I guess we all know who I’m rooting for. Go Giants!

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that SU traveled to Morgantown, WV yesterday (one of the more difficult places to play, if you’ve ever seen ‘The Express’ – not that the SU-WV game depicted in that movie actually happened, but I went to grad school with a kid that played for SU, and he said the West Virgina townies were, well, let’s just say not shy about hurling the racial epithets. In fact, he told me after the game he asked the black kids on the WV team if it was safe to go to school there, and they said, “we don’t leave campus, man”), and beat the heavily favored Mountaineers 19-14. After getting stomped on by Pitt last week (at home), it was a truly amazing turnaround that puts SU at 5-2 on the season (most wins since 2004, with five more games left), and 2-1 in the Big East.

The win also returns the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy to its rightful place for the first time since 2001 (the last time SU started out 5-2, coincidentally enough).

I attribute yesterday’s win to the fact that I was too busy to watch, and didn’t record it. I guess that makes me a hero. Humble, as always, but hero nonetheless.

More work to do again today (every day between now and, oh, I don’t know, 2025 or so), so I have neither the time nor inclination to see who today’s blathering idiots talking heads are. So I guess if you care, you’ll just have watch.

Now there’s a revoltin’ thought.