Double Whammy

October 21, 2012

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11:55 pm, sitting on the couch, getting ready to find something else of interest on Netflix when it happened:  the couch tried to toss me onto the floor.  Like a cat, though, I was too agile and too quick, successfully grabbing onto the cushions, to be tossed more than an inch or two.  I saw the shock wave pass through my house while I was keeping myself firmly reclined, and wondered “Is that a big one in LA, or a little one in Mammoth?”  Turns out it was a moderate one, 5.3, squarely on the San Andreas fault, east-north-east of King City.

I immediately did what any sef-respecting computer nerd would do, and made a Facebook and Twitter post.  I then started checking the United States Geological Survey‘s website for information.  The ground in the area has been twitching for some time, and there have been a few aftershocks at more than 3.0 since the 5.3 hit.  Hopefully these are not ‘foreshocks’ to something more dangerous.

After conversing with the other computer nerds online at midnight, or woken up by their beds attempting to toss them onto the floor, I decided it would be a good idea to go find some dark sky, and watch for meteors.  My second whammy would come at 3am, but it had nothing to do with the ground moving.

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Well, I thought it was funny…

October 17, 2012

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I was in my handy-dandy nearby Walgreen’s today, to pick up a couple of prescriptions at the pharmacy.  This was the first time I had used a new app on my iPhone, that lets me simply scan my bottle or package and order refills.  How cool is that?  It’s not as fast as simply going in and doing it in person, the app sends you a note back letting you know when you can pick it up, and for my order it was more than 24 hours later, but it does allow you to order things in advance of your actual drive, if you want.  All in all, a neat feature, and a real convenience.

I got to the counter, and was told they only had part of the prescription ready.  The clerk seemed a bit uneasy as he explained why.

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Something I heard on the radio today

October 14, 2012

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Shaaron Claridge

I was listening to Visalia PD on the radio earlier today, when one of the dispatchers gave a return to an officer in the field, and it struck me as almost eerie.  She sounded very much like the dispatcher heard on the Adam-12 television series!

The interesting thing about the “voice actress” who voiced “Adam-12, Adam-12, see the woman…” and my favorite, “Adam-12, a 211 just occurred, Adam-12, handle code 3!” is she was a REAL police dispatcher, with the Van Nuys division of the Los Angeles Police Department!  She worked part time as a voice actor, and did the dispatch for several police shows through the years.  Can you imagine the double takes people would do, if they listened to early police scanners, or happened to be standing next to a LAPD police car, and heard that voice come across the speakers?  “Hey!  That’s the lady from Adam-12!”  Her husband was a motorcycle officer with LAPD, too.

I look at her dispatch console, a desk, really, and think…  wow!  How things have changed!

My work station

This morning’s wake up call

October 10, 2012

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So this ‘morning’ (I work nights, so it was about 1:30pm) my ‘wake up call’ was my drunk cousin crashing through my bedroom door. I was in that not-quite-awake, not-quite-asleep mode that lets you be aware of things, but you don’t feel any need to do anything about them. I heard him staggering down the hall, and was doing my best to ignore him, when all of a sudden he comes crashing through my closed and locked door. Fortunately, the hollow-core door flexed enough to allow it to spring open without ripping the jamb or lock out of it’s frame.
He just laid there, refusing to get up, and cussed me, like it was my fault he fell through my door. I finally had to grab him by the feet and physically drag him from my room into his, with him trying to grab on to the doorframe to stop. In the process, I may have injured myself, although at the time it didn’t seem all that strenuous, because my right lower leg is now hurting when I walk. Hopefully it’s just a sprain.
Next week I file the court papers to force eviction. He won’t leave voluntarily, so I’m left with no other option.

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Joining an internet meme

October 10, 2012

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So full fledged Internet meme participation…  “I love living in the future!”  This image is a screenshot off my laptop computer, of video on NASA TV, beamed to Earth from the International Space Station.  Here the Dragon spacecraft has been grappled by the robotic arm, getting lined up to be berthed to the bottom side of the orbiting complex.  (“bottom side of the orbiting complex” was just now stolen by me from the NASA TV audio feed!)

12 year old Space Cadet JimmieJoe is green with envy over all the cool stuff in grown-up JimmieJoe’s life.  While all the computers are neat, I think he’s most impressed by the iPhone, which lets me watch things from outer space live on a hand held device, even in the basement dispatch center that was built to be an atom bomb/fallout shelter.  Most of the stuff grown-up JimmieJoe takes for granted these days has Space Cadet JimmieJoe beside himself, barely able to contain the giddy joy of life in the future.

He does give me a strange look now and then, though…

I know what he’s thinking.  (of course I do.  He’s me.)

It’s that whole flying car thing.

You’d think we could let that go, but…  no.  We were promised, dammit!

Noticing things right under your… feet

October 4, 2012

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I’ve been stepping on or over this for more than 18 years. I just noticed it had a face. I wonder if it’s quantum locked, and if it’s safe to blink.

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Say it with me… “aaaaww…”

October 1, 2012

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Jazmin and Ava at Ted’s 9/30/12

One Day or One Trial (but really only 2 hours)

September 25, 2012

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Monday last was my first adventure into the jury selection process since the mid 1980’s.  Back then, I made it all the way into the court room and interviews by the attorneys in a Federal case, something dealing with drugs.  I was excused by the prosecution, probably due to my age.  Ever since, every time I’ve been sent a juror summons, my group was excused on the recorded message the day before the appearance was demanded.  This week, my group made it to the courthouse, but didn’t have to be there until 1pm.  So I gussied up, showed up, and wondered if I would see the inside of a court room this trip.  Well, it appears any jury duty will be a bit like my attempts to get my current job.  Inch a bit closer, each try, and eventually, years later, land that puppy.

So I sat. More

What Dreams May Come

September 12, 2012

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I seldom remember my dreams.  Unless I wake up during or immediately after, I just have no clue what they were about.  I might recall that I had a dream, but not the details.  I sometimes have a strange, fading image of something, and I feel like I knew everything about it just a moment before, but then it drops away, despite my attempts to remember, and is gone.

Last night I had a weird one, that speaks to how things that occur around us, even in our sleep, can be integrated into the dream, even as it is interrupted.

I don’t know the details of the dream before this moment, but here’s what I do recall:

I’m in a motor home, and near water.  The water level is rising, and I’ve decided I need to move to higher ground.

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September 10, 2012

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I may have to make the fair this year!

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