(Incidentally, I always used to spell it "Hanukkah", but I'll allow that Franny should be the resident expert in the house, so now it's "Chanukah".)
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Happy Chanukah!
Happy Chanukah! I'm not quite late with this, but I'm cutting it close. The Mizz has really enjoyed the celebration this year. He still doesn't really get it, but he's very into candles and presents, so he's having fun. It's been a little confusing for him this year with it spanning across Christmas, but a menorah burning with a lit Christmas tree in the background pretty much defines our family. Maybe next year the Mizz will understand a little better, but until then Happy Chanukah to everyone.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas 2008!
Merry Christmas, everybody! I wish I could be with the rest of my family today, but I'm still very thankful for what I've got right here with me...
Monday, December 22, 2008
Due to inclement weather, Portland will be closed until further notice.
In Portland, we like to complain that we never see any snow. Now we like to complain that the freakin' snow won't stop. We have about a foot so far and it's still coming down pretty strong. Everything is pretty much shut down. Unless you're an EMT or a snowplow driver or a television reporter, there's no need to be anywhere, and no good way to get there. After everybody on the street put our trash cans out last night, they decided that they won't be coming to pick them up until further notice. Although Tri-met was official driving buses on most routes, I watched a guy at the stop outside my house for at least an hour. I don't know if he ever got his ride.
I'm actually enjoying all this. It's easily the most snow I've seen since we moved here, and since everybody is inconvenienced the same, I don't feel too bad about missing work. It's been pretty cold (~20 degrees), so we don't spend much time outside, but it's beautiful, especially since it's mostly been snow and not so much ice lately. Mizz loves playing outside and would stay until he froze to death if we let him. D is not as impressed with the cold, but he loves staring out the window and watching snow fall with me. Our main downfall to being outside is that we don't own much cold weather gear. I dug out old ski pants and gloves for Franny and me, but the Mizz is playing outside in two layers of pants and fleece mittens. We had to borrow a snow suit for D. The Mizz has a pair of snow boots that we picked up somewhere, but Franny and I only have hiking boots and heavy socks. But we're so enthralled with big snow that we go out and freeze anyway.
I noticed not long after we got here that weather reports on the west coast contain much more guess work the back east. In Virginia, we got to watch the weather coming for days before it got to us. Here, we have a dockworker 60 miles west squinting at the horizon, saying, "Weather's comin'." Last weekend, they got it right on Sunday and the snow matched pretty well with what was predicted. For the rest of the week, however, they predicted snow and ice everyday, and pretty much we just got wet roads that steadily improved all week. Most area kids got the week off school, and lots of businesses were closed or limited. Then Friday night, it was snowing, and for the most part, it hasn't stopped since. Now I just heard that we might expect 5 more inches for some new records. The National Weather Service updates/advisories/warnings have been changing every few hours and quite often don't match the last one very well. Now, what was supposed to be rain by tomorrow afternoon has been changed to rain/snow and then more snow. We'll see what actually happens, but for the moment, we're not going anywhere.
The best part though is that we're going to see the first white Christmas I've had in a long time. Christmas lights look so much better in the snow.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Arctic Blast '08!!!
"This just in from our 24/7 Storm Tracker Team Coverage of Arctic Blast '08. We take you live to the corner of 36th and Yada Yada, where, for some reason, Susie the Weather Chick is reporting live from a gas station at 4:30 in the morning."
"As you can see behind me, the station is pretty much empty now, but is was busy last night as people prepared to hunker down for this winter storm. We talked to the clerk inside and he said it was slightly busier than normal last night and that people were buying Doritos to stock up. I want you to see something. Can we pan out and show the truck. [Pan out to see open delivery truck, probably delivering Doritos.] Well he's not there right now, but the driver was wearing shorts! Isn't that crazy? [Pan back to overexcited reporter.] Anyway, we thought we saw a few flakes earlier and we got pretty excited, but as you can see, it's just rain right now. The roads appear to be getting a little slick though. [Pan to show car driving by with no trouble whatsoever.] It's looking like it going to get pretty interesting out here today. Live from a gas station, this is Susie the Weather Chick. Back to you."
"Thank you Susie. Our [big breath] 24/7 Storm Tracker Team Coverage Arctic Blast '08 Storm Coverage Weather Center is just showing rain right now as well, but the National Weather Service forecasts that if the temperature drops below freezing, the rain could turn into sleet or snow and the roads would likely freeze over. In other news, one source reports that if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump it's ass when it hopped."
----------
Seriously, Arctic Blast '08 is what one station is calling our weather. We did have a bit of snow and some ice, but it's hardly as newsworthy as everybody's pretending. It's been raining only for most of the last 20 hours or so and does not look like it's going to be below freezing until this evening, but we're still under a winter weather advisory. For the record, the preceding report was not near as fictional as it should have been. Most of that is only slightly edited versions of what was actually reported.
On the fun side, the few flakes that were dropping yesterday morning were huge (1/8 inch) perfect snowflake shapes. I'd never actually seen snowflakes that looked like snowflakes are supposed to look before. I felt like a little kid for a moment.
"As you can see behind me, the station is pretty much empty now, but is was busy last night as people prepared to hunker down for this winter storm. We talked to the clerk inside and he said it was slightly busier than normal last night and that people were buying Doritos to stock up. I want you to see something. Can we pan out and show the truck. [Pan out to see open delivery truck, probably delivering Doritos.] Well he's not there right now, but the driver was wearing shorts! Isn't that crazy? [Pan back to overexcited reporter.] Anyway, we thought we saw a few flakes earlier and we got pretty excited, but as you can see, it's just rain right now. The roads appear to be getting a little slick though. [Pan to show car driving by with no trouble whatsoever.] It's looking like it going to get pretty interesting out here today. Live from a gas station, this is Susie the Weather Chick. Back to you."
"Thank you Susie. Our [big breath] 24/7 Storm Tracker Team Coverage Arctic Blast '08 Storm Coverage Weather Center is just showing rain right now as well, but the National Weather Service forecasts that if the temperature drops below freezing, the rain could turn into sleet or snow and the roads would likely freeze over. In other news, one source reports that if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump it's ass when it hopped."
----------
Seriously, Arctic Blast '08 is what one station is calling our weather. We did have a bit of snow and some ice, but it's hardly as newsworthy as everybody's pretending. It's been raining only for most of the last 20 hours or so and does not look like it's going to be below freezing until this evening, but we're still under a winter weather advisory. For the record, the preceding report was not near as fictional as it should have been. Most of that is only slightly edited versions of what was actually reported.
On the fun side, the few flakes that were dropping yesterday morning were huge (1/8 inch) perfect snowflake shapes. I'd never actually seen snowflakes that looked like snowflakes are supposed to look before. I felt like a little kid for a moment.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Um...just watch this
This probably doesn't say anything good about me, but this video just about pegs my nerd-meter.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Gobama!
For all my noise last night about our outdated electoral system, it looks like the most popular candidate did manage to win again. Congratulations, President Barack Obama. (I know it's President-elect, but that's awkward.)
This is a weird situation for me. I'm not normally one to wear my political preferences on my sleeve, or at least not to feel strongly about them, anti-W sentiment excepted. But I'm actually happy for the outcome this time. For the first time ever, I feel like I voted for someone that I actually want to see get the job, rather than just the lesser of two evils. I don't pretend that Obama is without flaw, but he's the first politician that actually made me want to vote for him.
I have to admit, however, that after the last eight years, the Democrats would have had to nominate Tom Delay for me to consider voting Republican.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Electoral College Rant Spectacular Extravaganza
I've just been enjoying NBC's SNL Presidential Bash 2008, a collection of presidential skits as well as some new messages from the "candidates". I'm so tired of hearing about this stuff, but the lighter side is enjoyable.
I have been pondering our election system a lot lately. Once again, I'm flabbergasted that what remains the most powerful nation in the world still chooses it's leader with an anachronistic system like the electoral college. This was a weak compromise that barely managed to hold together a loose collection of former British colonies over 200 years ago. In the meantime, the central government has grown immensely in power and citizens essentially have real-time access to information. So why do we continue voting by a system that counts people differently based on where they live?
It seems that lots of people don't really know how the Electoral College works. Everybody is aware of the state map on election night that turns red or blue depending on the winner of that state, and the electoral college vote tally reaching for the 270 that means your candidate won. Most people are aware that there is some mysterious way that more people can vote for you, but you still might not get to be president. Al Gore, especially, is painfully aware of this. (It's happened before too, but not since 1888.) The trouble is that, contrary to popular belief, we are not voting in a national election at all. We are voting in 51 separate elections, the winner-take-all results of which are added together disproportionately to determine who gets to be president.
Your state's number of electoral votes is determined, according to the constitution, by the total of the number of senators and representatives it has. For instance, the most populous state, California, has 55 electoral votes, and the least populous, Wyoming, has 3. So California has approximately 18 times as many electoral votes as Wyoming. Fine, you say, California is much bigger, so it has more votes. However, California has almost 70 times as many people as Wyoming. What this means is that an individual voter in Wyoming has almost 4 times as much say in who get to be president as one in California. Oregon is quite a bit smaller than California, so we only get screwed by about 3 to 1. Yay.
The other problem is that the entirety of a states electoral votes are typically given to the overall winner in that state. That means that maybe more than 50% of a states voters--everyone who didn't vote for the winner--do not count at all in the national picture. Over 50% is correct. Thanks to third parties, the winners in many states have less than half the votes, but they still have more than anyone else.
I have been pondering our election system a lot lately. Once again, I'm flabbergasted that what remains the most powerful nation in the world still chooses it's leader with an anachronistic system like the electoral college. This was a weak compromise that barely managed to hold together a loose collection of former British colonies over 200 years ago. In the meantime, the central government has grown immensely in power and citizens essentially have real-time access to information. So why do we continue voting by a system that counts people differently based on where they live?
It seems that lots of people don't really know how the Electoral College works. Everybody is aware of the state map on election night that turns red or blue depending on the winner of that state, and the electoral college vote tally reaching for the 270 that means your candidate won. Most people are aware that there is some mysterious way that more people can vote for you, but you still might not get to be president. Al Gore, especially, is painfully aware of this. (It's happened before too, but not since 1888.) The trouble is that, contrary to popular belief, we are not voting in a national election at all. We are voting in 51 separate elections, the winner-take-all results of which are added together disproportionately to determine who gets to be president.
Your state's number of electoral votes is determined, according to the constitution, by the total of the number of senators and representatives it has. For instance, the most populous state, California, has 55 electoral votes, and the least populous, Wyoming, has 3. So California has approximately 18 times as many electoral votes as Wyoming. Fine, you say, California is much bigger, so it has more votes. However, California has almost 70 times as many people as Wyoming. What this means is that an individual voter in Wyoming has almost 4 times as much say in who get to be president as one in California. Oregon is quite a bit smaller than California, so we only get screwed by about 3 to 1. Yay.
The other problem is that the entirety of a states electoral votes are typically given to the overall winner in that state. That means that maybe more than 50% of a states voters--everyone who didn't vote for the winner--do not count at all in the national picture. Over 50% is correct. Thanks to third parties, the winners in many states have less than half the votes, but they still have more than anyone else.
Consider for a moment, California again. Say the winner got 51% of the vote and the loser got 49%. The winner gets all 55 electoral votes, and the loser gets squat. Consider the nearly 18 million people that 49% represents who are essentially not counted in the national totals. Now consider that that number equals more people than the 15 smallest states plus the District of Columbia combined. Fair?
This everything for the winner approach also gives rise to the idea of the swing state. Oregon is going to vote for Obama. Nobody really doubts this, which is the reason neither presidential candidate is bothering to visit us or promise us anything. Likewise, Obama doesn't stand a chance in Oklahoma, which means nobody cares about them either. But if you live in Missouri or Pennsylvania or North Carolina right now, demographic oddities mean you get visits every day or two. Not because you really matter more than I do, but just because the campaigns are playing the electoral math game. A change of 10000 votes in Pennsylvania might mean 21 electoral votes, while 10000 votes in Oregon is a footnote. Rather than trying to appeal to the entire country that they are trying to lead, the candidates spend their time pandering the the special interests of specific regions.
But you know what? There's no way this is ever going away. This system is enshrined in the Constitution, and that means it would take a Constitutional Amendment to change it. To pass an amendment, you need 2/3 of the House and the Senate. States representing about 10% of the population (the ones one the better end of the electoral stick), could stop this from happening. On the off chance this happened, you still need 3/4 of the state legislatures to ratify it. This means that states representing only about 5% of the population could stop it. So..., it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
I have many more problems with politics and politicians, but this is what's mainly on my mind right now. I'm sick of voters in Wyoming and D.C. and the Dakotas mattering more than I do. I'm sick of hearing about swing states or red vs. blue. I'm sick of being treated as if I'm irrelevant because my state leans strongly in one direction. I'm sick of voting based on a system designed by people who thought that a black person should only count as 3/5 of a white person. And I'm sick of news media and political junkies getting all hot and heavy about the electoral game without once questioning whether or not it's a good way to do things.
