This is the end

Oh Deputy?

Who says my life isn’t full of Adventure? Well, beside me of course. I did however get locked onto the roof of a bank today in Van Nuys. I first called 411 to get the number of the bank I was on top of, but they connected me to a 818 automated system and there were no live people there, so I then called the Home Office, my home office. I thought if I could get the Project Manager on the line, he could open the spreadsheet of locations and give me the number. He wasn’t there. Next I called the office again to get the front desk, no one was there either. I called four more times and tried four more people I knew, but no one was there. It was roughly 3:00 PM TN time, so I don’t know where they were, but there were not where I needed them to be. Luckily, I eventually saw a Sheriff’s car pull into the lot. As the Deputies neared the building I called down from 50 feet above them and said, “Deputy? Deputy?” The Deputy looked up and the finally looked all of the way up and saw me. “ Could you please tell someone in the Bank that I’m locked on the roof.” “Be glad to,” said the Deputy. Relieved I waited by the door. About ten minutes later the Manger appeared and I walked through the door relived. Support your local Sheriff, I say. Well, maybe not in Knox County, but definitely in Van Nuys. The odd thing is that I’ve now been on approximately 25 roofs out of 85 surveys. Most are trap doors, some are small doors and few are full size doors as the one was today. Not once did I think that if you undid the deadbolts (the sliding kind) and took off the lock, that the door would lock behind you. Now I know. I’m taping the locks from here on out. I have no wish to sit on the roof of a bank any longer than I have to. Truth is I shouldn’t have to worry about these sort of things anyway. Oh Well.

Rain Carnage

It’s raining here today. This doesn’t bode well for work productivity. It’s not just difficult, but almost impossible to carry a clipboard and an umbrella while drawing a siteplan. Then of course is the addition later of a measuring tape to measure, carry clipboard, carry umbrella. This is only the third time I’ve seen rain here since I got here on April 1st. The truth is I’m sure it’s drizzled or rained at night a few times more while I was sleeping and then was evaporated by the time I got up, but that’s impossible to tell. What I can say is that people here drive in the rain the way people in Knoxville drive in the snow, even when it isn’t sticking to the road. On a normal morning when I get up and check the California Highway Patrol web site to make sure there aren’t any major wrecks to reek havoc on my drive, there are roughly about 40 incidents listed and include everything from actual collisions to debris in the road. This morning there are already 160. That’s a 400% increase just because of rain. The rain today is more of a British sort. It’s a steady hard drizzle that coats in minutes and is relentless and almost makes you feel like maybe it’ll go away in a bit seeing as how it isn’t a downpour. It however does not go away and does not give up.

[UPDATE: Oh well, I've removed the breakdown becasue I just figured out I had it set wrong so my region was out of whack. It was fun while it lasted. Nothing like bad assumptions about bad data to start the day off right.]

Giving Thanks

Roofie the squirrel praying to the benevolent peanut God on the third floor.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

- Edward Winslow, Mourt's Relation

Thanksgiving pain

Well, I both broke my tape measure [at the 12" mark, no really it's broken, the metal tape stressed and tore] today and pulled a back muscle [Latissimus Dorsi Muscle, I'd say from the point of discomfort] on my right side this morning, so after one survey I was extremely uncomfortable and came home, although I did stop by Target on the way to get Advil and a new tape measure, therefore I am home and will hopefully get better by Friday so I can finish as many surveys as possible for the week. I wasn't going to work tomorrow anyway, so it seemed a better idea to come home than to painfully survey another two sites and possibly make my back worse. However, sitting as I am in my rickety wooden chair typing this I am probably doing just as much damage.

So, this has allowed me to lurk about on the net a bit and come-up with a few gems I think people might enjoy. Such as:

John Rogers over at Kung Fu Monkey, breaks down the John Kerry joke from a stand-up comedian's point of view of why it didn't work.

Flickr has collected all the metadata from the photos posted on their site and used it to make a digital camera guide.


The full 1898 "Full Revelations of a Professional Rat Catcher" is availale for free download over at manybooks.net.

The thing that Warren Ellis hates most about our Thanksgiving.

RIP: Robert Bernard Altman

(February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006)

Shrimp Malts

Mmmmmm, just like Mom used to make.

No Dumping

Indian Room

Lucky Bastards were drinking at 9:00 AM.