Saturday, August 30, 2008
Mrs C was not fond of the new name....
So I changed it back to the old one for now. that will make a couple of folks crazy!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
I finally found the right name for this Blog
It's really hard to argue with, isn't it?
Chris Casey: Home Improvement Moron
That pretty much sums me up in a nutshell!
My left and right Brains have been disagreeing all day, and the Voices in my head told me I should paint the Foyer Blue, then said yellow. I wish they would make up their mind! Doesn't matter, Mrs C will have the final word. I'm color blind, so I'll take her word for it, whatever color it is!
Chris Casey: Home Improvement Moron
That pretty much sums me up in a nutshell!
My left and right Brains have been disagreeing all day, and the Voices in my head told me I should paint the Foyer Blue, then said yellow. I wish they would make up their mind! Doesn't matter, Mrs C will have the final word. I'm color blind, so I'll take her word for it, whatever color it is!
Random Acts of Kindness Could make the World go around...
If we wanted them too.
Kathy over at the Junk Drawer Blog got me to thinkin' with her post about a random act of kindness. So if you saw smoke wafting up around the Lehigh Berks county border the last few days, that was just me thinkin'. and nothing to worry about.
Sometimes we humans lose our way. We do it all the time, we get off track in life and forget about what is important. I've done it, I've addressed my mistakes and moved on, knowing that while I am attempting to learn from them, I will make new ones, no matter how hard I try not to.
Lately I've been asking myself what is the purpose of my blog posts? Am I venting, am I serving any higher purpose, am I contributing to the betterment of the lives around me?
It is something to ponder. I've used this platform on other blogs, to criticize others, especially in the political forum, knowing full well that the house I dwell in has just as many windows as those I would cast stones at.
Here on this blog I write the stories of my everyday life that cause me to pause and laugh at myself, but is it fair for me to write what makes me laugh at others? That's something to consider, isn't it? It is all in the context, and I never stop learning.
Last weekend I knew one of my neighbors a few doors down would be away until Tuesday, yet Friday I saw packages piling up at their door, so I took the packages into my garage and secured them. I called my neighbor and left a message on their machine telling them what I had done. When they came home this week, they were most thankful. I didn't do it for the praise, or to make them think they "owed" me, I did it because it was the right thing to do.
And that brings me now to the 180 degree opposite of random Acts of kindness, the random Acts of hate, like the random Comments I keep getting from someone who wishes me harm.
I think it is sad, and while I am not naive enough to completely disregard the veiled threat, I have decided that I am going to remove all of them from publication, but save them to a file.
All I know from the Trackback is that they are coming from a server over in Northampton County, and I could follow in the steps of another blogger and make wild, unsubstantiated allegations about who I think it might be, but I won't.
It's not worth the bother. And ignoring it is the right thing to do. For Now.
Kathy over at the Junk Drawer Blog got me to thinkin' with her post about a random act of kindness. So if you saw smoke wafting up around the Lehigh Berks county border the last few days, that was just me thinkin'. and nothing to worry about.
Sometimes we humans lose our way. We do it all the time, we get off track in life and forget about what is important. I've done it, I've addressed my mistakes and moved on, knowing that while I am attempting to learn from them, I will make new ones, no matter how hard I try not to.
Lately I've been asking myself what is the purpose of my blog posts? Am I venting, am I serving any higher purpose, am I contributing to the betterment of the lives around me?
It is something to ponder. I've used this platform on other blogs, to criticize others, especially in the political forum, knowing full well that the house I dwell in has just as many windows as those I would cast stones at.
Here on this blog I write the stories of my everyday life that cause me to pause and laugh at myself, but is it fair for me to write what makes me laugh at others? That's something to consider, isn't it? It is all in the context, and I never stop learning.
Last weekend I knew one of my neighbors a few doors down would be away until Tuesday, yet Friday I saw packages piling up at their door, so I took the packages into my garage and secured them. I called my neighbor and left a message on their machine telling them what I had done. When they came home this week, they were most thankful. I didn't do it for the praise, or to make them think they "owed" me, I did it because it was the right thing to do.
And that brings me now to the 180 degree opposite of random Acts of kindness, the random Acts of hate, like the random Comments I keep getting from someone who wishes me harm.
I think it is sad, and while I am not naive enough to completely disregard the veiled threat, I have decided that I am going to remove all of them from publication, but save them to a file.
All I know from the Trackback is that they are coming from a server over in Northampton County, and I could follow in the steps of another blogger and make wild, unsubstantiated allegations about who I think it might be, but I won't.
It's not worth the bother. And ignoring it is the right thing to do. For Now.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Cleaning out the Garage
I am blessed.
I live in a urban castle that has a two car garage. Not only that, but there are separate doors for each car! That, in the eyes of my dear deceased Dad, was a statement that you were well off.
