Random stuff on this beautiful (but hot!) day…
Don’t know that it’s a beautiful day outside? You might want to go here.
I’ve been spinning my wheels a lot today. The reaction I was supposed to run got halted in its first stage because I couldn’t get the in-process testing to work properly. It’s on hold until tomorrow, when I’ll start it up first thing.
Or second thing, really. First thing, I have to meet my good buddy Drew from Handyman Connection so he can finish off the ceiling repair in the living room. Yeah, I decided to bring in a pro, because the patch is in the middle of a smooth ceiling, right in front of the patio door. Any flaw in the repair will be quite noticeable in the light and shadows that come through the patio door, so I figured I’d best let someone who knows what they’re doing take care of it. It’s a hundred and fifty bucks for a sheetrock repair, which galls me, but it’s an investment in the future resale value of the house, too, so I’ll console myself with that. At least I saved myself the cost of the plumbers by fixing the shower leak myself.
Been having great fun playing with the new MP3 player – got approximately 1,300 songs on it now and working to get them all organized into some usable fashion.. The latest problem is figuring out how to easily tote it around the gym. It’s about the size of a Walkman cassette player, but it’s a bit heavy for a portable audio gadget – about 12 ounces. I’m afraid if I put it in the pocket of my gym shorts, it’ll pull them right down 🙂 I think what I want is something like a canteen that goes around the waist for hiking, but that the belt is detachable – that way I could use it for both the canteen and the MP3 player. Le Monde du Wally didn’t have what I was looking for – I might have to try Target, or (heaven help me) REI.
Finally, we have this, courtesy of User Friendly‘s Link of the Day: If you think your neighbors are bad, you haven’t seen the dreaded Redneck Neighbor. Scary.
I have my suspicions…
Sorry Duncan, but gotta turn on a rant about that last link. 😉
Having lived in a small town, I’ve seen that a lot of these “horrible neighbor” stories have two sides. Often it starts from holding a grudge that stems from other reasons. Notably, I’ve seen it happen where the main real reason the one complaining had was that the neighbor’s wife was Jewish. If you’d only listened to his side, you would’ve thought that dope dealing and other such rot was going on. In fact, the family complained about was that of an Ombudsman for a University who was a heck of a lot more law abiding and worthwhile than the one complaining.
The casual mention of the ‘neighborhood thugs’ pitching bricks through the basketball backboard makes me wonder if the writer might have had something to do with that. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that happen.
Calling someone redneck seems to be a good way to deflect critical thinking. It’s one of those guilty until proven innocent sort of things. To see the problem, just substitute “gay” everywhere redneck is, and see how much credibility the story has then.
I’ll take mine with a couple of truckloads of salt, thanks.
There! I’ve vented. I feel better now!
Re: I have my suspicions…
No, I think the writer has a legitimate gripe here. He lives in an upper middle class subdivision with a ‘homeowners association’. His neighbor, while not being a true redneck, obviously doesn’t understand the concept of the ‘homeowners association’. Chickens and geese in the yard? Karaoke parties in the middle of the week that last until 1am or later? Fish tanks with no fish in the garden? That wouldn’t even fly in a regular suburb, especially not in a yuppie neighborhood.
The neighbor in question is not a redneck to be sure, just clueless.
Re: I have my suspicions…
If what he says is true, yes. But I’ve seen several neighborhood grudge matches (thankfully never involving me or mine) and truth often becomes the first casualty. It also seems to be a source of entertainment that he uses for his friends and things often seem to grow in the telling.
Sadly, time has made me a bit jaded WRT reports of how terrible the “other people” are as opposed to the one complaining. Maybe I’ve spent too much time on alt.fan.furry. 😉
Re: I have my suspicions…
True…though if you only take the tales backed up by photographic evidence (the mailbox, the fires, the dirt pools, the mile-high flagpole with the upside-down flag, etc…), it’s still pretty darn funny 😉
My GOD…you mean those kinda people have spread beyond their normal habitat of the trailer park?
hiya!
Sounds like you need a fanny-pack for your MP3 playa’ for the gym. Couldn’t suck, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of anything. Yeah, I found the redneck neighbor link off of another friend’s diary. Funny as hell, I took it with the humor and spirit it was intended. Also makes me want to not be that guy, especially since we will have to deal with HOA with new house. Take care sweetie, and give my love to your sweetie! (and I was so looking forward to sequins…)
Jen</a