There's a lunar eclipse tonight, and I keep getting up every few minutes to see if it's really started yet. (At 8:38 pm, E.S.T., it hasn't. If you want to see it and you're reading this just after I've posted, go to your window!)

It's cool, but very bittersweet. I remember other eclipses, at other times -- always standing with my father on our lawn at odd times of night (or morning) and watching the sky. This time out, I'll be watching this one on my own, and not just because I'm living in Queens -- this Friday marks the fourth anniversary of my father's passing.

So, Dad, this one's for you. I hope you've got a good view, wherever you may be...

After a mild rebuke from my boss yesterday about my lateness issues, I found myself late yet again this morning. The cause this time? I needed to stop and buy deodorant -- I ran out of my house so fast, I forgot to put it on.

Shit!

The universe threw me a favor, though, as my boss didn't come in herself until after I barrelled into my office, threw off my jacket and started my computer. I tried not to pant and puff too obviously.

I was doing some reading on my couch this evening, when I heard a fire truck. It started out off in the distance, but then got suspiciously closer...then closer...and then I could hear the truck's motor running and it didn't seem to be going anywhere. "Oh, hell," I thought, "what's going on?"

As I was getting off the couch, I heard other sirens getting closer and closer, too. I booked over to my window, to see one ladder truck parked in front of the apartment building across the street and several other fire trucks, of various types, pulling into my block.

I didn't see any flames shooting from anywhere, nor smelled any smoke, and the firemen seemed to be quite calm. What stopped me from going back to my couch was the neighbors across the street, all suddenly appearing in their windows to see what was happening. It looked like a group puppet show, with everyone popping in and out of their windows to take a look. I had to resist the impulse to wave "hi" (it being their building that was, like, potentially on fire and all).

It must have been a false alarm, because after about three minutes, all of the fire people left, and my neighbors popped back into their domiciles, safe and sound. I just wonder if the people across the street spotted me, or anyone else in my apartment building, doing the same thing they were...

This is the best. Picture being this poor guy -- he's only 20! -- and eating, say, some Doritos and a beer, and having search & rescue show up at your door?

Craaaazy, man.

UIM has no answering machine! UIM has NO answering machine! UIM has no ANSWERING MACHINE!

No!
Answering!
MACHINE!

Friends, neighbors, and perfect strangers (especially if you're cute), I regret to announce that commenting on this site will be a lil' bit different from here on in. I've been hit with spam, and not just a little -- a lot. A ton. A whole fucking bunch.

And I'm pretty tired of this shit cluttering up my site.

The new rules: comments on old entries are now closed. Comments on recent entries are still open, but they're moderated by me -- you won't see them show up here right away, as I need to approve them first.

And if that doesn't work, I'll be switching to registered comments as a next step. In that case, I will need to ask posters to register with Typekey. I'm not doing that yet, as I don't want to force people to have to sign up for any service to comment here -- but I may need to.

Sorry, gang. This sucks!

Some people are offended that Halloween falls on a Sunday this year. They're trying to get it moved to Saturday.

: pause :

We're still fighting in the Middle East, New York City is still at "level orange," we're having problems with the environment, [insert major issue here], and people are getting bent out of shape because Halloween falls on a Sunday?!

Good God!

I'm back from a quick trip to L.A. Had a wonderful time seeing my sis and brother-in-law, meeting some new people, and seeing others that I haven't seen since my last trip (back around Christmas time).

All good, all good, and now I need to exorcise my jet lag -- I've got WORK in the morning!

I'm thinking of nothing but the funny today, gang. And the funny involves these really, really bad album covers:

• What were they thinking?
• This guy has a top ten...
• ...but he couldn't stop at just ten.

Enjoy!

As y'all may know, I've been getting physical therapy for my knees. Ever since I moved to Queens, my knees have really been a problem. I'm in a lot of pain, especially when going up and down stairs -- the fact that I'm in a third-floor walkup, with an elevated subway, isn't helping. Fact is, it's probably the additional walking and stair-climbing that's set them off.

I've hurt my left knee before, many years ago. Back then, it was pointed out that both of my knees track wrong. Your kneecap is supposed to ride in the center of your knee at all times. My knees, however, ride to the outer parts of my knees at certain times. (My PT had me tighten my quad so I could see this for myself. Pretty squicky!)

Long story short, while the PT is helping to strengthen my knees, it's not helping with the pain. An orthopedist visit confirmed that I'm tracking pretty badly, and may have some arthritis, to boot. The doc wants to operate -- orthoscopic to start -- to release some of the tightness and let the kneecap ride where it should. He'd like to begin with the left, since it's the worse of the two. If my insurance approves it, the first step is a CAT scan of my left knee, bent at various degrees -- 0,30,45, 90. And then we'll see -- I want to talk to others about this, probably get a second opinion. But I'm pretty certain I'll need to get this done.

I know it's minimally invasive, but I fucking hate hospitals and hate the thought of surgery. I've already had major operations for my cleft palate and eyes, and really despise the thought of more. Friends are trying to get me to see this in a positive light, since it is meant to help, so I can go back to doing more stuff. And they're right: it will help in the end, so I can stop gimping around. But it doesn't make me happy for now...