More Snow Pictures

Here are some additional pictures following the big St Louis snowstorm of '08.

Fun Weather in St Louis

March 4 was another interesting weather day in a Winter with lots of interesting weather days. Snow, ice, sleet, rain, single digit temperatures and near-record high temps, often within days of each other. Yesterday took the cake as heavy, heavy snow blasted the Metro area for much of the daytime hours.
Naturally, North County got hit the hardest, with a foot of the white stuff covering everything. I was out in West County at a medical building when the biggie hit. I entered the building about 9:15 a.m., with a little light snow falling and the parking lot wet. When I came out about an hour later, there were 3-4 inches of snow on the ground with more falling at a prodigious rate!
I decided to head for home, normally a 20 minute drive, but with the weather conditions deteriorating rapidly, I pulled into my snowbank of a driveway an hour-and-a-half later.
I think I'm going to hibernate until May.

Sick and Tired

I used to be highly critical of people who didn't vote, or even take a rudimentary interest in politics. Lately, however, I'm beginning to believe they're a lot smarter than I am. For a long time I believed the lies of politicians, only to be disappointed time and again when their true colors surfaced. Now, after all these years, the lies have gotten so blatant, and politicians so detestable, that I've had enough. I'm sick and tired, and as the Chinese proverb says, the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I'm sick and tired of Republicans who claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan, but aren't worth the dirt off Ronaldus Magnus' wingtips. These craven wannabes are the worst type of political opportunists, willing to lie, defame, and mislead the people of the United States in order to attain the positions of power they so crave.

I'm sick and tired of being asked to ignore the troubling positions some so-called "conservatives" take that strike against personal freedom, capitalism, and common decency. We live in a situation today where we're expected to sacrifice our own beliefs and integrity to the whims of political correctness, race hucksters, and pseudo science.

I'm sick and tired of being told that government can solve economic disparities in our society, that Christianity is the root of all evil, and that the United States of America is an imperial power intent on ruling the world. Hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters made the ultimate sacrifice so that others might live in peace and freedom. No nation in history has paid so dear a price for the benefit of others.

I'm sick and tired of attacks on American prosperity and commerce. American businesses drive the entire world economy, and when America falters, the rest of the world sees its standard of living erode. People around the globe can tell how the United States' economy is performing by their own economic condition. If the US were to move toward socialism, as many Democrats (and more than a few Republicans) believe we should, people all over the world will suffer. Who the hell are these socialist fascist bastards to try and steal the prosperity American genius and ingenuity have created?

Most of all, I'm sick and tired of self-appointed "glitteratti" who believe they know best how the rest of us should live, where we should work, and how we should think. I've got more respect for the guy on the garbage truck who handles other people's trash all day than the pretentious East-Coast-Ivy League degenerates who look down their noses at us poor schmucks in fly-over country.

From now on, I'm devoting as much of my time to causes; things like gun rights, the rights of the unborn, respect and support for our military and their families, and charitable causes. Most of all, I intend to actively defend the principles America was founded on--the US Constitution. I'll never get sick and tired of that.

Rants, Raves, and Whatever

The latest round of Winter weather has Daisy the Golden Pest bummed out. It's not that she minds running like a banshee through the white stuff blanketing the backyard, far from it. The real problem is me. I actually like cold weather, but not going outside every 10 minutes to watch Daisy scarf down frozen leaves, chase rabbits, and make yellow snow.
Where's global warming when you need it?

*I am actually on vacation through New Year's Day. All in all, 2007 was a pretty darn good year. Kept my pharma sales job after Abbott Labs purchased my old company (Kos Pharmaceuticals) late last year. My new territory was pretty big, geographically speaking, with a lot of windshield time, but my 2 counterparts were really great, and we kicked butt against our competition and maxed out on bonus money. Just recently, the Company realigned, again, in preparation for the launch of two new meds in 2008. As a result, I'm getting a new territory much closer to home, and my new partner is my old partner from Kos! On top of that, I'm assigned to the sales force that will launch BOTH new products. As I said before, 2007 hasn't been bad at all.

*Fortunately, I was able to get the Christmas lights up before the ice storm/snow storm/sleet/rain/fog/whatever started falling a couple weeks ago. Excuse me, Mother Nature, but are you aware that the first day of Winter isn't until December 22?

