Fire Danger

On my daily drive to work I come across the fire danger index for the day. There is a picture of Smokey the Bear who has enchanted me since I was a child. I still remember the coloring book I had about forest fire prevention.

Wikipedia informs me that his real name is "Smokey Bear" and besides being a mascot for the USDA Forest Service he has had a commemorative postage stamp never mind his own zip code. Oh and not to mention his namesake park in Capitan, New Mexico, his own song and a national awards program.

It was befitting to learn that Smokey Bear is one of the longest running ad campaigns. I think more people need to be educated about the danger of wildfires, especially since a large percentage of them are caused by humans. Every campground that allows campfires should be required to post fire safety posters. People should stop flicking their cigarettes out of their cars too. Wishful thinking anyway.

What does Smokey say......."Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

Mycomputerfun.com

It just sounds like a sleazy name doesn't it? Good thing I check my bank account regularly because I quickly noticed an unauthorized debit. How they got my card number, I couldn't tell you. Numerous calls to the customer service number only brought me a busy signal.

Having never heard of "mycomputerfun.com" I googled them and quickly saw that I wasn't the only person having this problem. Another one of their victims urged me to report this to the feds as well as my bank. I also went to my local police.

They charge your account for a small sum hoping that it will go unnoticed. They may even think that for such a minuscule amount some people just can't be bothered with all the paperwork. It just does not matter to me how much the amount is, it is fraud plain and simple.

Oh! The things we take for granted. I'm back to the old school way of writing checks and getting dirty looks from people behind me in line. My bank informs me since it was also a credit card, that company also has to investigate it which could delay my new card for up to 45 days. Fun is.......

I hope they get shut down.

Printer Soup

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against HP. They make some of the most dependable printers around. In twelve years I'm only on my 3rd HP printer at home. But.....to be honest with you I don't know what the deal is with the printer at work.

It all started first thing in the morning when - of course - I needed to print something. My cyan print cartridge needed to be replaced - easy enough I thought. As you can see from the photo it turned out to be more - much more than one ink cartridge. Once I changed the cyan ink, a light on the printer indicated that my print head needed to be changed. So, I decided I would change them all since it had been a while. I also noticed very little ink left in the other three remaining cartridges, so I figured what the hell!

~Printer Overload~

Every single light that could be on starting blinking and a blank page was spit out towards me with gusto. I turned the machine off, and back on all to no avail. It would start to shimmy and shake like a car going 50 MPH on a bad rim. After about a minute (which seemed like five) it just spit out another blank page. And...this went on and on until I became so frustrated I finally shut it off for the rest of the day. This printer definitely had an attitude.

The next day I decided to update the printer's drivers and firmware. After many unsuccessful attempts I was ready to throw in the towel. Little did I care that I just installed over $225 in print cartridges and print heads. It finally dawned on me to take out the print heads then to try updating the firmware. Lo and behold...it worked and my printer was up. YAY!

Why this silly idea worked, I don't know? I calibrated all the print heads and wouldn't you know?

Cyan is not working.

The Merritt Parkway

It is always a dice roll traveling one the first parkways in the nation. It is not what I would call "plodding along" you must play close attention at all times. Tell me, where else do you see a stop sign to get onto a highway? Although the posted speed limit is 55 MPH - I have yet to actually see anyone adhere to it. I must admit it is a very scenic ride through Connecticut and the bridges are spectacular! The tree canopy is great too - if you aren't worried about one falling over onto your vehicle. (Yes, unfortunately this did happen) Best of all there are no commercial vehicles allowed (though some do try) which believe it or not makes a difference, especially in the rain. The downside is if there is an accident, or even a disabled vehicle the traffic can get backed up for miles at end. Also, there are only two lanes and it always seems like I get behind some schmuck driving in the left lane going about 40 MPH. Thank god for the rest stops along the way and if you ever travel this stretch make sure to get your gas beforehand as if is always expensive at the Mobil stations on the Merritt.



There is even a website dedicated to it: www.merrittparkway.org.

Driving to NYC is just so much fun.

