Superbowl Nightmare

If you are not aware…I am a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan so I am beside myself with happiness that they are in the Superbowl this year. In the lead up to the big game on Sunday my office is slowly getting covered with more black and gold, the excitement is building and I can’t wait for the game.

Apparently, I’m already subconsciously thinking about the game. Last night I dreamt Arizona was winning the game 27 to 24 and the Steelers did an odd pass play that results in what looks like a touchdown. Which would mean the Steelers would win 31 to 27.

BUT WAIT

The referee won’t call it a touchdown. Instead he states the booth is reviewing the play. There is only one second on the clock.

And then I woke up.

Tonight I better dream about the Steelers winning handily.

Here we go Steelers Here we go!!!

Snowy Video

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/4364350/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/4365720/

 

Here is some links to the local television station. They have aerial video via their helicopter from after the snow storm yesterday evening. We ended up with 7 inches at my house and over 5 near work. This is the most snow this area of North Carolina has seen since 2004. We had some ice this morning and will have the same problem tomorrow morning but the temperature is on the way up so all the snow will be gone by the end of Friday.

 

 

Let it Snow

We are having a fairly rare event here in the Raleigh, NC area...snow and lots of it. It is snowing hard enough to remind me of all my years in Erie, PA. Lots of snow -- up to 6 inches -- that will be completely gone by lunchtime Thursday.
A few notes to my friends in the area from an experienced snow driver:
1. TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON!!! I followed a white pickup truck in heavy snow going 21 mph in a 55mph zone with no lights on. He was very difficult to see.
2. DON'T TAILGATE! Give yourself room to watch what the special person in front of you is doing so you can react to it and not slam on your brakes and either rear end them or slide off the road.
3. CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS! I know snowbrushes aren't common down here but take some effort to clean your windows off so you can see.
4. DRIVE AT A STEADY RATE! If you can't bring yourself to drive above idle speed -- get off the road. You are a bigger hazard than the snow.
I drive 53 miles to work 30 of which is interstate and the rest is 2 lane highway. The interstate wasn't bad. I saw some accidents but things kept moving. The two lane roads tried ever bit of patience I have. I expect 2+ hours to get home tonight as well and possibly some issues tomorrow morning but then we are back to warmer temperatures reminding me of why I moved here. Hopefully everyone will stay safe today and the people that do get into accidents won't be injured.

SUPERBOWL 43

Here we go Steelers...here we go...PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!
Steelers are off to face the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa Bay for the 43rd Superbowl!
I am beyond excited right now!!!!

Cable Saga Continues

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I have the wireless numbers for a cable technician and his boss?

Of course the cable was working this morning when Harry the technician showed up. I was smart though and DVRed the image I was getting the night before. Once again the lines were checked, plates pulled off walls, wiring tested, box tested and this time he went outside and redid all those connections.

He also activated the line for the closest bedroom. The next time I have this issue I’m supposed to call one of them so they can track the issue real time. I can also run a line from the other cable hookup in the bedroom to see if it will work from there.

In a nutshell, nothing is fixed but they believe me when I say there is an issue. The theory right now is, “an intermittent issue with the main line.”

Time will tell…

As long as things are working for the Steelers vs. Ravens game I will be patient.

The Gremlin in the House

Since the day we had the cable hooked up we’ve had issues.
First the cable box would reboot 7-8 times per day. Rebooting takes up to 10 minutes and can be especially irritating when you are on the last 10 minutes of your show. So we got a new box. That didn’t’ work. Picture would freeze up and pixilated and shows would not record on the DVR.

Next we got new caps on the ends of the coaxial cable and another new box.

A little better for a while and then back to the same issues. So out comes the senior technician. He calls us, “THAT house,” and replaces some connectors outside.

Last night in the middle of Family Guy I lost all my channels except TV Guide. Same issue. Pixilated, black screen, issues. So I can watch the TV Guide channel and get a list of what shows I can’t watch.

Called tech support and spent 20 minutes on hold waiting to get someone live. After explaining the multiple issues we’ve had she decides resetting the box will fix everything. I explain that I have already done a reboot. She says her master reset is different and should resolve the issue. So she reboots the box remotely and as it is starting to count down to diminishing the reboot she attempts to get off the phone with me.

Rep, “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

Me, “Yes, stay on the line until the box is finished booting and I test to see whether my cable works or not.”

Rep, ‘Wellllll, I can stay on the line for a few more moments.”

Me, “I understand you have time considerations on the call however, I spent 20 minutes on hold to get to you. What happens if you disconnect and my cable still isn’t working? I’ll have to call and wait another 20 minutes. Look the countdown is already at 6 now 4.”

Rep, ‘I understand Ma’am and it isn’t time it’s the number of calls.”

Me, “So what is the next step if this doesn’t work?” (I had a pretty good idea that it wouldn’t)

Rep, “We’ll have to schedule a technician to visit your house.”

