the 5th dimension sings...

wow! is that a cool picture or what?!

pixar's new movie, Up, tells about a house which gets lifted into the air by a huge bunch of balloons and the adventure takes off.

this article analyzes whether it would truly be possible to do that. it's an interesting concept but they don't touch on what kind of/how strong the strings would have to be. to me that is just as interesting. i mean, with that many balloons would ordinary string work? would it have to be as strong as spider web string? does altitude make a difference?

fairy tales are so much simpler than science.

true crime -- small town beat

May 21: A prior deportee from the U.S. re-entered the country illegally again along the railroad tracks. He was immediately intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol agents who were assisted by police officers. He was arrested and transported to Border Patrol for processing.

May 21: A long-term care facility called police when an elderly resident attempted to flee from her caregivers. The lady was ignoring the pleas and instructions of the caregivers around her. She only gave up her escape attempt when she was unable to push the wheels of her walker over the tops of the arriving police officer’s uniform shoes out on the sidewalk. Facility staff coordinated with the hospital’s mental health unit to have the lady admitted to the hospital for her own safety. Officers gave her a courtesy ride to the hospital, and into the hands of caregivers there.

May 21: A resident called police to report that her car had been vandalized. Officers responded and investigated. They discovered that what looked like scratches on the car’s hood were actually the collision skid marks from high velocity bees slip-sliding through the pollen dust on the car’s finish. The pollen was removed, and with it the offending skid marks.

god's country

what a beautiful day! there's a soft breeze, the curtains are gently flared away from the windows, the sun is coming up in a cloud-less sky, there's a hush except for a couple of happy birds.

this is a day to go for a walk on the spit. and i should probably go right now before it gets hot or peopled except that i'm going to enjoy this loveliness reading a book and having a quiet breakfast.

one with nature for sure.

joe friday

well, this is curious. i just found out the feds are watching my blog. i'm not sure why they are, but have i been out-of-line here? i don't recall ever saying anything against the government or giving away any secrets. i don't even know any secrets.

and i doubt anyone would get the idea i'm sleeping with the canadians or asians or bad guys. i mean, i rarely have a nice word to say about anyone but americans.

most of the people i interact with at work don't blog or spend much time on the computer, maybe because they're older. i know a couple of the younger people have blogs although i haven't looked at them.

and i have wondered why i've NEVER seen anything in any of the training we've had that says to watch your step if you have a blog. it's made me wonder if the higher-ups are even aware that blogs could potentially be a bad thing.

and now they're looking at me. *sigh*

behave yourself

WOW! that was an interesting 25 minutes!!

i was sitting here doing the mahjong thing and kept hearing these insistent voices. i mean, this is a quiet neighborhood. so i finally got up and looked outside to the house next door where some new people just moved in -- nothing.

so i turned my head and BAM! sitting next to my curb were three police cars complete with armed policemen one of whom was carrying a rifle with scope, two border patrol cars with agents armed and kevlared, a k-9 unit with beautiful dog, an unmarked car with serious-looking coordinator, our street blocked off with yellow tape, and in just a little bit a firetruck and a rescue unit. whoa!!

there was a 30-ish blond buxom female being hysterical in the backseat of the police car and the rescue unit was headed for her.

i couldn't tell what was going on and may not ever hear what the deal was, but several policeman were walking to a house just around the corner which i understand has been the source of husband-beating-the-wife in the past x-months. my speculation is maybe she killed him. would serve the bastard right.

some of the vehicles have gone, but some are still waiting. between the excitement and the scary factor, whoa again!

fairy tales

well, billy goat gruff is officially retired from work. and he's taking his sweetie of a wife and moving to the south side of a local island where he can put his boat in the water and sail off into the sunset. they got a great deal on a house in that small town and i'm sure they're going to love their new digs, albeit with making changes to said house, left and right.

he had a great smile and good sense of humor even though he could get riled up about stuff in no time at all. he could hold a grudge and get back at people with the best of them. but he was really smart and i enjoyed bantering with him.

all the best billy!

nefarious people

my ex-boss is at it again! what a brat! she retired in january and thinks now she can just do as she pleases!

she came out to work yesterday wearing cropped pants! and you remember the last time she showed up she was wearing jeans! blue jeans!

honestly, the woman has no shame, flaunting her independence and showing she's bound by no rules! but hey -- it doesn't bother us. we don't talk about it more than 6 or 7 times exclaiming that she's a rascal with her machiavellian ways. i mean, really ... it's no big deal.

where's my kleenex?

the white rabbit

my time is not my own anymore! i mean, that happens when you get married and start a family, but at my age? when i really ought to have stayed retired? (except that i like exercising my brain at work.)

but there you have it. there's just no time to play on the computer, or do a crossword puzzle with the husband, or sew the grandaughter a dress, or do my blog. but what can i change? dah-dum, dee-dum .... get rid of the husband? quit my job? stop reading my books? well, those ideas are simply anathema to me so i'll carry on. maybe if i throw away this clock....

all the news...

wow -- there's so much to get caught up on ....

one of our little group went to the hospital two weeks ago doubled over in pain. they thought it was appendicitis, then something else, then decided at last that it was diverticulitis. and they operated.

he finally got to come back to work for three hours today. he lost 25 pounds and wasn't overweight to begin with. it was good to see him back and hopefully he will progress just as quickly as he expects to. then in about a month, if he's in good shape, they have to operate again!! that surgery will allow them to dispense with the bag he has to wear now. we're all hoping that it proceeds as a textbook case and that he's back to normal in no time!

in the meantime, for the rest of us, a high fiber diet is the key to staying away from that condition.

in other news my recently-retired big boss came by the other day. she looked great!! but -- the rascal was wearing blue jeans!! sure, rub our noses in it, missy ....

and, to my surprise, i worked 25 hours overtime last payperiod (80 hrs + 25). i was so busy i didn't even realize it was that much. it has been just grueling lately, trying to complete deadlines, attending to insistent visitors, trying to accommodate the new big boss, and keeping up with my changing duties. it's been exhausting. and even though a new break-in period like this comes with confusion and change, all too often the big guys forget how much they depend on the little guys, thus they can easily over-look that the little guys are being worn down to the nubbins. hey, pay attention....

one final note -- we got to see the grandaughter and her parents last weekend!! it was an especially nice treat because our son announced they're expecting another baby! joy abounds!!