24's redux!

Made with a good nod to "Die Hard"...one of my favorite movies from the 80s...

Jack Bauer Power Hour...Posters!

Go check 'em out, 'cos Jack told you to!

Roof update!

Even closer! Old roof: GONE! New roof felt down and nailed: DONE!

The roof, the roof, the roof is...going to be replaced!

Roofing supplies have finally arrived! Yay! I'll have a new roof soon!

Hmmm...Bauer must be using his styles...

...on the oil executives! Keep it up, Jack!

Despite Jack being on the case again...

...the price of gas continues to go up...

Jack Bauer has a problem...

BTW, the exploits for last night's episode are recapped here.

JACK BAUER POWER HOUR HAS RETURNED!

Okay, my favorite action show has returned for a new season! God bless you, Fox!

Yay! Tick, tock, tick, tock...or is it bleep, bloop, bleep, bloop...

Anyway, over on Dave Barry's blog, Dave posts realtime updates as the show goes, and his dedicated readers..er...followers...er...yeah, whatever, post comments along with him, as the show progresses. Hilarious as hell. This is how I'm setup as I watch the show:

SPOILERS BELOW! BEWARE!!!

By the end of the first 10 minutes, President Palmer...

...has ceased to be a going concern on the face of the planet.

Shortly afterwards, he's joined in the afterlife with...

...Michelle Dressler. Which means that...

...Tony can't be far behind...but he does manage to survive. And, also, Chloe...

...is chased down as well, but gets away with enough time to call...

...Jack, who now has to come out of hiding...and save the world...again.

KICK ASS!

The one plot point that I don't get...("ONLY ONE?!?!" you're probably asking yourself)...is why former President Palmer would entrust a secret regarding national security to a crazy woman whom no one would believe. He surely had to be smarter than that...right? RIGHT?!?

What I'm looking forward to in 2006

Now that 2006 is here, I'm going have my expectations set. This is what I expect the year to provide for me. Yes, I'm demanding and unrealistic in this regard. ;)

MOVIES

There are many movies coming up in 2006 that I'm eagerly anticipating (in no particular order):

• Miami Vice - I really enjoyed the series, and can't wait to see what they do with it on the big screen. It's also being done by the series' original creator...Michael Mann. I've seen the trailer, and I'm pumped.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Loved the first movie, can't wait to see the second and the third. Johnny Depp stopped the box office curse for pirate movies, and he's going to do it again.
• X-Men 3 - I'm iffy on this one...I like the franchise overall. I'm not a comic book person, but it's been hugely enteraining overall. However, the key creative elements behind the first two movies moved onto other projects...so...we'll have to keep our claws..er..fingers crossed.
• Superman Returns - Lots of debates with the wife over this one. This movie looks fantastic. It's going be fantastic. And it's STILL going to have Marlon Brando as Superman's father. Just wait. Huge hit.
• V for Vendetta - Natalie Portman's new venture. I'm hoping she can act better...finally...because I believe she has incredible talent...just has had horrible directors.
• Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - Great first one, cool trailer for second one...this will be good for the entire family.
• Mission: Impossible: III - Yes, the title is correct. This time, J.J. Abrams (of 'Lost' fame) writes/directs. I think he can bring some real potential to this franchise. Wait and see!
• The Da Vinci Code - Never read the book, but the recent trailer made me want to do so, and I will, before I see this movie. I'll be a band-wagoner on this one. Tom Hanks will nail it.
• Cars - Pixar's next. 'nuff said.
  

No Harry Potter for 2006, sadly...it's slated to be released in 2007.

TV

• 24 -Jack's back! After doing the Bruce Banner walk (minus sad piano music) at the end of last season, he's back to stab some more terrorists in the thigh. I'm sure he'll dig up Marwan if he needs to.
  
• Lost - We're midway into the current season, and it's been as good as the first. Keep it going, J.J.!
  
• Battlestar Galactica - Also at the halfway point for it's season, this is probably one of the best shows on TV right now. Everything about it just clicks.

HURRICANES

• I'm not looking foward to any.

PEOPLE/PLACES

• David Gilmour in concert at Radio City Music Hall in April - Got my tickets! Woohoo!
• Europe - Our long planned family vacation to Europe will hopefully become a reality this year!

That's about it for now. In terms of resolutions...cleaning my home office. Gotta get that done.

I think I'll finish in December.

Best...Disaster...T-Shirt...Ever...

Okay, not quite...but still...pretty funny!

New visitors to the lake

While my adjustor was on the CORRECT roof, I managed to catch a few new visitors to the lake.

A sleeping woodpecker. He let me get rather close to him, surprisingly. He was very quiet. And not our typical red-headed woodpecker, either...I'm not sure exactly what type he was.

I'm not sure if this was a comorant/anhinga...because it's neck/head were a light brown-grey in color. The rest of it's body said it was a comorant...but its colorings were different enough that I wasn't sure. But he was very very beautiful!

FEMA, however, has NOT arrived...

*sigh*

(12 days and counting...)

Hallelujah! My insurange adjustor arrives!

