Back On Track

Things are finally settling down around here. The property is still a mess but I am working on it. By the time I get home from work, there is not much daylight left to get things done, so it is going to take awhile to get things back in shape. Oh well........ What can I say about the hurricane? We survived and did not really lose much. The wind was incredible. It clocked in around 89mph out where we live on the far northwest side of Houston. Lots of damaged trees, some roof damage, and a small leak in my bedroom. The structures that I was worried about (greenhouse, pond cover, and the pool area) did not receive a scratch on them. We were just lucky that the pond cover was sheltered by the house and that the wind was coming from the opposite direction because that thing would have probably taken flight at 40mph and they are not easy to replace at this time of the year.

I was listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and they were joking about how the city was now probably back in the running for first place in the nation's fattest city rankings after hurricane Ike because all anyone did the entire time was eat. We only lost power for a day and we have two generators that kept things going but lots of people called in saying they were trying to eat everything in their fridge before it spoiled (honey, you HAVE to eat that gallon of ice cream RIGHT NOW!!!!) I certainly contributed my share of eating though. I am sure it was just stress and boredom because I was eating things that I never eat and things that I am not even fond of. M&M's (one of those huge Sam's size bags), Doritos, Twizzlers, soda (I never drink soda!!!!), Hawaiian Punch (WTF?! I hate Hawaiian Punch!), Rice Crispie treats, cookie dough. I was on a complete sugar high and I gained 5 pounds! 5 pounds! Crap!
I managed to get off of the sugar train and have lost 3 of the pounds so at least things are almost back to normal. I was completely out of control!

They started letting people back out onto Galveston and the other islands yesterday so that they can assess the damage and start the cleanup. I do feel for those people and hope that they can get back on with their lives quickly and that those who lost everything can somehow get back on their feet.

Survived the hurricane....

We are all OK but there is a lot of cleanup to be done. Hurricane Ike hit us pretty hard but we are very fortunate that everything is still standing (for the most part) and that most of the damage was just minor exterior stuff and lots of fallen trees and limbs. It is going to take us awhile to get things back in order so I will be back online in about a week and catch up with everybody then. Hope everyone is doing well!!!!

9-11-2001

Even with all the horrible stresses and last minute prep for this damn hurricane that is about to hit us hard here in Houston, my mind has still been on the anniversary of the unbelievable tragedies that occurred on 9/11. I was fortunate that as far as I am aware of, nobody that I personally knew lost their lives that day. My uncle had a small office in one of the Trade Center buildings, but he was not there that day. He did lose a few employees though which is just heartbreaking. What can you say about all the death and destruction that occurred that day? It is not something that words or sympathy can ever repair but it is very important to keep those memories alive in our minds and to be aware how fragile life really is and how we should not take even the little joys in our day to day life for granted.
One of the big questions that always gets brought up on this day is where were you when you first heard the news? I was alone in my car with my dog, cat, and a back seat filled with all of the stuff that would not fit in the moving van. Not a good day to pick to move across the state to a new house. The cell phone lines were overloaded so I could not get in touch with family or friends. I did not know where anyone was or what I should do so I just kept on driving down the interstate. All I could do was just listen to the radio and pray that everything would be OK. I remember the roads being almost completely empty..... everybody was afraid to move or go anywhere. Once I made it to the new house, I just remember sitting there on the floor (no furniture, no phone connection, did not know anybody) listening to the portable radio and waiting..............
It is hard to believe that it has been seven years since that day. Where does time go? Even though you cannot change the past, it is important to take all that life has given and taken away from you, and use that knowledge and those experiences to be the best person you can be today and for all your days to come. God Bless America!!!!!

For a minute there, I thought maybe it was just me.....

that had problems with these things.

WTH??? Now.... realize that I am not talking about the simple ones that say "dog" or "cat". I am talking about the ones with crazy squiggles and lines that don't look like a member of any English alphabet or numeric system that I have ever seen. After failing to enter the correct codes on many an occasion or having to hit the refresh button over and over until I can find something that I could identify..... I was actually beginning to be a little concerned that I was either visually impaired, stupid, or possibly dyslexic. However, after a brief and non-scientific survey amongst several of my friends and co-workers.... I have determined that I am not alone. 75% of those surveyed admitted to occasionally having problems solving these things (especially the ones on myspace for some strange reason). So either having problems solving these complicated captcha is a universal problem..... or I just happen to have a bunch of stupid/ blind/ dyslexic friends and co-workers... who knows????

Definition of a captcha---

A CAPTCHA is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple (Simple my ass!) test which the computer is able to generate and grade (apparently I am a failure!!) Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human.( I think that are trying to say that I do not qualify as human?) A common type of CAPTCHA requires that the user type the letters or digits of a distorted image (distorted? Ha!!!! Is that a B or a 3 or maybe an E??)that appears on the screen.
Characteristics A CAPTCHA system is a means of automatically generating new challenges which:
Current software is unable to solve accurately.
Most humans can solve. (Yeah right!!)