*Mrs MercMan and I have really been kicking around the idea of moving out of North County. We've been in the same house now for 32(!) years, and it's probably time for a change. It would be nice to have a garage and an extra bathroom, along with a first-floor laundry room and a place with a more open floor plan. The biggest obstacle to actually moving is where to move to, and overcoming the inertia that comes from being in one place for more than half your life.

I will sign off for now. Daisy the Golden just heard a snowflake fall and urgently needs to go back outside and investigate!

Ahhhhh........Tools!

On Friday, my new Craftsman toolbox arrived via UPS. I already had a rolling cabinet topped with a matching chest, but had run out of space to hold all the additions to my tool collection. So, I ordered a new intermediate chest to nestle between the top and bottom boxes and give me four additional drawers to cram with tools.
As it stands now, my combo stands 6 feet tall and is completely loaded with Craftsman hand tools. The only problem I have now is trying to wheel that behemoth around. Man, what a great dilemma!!

Rainy Days and Sundays....

Poor Daisy! After a busy Sunday morning that included a two-mile walk through Sunset Park, a "Rocket Dog"romp in the backyard that terrified the dogs next door, and a few good woofs at all the other goings on in the neighborhood, she got highly insulted when she was called inside to avoid running through our just-watered tiger lillies. Like the spoiled adolescent she is, she threw herself across our bed and proceeded to put on one of her famous "Puppy Pouts".

Chili Goes Home, Daisy Gets Some Rest!

After 2 weeks of running through "Chinny Village", consuming an entire crop of raisins, alfalfa, and oats, and occupying every waking moment of our Golden Retriever's days, Chili Chinchilla is finally going home to FroggieGirl and Gimlet.
She leaves behind a cloud of dusting bath, enough droppings to fertlize Nebraska, and a traumatized canine who just never understood why Chili had to live in a cage and couldn't come out to play tennis ball chase.
Vaya con Dios, Chili, and remember the 3 rules for surviving North County: Always keep extra ammo on hand, just in case; never look back--something may be gaining on you; make sure the Escalade has plenty of fuel and a primo sound system.
Later!

Chili Goes Into Seclusion!

Well, it had to happen. Chili Chinchilla, tired of all the paparazzi coverage of her vacation on the North County Riviera, has gone into seclusion to protect her privacy. Flinging poo at reporters from her "Wheel of Fortune", the celebrity rodent has withdrawn from public scrutiny.
When reporters attempted to get clarification from Chili's agent, Daisy Doo, the only response was a terse "Woof!".
These pictures were obtained from station K-DOG's own helicopter, "Alfalfa One". Stay tuned to K-DOG for the latest Chili updates.

It's Warm Outside, But It's Chili In Here! Daisy Gives Up.

Chili Chinchilla continues to enjoy her nightly romp through our hallway and its attendant boxes/condos/garages, but Daisy the Puppy has decided Chili's never going to come out and play. Tonight, Daisy just threw herself down on the foor of our living room, heaved a big sigh, and gave up. Poor puppy! Meanwhile, Chili celebrated her night out with a luxurious dust bath that she spread all over the hallway.

Chinchilla Village Keeps Growing! Daisy Keeps Worrying.

Day 9 of the Chili the Chinchilla vacation finds our heroine exploring all the new condos in her village. Meanwhile, Daisy the Puppy keeps a close watch and worries that Chili will soon be taking over the entire neighborhood.

Chili Vists Her Chinchilla Village! Real Estate Agent Daisy Looks On.

Today, we built a "Chinchilla Village" out of a cardboard box (thanks to Abbott Labs), a small box that formerly held pens, and some Zestril (thanks Zeneca) logo cups. She had a blast running through the little maze, and it took forever to round her up to put her back in her cage. Our Golden, Daisy, supervised from the living room and made sure everything was OK. The only downside was that Chili showed her excitement by using the bathroom quite often, which was problematic since the village has no such facilities!

Can Chili Come Out and Play?

Today marks Day 7 of Chili Chinchilla's vacation to North County. She's had a great time dining on our MercMenu of alfalfa, Chin Chow, raisins, and oatmeal, jogging around the 'Chinnie Track" of our hallway, taking refreshing dust baths at the MercSpa, and entertaining our Golden Retriever, Daisy.
Daisy loves to look through the window of the baby gate into Chili's room, and she stares so intently we say she's watching "Must See Chinchilla TV!".
Gimlet and Froggie Girl are due back later next week to collect Chili, but for now she's content to sit back and relax on her first trip to the North Suburbs. The biggest dilemma we face is what Daisy will do for entertainment when Chili goes back home. Probably back to those boring old tennis balls and chewed up slippers!