We had a two car garage when I was growing up, but it was one big door, and you had to pull one of the cars out to get in the passenger side. It was tight in there. Only rich people had "Real" two car garages. It was a big old wooden door, and we didn't have automatic garage door openers back then. Well, we did, it was me, I had to physically lift it to open it, and close, lower and lock it when we left. It wasn't light, believe you me, it wasn't until a month after I joined the Army and 2 weeks before I went away to basic training that Dad had me install a motorized door opener.
Well, we Casey's aren't rich, but I am a bit on the frugal side, just ask my wife. We have power automatic garage doors, just as now most everybody in McMansion land has a two car garage, not all, but many do. It's become a standard norm, and no longer a sign of grandiosity, if it ever really was one at all.
In the garage attached to the Casey Castle of Trexlertown, there's room to get in on all sides. That wasn't always the case, we had quite a bit of "stuff" stored in there for a while. When we first moved in, I was six months clearing out stuff so I could park in there. Mrs C got the preferred spot right away. She's the lady of the House, and that's the way it works. That's how it worked when I was a kid in our house, Dad always gave Mom the better spot.
Now I'm sure the people over at the secret Chinese Spy satellite cable network have been watching the outtakes of "Chris Casey, Home Improvement Moron" that they are shooting by satellite with interest. They are probably wondering, "Why is he so good to his wife? Why does he always give her the best of everything? Why does he pack her lunch, wash her car, do her laundry, and all these other things? Is he what many American men refer to as "Pussy whipped?"
No you communist ninnies, I'm not whipped! I'm what a real American guy is supposed to be! Decent, caring, and attentive to his mate! Real American men aren't afraid of doing the laundry! Real men get so dirty doing real jobs that sometimes we just climb in the washer with our clothes on and close the door! We call that conserving fresh water!
Sunday night I would have done that, if I could, but even my new, leaner, meaner, not as much to be seener' body can fit in our 6 month old energy efficient Whirlpool washer. (I know "seener" is not a word, but it rhymes nicely, okay?)
I started cleaning the garage after I returned from the gym shortly after 3 PM, and when I finished at 7:30, you could walk up and down on the sides of both cars, and freely open all doors!
(The Truth: I'm trying to make room for a Riding Lawn Mower or Snow Blower, I could care less if you can get in the car from either side!)
Was I dirty? Yes!! Did I suffer a few cuts and bruises? Uh yeah, and that splinter from that old four by four really hurt, and luckily I did get it out right away! The point is, The garage is cleaner, the trash and summer's worth of debris have been removed, and I, the American man, have finished another mission, once again thwarting the schemes of those damned Communist Chinese! Yeah!!!! I wonder what they are titling the next episode of Chris Casey, Home Improvement Moron, now? They probably focus on the two car garage, the gas powered lawn mower, the many different pieces of power yard hardware, and decided to call it: Wasteful American Fuel habits!
But who cares what those communist pansies watching on their spy satellites think. They have to be impressed at an average American man's CAN DO! attitude!
Though I think the cut on my finger might be infected. I had a Tetanus shot last October, and I didn't need another one in February when I got the stitches in my hand. We'll see.
Tune in later this week when I give you a report on my next adventure with electricity! I'm going to install a new light fixture/ceiling fan in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I'm putting the over/under on the number of times I electrocute myself at two! Oh, and one more thing, our new fixture? Guess where it was manufactured? You Know it! CHINA! So you know what that means! We are going to be missing something!
I live in a urban castle that has a two car garage. Not only that, but there are separate doors for each car! That, in the eyes of my dear deceased Dad, was a statement that you were well off.
We had a two car garage when I was growing up, but it was one big door, and you had to pull one of the cars out to get in the passenger side. It was tight in there. Only rich people had "Real" two car garages. It was a big old wooden door, and we didn't have automatic garage door openers back then. Well, we did, it was me, I had to physically lift it to open it, and close, lower and lock it when we left. It wasn't light, believe you me, it wasn't until a month after I joined the Army and 2 weeks before I went away to basic training that Dad had me install a motorized door opener.
Well, we Casey's aren't rich, but I am a bit on the frugal side, just ask my wife. We have power automatic garage doors, just as now most everybody in McMansion land has a two car garage, not all, but many do. It's become a standard norm, and no longer a sign of grandiosity, if it ever really was one at all.
In the garage attached to the Casey Castle of Trexlertown, there's room to get in on all sides. That wasn't always the case, we had quite a bit of "stuff" stored in there for a while. When we first moved in, I was six months clearing out stuff so I could park in there. Mrs C got the preferred spot right away. She's the lady of the House, and that's the way it works. That's how it worked when I was a kid in our house, Dad always gave Mom the better spot.
