http://www.apileofdogbones.com/ en nycwatchdog74@aol.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-02T08:00:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/william_tecumesh_sherman_aint_got_nothin_on_me/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/william_tecumesh_sherman_aint_got_nothin_on_me/#When:08:00:00Z I have to be honest, I’m really fortunate with the variety of patients I encounter. Whether it be former child television stars turned undomiciled moguls, planet devourers, or senior citizen ninjas… my job can be really interesting because of the people. At times. Every now and then though, there comes a patient that is both interesting and challenging to provide a service for. Usually it’s because of their personality or perhaps some sort of unique circumstance… but rarely is it for both those reasons. When things like that happen it can equate to our version of the perfect storm… where there we are in the eye, thinking we’re gonna make it… and then WHAM! That huge wave rolls over us and sets us back a few feet. Sometimes… that wave has treads. Such is the case of a new patient we had yesterday, who I will call The General. The General is really nice enough, commanding an army of caretakers efficiently, directing with a flair which way to lift, prop, fluff, and cross to make their transport as comfortable as possible. The General‘s personality would be enough to make the experience interesting… but it’s what The General drives that makes the experience challenging… Whoever thought it was good to give patients Sherman Tanks instead of Jazzy scooters needs to have their head examined. Really. Do you know how hard it is to get one of those into the back of an ambulance? Even with ramps, modifications, and some customization that I’m still not sure is legal… it was as simple as square object going into a round hole. Just not gonna happen after 45 minutes of trying. After unsuccessfully getting yesterday’s transport off the ground, I asked The General if maybe they would want to drive over to the facility themselves. “I’ll drag race you if you want,” he replied with a smile as I accepted defeat and returned him to the fortress. I bet he would have… but The General would still need a driver’s license to head into the street… and he’s at least 3 years shy of that. It’s okay though. This morning, like Douglas MacArthur, I will return to my own personal Phillipiness. I will take The General and his tank and I’ll be making it happen. Nothing is impossible. Not even moving a Sherman tank from one borough to another. Impossible just takes a little longer. Or in this case… 24 hours and a 55 gallon drum of Crisco. Hoorah! I'm A Cowboy, Giving Cab Rides 2010-03-02T08:00:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/not_just_another_saturday/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/not_just_another_saturday/#When:05:01:00Z Tonight marks the one year anniversary for another family living in a different reality and the day the Internet got a tad bit dimmer… So close, no matter how far Couldn’t be much more from the heart Forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters Never opened myself this way Life is ours, we live it our way All these words I don’t just say and nothing else matters -Nothing Else Matters, Metallica Hope you’re enjoying the backstage passes in Heaven… miss you Lisa… Blogging, Blogger Meet-Ups, TequilaCon 2009, Personal, Memories 2010-02-27T05:01:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/today_hed_be_9/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/today_hed_be_9/#When:11:00:00Z It was nine years ago today that I learned how to wrap a burrito and my life changed forever for the better… ... and my hair color changed for the whiter… for which I have no regrets. Happy birthday buddy. Miss you. Love you. Personal, Memories, Remembering DJ 2010-02-15T11:00:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/sunday_irony/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/sunday_irony/#When:15:22:00Z You know that saying about how people living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones? As if the rest of us understand why grown people does what SHE does but don’t think it’s funny. Someone should let her know that Jersey Shore is a docu-comedy and nothing more. Once she realizes that I bet she won’t want to be so recognizable. Or probably she will. Once an attention whore… always an attention whore. Ambient Stupidity 2010-02-14T15:22:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/we_are_kittay_parents_again_and_weve_gone_21st_century_hippie_too/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/we_are_kittay_parents_again_and_weve_gone_21st_century_hippie_too/#When:12:37:00Z So yesterday, while the rest of the mid-Atlantic region was pummeled by both snow and tea, Poppy and I welcomed the newest addition to our family… She is quite an energetic and rambunctious 3 month old kitty! She also apparently has a foot fetish… And she also apparently has some rhythymn