Daisy, One-Year-Resident of North County!

On Saturday, September 1, Daisy celebrated her first year in her new home. The top photo shows Daisy sleeping by our back door on that first afternoon. The bottom photo is Daisy today, about 65 pounds heavier and much fuzzier.
The past year has been filled with late-night trips outside, lots of chewed-up shoes and socks, what seems like a ton of dog food/treats, and a million laughs. It had been a long interval since our last puppy, and we probably underestimated the activity level by a factor of 10, but Mrs Merc Man and I wouldn't trade it for anything. To all of our friends and family who have helped/supported/just put up with us, we give a hearty Thank You!

How'd I Get So Old?

On Sunday, we had Grandpa Merc Man over to celebrate his 84th birthday. As it turned out, my MercNephews, Chris and Ryan, and Ryan's fiance' Beatriz, also came by to visit. Chris works for MoDot and is stationed in St Louis to work on the Highway 40 redo, and Ryan and Beatriz were in town from Midland, Texas, where they are employed by Haliburton. Ryan and Beatriz will be married in November in Puerto Rico, so best wishes to the happy couple!
Before everybody left, Mrs Merc Man took a picture. That's me in the back trying to peek over everybody. I remember when the boys were just little guys in a crib! How'd I get so old?!

It's Chili Bean!

While Froggie Girl and Gimlet explore the Badlands of South Dakota, Mrs Merc Man and I are Chinchilla-sitting Chili, who is recovering from some scrapes she received in an encounter with another "little friend". Everything's gone pretty well, and Chili seems to have really settled in. Daisy, our Golden Retriever, is fascinated by her new housemate, and spends much of each day peering over the baby gate into the room housing Chili's cage.
Yesterday morning, Daisy piled lots of her toys outside the room in the hope that Chili would come out to play. Apparently, Daisy thinks Chins are just really small dogs, especially after hearing Chili "bark" the little noise Chinnies can make.
Who'd have guessed Chinchillas would like being on vacation?

Rants, Raves, and Whatever

Since I haven't actually been keeping up a weekly column lately, I decided to remove the word "Weekly" from this posting's title. Between work, work, and just not leading a very exciting life, I haven't had enough new things to post about. Then again, maybe it's better NOT to have too much to write about!

*As noted in my last blog, Daisy the Golden is now one year old. She continues to gain energy and stamina in inverse proportion to the loss of energy and stamina suffered by Mrs Merc Man and I.

*The photo accompanying this post shows our garden bench after I replaced all the rotted wood slats. By the time I purchased the lumber (red oak) and new hardware, I think the rebuilt bench cost more than it did to originally purchase, but at least you can sit on it now without worrying about crashing through to the concrete on our patio!

*Our basement waterproofing was completed in June, and except for trying to eliminate all the concrete dust that was stirred up when the work crew jackhammered the basement floor, everything's pretty much back to normal. Our checkbook, however, will take a lot longer to recover.

*Mrs Merc Man and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary on May 25, and Gimlet and Froggie Girl celebrated their first on June 3. Best wishes all around!

*I'll pass another milestone on Monday, July 16. I will officially turn 55, the dreaded DOUBLE NICKEL"! The best part of getting older is that now everybody EXPECTS me to be a crabby old fart. The worst part is that there's nothing you can do about it. Your too feeble to fight it, too tired to enjoy it, and too forgetful to remember it! Wait, what was I talking about........?

Everybody take it easy during the upcoming dog days of Summer. Before you know it, we'll be freezing our heinies off while scraping ice off the windshield, shovelling the driveway, and praying for a warm front. I can't wait!

Happy First Birthday Daisy!

