It looks like someone shot it out of the sky…
< 1 minute read
March 6, 2005, 12:24 AM
Continue reading…Six days in the house thus far…
2 minute read
March 5, 2005, 6:34 PM
Yes, this is day #6… Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday. I have been at home recovering from this procedure. And according to Mom, it’s slowly but surely healing up. I have to ask, because the wound is not somewhere that I can see myself.
Meanwhile, it’s Spring Break at Virginia Tech, and my sister is in Europe! Her boyfriend Chris is doing a study abroad program this semester, and so Sis is going to visit him. Of course, the trip nearly didn’t happen, as there was a small snafu with the passport, as we didn’t realize that since she was under a certain age that it expired sooner than the rest of ours did. But with some scrambling, a phone call to the office of our Congressman, Bob Goodlatte, and an unexpected trip to Washington DC (vs. just Dulles Airport, where the flight was), my father managed to get the whole situation straightened out, and she’s over in Europe now. So I hope she has fun.
Meanwhile, the TV is showing nothing but wall-to-wall Martha Stewart. My exact thought is, who cares? She just happens to be a celebrity that went to jail, instead of someone less-known.
Categories: CFW, Dreams, Family, Personal health, Walmart
What’s wrong with this picture?
2 minute read
March 3, 2005, 11:26 AM
Categories: Amusing, Internet, Stuarts Draft
It’s nice to hear from people…
2 minute read
March 3, 2005, 10:11 AM
Since I had the procedure on Monday, it’s nice to get support from the people who care about you. I’ve gotten many kind words of support over the computer from many people, and also two cards from people from church! This one was particularly cute:
Glad that’s over with!
6 minute read
February 28, 2005, 7:10 PM
Today I had a small surgical procedure done at Augusta Medical Center. Let me tell you… they’ve got quite an operation going in there for outpatient surgery. But it was quick and relatively painless. So that was good. And I arrived at AMC at 6:30 and was out before noon. So that was really good. And now I’m at home once again.
It’s interesting… it’s like a television studio to an extent. They have all kinds of furniture that they change out in your little cubbyhole throughout the time you’re there. We got to AMC and they called me and took me into the outpatient center, and we went to one of many of those cubbyholes. It was fitted with two chairs. There, they wheeled a little computer over and verified all of my information.
Then I went to a second little cubbyhole. This had a stretcher in it, and a chair. They gave me the hospital gown, and it was time to change into it. They closed the curtain and I changed. I did pretty well for the most part, but had quite a time with the sleeves, mainly because I had no idea what I was doing with them. As it turns out, the sleeves snapped up the sides. I don’t know what I was thinking when I was trying to put that thing on. Of course, I also had to figure out which end was up in the first place on that thing. But I managed to get it on, tie the string in the back, and then screw up the sleeves. If you can imagine this, I had my arms sticking out the sides of the sleeves. I thought maybe this thing was supposed to look like a Roman tunic. I had no idea. Then, figuring that didn’t look right, I unsnapped the upper snap and put my arm through the two snaps (vs. the top of the sleeve and the first snap). I was satisfied that it was right. Or so I thought.
Categories: Fire alarms, Personal health
What is “Rosslyn Center II”?
2 minute read
February 27, 2005, 1:29 AM
This is a quandary, indeed. And one I’ve been wondering about for quite some time, since it’s a puzzlement. I’ve found a few locations online, including the usually-reliable Emporis that refer to a building called “Rosslyn Center II” that was completed in 2002. It lists the address as 1800 North Moore Street.
I’m wondering just what the deal is with this building. Since a few sources that I’ve found insist it exists, and according to Emporis, Rosslyn Center II is a 27-story building. So it should be quite obvious on the skyline, particularly from my usual vantage point when I go up there, which is Rosslyn Center, at 1700 North Moore Street. And it should be the tallest thing around, too. Definitely taller than Rosslyn Center, and would also be taller than the 24-story 1801 North Lynn Street building, which is the tallest thing around that I can find.
In fact, considering the similarities in height and age for 1801 North Lynn Street, and the alleged Rosslyn Center II building at 1800 North Moore Street, I wonder if Emporis or someone got some things mixed up, and that 1801 North Lynn Street is what they meant. Since that building was completed in 2002. I remember when that building went up, and have a photo of it as a steel frame somewhere…
Either way, it’s one of those things that makes me wonder. Since I know my way around Rosslyn to an extent, having explored it by foot a bit.
