Watertown, NY, USA . "Public Square" (vintage, date unknown) but the monument is honoring veterans of the American Civil War so the date of the image is late 1800s

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

well work went smoother then i thought it might today, and am off to monday, will pprobably do nothing special for new years, never do, more often then not i'm in bed and asleep before midnight....just not an event that has any meaning at all as far as i'm concerned, have been fiddling with the color s on the message board....if you'd like go over and tell me what you think....(here)....i've had that board for 7 or 8 months now and really hasn't been used much....but then i've really not pushed it....just there if some one what's an extended discussion......

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

NUTS originally it looked like i could take a vacation day tomorrow, then it turned into a half day work, half day vacation....now it looks like all day work......ah well....i got 4 off in a row any how but i'm really tired tonight...today was a mad house and i didn't get done a lot i needed to.....daughter stopped by for dinner....her birthday....nice evening...i'm gone

Monday, December 29, 2003

wild day at work, was going to take wednesday off but i have to take a "roadtrip" to check out some equipment that's being loaded with some of our material for africa, hopefully i can get that done in the AM and take the afternoon off but i doubt it....i really didn't have the desire to work today and just muddled thru.....was a warm day, very atypical for this time of year, am tired and outa here

Sunday, December 28, 2003

well that's the first time i had to do that in a very long time, used to be that you'd have to republish archives about every other day, kept disappearing.....i just had to and must be the first time in months...ah well hope that crap doesn't start again....quiet day.....chatted with nicky earlier.....mostly played PC games .....back to work tomorrow.....argh!!!!

Saturday, December 27, 2003

spam emails.....here we go again....trollie's pet peeve #245......no i do not want to see the video of the girl who's name reminds you of a french hotel....i will not use the name because i don't want a 100 useless hits from search engines from people who do want to see it....but anyhow there are still people who haven't heard about it....the IT guy at work honestly wanted to know why we were talking about a hotel in france....honest....well i mean he is the IT guy......but the best part is why would i want to see it...i don't find her at all attractive........enough already.......
quiet day, have watched a little tube, james bond marathon on spike tv.....did go out to the mall and bought nothing....actually i probably "window shop" more then i actually shop....that of course implies buying which i do only after much checking.....i guess a habit i picked up from mom ( i mentioned her shopping habits in a recent post).....any way have spent most of the day playing stronghold-crusader which i got for christmas and listening to the other cds i bought....i'd love to try out the new golf clubs but it's just too dang cold out and my ceilings aren't high enough....have to go back to work monday....have enjoyed the down time....christmas was a flip of the coin but the time off was great....bah humbug.....and if any ghosts of christmas what ever try to pester me i'll sick my cats on 'um.....

Friday, December 26, 2003

the gift cards and so on were burning a hole in my pocket so to speak...so casting aside rational thought i went to the mall to spend my loot....was shocked...traffic as not bad...must have hit it at the right time....got 5 cds and a reference book on html at borders, with the exception of a recording of respighi everything else was either chant or elizabethan,,,,have just really got into the early music within the last year or so......then on to dick's sporting goods.....was going to buy a new putter and then just see if anything else just jumped up and bit me....i thought maybe new shoes....old ones are fine but leather and thought something a little lighter for summer would be cool...maybe so balls or even a new bag....the last thing on my mind was a new driver......but guess what i ended up with....you guessed it a new driver....the had a really good price on an older model adams....in 11.5 degrees of loft....i've wanted to try a driver in that loft range for a long time.....it's kind of a "senor" loft......helps you get it up a little quicker ( trollie re-reads and realizes that he better make sure everyone knows he's talking about a golf ball.......) also less likely to slice or hook severely.....anyways although i've never really thought about getting an adams just because it's an adams....the loft was what i wanted and it fits my eye....it's only a 303 cubic cm which is a bit smaller then the monster i've been using but still large compared to the older style drivers.......i still got a bit of money to spend so may still end up with a new pair of spikes......