That said, flawed as I obviously think our system is, I'm incredibly happy that I get to vote, and that for the most part, elections are taken as valid and power is transfered peacefully, regardless of the election mess. I'm also happy that I live in Oregon, and thanks to our 100% vote-by-mail system, I've already voted. This means I don't have to worry about it tomorrow. It also means that, since current outstanding voter lists are available to pollsters and campaign staff, I haven't received a political phone call in days. For the rest of you who have to wait, make sure to get out there tomorrow and vote, especially if you want the right to grumble about it later.
This everything for the winner approach also gives rise to the idea of the swing state. Oregon is going to vote for Obama. Nobody really doubts this, which is the reason neither presidential candidate is bothering to visit us or promise us anything. Likewise, Obama doesn't stand a chance in Oklahoma, which means nobody cares about them either. But if you live in Missouri or Pennsylvania or North Carolina right now, demographic oddities mean you get visits every day or two. Not because you really matter more than I do, but just because the campaigns are playing the electoral math game. A change of 10000 votes in Pennsylvania might mean 21 electoral votes, while 10000 votes in Oregon is a footnote. Rather than trying to appeal to the entire country that they are trying to lead, the candidates spend their time pandering the the special interests of specific regions.
But you know what? There's no way this is ever going away. This system is enshrined in the Constitution, and that means it would take a Constitutional Amendment to change it. To pass an amendment, you need 2/3 of the House and the Senate. States representing about 10% of the population (the ones one the better end of the electoral stick), could stop this from happening. On the off chance this happened, you still need 3/4 of the state legislatures to ratify it. This means that states representing only about 5% of the population could stop it. So..., it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
I have many more problems with politics and politicians, but this is what's mainly on my mind right now. I'm sick of voters in Wyoming and D.C. and the Dakotas mattering more than I do. I'm sick of hearing about swing states or red vs. blue. I'm sick of being treated as if I'm irrelevant because my state leans strongly in one direction. I'm sick of voting based on a system designed by people who thought that a black person should only count as 3/5 of a white person. And I'm sick of news media and political junkies getting all hot and heavy about the electoral game without once questioning whether or not it's a good way to do things.
That said, flawed as I obviously think our system is, I'm incredibly happy that I get to vote, and that for the most part, elections are taken as valid and power is transfered peacefully, regardless of the election mess. I'm also happy that I live in Oregon, and thanks to our 100% vote-by-mail system, I've already voted. This means I don't have to worry about it tomorrow. It also means that, since current outstanding voter lists are available to pollsters and campaign staff, I haven't received a political phone call in days. For the rest of you who have to wait, make sure to get out there tomorrow and vote, especially if you want the right to grumble about it later.
(Sorry to geek out on the numbers, but I got on a roll. In case you're interested, my numbers are rough calculations based on the numbers I found on Wikipedia.)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Stupid music in my head
On the road again,
Wish I wasn't on the road again,
Rather be back home with my kids and my best friend,
Wish I wasn't on the road again.
Yeah, I'm on the road working again. It's the first time since D Money was born, so it's an experiment for all of us. I know it's necessary, at least for now, but I still feel like I'm ditching the fam'. I did the best I could for Franny. My folks will be there part of the time, and her folks part of the time, but she'll still have a couple days by herself with two little tyrants demanding the world. Good luck, F. I wish I was there to help you.
I'm back in Montana this time. I've made this trip a few times, but the last was February. It occurred to me maybe half way here that I took off without a map and without looking up any directions. Apparently I've been here enough to find it familiar. I must have been right since I didn't get lost.
The trip to Missoula took about nine hours, and at least it was decent weather. I was worried about 4th of July Pass in Idaho, since I've found poor road conditions there in the past, but all was clear yesterday, so it was pretty smooth. Today I continued on to Bozeman over the Continental Divide. 6,380 feet up if you're interested. The weather wasn't so hot although it certainly could have been worse. It sleeted part of time and I'm sure the pass is pretty icy at night. There's melting snow all day and 20's at night, so I'm sure it gets slick. I guess it's supposed to get more wintery later this week. It is Montana, I suppose.
I did find that the last hour or two in the dark last night was a lot less fun. I knew I had been driving too long when I realized the I was emphatically (and loudly) singing that I am indeed a redneck woman. I was half right anyway. Actually, although I don't even know any Tanya Tucker songs (much less all the words), and I'm hardly the girl next door in my neck of the woods, the song wasn't entirely wrong. I would rather drink beer all night than swig that sweet champagne. I definitely ain't no high class broad. My Christmas lights weren't on the front poor all year, but they did make it to March or April. And most importantly, I can certainly buy that same damn thing on a Wal*Mart shelf half price. Hell Yeah.
It looks like I should drive less and sleep more. Sounds like a plan. Good night.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Nintendo Wii Rocks!
I'll spare the sorry it's been so long, been busy, the economy, the politics, the locusts, whatever stuff. My lack of blogging's not even news anymore. I do still remember how to do it though.
The Nintendo Wii has got to be the best video game system ever. At least that's what you'd have to think from this video. Too lazy to embed, but here's the YouTube link.
The Nintendo Wii has got to be the best video game system ever. At least that's what you'd have to think from this video. Too lazy to embed, but here's the YouTube link.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
My calves are still sore
This weekend, we took the family out for the Providence Bridge Pedal. This is an annual event, in which the city closes half of each bridge for exclusive bike traffic, including the two interstate bridges. This does not amuse drivers, who are stuck with detours and delays all morning. Too bad. Actually, due to the fact that one of our kids only has a plastic tricycle and the other one barely has feet, we chose to do the Bridge Stride instead, which only covers two bridges. I'm not sure how many walkers there were, but there were 18,000 total walkers and bikers. The Mizz rode in the backpack (hence my sore calves), and D rode in the stroller and slept, the lazy bum. Here is a picture of us setting out.
And here we are heading up an off-ramp onto I-405. This felt wrong in more ways than the sign can convey. For an added dose of wrong, marvel at the optical illusion created by the confluence of the dark pad on the backpack, my cargo pockets, and the Mizz's shoes, making my backside look positively enormous. Perhaps I should walk on the freeway a little more often.
Here is a view from the top of the Freemont Bridge. This was pretty cool, since you usually see it at 55 mph, when you are not up there for long and you really ought to be watching the road anyway.
And finally, I don't understand all the fuss about closing Starbucks stores. We can get lattes in the middle of a frickin interstate highway down here. High speed drive-through is the wave of the future.
And here we are heading up an off-ramp onto I-405. This felt wrong in more ways than the sign can convey. For an added dose of wrong, marvel at the optical illusion created by the confluence of the dark pad on the backpack, my cargo pockets, and the Mizz's shoes, making my backside look positively enormous. Perhaps I should walk on the freeway a little more often.
Here is a view from the top of the Freemont Bridge. This was pretty cool, since you usually see it at 55 mph, when you are not up there for long and you really ought to be watching the road anyway.
And finally, I don't understand all the fuss about closing Starbucks stores. We can get lattes in the middle of a frickin interstate highway down here. High speed drive-through is the wave of the future.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Do you agree?
A while back, we were discussing something with the Mizz and we asked him, "Do you agree?" He got a hurt look on his face and responded with, "No, I'm not a gree." So of course, Franny and I take every opportunity to ask him again, while agreeing that we are indeed grees. This does not please him.
However, tonight things changed. I asked him if he was a gree and got a resounding, "YES!" He then proceeded with, "It's 80 grees out! That's a lotta grees!"
I know, I know, I know. My kid said something cute. Probably way cuter than anything any other kid has ever said ever. Franny thought I should share it. I suppose it should say something that I haven't blogged in a month, and this is what I choose to go with. Maybe I'll be a functional member of society again someday, but apparently not yet. For now, I'm just a gree.
However, tonight things changed. I asked him if he was a gree and got a resounding, "YES!" He then proceeded with, "It's 80 grees out! That's a lotta grees!"
I know, I know, I know. My kid said something cute. Probably way cuter than anything any other kid has ever said ever. Franny thought I should share it. I suppose it should say something that I haven't blogged in a month, and this is what I choose to go with. Maybe I'll be a functional member of society again someday, but apparently not yet. For now, I'm just a gree.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July!
I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted anything. I told myself that if I didn't have time to keep current on the stack of bills on my desk, I certainly didn't have time to blog. I don't think I actually got behind on the bills and stuff, but it was all I could do to get everything paid on time, including occasional online payments the day things were due. But I finally got ahead of the critical things and I have a few minutes. Ever since Baby D's arrival, most waking moments have either involved working or taking care of one or both kids. I've been able to watch movies and more TV than I've watched in a year, but only while holding an irritated or sleeping baby. Doing anything involving hands or a brain hasn't been much of an option. But we're getting better at it, so maybe this blog won't die after all.
In the time since I've last posted, I've missed (blog-wise anyway) a bunch of stuff. There were several birthdays, including Franny's and the Mizz's and the actual births of two new nieces. Baby D has started to smile and laugh at me all the time. My boss got back from a 6 week vacation beyond phone-reach. Both the Mizz and D have done numerous funny and/or impressive things. There was Mother's Day, during which my mother was visiting, and Father's Day, during which my father was visiting. The Democrats finally chose which history-making presidential candidate they are going to field. And gobs of other stuff that's escaping my mind at the moment.
Anyway, while the rest of the country is outside blowing their fingers off, I have a little time to myself. The Mizz and I left Franny and D at a 4th of July cookout so the Mizz could get to bed. the Mizz had a big day today (Thomas) and a little nap in the car on the way home, so he wasn't up to partying all night. So it's just me and the internet and a bunch of explosions outside my window. Happy 4th.
In the time since I've last posted, I've missed (blog-wise anyway) a bunch of stuff. There were several birthdays, including Franny's and the Mizz's and the actual births of two new nieces. Baby D has started to smile and laugh at me all the time. My boss got back from a 6 week vacation beyond phone-reach. Both the Mizz and D have done numerous funny and/or impressive things. There was Mother's Day, during which my mother was visiting, and Father's Day, during which my father was visiting. The Democrats finally chose which history-making presidential candidate they are going to field. And gobs of other stuff that's escaping my mind at the moment.
Anyway, while the rest of the country is outside blowing their fingers off, I have a little time to myself. The Mizz and I left Franny and D at a 4th of July cookout so the Mizz could get to bed. the Mizz had a big day today (Thomas) and a little nap in the car on the way home, so he wasn't up to partying all night. So it's just me and the internet and a bunch of explosions outside my window. Happy 4th.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Check out my excuse for not blogging!
OK. I admit that a month is a long time to go without posting, but you have to admit, this isn't too bad an excuse. Welcome Baby D, as of 5/8. Incidentally, that's my old hat he's wearing, from 1970-something. It's a tad small now.
The new guy is pretty awesome. Aside from an early bout of not getting bigger fast enough, he's doing really well. He's pretty easygoing most of the time. He doesn't need to be swaddled much to sleep, and most of his wide-awake times are during the daytime. Feeding is not going as smooth as it should, but he gets away with it by being crazy cute. The Mizz thinks he's awesome, and does not appear to be blaming him for the fact that his world has been rocked. Mizz is always wanting to hug him and look at him and make sure that the light over his bed is turned off so he can sleep. That last one is a really big deal, as the Mizz does not turn off lights without a really good reason.
I've been staying at home whenever the Mizz doesn't have daycare, but that's about to change tomorrow. It'll be Franny's first time dealing with both boys by herself, which will likely be interesting, to say the least. I won't be far away at least, for all that's worth.
There have been all sorts of things I kept thinking I should be posting, but time has usually been monopolized by one or both boys, sleeping, and, when possible, getting other things done that really need to get done, like pay bill and make sure the house doesn't come falling down around us. I even had to pay someone to do a crappy job mowing my lawn yesterday. It had been maybe 4 weeks and looked like an abandoned lot. It pains me to pay anyone to do something I think I should do myself, and especially mowing the lawn, which I don't even mind that much, but it wasn't getting done and it was the only sunny day for a while, so I suppose I'll live.
I can tell by my conversations with everyone that I have a new kid. Not the obvious, "How's the new baby?", or "Do you have any pictures?" Those are expected. I'm talking about discussing cervices and nipple pain with my sisters. I'm talking about strangers asking about water breaking and stitches. I mean, if I haven't offered you details about my wife's intimate parts, you probably don't deserve them. Seriously, the women are the worst. They figure new Dad is totally ready, not only to discuss his wife's private issues, but to hear about their recollections of their kids' births and breastfeeding issues from years ago. I'm having to picture things about my coworkers and customers that are definitely not part of my job description.
Other than the new guy and family issues, I'm pretty disconnected from the world these days. I'm aware that Oregon overwhelmingly voted for Obama, although, since I'm not a registered Democrat, nobody asked me. It's sort of amusing that we got so much attention. Usually, Oregon doesn't figure much in national politics, and after last Tuesday, will probably go back to being ignored. It's odd this year. The candidates are now having to pretend that they give a hoot about issues in Guam and Puerto Rico. Resources and effort well spent, I'm sure.
Speaking of resources, we got our economic stimulus payment, $1,500 from Uncle Sam. "Economic stimulus payment" is a much more palatable term than "throwing money at the problem," or "election-year patronization." Seriously, this it the best way the might of the federal government could be used to help the economy???
Of course, gas prices are going up. And food prices. And the sting at the pump. And the rising cost of food. And GAS! And FOOD! In case you hadn't noticed the price of gas and food rising, the local news shows are careful to work it into every story to remind you that gas and food are getting more expensive. Thanks, news media. You're a big help.
