Fred Posner dot com

Good evening everyone…. long time no speak. How you been? Really? Great…

Well, I had been using WordPress with Fat Freddy Says for a while now and enjoyed it so much, that I thought it was time for an FISPosner.com makeover. So… welcome home Posner Family! (Can’t you just hear Ty screaming it now?)

The new blog will have some more features than the other blogger version I’m really happy with WordPress.

We know that Sinatra— hell, the whole Rat Pack— put’s me in a good mood. Why? Who fucking knows; but that’s neither here nor there. A while ago I stumbled on Sirius Satellite Radio, thinking it would make the trip to Fort Lauderdale go nicely. After all, how many years can you listen to Jimmy’s box set?

– Start Digression –
I bought my first brand new vehicle in 94. A Ford Ranger (named Bubba, Forrest’s black friend) that was everything I dreamed of—and more. It had a 6 disk CD changer, which after having a tape player that worked almost never, was something I had only imagined. The first day I brought Bubba home, I put Jimmy Buffett’s 4 disc box set in CD slots 1 – 4 and to this day (even with a different vehicle), slots 1 – 4 are Boats, Ballads, Bars, and Beaches.
– End Digression –

So anyway, after listening to the box set for the last 13 years, I decided to add something new to my trip—and this was Sirius. Well, in the last 13 years I’ve also come to appreciate the Rat Pack and truly enjoy kicking back a stogie (with a bourbon) and having good ol’ Dean, Sammy, or Frank in the background.

Why bring this up? Sirius is launching the Seriously Sinatra channel, which is great news to me. I’ve mostly kept the Buffett channel (Margaritaville) and The Coffee House in the background during the day and switch to Jazz at night (or just good songs like on “The Pulse”). But now with the Sinatra channel, it may just make working from the office even nicer.

There was a time when I loved phones… stories have been told of my parents and family walking blocks out of the way just to avoid a payphone (and a NYC payphone is still one of my most prized possessions). That being said, I can think of nothing that stresses me more than the sound of my once favorite object.

Who knows… maybe in the future, the sound of a ring will bring happy thoughts instead of the cringe that reacts instantly.

5 years ago, if someone said that I’d be buying an Espresso machine, I would have called them an idiot. I never liked coffee. The taste used to make me dry heave and other than yogurt, was one of my most hated flavors.

But, as we get older, we try new things. Perhaps it was my love of tiramisu. Maybe it was just the dire need of caffeine. But regardless, Fred has developed a taste for Espresso. Funny though… I don’t like a regular brewed coffee.

How much do I like Espresso? Well, there’s a new machine sitting in my kitchen that’s already brewed me 3 cups.

I bought me a cheapo model… but one that would be a decent cup of Espresso and in the long-run, tremendously cheaper than going to Starbucks. Sure it’s a steam model, but it uses real coffee (not pods) and tasted pretty good.

After spending a few weeks with my family in SoFla, I returned to the abode in Gainesville to find that Dish Network had dropped my NBC. Dropped. All gone.

Now, I had chosen the America’s Everything plan which was supposed to be all available channels and also paid extra for my local channels and the “super stations.” So why drop it?

Well, according to Dish Network:

A district court judge issued an injunction requiring DISH Network to shut off so-called “distant network” channels no later than December 1, 2006. Only about seven percent of DISH Network’s 12.46 million subscribers received Distant Network Programming (which includes ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX broadcasts that originate from outside your community).

My response… “bullshit.”

Gainesville has no local NBC channel. The cable company here broadcasts the NBC channel from Orlando and why would they be able to provide for me NBC while Dish Network not? Simply put… money.

So… now the dish is gone (thanks to Joe) and my house looks much bigger without the huge raincatcher on it.

And now since I’m getting my Internet through Cox Cable, I’m transfering my Bellsouth number to Voip Internet Phone Service. I’m going to end up saving 250.00/month.