Thursday, December 25, 2003

well just back from the family get together and my obligations for christmas are passed and done....it's not that i get depressed this time of year...merely bored....in many ways christmas has evolved into a holiday for the young....and i can't seem to generate any emotion at all for it anymore.....not the religious meaning but the hoopla that it has become.....i guess old fuddy-duddy trollie should just stay under the bridge this time of year but one needs to attend to what is expected....at least some of the time
well let's see, a shirt here, a PC game there, and over there 2 doz. golf balls, well the shirt was technically for me birth, and the rest just a pile of cash and gift cards to borders or dick's sporting goods or the mall, trollie has already spent all of it in his head over and over.....i guess most peolpe have just given up trying to figure out what to get me.....and that's okay....i can be picky about certain things....like music, books and golf equipment.....and that's about the sum total of my hobbies so i like the option of getting things myself.....as a kid i always loved to get clothes for christmas and birthdays....weird as that may sound but it meant that i didn't have to go shopping with my mother....now don't get me wrong mom was a peach but shopping with her was a nightmare.....you'd go to 9 different stories....try on a 100 different out fits and then go back to the first place and buy the first thing you tried on....i loved her but......more then a kid can take.......still have to go to sis' tonight and get together with my sibs and their families.....always unpredictable....but always a challenge.....
trollie's christmas peeve #1: when singing the latin "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" IT'S IN LATIN BOYS AND GIRLS NOT ENGLISH......."in" is pronounced "een"......drives me nuts when it's not pronounced correctly.....but then more often then not many of us english speakers will have nothing to do with those phony foreign pronunciations....
'

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

went to the traditional candle light christmas eve service and then to my daughter's for a late supper and gifts....nice evening but i left early as i was very uncomfortable, weather has been very damp and i was cramping in the legs something awful...need to take a warm, make that hot bath and try to loosen up.....busy day tomorrow visiting relatives....really would just like to veg but one must......

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

i'm sitting here waiting for the work day to end, wasn't bad , actually the easiest day i've had in weeks, need to work tomorrow and then 4 off in a row, 3 days next week (maybe....might not work wednesday) and then 4 more off....i need the time off and the rest....don't need the holiday cheer but that i can ignore....bah humbug.....

Monday, December 22, 2003

i had a totally insane day at work today, just busy all day and although i got a lot done am almost farther behind then when i started, tomorrow looks busy also but should be able to catch up wednesday, none of the trucking or package companies are working so i should get a lot of the little things i've been putting off done....really would rather take the day off but must catch up or be buried under....have spent a quiet night....i needed one....

Sunday, December 21, 2003

i have been a bad boy, i've ignored my blog all day, usually i'll post several times on weekend days but the day is gone and no post til now, woke up this morning to a surprise 6" of snow and rather nasty weather, wind was a blowing...need to get out early as we were doing the cantata in church this AM, the two teenaged kids of the choir director were in a car accident on the way to church, apparently they flip a van 3 times in very slippery conditions but were ok except for a possible concussion for one of them....cantata went ok and i've been just vegging the rest of the day.....well got 3 days work and then four days off......really neutral about christmas but stoked about the 4 days off....old enough that santa has crossed me off his list permanent.....or bad enough.....flip a coin on that one

Saturday, December 20, 2003

after further review, i've decided not to trust the auto-ping function and start pinging manually again........it just doesn;t seem to work everytime and that has become frustrating....got both loads in and taken care of and then decided to finish up my christmas shopping...big mistake....traffic as awful....unfortunately almost all of the big stories and the mall are on the same street....man what a mess....mall wasn't too bad but the traffic.....

Friday, December 19, 2003

well it's the end of the work week, yah right, we had a supply delay and i've got two loads coming in tomorrow plus i have to dump production numbers in the computer system and i have a rehearsal tomorrow morning as well....if everything runs right i should be able to do everything....yah right....if everything had run right the loads would already be in....one of the weeks everything is going to go as planned and i'll probably drop dead from the shock of it....need to do some christmas shopping tomorrow, actually it's a bit early for me...i always wait til 2 or 3 days before but i have to work right up to the 24th....so maybe i'll start early this year....was going to do it tonight but just was to tired to come home and change and then go back out, really too scruffy after work to go cruisin' the mall.......

Thursday, December 18, 2003

tis thursday, and no survivor to watch, well they probably got some silly after the fact thing on....or footage you never saw on...but right now who cares...this one was a let down.....winner was not really a winner but the one person who didn't lose.....can't really say she won as much as everyone else lost....really a let down....but then many of them have been....but i'll still watch....
got a little wet snow over night and lake effect is in the area but probably will go below us....but then all the wind has to do is shift just a little and whammo......

