You may or may not of noticed a lack of journal entries lately..... I've been making updates only on my website these days. Check it out!

I'm looking at Saturday May 22nd or Sunday May 23rd to do a bbq and sailing fun down in Newport. Any responses? Any interest? This is for all my friends and acquaintances this time. Just let me know if you are interested.

This will be down on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, CA. Required Equipment? Swimsuit, appetite, sun screen. Everything else is a bonus.

Here's to you Larry Capune. Lifeguard, paddler, movie presenter. All around great guy. You think you got it made, and it all goes downhill so fast. So here's to you, my friend.

Larry holds the record for longest paddles. He estimates he has gone around the world 2.5 times. I met Larry more than 10 years ago, as he was showing the movies down at Newport. Starting around the early 60s, Larry would start showing movies once a week for a few weeks in the summer. In 1993 I started helping him do set up and tear down, and contiuned to the present. He introduced a large group over the years, including myself, to many movies we had never heard of, all shown on his 16 mm projector. To top off the summer, at the end of the season, he would always show Big Wednesday or the Endless Summer.
Larry can spin a tale like no other. The time he came into the Kennedy estate in the middle of a storm, to be greeted with warmth and kindness, or the time he was denied entry to a beach, because George H.W. Bush owned the property. Or coming into a harbor with Buddy Ebsen in a hurrican on a catamaran.

But for us of Balboa Island Yacht Club, Larry is forever a lifeguard, movies and a friend.

I'm back on day shift. And has it ever hit the fan.

Our Plant Manager quit, wanted to move back east... The west coast did not agree with him, which is unfortunate, cause I like the guy.

The assistant plant manager is doing that job now, temporarily. He wont' get it permanently, because he does not have a college degree. Which is bull, cause he is the best man for the job.

But I'm back on day shift, and now starting work again at 7am, or 6:30 when I go in early to get a head start. Tomorrow though, I start at 5am, so we can all leave earlier.

Our company president is showing up in the next week, so it's going to be even more hell trying to clean everything. Life is fun.... At least there is overtime pay.

Oh. Wait. Salary. Ok....

I'm now working nights this week and next. My body clock hates it. Starting work at 4pm now, instead of the 8am I was used to sucks. Well, at least I slept in till 11am the first time in several long years.

Only till Labor Day though, then back to Day shift I think.
  Wouldn't be so bad if I was working say noon to 10 or 11 at night, but this 4pm to 3 or 4 am stuff sucks

Went to the Dodgers game tonight. Got the win, Cubs only got one run. Dave Roberts had an inside the park homerun. Sadly, I got there late. Naeem's friend Dan, had to drop his rental car off, and he was late doing that, so we were stuck in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium for the first inning.

But we won tonight! Only means we think we have a chance, then we are going to blow it big time.

Go Blue Crew! Only three and half back of the Phillies for the Wild Card Race.

My brother Ed is going down the Grand Canyon this upcoming Thursday. He's taking my video camera and going to shoot footage of the 11 day trip.

I feel a bit disappointed that I took this new job in Riverside, else I'd be the one on this trip. But that's ok, I'll live. He'll do some video editing, I'll make it into a dvd, and life goes on. I probably should publish again my video from the 2001 trip, but it's a few hundred megs.

Friday, the grand jury came down with indictments against Albert Robles and two of his cronies. Not for the bankrupting of South Gate, but for illegal using of the city seal and using city official's photographs with out permission.

He was in Mexico when the grand jury, and we all thought he was running away. Maybe a bounty hunter would get him...

But no. He turned himself into a judge today, and was released on 90,000 dollar bail or so. While I'd like him to be convicted of all the offenses I think he's guilty of, just getting him on one will be nice.

I'm hoping that this is not a repeat of last year, when Albert beat the charges that he threatened to kill a police officer, and rape, mutilate and kill political rivals.

You can read the LA times article, or the Mercury News

So Friday night, my car battery exploded. I get into my car after Sam's 80th birthday party, and turn my key on, the fuel injection initializes, and I hit the starter, and BOOM! Just exploded.

Two cells went up, spraying acid all over my engine compartment. No fire fortunately. I washed it down with a few gallons of water, but still had one rubber hose corroded in the morning. I got a ride home, and in the morning my brother gave me a ride, we picked up a new battery, popped it in, and the car started up just fine. Yippie kai ya yea!

