Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

House mice. It's not so much that I mind it got in my kitchen cabinet where I keep the vinegars and oils and crapped all over the place so I had to take everything out and clean up before making dinner last night its that it tried to chew its way out around the doors. Go out the hole you came in, dumb ass. And better mouse traps - how come the only time those goddamn things will trip is when I'm baiting them? And how come I'm so slow that when I open the door and am eye to eye with one of those little bastards I can't grab him? He stares at me until I move, then its a comedy act while he runs around looking for the opening past the hood pipe and I flap and flail like some kind of clown.

And work - any idea why I have a project manager and I have to write and maintain the project plan? I mean, I get that they don't grasp what the project entails after working on it for six months and I have to translate the requirements document into tasks but now that they have it all done for them can't they maintain it at all? How about they do all the technical stuff and I'll do project management? That ought to work.

I spent the morning getting a notarized signature on a divorce agreement today [I'm in Europe]. The saddest moment of my life.

Bike review and industry nonsense. I came across a teaser shot of of a limited edition run of steel speshialized bikes. The comments and excitement would have you believe that they're doing something rare and novel. Did you know that you can still make bikes out of steel?! And since yesterday was Wacky Wednesday, I also got an email from comp cyclist with a review of their new carbon Merlin, built by Sarto. I'm sure it's a great bike, and I like competitive cyclist, but could they possible have used more buzzwords and cliches.

On the work front, I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. Each day brings me one step closer to realizing it's not what I'm doing. I'm in pretty deep, so this is hard to come to terms with.

A nice commute into work this morning, until I got stuck behind a garbage truck coming out of the Washington DC waterfront. This is by the fish market, I will stop describing the smell.....

Thunder, lightning and pouring rain again.

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Originally Posted by Joel Benjamin L

I spent the morning getting a notarized signature on a divorce agreement today [I'm in Europe]. The saddest moment of my life.

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Stay strong brother! As much as it sucks, there are a few women in Europe. Anything I say will sound like a cliche, i’m sure, but try to stay positive. Buying a new bike may help!

It's been a roller-coaster of a week.

Monday was my younger daughter's first birthday. Had a nice get-together with some fine folks and great food on Sunday. But Monday was when the news hit about Robin Williams*. And Tuesday was my (now deceased) father's birthday.

Weather has kinda sucked since Monday evening. Leaving the track from the kid's tri workout, there were lightning strikes all around me. Hopping on the motorcycle, I was just wanting to get home without getting lit-up...


* I don't know why that one is affecting me so much. I never met him, though I did really like his work. And that he was a true cycling enthusiast.

Had another one of those reoccurring dreams about strolling through campus during finals thinking I'm almost done then COMPLETE FEAR as I realized I forgot a class. Not forgetting to go to the final, but completely forgetting to go to a class the entire semester. Happens every time I'm stressed, and I think this time it's along Matt S's vein of grump - I need a job change. A career change. As a side passion, I'll always be able to reserve creativity to make art and things look pretty, but I got another 20 years in the market so it's time for a fresh start... I feel like George Costanza talking to Jerry on the couch about what I want to do...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LCggmsCXk4

Thankfully I have my health and a supportive wife/family... (Friday post)

The timing belts in my Wife's van just broke. Ugh. Hello new car.

Cat 4s that should be 3s who whine and carry on like little babies when they get beaten at a race by a faster cat 4 who should be a cat 3 as well.

HTFU and race with dudes of your own ability instead of playing big fish in small pond. Jerks.

To be clear, I never win anything, race 45+ and get destroyed each week. But as point keeper for a season long race series get to hear the whining.

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Originally Posted by Tom

House mice. It's not so much that I mind it got in my kitchen cabinet where I keep the vinegars and oils and crapped all over the place so I had to take everything out and clean up before making dinner last night its that it tried to chew its way out around the doors. Go out the hole you came in, dumb ass. And better mouse traps - how come the only time those goddamn things will trip is when I'm baiting them? And how come I'm so slow that when I open the door and am eye to eye with one of those little bastards I can't grab him? He stares at me until I move, then its a comedy act while he runs around looking for the opening past the hood pipe and I flap and flail like some kind of clown.

