Activities for the day complete, Mom and I make dinner. Grilled Halibut with corn on the cob plus some watercress lighty dressed with my vinegrette. Yes, it was good.

Anyway, the conversation turned to my Grandmother talking about one of their friends having Alzheimers.

G’ma: I heard so and so has Alzheimers.

G’pa: Who did you hear that from?

G’ma: I don’t remember

Everyone: ROFL

We know that Alzheimers isn’t funny, but in this particular context it was.

I’ve got video coming later in the week that I think you might enjoy as well. Watch for it!

[video deleted]

Found out today, that time is only 15 seconds off of what the guys are on the Varsity squad are swimming. Not bad for a kid who has only seen about 2 weeks of pool time!

And, make it worthwhile. Click the HD button. Exactly why I bought the Canon HF100 right there friends.

The Technology Challenge

You remember this from late ‘07, right?

And, while you are making your new years resolutions this year, pick someone close to you and introduce them to something new to use the internet for. If they got a digital camera for Christmas, help them with a flickr account. Show them how RSS works and help them set up a Google account. Introduce them to Podcasting. Show them the wonders of Craiglist. Anything. Just pick one and try to make it happen. It’s time these people find out that the web is more than email and banking!

How’d you do?

Wait! Before you tell me how well you did, let’s see if you can beat me.

• Mom got a new digital camera (like mine) and flickr account. Ok, so there are only 2 photos, but it’s there and I will be getting her to use it more this coming year.
• Mom is an MMS sending fool. Sounds and photos from her camera to anyone in her contacts list on her phone. Oh, and she is even emailing them to herself on her phone.
• Grandad is now rockin’ a hot new computer with Office ‘07 and Vista. Sure this counts. Have you seen the changes from XP to Vista? From Office 2K to ‘07? From Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail? I totally get credit for this.
• I got Jeannie to turn her new laptop on!
• I got someone to switch from Windows to Mac. Verified.
• Fireball Tim started a blog.

So, I think I did pretty good.

I believe that 2009 is going to be the year for RSS for my users. I thought it might be the year of Twitter, but I think I’m going to continue to keep that to myself. Besides, Mom gets really frustrated when trying to send a text message.

Ok, your turn. Belly up. How did you get your users to use technology? Or did you fail? It’s ok, you can tell us, we are all friends here. Besides, someone might have a suggestion to get you started!

Me, doing what I do on Christmas, Thanksgiving and any other large family gathering.

The Lad and Dad making party.

The Lad and Big L playing a serious game of Blackjack.

Mom’s tomato salad, drizzled with sunlight.

All of these photos and more can be found in my photo gallery. Photo gallery here is code for “mirror of my flickr stream”, so no need to go to both.

I hope eveyone had a great holiday and that your weekend is chock full of fun, frivolity and porn friends. Or not if that’s how you roll.

I’m off to get warmed up to pour concrete today. WEEEE!

She was 99 years old, would have been 100 if she made it to her birthday in March. Not many people around that were born before 1910 anymore, so I would call this a remarkable feat.

How did she get that old? Clean living my friends. She didn’t smoke, didn’t drink (besides the occassional glass of wine or brandy), didn’t cuss and went to church on a regular basis. Oh yea, plus time at the ‘Y’ doing water aerobics. I’m pretty sure Grandma Mac would get Chuck Norris shakin’ in his beard.

I say didn’t cuss, but that’s not 100% true. There was this time at the g’rents for her 95th birthday that I got her to cuss, and it was awesome.

Grandma Mac was tiny, weighed 90lbs dripping wet and had a bit of a drawl, which I think was the default accent in the United States prior to 1930.

Anyway.

Were are having a good time trying to teach Mom a clever way to tell people how old she is. It goes something like this.

Person So, how old are you?

Mom I am 19 years older than my oldest son.

Person How hold is he?

Mom (laughing so hard it’s not making any noise) Fuck if I know!

Cute right? Sure, from Mom almost 5 years ago. Better, and, if I might add, totally deadpan with perfect timing?

Grandma Mac.

