My recent trip to The Thinker was nothing more than a guise to onboard another feline; Maya (Angelou) from long time best pal galinda822. Of the two of us, I figure I got the better end of the bargain, but what was immediately apparent was the confusion behind who would now hold the Heavyweight Champion title in this house. Momo (Tubblette), weighing in at an incredible fat was possibly facing the upset of her titleholder status.

It was approximately three weeks before they were comfortable enough to pose adjacent one another for this hurried snap, but as you can see, the results remain outstanding. I also credit somebritinmass for the success of this paparazzi capture at the weigh-in; look carefully and you'll spy the imported catnip being defended by the newcomer.

Hopefully, once tensions have settled, I'll be able to get some portrait photos of Ms. Maya.

INTERNETWORK TRESPASS
Spent most of the day trying to get my son's computer to see my shared iTunes library, to no avail. My DSL comes in through a 2-Wire router/modem which broadcasts wireless to his Mac Mini. My router acts as the modem's DMZ, absorbing all requests and handing them in turn. I pointed the ports iTunes uses (3689 TCP/5353 UDP) to my host for outside inquiries - All the computers this side of the router can see my library - but his cannot. He can ping past his router, and ping my router, but he cannot ping boxes on the other side of my router. I even tried manipulating his routing table with no effect. The wireless clients simply cannot see boxes on the other side of my router. FAIL.

YES, LORD?
While I was secure shell'd into his mac, I had the computer call his name, then tell him, "Your daddy says you can leave your room. He wants to see you. He's in his office. Go now." He comes running through the house giggling, admitting that when the computer first called his name, he looked around, spooked. EPIC WIN.

LESSONS LEARNED
Finished Season 2 of NCIS and have all four seasons ready to go out Monday for galinda822 (I even pre-made her an avatar, just in case). When I was ready to send a package of laserdiscs, I sat in my floor and cut styrofoam with my pocketknife for two days, crafting a secure mold in which to travel. Once they were secured, I placed the entire bundle into the styrofoam's original container (my wife's widescreen monitor) for secure traveling. Then I went to the FedEx store where they packaged that box themselves in their own box which was the only way to have the contents insured. Not falling for the same ruse twice, I intend to show up at the FedEx store with only the box sets and let them handle the entire process in-house this time. As an aside, Season Five is released Tuesday. WIN.

TRILOGY
When swashbuckler332 released his tracklist for his newest mix, Sandcastles & Breadcrumbs I read the liner notes to each track as I followed along in iTunes, later popping all three scores onto my iPod to began a journey across the sands of Africa and into the Far East. Rousing, adventurous scores which kept me company all week at work, but I must admit, the cohesiveness of the album brings out the richness of the individual scores. The best of themes across all the films is integrated in such a way that you don't miss any of the lesser tracks and he even managed to (once again) so smoothly piece together disparate selections in such a way to miss title changes. In fact 2,3,4 & 5 were so flawlessly stitched, that until the beating of the kettle drums in Night Boarders (Sandcastles & Breadcrumbs' fifth track) I was unaware I had listened through three selections. MAGNIFICENT.



The subtle beauty of the cover art masks the stimulating contents

Whilst at the Pinewood Derby a lady slid up to me and whispered, I know who you are.
"Ooooooooooook." I replied.
You're ehowton. she said. I nodded. Then she introduced herself - and I recognized her name and was totally at ease. In the future, I think people should start with the introduction!

Fast forward to today. I'm walking from my boss's office to my own. I say, "Excuse me" as I pass through a group of people. A lady grabs me and pulls us away from the bystanders - "Do you live in [my subdivision]?" she asked. Whoa! Completely-blank-stare...I was in work mode! "I'm so-and-so...I live at the end of the street. I recognized your car in the parking lot!" Very cool because I thought I recognized her husband a couple of weeks back and sure enough, he works at one of the other plants...New friends, new neighbors.

The other night we were at a party, and, because drax0r and I have come close to getting the entire town of Anna, Texas addicted to Monster brand drinks, the subject eventually came up. Because I am outrageous, I started, "throwing down" gang-sign. Only, I used my first three fingers of my right hand, pointing down - to represent the, "M" in Monster while draped over my left arm which I threw across my chest. We'd all been drinking and it was a hoot, until someone turned it on its side and announced, "EHOWTON!" *eyeroll* And only because someone else started using an avatar just like mine making it difficult to distinguish between the two I took that idea, and ran with it:
( EHOWTON )
And, by the grace of God, my wife and I rec'd a gift this weekend, the always lovely and engaging galinda822. ^{(Use only as directed. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required.)} She arrived by air Saturday morning and sadly, has to leave tomorrow evening. I was hoping to take Tuesday off to maximize my time with her (as my wife has been stealing her away from me) but as it turns out will be working 0900-1200 tomorrow with a 1400 Parent-Teacher conference prior to leaving for the airport. Thanks for making your way down here again!


catttitude and galinda822 on a gorgeous Texas morning.

