Family | Piss and Moan

Little dog, little dog

Posted on March 25, 2019 by backuphill

Oh, little dog, little dog…

You are a tricky one you little dog. You are a little thief, little dog.

You steal my spot on the couch. You steal my pillow on the bed.

You sit at my feet and wait to steal (ok, willingly given up because you’re cute) pieces of my food.

You, little dog, steal cuddles in the middle of the day and make me pause in the rush as if to say, “Slow down. It will be OK. Take a moment and love me.”

Yes, little dog, you have stolen my heart, which is actually quite remarkable considering three years ago I DID NOT want you to be in my house, much less my life. But, you have been good for everyone.

Do I like that you steal my pillow at night? NO. Do I like that you drool all over it the moment I get out of bed and you curl up on it? No. Do I like that you often displace my butt from the couch the moment I get up to get a drink? No. I don’t like sitting in places that are not comfortable and unfamiliar.

But, little dog, oh little dog…keep it up.

**There may have been too much love and only a little Piss & Moan in this post. I apologize and will try to get back to the regularly schedule loathing tomorrow.**

Reverse lights

Posted on March 21, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

There are lots of things that are extremely irritating in life. This blog is kind of dedicated to finding and expressing our frustration with such things. I can across one the other day that just about had me come unhinged – temper went from 0-83 in less than 1.4 seconds.

You see them in parking lots all the time but maybe you don’t give them much thought.

Reverse lights.

Those white lights on the back of vehicles that are your signal that said vehicle is about to begin backing up. Great idea, those lights.

But, what isn’t a great idea is that someone who has put the vehicle in reverse, thus turning the lights on, can also IMMEDIATELY begin backing up without any regard to what may be behind them.

I am sure this is no secret since nearly anyone who has ever driven a car has probably experience this in a parking lot at some point in their past. What is most frustrating is that it seems to be happening more and more. I can’t explain it, but I sure want to punch people when it happens. To be fair, I am not really a violent person but there are some things that really get my blood boiling, and this is one of them.

I have nearly been hit while driving a car and while walking. It’s happened in parking lots. It’s happened on the road as someone backs out of a driveway. It’s happened during broad daylight and it has happened at night. Good thing I am aware of my surroundings!

Anyway, I propose there be a 10 second waiting period , a delay if you will, on Reverse. The car goes into reverse, the lights come one, and you have to wait 10 seconds before the car will move. That should force someone to have a look around (I hope). Oh, and while we’re at it, how about a sensor in the seat that can read the body language or tell if someone looked out the back window before the car will move? Yeah, now we’re on to something.

OK, let me know in the comments if you have experienced this? Were you able to avoid the collision or were you one of the unlucky, wrong place at the wrong time kind of people?

It’s lost on me

Posted on March 20, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Anastasiya Lobanovskaya on Pexels.com

Mysteries of life. Mysteries in life. Whatever, just mysteries.

In my years of life I have many things that cause me to pause and wonder. There are just some things I just don’t understand and I guess I probably never will. Why do people do the things they do?

Today’s mystery? Why do women color their hair a color that isn’t a hair color?

Maybe it’s because I’m “a dumb boy.” Maybe I really can blame it on my maleness. Or, could it be that women are just incomprehensible? There is no way to figure out women so why bother? Maybe it’s a combination of both. I don’t really know. But what I do know is that I am seeing more and more women color their hair in NOT natural hair colors and I wonder why.

Example: I saw a picture on Instagram of a former student who is now in her late 20s who is the mom to several children and she just dyed her hair a bright pink color. I am not talking highlights. I am talking flat out, all the way, bright pink – there is no hiding it pink. She says, “It makes her feel more like herself.” What does that mean??

I have never understood why people feel the need to dye their hair a color that isn’t natural. Is it for attention? It is to be unique? Is it to stand out in a crowd? I understand that some people would want to hide the gray or maybe want to have highlights or even just want to try a different natural color. But, to do something that is just so radical, well, it just doesn’t compute.

So, what makes a woman feel the need to make such a change?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Isn’t worth the trouble

Posted on March 19, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Some things in life just aren’t worth it. Surprisingly, there are actually some foods that just aren’t worth it, which is weird to say because I am kind of a professional eater – I’ve been doing it since I was little.

One food that is a real pain in the rear to eat is an orange. I’ve known this for a long time but I thought I would give it another try. I mean, they’re sweet and they’re juicy so that makes them really tempting. But, I tell you, as soon as I started peeling the dang thing I instantly regretted starting. Now it’s leaking juice all over my hands and I’m getting stick and my hands are wet and the peel is just not coming off easily…Oh, I prevailed and ate the dang thing, but I had to have a co-worker lock my computer so I could go wash up after seemingly taking a bath in orange juice. Then it hit me – the peel on an orange just doesn’t make trying to enjoy the fruit enjoyable. So, CONFIRMED, an orange isn’t worth the trouble.

Another food that isn’t worth the trouble? Crab. Good grief you need a damn tool to even access the minuscule amount of meat housed inside that ocean floor scrounger. I don’t even really like crab (it eats garbage off the ocean floor) so the work required for minimal reward just isn’t worth the trouble. I think you can probably put lobster and shrimp in the same category. CONFIRMED.

If you have to work to eat it, it just isn’t worth it. Plain and simple.

