Tank birthday, 55+ years

[twentyleagues]

This Fireclown is a real pain, and I wish their lifespan were not so long. He and his mate are about 35 years old and very annoying, especially when they are spawning, And they are never "not" spawning. I was just looking at my tank and I heard this splashing. The larger one (I'm not sure if it is a male or female) was chasing one of my small yellow clown gobies so much that the gobi kept jumping out of the water and almost made it to the floor.

Clowns are a menace. All clowns!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

it astounds me that you have such cheap prices for your sea critters!! i would go crazy if i could find stuff for those kinda prices!!!

 

[lubeck]

This Fireclown is a real pain, and I wish their lifespan were not so long. He and his mate are about 35 years old and very annoying, especially when they are spawning, And they are never "not" spawning. I was just looking at my tank and I heard this splashing. The larger one (I'm not sure if it is a male or female) was chasing one of my small yellow clown gobies so much that the gobi kept jumping out of the water and almost made it to the floor.

35 years old is an amazing achievement. Are they oldest inhabitants in the tank?

 

[Paul B]

35 years old is an amazing achievement. Are they oldest inhabitants in the tank?

Yes. There are a few gorgonians pretty old but no fish that old.

 

[Paul B]

We decided to go there the day before and sleep in a hotel. I searched the net for a hotel near by. It's not to far from Yankee Stadium.
I find a place 3 miles from the university and "WAYS" said it would take 40 minutes to get there from the hotel.

40 minutes to go 3 miles is normal for the Bronx or anywhere in the New York City boroughs.

I called to make the reservation and got the front desk. I don't think the girl I spoke to went to Fordham.
She was very nice but may have had the IQ of one of the apples on her desk.

She asked my name. I said very slowly "PAUL BALDASSANO". She asked "Is BALDASSANO your first or last name?".

I said Baldassano is my last name and PAUL, like the Saint is my first name.
OK. Spell it.... I asked Baldassano? She said "No, spell Paul".

OK. P A U L. Like the Saint. What Saint?. I said Saint Paul which I could tell went right over her semi empty head.

So I said, "Would you like me to spell Baldassano. She asked "Whats that?"

I replied, "my last name". She said "Oh OK, spell that".

I spelled my name very slowly 3 times. Then I had to spell it phonetically. 3 times.

B, as in ballerina, A, as in the apple in your head, L, as in lunatic, D as in dope and so on.

Then she asked my E Mail which ends in AOL.COM. She asked "Whats that"?

I said My E Mail. She said "Can I spell it?". I said "spell what"? She said "Spell AOL. COM".

I said "Spell what?" She said "AOL.COM". I said, "Thats it."

She said, "What"? I said AOL.COM.
My wife was hysterical and I said it again but she never heard of it. I know no one uses AOL.COM any more but I was here way before the internet was invented and I got AOL and still have it. This girl who seemed to be about 30 never heard of it. She never even heard of ".COM".

So I spelled it very slowly. A O L . C O M

This conversation is absolutely true and if I knew she was such a genius I would have taped this conversation.
And she got a job at the front desk of a hotel that is rated Excellent.

The place was in the biggest dump in the Bronx but it was only 4 weeks old, kind of like this receptionist.

Our Daughter is going next week to get certified as a Lawyer. She passed the bar last year. I really don't like lawyers so I hope she is not going to be a personal injury lawyer because I won't be able to speak to her any more. :rolleyes:

 

[twentyleagues]

We decided to go there the day before and sleep in a hotel. I searched the net for a hotel near by. It's not to far from Yankee Stadium.
I find a place 3 miles from the university and "WAYS" said it would take 40 minutes to get there from the hotel.

40 minutes to go 3 miles is normal for the Bronx or anywhere in the New York City boroughs.

I called to make the reservation and got the front desk. I don't think the girl I spoke to went to Fordham.
She was very nice but may have had the IQ of one of the apples on her desk.

She asked my name. I said very slowly "PAUL BALDASSANO". She asked "Is BALDASSANO your first or last name?".

I said Baldassano is my last name and PAUL, like the Saint is my first name.
OK. Spell it.... I asked Baldassano? She said "No, spell Paul".

OK. P A U L. Like the Saint. What Saint?. I said Saint Paul which I could tell went right over her semi empty head.