Spring Fever

Heh - I know it is bad when I stop to take pictures of flowers blooming next to the parking lot. People are looking at me weird while I'm stooped over with my cell phone trying to take this shot. Who cares.... while delivering payroll last week these flowers caught my eye. I am so starved for color this time of year that anything besides brown will catch my eye. It seemed like a long winter this year although it wasn't particularly snowy - only when it was time to drive to work.

I welcome spring this year and look forward to the longer days ahead.

"It's spring fever. That's what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want- oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" ~Mark Twain

Wishing I did not get rid of the stone tablet that my mother gave me with the inscription - "Each spring the universe is born again."

Plan B

I had every intention of going to work today, but when I woke up to chills and body aches I knew it wasn't happening. It didn't matter that I wouldn't get paid for the day - nothing mattered at the moment except more sleep. I called out and proceeded to medicate myself so I could get some more rest.

I woke up three hours later feeling a bit hungry but not sure if I should eat or not. What's that saying: "Starve a cold, feed a fever?" So I tentatively had some crackers and since that went down ok, I added some cheddar cheese. I checked the clock and wondered what I'd be doing at work right now, but then quickly put that thought out of my mind.

I have come to the conclusion - daytime television sucks.

Art Among Us

I first noticed it years ago on a Sunday afternoon drive. Little did I realize that I'd be driving by it daily on my commute. It intrigues me to no end. I am fascinated not only by the rock, but also by the creativity of the person who painted it. Whose eye managed to envision an eagle from an out cropping of rocks along Route 66? And - speaking of eyes - the eagle's eye facing west portrays the character of the eagle so poignantly that it just impresses upon me. So much so, that I stopped my vehicle on a little turn around with my flashers on to get this shot.

You know what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words.

iPod Planet

I have a love/hate relationship with my iPod.

On the one hand, I absolutely love my iPod.
I use it daily for my commute to work. I like to put it on shuffle mode in the mornings. It wouldn't surprise me if my iPod and I have some sort of electromagnetic telepathic link. Sure, I make playlists for my walks or for certain musicians that I want to hear. But... It never ceases to amaze me at the rate in which a song will come up that I was just thinking of. It also has the uncanny ability to dupe my emotions. I can't quite explain why I take amusement in this, but I do. It is just as comforting to know that I can easily spin that wheel and go onto the next tune - although I hardly do.

On the other hand, I curse at my iPod - "What the F&*K happened to my album artwork?
Having an iPod means negotiating iTunes which can be quite an experience. Case in point - you have built a music library over years that is organized exactly how you like it. Then your computer crashes and let me tell you that backing up iTunes and re-installing can be a nightmare. I've had the pleasure of doing this not once but twice within the last month. Nothing is easy when you have over 3,500 songs. How do other people deal?

That being said, there is nothing like having a digital music library at your fingertips. What to hear songs from the 80's - one second please.

Thanks Sis - for the best birthday present ever!

This Too Shall Pass

You know how it goes - you go to an auto repair shop hoping that the news you receive will fit in your budget, and of course it never does. Four digit car repairs are never good and I've already had my share for this vehicle.

CARS - why are they so expensive?

I absolutely love my car, I spend over two hours a day in it. I service it faithfully and keep it pretty clean inside and out. I must admit I do have discriminating taste when it comes to vehicles that I drive. To me, there really is a difference and my loyalty to a particular brand comes purely from experience of accidents I've been in. Being able to walk away from a totaled vehicle is a good thing, to have done it twice is exceptional.

I keep telling myself this to put it all in perspective so when the Service Writer comes over with his clipboard and the estimate of the repair I can smile and say, "No problem, go right ahead." Except today my debit card made me say, "I'll think about it."

Funny thing is, what is there to think about? My vehicle is broken, needs repair and the longer I wait the more painful the final tally can be. A friend of mine swears that the prices change according to gender. I think an estimate is done by the book. I know an auto repair shop changes exorbitant hourly rates and the job is quoted by flat rate. With my luck, the auto tech is usually done way before the book time.

Has my income tax check been deposited yet?