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

i've come to the conclusion that the auto-ping is not working everytime....which means that i need to start manual pinging again.....i think that you have to register with the local authorities if your a known manual pinger.....need to check that out.......
i woke up this morning to high 30'sF and rain and this evening it's high 20's and snow, it seems that someone is running a program which illustrates all the possible weather combinations that are possible in northern NY this time of year....truly weird....today was a nightmare at work and tomorrow promises to be more of the same, i feel like i'm being pulled in 7 directions all at the same time......would like to just chill tonight ( that might be a bad choice of words) how about i'd like to just hang loose ( even worse....plus it dates me).....how about the simple just stay home.....but need to go to a rehearsal....ah well......

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

now i'm really confused, as another test i blogrolled myself, well that and the fact that i have a highly developed ego.....and my site does show as updated....(trollie wanders out wondering about nicky's ......ah just wondering)
northcountry weather is going to deprive (or is that deprave) me of what little i have left of my sanity....we got about 18" of snow between sunday afternoon and monday morning....i got up this morning it was 3*F.....by this afternoon it was in the middle 40'sF....and we're supposed to get rain this evening.......if there is humor in all of this i fail to see it......i wish it would just make up it's mind....this yo-yo effect is driving my arthritis crazy......
ok, it seems that auto-ping is working....i got a sorry but you've pinged in the last 1/2 hour.....seems they changed that....now the question is what the heck is nicky talking about....(trollie scratches head)
supposedly i should be pinging weblogs automatically everytime i publish, that is at least the setting that i have on, but re nicky's tag that doesn't seem to be true....this is not an official post....this is a test of the auto-ping system, i'll publish and then go an manually ping....if it has pinged in theory i should get either a no change or a you've pinged in the last 5 minutes........let the test begin........

Monday, December 15, 2003

well the weatherman was wrong, we didn't get 12" of snow, we got closer to 18", and some of the outlying areas got 24"+, well not that the city i living couldn't be described as an outlying area, but at 30k it does qualify as a city, but is more like a crossroads village that got big....

Sunday, December 14, 2003

i went out about an hour ago and discovered that there was more snow then i thought, about 6", so to stay ahead of the game i ran the snow blower, we get too much snow up here and i'm too old to shovel that white ____, it's probably snowed an inch or two since i blew the snow but i don't like to let it get too far ahead of me, the blower will handle more then 6" but it's too much like work for me...will keep an eye on it.....would like to finish the job tonight if the snow stops so i don't have to get up too early tomorrow
well i don't know, they have been predicting that we would get a foot of snow this afternoon (does anybody know who they are i've often wondered)...and it has been snowing for about 3 hours now, but not very hard, we have maybe 3 or 4 inches of snow at the moment....but weathermen are the only people i know that get paid for being right less then 1/2 the time, but in their defense, being in a lake effect snow zone, it really is hard to predict, the bans of snow are not very wide and the change of wind direction by just a few degrees will have the effect of the storm missing any given location....so while it doesn't look like we are going to get the foot promised somebody along the lake might....actually feel much better today, have gotten caught up a little on rest, and stress level is down.......

Saturday, December 13, 2003

virtuality// v7 [ reLoaded ] nicky's got a new site that's worth checking out, chatted with her this afternoon on instant messenger.....enjoyed the chat and i think you'll enjoy the blog.......oh boy now that's funny while ruling this post through spell check it didn't recognize "virtuality" and offered "brutality" as a substitute....nicky should get a charge out of that

Friday, December 12, 2003

it's just a little after 8 pm, i'm going to have a small glass of sweet wine and go to bed....boy do i know how to celebrate a birthday.......
(trollie struts in...and sings in a loud clear voice "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear trollie, happy brthday to you.......)

about 1:30 this afternoon the craziness of the last two weeks both in and out of work finally caught up with me and i just crashed out, energy was near zero and i just went through the rest of the day by instinct...was planning on going out to night but just stopped and bought a few things and am in for the night, i need to work briefly tomorrow but the rest of the weekend is pretty much clear so maybe i'll get rested up, am feeling a little better now but still am just dog tired, in fact i doubt this post will make much sense because i think i may be more tired mentally then physically...