---

( Handwriting Meme )

"We frequently hear of people dying from too much drinking. That this happens is a matter of record. But the blame is always placed on whisky. Why this should be I never could understand. You can die from drinking too much of anything; coffee, water, milk, soft drinks and all such stuff as that. And so as long as the presence of death lurks with anyone who goes through the simple act of swallowing. I will make mine [Scotch] whisky."
-- W.C. Fields

I have two visitors coming over the next couple of months, and I'm very excited to see them both. Though both are able to co-exist collectively (we all did fine in Saint Louis) separately one requires much more attention (at least in preparation) than the other, and the activities I'm trying to plan vary wildly on opposite sides of the pendulum.

Both will require transportation from the airport. As these people are unaware of Dallas traffic, they'll both likely be screaming in the passenger seat of my car (think danzigfried's first visit). I drive as if I were piloting the Knight Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and traffic in the Metroplex is equally as forgiving. That being said, when one visitor arrives she has no requirements outside of transportation from said terminal to our domicile. As it will be later in the evening, her transportation is already set. I see no problems or issues arising from it. The other, however, requires the the vehicle be at exactly 71-degrees and that a measure of single-malt Scotch be awaiting him in the passenger cabin upon his entrance into the vehicle. Though with my first guest there will be much chattering and catching up during the half-hour drive, my other guest prefers silence until exactly 15-minutes into my drive. He's very precise, you see. Needs his time to "unwind."

While both guests and I have plenty of catching up to do, the care and feeding of one is going to be much more simplistic than the other. Both will be sleeping in the kids room's during their visit, but one demands 600-thread count Egyptian Cotton sheets. Our first breakfast will be lots of fun for both visitors, and though the menu of one visitor is not set, she'll no doubt enjoy whatever morning feast we serve, while the other requires a single slice of dry rye toast, and a single egg over-easy and 8-ounces of coffee at exactly 112-degrees Fahrenheit.

Even though I haven't seen either of these visitors in several months, it will be like we were never apart once they arrive. I am notorious for picking right up where we left off and having a really good time. That is, once I get the list of pre-approved conversations from my more *ahem* structured guest. My wife has events planned and sites to see with our first visitor - I'll be lucky to be able to tag along a couple of days into the visit. The other guest is bringing his own agenda. I'm waiting in eager anticipation to see if I'll be asked to accompany him.

With our first visitor, my wife has picked up a couple of bottles of wine and fun things like "chocolate tequila." She is so much fun and so easy-going I anticipate a great time all around. My other visitor is like Madam Maxine's flying horses from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - he only drinks single-malt whisky, so I've been feverishly stockpiling Scotch. No matter how much I have, I'm afraid it won't be enough. He requires a dram an hour. You've heard of a mean drunk? My second visitor only gets angry if he doesn't drink!

I'm very excited to see both my friends.

We're hosting a large block-party for the first visitor - she already engages in conversation with the locals of Anna, and I have people coming from all over the Metroplex to meet her. My other friend, well, not only are his arrival dates and times kept until the most strict of confidences, I've agreed we're not to leave the house except under the cover of darkness, and to avoid as much human contact as possible. He's written a backstory I've memorized to explain his presence here in Texas.

Either way, how much fun can a person have?

I rock.

Concerning Tea
Wife and I left her parents house sans kids by 0900 and hit the post office to pick up a giant package my parents had sent the children. From there we had a cup of Amaretto Roobios at the local tea shop and purchased $30 of loose tea. We then stopped by Borders where I picked up a book for galinda822 and bought myself Concrete Blonde's Mojave. Visited a model home in a new sub-division my wife found when she was here in October - We'll be able to afford it according to my wife's 5-year plan, but it was at least as roomy as our house in Texas. Sounds good to me. On to Wal-Mart! We'd been so looking forward to visiting a real, Super Wal-Mart, but as it turned out, we ended up spending about $25 on some socks and deoderant and were in and out within half an hour. Sometimes, you can't go back home.



Meeting Go Granny Go
Met Go Granny Go and her husband for lunch at Spangles. It was a delightful meeting - Go Granny Go is so outgoing and engaging! We discussed timely topics, such as ProfessorTom and where to find good french fries in Wichita. As is usual for these types of meetings, there was way too much to cover in such a short period of time, but we did discover that they live approximately 200 feet from my in-laws. How funny is that? And of all the luck, they're heading to Texas Thursday. Safe driving Granny! She's always on the Go! ^{Read Granny's account of our meeting here...}



Concerning Wine
After lunch we visited "Under the Cork," the front-end sales to Smokey Hill Winery where I discovered my new favorite red, 'Simply Red.' If any of you recall, this is where I found the Eiswein last year, and who's master wine maker had been killed earlier that year as well, that tidbit is only important because they recently discovered a handful of bottles of port, with nothing more than '815' marked on the bottle. Apparently, they're fantastic. They had them tested to determine the ingredients, but are unable to reproduce it. They were selling for $72 each, and I must admit, I was tempted. After the tasting (oh no, the port was NOT included in that event) we ended up with three bottles of the red, a bottle of Christmas white (complete with mulling kit), another bottle of Spatelese, and a set of four etched wine glasses. Furthermore, we discovered they deliver to Missouri ;)