The three day weekend all looks the same to me right now, but I am also aware that it's Memorial Day weekend. I'd like to take a moment to remember the servicemen killed in the line of duty whom we are supposed to be memorializing. However, based on the TV, I think I'm just supposed to take that stimulus money and buy a new mattress. Or maybe fill up my gas tank.
Enough with the rambling. It's time to get back to my duty, which mainly consists of washing dishes and pump parts and bottles and such. See you again, in another month. (Sooner, I hope.)
Friday, April 25, 2008
This baby better come soon (but not TOO soon, of course)
You may have noticed a dry spell on TBHNP lately. That's because we've been nesting our butts off and I haven't had much time to keep current on email, much less contribute to the world outside my house.
Thanks mainly to the frantic hormonal nesting urges of pregnant ladies (I'm not naming names), we've been doing a lot around the house. Some of it was quite necessary, such as finding a place for this new baby to sleep, and cleaning and whatnot. That seems important. The rest was probably not bad stuff, but might not have been as critical. Not critical, but who am I kidding? If it didn't happen now, it certainly wasn't going to happen a couple months down the road. The other stuff has mainly consisted of rearranging things, getting rid of things, and then turning around and buying more things, all at a pace we've never managed before, even when moving.
The rearranging seems pretty straight forward, or should have anyway. We have a three bedroom house, with one room previously being an office/den/guestroom. We toyed around with giving each of the boys his own room and doing something else for an office. Then I took a look at our house and reality sunk in. The best I might be able to do is shoehorn something into the garage, but realistically, that ain't gonna happen. So we settled on putting the boys together in the mid-size room and taking the small one (which was the Mizz's) and making it into a rather cramped office and guest room. Needless to say, the night before some friends were coming to help move furniture, we decided to leave the Mizz alone for the time being since he has seemed somewhat stressed with all that is happening. The current office would become part office/part nursery. The baby will probably sleep in our room in a new bassinet for the time being. We'll revisit the move again in a few months when the baby is ready to move out of our room, or when we want him out, whichever comes first.
The office/nursery is no longer the comforting warm orange it used to be (officially, "terra cotta." I loved it.). It is now a stark white/vanilla/whatever and has baby animals and blocks stuck on the wall. Stark is a little rough, I guess, but it's definitely not orange. Incidentally, this is the first time I've paid someone else to paint my house. It's a weird feeling to me to give someone money to do what I feel I should be able to handle. However, I have to admit that they did in a day what would have probably taken a week. Plus, I hate painting edges.
We also attempted to rearrange the bookshelves around our house, which involved the moving a bookshelf downstairs to replace a baker's rack, which took up temporary residence on the front porch. We both agreed that the book shelf was a little large and oppressive and decided to put the baker's rack back and use the shelf in place of a darker, uglier one. Of course, as soon as the baker's rack was back in place, and the bookshelf was back upstairs and full of books, Miss Prego looks at the rack and says, "I don't know. Doesn't it look too...wiry?" I don't care. It stays.
We've gotten rid of massive amounts of stuff during all this. I've been pretty impressed with us actually.
The reason we even had a bookshelf to worry about is that we got rid of enough books to fill one. That came to six shopping bags and a box. I took these to Powell's Books to see what they might offer me. They gave me $40 for a couple dozen of them. The rest went into a donation/recycling bin, which I assume is the equivalent of sending mangy strays to the humane society. I want to imagine that they went immediately to poor orphans who yearned for Dave Barry's humor and old social work textbooks, but realistically, they'll probably just be next weeks newspaper or Kleenex or whatever. The really depressing thing is that conservatively guessing, they probably cost us a couple grand to purchase over the years.
We've had pretty good luck with Craigslist and Freecycle. We've sold the stuff that we could and been able to give away a bunch of other stuff. Freecycle, especially, has been interesting. In our effort to pare things down, we put our CD's in a couple books and had several shopping bags of empty cases, which someone found useful. We gave away a bunch of old cassettes. We were happy that they ended up going to a guy whose daughter has down's syndrome and has hands that are too small to handle CD's, but who loves music. The most interesting giveaway was the vertical blind hardware. We found that the easiest and cheapest way to replace the vertical vanes that Mizz had damaged on our blinds was to buy a whole new set. I just replaced the vanes, and as such, had a brand new rail and hardware and whatnot that I felt guilty throwing away. We posted it, and in no time, a guys who needed just that found us. Cool system.
We've also become very familiar with Goodwill and Value Village for the stuff that might have value, but which is better for us as a tax break than as a sale. We figured out a while back that, if you keep your donation receipts, the tax benefit at the end of the year is about a wash with what you could get at a yard sale for most things. Plus you don't have to sit around haggling with old ladies over 25 cent t-shirts.
In the midst of our getting-rid-of binge, we've also acquired a few things. There's a bassinet waiting for the new kid. We had to take away the Mizz's bed, since it is actually a convertible crib, and will be needed again before too long. We didn't want to snatch it away from him and give it the the baby right away. So, thanks to Craigslist, he now has a Thomas the train engine bed that he just loves. And thanks to the fact that we have another mattress, we sold the one that came with the bed for almost as much as we bought the whole thing for. Go us. We've also acquired a new (old) filing cabinet and a new dresser. Craigslist has been good.
Anyway, after all this, we're more or less ready for the new kid to arrive. The rooms are almost as set up as they're going to be. We have all the furniture we're going to get. We've moved most of the things that are going to be moved. We've gotten rid of most of the things that are going. Now, our main concern is making sure the Mizz is taken care of when the time comes and trying to enjoy some time together while we can still squeeze it in. And maybe work in some blogging.
Thanks mainly to the frantic hormonal nesting urges of pregnant ladies (I'm not naming names), we've been doing a lot around the house. Some of it was quite necessary, such as finding a place for this new baby to sleep, and cleaning and whatnot. That seems important. The rest was probably not bad stuff, but might not have been as critical. Not critical, but who am I kidding? If it didn't happen now, it certainly wasn't going to happen a couple months down the road. The other stuff has mainly consisted of rearranging things, getting rid of things, and then turning around and buying more things, all at a pace we've never managed before, even when moving.
The rearranging seems pretty straight forward, or should have anyway. We have a three bedroom house, with one room previously being an office/den/guestroom. We toyed around with giving each of the boys his own room and doing something else for an office. Then I took a look at our house and reality sunk in. The best I might be able to do is shoehorn something into the garage, but realistically, that ain't gonna happen. So we settled on putting the boys together in the mid-size room and taking the small one (which was the Mizz's) and making it into a rather cramped office and guest room. Needless to say, the night before some friends were coming to help move furniture, we decided to leave the Mizz alone for the time being since he has seemed somewhat stressed with all that is happening. The current office would become part office/part nursery. The baby will probably sleep in our room in a new bassinet for the time being. We'll revisit the move again in a few months when the baby is ready to move out of our room, or when we want him out, whichever comes first.
The office/nursery is no longer the comforting warm orange it used to be (officially, "terra cotta." I loved it.). It is now a stark white/vanilla/whatever and has baby animals and blocks stuck on the wall. Stark is a little rough, I guess, but it's definitely not orange. Incidentally, this is the first time I've paid someone else to paint my house. It's a weird feeling to me to give someone money to do what I feel I should be able to handle. However, I have to admit that they did in a day what would have probably taken a week. Plus, I hate painting edges.
We also attempted to rearrange the bookshelves around our house, which involved the moving a bookshelf downstairs to replace a baker's rack, which took up temporary residence on the front porch. We both agreed that the book shelf was a little large and oppressive and decided to put the baker's rack back and use the shelf in place of a darker, uglier one. Of course, as soon as the baker's rack was back in place, and the bookshelf was back upstairs and full of books, Miss Prego looks at the rack and says, "I don't know. Doesn't it look too...wiry?" I don't care. It stays.
We've gotten rid of massive amounts of stuff during all this. I've been pretty impressed with us actually.
The reason we even had a bookshelf to worry about is that we got rid of enough books to fill one. That came to six shopping bags and a box. I took these to Powell's Books to see what they might offer me. They gave me $40 for a couple dozen of them. The rest went into a donation/recycling bin, which I assume is the equivalent of sending mangy strays to the humane society. I want to imagine that they went immediately to poor orphans who yearned for Dave Barry's humor and old social work textbooks, but realistically, they'll probably just be next weeks newspaper or Kleenex or whatever. The really depressing thing is that conservatively guessing, they probably cost us a couple grand to purchase over the years.
We've had pretty good luck with Craigslist and Freecycle. We've sold the stuff that we could and been able to give away a bunch of other stuff. Freecycle, especially, has been interesting. In our effort to pare things down, we put our CD's in a couple books and had several shopping bags of empty cases, which someone found useful. We gave away a bunch of old cassettes. We were happy that they ended up going to a guy whose daughter has down's syndrome and has hands that are too small to handle CD's, but who loves music. The most interesting giveaway was the vertical blind hardware. We found that the easiest and cheapest way to replace the vertical vanes that Mizz had damaged on our blinds was to buy a whole new set. I just replaced the vanes, and as such, had a brand new rail and hardware and whatnot that I felt guilty throwing away. We posted it, and in no time, a guys who needed just that found us. Cool system.
We've also become very familiar with Goodwill and Value Village for the stuff that might have value, but which is better for us as a tax break than as a sale. We figured out a while back that, if you keep your donation receipts, the tax benefit at the end of the year is about a wash with what you could get at a yard sale for most things. Plus you don't have to sit around haggling with old ladies over 25 cent t-shirts.
In the midst of our getting-rid-of binge, we've also acquired a few things. There's a bassinet waiting for the new kid. We had to take away the Mizz's bed, since it is actually a convertible crib, and will be needed again before too long. We didn't want to snatch it away from him and give it the the baby right away. So, thanks to Craigslist, he now has a Thomas the train engine bed that he just loves. And thanks to the fact that we have another mattress, we sold the one that came with the bed for almost as much as we bought the whole thing for. Go us. We've also acquired a new (old) filing cabinet and a new dresser. Craigslist has been good.
Anyway, after all this, we're more or less ready for the new kid to arrive. The rooms are almost as set up as they're going to be. We have all the furniture we're going to get. We've moved most of the things that are going to be moved. We've gotten rid of most of the things that are going. Now, our main concern is making sure the Mizz is taken care of when the time comes and trying to enjoy some time together while we can still squeeze it in. And maybe work in some blogging.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Passed out!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Polite Mizzings from a Tired Observer
I'm not one to pretend that most anyone else cares what my kid says or that other kids don't say things just as cute. That's why I don't spend much time touting the fact that the Mizz says the darnedest things. However, the Mizz does sometimes say things that amuse me as he's getting a grip on language and numbers and the world and such. My wonderful wife thinks I should record them from time to time, and this seems as good a place as any to do it.
One thing that's fun to watch is the development of numbers and math. The Mizz counts quite well up to about 15 these days, and can do simple adding and subtracting in his head up to about 5 or 6, which seems pretty cool to me. However, his grasp of what these numbers actually mean is interesting. He knows that he is 2. He's also pretty sure the Daddy is 3 and my old lady really is old at 4. Up until recently, 3 or 4 has stood in to mean "a lot." That's changing, though, as he's becoming more interested in larger numbers. He knows about 20 and 3o and on up, but he can't count to them and they don't seem to have any value to him except as new values for "a lot." He really got me the other day though when he was standing on the scale. He knows that he is about 20. 20 what, he has no idea, but it's 20. (He's actually about 30 lbs. these days, but he's usually hanging on the counter.) I asked him how much Daddy weighed, and he decided that I must be "ten-ty." I suppose I should be offended, as I can only assume ten-ty means the same thing to him as a gazillion.
One of my favorite Mizzizms so far came at a playground. We were working on taking a big step to get over a drainage ditch in the pavement. He looks down with a "What's dat?"
"That's a ditch, buddy."
"A bitch!"
"No, a ditch, with a D."
"Bitch, with a D."
"Not quite, buddy. Ditch, like Daddy."
"Bitch, like Daddy."
"Um, yeah. Something like that. Let's go follow that yellow line over there..."
One thing that's fun to watch is the development of numbers and math. The Mizz counts quite well up to about 15 these days, and can do simple adding and subtracting in his head up to about 5 or 6, which seems pretty cool to me. However, his grasp of what these numbers actually mean is interesting. He knows that he is 2. He's also pretty sure the Daddy is 3 and my old lady really is old at 4. Up until recently, 3 or 4 has stood in to mean "a lot." That's changing, though, as he's becoming more interested in larger numbers. He knows about 20 and 3o and on up, but he can't count to them and they don't seem to have any value to him except as new values for "a lot." He really got me the other day though when he was standing on the scale. He knows that he is about 20. 20 what, he has no idea, but it's 20. (He's actually about 30 lbs. these days, but he's usually hanging on the counter.) I asked him how much Daddy weighed, and he decided that I must be "ten-ty." I suppose I should be offended, as I can only assume ten-ty means the same thing to him as a gazillion.
One of my favorite Mizzizms so far came at a playground. We were working on taking a big step to get over a drainage ditch in the pavement. He looks down with a "What's dat?"
"That's a ditch, buddy."
"A bitch!"
"No, a ditch, with a D."
"Bitch, with a D."
"Not quite, buddy. Ditch, like Daddy."
