"lousy 2-story buildings..."
I was driving around at lunchtime when I saw, standing on a median strip in the middle of a 4-lane road, leaning against a "no left turn" sign...
Spiderman.
Full-out, head-to-toe, red and blue, mask and all... Spiderman!
And I thought to myself... Wow, Spiderman must really HATE the suburbs... look how he just has to WALK everywhere.
Thursday, September 30
big night…
Major TV-viewing ahead, people. Prepare yourselves for quite an entry on Friday morning. First, we have "Survivor" - with some kind of big twist resulting in TWO tribal councils. Goosebumps! I wonder what the deal is? I hope they did something naughty and made Jeff Probst mad - I love it when Jeff gets all camp-counselor and chides the contestants!
Then, the big "debate" where Kerry and Bush get to prove who is REALLY the best person to lead our country by spouting 60-second canned sound-bite answers to all-but-prearranged soft-ball questions. Ain't democracy grand? Let's all hope Kerry can keep it together and actually answer a fucking question straight. I don't know what's so hard about saying - "I didn’t vote to go to war, I voted to give HIM the AUTHORITY to go to war, and I did so under the assumption that he would do so responsibly and only after exhausting diplomatic channels, cooperating with the United Nations, and forming a coherent military strategy for the occupation. He has done none of these things." He needs to start laying things out that plainly, cuz even *I* start hearing everything he says as "Mwah-mwaaah- m-wah-wah-waaaa" after a while. God knows how he must sound to those "undecided voters" (aka "stupid people") whom this debate is supposedly "for".
( BTW - How nice that the decision of who becomes President comes down to the people who don’t know who they want to be President, and have to watch the debate to see whose tie they like better before making their decision.)
Beside hoping that Kerry keeps the word count down, I'm also hoping that Bush says or does something stupid. I hope he gets at least one "unexpected" question so that we get to see that little deer-in-the-headlights look that says "that wasn't in the Cliff's Notes" and gives me so much pleasure. Somebody ask him about "tribal sovereignty" again!
Anyway. My evening is booked from 7:00 to 11:00.
Last night we watched the second episode of that (Land of the) LOST show. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's very suspenseful, and you always want to know what's going to happen… and yet there is this nagging feeling that it's just… not… that… good… somehow? I'm not sure. Last night's revelations - that guy who played Merry (or was it Pippin?) is a drug addict of some sort… that guy who looks Iraqi is actually Iraqi… the "love interest" chick is some kind of Federal prisoner… there is some kind of transmitter on the island that has been sending a distress signal for 16 years… and that one guy is really mean. Oh yeah… and there are polar bears. Polar bears? Yeah… I dunno. I have a few theories. Right now the leading one is that there is some kind of "Island of Dr. Moreau" thing going on with some kind of secret lab doing crazy genetic experiments on animals.
That's it for now. Tune in tomorrow for Dave's Debate Recap.
Major TV-viewing ahead, people. Prepare yourselves for quite an entry on Friday morning. First, we have "Survivor" - with some kind of big twist resulting in TWO tribal councils. Goosebumps! I wonder what the deal is? I hope they did something naughty and made Jeff Probst mad - I love it when Jeff gets all camp-counselor and chides the contestants!
Then, the big "debate" where Kerry and Bush get to prove who is REALLY the best person to lead our country by spouting 60-second canned sound-bite answers to all-but-prearranged soft-ball questions. Ain't democracy grand? Let's all hope Kerry can keep it together and actually answer a fucking question straight. I don't know what's so hard about saying - "I didn’t vote to go to war, I voted to give HIM the AUTHORITY to go to war, and I did so under the assumption that he would do so responsibly and only after exhausting diplomatic channels, cooperating with the United Nations, and forming a coherent military strategy for the occupation. He has done none of these things." He needs to start laying things out that plainly, cuz even *I* start hearing everything he says as "Mwah-mwaaah- m-wah-wah-waaaa" after a while. God knows how he must sound to those "undecided voters" (aka "stupid people") whom this debate is supposedly "for".
( BTW - How nice that the decision of who becomes President comes down to the people who don’t know who they want to be President, and have to watch the debate to see whose tie they like better before making their decision.)
