Just testing out  mobile blogging with my new Android phone.

He's gone...

"He's gone.  Brick is gone."  I got that phone call a week ago from this past Thursday around 8:45.  Brick was our older Scottie.  He was  a major reason I am with the husband.  Some of you may know that the first night the husband and I met we had relations- oh stop clutching your pearls you prudes, like none of you have done it.  I noticed he had  a leash and dog food.  I asked him what kind of dog he had and he told me a Scottie.  I told him right then and there I may date him just for his Scottie.  A bit over five and a half years later I've been more than dating him just for his Scottie.  Brick was a huge part of the husband's life and he had him for close to eight years- he adopted him from his former neighbors when they had the second kid and the dog went by the wayside. 

I last saw Brick Wednesday morning.  I got out of bed and ready for work and he and the younger dog both knew that once I was up out of bed they got to go up in bed and crowd the husband into a corner while they sprawled for at least a hour.   This had been the routine for almost two years now.  The husband accused me of spoiling them but looking back I am glad I did spoil Brick and would not change a thing.

Thursday morning was the usual, the kids had spent the night in the bed with the husband as I was up in JC.  They woke him up to let  him know they needed to go out and do their business.  They did, came in and knew it was breakfast time.  The husband was getting their breakfast ready when he heard a thud and yelping.  He ran into the foyer to find Brick on his side still yelping.  He said it sounded like a human crying.  He picked him up and ran to the car.  I happened to just call at that time to see if they were up.  "Something's wrong with Brick I gotta go!"  He called me back after rushing him to the vet to tell me he had gone.  I did not get to say good bye to my grumpy old guy and I am upset about that.  The vet said he was not sure what happened, most likely catastrophic organ failure but he was not in pain.  The husband got to hold him as he left and I know a part of the husband died with Brick.

The rest of the weekend was not easy either.  We had our race and the boys.  The race went well except my swim sucked.  The bike I finally broke a hour on and the run I did very well on.  After the race we, the boys and ST went to lunch and saw Green Lantern.  The movie was ok, good comic book entertainment and we got to see smokin' hot Ryan Reynolds in tighty whities- woof!

It was also our anniversary so we had dinner made at home with the boys.  We then made S'mores over the grill.  Traditionally the 4th anniversary is linen but I went off-grid and got the husband a hand blown glass globe lamp.  The husband stuck with traditional and got me a nice linen shirt form J. Crew.

Sunday was Fathers Day and I surprisingly got gifts with thought put into them from the boys.  I got two books.  My oldest gave me World War Z and my youngest gave me Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Hunter.  I already own both and have read them but I was so happy for the gifts I did not say a word and neither did the husband.

The week at work was only three days.   I had two end of school events on Thursday for the boys so I took it off months ago.  we were also supposed to have our friend MM visit for the weekend and she was going to come Friday morning.  We have not seen here in almost a year so I figured I'd take Friday off as well and make it a four day weekend.  She canceled the week before Brick died so I decided to keep it a four day weekend without guests or the boys and we could get more work done on the yard.  After Brick died that changed.  We decided to get a new dog immediately and the husband said he didn't think he could do another male Scottie so soon.  We decided on an Irish Terrier, found a breeder in Massachusetts about 40 minutes from my smart brother the doctor and his children.  We drove up Friday- left the cottage a bit after 10 AM and hit serious traffic on the GWB, in New Haven and New London.  It took us a bit over six hours- it was a long ass day.  We had tapas for dinner with the family, watched some t.v. and hit the hay.  We got up the next morning, off to DD for coffee and donuts.  Spent some more time with the family then drove up to pick the pup out and take him home.  We brought our dog with us so she could meet them and see if she had issues with the pup.  She did not.  The breeder had the look of Bible thumper or cat lady so we were surprised she was a dog lover.  We spent about forty five minutes with the three pups available and made the pick.  We then headed back to the family so the kids could meet the new pup.  His name is a reference only a sci-fi geek/nerd would get.

Then the drive home last night only took us a bit over four hours- amazing what no traffic problems can do for a drive.  This morning I went and picked up the boys, we stopped to get some breakfast, then back to the cottage so they could meet the new dog.  They were excited and so was the pup.  Then I took them back to their mom's house as they had to get to Maryland for a week long family reunion.

It's amazing what you can find in grass piles you raked up a week later.  I first found a birds egg.  It was a burnt orange color and rather large.  I am not aware of any ground nesting birds in the area so when Mr. Barrett makes it up here in two weeks I'll have to quiz him.