"Bitch, like Daddy."
"Um, yeah. Something like that. Let's go follow that yellow line over there..."
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
True Portland Kid
Sitting down for dinner, I grabbed one of my favorite beverages, the wonderful juice of the barley. Thanks to fatherhood, that happens far too rarely these days, so I enjoy one when I can. Anyway, the Mizz sees the bottle and pipes in with, "Daddy sing the beer song???" Apparently I quote Homer Simpson more frequently than Julie Andrews.
In case you're unfamiliar, here is the beer song. I can't vouch for the exact right words, but this is the version that the Mizz hears.
Dough, the stuff that buys me beer,
Ray, the guys who sells me beer,
Me, the guy who drinks the beer,
Far, a long way from my beer,
So, I'll have another beer,
La, la la la la la beer,
Tea, no thanks, I'll have a beer,
And that brings us back to, DOH!
In case you're unfamiliar, here is the beer song. I can't vouch for the exact right words, but this is the version that the Mizz hears.
Dough, the stuff that buys me beer,
Ray, the guys who sells me beer,
Me, the guy who drinks the beer,
Far, a long way from my beer,
So, I'll have another beer,
La, la la la la la beer,
Tea, no thanks, I'll have a beer,
And that brings us back to, DOH!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Travelling again, but this time for fun
Last weekend, we wandered up to see my folks on Whidby Island along with my sisters' families for a reunion of sorts before all the new kids show up. The house is nice, but it was only barely able to contain everybody, as there were 15 of us -- 7 kids, 3 pregnant women, my mother, and a bunch of guys doing their best to keep up/tolerate the pregnant lady talk. None of us are new to it or bothered by it any more, but get real, it's not about us right now. Nobody cared how my boobs were doing or how my heartburn was going.
It was a lot of fun though, and the Mizz had a great time with his cousins, especially "Baby J", who lives in Seattle and will probably be "Baby" forever according to my son. Both of them are, for the moment, single children, and are not near as good at playing with others as the 5 from the Colorado household. Imagine our surprise when they turned out to have a great time together, pushing cars back and forth and just generally copying and following each other all over the place. It looks like they're going to be excellent big brothers.
This was probably our best road trip with the Mizz yet. He's finally getting to the point of being able to be entertained in the car for long stretches. He even watched the DVD player that Franny found on sale. Usually, shows don't interest him for very long. This was a pretty easy trip. Soooooo, I guess it's time for another one.
It was good to see everyone and it was good to do it before things get even crazier. Next time there'll be 10 grandkids running around. Based on the current crew, that should be even more fun.
It was a lot of fun though, and the Mizz had a great time with his cousins, especially "Baby J", who lives in Seattle and will probably be "Baby" forever according to my son. Both of them are, for the moment, single children, and are not near as good at playing with others as the 5 from the Colorado household. Imagine our surprise when they turned out to have a great time together, pushing cars back and forth and just generally copying and following each other all over the place. It looks like they're going to be excellent big brothers.
This was probably our best road trip with the Mizz yet. He's finally getting to the point of being able to be entertained in the car for long stretches. He even watched the DVD player that Franny found on sale. Usually, shows don't interest him for very long. This was a pretty easy trip. Soooooo, I guess it's time for another one.
It was good to see everyone and it was good to do it before things get even crazier. Next time there'll be 10 grandkids running around. Based on the current crew, that should be even more fun.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
This dolphin is awesome
This story is just awesome.
Two whales had stranded themselves behind a sandbar along a beach in New Zealand. They repeatedly tried to get over it, but the tide was going out and they were getting ever more distressed and exhausted. It looked bleak enough that conservation authorities were considering euthanasia. Beached whale usually suffocate under their own weight if they're out of the water for very long.
Along comes a white knight, or in this case, a dolphin. It somehow managed to communicate with the whales and got them to follow it down the beach a ways to an opening in the sandbar and back out to sea.
The whales are apparently safe, as there has been no further sign of them. The dolphin was already a popular sight at the beach since he has a history of playing with swimmers, but he's now a hero to boot.
Two whales had stranded themselves behind a sandbar along a beach in New Zealand. They repeatedly tried to get over it, but the tide was going out and they were getting ever more distressed and exhausted. It looked bleak enough that conservation authorities were considering euthanasia. Beached whale usually suffocate under their own weight if they're out of the water for very long.
Along comes a white knight, or in this case, a dolphin. It somehow managed to communicate with the whales and got them to follow it down the beach a ways to an opening in the sandbar and back out to sea.
The whales are apparently safe, as there has been no further sign of them. The dolphin was already a popular sight at the beach since he has a history of playing with swimmers, but he's now a hero to boot.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Poor Risk/Benefit Analysis
$1,000 an hour? Seriously??? Actual total cost so far: ~$80,000 plus one rising political career. Still to be counted: legal fees, one wife (I assume), likely fines, and possible jail time. She's attractive, I suppose. Unless I'm missing something though, I guess I'm just not macho enough to think that sounds like good financial decision making.
Way to go Spitzer. I guess they just do scandals bigger in New York than we do out here in Oregon. Our best stuff seems to be garden variety "fact-finding" trips to Hawaii and the like. There was a state representative that was caught with meth after getting in a fight with her ex's new girlfriend or something like that, but I'm pretty sure nobody outside Oregon cared.
What really gets me about this guy is that he spent 8 years as attorney general of New York catching criminals and corrupt politicians using exactly the kind of financial techniques that nabbed him. She must have really been something.
If nothing else, I guess this gives the media something to get excited about besides pretening to care what voters think in otherwise politically irrelevant parts of the country.
(BTW, I can't really vouch for the accuracy of the picture. Yahoo news says it's the right person, but they lifted the picture from MySpace, so who knows?)
Toddler Manifesto
Franny e-mailed this to me. It came via an e-mail, via an e-mail, via an e-mail, etc., so I don't know where it actually came from. As Franny put it, the Mizz scored a 95, which is an A in anyone's book, but it looks like he still has at least a little bit of trouble to learn how to cause.
If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed, or smeared.
If it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the
floor.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or
table.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without
protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is paper, it must be torn.
If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it IS food, it must not be tasted.
If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
If it is a carseat, it must be protested with arched back.
If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.
I am toddler!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Another Wedding Video (for starters)
After the wedding videos from the other day, I was amused to stumble on this one too:
I was ready to ignore that video until moments later, when I stumbled on the next one. I should be embarrassed about it, but I have a tad bit of unfortunate history with the song, so I just can't help myself. Sad. Very sad... (Tutu should probably not play any more of these. Just sayin'.)
I had no idea how much YouTubers (iPotatoes?) liked this song. Plus they have a lot of time on their hands. There are a ton of these remixes/homages.
That ought to be enough, but if for some reason you need it, here's the original. Does anybody remember when this video was considered too racy for MTV? A little before hardcore gangsta rap and endless spring break specials.
I wonder if I'll ever develop a sense of good taste???
I was ready to ignore that video until moments later, when I stumbled on the next one. I should be embarrassed about it, but I have a tad bit of unfortunate history with the song, so I just can't help myself. Sad. Very sad... (Tutu should probably not play any more of these. Just sayin'.)
I had no idea how much YouTubers (iPotatoes?) liked this song. Plus they have a lot of time on their hands. There are a ton of these remixes/homages.
That ought to be enough, but if for some reason you need it, here's the original. Does anybody remember when this video was considered too racy for MTV? A little before hardcore gangsta rap and endless spring break specials.
I wonder if I'll ever develop a sense of good taste???
Chelada!!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Montana notes
Well, I made it back to civilization, at least compared to Montana. No offense, but there're more people in Portland than in the entire state of Montana. The biggest city in Montana (Billings, I think) still doesn't even have 100,000 people. (I sure hope nobody from Chicago or New York reads this and decides to start spouting statistics at me. I'm guessing that New York probably has more people than the whole Northwest. And don't even get me started on Tokyo and Mumbai and whatnot.)
I actually got back a day earlier than I expected. One of our customers declined service, so I could speed things up a little bit. They never said it explicitly, but I got the idea that money was tight, so they decided to forgo calibration this year. I'm not sure that's such a great plan. It's a little like deciding to do oil changes every 10,000 miles to save a few bucks. You'll probably still spend the money later and then some. It worked out for me though, so whatever.
I make a lot of noise, but I actually like travelling to Montana as far as travelling for work goes. People are friendly. The scenery is beautiful. This time around, there was some winter weather, but nothing that slowed me down. Lots of the rivers and lakes were frozen over, which is always cool. Lots of miles though. I think I put on about 2,400 miles in two weeks and stayed in 8 hotels, which is at least 6 too many. I have to give a shout out to La Quinta Inns though. Their rates are usually decent ($49.00 in Missoula for a single king room), the rooms are equipped well enough, and the beds I've had have always been extremely soft, which is a nice change from the ultra-firm plywood beds of the Super 8's and such.
I did have to be amused with Rock Creek, a little town near Missoula. Much of Montana is ranch land. Part of beef ranching is the annual activity of turning bulls into steers. Long story short -- you drive east from Missoula and see billboards for the Rock Creek Testicle Festival. That's all I'm about to say about that. I'll let the fine folks at TestyFesty.com deal with any further details.
On the way home, I happened to catch a radio story about a barge that hit and damaged the locks at the John Day Dam on the Columbia River last Friday. This is somewhat interesting in its own right, but it struck me because I was driving by the dam when I heard to story not too long after it happened. The lock was actually out of service for a few days, but the Corps of Engineers has since installed a temporary gate to restore passage to vital river traffic. The broken gate is floating on a barge until they can figure out how to make a permanent repair.
If this post sounds little random, it's because it's taken me almost a week to write in tiny bursts. I came back home to a sick toddler and last night was the first real good night's sleep this house has seen since I came home. Fun.
In penance for taking so stinking long, here're some interesting/funny videos that are not remotely related to Montana.
I actually got back a day earlier than I expected. One of our customers declined service, so I could speed things up a little bit. They never said it explicitly, but I got the idea that money was tight, so they decided to forgo calibration this year. I'm not sure that's such a great plan. It's a little like deciding to do oil changes every 10,000 miles to save a few bucks. You'll probably still spend the money later and then some. It worked out for me though, so whatever.
I make a lot of noise, but I actually like travelling to Montana as far as travelling for work goes. People are friendly. The scenery is beautiful. This time around, there was some winter weather, but nothing that slowed me down. Lots of the rivers and lakes were frozen over, which is always cool. Lots of miles though. I think I put on about 2,400 miles in two weeks and stayed in 8 hotels, which is at least 6 too many. I have to give a shout out to La Quinta Inns though. Their rates are usually decent ($49.00 in Missoula for a single king room), the rooms are equipped well enough, and the beds I've had have always been extremely soft, which is a nice change from the ultra-firm plywood beds of the Super 8's and such.
I did have to be amused with Rock Creek, a little town near Missoula. Much of Montana is ranch land. Part of beef ranching is the annual activity of turning bulls into steers. Long story short -- you drive east from Missoula and see billboards for the Rock Creek Testicle Festival. That's all I'm about to say about that. I'll let the fine folks at TestyFesty.com deal with any further details.
On the way home, I happened to catch a radio story about a barge that hit and damaged the locks at the John Day Dam on the Columbia River last Friday. This is somewhat interesting in its own right, but it struck me because I was driving by the dam when I heard to story not too long after it happened. The lock was actually out of service for a few days, but the Corps of Engineers has since installed a temporary gate to restore passage to vital river traffic. The broken gate is floating on a barge until they can figure out how to make a permanent repair.
If this post sounds little random, it's because it's taken me almost a week to write in tiny bursts. I came back home to a sick toddler and last night was the first real good night's sleep this house has seen since I came home. Fun.
In penance for taking so stinking long, here're some interesting/funny videos that are not remotely related to Montana.
Monday, February 25, 2008
I'm still out here
I'm still running around out here on the far side of the Rockies. I'm not exactly absorbing the local flavor this time around. I'm at the 6th hotel in 8 days (Kalispell, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Billings, and now back to Bozeman again). That kind of sucks, in case you're wondering. Moving in and out every morning isn't exactly fun, and it's especially annoying considering the cart full of work crap that I can't leave out in the car due to the fact that it's something like 20 degrees out at night.
Enough with the complaining. I got some sad news from home today. Not personal news, but somebody close enough. Just a reminder that there are people out there with bigger problems than my traveling woes.
I woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning. It wasn't enough to cause any problems, but it looked nice anyway. Despite the snow, Montanans consider winter to be about over. It's above freezing most days, at least in the populated areas, so it's almost business as usual.
I got to go clothes shopping yesterday. I say "got to," but "had to" is more appropriate. As usual, I managed to get away from Portland without something critical. In the past, I've left without sneakers, jeans, work pants, work shoes, underwear, and about every third time, sunglasses. This time, I found that I was the only person in Montana without a coat. I had a raincoat (Go PDX!), but nothing warmer than a fleece (Go PDX again!). Given the weather, that's not so good. I was going to buy a cheap winter coat and donate it to Goodwill when I got home, but I couldn't bring myself to buy something that I already have at home, especially something that hardly ever gets used. My other option was finding something unlike anything I own, but I am inherently thrifty (pronounced "cheap") when it comes to clothes, plus I lack a sense of style. I usually figure I'm pretty safe with something from Old Navy. I may not look stellar, but I probably won't look too bad. Anyway, as luck would have it, it's late in the season, so coats are on sale all over the place. More specifically, some pretty nice leather coats are on sale at Macy's. So, without assistance, I managed both to spend money on clothes for myself and to get something that actually improves my wardrobe. Now if I can only get some decent pants, shirts, and shoes, I can go out with Franny without embarrassing her.
