by Ripley
OK, now that that's out of the way... Big News, kids! Really big news!!
What? No, I didn't get married or anything silly like that. I bought an iPod. A real live iPod. Huzzah! And while I was in the store, I thought, "Y'know, I should get another hard drive to back up my music and photo hard drives." So I bought a 500G hard drive, took my happy fun time bag o' goodies home and... my music drive wouldn't start. If you've ever sat there, listening to the maddening "beep beep beep" of a hard drive that won't quite power up, you'll understand the mental and verbal fuckstorm that tore the paint from the walls and sterilized the neighbors and their animals. Fortunately, we were able to resolve that problem and the drives were backed up to a shiny, new drive.
Now, about this iPod. Great product. Takes some time for a (youthful and terribly handsome) 43 yr. old guy to figure out the menu and what have you, but I'm generally impressed. Except for one thing... the damned ear-thingies. The left one will not stay in my ear. This lead me to two conclusions - 1) Apple has a production defect in their "L" ear bud or 2) there's something drastically wrong with my left ear holey-thing. Now, I know there are a lot of Apple fans out there, so I'll defer to your judgement and, for the time being, assume the problem is with my left ear hole. (I hate to do this, kids, but I have to - the advantages of modern technology demand that I make this request.) Is there anyone out there - anyone? - that could send a few dollars my way? It's not that I don't have enough money to live but, well, I'm guessing I probably need some kind of ear surgery to make an iPod ear bud fit correctly.
Seriously, if Bob Owens can bleg for a new grill... c'mon...
Oh, speaking of people actually helping people (check it, Bob!), if you haven't heard, I've been fortunate enough to help a couple Iraq vet families. I'm a principal in The KINship Project, a little group that's worked to help some folks online with holiday gifts, utility bills, and general financial micro-assistance. And I was very fortunate to have an opportunity, this summer, to work with a gentleman who's dedicated his time to assisting vets. You can check out the story at these links:
The KINship Project helps a vet's family
We were able, with the help of many online folks and some good hearted people in the area, to move a disabled Iraq vet and his family into new housing. That means this vet doesn't spend half his day on a bus now, going to school and back home. His 3 yr. old son has a real bed and a fun bedroom now. The family has groceries in their pantry and they don't have to worry about the end of the month. Annnnnd... we were able to move another disabled Iraq vet and his family from Kentucky to Dallas. A family that literally moved with nothing but the clothes on their backs and our personal promise that we'd take care of them. Now they're receiving the benefits our vet has earned - temporary housing, medical attention, proper financial benefits... And you know what? I'm proud as fuck about the little bit I did for these families, and I'll do it again. And it wasn't that much, honestly - llbear and some other folks did the heavy lifting.
On the plus side, I did knock down the Sun Sphere.
What? Sorry, just shifting the tone for a moment. Hey, did you hear the news? OMG, you probably didn't! We're putting the band back together, honey! Yes, my 40-something buddies and I will be playing the rock and/or roll in a few weeks. Exciting, isn't it? I'm no Mike Huckabee, but I've been known to stomp some bass and, Odin be praised, I can still sing a few high notes. If you've never been to a local bar and heard a band play Jay Ferguson's "Shakedown Cruise", well... (go ahead, run off to your iTunes store - you know you want to)
It's Friday night so go have some fun, you rascally kids! You'll be waking up in Heaven cuz you've been through Hell.
Rip -