Rants

Resurection

While updating a blogging software plugin this evening it some how crashed and took the whole site down. I restored the database from a weekly backup that runs on Sunday nights. Everything previous came back, but things are just a little off.

The top transition text has changed and weirdest of all is when I try to edit a post, the text box where everything is entered, is blank. There is nothing to edit, yet the post still exists. And now I also have a yellow bar across the top of every backend page telling me that an automated WordPress update has failed to complete – please attempt the update again now. When I try, nothing happens, and the bar remains.

And if you would like a different take on the resurrection of the dead, I highly recommend a French (oh, no, subtitles) eight episode TV show called Les Revenants, or The Returned for us English speaking types. Very creepy story of the dead come back to life in a small mountain village, but not as shuffling zombies, but as exactly as they were just before they died with no recollection of the passage of time.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1279

There’s Where My Hat Went

My HatI know now why I couldn’t get my choice for Red Sox 2013 World Champions hat. They gave the first ones they had made up to the hoi polloi of the team. Here is the Red Sox chairman, John Henry, wearing my hat during the November 2nd Duck Boat parade through the city streets of Boston.

Seeing ol’ Johnny boy styling the hat fueled my desire for it again, so I went shopping. Just when it seemed like I was out of luck, as it was sold out or not available everywhere I looked, I found it on the site of the manufacturer. It is a one-size-fits-all variation instead of fitted, which I prefer anyway, so I bought one. Let’s see how long it takes to get here.

For The Want Of A Hat

Red Sox WS Champ Hat

As I had done the last two times the FRS won the World Series this century, I ordered a commemorative hat. My order was entered into MLB.com’s web store on the 31st of October. As of today, one week later, the status of my order is still listed as awaiting arrival of merchandise.

I’m impatient, so I canceled it. What the heck, I’ve still got my 2013 Red Sox Nation hat and they’ll probably win it all again next year. Maybe if I think of it, next January I’ll check and see if there are any left in the outlet store for half price…

Mountain Getaway

Hiwassee Reservoir

Made a trip into the NC/TN mountains this weekend. We were celebrating my birthday, our anniversary and on a recon mission for an MMC trip up here in November. Total distance traveled between 7:00 AM Friday morning and 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon was 760 miles. I drove every one of them and enjoyed the heck out of myself. We bought premium gas 4 times in that time (if you count the fill up before we left), 2 in the NC mountains with an average cost of $3.89 and 2 in SC midlands with an average cost $3.39. For the trip the Emperor got a little over 28 miles to the gallon, which ain’t half bad considering that about 2/3rds of the driving was spent in 2nd and 3rd gear at 3500 to 4500 RPM being flung around turns.

We stayed in a one bedroom cabin at a place called Fontana Village and had a mostly great time. The only real fault we found with the place is that you are a captive audience restaurant-wise because the nearest place to eat is Robbinsville, 22 twisty mountain miles away and what they have there really isn’t anything worth going for. As such, dining at one of the two open restaurants on the grounds can set you back a pretty penny. On Saturday morning the breakfast buffet at the Mountain View was our only option and at twelve bucks a person (total bill with tax & tip; $29) it was not as good as the $7.95 one at a Golden Corral in Aiken, just served from nicer containers. Dinner at the Wildwood Grill on Saturday night was $40 for 2 hamburgers a beer and a glass of wine. But now that we know there were serious about the fully equipped kitchen in the cabin, next time we are bringing our own (well as least as much as we can carry in the Miata.)

The photo above is of the Hiwassee Reservoir taken at the overlook of the Hiwassee Dam on at about the mid-point of the loop planned for the Saturday drive when we take the Miata Club to Deals Gap. This is the same loop as we did 2 years ago, but we are hoping the weather in November this year will be a lot more like our weather this weekend and not anything like the cold and wet of the 2011 trip.

This afternoon the Emperor got a well deserved bath while I ignored NFL football and its effect on my fantasy football team. I may not watch any games next week either, if that is what it takes, because the football Purple Whales are winning 118 to 106 and I still have one guy playing tonight and my opponent has nobody left to play at all.

Started down, went up, back down, up again, down again, up once more, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1261

We Own The East?

WOTEAll the clubhouse celebration photos of the FRS from last Friday showed the players all wearing this shirt. Do you think that they were contractually obligated to do so? Or did they just not care what the heck they were wearing after downing several Bud Lights (the official beer of MLB Playoff Clinching)?

First off they don’t own the East, at best they were leasing it for a year. Secondly, last night the Braves donned T-shirts with the same words on it. So just who does “own” the East?

The only thing worse than that shirt is this hat!

Big Turn Around To Nowhere

Last week the Purple Whales scored a league low 51 points, twenty one points lower than the next lowest scoring team. My fantasy team was outscored by 6 of the 12 league’s teams benches (including my own.) To compound matters the Whales were beaten by the team that scored the most points last week, 143, the North Augusta Meatheads, a team that was awarded a draft grade of F by ESPN.

This week my team has scored 112 points, which is more points than 10 of any of the other teams, unfortunately I’m playing the only team in the league to outscore me…so the Purple Whales start this season 0 and 2.

No big thing, every team makes our league’s playoffs.

Coupon & Self-Checkout Fun

After dining out this evening we stopped into Kroger to pick a couple of items we needed. Donna had a coupon to get a dollar off if we bought 3 bottles of Suave body wash, so those were among our 10 or so items. There was a speedy lane open, but I prefer the DIY approach of the self-checkout.

When I got most of the way done scanning, Donna headed over to get the attendant to scan the coupon. The attendant who wrangles the 6 self-checkouts was not inside the self-checkout area near her console. When she was interrupted from visiting with another Kroger employee, she leaned into the area and asked had we purchased the required 3 items to satisfy the coupon (had she been near her station it would have been self evident that we had.)

As she made her way around the counter to get to the screen, she paused to chat with a customer in the speedy 10 items or less line briefly. Then once she got towards her screen at the station she started helping another customer who asked for help after we did, because that customer was closer to her station. After she helped that other customer she finally started to scan our coupon.

She tried at least a half dozen times, pausing between scans to tilt her head in wonderment that her wand wouldn’t do its magic, because the coupon just wouldn’t register. By this time we felt we had waited a little too long to make it worth it for saving a dollar on our order, so we abandoned our bagged items and headed for the door. As we walked by the attendant’s station, on the other side of the counter, I heard her apologize about it taking so long as she looked in the direction we should have been. It was too late, we kept on going right out the door, but not before I snatched the coupon back out of her hand.

If we recall correctly, this isn’t the first time we have had trouble redeeming a coupon at the self-checkout, so when we go back tomorrow to get the things we need we’ll probably use the 10 items or less aisle.

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1256