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I'm fighting these little bastards too. They haven't yet had the nerve to come out and stare me down, but we have the whole damn kitchen and pantry hermetically sealed up. And they're still coming out at night to crap in the corners.

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Originally Posted by davids

I'm fighting these little bastards too. They haven't yet had the nerve to come out and stare me down, but we have the whole damn kitchen and pantry hermetically sealed up. And they're still coming out at night to crap in the corners.

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I had a better idea. I put one of those unbelievably loud motion detector noise makers you use to keep the cat from peeing on the couch (technically my other grump today - I feed them, groom them and clean up after their bodily emissions every single day so why can't they exert even a little effort on this one?) in the cabinet. I might not be able to kill it but I'll at least make the little son of a bitch deaf.

It's hard to watch elected officials do nothing (or worse) while Americans get bent over and fucked right in the civil liberties. It's not just Ferguson, MO, and it's not just this week or this month or this year, but holy shit already.

Heading into cx season, my grump is any series that awards points/winners/prizes for anyone other than the elite, open category, thus encouraging the 3's and 4's to stay in their category "for the series overall placing." If you are fast enough to win a race in your category, you are fast enough to upgrade.

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Originally Posted by MarkC

Cat 4s that should be 3s who whine and carry on like little babies when they get beaten at a race by a faster cat 4 who should be a cat 3 as well.

HTFU and race with dudes of your own ability instead of playing big fish in small pond. Jerks.

To be clear, I never win anything, race 45+ and get destroyed each week. But as point keeper for a season long race series get to hear the whining.

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Is there anyone who works for a technology incubator or startup competition thing that isn't a total douchebag?

I don't need or want your money. I'm presenting tonight as a favor to the guy who brought you here to have your little event. So you can take your thoughts on what I'm going to say, and your thoughts on my general demeanor, and shove them right up your ass along with your plaid shirt and stupid fucking New Balance running shoes.

god I hope you said that out loud.

pushups.

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Originally Posted by nahtnoj

Is there anyone who works for a technology incubator or startup competition thing that isn't a total douchebag?

I don't need or want your money. I'm presenting tonight as a favor to the guy who brought you here to have your little event. So you can take your thoughts on what I'm going to say, and your thoughts on my general demeanor, and shove them right up your ass along with your plaid shirt and stupid fucking New Balance running shoes.

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Originally Posted by JoB

god I hope you said that out loud.

pushups.

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Not quite, but keep reading...

Our product must be installed by A. Having B do it is serious code violation, although B is theoretically able to and has the needed access.

From the Q&A session:

VC: Why don't you have B install it?
Me: Because A controls the process and won't allow it (for very good reasons, mind you).
VC: Lots of companies have started out with what were essentially illegal business models, look at StubHub.
Me: We're not scalping tickets, and we're renting out a spare bedroom to some German tourists. If B screws up, B could be electrocuted. We're going to market A.
VC: (Grumpy expression, silence).

I'm already starting my pushups so I don't rip the eyes out of my fuckin neighbor, who decided (now that its a gorgeous windy dry cool day) that this would be a good morning to fogbomb his entire yard with mosquito napalm, which of course all blew into our property into our open windows. The fog looked like a huge smoke cloud that filled my entire back yard that I ran into it looking for a fire source with cell phone ready to call 911 before he yelled out not to worry. Too late, my eyes sting, I have a raging headache and I can taste whatever shit he was spraying even after a shower. Hopefully blowback wrath for posting negativity on Friday will keep me from rippin his eyes out. Cause I really want to.

Grumping on living in Bergen County, NJ, and the fact that no matter how hard my wife and I work, it seems like we'll never get ahead to the point that we could buy a house here. Spend too much to build up the downpayment further, have too much school loan debt, too much nonsense.

It's gotten to the point that we're legitimately considering moving our family in with my mother and step-father, and sacrificing any sort of creature comfort for the next two-three years.

why is it that half (or more) of the high-priced technical products I work with are obviously untested? I've been struggling to install something for weeks now, and I've found every bug before the company did.