So I said, "Would you like me to spell Baldassano. She asked "Whats that?"

I replied, "my last name". She said "Oh OK, spell that".

I spelled my name very slowly 3 times. Then I had to spell it phonetically. 3 times.

B, as in ballerina, A, as in the apple in your head, L, as in lunatic, D as in dope and so on.

Then she asked my E Mail which ends in AOL.COM. She asked "Whats that"?

I said My E Mail. She said "Can I spell it?". I said "spell what"? She said "Spell AOL. COM".

I said "Spell what?" She said "AOL.COM". I said, "Thats it."

She said, "What"? I said AOL.COM.
My wife was hysterical and I said it again but she never heard of it. I know no one uses AOL.COM any more but I was here way before the internet was invented and I got AOL and still have it. This girl who seemed to be about 30 never heard of it. She never even heard of ".COM".

So I spelled it very slowly. A O L . C O M

This conversation is absolutely true and if I knew she was such a genius I would have taped this conversation.
And she got a job at the front desk of a hotel that is rated Excellent.

The place was in the biggest dump in the Bronx but it was only 4 weeks old, kind of like this receptionist.

Our Daughter is going next week to get certified as a Lawyer. She passed the bar last year. I really don't like lawyers so I hope she is not going to be a personal injury lawyer because I won't be able to speak to her any more. :rolleyes:

Its funny, but its not, but it is.

I work at a GMC Buick Dealership we also have a Chevy department. At GMC we do a lot of the service for both stores and have 30 techs. Chevy has a service department but only 6 techs. Chevy is our parts warehouse when we order parts from GM they go to chevy and then to us. If we need a common part its typically stocked in multiples at chevy. Daily I have to explain to someone walking in that the part they ordered online or over the phone is at chevy and was most likely ordered through Chevys website or from one of their parts people on the phone. I usually get the dumb look and "but its a gmc", "yes" I reply "we do most if not all the repairs and chevy is a warehouse". "Ok? but its a gmc". "Would you like me to send my driver to our chevy department to retrieve your part?" ( its in the same lot a couple hundred feet away), "No I want the gmc part I ordered not some knock off chevy one."

We also get the "I need a key fob for my" Dodge/Toyota/whatever non gm vehicle they have. "Did you purchase the vehicle here?" (we do have a used car lot and sell anything they get their hands on) "No I got it from x dodge dealer". "I am sorry we dont have x brand parts here you are going to have to go to that dealership to get what you need". Then they go to management and tell them I am not helpful. So now I just tell them when I can get it and charge them the mark up that we need to make money off it and say it'll be here on x day, but youll have to go to x dealer to get it programed or our service department will "handle" it for you.

(just in case you dont know or understand GM is a parent company of multiple "brands" and 99% of the parts are the exact same with exception to a few body pieces, headlamp assemblies, and any that have a logo on it.)

 

[smitten with ocean life]

im sorry paul. that really does take the cake. funny but not. sadly, how things are now. i think the one that took the cake for me was when i called in to the local janitorial store to buy a dry mop. i asked what size the biggest one was that they sell. the lady said 48. i said ok thatd be inches. she said oh no, its feet. i was speechless for a second and said ma'am it has to be 48 inches. she was adamant it was 48 feet. we went around and around until i finally told her, so do you get a semi truck to deliver the thing??!! thats when it was quiet for a minute and she said oh yeah. i guess its inches....

 

[Paul B]

Twentyleagues, I used to work as a mechanic for an Oldsmobile dealer and I had similar experiences.

Oldsmobils was GM and Toronado just came out. It was the first US front wheel drive car. The parts were exactly the same as Cadillac but if you bought the part for a Toronado at Oldsmobile it was a lot cheaper than if you bought it from Cadillac

 

[twentyleagues]

Twentyleagues, I used to work as a mechanic for an Oldsmobile dealer and I had similar experiences.

Oldsmobils was GM and Toronado just came out. It was the first US front wheel drive car. The parts were exactly the same as Cadillac but if you bought the part for a Toronado at Oldsmobile it was a lot cheaper than if you bought it from Cadillac

I have seen that as well and that is on GM. You gotta keep the Cadillac people thinking their X car is superior to the "cheaper" model without the ivy crown. There is a lot of body panel and interior differences but drive train is typically the same.

