The Gathering Storm

The Mother-Load

So, as I said in a comment on an earlier post, I've been saving this post up for quite a while, mostly because I have been under the gun these past two weeks, both at work and at home.  A lot has happened since my Birthday and all of my energy and attention has been Helming the Goodship Henderson, so to speak, guiding my family through the crashing rocks and the siren infested waters of a consumer culture gone wild.  And I'm not even gonna apologize for the mixed(up) metaphors.

 

Don't take my absence as an unwillingness to write though.  I've been ruminating on this post (read rant) for a minute so you'll have to bear with me.  And, on a side note, I hate the fact that my blog only gives me a thin column in which to write posts, so that long posts that are two or three days in the making, read like an ancient Hebrew scroll.  But width issues aside, as I roll up my sleeves and begin to 'Get my Post On' as the young kids are wont to say, I beg your patience, your understanding, and your inquisitive nature to question, always and take nothing for granted.

 

My Birthday, the Aftermath

"What happened after your birthday?" a number of you were heard to exclaim through the ether.  Well, as my wife has blogged, Uncle Sonny Passed away on my birthday.  I don't want to discuss that too much here, Raquita having already said pretty much what both of us feel about the man.  It definitely put a damper on the festivities though, but I remained pretty much upbeat the rest of the day.  But this (my Birthday) was the high point of a two week slide into insanity.

 

Oh and the whole lobster fresh from maine was Off the Donkey!  Just a great meal all around.  For that Im grateful to my lovely wife for everything she's done....now...on to less mushy topics.

 

In the Jungle, the mighty Jungle, the Lion sleeps tonight...

So the Lion and the Spear was put on hold, necessarily, to manage the past few weeks of crisis.  But I've taken up the mantle like a proud but weary warrior, and, even as I speak, am fomenting more story, dialogue and intrigue to be scribed.

 

Also, Cammy's new  favorite movie is now Lion King, for which she will ask by name.  Nemo?  Nemo who?  Nemo is SO last month!  And speaking of the Lion King, did you know that Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the voice of young Simba?  But do you know who the voice of Young Nala is?  Or the voice of the Singing Young Simba?  How about the voice of Poombah, Timon's hefty sidekick?

 

Car Troubles

Our beloved Tracker, beaten nearly to death through constant use and a minimalist approach to maintenance, is suffering from what I like to term 'Sellthispieceofshit-it is' is probably heading towards the trade-in farm.  We're looking at either buying a Ford Explorer Sport TraK, which is like a half suv half truck....Imagine the front and middle seats of an SUV but with a Truckbed.  We're thinking about that for the simple fact that Anubis will be a giant of a dog very soon and if we need to take him Anywhere, the tracker just aint gonna cut it.  But My beloved also wants us to think about leasing a Murano, which is a very schnazzy, if somewhat pricey, vehicle.  I like the Murano a lot, we fell in love with it in LA, but Im not sure we can swing that.  Big Daddy's pockets aren't as fat as they once was, unfortunately.

 

Computer Troubles

Oh yeah!  Did I mention that our CPU burned out?  Such fun!  But wait! Theres more!  Because the CPU (An AMD XP 2400) is so old, they don't make the chip anymore.  So I had to upgrade to a faster chip, a AMD 64 2800.  The 64 makes the chip nearly twice as fast as it refers to the Bits of the chip...the xp was 32 bits  the amd was 64...whats a bit?  I...um....NO FURTHER QUESTIONS!!!

 

Anyway, because the new chip I bought has a completely different architecture, I had to upgrade the MOTHERBOARD!! YAY!!! So the whole process cost $179 bucks, when I was hoping to skate by with $80 but am very glad I didn't have to pay $300.

 

But now, Im trying to reformat the harddrive and put WindowsXP on the comp but I've been having troubles.  I don't want to talk about it anymore...Im getting angrier with each word...stupid computer...Defenestration is only a crime when its not your window, right?

 

The Odyssey begins in less than a month...prepare yourselves!

Very soon, a lot sooner than Im letting myself understand, I will be boarding a plane, flying halfway around the world, and joining my blood brother Daimushi for fun, fish and Jackassery in the Land of the Rising Sun.  Im excited.  Im VERY excited.  But Im a little nervous too....I keep imagining scenarios that we get into that winds up with him having to be deported and me being in some Kabuki Theatre Jail where they make me play Ori in the 40 samurai.  Im not sure that the Nipponese are ready for the Chocolate Thunder...let us pray they will be.

 

That's it for now...I know I promised a lengthy, detailed, politics filled report but who wants to hear me rant and rave about politics...besides, my last post about climate warming and the bush administration pretty muchs trumps anything I was gonna say in the 'What the Fuck are they Thinking?' category so...

 

Peace, Fleece and Horny Geese

Benticore

Out