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Timothy S. McTaggart's Archived Blogs Oct-Dec 08

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Merry Day After Christmas, everyone!! Or Boxing Day, be it may. That apparently has nothing to do with boxes or throwing roundhouses at someone who needs to get one, according to Snopes. I will say that there were a heap of boxes in the attic at our house when I went up there this afternoon. After all my pinging, running late and occasional gnashing of teeth, things went quite well for Christmas. I’m still out here at the ranch this evening. So far there have been no historical reports regarding my previous blog. That may be just as well. It is amazingly warm tonight, with the temperature still around 70F. Supposed to get cold tomorrow, and I do plan to do stuff under the house in Menard again, so I will see if that’s viable given how cold it may decide to get. But for now, it is quiet and peaceful out here, as I hear one of our windmills turning in the breeze. It’s just good to get out of San Angelo for awhile sometimes. No offense is intended regarding that, I don’t think. More to report later as I think of it. Once again, best of the ‘Holidays’ to all.

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!! This Christmas Eve has been a bit awkward for me so far. I got behind the power curve and didn't make it to the parents' place yet as I normally do. I was way tired and decided I didn't need to be on the road tonight. I'll hit the road in the morning. But I will see if it's still a good idea to attempt a blog tonight. Only history will tell, but at least this is a safer endeavor. This crazy cough I've had for better than a month has at least subsided a bit. So far there are no further respiratory ramifications from being in the dust under the house from a couple weekends ago. Yes I got under there again after posting my last blog. Got a bunch more done, too. I think I can finish it up this weekend after Christmas, Enashallah. No further gigs with my new band this month. I may actually get to spend a New Year's eve with Nancy without involving any gigs. Gigs pick in January with us returning to Kimbo's on 9 Jan 09 (aforementioned) and then we also go back to Oasis on 16 Jan 09. This would be 'The Night of Yanuary 16th' if you will. Speaking further of music (even if this doesn't qualify in some minds), I did find out that my merged satellite radio company is at least bringing back the disco channel. This was after they got rid of a bunch of music channels when they consolidated their programming last month; the disco channel being one of the casualties. There's been a firestorm of discontent over that and other changes. This was covered in news reports and online postings to forums that I've read. Maybe this was part of a response to address that issue. More later. Since we are in December, the weather has actually been occasionally cold. It's supposed to get up to 73F on Christmas day though. Stay tuned for my next blog, which I'll probably post from the ranch as I usually do during Christmas. In the meantime I wish Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Eid al-Adha, Winter Solstice and other appropriate holidays this time of year to whom all they apply.

I made it back down to Menard this evening after spending about exactly three weeks trying to cough my throat up. It was not pretty and it’s some type of crud going around. I finally went to a doc-in-the box Wednesday a week ago and got drugs and one steroid shot. Finished the antibiotics today, which I’m sure my stomach will appreciate. Although it’s coincidental, I don’t think this crud is directly related to my dusty endeavors under the house from a month ago. I’m hoping to get some more work done in this dusty underside tomorrow before heading back. I got the Christmas lights up on the house this evening and did the grand ceremony of plugging them in. I then had to replace about seven more burnt out bulbs from after I’d checked the strings before putting them up. I’m still trying to decide if I like the LED lights. Haven’t bought any yet. They’d be easier on an electric bill for sure. On my next subject, Miles, James, Monty, Lane and I played a gig at the Oasis exactly a week ago to a light crowd, many of whom had seen us already at Kimbo’s and liked us. Gig went quite well, given the amount of practice we’ve had and my lack of familiarity with the genre of music we’re playing. I had a lot of needed fun, but the exertion was a bit much as I was still recovering from the crud. So the following Saturday was pretty much a down day. Frustrating, but I’m hopefully back to endeavors at the house now. Speaking of frustration, I did however get replies from folks I’d written at Sirius XM radio. This was regarding the changes in channel lineups to consolidate the programming between the two now merged companies. I’m still unhappy about it, especially since their answers were a bit on the glib side. Even worse, I’m noting that a lot of the play lists on channels I do listen to have been dumbed down. I’m hearing the same worn out songs a bunch more and the DJs blab over the song beginnings and endings more than ever. I am considering suspending my subscription for a couple months. I’m not sure what will finally make an impression on the management. With the number of frustrated listeners I have observed making posts on the web, I am not sure how much longer Sirius XM expects to stay in business. Enough of my griping for now. Speaking of trying to improve the music situation, our band is back in Kimbo’s on the 9th of January 09 so if any of you fans are reading this, we expect to see you there. Stay tuned!!

It is a week before 'Thanksgiving Eve' as I call it. Got a gig that night next week with Mile's band 'The Flinchers' at the uncertain place known as Kimbo's Saloon. Haven't practiced much, so we'll be pulling things out of the hat. Should be fun though. We're all pretty much pros. Wish I was a pro on house leveling, but I'm making progress with raising the parts of my house that sunk over the last several years. Sure is a dusty sonofabitch working under the house with two bottle jacks, some wedges of wood and a mallet. Part of the fun was making a new hatch in the floor to get under the house. I ended up putting this hatch in the closet floor under the stairs. This would be the same closet used in 'Hoboken Hollow' (filmed to look like an entrance to a basement stairway) in which Trevor makes his escape. When I measured the hallway floor, I noted that the area around the stairway had sunk nearly three inches! I've gained some of that back but I have at least one full day of work left to get as much of it done as I think will help before sheet rock goes in. There's no way I can get the whole thing level, but at least the floor will be closer to flat. When I emerge from under the house, I get an idea of what the Peanuts character 'Pig Pen' feels like, complete with billowing cloud of dust. Next subject, I am quite miffed with XM Radio (now merged with Sirius) for killing Chrome, the disco channel. Yeah, I know it's stuff a lot of people probably won't admit they listen to, but dammit, it was fun and I miss it. There were other niche music channels that became casualties as well. Further irritating is that the DJs blab more than they used to, overall. I've sent E-mails, made calls and will see what comes of this, after they sort through all the feedback since the changes went into effect last week. What a crock. I think they lost sight of what satellite radio needs to be about. It's further argument to revive my pirate radio station. I'll advise here if I get a response from XM.