I almost fell down laughing so hard. I would have done a spit take for sure, or passed beverage through my nose if I had one. Fantastically awesome.

As you read this, we are celebrating her life. I think I will have a glass of wine and cuss just for her.

But I am close to everyone else that her life touched. This will be a short series in the things I am having to deal with as the bitch good grandson, who also happens to be unemployed, of the family.

I’m a stickler for good service. We all know that already.

I’m also getting tired of the lack of accountability that appears to exist within us currently. Nobody cares, nobody cares to care and nobody is there to make sure that anyone cares. It’s makes for very bad service.

Among the tasks requested of me today was to get my Grandmother to a Notary Republic to have a document signed authorizing digging of the plot for my Great Grandmother. While my aunt has POA for my Great Grandmother, they still required a next-of-kin signature to authorize the dig. I have no idea what happens if there is no next-of-kin, so don’t bother asking.

Of course, for said document to be signed and notarized, it had to be in the possession of my Grandmother. A fact that my aunt had called to take care prior to asking me to assist with the getting of the notarization.

2 hours later, still no documents. 2. Hours. Unbelievable.

So I called, since I had more important things to do besides sit around and wait for a fax machine to ring. First number I called I got voicemail, so I left a message requesting a call back. 2nd number I called I got a person and asked to speak to the person I need, but they were with another family or something. Fine I say, here is my number I say. Sooner than later I lie say because the oldsters window for this kind of thing was short because it was almost nap time. What? Grandma wanted me to tell them she was dead.

20 minutes later the fax machine rings and the documents I require print, followed shortly by a phone call by the person I was trying to get a hold of earlier. Everything clear as a bell, paper in hand, it was time to head to the bank to get the sucker notarized.

The bank is literally around the corner from the g’rents house. Short walk for me, shorter drive with my Grandmother in the car. I let her out at the curb and parked. By the time I rushed back over to help her into the bank this delightful young lady already has the door open welcoming my grandmother, by name and telling her how nice it was to see her and all that. She then disappeared and my grandmother was again greated by name by one of the clerks behind the counter. It was about that time the person that was going to do the notarization was already alerted to my grandmother being there and the first greater whisked us, without delay, into his office.

The transaction proceeded smoothly and free of charge, we were thanked and Grandma joked with the girls, telling them to stay out of trouble to which they replied the same. I got the car and we left to run another errand.

They treated her like a queen and it was awesome. Ok, they have a fair amount of money at that bank, but they said they treated them the same way when they didn’t have that much there. It was really nice to see. And it’s one of the reasons my grandparents keep some money there.

It’s really not that hard. Remember someones name. Perform as expected. Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.

I have quite a bit of work to do for the upcoming funeral yet. Plus I have been tagged as possible driver for the g’rents on the day of. I’ll be trying to keep it light here. If you want the good stuff, keep an eye on the twitter and know, that during all of this, there is a pretty good chance the following phrase will be going through my head.

“Screw patience. I’m going to kill someone”

For those of you that ever truly wondered what cranky meant, here you go.

Adjective cranky (comparative crankier, superlative crankiest)

1. Grouchy, irritable; easily upset.

     He got home from a long day at work tired and cranky.
   

2. Full of spirit; crank.

3. Addicted to crotchets and whims; unreasonable in opinions; crotchety.

Yes, that sounds about right for me today.

Yea, that’s actually teh lad’s! W00t! A report card that doesn’t suck. First time since elementary school.

You could say I was nicely surprised when I opened the mail today.

For those that missed it on the Twitter, I was playing with wine today.

My film transfer project is pretty much done for the most part, as is my family photo archiving. That leaves me to help the g’rents out with a few things around the house. And this one thing in particular.

Back in the ’70’s, my grandparents bought a crappy little lot in the mountains right on Lake Arrowhead. Over the course of 4 years they proceeded to build one of the most beautiful homes on the lake. Built entirely by hand by master craftsman, no expense was spared. Hand picked rock for the pier and fireplaces, solid oak for the walls and stairs, 1 piece bar tops also made of oak. You get the idea.