since she was dancing with her Woofa Dog all night long… Of course you probably are wondering what we’ve named her… and for this we’ve gone sort of hippie in a 21st Century blogger kinda way… because her name is… Twitter! Her meowing however does not appear to be limited to 140 characters. Of this, I assure you… On a completely separate note I would like to take this opportunity to wish my father a happy birthday. He’s turning the whopping 67 today… and will be celebrating it by what he has spent all those years obsessed with… football and 10 feet of cold cuts on bread. Obviously it must also be Super Sunday. Go Budweiser! It's All About Me, Personal, Poppy 2010-02-07T12:37:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/how_you_know_your_blog_has_made_it/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/how_you_know_your_blog_has_made_it/#When:04:01:00Z There are a lot of bloggers trying to figure out how they know when their blog has “made it”. For some of them, they’ve made it when they reach a certain visitor count. Whether it be 10,000 or 1,000 or 100, or 10… it’s a number they feel accomplished by. For others it is when their Google Ads and affiliate checks amount to a certain number. Whether it be 10,000 or 1,000 or 100, or 10… it’s a number they feel accomplished from. For me? It was casually checking my Woopra stats for the first time in… well… it seems like forever… and seeing this: Do you know what that says? That says that I have had a visitor to my blog from Walnut Creek. That can mean only one thing. It can be only one person. It can only be… Laura Ingalls!!! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! What? You don’t believe me? Well who else would be using Internet Explorer other than someone from the 18th Century! Wassup Half-Pint!  Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to hang out, see the joys of modern life, and maybe even leave comment or two! Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind, could you go wish this fucker a happy birthday today? He has a thing for dead people. In pigtails.   It's All About Me 2010-01-26T04:01:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/french_vanilla_cake_bullets/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/french_vanilla_cake_bullets/#When:04:01:00Z So yesterday I baked a French Vanilla cake. While baking, I had a few random thoughts that I thought I would benevolently share with you so that you too could ponder mindlessly should you choose to bake a cake… • If it weren’t for Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker, there would be alot more bakeries out there which would mean more jobs • Those of you who no longer get Food Network should obviously rise up and stab your cable company with a plastic fork just for the fake drama of Worst Cooks In America and the secret delicacies unearthed during episodes of Throwdown with Bobby Flay • The movie Legion was more of a comedy than a biblical apocalypse film. I’d take Prophecy and its greater focus on biblical elements over it anyday • The movie theater pretzel nuggets with nacho cheese were AWESOME! • Thankfully Poppy doesn’t like her steak like Gladys Foster, so I’m safe from fly infested meat and getting my throat ripped out • I love my French Vanilla ice coffee… alot • The big Apple event is this week where it is rumored they will be announcing the rumored ”iTablet”. Depending on this announcement… I may be further along the path of a full conversion to the iCult • I really like chocolate frosting • Now that Massachusetts has officially gone brown, what is the future of Healthcare Reform for the Obama Administration? More importantly, what is the future of healthcare for the rest of us? • I love my Motorola Droid Hopefully I will enjoy my cake as much as I love my coffee… 2010-01-25T04:01:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/the_magic_of_snow/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/the_magic_of_snow/#When:05:01:00Z One of the great things about winter is the snow.  Sure just like every other adult New Yorker I cringe when its more than an inch, when it happens 30 minutes after I have washed my truck, or when it sticks around any longer than a day. Yet there is something magical about it. It’s whiteness… as if the clouds themselves have fallen from heaven. It’s purity. It’s ability to cover up a dirty gray reality like a blanket of goodness. It’s authority to close schools. It’s power to put smiles on the faces of children… everywhere… Somedays… like today… I just wish it would snow. Personal, Memories, Remembering DJ 2010-01-21T05:01:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/what_i_did_new_years_weekend/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/what_i_did_new_years_weekend/#When:04:01:00Z So yeah… it’s a new year… a new decade… time for new things! Right? Here’s my summary of what I did this past weekend: Friday January 1 • I drove BGITW to the airport after getting home from work at 5:30am so she could visit some relatives in the