Affairs of the heart

Poor young son. The girl of his dreams whom he just took to the Winter formal has tossed him for another guy. And she even used the dreaded 'we can still be friends' line on him. Man, they learn early! He was very sad over the weekend but not so much today. He's young and resilient. I offered him a song download to ease his pain and that cleared up any lingering sadness. He's already being philosophical about his change in romantic fortunes and realizes that being out of the dating game means more funds for video games.

That's my boy!

Not bragging, but...

It was 78F and sunny today. It was so nice I cut the front yard grass and washed the Jeep just to celebrate. I hope it isn't too cold and snowy where ever you may be.

Fisherman's Paradise

Los Angeles has a river. This is a surprise to many since most don't associate dry L.A. and a river. For those who know L.A. and have seen the concrete lined Los Angeles river, this is what they see and think of:
A concrete channel full of slime and graffiti and trash and sometimes a Terminator on a motorcycle.








Occasionally mutant ants are spotted in the river bottom and the giant sewer tunnels.











Some of the river actually has a bit of life in it.






A several mile stretch actually is alive. Lucky for me this is the area that my place of work backs up to. And this brings us to the story for today.

There are actually things besides dead bodies and trash in the water. There are fish in there, some of them pretty good size. They are some sort of carp and they come right to the edge of the water to eat the scum that sticks to the concrete. I almost had a heart attack the first time I saw these things that looked like something from a Hammer monster movie skulking at the water's edge.

Recently there have been people fishing in the river. I don't know if it is hard times or a fishing derby or what but there can be several fisherman at a time set up on the concrete in their folding chairs drowning worms (or probably dissolving worms considering how polluted the water probably is) and looking like fisherman do except they are fishing in what is essentially a giant open air storm drain. So, here they are in the middle of the city, smack in the middle of the notorious Frog Town (kind of like Toon Town but for Hispanic gang members; can you imagine a swaggering gang banger saying "Yo dog - I'm a Frog Town gangster!" The other bad guys would be laughing so hard they wouldn't be able to hold their Glocks sideways to shoot at them.) within ear shot of the 8 lane Golden State Freeway roaring by, thinking "Well I may not have a job and baby needs shoes but at least I can fish here" when they hear someone yelling at them. What should they see but A Game Warden! A game warden in the middle of the city on the bank of a open storm drain? A game warden demanding to see their fishing licenses?! These fishermen are doing the city a favor pulling the mutant carp out of the radioactive chromium laced sewer fouled water before the fish can grow big enough to attack City Hall and knock the place flat like the Martians did in 1954.

Strangely enough 3 of the 5 fishermen had licenses. The other two got busted. I got tired of watching the drama from my parking lot and went back to work.



(BTW I borrowed the pictures from the internet)

So, how hard was it raining?

It was raining so hard on Saturday when I was driving to drill along the I5 that one of the underpasses was flooded to the top of the concrete center divider. Fortunately for me it was on the north-bound side and I was headed south. A Caltrans truck was sitting in the water drowned out and traffic was sitting backed up to the next exit down the road. When I got to the base I parked in my usual spot which is a grassy field. I could see that it was under water but I didn't realize how much until I stepped out and water was past my ankles. I decided to find another place to park and pulled forward to make a half circle and get back to the road. I didn't get far before I was stuck but that is why I have a Jeep! I simply pulled the lever into 4WD and motored on out. I then saw the CSM's SUV sunk to the frame with his right front tire sunk to the hub. Guess the ground was a bit soft! I offered to pull him out but he declined and had an off-road forklift (bet you didn't know these existed!) yank him out. One of my soldiers then buried a stake truck in about the same area so the same forklift yanked him out too. At least it wasn't snowing!

Are you Dutch?

So, for some reason folks have frequently asked Mrs. Grouch what country (besides the U.S. of A.) she hails from. She and I are from Pittsburgh PA which some might think is a different country but those would be people from Brentwood or Beverly Hills or Malibu and they don't count for a single whit, so there. Anyway soon after we were married someone asked the Mrs. "Are you Dutch?" which busted us both up. That became a catch-phrase for us. Since then people will occasionally accuse her of being Dutch or sometimes German, except for when we lived in Germany. They knew she was American despite her talent for the German language. It must have been her Pittsburgh accent that gave her away. Last night the mother of Young Son's girl friend stopped by the house when returning Young Son from her place. I think he has moved in with them and is only humoring us that he is still living at Grouch Estates. She met the Mrs. for the first time and exclaimed "What a lovely Irish lilt you have!" I was upstairs resting in bed and heard this and almost fell out of bed in amazement. I finally figured out what has happened. She and I are both of German/Irish heritage as are many people in our part of Pennsylvania. The 'Dutch' and now 'Irish' accents are merely her heritage struggling to burst free and express itself in this age of diversity and multiculturalism. I on the other hand have not displayed any sudden urge to sound like an extra on 'Combat' or Paddy from the auld sod. My heritage instead displays itself in unreasonable German stubbornness (but without the engineering prowess of my Deutchland ancestors) and an Irish temper (but sadly without the mellow singing voice of an Irish tenor). I think Mrs Grouch got the better deal if you ask me.

