That was the week that was...

...which is to say, not much of a week.

The big company feed on Friday went over well. After the dinner, there was a company meeting regarding plans for 2011. Looks like the company is trying to get back to full strength. We're going to hire another fabricator for the shop (which we need). Also, they'd like to hire a mech engineer type to run the design area (us), which would be good. I've been Team Rimmer long enough. It wouldn't hurt us to have a degreed engineer on staff to check some of the concepts the sales guys get sometimes. I can usually tell by look if a given device will pick up a given load, but it isn't the same as having numbers to back it up. Overall, it looks like we're on the way up. Now, if we can get the brass to pony up for an X-Y plasma cutter so we can cut our own shapes and not send out to have them done, we'll be golden. We figure we could have the thing paid for in 6 months at present rates-and have stuff in ten minutes instead of (at best) 4 hours.

It's been cold here over the past week-no surprise since it's winter. The weather people promised us a blizzard this weekend, which fortunately for the most part failed to materialize. We had plenty of wind, but nothing like the amount of snow they thought. I'm getting tired of the meteorologists going on the news, yammering on about 'DEATHSTORM 2010'. Someday we will get a big storm, and no one will pay any attention. It gets around 0 F out and I have no great desire to go outside in it any more. Winter is a kids' season-all the sledding one can handle, school snow days, and a big cup of hot cocoa at the end of the day. I rather wish I could curl up tomorrow instead of heading off to work. Ah well...

Around the NFL, cold, windy, horizontal snowing days are called 'Bear Weather'. At one time it was perceived that the Chicago Bears had an advantage over their opponents in the cold as they played in it all the time. Evidently no one told the New England Patriots this since they beat the Bears 36-7 this Sunday, and the Bears looked dazed and confused. Could be worse-the Vikings lost a home game since the inflatable roof at the HHH Metrodome collapsed due to snow and wind. The Humpdome looks like a souffle gone bad. Who'd've thought an inflatable fabric roof in a city that gets heavy snow and weather extremes was a bad idea?

TBH rolled in last Friday from a week in KC, all full of database management knowledge. Nice to have her back home.

Today we actually went to the local mall to pick up a few final items for Christmas. Granted, the weather wasn't great-but it wasn't terrible, either-but you could have shot a cannon through there and not hurt anybody. Looks like online shopping might be the death of the shopping mall in the not-too-distant future. There are things one needs to physically go shop for-dress clothes, for example, but for a book or a sweatshirt? Screw it-why bother trudging around for those items?

That about wraps it up for this past week and weekend. Not much to report. Cruising as normal. Hope it's the same for you all.

yankeedog out.