One for this year...

Hey y'all!

I recently meandered in this direction.  I noticed that it has been a while for me and really most of those I followed in the glory days of blogging (for me).

I read the last handful of posts.  There were notifications of loss and promises of more blogging (maybe).  Well, I ain't here for that stuff.  But I will give you a quick update for those not already up to speed.

There are no major losses for me to report.  The only thing I have really lost that I hold dear would be my weekends.  But that can be a positive thing sometimes.  Business has been pretty damn good for the "side hustle".  So good that if there is a RARE off weekend, I find I have no idea how to spend the time.  Probably because there is so much that I go into overload and laze out.  But that rest has been needed.  So my laziness in this case is a good thing.

20 years have passed since my wedding day.  As a gift I am taking my wife on a cruise.  She is ecstatic and has been counting down the days.  So ecstatic that she is willing to overlook her mistrust of airline travel.  So it has been her motivation to keep pushing them goods out the door the last couple of months.  And it will be my first REAL vacation in several years.  I can't wait either!

I have also rediscovered my one of my favorite hobbies.  Last year I found my way to Slow Roll and I have been spending regular time on my bike ever since.  Not to the same degree as the golden years, but I no longer have to ride alone.  Group rides are the best.  So good in fact that they have motivated me into being out of doors during the summer.  I haven't done THAT in a while!  And I noticed some differences between my chest and forehead skin the other day.  I thought it was due to me cleaning out the gutters and attempted to wash it off.  Somehow the soap didn't do the job.  I think I am trying to look negro or something now.  My wife seems to be enjoying the light chocolate haze that has settled on me so it's all good!

Not only has the bug to ride bitten me hard, but I am motivated to build some new skills because of it.  You see I have been digging the new bike culture in Detroit.  People are even making bike clubs in large quantities.  And most of the club members are riding custom cruisers around town.  Some are pretty damn sweet.  More important the riding posture looks way more comfortable than the "curled up like a shrimp" look that was the way to go when I rode FAST.  And my hands are no longer young and have developed a touch of achyness.  So the old riding style is not that comfortable for my elder more corpulent body.  This brings me to the desire to have a different steed for the type of riding I do now.  Thsi in turn brings about a few problems as follows"

• The first problem is that most of those fly rides are single speed with coaster brakes.  I need my gears, and I like big boy brakes on my bike.  
• I also want something that is a little different from the norm looks wise.  Not that easy to find. 
• Thirdly, most of the frames with the right ergonomics are too long.  They are more stretch/limo cruisers.  I am thinking more "power cruiser"
• 4th, most of those are also too narrow between the rear dropouts for me to "reconfigure" them to my intended use.
• AND most of those designs are not quite how I want them.  Some are close but none are cigar.
• OH ANNNNDDDD... almost all of them use Hi-Ten steel.  Even the fairly expensive ones (at least expensive for my cheap ass).  I can't do Hi-Ten.  I gave up cheap bikes YEARS ago!  I can't go back.

I am guessing you can see what is coming, right?
I have two paths to glory.  Either find a custom builder to make it to my specifications, or learn the skills to do it myself.  I am guessing you weren't just skimming to get this far.  So you already know that I am cheap as hell.  So you probably figured out which option I am not planning on taking.
...



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...

I'll wait for those of you who are a little slow...


...


...


.. Okay done waiting.

Yep, you guessed it.  I have decided that side hustle number two will involve some metal work, welding and powder coating.  Hopefully the investment in these skills will save me money over paying someone else.  And I have like four designs I would like to see in my garage, so it may be cost effective in the end.  And with the proliferation of bicycles in the area, there may be some decent cheddar in it.  We will see how that goes.  Or IF it goes.  Main hustle and side hustle number one are some greedy mofoz.

So...  Things seem to be steaming along pretty good right now.  I am doing okay.  Things could be better, things are not worse.  I will take that any day.

I won't make any promises about when the next update will happen here.  Seems I am not too good at keeping them, sooooo....

Oh, and GO Team USA!!!  Some great stories in these Olympic Games this time around, huh?

Yours truly,

The Second Sixty-Eight

Captain's Log: Supplemental

Well, here I am for my obligatory twice a month posting.
Okay...
Kidding really.