Beside hoping that Kerry keeps the word count down, I'm also hoping that Bush says or does something stupid. I hope he gets at least one "unexpected" question so that we get to see that little deer-in-the-headlights look that says "that wasn't in the Cliff's Notes" and gives me so much pleasure. Somebody ask him about "tribal sovereignty" again!
Anyway. My evening is booked from 7:00 to 11:00.
Last night we watched the second episode of that (Land of the) LOST show. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's very suspenseful, and you always want to know what's going to happen… and yet there is this nagging feeling that it's just… not… that… good… somehow? I'm not sure. Last night's revelations - that guy who played Merry (or was it Pippin?) is a drug addict of some sort… that guy who looks Iraqi is actually Iraqi… the "love interest" chick is some kind of Federal prisoner… there is some kind of transmitter on the island that has been sending a distress signal for 16 years… and that one guy is really mean. Oh yeah… and there are polar bears. Polar bears? Yeah… I dunno. I have a few theories. Right now the leading one is that there is some kind of "Island of Dr. Moreau" thing going on with some kind of secret lab doing crazy genetic experiments on animals.
That's it for now. Tune in tomorrow for Dave's Debate Recap.
Wednesday, September 29
Tuesday, September 28
war is peace... freedom is slavery... ignorance is strength...
The wife and I were having a nice cozy bedtime conversation about the election, and what disturbs us most about the current political climate and the current administration. For me it has to be their mastery of Newspeak - of calling things the opposite of what they are in order to make them sound "doubleplus good". Thus the law that permits the government to read your library records is "The Patriot Act" and the plan to cut funding to schools who get bad test scores is the "No Child Left Behind" act. (That one I love. Ummm... isn't it the schools with the BAD test scores that need the MOST money? I guess not.)
My favorite example of the downright scary Orwellian nature of the Bush administration is the situation with the War on Terror/Afghanistan/Al Qaeda/Osama/Saddam/Iraq/Whoever the Fuck We Want. The way we can just shift enemies whenever it's convenient, and then convince everyone that they were the enemey all along.
Sound familiar...?
Oprah needs to make 1984 her Book Club selection - right NOW.
Dave
PS> Here is a bonus visual illustration of my point - a visit between our Secretary of Peace and the President of Eastasia. Or is it Eurasia? Either way, note the year!
The wife and I were having a nice cozy bedtime conversation about the election, and what disturbs us most about the current political climate and the current administration. For me it has to be their mastery of Newspeak - of calling things the opposite of what they are in order to make them sound "doubleplus good". Thus the law that permits the government to read your library records is "The Patriot Act" and the plan to cut funding to schools who get bad test scores is the "No Child Left Behind" act. (That one I love. Ummm... isn't it the schools with the BAD test scores that need the MOST money? I guess not.)
My favorite example of the downright scary Orwellian nature of the Bush administration is the situation with the War on Terror/Afghanistan/Al Qaeda/Osama/Saddam/Iraq/Whoever the Fuck We Want. The way we can just shift enemies whenever it's convenient, and then convince everyone that they were the enemey all along.
Sound familiar...?
"Since about that time, war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. For several months during his childhood there had been confused street fighting in London itself, some of which he remembered vividly. But to trace out the history of the whole period, to say who was fighting whom at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible, since no written record, and no spoken word, ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one. At this moment, for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984), Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no public or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers had at any time been grouped along different lines. Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible."
Oprah needs to make 1984 her Book Club selection - right NOW.
Dave
PS> Here is a bonus visual illustration of my point - a visit between our Secretary of Peace and the President of Eastasia. Or is it Eurasia? Either way, note the year!
Monday, September 27
not particularly relaxing...
We spent a good chunk of our weekend staining our new deck... a tiny little 10' x 10' deck that we had installed for our new hot tub. Our hot tub was scheduled to be delivered today. Yay! We have a hot tub!
Or perhaps I should reprhase that.
We have a lukewarm tub!
Becuase for some reason, when we hired an electrician to run a 220V line out to the back of the house, he did so without actually CONNECTING the line to a breaker. So we have a hot-tub with no power.
Hey look... it's a $5000 wading pool for the kids!