Enough rambling. My laundry's done, so it's time to go.
Enough with the complaining. I got some sad news from home today. Not personal news, but somebody close enough. Just a reminder that there are people out there with bigger problems than my traveling woes.
I woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning. It wasn't enough to cause any problems, but it looked nice anyway. Despite the snow, Montanans consider winter to be about over. It's above freezing most days, at least in the populated areas, so it's almost business as usual.
I got to go clothes shopping yesterday. I say "got to," but "had to" is more appropriate. As usual, I managed to get away from Portland without something critical. In the past, I've left without sneakers, jeans, work pants, work shoes, underwear, and about every third time, sunglasses. This time, I found that I was the only person in Montana without a coat. I had a raincoat (Go PDX!), but nothing warmer than a fleece (Go PDX again!). Given the weather, that's not so good. I was going to buy a cheap winter coat and donate it to Goodwill when I got home, but I couldn't bring myself to buy something that I already have at home, especially something that hardly ever gets used. My other option was finding something unlike anything I own, but I am inherently thrifty (pronounced "cheap") when it comes to clothes, plus I lack a sense of style. I usually figure I'm pretty safe with something from Old Navy. I may not look stellar, but I probably won't look too bad. Anyway, as luck would have it, it's late in the season, so coats are on sale all over the place. More specifically, some pretty nice leather coats are on sale at Macy's. So, without assistance, I managed both to spend money on clothes for myself and to get something that actually improves my wardrobe. Now if I can only get some decent pants, shirts, and shoes, I can go out with Franny without embarrassing her.
Enough rambling. My laundry's done, so it's time to go.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
On the road again
I'm a couple days into what should be my last long work trip for a long time. Montana this time. This is a busy trip. I'll be in 6 different hotels in two weeks this time, although I'm cooling my heels for four nights in Helena right now.
The weather's been beautiful out here. It's a bit cold at night, but it's been totally clear. On my way out on Monday, the night was clear enough and the moon bright enough that I was still able to see all the mountains around me, which makes for much better night driving.
Speaking of the moon, I've monitored the eclipse from my window this evening. It looks like the moon is going to make it. I tried to check out Saturn's rings too, but my little binoculars were no match for the distance.
I'm pleasantly impressed with the radio on the new minivan they gave me for this trip. I've been able to find something to listen to for almost all of the trip, even picking through the mountains. I do admit, however, that at one point I had to choose between James Dobson of Focus on the Family yammering on about something and loud angry music. I went with Metallica, Ministry, and Tool, along with a bunch of more recent bands I'm too old to recognize.
All in all, this isn't too bad a trip, as far as trips go. Montana has some beautiful scenery, and if you have to travel, this isn't too bad a choice. Plus, unlike Hawaii, I appear to be healthy this time. That helps a lot.
The weather's been beautiful out here. It's a bit cold at night, but it's been totally clear. On my way out on Monday, the night was clear enough and the moon bright enough that I was still able to see all the mountains around me, which makes for much better night driving.
Speaking of the moon, I've monitored the eclipse from my window this evening. It looks like the moon is going to make it. I tried to check out Saturn's rings too, but my little binoculars were no match for the distance.
I'm pleasantly impressed with the radio on the new minivan they gave me for this trip. I've been able to find something to listen to for almost all of the trip, even picking through the mountains. I do admit, however, that at one point I had to choose between James Dobson of Focus on the Family yammering on about something and loud angry music. I went with Metallica, Ministry, and Tool, along with a bunch of more recent bands I'm too old to recognize.
All in all, this isn't too bad a trip, as far as trips go. Montana has some beautiful scenery, and if you have to travel, this isn't too bad a choice. Plus, unlike Hawaii, I appear to be healthy this time. That helps a lot.
Just how drunk do you have to be?
This guy drove into a Portland light-rail tunnel Saturday morning. He told police he was on his way home. I guess the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Apparently, he was under the influence. Who would have guessed?
| Driver drives car into MAX Westside lightrail tunnel |
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Bad blogger. No soup for you, one year!
OK. So I obviously made it back to to land of easy internet access, but then I got lazy. Apparently, I spent enough time in Hawaii to catch a case of the "paradise paralysis" that afflicts most people who live there. I keep meaning to post something, but then it would be, "Hey, I can always do it later." A week and a half later -- pathetic. I can't say it's the worst problem to have, though, at least not for us poor souls afflicted with it. People who have to deal with us, well...
Anyway, I'm back in the land of normal working and not being sick and toddlers underfoot and whatnot. I have to say that between being ill and the monsoon rains, this wasn't my favorite trip to Hawaii, but it beats having a day job, I guess.
I missed mentioning Valentine's Day too. I remembered it at home, which I guess is the important part. I used to see it as a cheesy Hallmark day, but Franny and I took it back for ourselves the day nine years ago when she said "Yes." It's still cheesy, but now it's our own special brand of cheesy. The Mizz got a valentine from his cousin with a couple stickers in it. He thought that was great, and keeps mentioning that "I got a card from Baby J." (I'm curious how long his cousin, who is less than a year younger, will continue to be "Baby J.") I feel kind of bad that a card didn't go the other way too, but the Mizz is lucky "he" remembered to get his mother a card.
One other Mizz note. He's brilliant. I was gone just long enough to notice a marked improvement in his speech. He's hardly completely clear or anything, but it's noticeably better than when I left. Plus, he now understands the concept of zero. If he has one thing, and you take it away, he knows that he has zero now. In hundreds of years of civilization, the Romans never even figured that one out, although they might have him beat with the roads and aqueducts and empires and such.
Anyway, I'm back in the land of normal working and not being sick and toddlers underfoot and whatnot. I have to say that between being ill and the monsoon rains, this wasn't my favorite trip to Hawaii, but it beats having a day job, I guess.
I missed mentioning Valentine's Day too. I remembered it at home, which I guess is the important part. I used to see it as a cheesy Hallmark day, but Franny and I took it back for ourselves the day nine years ago when she said "Yes." It's still cheesy, but now it's our own special brand of cheesy. The Mizz got a valentine from his cousin with a couple stickers in it. He thought that was great, and keeps mentioning that "I got a card from Baby J." (I'm curious how long his cousin, who is less than a year younger, will continue to be "Baby J.") I feel kind of bad that a card didn't go the other way too, but the Mizz is lucky "he" remembered to get his mother a card.
One other Mizz note. He's brilliant. I was gone just long enough to notice a marked improvement in his speech. He's hardly completely clear or anything, but it's noticeably better than when I left. Plus, he now understands the concept of zero. If he has one thing, and you take it away, he knows that he has zero now. In hundreds of years of civilization, the Romans never even figured that one out, although they might have him beat with the roads and aqueducts and empires and such.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Gotta build an ark
Greeting from the Big Island. It's soggy to say the least. It's not a surprise that it rains in Hilo in the winter. It's kind of annoying that it's trying to set some kind of record while we're here. We had another epic downpour today, flash floods and all, despite the predicitons that the storm was moving out to sea and things should be quieting down. They're worse at predicting weather here than in Portland, which is kind of weak as it is. I'm aware of the technological limits, but I figure the paid professionals should be able to do at least as well as the tourists looking out their hotel windows. Just sayin'.
Yesterday, we took a drive up the northeast coast of the island just to see something different. We also saw Rainbow Falls right in Hilo, which was very impressive given all the water on the island right now.
We did get up to see the volcano today, including some dry spells so we didn't have to see the whole thing through rain-streaked windows. Even in the rain, it's still very impressive. There is no vantage point on the ground to see the current lava flow. It's over a ridge and is only visible safely from the air. However, the rain soaks into the older flows and the still-hot tube that was carrying lava last year was an obvious steak of steam down the side of the mountain. The stil-hot older flows are the reason it's not safe to view the current active area. It's all fun and games until somebody breaks through the crust and vaporizes in a molten rock puddle.
Incidentally, I once again had to pay for internet access. I'm sitting in Starbucks right now for $10/24 hours of service. Anywhere else, I'd feel totally ripped off, but there doesn't seem to be free access anywhere on this island, so I take what I can get. Even the hotel wants to charge you for plugging into the wall.
Also, congratulations to the Giants. You can tell the kind of fan I am these days. The game had just started when we got on the plane Sunday, and we forgot about it until dinner last night. We had to ask a waitress who won. Very sad. Very disconnected.
Yesterday, we took a drive up the northeast coast of the island just to see something different. We also saw Rainbow Falls right in Hilo, which was very impressive given all the water on the island right now.
We did get up to see the volcano today, including some dry spells so we didn't have to see the whole thing through rain-streaked windows. Even in the rain, it's still very impressive. There is no vantage point on the ground to see the current lava flow. It's over a ridge and is only visible safely from the air. However, the rain soaks into the older flows and the still-hot tube that was carrying lava last year was an obvious steak of steam down the side of the mountain. The stil-hot older flows are the reason it's not safe to view the current active area. It's all fun and games until somebody breaks through the crust and vaporizes in a molten rock puddle.
Incidentally, I once again had to pay for internet access. I'm sitting in Starbucks right now for $10/24 hours of service. Anywhere else, I'd feel totally ripped off, but there doesn't seem to be free access anywhere on this island, so I take what I can get. Even the hotel wants to charge you for plugging into the wall.
Also, congratulations to the Giants. You can tell the kind of fan I am these days. The game had just started when we got on the plane Sunday, and we forgot about it until dinner last night. We had to ask a waitress who won. Very sad. Very disconnected.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Back in action in aloha land
I gave up writing this week for a while. I felt awful and since nobody wants to hear someone just complaining about being sick, I just decided to keep quiet, since feeling awful was pretty much all I was thinking about. To paraphrase all mothers, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Or the governator, "You whine like a girly-man."
Anyway, I've pretty much gotten over whatever it was, although it made for a long couple weeks. Last night I actually went out wandering around Waikiki for a while, and even enjoyed some Cold Stone Creamery.
Other than feeling crappy, I've had a decent stay here. It's been a bit rainy, as is more or less normal this time of year, but other than that, it's been okay. The hotel I got put up in this time is pretty nice; a lot nicer than the Super 8's and such that I normally travel to. I also did pretty good on the car. My boss reserved a compact car, in the hopes that they would be out and have to upgrade me. However, they had several Toyota Yaris's, which wouldn't remotely hold two people's stuff. So I had to upgrade, and the next step up that was available was a full size, which in this case, means a brand new (244 miles) bright red Dodge Charger. I like this car. The only downside is that this island is maybe 30 miles across and choked with traffic, so I haven't really opened it up much. But it's still fun. I could get used to this car. I like it a lot better than the Chrylser 300 we rented that's basically the same thing with different styling. I'm not sure what exactly is different, but this one handles much better and seems to have more kick. I wish Franny had been here for that. She's been waiting to drive one of these for ages.
Waikiki is a trip. The area is pretty much entirely dedicated to tourists. There is a long strip of mainly high-end shops and really nice hotels. Along the strip, there are a number of regular street performers looking for tips. There're the silver guy, a bronze cowboy guy, two different gold guys (one of which wasn't even trying), a robot, a rastaman with a steel drum, a regular stoned guy with plastic buckets, a seriously tarted-up psychic with prominently displayed cleavage, a couple magicians, some missionaries being ignored, a spray paint artist who was wearing a respirator while everyone around him sucked noxious fumes, a group of capoeira performers, and someone calling himself "The Basketball Guy". I don't really know what he did. He was dressed in orange and black and there were several basketballs on the ground, but he just pretty much wandered around the sidewalk in a circle dancing like a mental patient. There are some back streets of not-quite-as-high-end shops and other hotels. Lots of restaurants and souvenier shops and convenience stores and nightclubs and, for some reason, indoor gun ranges. There's a public golf course right behind Waikiki that claims to be the busiest course in the world. I can't verify that claim, but it's had people on it every time I've looked out my window. Waikiki is is oppresively touristy as far as I'm concerned. When I come over here, it's interesting to wander through the mayhem once, and then I'm done. Yesterday was it. It was mildly amusing, but later in the evening, when the prostitutes came out and inquired into my need for "company," I figured I had seen enough and it was time to get out of here. So today I leave.
The best part about it is that Franny is on her way here right now. I'm meeting her at the airport and we're flying to Hilo for a few days of vacation. Without the Mizz. I miss him a ton, but my folks are sitting for a few days so Franny and I can get some much-needed alone time. It's been almost three years and I'm guessing after the second one, it's going to be even tougher.
I know that complaining about the weather is not usually interesting, but Hilo's going to be a bit soggy, even by Hawaii standards. I expected showers here and there, given that we're here during the wet season, but the last week's been extreme for the state. Everybody got excited Tuesday because there was snow on three different volcanos: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island, which is normal, and Haleakala on Maui, which is not. Yesterday, they had epic rains on much of the Big Island. Hilo had 11 inches of rain and there were several major roads closed due to flooding, although it looks like not the ones near our hotel. Another place on the island had over 17 inches of rain yesterday. It's even rained some in the Kona area, which doesn't happen all that much. The entire Hawaiian island chain is under a flash flood watch through today. How's that for timing your vacation? It's supposed to lighten up tomorrow to a more normal level, but I'm not really holding my breath. Oh, well. We'll have a rental car. If there's a sunny spot on the island, we'll find it. And even if there's not, we'll still sleep in tomorrow morning, which will be nice regardless.