When my grandfather designed this house, he wanted it to have a wine cellar. So it did. Built into the foundation in such a way that the temperature was always 70 degrees and there was almost no humidity. All without the use of any machinery. Within this cellar lived some truly great wines, and those are what I’m dealing with now.

Among the wines in the collection, besides the 11 full cases of Opus One (79 – 86) are many bottles of BV Latour (71 – 83), Dom Perignon (including a ‘69), some fine Sterling Cab (‘77) and 2 bottles of Chateau d Y’Quem (trust me, it’s fancy).

Mixed in with this high dollar examples were some more great wines, but not as spendy. Quite a few bottles of Fetzer from the ’70s and 80’s and more than a few bottles of BV Rutherford Cabernet from the ’70s and 80s.

It’s quite a bit of wine and I have taken it upon myself to organize, sort and inventory (the good stuff) and re-store it. Am I sore after moving over 24 cases out of that room into another? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely!

When my grandparents first started moving into the big house in Lake Arrowhead, they had to stock it. Some of the first bottles to arrive were some from Mondavi, of which I have found some ‘82 Cab and 1 bottle of ‘79 Pinot Noir.

With dinner tonight, Grandpa thought it would be neat to let me pick a bottle out of that room. So, naturally, I grabbed a bottle of BV Rutherford Cab from ‘88 (about $50) of which there are many. I brought it out and was shot down since that cab is on the ‘drink it all the time’ list, just from a new vintage. So, back to the room I went. I remembered when I found those bottles of Mondavi Grandpa’s eyes lit up and he sat back and said “That’s some great wine right there”. So, that’s what I grabbed. 1 of the cabernet and that bottle of Pinot.

From that he made me pick. I almost went with the cab, but last minute I changed my mind and decided to have the pinot instead. And yes, it was fantastic. Made even more so after curiosity got to my grandparents and they wanted to know the value. For those of you wondering at home, current retail value of a bottle of ‘79 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Pinot Noir is about $125 per bottle.

But that’s not the cool part.

The cool part is that I got to enjoy what is probably the only bottle of that left in my Grandfather’s collection, taken from the first batch of wine that was delivered to the last house he built. And I got to enjoy it with him.

In the midst of everything else, The Resort is getting a serious upgrade (finally) that I don’t have to do (finally). It’s still a few weeks away, but I’m heading out there in a few hours to clean up some things that I should have done a few years ago. N00b stuff with the network. At least I’ll be getting it straighted out.

I’ll be updating the DHCP scope to something that makes sense (really? 10.0? dude, what where you thinking?) across the network including the server, router and 4 WiFi access points. I know, sounds like fun to you too, right? Personally I can’t wait.

Currently there are 4 extra people in my house. Temporarily, of course, but they are still here. I don’t mind that they are here (it was my suggestion), but I do need some ‘me’ time. 8 hours in the car, 4-5 hours in the office by myself and dinner with Mom and Dad should fit that bill just about perfect. It’s not that headphone mode isn’t good enough, I just need a break. It’s been a rough summer, ya know?

Speaking of, resume has been updated and reworked (in .doc format no less, ick). I trimmed out a bunch of extra and brought it back to one page. Here’s to hoping that helped. The problem I have now is actually trying to trim all of my experience, skills and knowledge into a single page without using 6pt. type. It was tough, but I think I managed ok.

On the way back I’ll be detouring through the lovely burg of Las Vegas, Nevada. I can’t tell you why, sorry. No, for reals. It’s like, top secret and some junk. Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.

Sure there is a jump. What do you think? Do you wanna see what I’ve hidden? I bet you do. C’mon, you know you want to click!

While I’m gone, click over to donburnside.com to get a sneak peak of some of the changes that will be happening. Namely it’s rev 1 of the new navigation. Or you can listen to the latest Woofcasts or THCS (interviewing a real live Hollywood director even). Or, watch this silly video I made for you this week.

Also while I’m gone, Josh will be in charge. I know what you are saying, but the last time I left UK Paul in charge my stereo was tuned to the wrong channels and there was stuffed animal guts everywhere. Josh only drinks me outta booze. At least he cleans up after himself.