great north • I went to Walgreen‘s a paid $10 for a coffee maker • I got home and attempted to make my first pot of real coffee so I could chill it and make my own ice coffee • I spilled the entire pot of burned hot coffee all over the sink • I brewed a second pot of coffee, still burnt a bit • I went to bed at 8:30am and was awakened at 5:30pm by the sound of a ringing phone • I spoke to Poppy and then proceeded to dump that second pot of burnt coffee out as well • I brewed by third pot of coffee which came out okay • I fed the kittays their treat • I watched Jersey Shore • I ate macaroni & cheese • I watched wrestling • I said goodnight to Poppy • I went back to bed Saturday January 2 • I was woken up at 8:30am by Georgie who insisted that I was late for treat time • I went back to bed • I got up at 11:00am and at a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich • I said good morning to Poppy • I started working on my rasberry mastery in Farmville • I started working on an e-book product • I finished working on an e-book product and had a call with my business partner • I started working on site upgrades on a WordPress 2.8.6 installation • I ate more macaroni & cheese • I started catching up on Heroes (7 episodes unwatched) • I upgraded the installation to WP 2.9 and had a critical failure that I then began fixing • I stopped trying to fix the WP issue because my brain was numb • I did some graphic work • I finished the graphic work and went back to the WP issue • I continued trying to master rasberries • I had a good night phone call from Poppy • I finished watching all the Heroes episodes • I finally got the WP installation to work right as SNL was ending • I wrote two e-mails that were on my to do list • I went to bed Sunday January 3 • I got up at 11:00am and gave the kittays a treat • I talked with Poppy • I continued trying to master rasberries • I watched Hackers • I authored a blog post for Monday • I then began watching The Painted Veil • I gave up on mastering rasberries and started working towards cranberries • I then decided to write this blog post to show that if my year is going to be anything like this weekend… I’m going to be spending alot of time eating macaroni & cheese and harvesting rasberries • I then finished this blog post and took my first shower of 2010 It's All About Me 2010-01-04T04:01:00-05:00 http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/just_another_nye/ http://www.apileofdogbones.com/index.php/site/just_another_nye/#When:04:01:00Z So it’s New Year’s Eve 2009. At midnight tonight 2009 ends along with the decade that will forever be known as ”The Naughts”. As usual, I’ll be working, but you shouldn’t feel bad for me for this… it is a conscious choice and just part of the vocation. It’s something I came to grips with over a decade ago so it’s just normal for me to celebrate it a day late. Now I know there are those who believe that 2010 is actually the last year of the decade, and while mathematicians may support this concept, I have to then question why we consider 1990 as part of the “90’s” and 1980 as part of the “80’s” etc. Therefore, for my own sanity, it’s the end of the decade known as ”The Naughts”. Time magazine considers it the worst decade of all time. I can understand that based on these occurrences: • The 2000 Presidential Election where we learned that the most votes doesn’t really matter • The September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack • The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster • The current econcomic recession • And my own personal apocalypse, losing DJ Wow. It really was pretty shitty… and that’s not even half of the things that occurred. Of course, it wasn’t ALL bad… because there was definitely some good this past decade too… • When DJ was born in 2001 • Being able to call myself a homeowner • The invention of the iPhone which prompted the release of the Droid • TequilaCon(s)! • Meeting BGITW And of course… • Discovering blogging, the proliferation of Social Media, and meeting all of you I don’t know if in fact this was the worst decade ever… because as with all things there was quite a bit to be thankful for as well. It’s the good with the bad… the bad with the good… hand in hand… time seems to be more and more like people to me… “In each of us, two natures are at war - the good and the evil.  All our lives the fight goes on between them, and one of them must conquer.  But in our own hands lies the power to choose. What we want most to be we are.” - Dr. Henry Jekyll So with that said… I refuse to make some sort of “resolution” regarding canceling one of my many vices or some sort of dieting regiment I have zero intent on keeping too… but instead for the next decade I am going to try and remember that the bad times go with the good… and while not every time might be good, I have more power over how I look at it that may actually change its nature. I wish you and your families a very happy and safe New Year. It's All About Me, News 2009-12-31T04:01:00-05:00