My gig

Somedays I don't like my job (hmm and I'm the owner). It's life - we all have days like that. Days when I think I'm not well suited to my job - or maybe my job is not well suited to me. Maybe we all have something we're "meant to do" and I just haven't found it yet.

But when you look at what other people do, it does put things in perspective.

For instance, these guys. Hey they're just welding stuff. Doesn't seem too bad. But what they're welding, okay maybe not what they're welding, but where they are welding it ...



I mean, it's only 4,000 feet in the air.

It does seem like an amazing feat of engineering. But I don't know that I'd want to be welding 4,000 feet above the ground.

I might visit it someday. I'm just glad that it's being built by the Hualapai Nation, and not by the lowest bidder on an US Government contract.




for more information look here http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/skywalk.html


or here www.grandcanyonskywalk.com

Pardon my Freudian slip

Spouse and I run a business. Okay perhaps it is more accurate to say that I run a business, and Spouse is at the best of times a silent partner. (At the worst of times he's trying to "help" when he knows just enough to be dangerous).

As in any business, marketing is a very high priority, and the less expensive the marketing is, the better it is.

Since the business is a tax business, we start running at full steam next week. So I was talking about roadside visibility and was talking about putting flags out and the mundane details about buckets and wet sand vs. cement.

Spouse mentioned that we should put the banners out but I said that right now we should be putting the flags out, and we can't put the flags and banners out at the same time because the banners are taller.

So then I menioned that right now is a very opportune time to put out the flags, since it's seen as a show of patriotism since "George Bush "just died. Whoops -- hey both names begin with the letter G, and both first names have 6 letters, and both last names have 4 letters. It's a simple mistake.

(Though you'll never convince Spouse -- the diehard Republician -- that's it's NOT a Freudian slip).

Gift meme

Alto2 tagged me with this -- I hereby tag anyone else.

Holiday Gift and Shopping Meme

What is the best present you received this year?

I guess some times it's hard to say because there's so many great gifts, and some times it's hard to say because everything is for ....... but THIS year there is no doubt what the best gift I got was. I can't honestly remember the last time I got a gift that was so great, and this puts 2006 in the annals of "Christmases to remember).

It was simple. It was a card, and in the card was a piece of paper. On the piece of paper was a poem and the poem let us know that the package will arrive sometime this summer (current ETA August 1, 2007). Any of my mom friends can tell you that August babies are the BEST!!! (Even June or July or September "August babies" it's the due date that counts). I've had 20 some years of experience as an Aunt -- so I do believe that now that it's removed one generation I will be a GREAT Aunt.

What is the worst present you received this year?

I haven't gotten a worst present yet. However, Crem promised that he'd put some coal in my stocking. He hasn't done this yet so maybe my worst present is not even getting a lump of coal. Sniff sniff I shall go cry now :^).

Will you shop the after-Christmas sales?

Ummm let's see, it's Thursday and so far I've only gone shopping at Trader Joe's to get stuff for dinner, and I went to the pet store to look for supplies for SAS (Crem's dog). They didn't have the filter Crem needed for the dog bowl, so I didn't get anything for SAS, but while I was there I got a chew toy off the Christmas bin for Fuzzybutt at 1/2 price. So I'll let you, dear readers, decide whether or not that's shopping the after-Christmas sales. The times I do shop "after Christmas" sales it's because I need (or will need) certain things and figure if I can get them at 1/2 price why not. (I mean I *could* have gotten Fuzzybutt a different chew toy that wasn't red and green -- but it wouldn't have been as cheap :} ).

What is still on your wish list?

Chocolate -- I received absolutely NO chocolate for Christmas. What kind of holiday is that??

Carols

I've decided. I don't have a favorite Christmas carol -- it's sort of a fluid annual thing depending on life and such.

For instance, last year my favorite was Grown Up Christmas List

No more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal a heart...

Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end ...

All well and good and "spirit of the season" and all.

This year however I've got something completely differnet on my favorite list. It's from Jimmy Buffett. If you don't know who Jimmy Buffet is, this song is reflective of the style of Jerry Lee Lewis.

If you don't know who either of those guys are then you are entirely too young to be reading this blog.

Ho, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of Rhum
Jimmy Buffett, Roger Guth, Pete Mayer & Russ Kunkel

Santa's stressed out as the holiday season draws near
He's been doing the same job now going on two thousand years
He's got pains in his brain and chimney scars cover his buns
He hates to admit it, but Christmas is more work than fun

I can relate to that...

He needs a vacation from bad decorations and snow
Mr. Claus has a escape plans, a secret that only he knows
Beaches and palm trees appear night and day in his dreams
A break from his wife, half-frozen in life
The elves and that damn reindeer team

Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum
Santa's run off to the Caribbean
He thinks about boat drinks and fun in the sun
Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rhum

Plastic creations and crass exploitations aren't good
He wants to go back to simple toys made out of wood
Just for the weekend he'd like to be Peter Pan
Get out of his long johns and dance with a sword
dance with a sword in the sand

(Chorus)
Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rhum
Snata's off to the Caribbean
Marimbas, calimbas, he's playing steel drums
Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rhum

Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rhum
Santa's off to the Caribbean
A week in the tropics and he'll be alright
Sporting a tan as he rides out of sight

Merry Christmas to all and to all good night

I'm thinking for me maybe a month in the tropics would be good.

Finally for you lot (that would be whoever reads this ...

A Merry Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear.

-- John Lennon and Yoko Ono

We be in trouble now .....

We're in trouble now. As you can see from the attached article, the people in charge of our missle defenses are PARTYING with their families, and equipment that cost TAXPAYER DOLLARS is used to track some relatively harmless guy.

AND not only are they wasting taxpayer dollars, and partying when they should be watching our backs, they have proof of some guy going around the world, breaking and entering millions of homes, and they're doing nothing about it.

Is THIS what I pay taxes for??? :-p) (tongue in cheek)


from How Norad tracks Santa(use this link for entire article)

How Norad tracks Santa Claus
Saturday, 23 December 2006

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States decided to create a bi-national air defense command for the North American continent called the North American Air Defense Command which inherited the tradition from CONAD. Since then, Canadian and American men and women spend part of their Christmas Eve with their families and friends at NORAD's Santa Tracking Operations Center in order to answer phones and provide Santa updates to the many thousands of children who call in. Last year the Norad Santa website was visited by millions of people.

How they Track Santa
According to Norad, they use four systems to track Santa - radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft.

It all starts with the North Warning System and its 47 installations across Canada's North and Alaska. NORAD constantly monitors radar for indications that Santa Claus is leaving the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

The moment radar indicates that Santa has lifted off, Norad begins to use the same satellites that are used to detect possible missile launches aimed at North America. The satellites are located in a geo-synchronous orbit at 22,300 miles above the Earth and with their infrared sensors are able to detect Rudolph's nose, which according to the command gives off an heat signature similar to a missile launch. With recent advances in technology, these satellites can detect Rudolph's bright red nose with virtually no problem.