P.S. Young Daughter told me that people ask her if she is English even though she was born in Maryland. She did visit the UK with the Air Force but I don't think that counts for absorbing an accent so I don't know what is going on with all of this foreign sounding talk but as a Grouch I don't like it!

Another week and more fun

Sunday was a bit of an interesting day. First we led off with driving lessons for young son. He learned that it is possible to lay rubber with an Aztek. This is part of the lesson we hope not to repeat. Other than that it went pretty well. Later I traveled to the L.A. zoo to meet someone to do a bit of covert wheeling and dealing in the parking lot there (this was the half-way point for both of us). While stopped at an intersection I got bumped from behind. I got out and saw a ratty looking mini pick up and a scruffy driver. I ordered the other driver to follow me to the side of the road. I thought he'd take off but he didn't. Surprisingly there was no damage to the back of the Jeep. I asked the guy if he had a license or insurance to which he replied loudly 'illegal, illegal!' He wasn't referring to the nature of my question but rather that since he is in the country illegally he felt no need to follow any other laws of this fine nation. Lucky for me that there was no damage to my vehicle so I let him go. A guy I work with was rear ended by another illegal on the freeway. Same situation, no license no insurance, oh well. His son who was riding a motorcycle was hit by yet another illegal with no driver's license and driving someone else's car. The owner has insurance but said the person took it without permission so no insurance coverage. What is wrong with this state! These people are encouraged to come here and then protected once they are here. I have zero sympathy for them.

Yesterday started the preparation for the dreaded 5 year interval colonoscopy administered today. Drinking a gallon of horrible stuff in 5 hours is a lot harder than one might think. Plus no eating except for jello. Today the actual procedure was done and over with in about two hours. The best part of the ordeal is getting to eat again today. Yea!

The new job looks more and more like it will happen by March 1st. Still a few hurdles to clear including the investigator calling my boss - Once that happens the process is pretty much irreversible. Last week I was informed by my other boss that I and the two ladies that work with me are being relocated to corporate HQs in Pasadena. I do not want to do that for many reasons including a more difficult commute, less privacy, the destruction of the cohesion of the VSD group (my operation) smaller office....I could go on but I'm hoping that the new job happens and I can avoid the move to Pasadena.

More later..

Obamamaniacs in the dumps

I read today in the Los Angeles Daily News that supporters of President Obama are disappointed and disillusioned. It turns out that he cannot in leap tall buildings in a single bound, fly like a bird, or stop speeding locomotives with his brute strength. It has been revealed to the Obamamaniacs that Mr. Obama is a (gasp) politician! And further, this pol from Chicago is a master at deal-making! (double gasp). These folks are so shaken by this according to the article (read the whole thing here) http://www.dailynews.com/politics/ci_14273572 that they are visiting their shrinks to discuss their sadness over the turn of events. According to the reporter some of the clients of a valley psychologist are" ...expressing unhappiness over their unmet expectations of change under Obama." What, we haven't had enough change in our lives yet since President Obama has been in charge? I can't take any more change! I've got two issues here with the poor Obamaweenies mentioned in this article:

1. They are boo-hooing that their unreasonable and immature 'expectations' haven't been met after one whole year. I bet they were never told 'no' as children and always given a participation award for every activity too. No wonder they're unable to handle reality.
2. They are going to a psychologist to cry about their disappointment over Obama!? Are they serious??? This leads me to two more issues:
a. Who has a psychologist on retainer except well off liberal weenies in West Hollywood, Brentwood, and Bel Air? Raise your hand if you do. I didn't think so.
b. Who else but democrat weenies would go to a shrink when they are disappointed and let down by a political figure! Can you feature a conservative disappointed with John McCain or Sara Palin going to a shrink because they were disappointed by them? Of course not! They would go to the shooting range, or bowling, or the corner bar and down a couple shots-and-a-beer and voice their opinion loudly and get red in the face and then go home and pretty much get on with life.

It's going to be a long 3 more years....