Categories: Arlington
“I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a credit card today.”
2 minute read
February 25, 2005, 10:34 PM
My friend Katie was working a table in the front of the store today getting people to sign up for a Wal-Mart Credit Card, instead of working in her usual spot back in the Garden Center. So Katie was right near me, in my usual spot somewhere along the front end. So as I was passing by, I borrowed a line from J. Wellington Wimpy, better known simply as “Wimpy” from the Popeye cartoons, saying, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a credit card today.” Of course, Wimpy used to say, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
But it was still amusing. Some people got my Wimpy reference and were amused by it, and for others it went right over their heads.
Otherwise, though, my day was good. I read in the newspaper in the breakroom that NASA has figured out a way to prevent the Columbia disaster from reoccurring. If the shuttle is damaged so as to make reentry dangerous, the crew will wait in the International Space Station until another shuttle with a four-man crew can arrive. For this first launch, Discovery will be the shuttle going on the mission, and should something go wrong, they’ll send Atlantis after it. Then should something go wrong, they’d undock Discovery from the station and dock Atlantis. They would then ditch Discovery by remote control and send it to a watery grave in the Pacific Ocean. Then Atlantis would return with eleven people on board – a world record.
I think it’s odd to hear them talking about ditching a Space Shuttle. The thought of this huge, expensive vehicle having to be “ditched” is just someting that struck me as strange. But it is a possibility, and it must be considered. I’m sure if they could do a rescue mission and then ditch Columbia, those seven astronauts would still be with us today.
Categories: Space, Television, Walmart
I might not have been able to go to DC, but I did get something accomplished…
3 minute read
February 24, 2005, 11:18 PM
I did actually get something accomplished today! Inspired by the umpteenth Email about pictures not working, or the odd state of multimedia on the site, I finally pulled out all my Webmaster’s tools and went to work hammering out that long-deferred new design for the Today’s Special site. In order to keep things neat, there will be a strong influence from the current version of The Schumin Web. To keep its Today’s Special character, the color scheme and a number of other stylings will remain from the existing site.
So let’s compare old to new:
This is the old site. It’s got a classic layout and look, but it definitely needs an update. But it is indisputably Today’s Special. Note the inclusion of details from the Children’s Department on the show along the top of the screen.
Categories: Schumin Web meta, Today's Special
As you can tell, there was no DC for me today…
3 minute read
February 24, 2005, 11:34 AM
If 2005 is the year of bad luck in the DC category, I’m going to be really mad. Out of a total of five planned visits to Washington, I’ve made a total of three, and one of them had a problem.
For the first DC trip of 2005, I overslept. As a result, I was 90 minutes behind where I wanted to be. Somehow, though, I managed to shorten that from a 90-minute delay to a 60-minute delay, mostly through shortening and elimination of my pit stops on the way up. Other than that, it was a good day.
Then the next trip was J20. Except for encountering some snow on the way home (and I was expecting this), that trip was absolutely flawless beyond my wildest dreams.
My third trip, as I mentioned in this venue in late January, was supposed to be with my friend Katie from work. There is a good reason why I discussed it, the day of the event came, and then you never heard about it again. Reason is that we didn’t go. That trip was cancelled due to my having an emergency come up.
Categories: Charlottesville, Computer, DC trips, Transit
What kind of shoe are you?
2 minute read
February 23, 2005, 6:25 AM
Categories: DC trips, Winter weather
I knew I’d find myself a woman one day…
< 1 minute read
February 22, 2005, 10:59 PM
Yes, I had a woman literally fall into my arms today at work. She was a little stiff, though, I must admit. However, having a woman falling all over you is still a wonderful thing. I even had a picture made of the woman and me. Check it out!
Okay, now I admit – it was a picture of a woman that fell into my arms. We on the safety team at our store were doing a walk-through, and I noticed that the woman in question was hanging kind of oddly. So I bumped the sign to test its stability, and it came on down. Needless to say, that made for some interesting conversation at work today, though. I was amused.
But at least no one was hurt when the sign fell down.
Categories: Walmart
What would you say if it was me behind the wheel of your transit bus?