The next thing I found was a snake.  It couldn't have been more than eight inches long.  I actually caught it.  The thing tried to bite me and I grabbed it behind its head, squeezing a bit too much as part of its guts came out.  I then ran tot he kitchen window to show the husband as he has a fear of snakes and I felt like Riki-fucking-Tiki-fucking-Tavi!  BTW, I think that was one of my favorite Chuck Jones cartoons of all time and loved it!  I watched it any time I could.  Don't get me wrong- it was no Nag or Nagaina I killed, it was a common garter snake.   

Pssst...Greece defaulted yeterday

Last night was a momentous evening as I attended my last mandatory school concert.  My youngest is going into middle school in the autumn and music is an elective- one he did not choose.  I admit though that concert was not half bad.  Two highlights:  1)  The kids did a piece by Carl Orff- you know him, everyone does.  Carl Orff wrote that song from The Omen aka Carmina Burina.  The piece the kids did though was "Street Song."  It was so good I am going to find some Orff on iTunes and put it on my iPod.  The funny part was the music teacher stated that Carl Orff is incredibly complicated music- so complicated she would only do his pieces in college with professors- yet the guy also was a huge believer apparently in making music accessible to children and most of his pieces can be performed by them by getting broken up into small parts and using very simple instruments.  She proved that point.  b)  There was a blues composition created by one of the 4th grade students.  Again the music teacher admitted that blues are one of the harder types of music to compose and she did not study them until her junior year in college- so pretty amazing a 4th grader could do it.  Not to sound crass, boorish or mean spirited but the most amazing part is the 4th grader is a mini Stephen Hawking- the whole wheel chair and voice synthesizer.  He was tested for the gifted music program and scored in the 98th percentile.   He got a standing ovation from the audience after his piece was sung.

I looked around the concert at one point and saw parents and siblings all using cell phones to play games, take picture or videos and I thought to myself how the hell did my parents make it through all the damn concerts they had to go to?  I was in the band until 6th grade- after which time it was not cool- and played the trombone.  I was not happy with that because I wanted to play the trumpet.  I was never better than second trombone mostly because I did not practice.  Looking back I now realize the trombone is way frackin' cooler than the trumpet and I should have practiced more.

After the concert I went over to PJ and ST's house and had dinner with them and the husband.  I am not a fan of reality tv.  I really avoid it at all costs.  I think hope we are close to the end of this cultural morass.  However last night I got stuck watching it during dinner.  'The Voice" was on and I was a guest so I could not suggest we change the channel to anything- hell even the Golf Channel would have been better- other program.  Two things I took away form the show:  Adam Levine is frackin' hot and he is on the list now I think and Cee Lo Green has really small hands and all I could think of was that ad for either McDonald's or Burger King making fun of the guy with small hands because he could hold the big burger.

We then retired to the cottage to go to bed.  We were getting ready for bed when the husband asked if I'd be able to sleep ok.  You see we had taken the closet doors down to paint them.  I had to explain to him that yes, monsters can enter closets from the Glooming but only if there are doors and they are partially open whereas closets without doors are technically alcoves and monsters cannot enter alcoves from the Glooming ever.

Today was my last training day before the big race Saturday.  It was as short run so yes I hit "Firework" for constant loop and ran my three miles in just under 27 minutes.  The race Saturday morning will be interesting to say the least.  We have the boys this weekend so we will be out of the house before they are awake.  The husband had the excellent idea of having ST come over and taking them to SBUX for breakfast and sort of baby sitting them until we get home.  Then we will treat ST to lunch and Green Lantern in return Saturday afternoon.  Speaking of movies, we saw Super 8 this past weekend and it was not bad at all.  It was classic Spielberg and the cinematography was brilliant.  It is definitely worth seeing in the theaters.

So in case you missed it yesterday Greece extended the maturities of its debt.  That is a default in all but name.  I double checked with my bond friend and he confirmed yes, the end result 12 months down the road is exactly the same as if they did a default in name.  His other ominous comment is that Europe is very quickly running out of road to kick this can.  A corollary to that is late today, there were some vague rumors floating around that the good ol' Bundesbank has fired up the printing presses and is secretly printing Deutschmark marks again.  A newsletter I read daily and I have the utmost respect for the writer said this morning that Greece doesn't matter.  I replied that I respectfully disagreed as Greece matter because it is the very short fuse that will cause Spain to blow up and once Spain blows up there will be a breech into the core- France.

But we have no direct exposure to Europe right?  Wrong.  We may not hold as much Euro debt as the Europeans do but we are all counter parties and counter party risk is the one that is more dangerous as the only way to hedge it is cut off certain parties.  That leads to a vicious circle of really bad things.