Anyway, I've pretty much gotten over whatever it was, although it made for a long couple weeks. Last night I actually went out wandering around Waikiki for a while, and even enjoyed some Cold Stone Creamery.
Other than feeling crappy, I've had a decent stay here. It's been a bit rainy, as is more or less normal this time of year, but other than that, it's been okay. The hotel I got put up in this time is pretty nice; a lot nicer than the Super 8's and such that I normally travel to. I also did pretty good on the car. My boss reserved a compact car, in the hopes that they would be out and have to upgrade me. However, they had several Toyota Yaris's, which wouldn't remotely hold two people's stuff. So I had to upgrade, and the next step up that was available was a full size, which in this case, means a brand new (244 miles) bright red Dodge Charger. I like this car. The only downside is that this island is maybe 30 miles across and choked with traffic, so I haven't really opened it up much. But it's still fun. I could get used to this car. I like it a lot better than the Chrylser 300 we rented that's basically the same thing with different styling. I'm not sure what exactly is different, but this one handles much better and seems to have more kick. I wish Franny had been here for that. She's been waiting to drive one of these for ages.
Waikiki is a trip. The area is pretty much entirely dedicated to tourists. There is a long strip of mainly high-end shops and really nice hotels. Along the strip, there are a number of regular street performers looking for tips. There're the silver guy, a bronze cowboy guy, two different gold guys (one of which wasn't even trying), a robot, a rastaman with a steel drum, a regular stoned guy with plastic buckets, a seriously tarted-up psychic with prominently displayed cleavage, a couple magicians, some missionaries being ignored, a spray paint artist who was wearing a respirator while everyone around him sucked noxious fumes, a group of capoeira performers, and someone calling himself "The Basketball Guy". I don't really know what he did. He was dressed in orange and black and there were several basketballs on the ground, but he just pretty much wandered around the sidewalk in a circle dancing like a mental patient. There are some back streets of not-quite-as-high-end shops and other hotels. Lots of restaurants and souvenier shops and convenience stores and nightclubs and, for some reason, indoor gun ranges. There's a public golf course right behind Waikiki that claims to be the busiest course in the world. I can't verify that claim, but it's had people on it every time I've looked out my window. Waikiki is is oppresively touristy as far as I'm concerned. When I come over here, it's interesting to wander through the mayhem once, and then I'm done. Yesterday was it. It was mildly amusing, but later in the evening, when the prostitutes came out and inquired into my need for "company," I figured I had seen enough and it was time to get out of here. So today I leave.
The best part about it is that Franny is on her way here right now. I'm meeting her at the airport and we're flying to Hilo for a few days of vacation. Without the Mizz. I miss him a ton, but my folks are sitting for a few days so Franny and I can get some much-needed alone time. It's been almost three years and I'm guessing after the second one, it's going to be even tougher.
I know that complaining about the weather is not usually interesting, but Hilo's going to be a bit soggy, even by Hawaii standards. I expected showers here and there, given that we're here during the wet season, but the last week's been extreme for the state. Everybody got excited Tuesday because there was snow on three different volcanos: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island, which is normal, and Haleakala on Maui, which is not. Yesterday, they had epic rains on much of the Big Island. Hilo had 11 inches of rain and there were several major roads closed due to flooding, although it looks like not the ones near our hotel. Another place on the island had over 17 inches of rain yesterday. It's even rained some in the Kona area, which doesn't happen all that much. The entire Hawaiian island chain is under a flash flood watch through today. How's that for timing your vacation? It's supposed to lighten up tomorrow to a more normal level, but I'm not really holding my breath. Oh, well. We'll have a rental car. If there's a sunny spot on the island, we'll find it. And even if there's not, we'll still sleep in tomorrow morning, which will be nice regardless.
Superbowl time
I'm not a huge sports fan, but I do enjoy a good game. And from time to time, the Superbowl turns out to be that game. The problem is that I've never really cared one way or the other about either team in this year's game. However, my father-in-law is a lifelong Giants fan, so I suppose I'll pull for them this time. That would really put Franny in a pickle. She wants her Dad's team to win, but she's required by law to root for the opposite team as me. A real existential sports dilema. I guess we'll just have to root for good commercials, or maybe a wardrobe malfunction. Good luck anyway, Phil.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Hello from O'ahu this time
I've moved on to Honolulu. Actually we got here last night. Yesterday was way too long and I felt awful. I never checked, but I'm pretty sure I had a fever by the time I went to sleep. Sooooo, no update yesterday.
Today was better. I think I'm on the downhill side of this cold finally. I had to work today, but I don't feel near as beat up as I did last night.
Tomorrow's a day off and I intend to sleep as much as I need to feel better. It's not exactly a good use of paradise, but I'm going to be here a while and it won't be much fun like this.
On a good note, the weather looks like it should be pretty good for the rest of the week. I can handle that.
Today was better. I think I'm on the downhill side of this cold finally. I had to work today, but I don't feel near as beat up as I did last night.
Tomorrow's a day off and I intend to sleep as much as I need to feel better. It's not exactly a good use of paradise, but I'm going to be here a while and it won't be much fun like this.
On a good note, the weather looks like it should be pretty good for the rest of the week. I can handle that.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Aloha
Since I don't have the internet, you get a delayed action blog post. Actually, I do sort of have the internet. The hotel finally installed wireless internet, but in an evil twist, you have to pay separately for it, far too much, in my opinion. So delayed it is.
1/21/08: I made it to Hawaii today. The flight from Portland was fine, and a good day to leave too. It was somewhere near freezing when I left and the temperature was set to drop throughout the day, including freakishly low wind chills.
I unintentionally spent the day as a guide. My coworker hadn't flown in quite some time, so I got to shepherd him through the vagaries of self-check kiosks and post-9/11 security. Then I spent the flight to Honolulu with a woman who claimed it was her first real flight, whatever that means. At the least, it means that she didn't understand much about airplanes or what the beeps meant, what the flight attendants were talking about, or how to work her seatbelt. She was quite friendly though, and although she didn't let me sleep or read, she was pleasant enough to talk to and the conversation helped pass the time. (For the record, she was older than my folks. Don't get any ideas.) Then on the flight to Kona, I sat next to a guy who had never been to Hawaii before and was fascinated by Diamond Head, the various islands, the sparsity of those islands, and the volcanoes. He sounded extremely Japanese, but he said he was from Las Vegas. He is a sushi chef and is moving to Kona for three months to help a friend of his open a restaurant.
Plus, we saw whales from the plane. I always heard they were big, but they looked like ants to me.
James and I went to a second floor open-air bar called Lulu's for dinner. Rick and I had gone there last year, and we had added a dollar to the collection of signed bills stapled to the walls and ceilings. I distinctly remember standing on the bar (overlooking the street) to reach the ceiling to staple it up (they didn't mind), but we couldn't find it anywhere. Oh, well.
1/22/08: Despite being in Hawaii, today was mainly boring, what with all the working and such. Saw some lava. The weather was fine, I guess, but we were inside for most of it.
I did learn more about the big ocean water pipe I found last year. I found someone who could give me a more complete description of what they are doing there. It turns out they have several big pipes bringing up seawater for different uses. They do grow the Maine lobsters, but they also grow several other things, including shellfish, algae, and seahorses, 'cuz hey, we need more seahorses. The factory bottling expensive Japanese health water is still there and actually has its own pipe, and is currently the only use of the water that is really making money. I also found out about another use of the water. The water from 3000 feet down comes up about 40 degrees. They also have a pipe that brings water from about 70 feet down which runs around 75 degrees. Somehow they harness the temperature differential to make energy. I have no idea how much of that energy is used to pump water 3000 feet up the side of an underwater volcano. I assume there must be some extra, or they wouldn't bother doing it, but nobody I worked with knew much about it.
Other than that, it was pretty much just working. I did see a gecko and some mongooses (mongeese?), but no whales today.
1/23/08: We finished work in Kona this morning. Kona has the traffic problems of a much larger place. The problem is that, for some reason, they seem to lack any traffic planning. Everything is build as cul-de-sacs or neighborhoods built off the one main road through the area. This means that everyone in the area has to use that one road to get anywhere else. The state is widening a portion of it, but the never ending construction is actually causing even more trouble for the time being. I'm not sure how the locals deal with it.
We drove across the island to Hilo this afternoon and into the Hilo rain. It isn't always raining in Hilo (We had great weather last year.) but it's more likely here than in Kona. We got settled in and ate dinner at a place that seemed to be filled only with locals. I like that.
1/24/08: I'm on the internet for real this time. I had to break down and pay so I could get plane tickets. So while, I'm here, I'll check in with the world.
Today was a long day. Better weather though. Sunny most of the day. Among other things, I visited the volcano today, although I was working and never actually saw it. I did find that the eruption has changed significantly since last year. At that time, the lava was flowing entirely through a tube and exiting underwater, making lots of steam, but not being directly visible. However, in the meantime, there was an earthquake that collapsed the tube and the lava started flowing above ground again, but in a different area. Unfortunately, however, I will only be able to see this lava if I learn how to fly. It is in the middle of previous lava flows, which are much too dangerous to walk on. This is the same unstable new ground that collapsed to cause the earthquake.
Before I headed up that way, the radio stations kept playing civil defense messages, a sort of non-emergency emergency broadcast. It was detailing the lava flows that are potentially endangering a particular neighborhood. It kept saying that only residents are allowed in the neighborhood and that all remaining residents have been informed. However, at the volcano, I found out that the neighborhood was completely surrounded by miles of lava something like 20 years ago. "All remaining residents" turns out to be one apparently very stubborn guy. He used to have to walk to and from his house, but apparently he recently got some sort of ATV that can get over much of the lava.
On a low note, my entire trip so far has been marred by a cold. I kind of thought/hoped that warm moist air might help, but no luck. Too bad.
We're off to Honolulu tomorrow for another long week. Talk to you there.
1/21/08: I made it to Hawaii today. The flight from Portland was fine, and a good day to leave too. It was somewhere near freezing when I left and the temperature was set to drop throughout the day, including freakishly low wind chills.
I unintentionally spent the day as a guide. My coworker hadn't flown in quite some time, so I got to shepherd him through the vagaries of self-check kiosks and post-9/11 security. Then I spent the flight to Honolulu with a woman who claimed it was her first real flight, whatever that means. At the least, it means that she didn't understand much about airplanes or what the beeps meant, what the flight attendants were talking about, or how to work her seatbelt. She was quite friendly though, and although she didn't let me sleep or read, she was pleasant enough to talk to and the conversation helped pass the time. (For the record, she was older than my folks. Don't get any ideas.) Then on the flight to Kona, I sat next to a guy who had never been to Hawaii before and was fascinated by Diamond Head, the various islands, the sparsity of those islands, and the volcanoes. He sounded extremely Japanese, but he said he was from Las Vegas. He is a sushi chef and is moving to Kona for three months to help a friend of his open a restaurant.
Plus, we saw whales from the plane. I always heard they were big, but they looked like ants to me.
James and I went to a second floor open-air bar called Lulu's for dinner. Rick and I had gone there last year, and we had added a dollar to the collection of signed bills stapled to the walls and ceilings. I distinctly remember standing on the bar (overlooking the street) to reach the ceiling to staple it up (they didn't mind), but we couldn't find it anywhere. Oh, well.
1/22/08: Despite being in Hawaii, today was mainly boring, what with all the working and such. Saw some lava. The weather was fine, I guess, but we were inside for most of it.
I did learn more about the big ocean water pipe I found last year. I found someone who could give me a more complete description of what they are doing there. It turns out they have several big pipes bringing up seawater for different uses. They do grow the Maine lobsters, but they also grow several other things, including shellfish, algae, and seahorses, 'cuz hey, we need more seahorses. The factory bottling expensive Japanese health water is still there and actually has its own pipe, and is currently the only use of the water that is really making money. I also found out about another use of the water. The water from 3000 feet down comes up about 40 degrees. They also have a pipe that brings water from about 70 feet down which runs around 75 degrees. Somehow they harness the temperature differential to make energy. I have no idea how much of that energy is used to pump water 3000 feet up the side of an underwater volcano. I assume there must be some extra, or they wouldn't bother doing it, but nobody I worked with knew much about it.
Other than that, it was pretty much just working. I did see a gecko and some mongooses (mongeese?), but no whales today.
1/23/08: We finished work in Kona this morning. Kona has the traffic problems of a much larger place. The problem is that, for some reason, they seem to lack any traffic planning. Everything is build as cul-de-sacs or neighborhoods built off the one main road through the area. This means that everyone in the area has to use that one road to get anywhere else. The state is widening a portion of it, but the never ending construction is actually causing even more trouble for the time being. I'm not sure how the locals deal with it.
We drove across the island to Hilo this afternoon and into the Hilo rain. It isn't always raining in Hilo (We had great weather last year.) but it's more likely here than in Kona. We got settled in and ate dinner at a place that seemed to be filled only with locals. I like that.
