Atlanta Traffic

If you've never driven through downtown Atlanta its quite an experience. 85, 75, 285, 675 all meet within a few miles of each other. There are so many lanes you really lose track after 5 or 6. There are so many bridges and interchanges on top of one another it looks like spaghetti. The speed limit is 65 but if you're not doing 80 you are in danger of being run over by school buses, garbage trucks, and little old ladies. All of these have actually passed me doing 85+ ...I'm not kidding. After that you slam on breaks to sit in an hour of stop and go rush hour traffic to go just 7 miles. And this is at 3pm. No wrecks or construction, this is normal. Its truly nerve wracking in a car, and when we go to Destin, FL I haul an RV through this craziness. I couldn't imagine dealing with this on a day to day basis. Commuters of Atlanta, I salute you. You are a brave and determined lot.

Fixin' Stuff Left and Right

Yesterday was a good day for the gas logs. Come in from the snow all cold and wet, snuggle up with a mug of chocolate and let the flaming hot warmth dry you off. Too bad the thing wouldn't stay on. Went to my favorite handyman site, fixya.com, and sure enough there it is, my exact problem. Fix was to clean out the pilot light nozzle with compressed air. Worked perfect. This morning it was my sister's well. The whole assembly was just corroded to the point of crumbling. A new tank, control box, a bunch of fittings, and a few choice cusswords later (required on all plumbing work), it was back to good. Satisfying.

A Christmas Story

I have never seen this classic movie. Only parts and pieces over the years. Tonight, I heard there was a 24 marathon where it was shown repeatedly. I settled in with the family, and started watching. It was really funny and charming, and right after the bully beat down I had to pause the movie and take a call. It timed out and I lost the show, the marathon is over and another year goes by with me missing this movie again. I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Good Grief! At least I got to see the lamp, the furnace battles, and the tongue on the frozen pole. Oh well, I guess there's always next year...

The best part of Christmas eve

After all the food, presents, friends and family (which all were great), the best part was sleepy-faced Christmas Eve kisses from little Rose (3). "I love you Daddy, but we have to go home and get in bed so Santa will come."
Can't buy that at Wal-Mart or even eBay. Not for a million bucks.

Newcastle--A great way to end a cold day

Today was one of those days where the high is in the morning then a cold wind sets up and the temperature drops all day. My son Eli and I were under-dressed, fooled by the mild morning. As we were rolling up our tools at dusk, the homeowner comes out in his Dickies (wise man) to hang out a few minutes. I had stopped at the store at lunch to pick up some Newcastle (my favorite winter beer) for the weekend, and there it was in the back of the truck, nicely chilled. Ahhh, perfect temperature, thick, malty, almost chocolaty Newcastle on a winter's eve with a buddy. We drank and talked football. Perfect.

Christmas Gifts

A gift is a gift. Freely given with no coercion or strings attached. No reciprocation expected at all. The only reward the giver expects is the good feeling of giving. I love to give Christmas presents! I never think about what I might get or who is or isn't getting me one. For me, its a real downer when I'm all excited about giving to someone, and they're almost upset or hurt because they didn't get me anything. Instead of making them happy, I've burdened them to return in kind or given them a guilt trip. If you get a gift...smile and say thank you! If the giver expects something beyond that in return, its not a gift but some kind of weird trade. Merry Christmas and be a cheerful giver, and a guilt-free happy receiver.

I just can't do facebook

Don't get me wrong I can be a social guy, but knowing what everybody's doing day to day just strikes me as gossipy and a little boring. I check in on old friends who live across the country, but they post about once a month like me. I also get annoyed with the fake personalities people put on just for facebook appearances. I know some who put on such a religious, God-centered front that folks who don't really know them would be shocked if they actually met in person. C'mon get real, people! A client who has become a friend over time blogs, and I enjoy reading it. Since its not so public, it tends to be more genuine and honest. So I decided to follow suit...look out blogosphere, here comes Sigado!