Just ain't been able to write much lately. I guess I feel guilty that the time spent should be used chasing paper that seems nonexistent to me personally. I don't even spend as much time on Facebook. And I did that largely to chat jack you all and my family and friends. But you didn't come here to hear about my economic troubles. And I didn't come here to write about them. Plenty has been said about that as it is.

My campaign to "retake the bridge" as outlined in my last post has netted good results. Some underlying issues still have to be ironed out. The youngin's are still struggling with coming of age and being under the roof at the same time. But as usual, that means they are struggling with desires against requirements. Sucks for them. I will not be deterred. I do what I do to improve things. If they feel a bit of discomfort, then they are likely one of the hurdles to improvement. Mostly to themselves or the group as a whole. Time runs short to whip them into shape. The bulk of the work has been done. But the devil is in the details they say. It is the details that are causing the problems.

The fact that one could give a shit saddens me greatly. He will be 18 in less than 30 days. He could not tell me what his plans for his future are. This nearly had me in tears. A manchild born with brown skin in the United States who in 2009 just rolls with whatever anyone decides for him while on the cusp on the adulthood. Tragedy just doesn't even begin to describe this situation. He is taking a voc-tec program where he has changed direction twice since Labor Day. Yet he says that it is what he REALLY wants to do. Yet he has not convinced me. I am starting to think he is wasting his time in the program. I am tempted to have him removed and back to his regular school full time to ensure that he graduates on time. But I don't know if it would be the right thing to do because I just don't know where he is trying to get to. And he either can't tell me, or he won't. That and his discovery of the female type (too soon for him I think!) has taken a strange and possibly disturbing twist. Since these kids only listen to what they want to hear, he has taken half of the advice given him. He got this thing about being a one woman man, yet they come and go so fast that we can't keep track. I told him that getting serious was the last thing he needed in his life right now, for several good reasons. I mentioned that he should have five at the same time and not get too deeply involved until he figured out what he really wanted. His interpretation is that he should have five in a row and try to get deeply involved, until they showed tendencies toward insanity. I think he really missed the point on that one. Oh well, I just hope he is on his own before he encounters the crazy stalker one. I would hate to have to pull my belt off and whoop somebody eles's daughter's ass because she did that Jasmine Sullivan shit on MY car!

The other one has some strange space issues. More important, if somebody ain't using it RIGHT NOW then it is okay for her to do what she will. NOT okay since the inherent laziness means that places on the property, in and out, end up being dumping grounds for her half assedness. She has an uncanny knack for uttering "I don't see what the problem is". This is in response to things such as:

• Bringing home strays, human and animal.
• "Cleaning" by shifting shit from one place to another.
• Ignoring blatantly obvious yard issues.
• Mistreatment of the dog.
• Her own part in FUBAR situations.
• Lightfingering other people's shit.

Okay, let's just say it is a catchall for her just being irresponsible. For instance, yesterday I put them both on the path to refurbishing the property in general. I mentioned a bag of yard waste. This bag of yard waste had busted because my kids insisted on throwing the dirt away. I told them NOT TO throw the dirt in the bag because only the green stuff needed to be removed. Instead of dumping the dirt back into the flower bed, THEY decided to press on as before. The yard waste never got picked up because the bag was too heavy. The chose to ignore me again when I told them to unload the bag and return ONLY the green stuff to the bag, it would get picked up then. They didn't, it rained, they finally tried to move it, the bag broke, they tried to pretend they didn't see the mess, I tripped. Now the bag in question, still full of dirt, made it as far as the driveway next to the house. It is still there. All the green done dried up and is probably compost now. Somehow they can't figure out how to move apparently. In spite of me giving pretty detailed instructions, several times, that a shovel and walking would be involved. But now the dry season has worn off. So the dirt is gonna get heavier and heavier the more it rains. ALL of this I explained to the both of them yesterday. I did this because she said "I don't see why it is a problem. It has been sitting there all this time. Nobody can see it." The paragraph above is PART of my response. The short version of the rest was that she must be a blind ass idiot to even think to tell such an obvious lie.

Sigh... I could write a book on each of them. But to be honest, I am just too damn lazy. Especially since I would feel obligated to write on about my own issues, just to be fair. And I just ain't got the time or energy or desire to write those three books.

