Kmart is dead to me

I went out to buy more film for my camera experiments and ended up going into the Kmart down the street from the camera shop. Actually it was a Super Kmart, but that doesn't make it any better. I was hoping to find a cheap scanner that I could repurpose into a negative film scanner(no such luck). As soon as I walked into the Kmart I knew that I would just be wasting my time. As I walked the aisles in search of the electronics department I got the feeling I was just dirty and no one loved me. I felt like the undead, everyone around me seemed like a zombie content on staring at bargain priced soda and knockoff cheese crackers. The aisles towered above me narrow like a grave and were crowded with substandard housewares. The tile floor had seen better days, there were pieces missing, pieces replaced but not the right color or size or cracked pieces missing entirely. The space filled with dirt and filth awaiting the next old lady to come bumbling along to be tripped and fall on a bargain bin filled with rakes and shovels.

I finally found the electronics department, but no scanners were to be found. I inquired about film for cameras and was lead to a dismal display with 2 specimens of Kodak, both overpriced. I turned and left wondering why I even came into this place. On the way out I looked at the crap in the aisles and wonder "Who buys this shit?", but I guess somewhere someone needs a set of juice glasses with Betty Boop on them. The whole experience made me depressed, but I was hungry. I remember when Kmart used to be good enough for me. I used to be a Kmart shopper. I used to walk those aisles content with buying the crap they sold. I needed what they had to offer. I used to think the blue light special was kind of cool. I don't feel that way anymore. It wouldn't take much to bring those feelings back... Clean the floors, declutter the aisles, clean the air and make it smell less stale, make your store look like it's not a place where people come to die.

wash my worries away

I woke up this morning for the second day in a row feeling like someone ran me over with a truck. I'm not hungover, but I am tired... exhausted... I stayed up too late and threw off my sleep cycles. I need to go to bed earlier and get up in turn. The problem lies deep in self control and the feeling of need to stay up to lengthen my day. I also am totally into season three of Dexter and must watch as much as I can as soon as I can. I am an addict.

In contrast I have been shooting a fair amount of 35mm film lately. I have an amazing digital camera, but film has so much more depth and character. I never realized that before. I recently purchased an old Rolleicord IV from a local camera shop and have tweaked it to shoot 35mm which allows me to expose the sprocket holes for a neat effect, but in order to develop the film I have to take it to the store, then bring the negatives home and scan them. At the moment my scanner isn't the best at collecting the data it should, in fact it's the worst. I want to experiment a bit with medium format film and maybe buy a different camera to shoot 35. Either way I am going to have to buy another scanner if I want to continue with my own negative scanning.

I also brewed a german pilsner a couple days ago. I believe it will come out very good because I am getting better at the methods involved in brewing and fermenting. The wort was light and clean, the hops finished well and everything went smooth. Though I may have used too much carapils in the grain primary, but only time will tell.

good clean fun

I knew from the first time I met Phil he was nuts. It was my third night working at Target as a night stock boy when I met Phil. I would have met him on the first night except he was away for quality training. Later he revealed that quality training actually meant sitting outside target in a parked car with the day manager discussing their hostile takeover of the payless shoe store next door. I never questioned him, I just assumed he was nuts.

We were both assigned to the sporting goods area and after loading our merchandise tugs we dug into the task of taking care of all of this crap. As I jammed basketball needles onto their respective hooks I heard Phil talking to himself in the aisle over. He was muttering something about how camping was a complete fraud and if anyone really wanted to go camping he's gladly kidnap them and drop them off in the country for the $65 it took to buy a tent. I laughed inside and agreed, but thought about the smores I had eaten years ago.

I was putting golf tees away when i looked up to see Phil staring at me. I said "Do you know where these fuckers go?" Phil replied "Did you check the plan-o-gram". I looked away knowing that the plan-o-gram was bullshit and all I had to do was find the same bar code number on a label as the package. "I've got to take a leak" and before I could argue Phil was down the aisle and around the corner.

It was an hour later and Phil hadn't returned. i had finished the bike and cooler aisle. I glanced sorely down the camping aisle. I closed in on Phil's tug and saw a pack of opened flashlights. He hadn't taken care of anything. I wondered how Phil kept his job as i finished the flashlights and moved on to various other camping gadgets, some of this stuff was pretty ridiculous. I mean, who needs a stainless steel spork?

