The Life and Times of Jim |
Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog! This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting. |
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07/19/2007 20:20:04 jim Louisville,KY-4thSt LuckyStrike | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
07/19/2007 07:19:31 jim Vegas fires are news in Louisville | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
And they're not in Las Vegas! Louisville's Channel 6 news said there are more than 400 fires in Nevada this morning. But Las Vegas's Channel 3 and Channel 8 said nothing about it. I first heard about them last week. It's national news! So I was surprised when, after I talking to Sonny, he didn't know anything about it. Wanna know something about where you're living? Look at another city's news headlines. |
07/18/2007 23:24:48 jim I cant think of any place Id rather be | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
The things happening in this area are so exciting. It's the free concerts around the corner every other night. It's the water front, the old buildings, and all the history here. It's the girls in their cowboy boots, mini skirts or shorts, and tank tops It's the guys, none of which ever fails to smile at ya, and give ya the 'man nod'. It's the quality of schools, people, and level of existence here that makes me feel good. People in Louisville probably don't know what they've got here. And people in Las Vegas don't know what they've lost. |
07/17/2007 23:47:18 jim Ate at the Bistro | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
We walked several miles around Louisville and ended up here. Very EXCELLENT food! Here I am, walking off the pounds, just to go to a restaurant to put them back on. We went to the water front. Walked along the Ohio River. Watched horse drawn carriages pull people around town. Then we found the sky walk. Its an enclosed walk a story up, that takes you around and through the buildings downtown. What can I say? For a couple of weary travellers, its paradise. These buildings are 200 years old. 200 years from now, they'll still be standing. |
07/17/2007 21:10:54 jim Louisville,KY-Becky,Jim Bistro | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
07/16/2007 20:32:04 jim Louisville,KY-OldBld bldgs | Mon |||||||||||||||||||
07/15/2007 23:33:05 jim The Lake Rudolf Experience | Sun |||||||||||||||||||
We took off Saturday morning to meet Rod, Resee and Jessica at the campground. On the way, we picked some fold out popason chairs. I thought it would be funny to use living room furniture for camping. "You know you're a redneck when there's a couch in your front yard". It was fun bopping around the park I decided I'd drink beer while hanging out. That added antics to the adventure. Rod took the golf cart through the woods on to a highway! That was incredible. He wanted to see if he could get the cart out of the park. Jessica and I went fishing However, I spent almost all of the time straightening up the line. I didn't succeed though. My beer hangover messed up my vision, so the 2 beer max rule is back in effect. I was so tired the whole time. I hope I wasn't too much of a putz. I just barely made the 60 minute drive. My whole body is sore from all the activities in the last few weeks. And I've got a killer toothache. We took off at 2pm Sunday, and I have got to slow things down. After frantically jogging around the city trying to find a notary and a Fed Ex at 4pm on Friday, I thought I couldn't take any more. I was wrong. I guess self abuse has no limit. We drove through an incredible storm on the way back. Visibility was 5 to 20 feet. I had too pull over, which was a blessing. I kept fading in and out. I just couldn't get any sleep. Kept having nightmares, and my dreams are almost always beautiful. But all of that aside, it was fun weekend. Its too bad we couldn't have stayed for the rides at Holiday Park. I think next time, we'll plan things better and rent an air conditioned cabin or travel trailer. |
07/14/2007 22:20:10 jim Camping with Rod! | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
07/14/2007 10:57:28 jim SantaClause,IN-HolidayWorld leaving | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
07/14/2007 08:08:01 jim .Camping | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