Captain's Log: Stardate 55177.4

7:19 a.m.
I have been awake one hour and nineteen minutes.
And I am pissed.
Why?
Lemme see...

• Awakened @ 6:00 a.m. by multiple alarms
  
• Attempted to page teenagers on lower level
• Lower level phone dead
• Swore aloud since I made a point of mentioning that said phone should get charged the day before
• Got out of my comfy bed
• Walked down stairs
• Searched for first body to awaken
• Found previously mentioned body awake in bathroom
• Asked myself WTF am I doing up then?
• Left instructions to first body to make sure the other two bodies get the hell up
• Banged on door to interrupt the slumber of bodies two and three.
• Escaped lower level, but only after noticing(ONE MORE TIME!) that them trifling muthafuckas need to get their cleaning game on.
• Returned to upper level to contemplate life and other such things while attending to blog comments and e-mail.
• Got fed up that dog had been whining for several minutes with no action being taken.
• Asked body number one WHY dog has been whining for several minutes WITH NO ACTION BEING TAKEN?!?!? wait... Imma give you the long version...


• "Um... Sir?"
• "Yeah?"
• "Whatchu doin'?"
• "Huh?"
• "What are you doing?"
• "Waitin' for my clothes to dry"
• "Waiting... While you are supposed to be getting dressed?"
• "Yeah"
• "Wouldn't it have been more intelligent to dry them YESTERDAY?"
• "..."
• "Hello?"
• "Yeah, it would have"
• "So why are you waiting NOW?"
• "Actually I am trying to get the wrinkles out"
• "Uh, huh..." Actually this was me resisting the urge to go into a long discourse about the merits of using an iron... But not to get distracted from my mission...
• "So you are doing nothing then"
• "Um... yeah"
• "Really?"
• "That and listening to the dog whine"
• "Listening to the dog whine..."
• "Yeah"
• "And you think this is a good thing to be doing right at this moment?"
• "He be whining for no reason!!!"
• "Really?"
• "Yeah, you know..."
• "When has he been out last?"
• "I don't know"
• "You don't know?"
• "Yeah"
• "You don't know, yet you feel justified in saying that he is whining for no reason?"
• "Um..."
• "For that matter, are his bowls full?"
• "He just got done eating and stuff!"
• I sigh heavily and a moment later I hear a "chink" and then a large white blur thunders up the stairs at me. I open the door to his "bathroom".
• "Um... Are y'all using the car today?"
• "The car?"
• "Yeah"
• "Why?"
• "I wanted y'all to drop me off and pick me up from school?"
• "Really? What's wrong with the bike?"
• "Nothing, my legs hurt"
• "Your legs...?" Translation: from laying around on your ass?
• "Hmm... We'll see..." Translation: You still laying on ya ass 15 minutes before you are supposed to leave, I am gonna do the dishes Y'ALL didn't do last night (while you are at school), I cooked last night, the garbage ain't out (today is garbage day), you been ignoring the dog, AND I gotta constantly pretty much get off in ya grill to get shit done. Yet YOU want ME to chauffer ya ass around? HMPH! (The only reason I even considered it was because there was a bit of chill in the air this morning...)
• "While you are standing around, why don't you make sure the other two are up!"
• "OK" He schleps over to the door and taps lightly
• "Do you think you could actually knock on the door?" He knocks harder. Then again like he actually means it.
• From inside the door comes "YEAH?!?"
• To which I replied "GET YA DAMN ASSES THE HELL UP OUTTA BED. THE FUCK YOU WAITING FOR?" it is 6:45 by now...
  
• I also notice that the lock is missing from the garage.
• Go outside and see that the bag that didn't make it out to the curb last week is still sitting busted in the garage.
• Garbage IN the house is still in the house
• Dishes ain't done yet they ate for the last two days because I cooked!
• Went to see about my sick wife and here he comes with the car shit again!
• This of course set her off since the car is messed up and costs money that needs to be put in the rent. The sheer selfishness of the request had her in tears.
• AND she went downstairs (very rare) looking for something and was disgusted with the condition of the basement.

