I have the Pig Flu, No, Not That One

I took Little A to the Softball field this morning for skills assessment. I prolly should not have gone as I have been a bit sick but it is her first year and I was as excited as she was. I was sick before but now I’m sitting here with 101 fever watching Canada win the Gold in Curling. Not sure I could stand much more excitement. Every time I try to talk it makes me cough. Every time I breathe I cough. Lots of coughing going on. My ribs feel like I have been used as a punching bag . I have been sitting in my office watching TV while going thru the sweating and freezing cycles. I have my hat and blanket handy. Coughing is a mixture of a headache throbbing and AB master workout. Not that I don’t need it. I have been snacking all day. My sis in law brought me some Whoppers Robin’s Eggs. One of the kids made rice krispy treats. I had a sub sandwich for lunch, and 2 bowls of soup for supper. The family went to my parents tonite for a B-B-Q for my nephew who just returned home from Iraq. Now they brought some queso and chips. I wernt so sure about the hot tea as I love sweet iced tea but it did feel good on the throat. This will be the first time I gained weight when I was sick. It’s a bit hard to complain.

Where's My Video Camera

Recently, my 7 year old, Little A has had a bout of bronchitis. She has been coughing and hacking for a couple days. She had laid down the other night to go to bed when she had such a coughing attack it made her nauseous and she ran to our bedroom. Why she passed the bathroom is beyond me. We were able to herd her back to the toilet before she lost it. I was holding her hair back while the wife stood at the door with a towel over her mouth and nose because she can’t handle it. My years in the rescue squad prepared me well. In the midst of gagging she asked me what time it was. I said 9:30, Why? She gagged a bit more then she said Americas Funniest Home Videos came on at 7. OK, I said, So ?? After a bit more gagging she announced she was done and would be fine now. Good. I was wiping her face of and she said it was on for 4 hrs. Yea?? So?? Was it still on? I don’t know, why? It’s Funny. Yea it is. Can I watch it now?? No. Why not? You have to go to bed. But I’m sick. You still have to go to bed. But I can’t sleep now. Get in bed. Dad!!! Now!! She slinks to bed mumbling how she never gets her way. Actually she is the baby and usually gets her way, a small point she forgets when she aint getting her way this time. I was wondering if she had this planned but my nose told me different. I wonder if that would have been worth $10,000?

Dirty Jobs, Nasty Meals

I love watching Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs. If you have never seen the show, he highlights the unsavory jobs men and women across America do behind the scenes that keep this country running. Not only does he report it, he gets down and dirty while doing it.
Last week he was out west at a fish hatchery where they breed striped bass to restock lakes and rivers across the US. He demonstrated how they caught them and vaccinated them. Is amazing how many thousands they gave shots to in a day. It did speed things up since they didn’t require each one to have a signed HIPAA form on file. As they grew they would soil the water so they brought in fish that ate the poo. As the striped bass grew so did the poo eating fish so when they hauled the Bass away they removed the largest poo eating fish for sale as well.
Here the point of this posting. The fish that grew big and strong on poo were Tilapia!! If you have ever wondered what gives Tilapia that unique flavor, well now you know. Next time you are at your favorite seafood place and see the Cedar Plank Tilapia on the menu, you might want to ask for a roll of Charmin on the side.

Compliment? I'll take It

I recently completed designs to adapt our tooling to our partner company's tooling for a big job in sunny Ohio. I tested it at our partner’s plant in Atlanta a couple times and was pretty pleased with it. The inspection team took it back down to our partners to train and demo the unit for the client. Per the project manager, all went better than expected, equipment worked well and they pulled some good scans. It was good news and I was ready to strut a bit. Then he continued saying, Their equipment was really complicated with lots of joints and motors and gears, Yours was really simple. It looked like a 3rd grader built it. HUH?? Wha…? Jeeepers, Thanks, I think. Deflated me a bit. I’m taking my tinker toys and going home.

Just a quickie, More of a Bliggle Than a Blog

Wow!!! What a day!! Carolina Blue skies. 60 degrees. First sunny weekend in weeks. Spent the morning at softball signups for little A. Spent the afternoon in the yard, raking leaves and picking up limbs from the wind and ice storms. Little A on the trampoline with a friend. Dog under my feet. Worked on the deck awning that the ice brought down. It needs a bit of welding. That’s for another day. It don’t get much better than this.

Blogsomnia

It’s 5:00 AM. I am laying in bed semi-alert. My first conscious thought?? “What am I going to write in my blog today?” Whaaaat!!! Why am I worrying about that now?? This has been the routine since I started my blog. This is when my creative juices flow and supposed to be my design time. Writing is not my craft as I (and maybe you)have discovered. It looked easy enough in the beginning. In the past I would take a design challenge to bed and more often than not wake up with a sunrise solution. Blog dreams have not been as productive. I have ideas and thoughts but they never come out clear or interesting. I have felt like the comic, crashing and burning on stage. But so far no hecklers or tomatoes. TY TY Very much, LOL

I had never even read a blog till a couple months ago. Since then I have enjoyed reading the blogs of others. For many of you, writing is a real gift. Your funny or serious insights to life are written so crisp and refreshing. While you guys use the keyboard and mouse as creative tools to weave words and ideas, the blog is your palate. I use the computer to create models and drawings. Then I move to the milling machine to bring them to life. Metals and plastics are my medium. I assemble the parts to create a useful tool much like a writer creates their message to the masses. Machines are my Thing, Blogs?? Ehhh Not so much. But it gives me and outlet when I have something to say and I think I am addicted.
It’s 3:30 AM. My mind clicks on. “What am I going to write in my blog today?” Sheesh!! Here we go again.

Does She Still Have a Chance??

My oldest daughter, who her mom calls the ice queen, announced that she did not want to be alone and stuck single forever like her cousin. She wrote on her Facebook page that she wished her car would go out of control and run over one of the roadside Valentines vendors displays that sprung up on every corner this year. Wow!! LOL
Tell me does she still have time to find the right guy?

Poor thing is already 23, her older cousin 26. LOL