I'm ready. We're bringing beer, smokes, blankets, and rubbers (wading boots). I think I'd like to do some spear fishing. This guy looks like he had fun. I suppose, if I can't find a spear or a pole, I could create a new sport called "Stomp Fishing" Holiday Park is only 60 minutes away. Thats great! Too bad we can't do the water park together. That would be a blast too! But HEY, its only 60 minutes away and annual passes are just over $100. Thinking about it, I'd probably end on the news as the fat guy who got stuck in the water tube. You'd see Katie Couric live at Holiday Park, reporting how a crane is dissassembling a ride, trying to a free a fat, ugly, desparate vacationer named LVDUDE, and that they had to shut off the parks water main to stop the flow of water. hmmm. |
07/13/2007 21:06:15 Jim Eliminated those pesky bot ids. | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
I should do like Yahoo, Aol and the other sites do for logons They put a graphic up to verify a human is trying to log in. Another long day. Got up at 5am. Found the web site had been abused. So I wrote a fix and put it in. Figured out my project's design was flawed. I corrected it, but... The real problem is, I've sent the Documentation to several users for our meeting next Tuesday. So, my first meeting may make me look bad. Work keeps asking me if I'd consider full time. Its a toss up of benefits verses dollars. At any rate, I told them I couldn't commit to anythingt until my contract is up in November. I indicated I would like that. I finally got the seller's documents to sign. Grady called and said if i could get it signed today, the deal was probably blown. All this happened today, on a Friday, around 4pm. I had to go home during rush hour, get the docs, find a notary and a Fed Ex place. All this I had to do in a town that rolls up its side walks at 5pm. My brain is fried again. Somehow, we pulled it off, and I think I lost some of my hair. |
07/13/2007 09:15:14 Jim Hackers...what do you do with them? | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
Its funny when people try to hack this system. There's really no useful information in this system to steal or get. And almost everything is out in the open. Gotta love it |
07/12/2007 19:31:02 jim Louisville,KY-BAMS | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
07/11/2007 23:27:06 Jim Churchill Downs, Emerson Drive Concert | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
Been kind of broke...at least for this week, my checking account has been getting pounded for the last three months. BUT, there's plenty of free things to do in Louisville. Saw the last race for the spring Kentucky Derby Races. Rod and Jessica picked us up. WE WON!...actually, Becky did. She bet something like 2, 5, 7 and 9 to win. Her pick was a long shot that paid 16 for 1. Then again, we got a flat that morning, which cost $130 to replace... So, WE LOST!!! yaaaahaha. The Emerson Drive Concert We watched a free concert on this block. About 1,000 came to watch it. It's a blast living near the heart and soul of Louisville. I love how these country people dress and behave. They seem so peaceful and happy. |
07/11/2007 22:21:37 Jim .Concert Down At The 4th Street Live | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
I love your writing Becky. Your personality comes out in your spelling (retstruants = restaurants). I seriously enjoy your spelling of words more than the correct spellings. They are very cute. So, I'm not gonna show you spell check yet. Love ya bunchs and bunches and bounches. 8^) |
07/11/2007 22:02:16 jim Louisville Blgs | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
07/11/2007 20:57:08 jim Louisville,KY-4thStLive Party List | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
07/11/2007 13:34:59 Jim Well, I am fixing toilets...lol | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
But I'm doing it for free. I know, I said I'd fix toilets for what work is paying me but The apartments hopper quit filling up and rather than wait for management to fix it, I went out and bought a Flowmaster for $6 and threw it in. Plus, I hooked up most of the Ice Maker. Our internet is still not working. A guy from Insight came out yesterday, and totally botched the job. He hooked up the cable TV, and just left the cable modem. After spending an hour on the phone with Insights Support (which, right now, costs me 45 cents a minute on my cell phone), they determined the modem was just plain BAD. Someone left the cake out in the rain, alrighty...lol. I would be upset, but they gave us a digital box for free. |
07/08/2007 20:17:35 Jim Moving/Kentucky Derby/River Front Park | Sun |||||||||||||||||||