4 minute read
February 21, 2005, 1:42 AM
What would you say? Well, I can’t say you’ll be seeing me driving a bus any time soon, but I did get someone to take a picture of me behind the wheel of a Harrisonburg Transit bus on Friday. That will be my cover photo for March on the site.
Otherwise, though, photographing in Blacksburg on Wednesday turned out to be quite successful. I got a whole load of bus photos, and also various other non-bus photos. Plus I got to eat dinner with my sister, which was nice.
I also discovered that Coca-Cola is coming out with a new flavor – Coca-Cola with lime. This is regular Coke, with the lime flavoring. This is NOT a diet soda! This is regular Coke. I tried it. It’s got a good flavor. It’s not like Pepsi Twist. This is like Vanilla Coke – it’s there, but it’s not obnoxious, and you’d think that the two had been together for ages. Pepsi Twist honestly tasted like Pepsi with some strange-tasting lemon flavor in it. Only place I’ve found the new Coca-Cola with lime so far is the Wal-Mart in Salem, where I stopped to make a pit stop on my way down. I’m sure it will be around elsewhere before too long.
Otherwise, I have confirmed that my sister is coming with me to DC on April 16! Though it might be more appropriate to say “A16”, considering what we’re going to a big demonstration on third-world debt. This will be my sister’s first big DC demonstration! Awwww…
Categories: Black bloc, Food and drink, Harrisonburg, JMU, Retail, Transit
Blacksburg!
2 minute read
February 16, 2005, 1:01 PM
I’m in Blacksburg today, taking photos of the BT, formally known as Blacksburg Transit. I’m also visiting my sister later on in the evening.
I’ve been really successful today with my BT photos. Only disappointment is that Blacksburg Transit doesn’t run their Flxibles in regular service anymore. They run their New Flyer low-floor buses on regular service, and only pull out the Flxes for special events. Still, I’ve done fairly well, taking a huge amount of photos of the BT’s buses that are running. I also got an interior photo of one of the buses (can’t remember the bus number offhand, but it’s in the photos). So that’s good.
Meanwhile, I recently found out that a long-time fan of mine, Rodney Anonymous, found the Web site A Little About Everything, run by a Mr. Randy N. Townley. I can see why he’d say “evil twin”, but I tend to disagree. Though it seems that the “evil” part fits. I quote from his response to Rodney Anonymous’s original message:
Categories: Internet, Schumin Web meta, Transit
I got my scanner hooked up again, and the monitor is lifted.
< 1 minute read
February 15, 2005, 5:39 PM
Somehow, I managed to make it work. So now my second monitor is a good eighteen inches higher than it used to be, and the scanner is hooked up beneath it. And it only cost me about seven bucks.
So what, pray tell, did I do? Well, after work today, I went hunting around my own Wal-Mart to find something. I’d previously gone hunting in the Wal-Mart in Manassas on my way up to Washington DC the last time I was up that way, and found nothing. But that store is a “regular” Wal-Mart. Mine is a Supercenter. So it’s a bit bigger. And I found these plastic shelves in the Hardware department. So I bought them.
For those of you who are interested, this is the Durashelf 9133-01, which is an expandable shelf design. So I took one out of three shelves, and attached four legs to it, and there you have it. Then I just put it under my monitor, and it worked! Perhaps it’s a little high (my father made that comment on it), but it seems to work. I’m actually writing this Journal entry on the second monitor, which isn’t bad.
Happy Singles Awareness Day
2 minute read
February 14, 2005, 10:23 PM
Today was a day that I could have easily pulled my hair out. Today was Singles Awareness Day, more commonly known as “Valentine’s Day”. And I could have pulled my hair out not only because this is the holiday for lovers – and with me being totally single.
First of all, about being single – I don’t mind it. See, I saved money by not having to buy any of the Valentine’s crap we’ve been selling. The only thing I bought was a heart-shaped box of chocolates for the box design. For ME. I thought it was cute because it says “Choo Choo Choose Me” and there’s a picture of a train. I bought it because it reminds me of the classic Simpsons episode where Lisa Simpson gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine that says, “I choo choo choose you”.
Now, about today. I was ready to pull my hair out because it seemed that everyone and their mother was buying flowers and cards for their significant others. And flowers don’t like to scan. Seriously, they don’t. I was surprised when I could get a flower to scan. This is when we wish flowers were sold a different way, like by weight or something like produce. Just toss ’em on the scale and put in a number and voila – flowers.