Solar Science Project!

Brenda had to work yesterday so I had the day to myself. So as expected I turned my eyes on SCIENCE!!

I now have deployed my first solar panel. It powers a light in my utility room that is directly over my breaker panel in the server room. I can't believe how well it works!

But now I have a taste... and I like it.

I wonder how big I can go with the solar panel before my HOA will notice?

--She blinded me with SCIENCE!!

What can make Sunday mornings better you ask?

Letting the wife sleep in while I watch SciFi on TiVo?

Pancakes and Charles Osgood you say?

The joy of warm feet and comfy slippers?

A cat in your lap?

Perfectly made coffee?

All these items make Sundays very excellent. But What makes it even better?

--Knowing you also have tomorrow off from work!!

Yet another one of those copy and paste Lists

1. Elaborate on your default icon. Me in 1978, taken at GCC.
2. What's your current relationship status? Very happily married.
3. Ever have a near-death experience? Yes. Almost killed, not the walk into the light thing.
4. Name an obvious quality you have. Bad knees.
5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now? World, Five for Fighting
6. Name a celebrity you would marry. Michelle Pfeiffer
7. Who will cut and paste this first? Kim
8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity? Yes.
9. Do you wear a watch? What kind? No.
10. Do you have anything pierced? No.
11. Do you have any tattoos? No. Lots of scars though...
12. Do you like pain? Nope.
13. Do you like to shop? No.
14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Soda. From a machine.
15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card? Pizza
16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? Becky
17. What is on your desktop background? A beautiful series of trees.
18. What is the background on your cell phone? A tree lined lane.
19. What was the last movie you watched? The Ice Harvest
20. What was the last book you read? Biting the Moon by Martha Grimes

Diet Update

I stepped on the scale this morning and was back to 239 pounds. Over the holidays, starting on Dec 22nd, I ate way more than usual. It was celebrations with tons of food and drink and deserts and candy and cookies. There were parties at work, parties at friends as well as multiple birthdays!

It feels good to be back on plan.

I am sleeping better. I am "regular". I am never hungry.

--54 pounds to go!

RIP Lilly Munster

Yvonne de Carlo Goes to the big Haunted House in the Sky.

LOS ANGELES - Yvonne De Carlo, the beautiful star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" but achieved her greatest popularity on TV's slapstick comedy "The Munsters," has died. She was 84.

De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture & Television facility in suburban Los Angeles, longtime friend and television producer Kevin Burns said Wednesday.

De Carlo, whose shapely figure helped launch her career in B-movie desert adventures and Westerns, rose to more important roles in the 1950s. Later, she had a key role in a landmark Broadway musical, Stephen Sondheim's "Follies."

But for TV viewers, she will always be known as Lily Munster in the 1964-1966 horror-movie spoof "The Munsters." The series (the name allegedly derived from "fun-monsters") offered a gallery of Universal Pictures grotesques, including Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, in a cobwebbed gothic setting.

--Lilly will live forever. Say Hi to Fred for us.

Too Much Death for a Sunday

My friend Char's mom died on New Years Day. I went to her funeral today. I had never met her. I was there to support Char, but still it's sad. I spent a lot of time today thinking about my own parents, missing them, thinking of my kids.

On top of that my brother Carl (of Little Troll fame) called me yesterday to tell me his ex-wife Bonnie was found dead in her bed on Saturday morning.

When people die, people I know, people I have laughed with, ate and drank with, people I have hugged, people whose homes I have slept in, I always feel... empty.

I can't say I knew Bonnie very well any more. We were friends in the days when Carl lived on a boat. In days when we never worried if we had too much sun or beer. I have not seen her much in the last ten years, since my mom died. I can't even say I liked her too much, for the things that happened between her and my brother. Now she's gone.

--Another voice I'll never hear again. Hugs to you Bro. Sigh...

Time to buy my house damn you!

You want to buy a lovely 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse!

It's on the market for $279K. Wish us luck! I hope it goes fast.

--Buy it, you'll like it!

Holidays Are Over

It was back to work today.

Because the Government was shut down today for President Fords funeral it was a light day with no traffic.

Tomorrow I start my day by getting three crowns at the dentist.

--Boy the holidays are sooo over...

Happy new year from Brenda and Marty!

The Year in Review: 2006

Well here I find myself on the last day of the year 2006.

This year was marked by a lot of moving. Many people in my life had to move this year.

Brenda and I moved this summer into our dream house. Becky and the kids moved into a single family house also. My sister Amy and her family moved to to their new house. My neice Emily and her family moved into Amy's old house. My townhouse that she lived in is ready for sale!

That is a lot of moving, not to mention painting and carpentry and cleaning.

--What will next year bring?

Total Package '07

I am joining my good friend Mr. Jer in his project for 2007:

Total Package '07

This will be a complete review and tune-up of our lives. I have already started on my fitness efforts. The key to the Total Package '07 is that it involves the mind, body and spirit.

--Keep an eye out for updates on the plan.

My Favorite PC Desktop Wallpaper of the Year

I collect pc desktops and change mine often.

This is my best one collected this year.

--Click on it for a full size version.

Selling the Rental!

I own a small townhouse that my niece, her husband and daughter have been renting from me for that last couple years. They headed for greener pastures on December 15th and we started getting it read for the market.

Last week the inside was repainted top to bottom. It is amazing what a simple coat of paint will do. Today Brenda and I started working on a long list of little things. We made a run to Lowes and got supplies, a huge variety of things.

Wednesday and Thursday I will finish up on the inside of the house. Friday I will be working outside. I will be painting the remaining trim, repairing and power washing the deck.

I hope Friday or Saturday we will have the carpets cleaned professionally!! Then it will be ready to go!

I can't wait to sell it.

--Motto for '07: Simplify

More Movies Watched

Fearless

I expected a simple action epic. I got much more.

"Cry when you are sad. When the tears are gone, life will move on."

The Christmas Movie Festival has begun...

Today BR and I will watch many movies and eat Shrimp.

It begins with The Lady in the Water, directed by M. Night Shyamalan!

I liked this movie a lot. It is a simple bedtime story. An excellent one. He is such a good craftsman on his movies. I will own them all as they come out.

Now if only I could figure out who borrowed them all!!

--More to come!

Peace on Earth, Good will toward men

It is early Christmas morning and very quiet as I have my coffee and cranberry muffins.

BR is sleeping in and I am here to wish the world a Merry Christmas.

I wish a happy holidays to those young men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous places around the world who want nothing more than to be home in their beds in America tonight.

I will be thinking of you today.

--Peace on Earth, Hope, Love.

Birthdays and Antiques

BR made me a beautiful viking tunic for my B'Day! I love it!

My daughter Cady shocked me with a present for my birthday.

She picked me out this Oliver No. 3 classic type writer!

I had her with me as I was shopping for the perfect gift for Brenda. Little did I know she was watching me and the items that spoke to me.

--And Gray got me the Die Hard Trilogy on DVD!!

Birthdays

My Birthday is Friday and I am falling off the diet wagon for a few days. A total food fest for my B'Day.

Currently I am at 239 lbs. I have lost 46 pounds so far.

We are doing a shrimp platter on Christmas day. A pot luck on Dec 30th. Lots of wine and beers and festive action.

--I can't wait for the Rice Crispy Treat action!

RIP Joe Barbera