Friday, we signed papers for the apartment, but we couldn't move in yet. So, we just hung out at Suburban. We ate pizza at Old Chicago's, and I've gotta say, it was the best pizza I'd ever had! Saturday, we moved into our apartment. It took two trips to move out of the Suburban. Then we bought a TON of Walmart furniture (airbed, chairs...) We moved all of that in and passed out around midnight. Sunday, we had to exchange another VCR (without a tuner in it, which we need) Our GPS went strange on us, and we ended up at a Walmart in New Albany. On our way back, we had to go down Albany's back streets. We actually got stopped at a railroad crossing for 20 minutes (I hopped out and picked flowers...lol). Albany's a beautiful, small town with very old Buildings. I64 was out to Louisville, so once again, we had to take a detour and I blew a flat! Finally, about noonish, we got back to Louisville. Churchill Downs with Rod and Jessica. Rod and Jessica met us at the apartments and gave us a lift. They are such great company! Becky picked the horses and won!!! Yippee!!! Ending the day, we went to The River Front Park Cool place. There's a Joes Crab Shack high on stilts over the river. The park has a water jet show, and lots of grassy areas. Kids were playing frisbee football and soccer. It looked like a blast. |
07/08/2007 13:43:42 jim Louisville,KY-Kentucky Derby-Rod,Jessica,Jim,Becky | Sun |||||||||||||||||||
07/07/2007 16:22:21 Jim See yall Tuesday | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
We're going off line until we get our new internet service Have a GREAT WEEKEND! |
07/07/2007 07:26:34 Jim Living downtown...how to adapt? | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
I'm really excited about this change. Entertainment is in walking distance. A CVS is just a block away. I noticed that most of the Kentucky Towers dwellers don't have a car. To get from the street to our apartment - we have to park in a garage - go to the 3rd floor - walk up a ricketty stair/bridge to our apartment building - go down and around a hallway - take the elevator to the fifth floor - then go down the hall to our apartment #503. There is no convenient way to get from the parking garage to the apartment at ground level. However, if we take the bus - We can enter the apartments directly from the front - take the elevator to the fifth floor - then go down the hall to our apartment #503. So, either we find a place to park at ground level, or we take the bus. This is going to be so much FUN! And I am going to lose weight! |
07/06/2007 21:52:26 Jim Sea shells in the desert? Global Warming? | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
When driving across the country, its obvious that almost all of this country has been under water at some time or other. After all, we pulled out of the ice age only 18,000 years ago. We know the ocean level has risen 400 feet since then. Ever wonder what happened to all of that ice? I do. We've seen, from a distance, that Las Vegas looks like a glacier slid through it at one time. What would happen to the continents if all of the ice melted on the polar caps? Is the Earth's water supply constant? Does it evaporate into outer space then collapse? Is it a gift from passing comets? Where does the Earth's water come's from? I can't find an answer. Some say it came from comets, (see a taste of water). Others say its been here since the beginning. At either rate, it seems the Earth is neither losing or gaining water. That would mean, if the continents were under water at some time, both the water and the land masses had to shift. Toss in the polar caps melting, and you might get fossils on mountain tops. So here's my thoughts on global warming. It's natural. The chart above is from studies of the polar caps. They have recorded the Earth's global temperatures through out almost all of the Earth's existance. In the chart above, can you see the beat? El Capitan is a chunk of the limestone reef that rose during the mountain building of the Guadalupe Mountains 10 to 12 million years ago. Weather has eroded much of the surrounding sandstone. Because of the limestone's greater resistance to erosion, the towering cliff remains, revealing its trove of seashells. We've found seashells from shore to shore, on mountaintops and places in between. Chances are, you have seashell fossils in geologic formations in your home state. What all of this means to me is Global warming is going to happen. Global cooling is going to happen too. If we nudge it along with pollution, it will happen sooner. Either way, it will happen. If we don't adapt, we will become extinct. And no, we're not going to destroy all life on this planet by our foolishness (like the doom sayer say). Just like six foot tall Penguins vanished from the equator to the Arctic regions to become the two foot tall ones we see in the movies, life will adapt. |