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the walkie talkie with bent antennae. It was 3:15 and closing in on break time. I put the walkie talkie up to my lips and said "Paging Phil, has anyone seen Phil?" I need him to sign off on the plan-o-gram before I could complete the area. Waiting... Not a word. Phil then walked around the corner "So man, jason had me stocking some endcaps near the checkouts and I forgot about you back here". I replied "That's fine, I just need you to sign off this area with me so I can go to break". He grabbed the clipboard and scribbled his name in my box "Here ya go". I looked at him and said "Thanks".

We took our break in the garden center because

What are we bailing out?

Richard Wagoner - CEO of GM


Robert Nardelli - CEO of Chrysler


Alan Mullaly - CEO of Ford


Ron Gettelfinger - UAW President

The root of the problem is they have been selling us poison. Where is my electric car made of recycled material? Where is the innovation? Where is my subcompact electric car? Where is my autopod that drives itself? ... The truth is they are out to loot and plunder society. The truth is they are old out-dated machines of war. It's not just the U.S. auto industry, it's the entire way we think about transportation. We need to focus on a renewable modern way of transportation.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey
Butternut Squash with Browned butter
Stuffing/Dressing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Broccoli Cornbread
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies

didn't see it coming

You can say you didn't see it coming, but it's been on the burner since the early 80's. Simmering on the back burner, boiling down. It's an economic crisis!

I love how they spin it to be all-of-the-sudden. When in reality it's been visible since HGTV hit the airwaves. What do they say? "As soon as you can see and identify the trend it's past it's prime?" ... like curdled milk left out on the counter overnight.

so who do we blame? the insiders? the lobbyists? I blame the people that bought overpriced homes. I blame the flippers. I blame the mortgage brokers that sold bad eggs to the school kids.

All of the sudden we are waist deep in a economic crisis. All of the sudden, like in the last week.

but honestly, who didn't see it coming??

there is only really one way out... raise taxes and reduce spending...

waking up is so hard to do

I think the hardest part of my day is getting out of bed. Once I'm up I'm good to go, but the act of rolling out of bed sucks. The older I get the harder it gets. My necks snaps and pops, my head spins, my eyes are crusty and blurry. I really hate waking up.

We just bought these supposed awesome pillows and a mattress pad with waves and bumps in it. It makes the otherwise old and busted mattress like new. Supposedly.. I don't see the big deal. Sure the mattress is super comfortable and the pillow is super cushy, but I'm one of those people that can sleep anywhere. I slept for a whole six months on an air mattress. Thats when I lived alone. Living alone is not all its cracked up to be, it's a good experience that everyone should have at least once.

So here I sit, on the couch, I just woke up...

its not as bad as it seems

In moderation lies the answers to most problems. Do you keep your keys in your pocket? or do you take them out and put them in the dresser drawer?

I am one of those pocket people. I'd lose control and possibly a lot more if I couldn't keep my keys close to my hip. yesterday was the 7 year anniversary of 9-11. I didn't really ask, but I heard at least 3 stories of that day. I heard how they learned and reacted to the news the towers had been attacked. Everyone loves to talk, but who ever really listens?

Will the history fade? of course it will. Especially if something new comes to take its place. Just look at Pearl Harbor.

the point is... it's not as bad as it seems, it's much worse...

i sing the body electric

I take things one day at a time. I had to go have whats left of my thyroid biopsied today. I had the right part of it removed a few years back because it had become enlarged. Now the left side has cold spots (areas where blood doesn't flow) and the doctor wanted to check them out. I learned today that the cold spots are full of liquid, the doc took 30 cc out with a huge syringe. They are going to test for cancer and let me know. At this point I am debating just having the rest of it removed or having some kind of radiation therapy to kill it. DIE EVIL THYROID DIE!!

So my neck is a little achy at the moment... I took some pain killer, but it's not having much effect. I drank some beer, but it's nothaving much effect. So I am going to try to sleep it off, besides I have to get up at like 6:30 to got to work.

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike has already killed more than 300 people in the carribean. How can this be? I just don't understand how they could not be prepared? I mean it'd be different if they have never experienced a hurricane, but they get smacked all the time. I just don't understand.