 

[Paul B]

Yesterday I wanted to print something on my printer. The thing is the one with the big ink tanks that last for your entire life. It ran for 2 years. I hit "PRINT" and it said, "it has the wrong paper". I have been using that same paper since Carter was President. Then it said something about parameters, then WyFy. In other words, it just didn't want to work so I went and had a large Vodka because I can't deal with these things.

I just want a printer with a big "ON, OFF" switch on the front and a button that says "WORK" and the thing works. I don't want it connected to the internet, I don't want choices of color or black and white, fonts, italics, underline, orientation or anything else.

I just want it to print whatever I send to it, exactly how I send it. If I send it in color I want it in color, if I send black and white, I want it to print in black and white. I don't want any options and I don't want to see a screen. Just on and off and WORK.

No one seems smart enough to make a printer like that. :oops:

 

[smitten with ocean life]

well there you go paul! invent us one! ill be the first to buy!!

 

[Paul B]

So yesterday was an exciting and expensive day.

Our Daughter graduated college over 20 years ago and a few years ago went back to Fordham Law School and yesterday in Manhattan she was sworn in as a full-fledged lawyer.

That part is great. But we had to go into Manhattan to see this big deal 15-minute ceremony.

We now live on eastern Long Island, about 60 miles from the city. It is impossible to park there, so we take a bus. It's called "The Hampton Jitney" and looks like a Greyhound bus.

It was very cold and pouring rain. My wife is handicapped and uses a walker. I help put her shoes on and she wanted to wear these red shoes which I told her (Repeatedly) were no good for that type of day. Due to her MS her foot doesn't fall flat on the ground and the shoes kept coming off after about every 5 steps forcing her to walk with one shoe and I have to get down and try to put the stupid (Inappropriate) shoe back on.

Anyway, we get on the Jitney which costs about 60 bucks. The thing went fine for about 50 minutes, and it was bumper-to-bumper traffic, so we were not getting very far, but we traveled about 30 miles. We are going slow and through the rain and fog I see smoke. (We are in the last seats of the bus) At first I figured it was from all the rain, but now I smell antifreeze. We pull over to the side of the highway, and the driver gets out, and I hear him open the engine hatch in the back of the bus.

That is never a good sign. He gets back on the bus and informs us that it is stuck. He calls for another bus to pick us up, but it will take over an hour to get to us. GREAT.

We all get out of the bus in the rain and I asked the driver if I could see the problem. I figured with my shoe lace and my wife's shoe I could possibly fix the problem. I looked in, and it was a huge diesel engine. Antifreeze was shooting out of the cylinder block and head, so the thing blew a head gasket, which required the engine to be removed. My shoelaces and my wife's shoes were not enough to do the job, so we called a UBER.

We had to walk off the highway and my wife walks very slow, especially with one shoe. The normally 5 minute walk took about 20 minutes to get to a place we could wait for the UBER and we were cold and soaked

The car comes, $80.00. So we get on the bumper to bumper traffic highway and in an hour make it into the city.

We get to the Courthouse and go through the metal detector etc. And meet our Daughter and our Son N Law.

She is all decked out in her red outfit for the swearing in and looks beautiful. WE are very proud of her.

After the ceremony, we took them out to dinner in a Keens steakhouse on 6th Ave. Which opened in 1885.

I don't hardly eat steak even though this is the most famous steakhouse in Manhattan and looked for fish. They had one fish on the menu. Dover Sole which I like until I saw the price.

$70.00 for a piece of fish that looks like flounder. I thought that was a bit much so I went for the cheaper meal of "Giant" shrimp for $42.00. The 5 Giant shrimp were normal-sized small shrimp and they were almost ten bucks a shrimp.

My Son N Law ordered a $160.00 steak.

So it was a great day (almost) even though I could have bought a but load of Copperband Butterflies for the $700.00 + it cost me. Including the ride there

 

[twentyleagues]

So yesterday was an exciting and expensive day.

Our Daughter graduated college over 20 years ago and a few years ago went back to Fordham Law School and yesterday in Manhattan she was sworn in as a full-fledged lawyer.

That part is great. But we had to go into Manhattan to see this big deal 15-minute ceremony.

