Okay, fine. It was yesterday.
As you know, this is the time of year that the trees get GM Employee Pricing on poorly assembled crossovers that’ll be discontinued next year anyway.
Stupid trees.
– bob
A Bouncy Birthday
Let’s say you’re turning seven.
How could you better spend your birthday party than to beat your brains out in a bouncy castle?
Naturally, you would invite your friends…
…and maybe even relatives who may not be too clear on what this bouncing business is all about.
Of course, you’d have to ask your mom for permission.
Aw, c’mon. Please?
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Part Nine
Friends,
Ancillary bits are in. Ain’t it just adorable? Much better than throwing towels on the floor all the time, don’t you think?
I also thought having toilet paper at hand within easy reach of the commode might be neat as well. The walk out to the laundry room really wasn’t working out.
Could it be? is it done? Is this it?
Nah, must be something I’m missing…
– bob
Jaunty Weather Update
[This Jaunty Weather Update is brought to you by the Idyllwild Weather Clam who has been consistently beating the hotshot weather forecasters for over three months! Now that’s a clam you can trust.]
Friends,
Our own Idyllwild Weather Clam doesn’t have a snazzy thunder and lightning graphic yet (it’s not in the budget. – ed but she knew that there would be some sort of storm yesterday. I guess I knew too, but took the top down on my Miniature Racecar™ anyway during my drive home yesterday. What’s the advice for convertible drivers caught in the rain? Just outdrive it.
It was easy to slide around the giant, lazy drops until I had to slow for that school bus. At that moment, the hail started to fall, which had me worried about the paper-thin sheetmetal on said tiny racecar. No sooner had I resolved to go find a hammer and dolly to pound the new dents out, settling back in to wait for a passing opportunity then…
POK!
A hail stone smacked off my skull with the force of a wayward tee shot. Stars, the works. I don’t know how big the thing was, but it certainly got my attention. I’m sure the last kids dropped off on the bus’ route had a good laugh too.
Glad I could oblige!
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Part Eight
Pals,
This shower stall, fabricated in China by the way, was the toughest piece of this puzzle to put together. The fasteners included were garbage. They stripped out, bent, broke, and it all led to frustration along with more money spent on stainless steel fasteners.
And there’s this—the doors are adjusted with soft plastic screws that have since stripped. Again with the fasteners.
But hey! Look at that pfaucet! Ain’t it adorable? Hope it works. We’ll check after the silicone cures…
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Part Seven
Friends,
This is the part of the project when everything comes pretty fast. After painting, the lighting went up.
This helped confirm that I’m not a very good painter. I’ve got a lot of touchup to do. But at least the toilet’s back in. That’s gotta count for something. In the middle of the night. After too much iced tea…
I’m one of those weirdos who buys all the parts before starting the job, so every piece has been spread out throughout the house for the last few weeks. It’s nice to get this part done, once I stopped the leaks from the faucet. Besides, this represents three boxes and countless bags of stuff that I don’t have to trip over. Always good.
So now things are really starting to come together.
I’m not going to comment on the shower stall though. Just two words: Chinese Screws.
More later.
– bob
Jaunty Dumptruck O’ News! Trouble In Bolivia!
Friends,
There’s big trouble between the United States and some left-wing South American states. I know you’re concerned about these events and what they could mean to you, so I’ll try to explain them as clearly as possible.
It’s a terrible situation in Bolivia at the moment. Leftist president Evo Morales (file photo, top) is supported by the poor and destitute in the West of his country, but is vigorously opposed by the moneyed interests in the oil-rich East. President Morales accuses our ambassador (pictured, center) of siding with those who oppose him and has ordered his expulsion.
We retaliated and expelled the Bolivian ambassador (photo not available), which I suppose is what you do in these things. But international buttinsky, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez (file photo, bottom) has sided with the Bolivians and has issued an order to expel our ambassador to his country. Naturally, we’re going to expel the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S. in retaliation at some point.
Venezuela is the fourth largest importer of crude oil to the United States. Good night, honey. Sweet dreams!
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Side Note
Dear Kitsch Fans,
A strange thing happened on the way to mid-century cabin quaint…
No. This wasn’t planned.
