Odds and Ends...

Another round of icy weather is bearing down on my locale this weekend...great. Another potential power outage. On my way to the gym tonight I noticed a brigade of electricity contractor trucks parked in the Kmart parking lot, poised to pounce on the first burst transformer!

I believe if the electricity so much as flickers for a fraction of a second during the ice storm, a riotous mob will march on AmerenUE's headquarters and burn it to the ground... : )

This would happen during my after hours on-call week. I got the pager and laptop on Wednesday and I haven't gotten a call yet. If the power goes out, that will likely change! : )

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still haven't made any progress on acquiring a pet pooch. I haven't had much luck with the stray rescue group I contacted a few weeks ago.

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I'm probably going to upgrade to a better camera for my ski trip. I've got my eye on this little point-and-shoot from Canon.

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I officially have a new boss as of last Wednesday. We didn't have to look far for a good candidate. Our newsroom has employed their own technology director for the past six years and now he's moving over to our department. He applied for my deceased boss' position and was by far the best man for the job. I know him pretty well and think he'll fit in just fine.

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My department's annual post-Christmas holidy party was held Wednesday night at Saratoga Lanes in suburban Maplewood. Saratoga Lanes is unique in that it's an upstairs bowling alley. My boss's widow and daughter attended, along with several retirees. The party was catered as usual by Hodak's Fried Chicken. I had two chicken breasts, potato salad and bread for dinner, and chocolate cake with strawberries for dessert. I smelled like an ashtray afterwards, but it was worth it.