Princeton was at the gym today.  It started the day right but what made it even more sunny this morning was whistling at the hot guy riding his bike at Hoboken Terminal and dismounting at the bike rack just as I walked by.

Sometimes my own gayness surprises me

Holy frack- I cannot believe Ned Stark lost his head!  "Game of Thrones" has gotten much better but Sean Bean has to be one pissed off actor and sworn off anymore swords and sorcery projects.

I stayed down at the cottage last night as the husband and I moved stuff back onto the floors that are newly ebonized.  So that means I got to take the train in this morning and the commute was not that bad.  I got thru most of my emails and BBRG messages and read most of the top news stories then got to start reading Robopocalypse. 

I have not commented on the whole Weinergate but I have to say the guy did nothing illegal- stupid yes but illegal no.  I was a bit annoyed when the GOP started calling for his resignation- really?  For sending lewd pics over his cell phone?  Clearly I will never be able to run for public office as I did that in between the 1st marriage and the 2nd marriage and I am sure those pics are still out there somewhere, lol.  The hypocrisy shown by the GOP is a bit too much.  It's real simple, let the voters in his Congressional district decide.

I love the Taco Truck in Hoboken and they actually do have a food truck.  I saw that it was in the city today and only ten blocks from my office.  I quickly told the boss we were doing tacos for lunch today, walked the ten blocks down to the new part of the High Line where the truck was located and bought the tacos.   I then hoofed it back to the office.  Two highlights of my lunch excursion- the hot, shirtless construction worker with great ink who I whistled at as I walked by- love turning the tables on them- and the cute guy working the truck who took my order and I informed him I eat dinner from the restaurant in Hoboken at least twice a week.

So when I was at the VZ store yesterday getting my youngest his phone I was informed I was due for a phone upgrade.  I told the guy thanks but I am happy with my Crackberry Storm 2 and when my IT guys decided to support android I'd go the route of an android phone anyway.  That got me thinking today at the office so I asked the IT head if we were any closer to supporting android.  He said yes in about three weeks- whoo hoo.  I then checked with my BBRG rep to see if they have an android app and they do.  Awesome.  So in three or so weeks I will be upgrading from my Storm 2 to an android phone and I have to say my youngest did his homework and I may be going the route of the LG Vortex.  It is comparable to my Storm 2 in functionality and size.  Plus then I, the husband and my sons will all have android phones so we can all play words with friends.

I really surprise myself with my own gayness at times.  Two things- I carry a Leatherman Micra which is a mini tool kit in my pocket- lol, I said tool and pocket in the same sentence.  Second if I have a short run to do- as in thirty minutes or less- I will go right to Katy Perry's "Firework" and hit replay continuously.  I am fairly certain I have been seen/caught singing along, out loud to it as well, lol.

I was chatting with a friend I went to college and who is in the same line of work I am in but on the Dark Side.  He and I agreed this summer is going to be very painful for the Street and he commented that we'd see many forms go out of business.  I was a bit doubtful about that until I found out from the boss that a shop his friend worked at and shut down paid multiple seven figures in commissions to the Street.  That supported a lot of people in this business.  I then thought back to one of my old saws that the Street doesn't care on the direction of the market for the most part as much as they do on the amount of volume.  I need to clarify that as there is a point where the direction of the market matters and that is when it is a slow and steady down because at some point that will destroy volume and turn the public off from investing.  I think we are getting close to that point if not there already.  I have also said for at least 7 years there is too much capacity in my business.  When that happens in any industry the only things that happen are prices go down and a war of attrition starts or people decide to fold up their tents and go home.

I just read that the CIA is now going to start conducting drone strikes in Yemen.  WTF?  I can guarantee that the MSM will not take President Obama to task they way they would have if the previous Administration had admitted to or consented to such a thing.

Snakes on a (Cartesian) Plane

So, I just want to reiterate that Greece will restructure reprofile their debt default.  The phrase they use to describe it does not matter, the end result is the same.  In case it was doubted, I read last night that the French banks said they'd go along with it if everyone else did.  You know why?  The French banks have huge exposure already and it is like the old axiom that when you borrow $100 from a bank you are in debt to them but make it $100 million and you are in business together.

I did not know this about Dell computers but they only allow their own power cords to charge the batteries in them.  I found that out the other weekend when I forgot mine so went and bought a generic Rocketfish power cord only to be told that m laptop could not recognize it and the battery would not charge blah blah blah.  That is bullshit.