Needless to say, there will be me and hell to pay. Been kicking back too long not making waves. Since I ain't been contributing to the finances as I would like to be, I let her steer the ship since she got the wind up in the sails. But it is time for me to take command again. This ship needs her captain. Not saying that Spock is not an effective captain. But he ain't no Kirk. Wifey got the Bitch gene just fine. But command requires the Asshole gene. I got that. That is what command requires. As wifey, and the neighbor lady with the out of control kids, can attest, the Bitch gene is not enough.

p.s. For those Star Trek purists who would dispute my use of the Stardate in the title, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! If you however are curious as to where it came from... HERE!

The Mickey Frickin' Report.

Here is the situation so far:

• I been a little absent. You aren't allowed to take me to task for it either. Get over it.
• I have been thinking about all of you. Just ain't been able to visit much. Get over that too.
• Good news:
• The fall mission has been accomplished (to this point) with a high amount of success. I have one examination to go and I don't see that one being a problem since the questions for this one will probably be drawn from the previous three. Term GPA prediction 3.6 - 4.0.
• My family may soon be reintegrated into one single unit. Currently the five members are dispersed among two locations.
• The wife acquired herself some transportation.
• Crip Mommie's casts are a thing of the past. She is in physical therapy and almost done using her support boot.
• Bad news:
• My MIL decided not to renew her lease for her current apartment. She announced this to The Wife around Thanksgiving. The lease is up at the end of the year. So that means housing is needed rather fast. Hence the reason for the reintegration of the household.
• The Wife's recently acquired car is not as wonderful as it seemed. Needs work!
• Mom has been dependent on my sister for her day to day care since I went to take care of Wifey. She is not the happiest about that. But she understands that it is necessary for our futures.
• We got turned down for an apartment that we really, really, really, really, really wanted over an old damn bill. That was some bullshit! But maybe the alternate solutions may be better since they could include the dog too!
• Can you say Root Canal? I sure the hell can! Got tortured in that damn chair for a whole work shift! In at 9:00, out at 3:00! Thank god for Motrin, Tylenol (with codiene), and Keflex!!!
• Because of the uncertainty with the whole auto industry and that farce that is Congress, the wife has been given a termination date for her position. It's even colder in the D than I realized...
• Water pills. Need I say more?
• I just got fucked royally by my advisor! My plan of work is FINALLY FUCKING FINISHED!!!! Of course there seem to be three ADDITIONAL classes that I need to take. Why did I get fucked royally do you ask? Well...
• I asked for it in August.
• Had I known about the three other classes, I would have taken 12 credits instead of the 9 that I took. Especially since the nine that I took were the only ones I COULD take because the rest were offered Winter 2009 term.
• Would not have lost out on 25% of my financial aid last term.
• The news would not have been such a shock early on.
• Finishing this term would have put me half way done with what is left instead of one third the way done with the remainder.
• I absoultely did not intend on taking FUCKING SPRING/SUMMER CLASSES!!!! Never did before! Why the hell start now.
• Not sure if my gubment handout covers a third term.
• I need to be able to relocate sooner than later since the job market in Michigan is on life support.
• Did I mention ANOTHER FUCKING TERM?
• And the capper to ALL of that is this... Registration for the next term started about six weeks ago. Wanna guess what the status is on all these damn classes I need to take right about now?
• IF I manage to take all that I can THIS semester, it would mean day classes, evening classes AND classes at a different campus! Man I swear!!!
• I may get convicted of committing murder on my advisor.

Aside from all that, things are going. Some days are better than others. The semester is winding down and I will have to get into moving mode very quickly. Ain't promising presence. But I will have a little more time to devote to all of you. If I ain't writing, I will at least be reading.

In case of another absence. Happy Holidays early in case I don't get back until later. The situation is still fluid and dynamic so I will be back this way whenever.

And don't tell Usama you saw me!
- TSSE

(somehow I think I left something out...)

Thursday Thir... Wha? It's Friday? Oh... Nehmind...

So I WAS gonna do this T13. But yesterday was actually a Thursday 17!!! The boy is now one more tick closer to thinking he is a man. And yesterday I spent running around getting the cake and his new PSP and what not. So I was a little busy, then I got full, then I got cake, then I got sleep.