07/06/2007 15:32:10 jim Louisville,KY-Kentucky Towers-Apt | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
07/06/2007 00:15:38 Jim Our new apartment | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
We move in 3pm tommorrow...yahoo!!! Kentucky Towers: 513 S 5th #504, Louisville, KY 40202, (502) 585-6300 Our apartment is on the 5th floor of this 1920's high rise. In its hay day, was a ritzy hotel. The Hilton is across the street from it. They are refurbishing it, along with the rest of the downtown area. I'm curious, and paranoid, about moving into a high rise. But this one looks REALLY COOL!!! It has 100 washer dryers, a swimming pool on the 5th floor, an excercise room and shops on the first floor. A Hilton Hotel and a coffee shop are across the street. Fourth Street Live, Louisvilles ritzy party area, is one block away. Best of all, its only 10 minutes to work, the drive is simple, so its unlikely that I'll be blasting the stereo, then miss a turn at 70 mph, and end up headed towards Nashville, like I did the other day. The people are very friendly and mostly attractive. - A security guard showed us the route from the parking lot to our apartment and was nice enough to walk us through the route. He said its a quiet building. - I talked to a front desk clerk from the Hilton who was smoking outside. She said we were going to love it. She had a lease 4 blocks down the road. - There was a crazy lady sitting at a bus stop yelling things, probably talking to god. - A fellow hit me up for a dime. Another hit me up for a cigarette. - Three girls walked in alone at different times. Each dressed like they just came from a company party. One said she was involved in politics, and just got back from Washington DC. So the people are going to be quite varied, but not threatening. Our next challenge will be finding furniture on a shoe string budget. We won't have an internet connection until Wednesday. |
07/05/2007 01:15:48 Jim 4th of July at Rods | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
- Spent the day checking out webcaming with Sonny, Jennifer and Joy. - Chatted with Gma. It was great! We were actually on our way to downtown Louisville to watch the fireworks over the Ohio, but decided to swing by and say Happy 4th!!! Rod spent about $300 on fireworks, which sounds familiar to me. We hung, drank a couple of beers, at beer brats. Jessica, Rod and Reese's daughter plays the clarinett...and she had it sitting out. I picked it up, and guess what? I could still play, AND read sheet music. Its been 30 years since I was 1st chair in the high school band. There was a thunderstorm with lots of lightening on 15 mile drive home. Altogether, it was quite a night. We'll be going to the Kentucky Derby's last race on Sunday. |
07/04/2007 09:50:00 Jim Apartment follow up is important | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
We saw an adorable apartment. It was in an old brick four plex, right off the street, with parking in the back. There were trees in the front. The owner/manager was outside fixing a window. I asked him why it was broken. He said he didn't know. He showed us the apartment. It was nice, $500 a month, and we filled out an application. I felt ready to take it. HOWEVER... When I was leaving, a guy at the bottom of the stairs gave me an evil look. Then the manager said, "Hey Jose, how are you doing?". Jose dropped his look and smiled. We drove by an hour later. There were three 15/16 year olds hanging out in the hallway. They were sitting on the stairs and they were dressed in gang attire. When the sun goes down, the bad guys come out. I realized why the manager was replacing broken windows. At least I learned that 4 plexes like that sell for $240,000 here. |
07/04/2007 05:24:07 Jim They should have built Las Vegas in Louisville | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
They should have built Las Vegas here, instead of in the middle of a desert! |
07/03/2007 06:40:50 Jim Apartment Quandary | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