October 24, 2005 ~7:00am
Hurricane Wilma hits South Florida
I lose electrcity

October 24, 2005 ~9:00pm
I contact my insurance company to file a claim

October 26, 2005
We get electricity back

October 30, 2005 ~9:00pm
I am contacted back by my insurance company and given my adjustor's name. And that he will call me in a week to schedule an appointment.

November 8, 2005 ~12:00pm
The insurance company calls me back and sets up my insurancde adjustor's appointment for November 14th.

November 14th, 2005 10:00am
My adjustor arrives. At the wrong house.

I get home to meet my adjustor. No one is at my house yet. However, I see a truck in the street in front of my neighbor's house, and a guy is on the roof. My neighbor is not home.

Ever hear a joke that goes like this:
Q: What's the definition of mixed emotions?
A: Seeing your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your brand new Mercedes.

Well, I had the same feelings at the time.

Anger: "I bet that's one of those slimy roofing contractors over there on my neighbor's roof (which didn't need any repair, as they got a brand new roof earlier this year)! How dare he go up on their roof without permission!"

Interest: "Hey, I bet that's a roofing contractor! I wonder if I can get a card, because I need a roofing contractor!"

The guy gets down off the roof, and my adjustor has not arrived yet, apparently running late, even though he called me on his cell phone to indicate he was running early. Owel, might as go over and see what the hell this other guy is up to, climbing on my neighbor's roof and all.

Me: "Excuse me, are you a roofing contractor?"
Him: *looking back at the house he just was on* *looks back at me* "Am I at the wrong house?"
Me: "Are you Chet?"
Him: "Are you Andy?"

Grreeeeaaaaattttt. Mind you, it IS easy to mix up our addresses, so I don't hold it against him. He was professional, and he did go through my house and note everything he needed to note, measure, etc.

For those playing at home, it took 6 days for my insurance company to call me back after my initial claim, and 21 days from the storm before anyone had come to see my house. Supposedly I have another 21 or so days before I see my insurance check. I'll keep you posted.

C'mon...U.S. Army...come enter my property already!

Y'know...I've been waiting for 11 days now...I signed your Right Of Entry form...do your Operation Blue Roof job and finish covering my roof!

This is an interesting form to sign, although most wouldn't figure it that way. The U.S. Government...particularly its army, is prohibited form being mobilized against it's citizens. Operation Blue Roof is run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, so you basically have to sign a form giving the U.S. Army the right to enter your property and do this work.

Heck, it's interesting to me, anyway...

Signs of...the storm...

This USED to be a beautiful, tree-canopied road in Miami Lakes. Now...tons of open sky.

No license plate. But 'Hurricane Relief' stenciling on back. Good enough for me.

Another large stand of trees, down, in a tangled mess.

FEMA? NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOooOoOoOOOOOOO!!!!

Torn screens, downed bushes, roof tiles blown off or lose...

Crap. My roof is worse than I thought.

*sigh*

One larger hole, and some thin smaller holes. The larger hole is apparent above, and the smaller holes are a thin line where you just see light peeking though near the bottom.

Great.

Atleast I think my tarp is covering them already...

And the cleanup continues...

Again, Miramar really shines...keeping their citizens informed about where to go for help...

I feel for the poor bastards in the corner units here. You see, someone plowed through the fence some months ago, and they only had it repaired probably 30 days before Wilma came through. Now it's down again, and everyone driving by gets to see into their backyards...again...

More Wilma aftermath...with gas...

From the same intersection that had the blotch in the center...the empty boxes from the flares. Seems they made provisions for getting the flares here, but not for cleaning up after them...

Yet another dip in the price!

Wilma cleanup and repairs...

More Wilma photos...

This photo shows you a few different things: 1) the conditions of the streets, 2) a downed fence on the right, 3) a house that STILL has it's shutters up (a fire hazard after a storm, as you can't get out of your house) and finally 4) a blue-roofed house in back. Common sights down here.

And you'll pass lots of trucks hauling away debris...

This was somewhat unexpected. The maleluca trees have been falling over. It appears that the trunks die somewhat quickly, and are losing their ability to stay up. I'm glad I don't have any near my house! Also another fire hazard, with all this dry material.

This is an intersection very close to my house. It just got power back on Sunday. Notice the big white splotch on the ground in the middle of it? That's where all the flares were at night as the police helped control the flow of traffic...

And a house near mine, complete with it's FEMA blue roof.

So, what OTHER show do I like?

24
(No new episodes until January 2006)

I've been addicted to 24 since it's first episode, just after 9/11. I watched it with a good friend of mine (Hi, Sparky!) while we were both on business in St. Louis, and it blew us away. Wow.

In case you care to ask, here's how I think each season ranks:
1) Season 2 - Nuclear bomb (Best Season Ever)
2) Season 1 - Presidential Candidate threatened
3) Season 4 - General Mayhem with Marwan (almost my #2 choice...it's that close!)
4) Season 3 - Bioterrorism threat. *yawn*

Can't wait for January, to get more "Jack Bauer Power Hour"!