Hm – turns out my new little office is not such a big deal after all – at least in the light of my new little GRANDniece!
Welcome Kaitlyn Nguyen, born at 8:14 PM on Saturday, August 26, 7.5 lbs, 20 inches. Mamma Pam, Daddy Mark, baby and grandparents are all doing fine. Isn’t this fantastic??
As you can see from the webcam, we’re now up and running at the new building. I’m here on a Saturday to put everything together in my office and to assist in the installation and testing of other workstations throughout the plant. Ive got the music going (Marvin Gaye, ‘I Heard It Through THe Grapevine’ right now.
I see that some of you have used Gabbler – thanks! Although some of those names are somewhat of a mystery 
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
You’ll note a significant addition to the sidebar on the right – it’s Gabbly, a chat client for when you’re on the site. You can chat with anyone else who happens to be looking at randyphillips.net whe you are – you’ll never know who you’ll bump into. Be sure to use the Name box at the bottom of the window to change the generic name Gabbly assigns you when you arrive to your own, then click the Change button. And say hello!
Our president is infuriating me.
In his news conference on Monday, he cast aside a court’s decision to limit his ability to conduct warrantless wiretaps and communication monitoring, saying that it reduces the government’s ability to protect our freedom.
I think this is what he believes: the terrorists hate our freedom, so by eliminating the freedom, we can stop the terrorists from hating us.
TSA is chasing the latest terrorist threat only after it ceases to be a threat. Now I can’t take my jar of Dippity Do in my carryon when I fly.
Just wait until the terrorists find a way to carry their bombs rectally. You think the security lines are long now…
Like most people who drive to work, I take the same route every day – mostly on city streets, and a little bit on Highway 170, affectionately known as the Hollywood Freeway. Every day I take the same exit at Sherman Way off the southbound lanes, and every day, at the end of the exit, there’s this guy…
We’ve all seen guys like him, seemingly at every busy intersection in every major city. He’s probably my age, although the life he leads make him look much older. Sometimes he wears a Yankee ballcap; lately he’s been sporting the white one you see above. I suspect he has dentures badly in need of adjustment, as he’s always making a sort of grinding motion with his jaw. Sometimes he ducks down the side of the freeway to, I assume, sit under the overpass for a while.
But he’s there at that offramp every day. I think in the year or so that I’ve been taking this route, I’ve seen less than ten people give him anything at all. When the traffic stops for the light at the end of the offramp, I watch him as he carefully scans all the cars to see if he can spot one that might bear some fruit. He replaces his sign every month or so, always with the same two words: HOMELESS ANYTHING, always in the same neat block letters.
He seems to have a route for the afternoon commute – I’ve seen him on the southbound offramp at Roscoe on the same freeway (I use the northbound offramp, so I only see his back as I drive through the underpass), wearing the same shirt, pants and shoes he wears every day. He treats this as a full-time job, as steady and consistent as I am on mine. I’d think he’d have to, to be able to collect enough to live however he lives when he’s off the job.
My employer is moving next week, so I won’t be seeing him anymore. It’s sort of funny – you see someone every day, you build a sort of relationship with that person. I’ve never spoken to him, and I’ve never given him anything. He does sometimes carry on conversations with people who I’d guess are regular donors, but he sees hundreds of people in hundreds of cars every day, most of whom don’t give him the time of day.
But I do notice when he’s not there.
Many thanks to Steve and Denise for their hospitality over the weekend. We got XM working in their new vehicle as well as the portable boombox, and enjoyed music from outer space as we swam in their magnificent pool. Also had a chance to meet Denise’s new stepfather Gene for the first time, a real nice guy and quite an adventurer in his day.
Later I sat by the pool, hoping to glimpse a Persied meteor, but just couln’t stay awake long enough to see one and toddled off to bed. Breakfast featured Denise’s famous Swedish Pancakes, good enough to make anyone sit up and take notice.
On the way home about halfway through the Grapevine just south of Gorman I encountered a large smoky grass fire on the west side of the northbound lanes – there were large flames burning right up to the pavement, it seemed. I was surprised that they hadn’t shut Interstate 5 down already, but since the wind was blowing to the east and keeping the roadway clear of smoke, I guess they thought it was okay. I found out later from Steve that they did indeed shut down the highway – I must have just made it through.
Anyway, it’s been a slow week at work so far – lots of packing activity for the big move in a week and a half. It’ll take me about an hour to pack – my roots are shallow.
The boss pulled me aside on my way out last night:
“Just wanted to let you know that you’re received a promotion to Senior Programmer.”
Well, isn’t that nice??
I’ve been here just shy of two years, and this promotion (along with the commensurate pay rise) is coming at a very good time, as regular readers can probably guess. When is a pay increase NOT welcome?
Next hurdle: my 2nd anniversary, when I start to earn another week of vacation every year.
See you tomorrow, Steve and Denise – everyone else, have a great weekend!
I recently reconnected with an old friend and pointed her to this website to find out what I’ve been up to in the last couple of years. I heard back from her yesterday:
“Thank you for sharing your website with me – is that you on the webcam?”
Yes, it is. And I’m sure that her confusion is, in no small part, the result of my…new look.
Yes, we’re talking about the chrome dome, the cue ball, the light bulb look-alike, the Mr. Clean, the follicly challenged, the solar panel for a sex machine, Reflecto the Great, Mr. Orb, the look of a man who is far too tall for his hair – the shaved cranium.
The last time I tried it, what with the bald head, the obligatory mustache and goatee, and my bulk, I decided I was a little too intimidating. As you can see, I’ve gotten over that. But now, with the hair in front getting thinner and thinner, and my natural yarmulke growing in diameter, plus the fact that it’s been hotter than blazes recently, and what with a couple of changes in my life, I thought this would be a good demarcation move – you know, B.B. and A.B. And I’ve gotten some feedback from one whose opinion I value highly: that I look 10 years younger and a heck of a lot sexier, and who am I to argue with that?
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