Got a new UPS unit. When I got the box, it wouldn't stand up straight, and wouldn't rest the way the "This Way Up" arrows indicated. There was sloppy packaging tape all over it. Got it out, and the UPS unit was upside down inside it and the styrofoam was smashed. The outside of the unit was beat up as well.

What was FedEx doing with this?

So now I am on the phone to get another replacement, and another box.

And being my other "working" UPS died last Friday, I am now sitting here with three dead UPS units.

Servers here are now on power strips. It's nice.

Chad's dog is not pleased.

Marking possible hiding places for Silent Bob's Punch Out!

Co-worker Nick, our Operations Assistant here is also a reserve cop for Maplewood. He's going on patrol right after work so he brought his uniform in. I promised me he'd put it on before he left. I asked him if he owns anyone on patrol and he promises he owns a *lot* of people. He wouldn't let me wear his kevlar vest at work today, though. He also doesn't carry a gun, but I keep asking him where it is. He doesn't like that very much.

Either way, don't fool around in Maplewood, MN tonight unless you want the ownage from N. Cardinal.

Amazing.

So here's the full story about what happened yesterday: After a day of work on Valentine's day that thankfully didn't feel like Valentine's day, I went out caching with Bill briefly to be first-to-find on a cache in Eagan, MN. As he went back to his fiancee, I joined up with a group of guys that were all "date-less" on Valentine's day. Ends up that half of the group actually had dates, but just were unable to attend due to geographical reasons or had dates that ended up showing up later.

I had a Rouge Dead Guy on tap, a strange English lager I'd never heard of before and a rare find of Liefman's Frombroise Lambic. I didn't want to drink anymore as I knew I would be driving home soon.

When we finally left, I was chatting on my hiptop while driving, per usual, and hit this nasty pothole on my offramp from I-94. What is most disturbing about this is that it is part of the route I take home from work every day. Last week I first saw this pothole and said, "holy shit, that's fucking huge!" I see it and avoid it every day on my way home.

I nailed this pothole with so much force that it sounded like pieces flew off my car and I thought my wheels became instantly unaligned. I was sober and aware, but I think the gloss of drinking in the hours previous prevented me from pulling over. The car seemed to drive fine minus the alignment. I am positive that my hiptop usage had many more times the distraction than the drinking did. I drove the last mile home fighting my car's tenancy to drift to the right. My tire alarm went off. I kept thinking "I am only a few blocks away from home..."

I pull into my driveway and realize I got a flat. It was not undrivable, it just lost a lot of it's air. I e-mail my boss and let him know I will be late tomorrow, as I have to bring the car in to get my flat fixed the next morning.

Ends up the next day after I drop it off and I give them an hour to fix it, they call and tell me that I have two screwed up rims and two tires that are not repairable. $977 bill. I didn't even know I had problems on the other wheel. I don't get the car back until Friday as well.

I called my insurance company and it ends up that they will cover it, minus my large deductable. I can't get a rental car paid for though, and I couldn't get a ride to work. At this point now, my boss IMs me and asks me where the hell I am. A bus ride would take me 84 minutes to one of our client's buildings, and I'd need to get an account rep to pick me up if they were there. I didn't end up getting to work today. Luckily I have a carpool now for the rest of the week.

Tonight, decided tonight to wander down to Molly Quinn's Irish Pub, which is 10 blocks away and read the book I borrowed from Lauren months ago but haven't gotten around to starting yet, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," which is a collection of 7 "Essays and Arguments" by David Foster Wallace. I figure that without my car, this is a good time to focus on some of the other things I've been wanting to do but haven't gotten around to yet. After my second Boddington's, I decided to bookmark and pay my tab.

Moral of story: Don't use the hiptop and drive.

Came up to Annandale, MN just to find a cache that is named after Kim and Bill. Stopped at another cache on the way out that's in some guy's front yard. We then rang the doorbell and said hi.