What do you think? Are there any other foods that just aren’t worth the trouble because they require too much work before you get to enjoy it?

Blink of an eye

Posted on March 18, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It was nice here in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. It got up into the 60s and there were lots of people out without coats and washing their cars. I happen to have been one of them!

When the weather turns nice (and yes, in the NW 60s is nice) it is time to get out and work in the yard, getting ready for Spring. So, the weekend was a weekend to get off the couch and cast away the sluggish attitude to “get ‘r done!”

Well, I got her done. And I am paying for it this morning. All that activity made this old guy stiff and tired.

You know that feeling when your tired and you just want to stay in bed? Yeah, I got that this morning, but really the issue here today is that time that goes by in the blink of an eye.

Literally, as I was driving to work this morning, I think I could count the seconds go by with each blink of the eye. There was literally time in each blink to think, “It feels good to close my eyes. Wait, I’m driving, open back up.” Then the next blink comes, “Why did I get out of bed? Do I really have to do this?” The next blink, “It would be nice to just leave them closed. Why are they so heavy? Open, open, open…” And so on…It was a really long drive to work this morning.

Anyway, here’s to a slow-brained, slow-blinking kind of day…oh Monday…

Hacking and snorting

Posted on March 13, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Gerd Altmann on Pexels.com

These are not two things that will win you friends, either in a crowd of strangers or at work.

I have now been dealing with a cold/flu for a week now. The fever and aches didn’t last long at all, but the congestion is hanging on like a baby opossum hangs onto it’s mom.

I think I have hacked up about 2.5 gallons of something from my lungs and snorted or blown about 6.7 gallons of snot from my sinuses. Pretty picture, I know.

Supposedly I am getting better. That’s my unprofessional opinion because I haven’t seen a professional.

Here’s to another dose of cold meds and being that annoying co-worker hacking and snorting in the corner of the office…

Spam that ain’t so yummy

Posted on March 11, 2019 by backuphill

email spam

I know we authorize our own abuse in some cases, but this is just a bit ridiculous don’t you think?

When we sign up for different services we are often asked if we want to receive emails regarding specials or things that meet our interests. In most cases, it is limited to one or two emails in a day. It is a little annoying, but I realized that I have given them permission to send me those emails.

Do deal with said emails, I have more than one email account. One that is my regular account where most of the important stuff get delivered. Bills, personal email, and other important stuff (that I select) gets to use that email address. The other address is essentially my “spam”. This email address gets the email that I don’t really find important but the emails that I believe will be useful. In most cases those are emails that are a result of a subscription or membership of some type.

So, yes, I have signed up for Groupon. But I don’t think I signed up to actually be spammed by them. I expect to get emails from them, but I didn’t expect to get an average of 5.5 emails per day! I mean seriously? How about we just put this info in one or two emails? I don’t look at most of them anyway, so is it really necessary in the first place? If I was looking for something I probably will visit their website to shop.

We used to get a ton of junk mail in our real, snail mail box. Now my email boxes are getting spammed in all sorts of ways. It’s rather annoying. No, it’s rather irritating.

What do you think? How do you deal with this stuff?

Look how far we’ve come

Posted on March 8, 2019 by backuphill

**This post is totally gluten free.**

I am not sure the title for this little post is a positive thing or a negative thing, but I am definitely leaning towards the negative.

I noticed yesterday that there was some shampoo that was “gluten free”. OH REALLY?

That’s just absolutely great because I was going to drink it (just to see what it tasted like) but I was worried about my allergy to gluten. Since the bottle has now clarified that it is gluten free, drink away! I also noticed the conditioner was gluten free as well, so I’ll be chugging some of that next.

Alright, alright. Truth be told, I didn’t drink it. I was just using that as an example of how stupid our species has become. Two reasons:

We have become so weak as humans that we can’t tolerate gluten in things we don’t even consume.
To sell a product, companies have labeled things a certain way in order pander to people who are afraid of everything, even when the product didn’t contain the ingredient in the first place.

If we survive to the end of the century, it will be a miracle. It won’t be war. It won’t be climate change. It won’t be the plague.

It will be fear.

What products should be advertised as gluten free now? “Gluten Free Tires” perhaps?

Only Olaf and Frosty are happy

Posted on March 7, 2019 by backuphill

It is snowing here, again.

After the “snowpacolypse” a few weeks ago, everyone was happy to see the white stuff go away. Well, mostly go away. There is still a giant pile of snow in the work parking lot from the last time we had the event.

Well, it has returned and I am pretty sure by all the whining around the region that people aren’t happy about the return. I know the schools are not happy about the prospect of having to call more snow days. Some of them ended up missing nine days of school. So, far, I haven’t heard of any closures (at least my kids).

So, today, only Olaf and Frosty are happy about the weather. The rest of us…we will survive.

Derailed

Posted on March 6, 2019 by backuphill

accident disaster steam locomotive train wreck

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Yesterday was all about “changing directions” since what I expected to be doing was different than what I actually ended up doing.

Today, well, today is just plain derailed.

Fever.

Sore throat.

Headache.

Body aches.

Didn’t sleep well last night.

Yeah, sick day all day. There might even be one tomorrow.

This is not what I had planned and it isn’t going to help the productivity.

The train left the station this week, but it certainly didn’t get very far.