I’m sitting tonight in my old house in Menard, after getting electricity back on upstairs in a temporary configuration. This is until the rewiring effort going on downstairs is completed and can then continue upstairs. Electricity is a good thing. I can understand why the Iraqis miss it when it isn’t there. Also, I like my beer cold. The guy we hired to do the electricity is in fact on his way to Iraq to make big bucks doing electricity there. Problem is he didn’t finish the job here, but I will say that was through no fault of his. Now I get to do the honors again finishing up a job a contractor didn’t get done. Last time was the roof. But if you’ve seen my website, I do say that I’m a ‘Jack of Many Trades’. The plan is for the parents to be able to live in the downstairs part, eventually moving off from the ranch. As I’ve always said about this place, I figure it’ll cost about as much to fix it up as it would cost to buy a house. I will have more later on that but now on to the election earlier this week. I will venture that it was the current occupant of the White House that probably cost any Republican presidential hopefuls a fair chance. Add to that this running mate that makes Hillary look good and is apparently geographically challenged regarding the “country’’ of Africa. That was according to Fox News, I believe, which is now trying to make a scapegoat of whoever they can. That was really interesting when I was watching Fox News for a short time on Tuesday evening. I could have sworn that we tuned in a funeral. As I went home that night, I was whistling the song “Winds of Change” by The Scorpions. Well, changes dey be comin’ I guess, but I in fact voted for Obama because I thought he was the best man for the job. It was only when I reflected on this Tuesday evening that I realized that I helped elect the first black person to be Commander in Chief, and I only ask “Why Not?” It is a huge historical first, but it’s also a side story as far as I’m concerned. I still have my Obama/Biden sticker on the van and so far nobody in this Republican territory of Texas has rear ended the vehicle yet. On to another subject, now. I’ve done a couple of gigs now with Mile’s band ‘The Flinchers’, the most recent being for a hurricane Ike benefit at a new club here in town called ‘The Deadhorse’. There were a bunch of bands playing that evening. We finished up our set with a political lamentation song that Miles wrote called “Why did She Turn (Into a Republican).” May still even get some gigs there though. There’s a bit of a story on that song. I’m hoping to break out one or two of my more punk sounding originals with these folks. Wow. So much other stuff to cover too, but I don’t do these blogs nearly as often as I had been doing them. Maybe will catch up on some other stuff soon.

As usual, we wonder what happened to the previous month. I noticed I never even got a blog in September when I went to archive the previous quarter's blogs. It was a bit of a rough month and I was happy to see a new month arrive after that. My friends Kat and Hazen in Galveston scared the hell out of me when they told me that they were not evacuating for hurricane Ike. Turned out they did okay, but had a hell of a mess on their hands. Water and electricity is back on at their house, and the damage control continues. It was interesting seeing the post Ike pictures of the flooded football stadium in Galveston, where I'd helped out a few years ago with some bands for a 'Relay for Life' when invited by Kat and Hazen to sit in on bass. As for music now, I am the current bass player with 'The Flinchers' as of a gig last month where we played for some motorcycle rally. Miles, who is our fearless leader is really glad to have someone on board again as their last bass player had just quit. Since I normally pick up things pretty fast, I think I nearly scared them, but I think they're glad to have me playing with them. I still want to do some other stuff musically, but it was good to be playing a gig again. I also like their originals. Sure needed some healing after the Munky fiasco. More gigs in the immediate future as well. I think I'm good with hanging with these folks for awhile and see what happens. I wish our economy was on as certain a ground as my recovering musician career is. This could still put Obama in the White House, but then he'll have his work cut out for him. Freaking politics anyway. Suffice it to say that I was ready to throw a shoe at McCain during the first debate. Other messes going on at the moment are my poor house in Menard and the computer room at the office. Looking at the mess in fixing up the lower floor in my house, I have plenty of second thoughts on letting the parents do this so as to have a place to live in Menard, but it is getting something done there at least. I just wish this work respected the structure better than it has so far. No electricity upstairs either (spoiled food in fridge was a result) until the new wiring is completed. May take awhile longer. But I did finally get primer on the exposed wood of the back of the house where an addition had been attached. Now if we can get our office sorted out as well. Computer room has new a/c and things are under construction all over the place. As for software, we're still trying to support a shoddy product in regard to AHLTA. It's enough to make one lose his or her religion, but so far I have not done that. Speaking of religion, our new UCC church start is going well and I have been working on a preliminary website for this place. See the list of links on my main webpage for this new church. I could have made this blog entry much longer in describing all the above, but will have to suffice with this for now. Stay tuned.

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