1/24/08: I'm on the internet for real this time. I had to break down and pay so I could get plane tickets. So while, I'm here, I'll check in with the world.
Today was a long day. Better weather though. Sunny most of the day. Among other things, I visited the volcano today, although I was working and never actually saw it. I did find that the eruption has changed significantly since last year. At that time, the lava was flowing entirely through a tube and exiting underwater, making lots of steam, but not being directly visible. However, in the meantime, there was an earthquake that collapsed the tube and the lava started flowing above ground again, but in a different area. Unfortunately, however, I will only be able to see this lava if I learn how to fly. It is in the middle of previous lava flows, which are much too dangerous to walk on. This is the same unstable new ground that collapsed to cause the earthquake.
Before I headed up that way, the radio stations kept playing civil defense messages, a sort of non-emergency emergency broadcast. It was detailing the lava flows that are potentially endangering a particular neighborhood. It kept saying that only residents are allowed in the neighborhood and that all remaining residents have been informed. However, at the volcano, I found out that the neighborhood was completely surrounded by miles of lava something like 20 years ago. "All remaining residents" turns out to be one apparently very stubborn guy. He used to have to walk to and from his house, but apparently he recently got some sort of ATV that can get over much of the lava.
On a low note, my entire trip so far has been marred by a cold. I kind of thought/hoped that warm moist air might help, but no luck. Too bad.
We're off to Honolulu tomorrow for another long week. Talk to you there.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Yet another whirlwind week
I've been a tad busy this week. It started with a quick overnight trip to Bend to clean up some work left from a couple months ago. And I do mean quick. Not even time to say hi to my aunt. (Hi, Becky.) January isn't really the best time to go to Bend. It's fine to BE in Bend, what with the skiing just outside of town, but GOING to Bend, at least from Portland, can be interesting. All directions go over mountains, which get snow every time it rains in Portland. That's a lot. Getting to Bend wasn't actually too bad, but coming home over the Santiam Pass could have been better. At least the sun was out. I can only imagine the icy mess that was there a couple hours after I passed through.
If anyone catches the timestamp on this post, I'm up way too late again. I tend to get too wired to sleep before I have to leave on a work trip, which of course makes getting up early to get on the road that much worse, so I worry about that, and can't sleep, and the cycle of wired continues.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow for a trip to Hawaii. I know. Nobody has much sympathy for me, but as much as I'd rather be working in Hawaii for an extended trip than in Idaho (sorry Idaho), I'd still rather be with my family than in Hawaii. It's going to be busy, but if you have to travel, you could do worse.
The biggest drawback for the next few days is that we'll be staying in the last two hotels in the country that don't have internet access. I don't know what that's about. I'll have to poke my head back into the internet next weekend to clear out the e-mountain of e-mail that will certainly be waiting for me. Most of it will be useless, but maybe you'll send me something. I imagine it will be something like, "Oh, poor Dave. Stuck in paradise with no connection to the outside world. Shut up. Nobody wants to hear you whine between Mai Tais." Yeah, probably something along those lines.
If anyone catches the timestamp on this post, I'm up way too late again. I tend to get too wired to sleep before I have to leave on a work trip, which of course makes getting up early to get on the road that much worse, so I worry about that, and can't sleep, and the cycle of wired continues.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow for a trip to Hawaii. I know. Nobody has much sympathy for me, but as much as I'd rather be working in Hawaii for an extended trip than in Idaho (sorry Idaho), I'd still rather be with my family than in Hawaii. It's going to be busy, but if you have to travel, you could do worse.
The biggest drawback for the next few days is that we'll be staying in the last two hotels in the country that don't have internet access. I don't know what that's about. I'll have to poke my head back into the internet next weekend to clear out the e-mountain of e-mail that will certainly be waiting for me. Most of it will be useless, but maybe you'll send me something. I imagine it will be something like, "Oh, poor Dave. Stuck in paradise with no connection to the outside world. Shut up. Nobody wants to hear you whine between Mai Tais." Yeah, probably something along those lines.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Boundary of Blackness
It's not as racist as it sounds. Some researchers have created what is supposed to be the blackest substance ever made, as in it absorbs 99.9 percent of the light that hits it. It's a collection of carbon nanotubes stacked next to each other. There is a picture of it in the link (picture #3). It's blacker than the blackness standard currently used by N.I.S.T. The theory is that this might be useful in solar energy production or stealth applications. Cool stuff.
Franny's not impressed. She says she made one of these years ago. Of course you use nanotubes. It's the teeniness that does it. The light can't get through. 'Cuz the teeniness. And the carbon. I love pregnant scientists.
Franny's not impressed. She says she made one of these years ago. Of course you use nanotubes. It's the teeniness that does it. The light can't get through. 'Cuz the teeniness. And the carbon. I love pregnant scientists.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Movie Review: An Inconvenient Truth
Over the holidays, Franny and I finally got around to seeing An Inconvenient Truth. Among other awards, it's won two Oscars and (sort of) the Nobel Frickin' Peace Prize, so we thought we should see it, if just to see what the fuss was about.
For the record, I've been following the climate change debate for some time, and am in agreement that people probably have a lot to do with the latest spike. I'm not as clear as to what can or should be done about it, but I'm certain that the head-in-the-sand option is not going to help and will most likely make things worse faster.
The movie started off as a commercial for Al Gore. As he says at the beginning, "I'm Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States." However, he gets over the ego trip and gets down to facts that are hard to debate. He's done a significant amount of travelling (in a carbon offset jet, I'm sure) and meeting with scientists and policy-makers around the world, so whatever you think of the whole thing, you can't really accuse him of just spouting the party line. He has tons of well-documented research to back up his claims. Some of it gets a little heavy into the scare tactics of the worse case scenario, but it's good information nonetheless.
Global climate change sparks a lot of debate, and everyone seems to have an opinion. This being Portland, most of the city of course thinks it's all true and we're clearly to blame. It's not just noise though. Portland was recently on track to become the first US city to meet the Kyoto protocols. (I can't vouch that we're still in the running to be first, but we're still on the way.) However, you don't have to get far from Portland into the more conservative parts of the state where the very idea of human-caused global warming is laughable. Most of these people are not evil, just not very well informed. As best I can tell, most of the folks scoffing at the idea get their science news from Rush Limbaugh's ilk. They're very much spouting the idea that if you can throw any little bit doubt at something, then you don't have to take any part of it seriously, and you can go on just like you always have. It's the same attitude seen in the creationism/evolution debate. These people seem, either willfully or accidentally, to remain uninformed or uncaring about the scientific method and how these conclusions are deduced and defended. It's hard to listen to sometimes. I'm not even clear what the motivation for the denial attitude is. I know there are a lot of folks in industry who would like the debate to go away for financial reasons, but I'm not sure about the regular people. I guess people don't like the idea that they might be partly to blame and don't want to have to do anything different. Understandable, I suppose, but unrealistic. (If someone has a response to this, please leave a comment. I find that I'm far more informed about the "other side" than most people I know, even if I still disagree with them. However, healthy debate and new points of view are always encouraged.)
As I mentioned, I been following this debate for some time, so most of what Gore presented was old news to me. If nothing else, I'm very interested in science, so these things have caught my attention in the past. However, if you are not as well informed as you'd like to be, this movie is a good overview of where the climate change claims are coming from and why scientists and environmentalists are making such a big deal about it. Even if you don't believe anything about these claims, you still might find some of it enlightening.
I definitely recommend that people see this movie. You will not come out of it in a good mood (either because you are more worried about things or because you don't like Al Gore), but most likely, you will still find it valuable.
For the record, I've been following the climate change debate for some time, and am in agreement that people probably have a lot to do with the latest spike. I'm not as clear as to what can or should be done about it, but I'm certain that the head-in-the-sand option is not going to help and will most likely make things worse faster.
The movie started off as a commercial for Al Gore. As he says at the beginning, "I'm Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States." However, he gets over the ego trip and gets down to facts that are hard to debate. He's done a significant amount of travelling (in a carbon offset jet, I'm sure) and meeting with scientists and policy-makers around the world, so whatever you think of the whole thing, you can't really accuse him of just spouting the party line. He has tons of well-documented research to back up his claims. Some of it gets a little heavy into the scare tactics of the worse case scenario, but it's good information nonetheless.
Global climate change sparks a lot of debate, and everyone seems to have an opinion. This being Portland, most of the city of course thinks it's all true and we're clearly to blame. It's not just noise though. Portland was recently on track to become the first US city to meet the Kyoto protocols. (I can't vouch that we're still in the running to be first, but we're still on the way.) However, you don't have to get far from Portland into the more conservative parts of the state where the very idea of human-caused global warming is laughable. Most of these people are not evil, just not very well informed. As best I can tell, most of the folks scoffing at the idea get their science news from Rush Limbaugh's ilk. They're very much spouting the idea that if you can throw any little bit doubt at something, then you don't have to take any part of it seriously, and you can go on just like you always have. It's the same attitude seen in the creationism/evolution debate. These people seem, either willfully or accidentally, to remain uninformed or uncaring about the scientific method and how these conclusions are deduced and defended. It's hard to listen to sometimes. I'm not even clear what the motivation for the denial attitude is. I know there are a lot of folks in industry who would like the debate to go away for financial reasons, but I'm not sure about the regular people. I guess people don't like the idea that they might be partly to blame and don't want to have to do anything different. Understandable, I suppose, but unrealistic. (If someone has a response to this, please leave a comment. I find that I'm far more informed about the "other side" than most people I know, even if I still disagree with them. However, healthy debate and new points of view are always encouraged.)
As I mentioned, I been following this debate for some time, so most of what Gore presented was old news to me. If nothing else, I'm very interested in science, so these things have caught my attention in the past. However, if you are not as well informed as you'd like to be, this movie is a good overview of where the climate change claims are coming from and why scientists and environmentalists are making such a big deal about it. Even if you don't believe anything about these claims, you still might find some of it enlightening.
I definitely recommend that people see this movie. You will not come out of it in a good mood (either because you are more worried about things or because you don't like Al Gore), but most likely, you will still find it valuable.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Little Brother Notes
That's right. For the estimated one of you that hasn't already seen it on Franny's blog, the Mizz is getting a brother this May. Of course the ultrasound tech wouldn't say for certain, but it seemed obvious to all of us.
This is a little weird -- not bad at all, just weird. Both Franny and I were thinking of a girl, as was just about everybody else, for whatever reason. I guess it just made sense to think that a girl would balance things out, so that's what it must be. Rationally, of course, this doesn't mean anything, but we just never really thought about it any other way. My sister even checked the Chinese birth chart or whatever, and decided that we were having a girl and she's expecting a boy. According to her, "It's always right, with everyone I know anyway." Wrong on both counts. It's nice to know that the discount, made-in-China, lead-painted, melamine-filled astrology and old wives tales are just as bunk as ours.
On the one hand poor Franny is going to be surrounded by testosterone. Good luck with that. On the other hand, we don't really have to buy much this time around. A bit of new furniture, but that's about it. For those of you feeling the need to get us something, I think this kid will need and Xbox, a flat screen high-def TV, and a new laptop. Other than that, he's pretty well covered.
We've been having issues with names. I think part of the reason for imagining a girl was that we already had a girl name picked out, left over from the Mizz. Now we have to come up with something else, so we're back at the same place we were last time. We've had some of the same arguments and issues as last time too. Franny has a few names that she likes that I can't consider because they make me think of particular people that I don't want to name my kid after for one reason or another. Sometimes, I didn't like they guy or maybe it's a friend or whatever. She even wanted to name him the same name as the husband of one of her friends. She even said she'd be willing to stop being friends with them, she likes the name so much. That's not going to work for me though. She gave me a lot of grief for that, but some other friends agreed with me, so I think I won that battle. What concession will I have to give now, I have no idea. However, I suggested a name the other day that she wouldn't stand for. "I've never met a ______ that I liked." It was actually a little ruder than tha, but I think she now at least partly understands my logic, if not my particular name vetoes. (However, as I mentioned before, the naming rights could certainly be bought for the right price. Franny can't afford them, so she's stuck trying to find names we can agree on. I'm sure some of you probably have deep pockets though. The more outlandish options may cost more, but I'm sure there's a price. Heck, if the bid's high enough, and it would have to be high, he could be George W. Bin Laden, if that's what you want.)
The other issue we've got lately is nesting. Both of us this time, but in different ways. She wants to buy new furniture, paint the whole house, build an addition, and dig out a basement, and throw everything away. I'm more into reorganizing the Titanic's deck chairs. As you can imagine, this causes some friction. I think we're starting to meet in the middle and have made some progress on realistic ideas for how to deal with another person in the house. The Mizz wasn't such a big deal, since we had an extra room that I think we both knew was eventually going to be a nursery. However, this one will require some rearranging of things. It's gotten somewhat easier however, since we now know what we're in for.
That's pretty much where we stand with the new addition right now. Franny's getting bigger, but then, she's supposed to be doing that. I'm getting bigger too, but without such a good excuse. I've got to do something about that. (From what I hear, I'm suffering from OBD, or Oregon Butt Disease. That's what happens when it rains all the time and you're stuck inside in a place that's famous for drinking beer. It's nice to know it's a syndrome, so I don't have to feel any personal responsibility for it.)