It's Saturday, July 14, and Daisy is celebrating her first birthday. Somehow, she knew it was her special day and got us up at 4:30 a.m. to begin the day's festivities! We finally got her calmed down, sort of, and she went back to sleep until about 'sixish'. I took the no-longer-a-puppy on a nice, 2 mile walk in Sunset Park in Florissant, where she got to sniff every plant, road sign, and telephone pole, as well as visit with another Golden Retriever.
We got home about 8 a.m., and she got her birthday presents from Mrs Merc Man and I, consisting of a new "Air Dog" oversized tennis ball, squeaker-equipped pheasant, and floppy toy in the form of a garbage man named "Mel". She quickly dragged all of them to her couch to add to her collection of toys.
Later today it's a trip to Grandma Gimlet's house for dinner and more fun. Froggie Girl and Gimlet are also coming by, so Daisy will spend her special day with all her 'peeps'!

Zeppelin attacks North County!

So there I was, in my own backyard, playing with Daisy the Golden Puppy, when a strange noise drifted down from the sky. It sounded like a small plane with a lawnmower engine, sort of like a person playing a kazoo. I looked up to see a blimp coming in for a ground run.

I ran to the house, eager to haul out my Remington 30-06' deer rifle and score my first enemy aircraft. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the pilot, when I looked up again I could read "Outback" on the side of the airship. Not having heard anything about an outbreak of hostilities with Australia, I figured it was probably not a threat.

Nevertheless, I'm keeping the artillery close at hand for the next encounter with an unidentified flying object.

Daisy Finds a New Friend

Well, it's Saturday morning and a good day to sleep in, so Daisy Mae Retriever deceided to get us up at 5 a.m. A couple hours later, as I stumbled around the backyard sloshing a cup of coffee, Daisy suddenly became VERY interested in our neighbor's backyard. I walked over to the fence to see a very aggravated possum baring his teeth at our inquisitive Golden. Luckily, both critter and canine decided discretion was the better part of valor and stayed on their own turf. The little possum scurried behind a tree and looked annoyed while I snapped his picture. After that, Daisy and I retreated to the house to leave the marsupial to enjoy his hidey-hole.

This has been an interesting week for dog-watchers on Torero Lane. On Thursday night, the neighbors on the other side of the lot kept us entertained as they tried to extract their dog from his entrapment between the fence and their lawn shed. Somehow, Sky-High, the Potted Puppy, had managed to wedge himself (and I mean WEDGE!) in tightly enough that his owners had to remove a section of their privacy fence to get him out. This all happened at 1:30 in the morning, and of course Sky barked, whined, and screeched the whole time. At least it kept his peeps away from weed and beer for a little while.

As soon as I finish this post, Daisy and I are going to venture another patrol of the backyard. Hey, what's that funny smell coming in thru the open window?

Life in the Windy City

What a difference a few weeks make! Regular readers of this site may remember that the small pharma company I've worked for the last couple of years was purchased by a big pharma company in December 2006. On February 28 of this year, I was informed that I was being retained by the new company. Happy ending, right? Well, not exactly. As part of the transition, I have to be trained on the 2 new products I'm picking up, so I'm stuck in Chicago for 3 straight weeks. In contrast, if I had not been retained, my severance would have provided me almost a year's salary and health benefits, plus my bonus and unemployment compensation. Sort of an all-expenses-paid 12-month vacation.

So, here I am in the Windy City at a renovated hotel near O'Hare Airport. Unfortunately, the hotel's redo is not quite complete, so many of the amenities of the hotel, like sports bars, restaurants, and gift shop, aren't open. The places that are open have prices like Beverly Hills without the plastic surgeons and implants!

The new company seems to be a little suspect of it's newest employees, which isn't surprising since our products were direct competitors and we hated their guts. They don't provide bottled water during our breaks (too expensive), the breakfasts and lunches they provide are weird perversions of normal food, and we never get a straight answer to our questions. All in all, it's, "Welcome back to Big Pharma".

The worst part is being away from family. You get to a certain point in your life where time with loved ones is more precious than a few extra bucks and a title. Many times a day, I get the almost overwhelming urge to jump the next plane to St. Louis and chuck the whole thing. With only one week completed, I'm sure I'll be getting that feeling a lot in the next couple weeks.

The great thing is that I do get to fly home for the weekend on Friday, God willing and the creek don't rise.

Still, it's not something I should really complain about. Lots of people get separated from their families and end up getting stuck in a war zone, so my complaints are really pretty minor. Still, after spending some time here on Bryn Mawr Avenue, I can appreciate why the Cubs suck. They're from Chicago!
GO CARDS!!!