Would it help if I said "I love you bunches"? Hey, at least you work bloggers can read this instead of getting a lazy blog. Which I might do anyway... Nah!

Friday means rescheduled Computer Science exam. Since there was a bomb threat last week at the VERY same building...

Randomosity

I find it funny that at times the captcha that I have to type on some sites is longer than the comment that I leave. Why isn't there a captcha generator that senses the comment length?

I swear, either I need to teach this dog how to use baby wipes or I am gonna have to Purell his damn tongue every time he comes near me. The frequency of his front end and back ends being in close proximity is somewhat disturbing...


I sometimes wonder if I am far more horrible a person than I imagine. It seems that the respect levels coming and going are a lot of times completely out of whack. Of course on closer examination, I wonder even about that. But then again, It is mostly dealing with extended family that I base that on...

Aside from a couple of exceptions (the outside world, not you guys) y'all are my best buds (non-family). Even though I never swilled beer with any of ya, broke bread, cooked together, or just generally hung and did something or even nothing. Y'all still aces in my book. Although I did try to do the bread breaking or beer swilling down in ATL last year. I am gonna have to make sure I accomplish some of that stuff sometime soon. And don't be surprised if I find myself wanting to come and crash ya pad! I ain't been to where most of you live so it would be a cool little vacation for me, or staycation to you!

As such, places I haven't been that you all take for granted:
Haremites! Be ready! (rallying call!)
NuYawk - Diva, Ms B., Cap, Have them corners dusted off.
Ar-Kansas - The Wife's maybe cousin definitely need to be ready in the other Kansas!
Shah-lut - Minnie, be ready. I may be scouting for new digs in Nawf Cackylacky when there!
London Calling - I still ain't figgered how I am gonna fit into the Dangler's car, but hey, as long as ya G's know I am coming. And I don't mind friendly little girls Bored, but I ain't doing the Barbie doll thing!
Lou-ZEE-anna! - Dreamy, tell that damn snake he better be up outta my spot! Otherwise I will bring Mousekiller and he will get a new name carved on the other side of the buttstock, Snakekiller!
Co-neck-ta-cut - Don't know what I would do there, but you know you better have some addiction for me too! Dangerous name for a state though...
Day-Go - Even though them some ghetto ass neighbors, I might Still Stayahontas.
Hotlanta!!! - Lemme see... J, Nikki, Oldgirl, Deep, That Bitch!, My Spelman Sister, Other family, I might get a whole month outta my second home city!

May even have to hang with the Homies too.
Eh-Lay - I can sleep in the Cheap Seats while I hatch my plan to assassinate the next writer that strikes and keeps 24 off TV again. I will settle that bitch!

Chi-town! - Great Lakes neighbor! I can get my radical all raw and uncut before you all. Unless he on the road being the Brown Driver!

Hmmm... May even have to go see Mr. Rah-some! and extend my Atlanta trip, as long as I don't get the allergy room... And to put surveillance on him sweeping up all the blog honies.

Hope I didn't leave anybody off. I would hate to think limited myself a location because I am forgetful...

Quick Peek In

Hey all. I bet you noticed that I have been a little sparse after posting slightly more than once a day for the previous month. Well. I messed up and started having a life.

YEAH, YEAH! Before you guys say it, I will say it myself! I SUCK! Well hey! It happens. And I will be the first to admit my sins. But I will still call you guys out here and there.

I also made it to the library earlier. It actually feels good to check out books without hearing "You have and outstanding late fee!" But I digress... Because what I actually did was grab a few geek manuals. Geek manuals being things that you read on your own that relate to your chosen profession. Especially if the job ain't paying for it. In my case geek manuals are TRULY just that because the large portion of geeks are in the computer field. So I shall be applying my attention to hacking (I got my mind on information security now), web design (something completely new for me), learning Google hacks (gotta make those searches more efficient) and most importantly a book on XML! So if you see things changing around here on a fairly frequent basis, just know that I am trying to perfect my new art. So if you see things that range from fly to hideous and much in between. Don't worry. I will eventually stop experimenting and settle on something at some point...

I been behind since the holiday. So if I ain't been by in a day or few, worry not. I will be by to see you and comment till my fingers fall off (if necessary).