I am actually in the apartment in the city this weekend with the boys.  We got the floors in the bedrooms and den refinished to match the floor we put in.  They got sanded stained and polyurethaned to match.  So we could not use the cottage.  In actuality the floors got "ebonized."  I read an article about a loft for sale in the WSJ and that term was used in describing what the sellers had done and it is exactly what we did.  I was so naive to call it refinishing...

I took the boys to see X-Men:  First Class toady and they thought it was a great flick.  They had no idea I had already seen it.  We also looked at phones for my youngest as he is finishing 5th grade this week and so he gets a cell phone.  He wants the LG Vortex mainly because he can turn it into a mobile hot spot.  Initially the thought was I'd buy his phone and he'd go on his mom's plan as an extra line.   Now I think I will just add him as a third line to my plan and not have to deal with the hassle that would come with her adding him as she is a bit of a Luddite and I am not sure she even has a data plan.

One week left 'til the race.  My mom asked me if I and the husband were ready for it.  I told her clearly the husband is as he already did one.  As for my state of readiness we'll find out the day of the race.  Tomorrow I will be doing a 16 mile bike ride with the husband- oh joy.

The husband called me this morning on my way back from the gym to tell me we had snakes in the basement and apparently one of them got caught int he glue trap we had down there for mice.  There is one more slithering around.

He took a picture and emailed it to me.  He was down in the basement with the electrician to find out about replacing the original panel.   We thought the house was only wired for 100 amps and these days the norm is 200 amps.  We thought we might have to run a new line from the street to the cottage until we found out from the utility company that to do so would entail a substantial amount of money and require they install a frackin' manhole on the property.  So our electrician said he could create a side panel  and we just wouldn't be able to run every appliance in the kitchen, the a/c and the washer and dryer at the same time- like that would happen anyhow.  Our electrician was psyched to find out we are actually getting 175 amps in but the wiring from the meter to the panel can only handle 100.  So he just needs to replace the wiring from the meter and install a new panel. 

This coming week is going to be busy.  I am staying down at the cottage tomorrow night so the husband and I can finally put all the stuff back on the dried floors.  I am back down there Tuesday night for my youngest son's spring concert and will just stay the night.  I am then down there again Thursday night for my youngest son's  5th grade "completion" ceremony and will stay there again.  









 

The Raven

So I took Friday off to get ready for the big weekend.  The husband had other ideas however he made us get up at 6 AM and go do a brick.  The sadist made us ride 21 miles and then run 4 1/2 miles.  Holy crap it was a pain in the ass.  We got done and then he became the slave driver and made us finish cleaning up the front yard.  I then rushed tot he train station to pick up Mr. Clifford and his bf PS.  By the time we got back I needed a drink so it was time for a quick cocktail before I had to go to the grocery store and get every thing for dinner Friday night.  I made steaks on the grill, the husband made this amazing risotto and we had a salad as well.  I had also made a birthday cake with home made chocolate butter cream frosting as Saturday was PS' birthday.  ST and PJ came at the appointed hour and we had a nice dinner.

Saturday we slept in late and then we went and saw X-Men:  First Class.  The movie was very good even though it was clearly not of the X-Men canon in any way whatsoever.

We then started getting ready for the dinner party we were having that evening.  Mr. Clifford and PS were excellent guests and really helped us out getting everything ready.  Our dinner guests arrived a bit late but that was okay with us.  We had a nice time drinking wine on the screened in porch and then dinner was served.  Our guests left and we cleaned up a bit and then decided it was time to take Mr. Clifford and PS out discoing for PS' birthday.  We crossed the border to the Keystone State and hit one of the local gay bars there.  We had a lot of fun- maybe too much fun, lol.  Sunday morning was very difficult for all of us.

I dropped Mr.Clifford and PS off at the rain station and then it was finally nap time.  That did not last long though as we are getting the floors in the bedrooms and den refinished to match the floors we put in.  So we had to break down and move everything out of the rooms and take the art off the walls.  We then left only the couch and tv in the den and watched "Game of Thrones."  I slept at the cottage last night, got up early and caught the train back tot he apartment and off to work so no training this morning.

I cannot believe they are making Teen Wolf into a television series.  Really?  You've got to be frackin' kidding me!  The movie sucked ass and I have to think Michael J. Fox made it solely to fulfill a contractual obligation.

I am looking forward to "Falling Skies" on TNT.  That will definitely have to get put on the dvr.

The summer intern is here and he is sitting next to me again.  I will end up giving him the usual "There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people" speech.