Month: March 2005

Guilty

Have you been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, “Surely I can’t look that old?”

I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. I noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 40-odd years ago. Could he be the same guy that I had a secret crush on, way back then??

Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate. Hmmm,…or could he???

After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School. “Yes. Yes, I did. I’m a Mustang,” he gleamed with pride.

“When did you graduate?” I asked.

He answered, “In 1963. Why do you ask?”

“You were in my class!” I exclaimed.

He looked at me closely. Then, that ugly, old, wrinkled son-of-a-bitch asked, “What did you teach?”

Wasting Time – Big Time

Instead of doing anything constructive this evening I’ve plugging away at those rounded corners. Sorry just couldn’t help myself.

sneak peek

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 50

Woe Is Me

I’ve been reading other blogs. Other blogs with writing of substance, filled with words with flair, unlike here. As is the norm with these blogs they like other blogs of the same ilk. Man I wish I wrote like that.

A couple I visited had these really cool rounded corner things going on. So seeing as I can’t write like that, I can at least look like that, right? Style is better than substance, right?

So I did a little google search for “css rounded corners” and poked into all the links that came back on page one. About a half dozen ways to do basically the same thing and everyone of them was kinda understandable, but they seemed just out of my reach. Not that I couldn’t have figured it out with certainty, but the question came down to, “Is this worth the effort?” Nah. Besides once something so cool becomes easily accessible to yucks like me, it is definitely not cool anymore.

But now I’ve gotten the bug to monkey with the look here, this one is getting tired, after all it has had this look for almost a month now…maybe I should do RetroWeb. All gray mottled background with bright lime green bullets. Maybe I’ll do it in one big table. Maybe frames.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 49

Party’s Over

Our 5 days off from ends tomorrow when it is back to work. To prevent this no work to work letdown from occurring in the future we have purchased a couple of tickets for the PowerBall lottery for Wednesday.

I took 98 pictures in our 2 days in DC. Quite a few are junk, mostly because I hate the nearly useless flash on the camera, so I hand held a lot of the museum shots and they came out blurry (there are only so many leaning on the railing shots a man can take.) There are a few keepers as well. Ever since the digital camera came into our household there are no more prints, to show, to share, to put in albums. I think I will take the 20-24 best photos and get real prints made from them. How 20th century.

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 47

Mr. & Mrs. Bogardus Go To Washington

Wednesday:
Arrive Dulles midday. Wait 1/2 hour in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind for Metrobus. Three bucks each, 3/4 hour later, arrive hotel in Rosslyn section of Arlington. Thaw briefly. Walk 1/2 mile to Iwo Jima Memorial. The regular size canteen holds 1 quart. The one on the monument holds 8 gallons. Passing the Norwegian Carillon (?), we walk 3/4 mile to Arlington National Cemetery. Walk 3/4 mile through Cemetery to Tomb of the Unknowns. Wait 1/4 hour in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind to witness changing of the guard. Walk 1/4 mile to grave site of President Kennedy. Eternal Flame does nothing to ward off bitter cold, accented by bitting wind. Walk 1 mile back to hotel. Thaw completely. In early evening walk 2 blocks to friend’s apartment. Walk 4 more blocks in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind to Red, Hot and Blue a Memphis style BBQ joint. Thaw out while eating ribs. Walk 6 blocks back to hotel. Really long hot shower. Bed.

Thursday:
Breakfast on 17th floor of Holiday Inn. Good view of the city. Good coffee. Bland buffet. Hey, its free. Walk 2 blocks to Metro station in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind. Get off at Union Station and walk to Capitol Building. Giant construction project in front so you can’t get near. Walk around giant construction project. Snap photo of Supreme Court while standing in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind. Duck into National Botanical Gardens to thaw out. Walk behind Capitol, snap picture of group of students gathered to have panoramic photo taken of them. Walk to Smithsonian Air & Space Museum to have lunch and escape the bitter cold, accented by bitting wind. Cross mall to National Gallery of Art. Wander though fabulous sculptures, not really paying attention. Paid attention to exhibit of Ed Ruscha. Walk further down the mall in the bitter cold, accented by bitting wind to the National Museum of American History. Thaw out completely viewing the The Price of Freedom: Americans at War exhibit. Head to Washington Monument. Can’t get close because giant construction project. Tiring of the bitter cold, accented by bitting wind duck into Metro station and return to hotel. After a couple hours in room thaw completely. In early evening walk 2 blocks to friend’s apartment. Walk 6 more blocks in bitter cold, accented by bitting wind to The Mediterranean Cafe. Thaw out while eating kabobs and humus. Walk 8 blocks back to hotel. Really long hot shower. Bed.

Friday:
Breakfast on 17th floor of Holiday Inn. Good view of the city. Good coffee. Bland buffet. Hey, its free. Walk 2 blocks to Metro station in bitter cold, no wind. Yeah. Take three dollar Metro bus to Dulles. Ask about shuttle to National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center at airport. Doesn’t exist. Shuttle is from museum at mall. $12 cab ride from disappointed American Dream immigrant we arrive at center. Bag inspector at the door tells Donna that she must put snacks in her purse back in car. He lets her in after she explains we came via cab. Bag inspector at the door says nothing to Brian while looking through dirty underwear in suitcase. Big Damn Place. Lots of cool stuff to look at. Lots of blurry pictures taken (need tripod next time.) $12 cab ride back to airport. Long wait in crowded, noisy terminal for plane. Gratefully arrive back in small quiet Columbia airport. Real South Carolina BBQ for dinner. Ride part way home with top down.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 47

21,000 Miles

In Kitchings Mills, SC the odometer rolled by 21,000 as we came home from the airport tonight.

The last two days in DC were the coldest week I’ve experienced since childhood. It was so cold that the mid 50s and dark of South Carolina felt balmy enough that we drove partway home with the top down…

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 46