We spent a good chunk of our weekend staining our new deck... a tiny little 10' x 10' deck that we had installed for our new hot tub. Our hot tub was scheduled to be delivered today. Yay! We have a hot tub!
Or perhaps I should reprhase that.
We have a lukewarm tub!
Becuase for some reason, when we hired an electrician to run a 220V line out to the back of the house, he did so without actually CONNECTING the line to a breaker. So we have a hot-tub with no power.
Hey look... it's a $5000 wading pool for the kids!
Saturday, September 25
how my weekend started...
Youngest awakes at 6:10 AM... still dark. I get him out of his crib, turn on the tube, put something educational on the TiVo. Turn on the living room light. Oldest awakes.
I go into the kitchen... eyes barely open. Pour myself a glass of milk in the semi-dark. Eyeball the last 2 sugar cookies from yesterday's batch sitting on the cooling rack on the counter. Pick up the last two cookies. Take a bite. Walk back towards the living room.
Suddenly my left hand is ... tingling. The carpal tunnel acting up again maybe. Take another bite of cookie. Now my hand is not so much tingling as... itching maybe? Weird. No... whoa...like really itching. What the...? Back to the kitchen, flip on the light...
Ants.
All over the cookie. All over my hand. Ants. All over the counter. All down the wall, down the hall, out the door.
Jesus. Where the FUCK is the Raid?? And hello? Anybody ever hear of a cookie jar?
As for the rest of the day, I spent it compulsively scratching my hands and trying to pretend I didn’t eat two mouthfuls of ant.
Youngest awakes at 6:10 AM... still dark. I get him out of his crib, turn on the tube, put something educational on the TiVo. Turn on the living room light. Oldest awakes.
I go into the kitchen... eyes barely open. Pour myself a glass of milk in the semi-dark. Eyeball the last 2 sugar cookies from yesterday's batch sitting on the cooling rack on the counter. Pick up the last two cookies. Take a bite. Walk back towards the living room.
Suddenly my left hand is ... tingling. The carpal tunnel acting up again maybe. Take another bite of cookie. Now my hand is not so much tingling as... itching maybe? Weird. No... whoa...like really itching. What the...? Back to the kitchen, flip on the light...
Ants.
All over the cookie. All over my hand. Ants. All over the counter. All down the wall, down the hall, out the door.
Jesus. Where the FUCK is the Raid?? And hello? Anybody ever hear of a cookie jar?
As for the rest of the day, I spent it compulsively scratching my hands and trying to pretend I didn’t eat two mouthfuls of ant.
Friday, September 24
correct me if i'm wrong, ladies, but...?
... even if it is the middle of the day and you're pushing a stroller through Target with your 6 year old kid... if you are doing so whilst wearing a tight, hot pink T-shirt, emblazoned with the words "HUSTLER" in sequins on the front... am I correct in assuming that this represents a bona fide invitation for me to stare at your very large, most-likely surgically enhanced breasts?
Yes?
Because, really... if the breasts themselves didn't shout "look at me!" loudly enough, I think the "HUSTLER" t-shirt makes a clear statement of "lingering gazes permitted".
I just don't want to misinterpret anyone's signals.
... even if it is the middle of the day and you're pushing a stroller through Target with your 6 year old kid... if you are doing so whilst wearing a tight, hot pink T-shirt, emblazoned with the words "HUSTLER" in sequins on the front... am I correct in assuming that this represents a bona fide invitation for me to stare at your very large, most-likely surgically enhanced breasts?
Yes?
Because, really... if the breasts themselves didn't shout "look at me!" loudly enough, I think the "HUSTLER" t-shirt makes a clear statement of "lingering gazes permitted".
I just don't want to misinterpret anyone's signals.
land of the...?
We TiVo'd that new series "Lost" the other night. It's about a planeload of people who crash land on some island somewhere. I thought it was just going to be about surviving on the island, but then there is some kind of giant monster-thing or dinosaur or something crashing around in the jungle. What the hell? I mean... it wasn't "bad"... I guess. I'm just wondering when the Sleestaks show up.
We TiVo'd that new series "Lost" the other night. It's about a planeload of people who crash land on some island somewhere. I thought it was just going to be about surviving on the island, but then there is some kind of giant monster-thing or dinosaur or something crashing around in the jungle. What the hell? I mean... it wasn't "bad"... I guess. I'm just wondering when the Sleestaks show up.
this is science...?