Thursday, December 11, 2003

i feel like i've been "drug through a knot hole backwards"......had an inbound and an outbound today and it was raining cats and dogs and i gots soaked to the skin, and the temperature is in the high 30's to low 40's F.....i think i'm going to take it really easy tonight, maybe go to bed early....have another heavy day tomorrow......

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

BlogShares - Fantasy Blog Share Market (trollie comes floating in....does happy dance....blogshares is back.....goes out to hunt billy goats)

Tuesday, December 9, 2003

i am sitting here tonight trying to think through the "fog" that has my mind socked in, i am both physically and mental exhausted tonight, i need a break but really will have no chance to take any extra time before year end, lots of vacation time left (thankfully i can roll it over) but no real chance to take any, we've ramped up unexpectedly and i've got to sit on the incoming materials orders to make sure they arrive in time, had to bump up a few dates but so far so go....nothing critical will run out, anyhow just feel lousy tonight....rehearsal was a blur, i know i was there and that's about all i can say, went through it on auto-pilot.....voice is showing the ware and tare from the weekend...have another rehearsal tomorrow and then will probably just veg thrusday.........

Monday, December 8, 2003

frustrating day at work today, well let's face it most days are, actually on a scale of 1 to 10 this one probably didn't rate more then a 4.3, just was busy all day but at days end had actually accomplished very little, got a whole bunch of stuff started but really got nothing finished, am still pretty tired from the weekend eventhough i got a fair nights sleep last night.....will try to hit the sack early tonight and try to get caught up on my rest, i'm pathetic...i have been performing in front of audiences for 50+ years and i still get pre-performance jitters, nothing debilitating but i think they help me focus, keeps me up, the few times i haven't had any it's turned into a disaster, i guess the pre-jitters are just part of me getting ready....but i was really wired yesterday....been a while since i've had them that bad....but everything went well.....but afterwards i tend to crash out and get very tired...needless to say the voice is pretty well used up....but really isn't as bad as it sometimes is.......but i wouldn't trade the experience for anything....

Sunday, December 7, 2003

and i thought the crowd last night was big, the audience for this afternoon's performance was SRO.....problem is that we are already in the largest available facility in the area....well that's not quite true....we're in the largest facility in the area that has a pipe organ.....and that's a biggie.....if your going to do music of the type that we do...and at the level we do it ....you need a pipe organ......but it was really fun again...i think we may have been just a little better last night....not that there were any major goofs, but i think we were just a little sharper, last night....but both went smoothly......i'm glad that's it's over....i'm glad to have my sunday afternoons back.....but i can't wait for next fall to do it all over again....we did 4 pieces by
paul halley....one of the neat things about next years....which will be the 50th year for NCC is that we will be commissioning a work by paul halley for us to perform....and he will also be at the concert and perform with us......i've never been involved in any way with a "world premier" so that will really be fun.......
BlogShares :: Coming BACK Soon i've been stopping by the old blogshares url, once in awhile, ever the optimist....and my journeys have been rewarded....although not back up yet it is on the way....(knock wood....trollie hits knuckles against his head).......

Saturday, December 6, 2003

it's late. i'm tired and should go to bed but i'm pretty wired tonight, concert went really well, had a big crowd and everything went great, really was fun tonight, good sound....but need to do it one more time tomorrow.....it's snowed a little this evening but nothing like what they got down state....it's been strange so far this winter, most of the heavy snow has gone below us.....well i'm sure we'll get our share of it eventually...night all......
i am in between final rehearsal and the concert, while not a disaster the final rehearsal was, well pretty worthless...a lot of time was wasted on, while non-essentials, lord protect us from anal retentive directors, i think there should be a national registry for anal retentive people, they have to register with the police before they move into a new neighborhood.....their are way to dangerous to let their presence go unreported, on the other hand they do seem to identify themselves at all the wrong times.....there's an old tradition that the better the final rehearsal the worse the performance is, well based on the weirdness this afternoon it should at least run smoothly.........neeed to think about getting dressed and outa here...concert is not untilk 7:30, and i need to be there by 6:45, but i always like to get there about 45 minutes before that, just relax and hang out.....besides the parking is an issue and i have to park quite a ways away at "hike" in....so must get dressed and go sing my brains out.........
New Scientist i could not resist posting a link to this article, discovery of a 400 million year old crustacean fossil with it's little captain visible.....ah your tax dollars to research are not being wasted.....of course on the other hand i expect to get a spam email in the next few days offering me the chance to see the XXX video the little guy made with paris hilton.......

