Procrastination at it's Best

This - my blog - is my last attempt to prolong the inevitable - I have to finish the restoration of my living room and hallway. If it weren't for the megadeath fumes from the paint stripper (oh, and the work), I wouldn't mind so much. Actually it's not the work, it's just the anxiety to see the finished product. Then again, its been three months since I replaced the front door and I'm just now getting to the moulding (and thanks to my crap plaster work, there will be plenty of moulding). So there's the perfect contridiction. Needless to say, everything is a slide puzzle around here. I have to finish the front door so I can move shit from the den into the living room, then I have to finish the hallway so I have places to store the shit that's in the dining room (previously displaced into said dining room to finish said hallway). Then I really have to break out the paint stripper. T-H-R-E-E door frames and T-H-R-E-E big windows. I'm actually pricing replacing the windows first. Better to replace the windows before you do an assload of plaster work. Unlike the rest of my house - front door for example. Lesson learned. I also have to get started on the rewire. Looks like there's a cool audio stereo system that will work well in the house. So I have to price that and throw it into my estimate. Well worth it!

Anyway, I have tried everything possible to procrastinate finishing these little projects, likely because it will mean I actually met a milestone in my little project called Spanky. This is not to say there aren't future things in the works - especially building out the west side, tearing out the kitchen wall, building a bathroom downstairs... ah, long story and blogging about restoring your house is as pathetic as catblogging.

One of my diversions was the Sunday AJC. I get a lot of good stuff from the Atlanta Urinal-Constipation.

Some crumbles from today:

----A former El Al security expert says the only way you can keep undesirables off planes is with profiling, not technology. Leo Gleser, a former sky marshal and El Al secruity officer said, "Your behavior is different when you know this is your last day". Interesting, it ain't about profiling for race, nationality, or any of that shit. It really does come down to body language and behaviour! Sadly, though, if this is true ATL is still screwed. Do you honestly think we have CITY workers capable of attaining this level of education and talent?

----BP just went on my EatShitList. Aside from the fact that they can't - or don't - perfom preventive maintenance on their equipment and infrastructure is obscene. I work at Georgia Tech and we've had a more efficient PM program than this for a decade. The difference being we serve 25 thousand people and we have an operating budget of around 8 million. BP/AMOCO serves ---how many million ---- and their folks bring home ---- how many billion? Then I get a letter in the mail that says I can no longer pay my bill electronically through my bank. They will send me a paper bill . Well, that won't work because I prefer the ease of paying online and if BP and Bank of America had some falling-out, why should I have to write out a check, buy stamps, and find a mailbox because of it. When I called to pay over the phone, I was going to get charged EIGHT dollars. Now, it's not about the money, it's about, well... the money. Why the hell should BP get any extra money from me just because they don't have online payment anymore? Blah, blah... more catblogging.

Berlin has agreed to a 51 million dollar proposal to protect what's left of the Berlin Wall. This is a good thing. I can understand why folks, who lived through the Cold War, would want it down, but this really does represent mistakes that were made and without those reminders we're destined to repeat that history. I remember that day in October when I was sitting in front of the TV and saw those images of the Wall coming down. I went to Berlin about 6 months after that and got a piece of it. I bet there are a bunch of folks out there with little chunks of the Wall.

Speaking of historic mistakes, what the hell are we doing in the the Middle East? What are we not doing in Africa...? Ah, fuck it - it's Sunday morning and not a good time for a rant.


Global warming hoax: Georgia's estuaries are dying and creating a 70 percent increase in the jellyfish population. I hate fucking jellyfish, little bastards hurt like hell, and sadly this is NOT a hoax.

The travel section has a headline for a different type of vacation: Renting a houseboat. Considering this is what I want to be living on in a year of so, why not test drive it first? The only problem is this particular package is in Minnesota. Not real interested in Minnesota, perse, I would rather just learn how to live on one.

Cynthia McKenney LOST. That was unbelievable. We shall see what happens with that district. The rumour is the victory went to a guy who she says is backed by local Republicans. OK, whatever, at least he hasn't punched out a security guard - yet. Lieberman got served, too. As Jon Stewart said, "So you're for example, a respected, three-term sitting senator who was once his party's vice presidential nominee. The list of things that you would need to do to lose your party's primary starts with strangling a kitten in front of childern in wheelchairs and gets worse from there." (My tea went up the schnaza reading that one.)

99X and Park Tavern are hosting a free concert tonight (Unplugged in the Park). It's an acoustic gig under at tent at the Tavern. The feature artist tonight is Blue October, my current favourite band. I heard over 3,500 people showed up to see Pete Yorn last week, but I still have tenative plans to go to this. It should be interesting. These free shows generally attract folks about 15 years my junior and 3,500 20-somethings is a lot of for a tent. Also, considering the first two opening acts don't start until 7 and 8, my band won't come on until 10ish at best - and that's just about my Sunday nighty-night time. Also, there is NO parking at Piedmont and no real public transit from here, so I have to park at Tech and walk about 15 blocks - hey, MOM, remember Paris 2000?

Also in the news: Happy Belated Birthday to #1 Baby Bro and #2 Baby Anna-Banana who both got a year wiser on August 10. Sounds like Missy was able to pull off the surprise! Congratulations!

And lastly, in the AJC: This from the Vent, "My wife is a real slut. She got pregnant two months after I had the vasectomy I didn't tell her about". OUCH.

Well, the dryer just buzzed, I'm out of wittiness, and I have the hopeful exuberance of someone about to lose her last remaining brain cells thanks to paint stripper and 100-year old heart-of-pine. WEEEEEE! Actually, it shouldn't be so bad today. Mother Nature decided to give us a break and it will only get to 84 and overcast. Nice to have the windows open and get breezes.