CUAgain

No work for me this weekend. Resting. Processing. Recuperating. Recharging.

I putter. Watching some TV. Listening to music. Reading. Writing. Plotting my next project.

Sunday I manage a nap…and for the first time in days, my dreams don’t wake me in a cold sweat, yelling for people to get down…to run…to get away from the laughing drug dealer who, even as he steps over bystanders’ bodies, just won’t run out of bullets.

The wife sits across from me, reading, occasionally looking up at me. We share a look then…a promise…a reaffirmation…that only intimates can make or understand. Nineteen years and my heart still gives a lurch.

The caffeinated kitten, who now (and seemingly rather suddenly) inhabits a big orange cat’s body, bounds in through the gap we left in the patio door for some fresh air…his collar jangling. He prances up and proudly deposits his latest catch at my feet…a large leaf from the front bushes. It joins the growing pile of similiar prizes he’s left me in the last hour.

He gets some praise and a quick skritch behind the ears and he’s off to his next big adventure.

The Maine Coon is upside down, half in and half out of a bag on the kitchen floor…his natural habitat methinks. He snores.

Bills to pay. Back to work tomorrow. Normalcy.

And yet I wonder…is that okay?

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

I started this week as a juror on what seemed a fairly mundane case.

The prosecution’s case was very carefully put together. He knew his business. The defense had nothing. There was no reasonable doubt. There was no doubt at all. The verdict was inevitable, and even with our diverse jury, quick and unanimous.

And then the other shoe dropped.

The case was far more than it seemed, as we suspected from the extreme care the prosecution had taken with the case, and we discovered for certain during the sentencing phase.

I ended the week with the images of an innocent bystander murdered…caught in a shootout…in full color/motion and from every angle…burned into my head.

It shook me up far more than I can explain.

Yeah. The jaded, world traveling, burly, biker dude.

And I can’t find the damned erase button.

To the defendant…whom we put away for 85 years…may God have mercy on your soul…if you even have one…because surely I have none for you.

And damn you for making me face that fact.

Ride. I think I need to ride.

But I need to vomit first.

And I really, really need that damned erase button.

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

I expect to be out of touch a bit. I’m juror # 5.

Can’t talk about it whilst it’s going on…perhaps later.

Y’all have a good week!

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

A new short:
Only the lonely…or the lost…are about this night.

Precipice

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

UPDATE on this post:

Called the city this morning.

The service guy said, “I’ll check it out.”
The billing lady said, “We can see the usage over the last three months spiked. We’ll adjust the bill.”

Got home from work and it’s fixed.

Gotta love it when it works like it should. Kudos to the city guys/gals!

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Ur…heh…I’m thirsty apparently.

The utility bill came today. In our city, electricity, water, sewer, and trash pickup are all on the same bill. I seldom give it a glance if the $$ amount is in a “reasonable” or normal range for the time of year.

A quick glance.

Wait. What?

This time, it was higher than normal. Just what I need.

Hmmm…a second look tells me somehow we managed to use 16,600 gallons of water! Sixteen. Thousand.

To put that in perspective, that’s about 256,000 glasses of water…or about 450 toilet flushes each day (which you’d probably need to help you get rid of the 256,000 glasses of water). Or perhaps I took a hot shower…with the tap on full blast…for 8 days straight.

Anyway, there’s no way we used that amount…that’s about 5 times as much as we usually use. I knew immediately either they misread the meter or we had a leak.

Oh, and I *knew* we didn’t have a leak…16,000 gallons would make a hell of a mess in the yard AND we’d have water running down the street.

Off to read the meter I go.

Ooops. Well crap.

The meter box (in the ground) is full of water. That’s not a good sign.

It’s near the curb and a storm drain…so the water is seeping down into the drain without ever getting in the yard or on the street. You can’t tell it’s leaking unless you open the meter box.

Gad.

Anyway, the meter is leaking at the connection…on my side of course.

I have to call the city to see if I need to reset (remove/replace) the meter or if they will. Normally you are responsible for any leak on your side of the meter…but this is actually AT the meter and they usually frown upon homeowners digging up the entire meter/meter box.

Too late to call today, and I really don’t want an emergency disconnect tonight, so we’ll have to see tomorrow.

Somebody gets to play in the mud. I kind of hope it’s not me.

16,000 gallons.

Sheesh.

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Let’s make it a good one!

Yep. This changes everything.

As far as movies go anyway…specifically, sci-fi and fantasy.

I’ve said this once before…you young-uns won’t remember when.

In 1977, the original Star Wars hit the big time. Sci-fi movies before it were boring, preachy, and astonishingly stiff, slow, and one-dimensional. Oh, there were some gems to be sure, but overall it was a dismal offering.

When I left the theater astonished and breathless, that day in 1977…I knew that a new standard had been set. THIS…was what I’d been waiting for. In one fell swoop Lucas raised the bar…clean into a galaxy far-far away.

Oh, yes, there were holes in his story…it’s basically a western (most good sci-fi is), but the characters were fairly well developed (even the bit parts) and the worlds and ships were “whole”. You got to see things that weren’t immediately related to the story. The settings became real. The sound, sets, and effects blew past previous efforts so far and so fast as to call what had been the current state of the art, laughable.

Again, you young-uns may not realize…since there have been many good films since using those techniques and technologies…but seriously, Star Wars changed everything.

Avatar does the same. Yep, there are holes to be found in the story…it’s basically a western (most good sci-fi is)…but the characters are complete and the world is astonishingly seemless. The creatures and mechs are amazing and the complete world they flawlessly interact with is flat-out gorgeous.

It’s worth the viewing just to get a gander at the powered armor. Then there’s the ships, horses (sort of), dragons (sort of), and half naked blue-chicks with tails.

Avatar is as much a step up as Star Wars was in it’s day. The bar has been raised again. Cameron blew it clean into the next universe. I can’t wait to see this technology applied to more stories.

It makes me excited to wonder, “What’s next?”

A word about the 3-D. It’s not necessary. It’s done well in this movie…as in, not thrown about just to show what they can do…but the glasses etc still, to me, are a distraction. I’ve seen this movie in 3D and not, and it was just as gorgeous in the non-3D format.

Go see it.

Playing with the new toy…ur…tool…TOOL today.

TOOL.

Wanted to get used to the boom movement/bounce etc…since I haven’t been on a boom truck since my Llamco Electric days…gad…30ish years ago…and that was a squirt boom instead of a knuckle boom…

Anyway, wanted to test it out and practice a bit before trying to use it up against our building on the historic square in Clarksville or the Old Vic, so out to the family farm we went.

My favorite pic:

Flying low (came down to grab the camera). We kept side extension to a minimum today as even though the outriggers were on hard-packed gravel, it’s been REALLY wet. All “way out” extension was done in line with the truck today.

About 80% up…went up 100% but I had the camera by that time so no pic from the ground…

The wife and my nephew looking pretty small:

Decent side view:

Well, ready to work. Just have to get started.

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Y’all make it a GREAT one!