Again, almost two years between posts. Not sure if I'll ever keep up with this blog. Either way, a lot has happened since my last post. Life is worse in most ways, slightly better in a few. Long story short, Life is being Life. Anyway, I guess I'm done for now. 

Pulling a necromancer move with this blog, raising it from the dead, even if only temporarily. I had forgotten about it (mostly) and it's been over 8 years since I posted. The picture is from my early days at a job I left almost 2 years ago. Maybe when I have more time (ha!) I'll get to some more meaningful stuff...

Wow been a while...

Well, it's been a while since I bothered posting anything here.  Since last time:  both cats died (one old age, one cancer), found a job, got a dog, then found a new job.  Not sure what kind she is but everyone has an opinion.  Most people guess a shepherd mix, and the vet "sees no Lab in her."  We got her at the pound, she's a puppy, and she came in with a bunch of other puppies that are supposedly her siblings.  Only one other puppy looked like her, the rest looked like lab/shepherd mixes.  Even the pound listed her as a shepherd mix, then a lab mix, then a husky mix.  Honestly she looks similar to a Karelian Bear Dog, but that's very unlikely as they are rare in the U.S.  Whatever, I'm rambling again.  Either way she's becoming good dog, her only downfall is that she likes to play with her mouth open and still has those sharp puppy teeth, but she is learning.  Every time she feels her mouth come into contact with someone she stops and gives that sad puppy look because she knows she's in trouble.  She'll learn, it will just take time.

It's been a while but no one reads this anyway.

I swear this blog is like a diary that keeps falling behind the desk. I find it, look at it, then disregard it. Anyway, to get my thoughts out: I have been unemployed since Oct. 1, 2009, moved back to OH from WI, haven't found work yet, and have watched my severance/savings dwindle rapidly to nothing. I don't want to touch the Emergency Fund but if I don't make some income soon it will be an emergency. I need to sell stuff that just sits around collecting dust. Unfortunately most of my comic books are well read, worthless, or were destroyed in a flood in 2006 (some guy ran over a fire hydrant and flooded the yard all the way to the back of the very dry garage where they were "safely" kept). We have some jewelry, a 3/4 violin with case and bow, and I have a magazine or two that might be worth something. Bleah.

As for the job, I was laid off when my entire department was eliminated in favor of a duplicate department in a lower tax/cost of living/labor cost state. Makes sense from a business standpoint, but I miss the job and the people I worked with. I didn't want to take a job in the same building that I pretty much see as ripe for layoffs within a year or two, but in hindsight perhaps I should have because some income is better than no income.

It's nice to be near family, which is the main reason we moved back to OH, but I don't see them much anyway. Strangely enough my Father said it best when he said, "Move for a job if you have to." That may be the next step, and we are eying Southern states possibly along the Gulf of Mexico (or Tampa Bay). Of course I have many applications out, and there is one job in OH that I am waiting to hear back on which I really hope I get. It sounds like a great fit for me and the employer (no details, sorry but it's confidential) as well as a "turn things around" challenge. Anyway, enough for now...time for bed.

Blog Neglect?

I guess you can say I have been neglecting this blog. Not like anyone's reading it but me, but still. I've been semi-addicted to Facebook because I see old (former?) friends and can connect with family quite easily. It's nice to see some people, others I just wish had stayed "gone" until the inevitable bumping into them at a reunion or something. Oh, and if any of my Facebook friends actually read this: you would not be on my friends list if you were one of the aforementioned people. I don't believe in adding random people (with the exception of one person, but I figured out who she is and she was always nice and kinda cool), and have been a bit overly careful about who I add since my wife accused me of "cruising for chicks" on Facebook (semi-jokingly, but I gotta keep her happy). Anyway, short random thought.

Now I have to go see if I have finally found a version of Linux that fits on a 1GB thumbdrive that doesn't frustrate me with bloat, lack of persistence, and/or inability to update without major hassles. I really just need the OS and Firefox with full web functionality (like I get with "Big Evil") which includes java, flash, shockwave player, and overall multimedia functionality. Wish me luck and if anyone reads this let me know what version seems best to you.

A retraction.

Well, I guess the old saying "Don't knock it 'til you try it." definitely rings true in my latest foray into Internet Fads. I recently started a Facebook page because my wife wanted to keep in touch with her brother who now lives overseas. Of course I always have to do the "computer stuff" first to see what it's like. To make a long story short my sister, a friend from college and a few friends from High School found me right away and I am pretty much hooked. Not real sure about the apps that "gift give" but the rest is fairly interesting. My only real gripe is one my wife came up with: the ads that look like they are a legitimate part of a message being sent to you on Facebook. If you use Facebook you know what I mean: "2 of your friends called you an idiot. Take this IQ test now." "Your friend challenged you to a game of . Click here to take them on." etc. You click on them, and if you aren't paying attention you might let them install things not only into your profile, but on your computer as well. Many local installing apps are spyware, so one sweep by a decent spyware cleaner can rid you of them, but it's still annoying. Other than that I am hooked for now.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

As usual, my easily distracted mind kept me from sitting down to blog for a while. Not that anyone but me reads this mind you. A 2009 Despair calendar at Thinkgeek ( I think they own the copyright, so I mentioned them) kinda threw the reality in my face with this quote : "Blogging. Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few." Now mind you, I do believe blogging here is better than going to my still-there-but-never-visited Myspace page or creating a Facebook page. I have come to this tentative conclusion: I blog just to blog.