Now I'm sure the people over at the secret Chinese Spy satellite cable network have been watching the outtakes of "Chris Casey, Home Improvement Moron" that they are shooting by satellite with interest. They are probably wondering, "Why is he so good to his wife? Why does he always give her the best of everything? Why does he pack her lunch, wash her car, do her laundry, and all these other things? Is he what many American men refer to as "Pussy whipped?"
No you communist ninnies, I'm not whipped! I'm what a real American guy is supposed to be! Decent, caring, and attentive to his mate! Real American men aren't afraid of doing the laundry! Real men get so dirty doing real jobs that sometimes we just climb in the washer with our clothes on and close the door! We call that conserving fresh water!
Sunday night I would have done that, if I could, but even my new, leaner, meaner, not as much to be seener' body can fit in our 6 month old energy efficient Whirlpool washer. (I know "seener" is not a word, but it rhymes nicely, okay?)
I started cleaning the garage after I returned from the gym shortly after 3 PM, and when I finished at 7:30, you could walk up and down on the sides of both cars, and freely open all doors!
(The Truth: I'm trying to make room for a Riding Lawn Mower or Snow Blower, I could care less if you can get in the car from either side!)
Was I dirty? Yes!! Did I suffer a few cuts and bruises? Uh yeah, and that splinter from that old four by four really hurt, and luckily I did get it out right away! The point is, The garage is cleaner, the trash and summer's worth of debris have been removed, and I, the American man, have finished another mission, once again thwarting the schemes of those damned Communist Chinese! Yeah!!!! I wonder what they are titling the next episode of Chris Casey, Home Improvement Moron, now? They probably focus on the two car garage, the gas powered lawn mower, the many different pieces of power yard hardware, and decided to call it: Wasteful American Fuel habits!
But who cares what those communist pansies watching on their spy satellites think. They have to be impressed at an average American man's CAN DO! attitude!
Though I think the cut on my finger might be infected. I had a Tetanus shot last October, and I didn't need another one in February when I got the stitches in my hand. We'll see.
Tune in later this week when I give you a report on my next adventure with electricity! I'm going to install a new light fixture/ceiling fan in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I'm putting the over/under on the number of times I electrocute myself at two! Oh, and one more thing, our new fixture? Guess where it was manufactured? You Know it! CHINA! So you know what that means! We are going to be missing something!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Shock Therapy: The Home Improvement Version!
Some things you probably shouldn't mix. Like pouring gasoline onto hot coals in a charcoal Grill to get the fire burning, perhaps I shouldn't be allowed to play with Electricity.
The Good news is, I'm still here!
Previously, I detailed my actions installing two new lamps on the outside of the Casey Homestead garage, brightening our exterior Driveway at night. I survived that near death experience, so what do I do this past weekend? Mrs. C and I venture out to Lowe's and buy 6 matching ones for the rest of the house!
Now if I could find a way to electrocute myself installing 2 lamps on the garage, what do you think the odds are of it happening while installing 6 more? Hell, who needs a defibrillator?! If my heart ever starts beating irregularly, or stops all together, just get me near a wall socket and stick my finger in, I'll be fine! (Of Course, with my luck, I've probably developed some kind of immunity to electricity, and PP&L will pay my wife to recycle my corpse as a human transformer)
So Saturday Mrs. C and I trek to the Lowes in Shillington, because we were already out that way, where I have plans to spend $200 I have budgeted for Home Improvement on said light fixtures. Well, Hallelujah! The light fixtures we want are marked down! From $49.95 to $44.95!
Then to our Amazement, the two pack of said light fixtures, 2 in a box for $69.95, is on clearance for $34.95! It is the exact same light! I was only planning to buy four but hell, I jump at the bargain. So knowing we need 6 total light fixtures, I snatch up 3 of the two fixture packs. I'm a happy camper. I like coming in under budget. Excess funds could go to the "I want a Riding Lawn Mower Fund" but will probably end up in the "I need a $600 Snowblower" Fund.
Now if you have read this blog before, you know what inevitably is coming. Yes, the light fixtures were made in CHINA. and the first pack I open, guess what? Yes, the Globe is broken, and I'm missing a screw.
It's Chinese Law, I'm telling you, make Americans crazy by selling them stuff that doesn't have all the parts and watch by spy satellite from Outer Space as they try and put it all together.
They probably have a Secret Cable Channel dedicated to airing the foibles of hapless Americans like me over there, and observing the adventures of "Chris Casey Home Improvement Moron" probably gets higher ratings than "Trading Spaces" does here.
I'm probably a big star on a secret Chinese national cable Network, and I don't even know it. The Communist Programmers are probably the ones sending me all the Lowes gift cards and credit offers, just to get me to buy more stuff, so they can make more episodes.