Barrington's Place Pro's: Downtown. $540, all utilities. We have a 14th floor apartment reserved that looks out over Louisville. Its walking distance from the waterfront, 4th Street Live, Slugger Stadium. Its 10 minutes from work. Con's: Management is flaky. They told us we could move in the 6th. Now, they're saying the 18th. They just told us it was a year lease, not a 6 month, and the buy out was 2 month. We haven't seen a model, or the apartment, only pictures. Parking is across the street for $50 a month. Crescent Center Pro's: Downtown. $750, no utilities. Great looking place. Its walking distance from the waterfront, 4th Street Live, Slugger Stadium. Its 10 minutes from work. Parking is free. Con's: Expensive. Intown Suites Pro's: Next to work. $800, all utilities. A little larger than Suburban. Decent looking place. Con's: Questionable area. Imperial Suites Pro's: 5 minutes from work. $549, no utilities, 6 month lease. Large 1 bedroom on 11th floor. Decent looking place. Very secure. Has a pool (closes in August). Con's: View faces South and kind of sucks. If a North view opened up, it would be great! Breckenridge Square Pro's: 10 minutes to work. $589, 800 sq ft, internet, pool, spa. Nice looking area. Con's: Unknown. Breckenridge Pointe Pro's: 10 minutes from work. $450, $50 utilities, internet, 675 sq ft. A little larger than Suburban. Easy parking. Only 60 units. Great looking place. Con's: 1 year lease. |
07/01/2007 00:17:42 jim Louisville,KY-4thSt Party-Jim,Becky | Sun |||||||||||||||||||
06/30/2007 16:28:20 jim Louisville,KY-Mtel InTown Suites | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
06/30/2007 06:26:13 Jim The IPhone, my next splurge! | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
I checked one out today and I've gotta have one. - They hold 4 to 8 gigs. - The operating system is smooth. - Its quick and extremely easy to use. - It can import Outlook files. - The camera is great. - It has maps. - The interface to the internet is excellent. They'll be coming out with units that have GPS built in. |
06/30/2007 06:14:49 Jim Louisville - Friday Night | Sat |||||||||||||||||||
06/29/2007 21:36:46 jim Louisville,KY-4th St Downtown Bldgs | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
06/29/2007 19:47:50 jim Shelbyville,KY-Mall,SpencerGifts,Becky | Fri |||||||||||||||||||
06/28/2007 22:29:44 Jim I love these lightning bugs. | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
If Las Vegas had cockroaches with neon glowing butts, they'd be feeding them! I could envision people using cock roaches to light up their kitchen cabinets. You could even put sugar down along walkways for the glowing critters. |
06/28/2007 21:23:14 jim Louisville,KY-Apt | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
06/28/2007 18:49:16 jim Louisville,KY-Hote lRoom | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
06/28/2007 04:30:54 Jim Kentucky rain keeps pouring down | Thu |||||||||||||||||||
The rain is amazing in river land. It rains sporatically, and when it does, it's BOLD about it. The thunder is the loudest I've heard. Lightning knocked out a few stop lights, and the Five Star on the corner. That reminds me, I've got to get surge protectors for these laptops. |
06/27/2007 23:26:36 Jim Frankfort - Kentuckys Capital | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
Tonight, we went to Lexington, Ky, Its only 70 miles away. Nice town. I think it has more charm than Louisville, but it may have a darker side to it. It turns from nice, to not nice very quickly. The Capital Building
Its HUGE! It is, by far, the largest capital building I've seen. The buildings around it are huge too. We got to it by driving down a narrow street. The Floral Clock
At night, lightning bugs fly all around it. We called GMa, and told her about the Floral Clock. Just like magic, when we talked to her, the lightning bugs started flashing. Capital Annex Its hard to grasp just how large this is. We polished up the night by eating at Big Boys. The food was excellent. They're burgers are unique, and you can't miss with a country fried steak with mashed potatos. |
06/27/2007 21:04:04 jim Frankfort,KY-Capitol Dome | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
06/27/2007 21:04:04 jim (Reply)Frankfort,KY-Capitol Dome | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
06/27/2007 21:04:04 jim (Reply)Frankfort,KY-Capitol Dome | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
06/27/2007 21:04:04 jim (Reply)Frankfort, Ky | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
06/27/2007 20:12:24 jim Lexington, Ky | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
06/27/2007 07:10:14 Jim Inflatable furniture for the high-rise apartment? | Wed |||||||||||||||||||
Check out: http://www.inflateus.com/original_style_sofas.htm This furniture is designed mainly for use in dorms. But I think they would look great in our 14th floor apartment. AND, we can take our furniture to the lake..haha |
06/26/2007 23:21:27 Jim Love my new job! It doesnt get any better. | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