I'm in the full on process of moving out to Riverside. I moved my bed today. I picked up a nice solid wood mahogany desk from Chris yesterday, but I'm going to sand it down and restain it.

I'm siting here at home waiting for Gilmore Girls to finish. no, I'm not watching it, but I am recording it for a friend. One of two episodes that he is missing, and this will solve half of his problem.

Work is going well, had a few problems on Friday, some scheduling of items, but I am going to be all over that tomorrow morning. The new work schedule, 9-5:30 for first shift, and 7-3:30 for second shift, is working out ok. I wish we were starting earlier, but that's only because I'm a morning person. Now that I don't have to commute, I have too much free time in the mornings. So I am going to show up early, and get a head start for the week.

It's been too long since I've written here. Nothing too exciting, just work, explosives and driving. Lack of sleep too.

Supposedly, my friends think I should be dead due to diet. I'm primarily a burger guy. Anywhere from 7 to 10 a week. Yes. And not much else. The way I eat the burger doesn't help either, just mustard and ketchup. No cheese, lettuce, tomato or special sauce. Been this way for many years now. Yesterday I had two burgers, a few fries for lunch and dinner, a starburst and snickers bar for breakfast.

Naeem thinks the funniest thing I have ever said, was yesterday when I said, with a straight face: "I consider eating only for nutrition, and don't think of a meal as a means of conversation or social interaction".

This is what I am going to say at my grandfather's funeral today. I just felt like posting it for anyone to read. A funeral should be a celebration of someone's life, not a mourning of our own loss.

My grandfather, was from my earliest recollection, a handy man. Always with tools near by, he could always be counted on to be in the middle of one project or another. Even in his later years, he was always interested in improving this, or cutting that, or making sure that the barbecue worked right.

From the times in Cambria, to when my grandparents moved down to South Gate, Pop was always there with a kind word and a twinkle in the eye. He was always interested in the projects my brothers and I were involved in, and there was always some comment made, something we hadn't considered.

One of the things I enjoyed most were him pointing out the houses he had worked on in his career. Anytime I walked by those, I remembered that he literally had a hand in their construction. He will be with us so long as those places, and everything else he worked on is around.

You can see pics from the procceedings here

My oh my. Work is taking a lot of my time.... so I haven't been online much at all. I will try to keep this updated at least twice a week though, we shall see how well I do.

A funeral to attend today.... so I take the day off of work. Let me sleep in a bit.

I will probably be moving out to the Riverside area within a month, when I get things finalized, I will post info.

Ang Lee's The Hulk. Minor spoilers, be warned.

I liked it. Quite a bit. A good change of pace from other comic movies. I don't know if it hits the Shakespearian or Greek Tragedy level that we could hope for in it, but the movie held up very well.

Likes:
I liked the fact that The Hulk had no traditional super villain till the end. That felt a bit tacked on, just to satisfy fan boy expectations of a knock down dragged out fight. The dilemmas posed to the characters, once you get past the 15 foot tall green man, felt realistic. The CGI felt good. I knew it wasn't real, but I didn't care. Unlike in some other movies, where I felt cheated, here... it fit. My biggest like? You couldn't tell where the movies was going from the commercials. Sure he threw a tank around, but many of the other scenes were a good complete shock and surprise. I liked that

Dislikes:
The end of the movie fight felt as if it was just added on to make for a faster ending. Looking back, I think it had enough fight scenes, but all of those scenes were uneven. The Hulk versus Hulk Dogs, a semi thinking being versus completely non-thinking, instinct driven creatures. Then the Hulk versus the military, well, that's a traditional scene from for the Hulk, but it went well.

THe only other thing I didn't really like was the that there was no real disagreement between the Hulk and Bruce Banner. Aside from the dream sequence, where Banner clears a fogged mirror, and sees the Hulk as his reflection, the two didn't interact so much. But a "Hulk smash puny banner!".... well there is always a sequel.

Time flies when you're having fun, or at least at a new job. Starting Monday, it looks like I'll be working from 7 am to 4:30 to 5:30. Ah, the salaried lifestyle, have to do all that good work. This stems from the fact we are running two shifts. Got to be there when the first shift starts, and then for to make sure the second shift has no real problems either. It's going to be an interesting time