This is a little weird -- not bad at all, just weird. Both Franny and I were thinking of a girl, as was just about everybody else, for whatever reason. I guess it just made sense to think that a girl would balance things out, so that's what it must be. Rationally, of course, this doesn't mean anything, but we just never really thought about it any other way. My sister even checked the Chinese birth chart or whatever, and decided that we were having a girl and she's expecting a boy. According to her, "It's always right, with everyone I know anyway." Wrong on both counts. It's nice to know that the discount, made-in-China, lead-painted, melamine-filled astrology and old wives tales are just as bunk as ours.
On the one hand poor Franny is going to be surrounded by testosterone. Good luck with that. On the other hand, we don't really have to buy much this time around. A bit of new furniture, but that's about it. For those of you feeling the need to get us something, I think this kid will need and Xbox, a flat screen high-def TV, and a new laptop. Other than that, he's pretty well covered.
We've been having issues with names. I think part of the reason for imagining a girl was that we already had a girl name picked out, left over from the Mizz. Now we have to come up with something else, so we're back at the same place we were last time. We've had some of the same arguments and issues as last time too. Franny has a few names that she likes that I can't consider because they make me think of particular people that I don't want to name my kid after for one reason or another. Sometimes, I didn't like they guy or maybe it's a friend or whatever. She even wanted to name him the same name as the husband of one of her friends. She even said she'd be willing to stop being friends with them, she likes the name so much. That's not going to work for me though. She gave me a lot of grief for that, but some other friends agreed with me, so I think I won that battle. What concession will I have to give now, I have no idea. However, I suggested a name the other day that she wouldn't stand for. "I've never met a ______ that I liked." It was actually a little ruder than tha, but I think she now at least partly understands my logic, if not my particular name vetoes. (However, as I mentioned before, the naming rights could certainly be bought for the right price. Franny can't afford them, so she's stuck trying to find names we can agree on. I'm sure some of you probably have deep pockets though. The more outlandish options may cost more, but I'm sure there's a price. Heck, if the bid's high enough, and it would have to be high, he could be George W. Bin Laden, if that's what you want.)
The other issue we've got lately is nesting. Both of us this time, but in different ways. She wants to buy new furniture, paint the whole house, build an addition, and dig out a basement, and throw everything away. I'm more into reorganizing the Titanic's deck chairs. As you can imagine, this causes some friction. I think we're starting to meet in the middle and have made some progress on realistic ideas for how to deal with another person in the house. The Mizz wasn't such a big deal, since we had an extra room that I think we both knew was eventually going to be a nursery. However, this one will require some rearranging of things. It's gotten somewhat easier however, since we now know what we're in for.
That's pretty much where we stand with the new addition right now. Franny's getting bigger, but then, she's supposed to be doing that. I'm getting bigger too, but without such a good excuse. I've got to do something about that. (From what I hear, I'm suffering from OBD, or Oregon Butt Disease. That's what happens when it rains all the time and you're stuck inside in a place that's famous for drinking beer. It's nice to know it's a syndrome, so I don't have to feel any personal responsibility for it.)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I'm sorry Franny
I owe Franny an apology. To be honest, this situation will hurt me too, but Franny will probably have to deal with it more, and I pretty much brought it on myself anyway.
What you see above is a toy cash register. We got it at the Value Village, which is a Goodwill sort of store if you've never seen one. We find this is a good place to get silly little toys that will be quickly outgrown and sometimes we even get lucky and find something good. This particular find includes a credit card, which the Mizz just thinks is awesome. When Franny tried to put batteries in it, it emitted an ear-piercing squeal and was quickly deemed blissfully broken. This worked okay. The cash drawer still worked, and the Mizz still liked sliding the card in the non-working slot.
As you may notice by the numbers on the screen, it is no longer broken. It goes like this. The cash drawer has since stopped opening. Tough. However, this evening, the Mizz brought it to me with the drawer slightly open and wanted it all the way open. It has a couple of other toys stuck in it, which was the problem in the first place. I found a screwdriver and opened it up to get the toys out. While I was in there, I noticed what was causing the electronics to malfunction. Idiot savant that I am, I decided to fix it.
Upon insertion of the batteries, it became clear that the cash register now works. More importantly, the Mizz was there and is also aware that it works. The button on the left that looks like a scanner makes a noise that is very much like a real scanner beep. The number buttons are a functional calculator with a very quite beep. And the slot on the right, when swiped with the toy credit card, makes a noise that is neither quiet nor anything like swiping a credit card. It is an irritating series of beeps that would foment riots and murder if they actually happened constantly in every checkout stand on earth.
To make matters worse, if you decide that, instead of swiping the credit card, you poke it into the slot like the Mizz does, the button gets stuck and the series of beeps repeats ad infinitum. It's easy enough to stop, but not if you are the Mizz. Plus he likes it, so he has no intention of learning to stop it. So now to add insult to injury, I have to repair this thing again so that the button can't stick.
Why couldn't I have just left broke enough alone?
What you see above is a toy cash register. We got it at the Value Village, which is a Goodwill sort of store if you've never seen one. We find this is a good place to get silly little toys that will be quickly outgrown and sometimes we even get lucky and find something good. This particular find includes a credit card, which the Mizz just thinks is awesome. When Franny tried to put batteries in it, it emitted an ear-piercing squeal and was quickly deemed blissfully broken. This worked okay. The cash drawer still worked, and the Mizz still liked sliding the card in the non-working slot.
As you may notice by the numbers on the screen, it is no longer broken. It goes like this. The cash drawer has since stopped opening. Tough. However, this evening, the Mizz brought it to me with the drawer slightly open and wanted it all the way open. It has a couple of other toys stuck in it, which was the problem in the first place. I found a screwdriver and opened it up to get the toys out. While I was in there, I noticed what was causing the electronics to malfunction. Idiot savant that I am, I decided to fix it.
Upon insertion of the batteries, it became clear that the cash register now works. More importantly, the Mizz was there and is also aware that it works. The button on the left that looks like a scanner makes a noise that is very much like a real scanner beep. The number buttons are a functional calculator with a very quite beep. And the slot on the right, when swiped with the toy credit card, makes a noise that is neither quiet nor anything like swiping a credit card. It is an irritating series of beeps that would foment riots and murder if they actually happened constantly in every checkout stand on earth.
To make matters worse, if you decide that, instead of swiping the credit card, you poke it into the slot like the Mizz does, the button gets stuck and the series of beeps repeats ad infinitum. It's easy enough to stop, but not if you are the Mizz. Plus he likes it, so he has no intention of learning to stop it. So now to add insult to injury, I have to repair this thing again so that the button can't stick.
Why couldn't I have just left broke enough alone?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Welcome to 2008
HAP---py new year. That's the way the Mizz has been saying it all day. I think that's the way Franny taught him to say it. It's fun to hear, but it's even better since he has no idea what he's talking about. He did note that "Mama turned de cawendar," but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what a calendar's for either.
Our evening was pretty uneventful. I live with a toddler and a pregnant woman. What were you expecting? I did end up staying awake until the new year, but that's only because I couldn't fall asleep through the fireworks that started around 9:30 and continued until about 12:30. These weren't some big city event downtown or anything; just lunatics in my neighborhood with lots of explosives and booze but not so much sense. They do this for pretty much every holiday. They aren't picky. At least it was muted by being cold. They pull out all the stops for the 4th of July. For the morning of the 5th, imagine a battlefield where someone has removed all the bodies but nothing else.
Speaking of new years, have you made your resolutions yet? Do you ever? Why?
I typically don't bother with resolutions. If I haven't decided to make these types of decisions or actions before, I seriously doubt that doing it to celebrate an arbitrary calendar event will make any more difference. "I'm going to exercise four times a week!" (Until I don't, which will be next week. Then I've broken the streak and it's over.) "I'm going to really get myself organized this year." (Or more likely, I'll probably just neaten up the stacks of paper on my desk and label a couple of folders. Then I'll go back to doing things the same way I've done them for the last umpteen years.) "I'm really going to buckle down and learn to play the guitar this year." (Because this has worked out so well for the last 15 years. Maybe if I really mean it this time...) The problem with these kinds of resolutions is that they are well-intentioned, but if just deciding to do them was all I needed, I would have done them already. For this reason, I have never bothered with the resolving thing and have ended up in pretty much the same place without the internal guilt.
However, even as I'd been getting salty hearing people ramble on about new year's resolutions on the radio and in ads and whatnot, a little philosophical seed apparently got planted in my head. For whatever reason (Maybe it's the 2nd kid on the way; who knows?), this seed has made me get to thinking about what really matters to me and what I like and dislike about the way I'm going about things. And I've come to realize that there are really very few things that actually matter to me. I care about maintaining healthy and happy connections with my family and friends. I care about providing the best support (in every sense of the word) for my family that I can. I'd like to leave things a little better than I found them, both in my immediate surroundings and the world in general. And I'd like to keep myself in good enough shape (both physically and emotionally) to be able to do these things for a very long time. (I'd like to meet the Mizz's grandkids, and still be coherent enough to understand it.)
Anyway, I decided that I need to resolve to live my life and make decisions always keeping these things in mind. I spend a lot of time spinning my wheels; maybe not wrecking my life, but not always making headway either. I want to do things more purposefully. The things I do should improve my life, or at least not make improving it harder. I guess I just want to be a better person, but not in the cheesy, undirected way that line is usually tossed out. If I remember what's really important, then when the time comes, getting more organized, taking better care of myself, and maybe even learning the guitar should work themselves out, along with all sorts of other things, much of which I'm certainly not even contemplating yet.
(This all looks very cheesy and trite now that I see it printed, but I've been rolling this around in my head for a while and I feel much more sincere about it than I've felt about most things in a while. Certainly more sincere than it looks written out. Seriousness and sincerity are not my strong suits. Sarcasm is more my speed.)
This isn't really meant as a new year's resolution, although it was some of that crap that made me get to really thinking about it, so by the timing, I suppose it counts. I intend for this to be more of a forever resolution. If Google can have "Do no evil," then I can have this.
Or maybe I could just do like usual, and resolve not to start eating Brussels sprouts.
Our evening was pretty uneventful. I live with a toddler and a pregnant woman. What were you expecting? I did end up staying awake until the new year, but that's only because I couldn't fall asleep through the fireworks that started around 9:30 and continued until about 12:30. These weren't some big city event downtown or anything; just lunatics in my neighborhood with lots of explosives and booze but not so much sense. They do this for pretty much every holiday. They aren't picky. At least it was muted by being cold. They pull out all the stops for the 4th of July. For the morning of the 5th, imagine a battlefield where someone has removed all the bodies but nothing else.
Speaking of new years, have you made your resolutions yet? Do you ever? Why?
I typically don't bother with resolutions. If I haven't decided to make these types of decisions or actions before, I seriously doubt that doing it to celebrate an arbitrary calendar event will make any more difference. "I'm going to exercise four times a week!" (Until I don't, which will be next week. Then I've broken the streak and it's over.) "I'm going to really get myself organized this year." (Or more likely, I'll probably just neaten up the stacks of paper on my desk and label a couple of folders. Then I'll go back to doing things the same way I've done them for the last umpteen years.) "I'm really going to buckle down and learn to play the guitar this year." (Because this has worked out so well for the last 15 years. Maybe if I really mean it this time...) The problem with these kinds of resolutions is that they are well-intentioned, but if just deciding to do them was all I needed, I would have done them already. For this reason, I have never bothered with the resolving thing and have ended up in pretty much the same place without the internal guilt.
However, even as I'd been getting salty hearing people ramble on about new year's resolutions on the radio and in ads and whatnot, a little philosophical seed apparently got planted in my head. For whatever reason (Maybe it's the 2nd kid on the way; who knows?), this seed has made me get to thinking about what really matters to me and what I like and dislike about the way I'm going about things. And I've come to realize that there are really very few things that actually matter to me. I care about maintaining healthy and happy connections with my family and friends. I care about providing the best support (in every sense of the word) for my family that I can. I'd like to leave things a little better than I found them, both in my immediate surroundings and the world in general. And I'd like to keep myself in good enough shape (both physically and emotionally) to be able to do these things for a very long time. (I'd like to meet the Mizz's grandkids, and still be coherent enough to understand it.)
Anyway, I decided that I need to resolve to live my life and make decisions always keeping these things in mind. I spend a lot of time spinning my wheels; maybe not wrecking my life, but not always making headway either. I want to do things more purposefully. The things I do should improve my life, or at least not make improving it harder. I guess I just want to be a better person, but not in the cheesy, undirected way that line is usually tossed out. If I remember what's really important, then when the time comes, getting more organized, taking better care of myself, and maybe even learning the guitar should work themselves out, along with all sorts of other things, much of which I'm certainly not even contemplating yet.
(This all looks very cheesy and trite now that I see it printed, but I've been rolling this around in my head for a while and I feel much more sincere about it than I've felt about most things in a while. Certainly more sincere than it looks written out. Seriousness and sincerity are not my strong suits. Sarcasm is more my speed.)
This isn't really meant as a new year's resolution, although it was some of that crap that made me get to really thinking about it, so by the timing, I suppose it counts. I intend for this to be more of a forever resolution. If Google can have "Do no evil," then I can have this.
Or maybe I could just do like usual, and resolve not to start eating Brussels sprouts.
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