Its nice to know Kevin McD works remotely there from Las Vegas. Maybe I could do that someday too! I think he's responsible for the ATM's on the west coast. I hear his name everywhere now. I'm in development (my forte). I don't have a PC set up, so I'm using someone's elses while their on vacation. My first rogram was a report/update program today, and I had to write it from scratchhhhhhhhh! The program they gave me as a starter was dated 1998, and it wouldn't compile. My first project was fix a database table. The challenge was, to make it look like another table, and to fix its a column to point to existing files on a different system. The files were all moved around to different subvolumes, so I had to search the system for each of the 300 files. These files are used to load some devices with tables and code (I think). So, without them being right, nothing works. They gave me the lattitude to do the project anyway I wished. I guess the project had been passed around. So, my first project involved writing a fix it report/update program using Cobol, Sql, Enscribe, and lots of Tacl. I already have the best macros around there. But...I had to write them from memory, so they could be much better. I put my old macros are on the internet in my blog, but I don't have internet access yet. Everybody at work is great! Their attitudes are excellent. They're eager to see anything I produce. And I'm their guinee pig, I'm told. I'll be leading the way for others to follow. The system I'll be reviving has been dead for a year, and they really want too see it work. So, I'll pretty much have free reign, with project nudges here and there. Most say its a mess. Its not documented, and nobody there knows it. There's going to be a lot of recognition in what I'm doing, and its going to be very visible. So, this job is a perfect fit for me. Its what I do best. I do systems. Its hard to explain to people who haven't had sole responsibility for every program in an entire system. Most programmers work on one or two programs at a time. I've worked whole systems for most of my career. I tend to do whatever is needed to make a system work. This is quite a break for me. I love this kind of work. Its a perfect match! I should go far in this place. |
06/26/2007 23:18:43 Jim The condo is SOLD! | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
Yeppers! And it couldn't have happened at a better time. It should be closed by the end of July. Sonny's situation is improving. He's got a new job at Circus Circus. His daughter just turned 18 too. Hopefully he can save what he was paying in child support. My situation is improving too. The money is good, but I won't get paid until mid July. So for now though, we're impoverished. But we've got riches right around the corner. We're having a better rollar coaster ride than any amusement park could offer! Everything is changing fast for Sonny, Becky and I. |
06/26/2007 17:05:10 jim Louisville,KY-InTown Suites-Becky,Jim | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
06/26/2007 06:39:03 Jim Is poverty child abuse? | Tue |||||||||||||||||||
Because, they are saying smoking is, on the billboards in Louisville. Me, I can't think of anything more devastating to a child's development than poverty. Imagine growing up without an IPod or a cell phone. After the smoking war is won, what will be next? Alcohol, obesity, poverty? The No Smoking Ban is being replayed in Louisville Its amazing! 31% of Kentucky's population are smokers. Its the highest in the nation. Its a rerun of what happened in Las Vegas. But this time, the people did not vote for it. The 25 member Metro Council for Louisville approved it. The ordinance includes bars and restaurants, but not Churchill Downs (sound familiar). Las Vegas didn't include Casinos. It just goes to show ya, if you pick at something long enough, it will fester. Its offensive because its illogical. If things keep going this way, smoking parents may end up losing their children. Don't get me wrong...I favor the abolishment of smoking tobacco. Its a poison that was created by big business. Its nowingly addictive, and its sold at the grocery store. And it would be nice if history swept it under the rug. Its the way its being done that I don't like. Will rich people be able to adopt children from poor parents in the future? Can they now? hmmm The world is such a mess. This is why I don't like to read the newspapers or watch the news. These laws aren't fair because they favor entities with political power. Its like passing a ban on guns for black people. The law is not evenly applied. Why doesn't the government just outlaw smoking instead of beating around the bush? I know, abolition failed miserably. The drug war failed miserably. |
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