November 2006

There were 34 posts published in November 2006 (this is page 2 of 4).

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent the day driving through this miserable weather to spend the holiday with Kellly’s parents in Virginia. As we were driving up Creedmoor road near Falls Lake, I saw the truck ahead of us startle a large bird by the roadside. The large flapping wings had me thinking it was a Great Blue Heron but as we got closer I was amused to find I was wrong. It was a big, honkin’ wild turkey! One lucky enough not to be joining its brethren on the kitchen table tomorrow. I’d have thought he would’ve been lying low this time of year.

Have a good Turkey Day, wherever you are.

Delta and US(eless) Airways Doing The Merger Dance

It’s been said that the fastest way to becoming a millionaire is to invest a billion in airline stocks. With that in mind I view the news that US Airways wants to merge with Delta. Even though they’re supposed to be the “hometown” airline with a hub in Charlotte, I hate flying US Airways. They’re one of the old, endangered, nickel-and-dime-you airlines. If they disappeared I wouldn’t miss ’em. I’ve merely tolerated them since they took over Piedmont Airlines and sucked all the friendliness out of it.

I have no grudges against Delta though, aside from the fact that I don’t like flying through Atlanta to get to anywhere else. Delta’s Atlanta connections simply aren’t convenient to me, and I rarely have reason to fly to Atlanta.

The upside to a merger is that Southwest might gain some gates at New York’s LaGuardia, which would be a welcome occurance – since I fly there frequently. The other upside is that there’ll be one less dinosaur airline to deal with.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well, I finally broke down and did it. Frustrated that I’ll never become a member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club For Scientists like some people I know, I dispatched with my hair altogether. I’m now a member of the no-hair posse, including Michael Stipe, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Jordan, Patrick Stewart, and Jimmy Buffett. Heck, even some local geeks have “the look.”

I’ll try this out this holiday season to see how it fits. If I like it, I may never use a comb again.

(Pics of this metamorphasis coming soon, of course.)

Dear Tom Cruise

Dear Tom Cruise,

Please – as fast as you possibly can – please drop off the face of the Earth. Your fifteen minutes of fame were up perhaps twenty years ago. You couldn’t act your way out of a wet paper bag, you’re as dumb as a box of rocks, and to top it off you’re a fruitcake of the first order.

Please – do the rest of us a favor and just go away.

Your Pal (not),
Mark

Arrivederci, Amato

After yesterday’s trouncing by the lowly Tar Heels, I think Chuck will soon be packing his bags.

I hear there’s a spot open on Bobby Bowden’s staff . . .

Outage No More

MT.Net is back online after some unfortunate timing. The server went offline Tuesday morning, right when I was due to catch a plane. I had 20 minutes to try to fix things but was unsucessful. Today (Sunday) was the first day I had a chance to work on it again. Turns out that a bad switch is at fault. Bah.

I’ve been saving up the posts since then, so don’t worry your pretty little heads. It’s good to be back.

November Sailing

That. Was. Awesome.

Four hours sailing on Lake Gaston. Steady breeze and sunny skies, with a high in the upper 70s. Even the launching and recovering wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.

We took my buddy Scott with us, who had fun in spite of missing his sunglasses. The kids did well, too. Hallie took the helm for a moment yesterday as I went forward to retrieve a line. Travis had a nasty fall late in the day, falling backward in the cabin and hitting his head. He recovered quickly like the champ he is, though.

That marks the sixth time we’ve taken the boat out since we bought it in August. I think it was the best sail yet.

Happy Veteran’s Day

Happy Veteran’s Day to my fellow vets. You know who you are. Never forget what you’ve done, and what those vets who came before you have done. And above all, don’t let pretenders take away those things for which you’ve worked so hard.

We’re going to spend Veteran’s Day sailing on Lake Gaston if I can find the courage to launch and recover the boat while waist-deep in water in the middle of November. Above the surface things should be perfect with highs in the upper 70s and a 10 to 15 MPH wind. Wish us luck.