We now live on eastern Long Island, about 60 miles from the city. It is impossible to park there, so we take a bus. It's called "The Hampton Jitney" and looks like a Greyhound bus.

It was very cold and pouring rain. My wife is handicapped and uses a walker. I help put her shoes on and she wanted to wear these red shoes which I told her (Repeatedly) were no good for that type of day. Due to her MS her foot doesn't fall flat on the ground and the shoes kept coming off after about every 5 steps forcing her to walk with one shoe and I have to get down and try to put the stupid (Inappropriate) shoe back on.

Anyway, we get on the Jitney which costs about 60 bucks. The thing went fine for about 50 minutes, and it was bumper-to-bumper traffic, so we were not getting very far, but we traveled about 30 miles. We are going slow and through the rain and fog I see smoke. (We are in the last seats of the bus) At first I figured it was from all the rain, but now I smell antifreeze. We pull over to the side of the highway, and the driver gets out, and I hear him open the engine hatch in the back of the bus.

That is never a good sign. He gets back on the bus and informs us that it is stuck. He calls for another bus to pick us up, but it will take over an hour to get to us. GREAT.

We all get out of the bus in the rain and I asked the driver if I could see the problem. I figured with my shoe lace and my wife's shoe I could possibly fix the problem. I looked in, and it was a huge diesel engine. Antifreeze was shooting out of the cylinder block and head, so the thing blew a head gasket, which required the engine to be removed. My shoelaces and my wife's shoes were not enough to do the job, so we called a UBER.

We had to walk off the highway and my wife walks very slow, especially with one shoe. The normally 5 minute walk took about 20 minutes to get to a place we could wait for the UBER and we were cold and soaked

The car comes, $80.00. So we get on the bumper to bumper traffic highway and in an hour make it into the city.

We get to the Courthouse and go through the metal detector etc. And meet our Daughter and our Son N Law.

She is all decked out in her red outfit for the swearing in and looks beautiful. WE are very proud of her.

After the ceremony, we took them out to dinner in a Keens steakhouse on 6th Ave. Which opened in 1885.

I don't hardly eat steak even though this is the most famous steakhouse in Manhattan and looked for fish. They had one fish on the menu. Dover Sole which I like until I saw the price.

$70.00 for a piece of fish that looks like flounder. I thought that was a bit much so I went for the cheaper meal of "Giant" shrimp for $42.00. The 5 Giant shrimp were normal-sized small shrimp and they were almost ten bucks a shrimp.

My Son N Law ordered a $160.00 steak.

So it was a great day (almost) even though I could have bought a but load of Copperband Butterflies for the $700.00 + it cost me. Including the ride there

Wow that sounds like a day.

 

[albano]

I think your lawyer daughter, should sue the Jitney company for your fare $ and the uber cost!
…. Hopefully pro bono!

 

[Paul B]

It better be Pro Bono after paying for much of the college. :anguished-face:

 

[smitten with ocean life]

whoa paul!!! what a day!!

 

[Paul B]

The Jitney bus company is giving us 2 free tickets to the city. Our Grand Daughter is in a play or something so we have to go back in a couple of weeks. I hope it's not another adventure. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[snorklr]

I think a quick wrap of duct tape would have solved the shoe issue...not so much the head gasket

 

[Paul B]

The next time I go in, I will bring duct tape, and my entire tool box in case I have to replace the head gasket on the bus. :rolleyes:

 

[Paul B]

This morning like all mornings I went for my walk. It was dark, pouring rain, cold and windy but those conditions don't concern a real Man. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I put on my yellow, full rain gear and set out



I started to see Earthworms and I like to collect them for my fish. I forgot my plastic bag and tweezers to make it easier to pick them up. But being it was cold, I put my hands in my pocket and found that I still had a zip lock bag from last year.

I didn't have a tweezer, but real Men also don't have a problem picking up worms so I collected about two dozen. I could have collected two hundred but this is a couple of months supply and if I get too many they start to croak.

I'm not sure if they starve, get lonely or miss Facebook so I don't want too many.

I got home and woke up my wife to tell her I collected a bag of mud encrusted worms to which she said "EEEEWwwwww, What are you going to do with them?" I told her I put them in her underwear drawer to warm them up before I put them in my worm box.

I will be making my own dinner for a while.