Vol 1, Issue 3

Missed a post last week.  Had  a sick daughter to keep an eye on Monday and a crazy work schedule the rest of the week due to the Iowa Highschool Basketball championships.  However I did decided to attempt to patent the idea of anti-microbial can coozies... and if possible the concept of flying ninja helper spider monkeys.  Long story about the monkeys.  Not going to share it here but it did lead to the idea of the anti-microbial can coozies.  Surveying the targeted consumer audience went well though so it may actually by worth looking into some day.  Hopefully Kickstarter will still be around by then.

The kids in the local school district were happy last week also due in part to basketball.  Wednesday was a regularly scheduled half day of school, the girls HS b-ball team won their first round game and as a result the district was given Friday off of school so that families would be able to attend the afternoon second round game for the HS girls' team.  Unfortunately the girls didn't win the second game, but they did at least make it to the second round which in itself is an accomplishment.

Saturday found me once again in uniform being poked and prodded by evil physicians who supposedly find no glee in their jobs (yet they did volunteer for it).  On the bright side it lasted less than 10 minutes, altho at the time it felt like forever (so did waiting in line for all the stations we needed to fill out paperwork at) and eventually I was able to call it a day after 12 hours of waiting, swearing at computers, swearing at government computer policies, and in between swearing having a few cigarettes with friends and other members of the unit.  Don't get me wrong, all together it was actually a good, fun day.  Thanks to budget restraints I was able to take Sunday off as comp time for extra training I had in January.  The way things look its going to be a common event for me the next few months as I still have a day of comp for January and this weekend will be picking up another two for a required training class.  I wish Congress and the President could put the Nation's best interests first for once, you know?

March 7 looks to be promising.  My son will finally be an official teenager (13) and is very excited about it.  Last night I needed his assistance birthday shopping.  All the things he wants are only availible online so we sat down and looked to see what ones we could find on either Amazon or eBay that were in the US, and which were closests (in order to theoretically arrive soonest).  Fortunately it appears they should all be here by Saturday at the latest.  Being a kid though, my son has already asked me to check my email for tracking updates twice this morning before he went to school.  I just hope there aren't any weather delays with his presents getting here.

Not really sure what else to say.  The week I would have written about last Monday was just sort of average with nothing significant really occurring.  I have started tuning up my bicycle for use later this month/early next month.  With the kids both taking the bus to school this year there's no longer any reason I can't bike to work in the mornings and then take an extended detour home in the afternoons.  I was going to start over Spring Break (next week) but last Tuesday or so Mother Nature decided to drop snow on us again... and then again last night/this morning.  I don't mind other than the fact I was enjoying seeing grass but it is only March and we do usually get another round of snow at least once this time of year.  On the down side it once again buried my kayak so it may be a few a while before I have it cleared off and taken inside so I can clean it up, apply the new decals, check the hull, install and adjust the seat, and the other yearly maintenance before my first trip onto the water.  Looking forward to it as I completely missed last paddling season.  Half tempted to get a fishing license and try fishing from the kayak once or twice.  More than a few times I've come across areas away from shore with a lot of decent sized fish around me... and there's a spot I consistently see eagles swooping in and carrying off good sized fish from.

If all goes well I finally decided to go with the Trektop NX from Bestop for the Jeep.  I like that not only would it have the front flip-back section/sun roof but it also converts into a nice looking bikini/safari top just by unzipping the windows (which looks a lot easier than on the factory soft top that I have).  Probably be the only new Jeep equipment I purchase this year, but I will keep my fingers crossed for some of the other stuff like the spare tire saddle bags I found the other week.

I guess that's all for now.  See you next time.

Aloha