Me, “It’s done booting lets take a look…oh goodie…all I have is the TV Guide channel and….nothing else.”

 

So a technician is coming to the house tomorrow morning. The crazy thing? Internet works fine. I’m going to ask the technician to pretend the cable has NEVER been hooked up to this house and start from scratch.

 

 

25 Random Things About Me

A friend tagged me to do this in Facebook so I thought I would share here as well.
1. I'm originally from Raccoon Township Beaver County...go ahead...laugh. We had a state park and were next door to one of the oldest nuclear power plants. We didn't need night lights we glowed on our own.
2. I was raised Roman Catholic, went to 2 Catholic elementary schools and a Catholic university.
3. I have two cats named Callie and Curious George and a bearded dragon named Buddy as pets.
4. I've lived in William sport PA known for the Little League World series. That's all that happens there. It is four hours from civilization in any direction.
5. I went to Lilith Fair the first year it happened at the Starlake Amphitheater in Pittsburgh.
6. I actually performed CPR on someone. Unfortunately he had a massive heart attack and my efforts and the efforts of the paramedics and doctors were unsuccessful.
7. I'm now a very active member of St. John's Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, NC.
8. I can sing first soprano.
9. I smoked from 12 years and quit 6 months ago at the same time as my other half with a lot of help from Quitnet.com and a smoke cessation study at Duke University. I like to think Tara and I are skewing their research data in a positive manner.
10. I'm a training manager and have been involved in training and training development for almost 9 years as a professional
.11. I don't have kids. I do have 5 beautiful nieces.
12. I love to canoe and camp out rugged style. It is a lot of fun and very relaxing.
13. I am a book addict. I am always reading something. It is almost a physical need for me to read a least a little a day. I'll typically take a book over the TV and will sometimes take a book over people.
14. I'm a Trekkie. Yes I admit it. Voyager was my favorite but I'd watch all of them. Despite being a fan I went to one convention with some friends years ago and the people there scared me.
15. I like scifi while I'm at it. Old 50's giant animal (attack of the giant bunny, spiders, ants, 50ft woman, Gila monster, etc) are fun to watch. I also love movies like Blade runner.
16. I'm allergic to walnuts and penicillin. I love walnuts but they cause things like hives and anaphalactic shock so I can't have them. You'd be amazed what contains walnuts. Penicillin allergy is so bad that I worked with the mold in a microbiology lab in college and ended up in the ER.
17. I have a degree in Science with a minor in English from Gannon University.
18. I used to play the flute and still own my flute. I would like to pick it back up again some time in the near future.
19. I can paint ala Bob Ross...happy little trees and happy little mountains. I'm far, far from an artist but at least you can tell what it is.
20. I have a dream to create training material and work as a freelance training developer and speaker/trainer. Who would have thought the painfully shy little kid would turn out to be someone who loves to get in front of a group and train them on something new?
21. I volunteered and worked at The Zoo, Gulf Breeze Florida part time. I used to drive the train through the 30 acre wildlife preserve and accidentally let Gabriel the Giant Eland out one time. They got him back in safely.
22. I've acted in a few plays or musicals for high school and then community theater. Can be a lot of fun but I have more fun with the behind the scenes stuff. If I could choose any part to play I would be the stage manager in The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.
23. I worked for USAir as a Special Assistance Rep. assisting special needs passengers such as unaccompanied children, elderly, disabled, etc. I worked 2 summers and a Christmas season in the Pittsburgh, PA airport doing this. I used to drive the golf cart around and had Little Richard hop a ride one day.
24. I love the smell of coffee but don't like coffee. I don't like tradional pizza at all. Something about red sauce on bread is just...ick...I will eat an alfredo or chicken ranch pizza though.
25. I am a HUGE Steelers and Penguins fan...that is American Football and Hockey the Pittsburgh teams.

New Look

This blog has been up and running for quite awhile now and really needed a face lift. This year is the Year of Possibilities and despite starting so roughly with Charlie Bear crossing the Rainbow Bridge I need to have a brighter outlook. I though a brighter look to the blog might help.

I miss Charlie more than I can describe with words but while he always enjoyed lounging he couldn’t stand when someone was upset. I wouldn’t want him to be mad at me…

I’m going to keep remembering the good stuff while looking ahead to a brighter year.  

 

Charles Baron 2002-2009

Our wonderful Alpha cat Charles Baron aka Charlie Bear crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully at 4:50pm est today. Charles had been sick the past week and took a turn for the worst today. The vet believes he had an autoimmune disease and there was nothing they could really do for him. He was only just barely 6 years old and the best to have around when you were feeling ill. I feel like someone just ripped a piece of my heart out. He would climb right on top of you and purrr for hours. He purred right up to the end.

I hope there are plenty of pop caps to chase and cat trees to lay in over the bridge.

We love you Charlie Bear.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all!
It is the Year of Possibilities for me and my friends...
despite the woes in the economy the possibilities are endless in a lot of other areas.
I hope you had a wonderful start to the year.