This intellectual property thing is really getting out of hand…
– bob
11 September 2001
Pals,
It’s the seventh anniversary of the attacks and I’m finding it hard to believe it was that long ago. We turned on the teevees at the 42nd Largest Marketing Firm in the country (by billings) in time to see the World Trade Center towers collapse. After speculating for a while on what it all meant and coming to no conclusion, we were all sent home for the day.
That’s my overall recollection of the day. That, and the commute down the 5 freeway seemed painfully long, and a lot of anxious smoking, and pacing, like a mental patient.
Those sick bastards who sent the attackers still to this day claim that we’re the evil ones. Crazy with rage on a day like today perhaps, but not evil.
Never forget.
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Part Six
Dear Right Angle Haters,
Yes! the moulding is finally done! Hooray! Yippee! You may even find this surprising, but I can still count to ten without taking off my shoes after all this chopping.
You can’t swing a 66-inch stick of quarter-round without, well, hitting more quarter-round.
…and think. All of this gets painted.
Pardon the weird exposure problems, but if you look at the joint in the corner, you’ll notice that it’s perfect. You don’t get to say that very often.
– bob
Happy End Of The Planet Day!
Pals,
The Large Hadron Collider is scheduled to go online very early tomorrow, our time.
I’m not all that worried about the potential for the creation of micro black holes considering that I’m incredibly dense myself. I can take whatever the Swiss can dish out. What I am concerned about is strangelets.
I had no idea…
– bob
UPDATE: According to Britain’s Sun newspaper, the world has not ended. I think you can understand that this is a great relief to many people. Particularly those with appointments scheduled for today. So please, everyone, do carry on. Thank you.
UPDATE II: Nothing to worry about, Bob. Everything’s gonna be fine, they say. No chance of any trouble, they insist…
Lipstick.
Patriots,
My candidate is making a joke that quacks like a gaffe. Take a listen now and guess who he’s talking about…
This is gonna blow up, isn’t it?
– bob
The Great American Bathroom Remodel – Part Five
Friends,
After spending last week bathing in the laundry room, I thought that it would be neat to finally get this thing done. That’s right; Monday is moulding day! Aren’t you excited?
Now it’s starting to look like something is happening. Weird!
No finished drywall corners required, pals. It’s quarter-round moulding all the way around. For this bathroom, nature-lovers, a tree must die.
– bob
Armistice Day Declared, Ignored
Friends,
What kind of fresh hell is this? A.H. Belo Corp. is going to lay off a few dozen employees at my favorite punching bag, The Riverside Press-Enterprise. You know, the employees who didn’t take the buyout because, it must be assumed, they need the job. Here’s a little snippet from the article at the Providence Journal, another of Belo’s properties:
The number of layoffs at the Providence Journal was not provided, with the company noting they are “subject to contractual obligations.” The affected departments are news, editorial, advertising and promotion, according to the company. A letter A.H. Belo sent to employees said the layoffs would also affect about 50 positions at The Dallas Morning News and about 30 positions at The Press-Enterprise.
So the local fishwrap is going to lose about 150 people total between the buyouts and the layoffs. This is terrible news for the families of those employees and our thoughts are with them during this troubled time.
But the larger question is now how (he asked while lacing up his steel toe boots to commence the kicking) can we expect this institution to maintain its current high standards of reportage, integrity, and service to the community? How?
– bob
(via Romanesko)
Because America Is An Idea
Pals,
McCain’s right, you know. America is an idea that’s been articulated many times and by smoother orators than he. Was his speech a homerun? How about a ground rule double.
He inspired the partisans at the convention, but big whoop. It’d be easy to whip up a jolly green giant convention by speaking passionately about frozen peas, so that isn’t the best indication of success.
Sarah Palin apparently drew a touch over a million viewers fewer than Obama got for his speech last week. I’m watching MSNBC right now and the conventioneers appear to be pelting Andrea Mitchell with balloons on purpose. For that alone, you have to applaud the GOPers. Ms. Mitchell seems to have spent the last few weeks beclowning herself with bizarre partisan screeds, and this is the most effective passive-aggresive attack on the mainstream media I’ve seen lately. Hilarious.
So, who do you like now? I’m sticking with Senator Obama, but I’d like to hear from you. The comment board is open, so have at it…
– bob