Concerning Cigars
Saw Nabil at Old Town Cigars; wife bought a box of Cojimar Sage when she found out they're no longer in production, and I purchased a single La Gloria Cubana 8x52 which I smoked at the River City Brewery across the street while downing two pints of a very peatty 8% Scottish Ale which they've dubbed 'Fat Bastard.' (Yes, it was fantastic.) When we were checking out at the cigar store, I asked Nabil if he remembered the cigar he gave me at the birth of my daughter. He did, and upon discovering I smoked it when she turned one, asked how it was. I was truthful - The Best Cigar I had Ever Smoked. It was a 1993 La Gloria Cubana: 10-years old when I smoked it. (While this is mostly a true statement, I did buy a gorgeous box of 12-year old Temple Halls once from J.R. Cigar while I was stationed in Korea. Those were really too good to talk about.)

Concerning Scotch
While we were out, I picked up a 10-year old bottle of Glenfarclas Scotch. As I'm not overly familiar with too many brands of Scotch yet, and I wasn't looking to drop a fortune on a bottle, I played ophthalmologist-patient with the very knowledgeable imported beer dude at my new favorite liquor store: "which do you like better, A or B? Now C or D?" We settled on a preference for Single Highland Malt. Which reminds me, I did get a most delectable sample-pack of what I consider my favorite to date, The Balvenie at a truck stop of all places on the drive down! It included one 10-year, one 12-year, and one 15-year. So far I'm halfway through the 10-year, and I love it. I only hope I'm not disappointed in the Glenfarclas, else I'll probably never buy anything else and just stick to The Balvenie. Its the only Scotch that makes me really, really, happy. I owe my renewed interest in Scotch to photogoot and for that will be forever grateful. To further drive this point home, I'm saving the 12 & 15-year for his January visit.



The Canon
Stopped at Best Buy to touch, for the first time, the Canon S3 IS after all the research this past month. $545 out the door which would have included the double-speed 2GB SD card, 4 NimH batteries & charger, and tax. My wife suggested I just go ahead and get it. I think she was drunk from all the wine tasting and that pint of Fat Bastard. But seriously, now that she's seen it, and I was able to answer all her questions about it (I didn't notice this at the time, but she told me later that as I was answering her questions about the differences in it versus the SLR, last minute shoppers had surrounded me and gotten quiet so they could listen too) I think I'll just save for that. And even though its more expensive at Best Buy, I try to purchase all my high-dollar electronics there for the 4-year replacement policy.

Concerning Egg Nog
10-hours of sleep later, I took my father-in-law and children out of the house for the day to allow my wife and her mother uninterrupted access to the kitchen in preparation of Crimbo. We went to McDonalds for breakfast and played on the indoor equipment for an hour, visited my father-in-law's brother & his children & grandchildren for an hour, stopped by the grandparents for an hour, played in the park for an hour, and spent
another hour dropping off gifts and grocery shopping on the way home. I grilled some perfect steaks for dinner and we dined like kings. My mother-in-law made a custard pie for her husband's birthday, then all six of us piled into the car to see the Xmas lights. When we returned I spiked my egg nog with the only thing alcoholic I had in the house - my scotch. Turned out to be the best egg nog I've ever had.

Christmas Day
My father-in-law built a fire out by the garage and we stood around it in fingerless gloves singing doo-wop like homeless people waiting for guests to arrive. The meal was expansive, and it was nice seeing everyone again. My mother sent two Power Rangers (the new series 'Overdrive' expected to hit U.S. television in February is about teen civil engineers of all things) for a total of three my son rec'd and two Transformers. My mother-in-law bought the largest one I've ever seen, Cybertron Primus who transforms into an entire planet. Most all of the larger toys, this one has three modes, one of them being 'battle mode.' I tell you, it looked just like the Reaver ship from the opening sequence of Serenity. Anyway, I was playing with it, flying it around attacking my son's Decepticon's, when much to my surprise, my wife pops out with, "Cool, it reminds me of Firefly." *grin* I love my geek-woman. Lori and I made out with $150 combined cash, and my daughter ended up with two Polly Pocket sets from my mom, hand crocheted blanket using four colors my daughter picked out, and a submersible, swimming mermaid from my mother-in-law. And that's just the big stuff...they've got enough new toys to last them at least a fiscal quarter, and there's more toys they haven't seen yet back home that galinda822 placed under the tree after we left. I think I'm going to save for that S3.

---

^{This entry brought to you via the 26.4 kbps dial-up connection free with my home DSL account. Thanks to drax0r for finding me a number. I assure you, it was all I could not to not swallow my tongue getting these few pics up. I look forward to catching up with all of you online when I return.}