So out of 6 fixtures, I mounted 2 lights on Saturday after getting home and 3 on Sunday. Monday on my way home from work, I stop at the Lowes in Quakertown, receipt and broken, unusable globe, in hand.
I have to give Lowe's credit. They accommodated me. They didn't have any of the clearance two packs at the Q-town store, but they gave me what I needed to finish the job. That's why they are beating the Hell out of the Home Depot. It's called Customer Satisfaction, and I get it at Lowes. When I made it Home Monday night, I quickly finished the last light, and I did it without getting any more jolts!
Now, as for my Shock Therapy...
It is very, very, very,very, very, very, very, (did I say very?) very IMPORTANT that you properly connect the ground wire when installing these lights. OR YOU COULD GET SHOCKED!
To prove that some lessons need continued reinforcement, I shocked myself not once, not twice, not three, but FOUR times, while working on one particular light fixture. You would think I would learn. The dogs all walked out into the yard, watching with interest from afar, while Mrs C. read in her Hammock. Even Dogs are smart enough not to play with electricity, but not me!
I now have a new theory, that the Electrical shocks are impairing my memory, and that's why....hey, Where in the hell are my keys? And what did I do with my phone?.....wait, what was I writing about again? See what I mean?!
The Good news is, I'm still here!
Previously, I detailed my actions installing two new lamps on the outside of the Casey Homestead garage, brightening our exterior Driveway at night. I survived that near death experience, so what do I do this past weekend? Mrs. C and I venture out to Lowe's and buy 6 matching ones for the rest of the house!
Now if I could find a way to electrocute myself installing 2 lamps on the garage, what do you think the odds are of it happening while installing 6 more? Hell, who needs a defibrillator?! If my heart ever starts beating irregularly, or stops all together, just get me near a wall socket and stick my finger in, I'll be fine! (Of Course, with my luck, I've probably developed some kind of immunity to electricity, and PP&L will pay my wife to recycle my corpse as a human transformer)
So Saturday Mrs. C and I trek to the Lowes in Shillington, because we were already out that way, where I have plans to spend $200 I have budgeted for Home Improvement on said light fixtures. Well, Hallelujah! The light fixtures we want are marked down! From $49.95 to $44.95!
Then to our Amazement, the two pack of said light fixtures, 2 in a box for $69.95, is on clearance for $34.95! It is the exact same light! I was only planning to buy four but hell, I jump at the bargain. So knowing we need 6 total light fixtures, I snatch up 3 of the two fixture packs. I'm a happy camper. I like coming in under budget. Excess funds could go to the "I want a Riding Lawn Mower Fund" but will probably end up in the "I need a $600 Snowblower" Fund.
Now if you have read this blog before, you know what inevitably is coming. Yes, the light fixtures were made in CHINA. and the first pack I open, guess what? Yes, the Globe is broken, and I'm missing a screw.
It's Chinese Law, I'm telling you, make Americans crazy by selling them stuff that doesn't have all the parts and watch by spy satellite from Outer Space as they try and put it all together.
They probably have a Secret Cable Channel dedicated to airing the foibles of hapless Americans like me over there, and observing the adventures of "Chris Casey Home Improvement Moron" probably gets higher ratings than "Trading Spaces" does here.
I'm probably a big star on a secret Chinese national cable Network, and I don't even know it. The Communist Programmers are probably the ones sending me all the Lowes gift cards and credit offers, just to get me to buy more stuff, so they can make more episodes.
So out of 6 fixtures, I mounted 2 lights on Saturday after getting home and 3 on Sunday. Monday on my way home from work, I stop at the Lowes in Quakertown, receipt and broken, unusable globe, in hand.
I have to give Lowe's credit. They accommodated me. They didn't have any of the clearance two packs at the Q-town store, but they gave me what I needed to finish the job. That's why they are beating the Hell out of the Home Depot. It's called Customer Satisfaction, and I get it at Lowes. When I made it Home Monday night, I quickly finished the last light, and I did it without getting any more jolts!
Now, as for my Shock Therapy...
It is very, very, very,very, very, very, very, (did I say very?) very IMPORTANT that you properly connect the ground wire when installing these lights. OR YOU COULD GET SHOCKED!
To prove that some lessons need continued reinforcement, I shocked myself not once, not twice, not three, but FOUR times, while working on one particular light fixture. You would think I would learn. The dogs all walked out into the yard, watching with interest from afar, while Mrs C. read in her Hammock. Even Dogs are smart enough not to play with electricity, but not me!
I now have a new theory, that the Electrical shocks are impairing my memory, and that's why....hey, Where in the hell are my keys? And what did I do with my phone?.....wait, what was I writing about again? See what I mean?!
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