So I guess the new exchange update made a little issue with admin accounts. Oh well… hopefully will get it to work tomorrow. Took a break from the laptop and bought a new compact flash card for the Canon. Love it. Much faster and with the new reader, working with pictures may become fun again. Tested the flash card with a pic of century tower.

Well this has to be a record… 12 days into the Hurricane season Mr. Alberto is knock-knock-knocking on Gainesville’s door. Generally, hurricanes don’t hit Gainesville with a lot of wind. The problem here, of course, it that Gainesville floods like a mother– and to top it off, we lose power on a strong thunderstorm (city owned electricity).

In a city where trimming a tree is akin to sacrificing virgins, a good storm can throw limbs and trees all over the place. Since a lot of power is still above ground, when we lose a tree, we lose power.

Anyway, got my gallon’s of drinking water, a full tank of gas in the truck (and motorcycle), and got me a new flashlight. Hopefully, it will be all for nothing and just results in a day without school.

At dinner tonight, I was asked a lot of questions regarding Federal Judges. In random order, please enjoy this information for your trivial needs.

Number of Current Federal Judges: 1,700

Salaries:
Federal Trial Judge: $145,000.00
Appellate Judge: $153,900.00
Supreme Court Judge: $178,300.00
The Chief Justice: $186,000.00

Judges are allowed to supplement (or increase) their income by teaching. They can earn up to $21,000.00 (maximum) from teaching.

The constitution does not allow the President or Congress to lower the salary of a Federal Judge while in office. Judges are appointed for life and can only be removed from office by retirement, quitting, or impeachment/conviction by Congress (very difficult).

Tedious day really… work, school (first day), work, oil change, work, work, work.

But… heard Frank on the radio which almost never happens– and to top it off, was one of my favorite songs.

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

So I am going to try out this blogger thing. I have no idea when or how often I’ll be able to post, but what the fuck… let’s give her a try.

Had a good weekend. The J4 Cruisers crew headed down to Ocala to try out a restaurant I had always wanted to try– Bella Luna. We took the long way, and a city 30 miles away was suddenly a 60 mile trip. But, that’s the whole point of a ride isn’t it?

We got to Ocala around 1:30pm or so and to our suprise, Bella Luna wasn’t going to open for lunch until 3. We didn’t feel like dicking around for a a couple of hours– and hey, we were hungry– so we headed across the street and had some steaks. From there it was off to the Ocala Harley dealership where I figured out what my next bike will be.. she’ll be a old police road king… and there’s a 100th Anniversary one that Clemenza and I found that will do just fine. 3 years old… 400 miles… less than 16k.

We took the direct way home and after eating WAY TOO MUCH for lunch I’ve reached an epiphany for weight– and basically it’s just time to reduce Fat Freddy to Fighting Weight Freddy. The transformation would begin today– but, let’s call today tomorrow– after all it’s not good to just quit cold turkey and I really needed some Chan’s tonight to end my eating binges.

Sunday was a work day and I am still very excited about voice over internet. (Did you sign up for voip.com yet????) After working a bit, I donated blood (goal is to hit 6 times this year… I’m on 3) and brought home some Chan’s Chow Sim Sang (mmmmm). I was excited about the series finale of The West Wing, but have to admit I was a little disapointed. Kind of ended with a pffft instead of bang or blow out.

It wouldn’t be Sunday without the Soprano’s. Although, I’m not sure which I look forward to more… Soprano’s at 9pm or talking with Mom about the Soprano’s episode at 10pm. I will say that with Mama and Pop in Italy, watching the Soprano’s just wasn’t the same without the phone ringing as the credits roll.

School starts tomorrow and with luck, it will finally end on August 12th.

Attached is a picture of Clemenza and me from Saturday’s ride.

Welcome to my blog… the FISPosner Blog.

While I try to figure out what I should post, please check out some aspects of my life that are imprtant to me, such as my involvement with Internet Telephone (voip) and eating.