Friday, December 5, 2003

man am i zonked tonight, was on a dead run all day at work, got in this AM and discovered that i had a full load scheduled that i was unaware of and had therefore done none of the setup for, and the day went down hill from there, i was exhausted by the end of the day but had some errands that needed doing tonight, oil change, gas the car and get a jug of washer fluid for the car, i've only been forgetting to fill the reservoir for about the last three months, yah i know great memory, well they say with age the second thing to go is your memory, and i can't for the life of me remember what the first thing is, but with the advent of the winter season and all the dirt that gets kicked on the windshield, it's becomes easy to remember, i couldn't see squat through it today, normally i would have come home and got cleaned up and gone back out, but i just went straight from work because i knew if i went home i'd just stay there, got everything done in about 40 minutes, got drive thru and came home, have a busy day tomorrow with the christmas concert and would like to sleep in tomorrow but production is working tomorrow so i need to go in for at least an hour or so......nuts......cold is still with me but i think i will resort to the old stand by for the concerts and add a little lemon juice to my water bottle....that helps to keep the cords clear and tight.....well i off to surf....now that's funny i ran spell check for the above post and of course the thing didn't recognize "zonked" but one of the suggestions was "zionist".....ah computers

Thursday, December 4, 2003

today at work was absolutely wild, have a bunch of stuff to catch up with tomorrow and looks like probably will have to go in for a couple of hours saturday morning....that and basically the rest of the day is shot with ncc rehearsal and concert need to store up some peace and quiet the next two evenings.....just vegged out tonight, watched a little tube, played a little pc game, and watched survivor....Categorically this is the dumbest set of people who ever played the game...there are two who have lied to everyone the whole game but people keep believing them....man P T Barnum would have had a riot with those bozos.....ah well....a little warmer today....had a nice chat with a driver i haven't seen in about a year and also lost sometime to a sales call today, the call was helpful but really could have used the time it took to better advantage...really need to hit the ground running tomorrow but it's been one of those weeks where it seems every day is filled with "flypaper"....i keep getting stuck on a job that i just can't seem to get finished....today had a nagging computer problem, a dead phone at the warehouse.....and the funny times just keep rolling in...and the hits keep coming......

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

it's been unusually cold for the last few days, we've been running several degrees below normal for this time of year, on the bright side the high pressure system that has brought with it the cold, also is keeping the snow that the rest of the state has been getting below us, we've got just a tarce, but one of the drivers i talked to today that lives down near the 'cuse says they got 6-8" overnight, really didn't feel like going to choir tonight but did anyway, i haven't hasd amn entire night home since saturday, and i'm getting a little worn out....work has been jumping....and this weekend will be a blur with the NCC concerts bith saturday and sunday....but then i'll get some of my sunday back to just kick back so that will be goog.....

Tuesday, December 2, 2003

i "created" a character for blogshares...the mad trollie....which with the end of that i can't bring myself to part with....not sure as of yet whether i will just incorporate and occasional visit from the mad one here or if i might give him his own blog..........must give it some thought
bitter, cold day...a little fresh snow, but not a problem....need to get cleaned up and head off to a rehearsal in about 10 minutes but thought i'd post now as i think i'll be too tired to do it later....crazy day at work...actually the last two have been pretty wild....but am pretty close to be caught up....nothing much to report otherwise....i've been thinking about the demise of blogshares...and need to find a few other places to list my blog...i got a lot of hits off of blogshares, especially after i managed to get in the top 25 or so on the richest players list....need to find another game to play as well...but not tonight...pratice is calling

Monday, December 1, 2003

well i've spent a little time fiddling with the blog, removing the blogshares button, and cleaning up a few other details, haven't done that for awhile.....well with blogshares gone maybe i'll spend a little more time on the blog....really has been static design wise for some time, ....need to make a call at a funeral home tonight, a person whom i've had contact with for some 20 years through work, her father died suddenly, and i need to go "pay my respects".....lord there are times that my choice of phrasing really gives my age away.....
BlogShares - Closed Down
well i was afraid that this would happen, and i will miss the game, but it was fun while it lasted.....