I've been pulled from the project I'm working on to help with the very quick development of a video about the Dead Sea Scrolls that we're producing in conjunction with a local science museum that is having an exhibit of the Scrolls in 2005. The DVD will sell in the museum store, and it will be about the role of scientists in the preservation and restoration of the scrolls. I'm not sure what to think about it. It's pretty weird, but also pretty cool.
I've been pulled from the project I'm working on to help with the very quick development of a video about the Dead Sea Scrolls that we're producing in conjunction with a local science museum that is having an exhibit of the Scrolls in 2005. The DVD will sell in the museum store, and it will be about the role of scientists in the preservation and restoration of the scrolls. I'm not sure what to think about it. It's pretty weird, but also pretty cool.
Thursday, September 23
rip… burn… return…
I stopped by the library yesterday and came away with quite a haul, CD-wise. Somebody in “acquisitions” there actually has good taste. The list…
So - I'll be "ripping" away this afternoon. The only one I've listened too so far is the Fountains of Wayne album, and I have to say… I'm pretty impressed. Based on "Stacy's Mom" I expected a bunch of jokey, tongue-in-cheek alt-pop a la "Barenaked Ladies". But it's more than that, because while most of the songs are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, they also happen to be damned good songs. It's a very, very rare thing for me to enjoy an album this much the very first time I listen to it all the way through. Sounds like a keeper.
(Also, the production is SUPER-SLICK. Almost too slick - so much so that I grabbed the liner notes while I was driving to see who the Producer was. But it turns out that the first two names listed as producers are guys in the band, so these guys seem to really know what they're doing.)
In other music news, I gave two more spins to PJ Harvey's latest ("Uh huh, Her") this week and somehow, it's like somebody just flipped a switch - "Oh… ok…now I get it!" It's a really good album once you get over the fact that it sounds more like her first CD than it does her most recent one.
More on music… we watched an episode of "Queer Eye" last night where they made over a musician. He claimed to be in this "Indie Rock" (**) band that played in dive bars around NY, and so the show got his band a good gig at some place big, and got important people to show up. And when they showed his band, all I could think was… I can't believe a band that sucks that bad can get ANY gigs in Manhattan, even at a dive. I mean, they REALLY sucked. Even the WORST bands I've been in were tighter than these guys. It makes me want to start a band just to prove that I can not suck more than that.
Dr. Dave
(** Is "indie rock" a GENRE now that can apply to anyone? Because I thought "indie" meant you were released on an Independent Label. How can an unsigned band be "indie". I think he means he's in an "undie" rock band.)
I stopped by the library yesterday and came away with quite a haul, CD-wise. Somebody in “acquisitions” there actually has good taste. The list…
* Fountains of Wayne – “Welcome Interstate Managers”
* Aimee Mann – “I’m With Stupid”
* Aimee Mann - "Bachelor #2"
* Ani diFranco - "So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter"
* Philip Glass - "Heroes Symphony"
* Emmylou Harris - "Wrecking Ball"
* Johnny Cash - "Unchained"
So - I'll be "ripping" away this afternoon. The only one I've listened too so far is the Fountains of Wayne album, and I have to say… I'm pretty impressed. Based on "Stacy's Mom" I expected a bunch of jokey, tongue-in-cheek alt-pop a la "Barenaked Ladies". But it's more than that, because while most of the songs are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, they also happen to be damned good songs. It's a very, very rare thing for me to enjoy an album this much the very first time I listen to it all the way through. Sounds like a keeper.
(Also, the production is SUPER-SLICK. Almost too slick - so much so that I grabbed the liner notes while I was driving to see who the Producer was. But it turns out that the first two names listed as producers are guys in the band, so these guys seem to really know what they're doing.)
In other music news, I gave two more spins to PJ Harvey's latest ("Uh huh, Her") this week and somehow, it's like somebody just flipped a switch - "Oh… ok…now I get it!" It's a really good album once you get over the fact that it sounds more like her first CD than it does her most recent one.
More on music… we watched an episode of "Queer Eye" last night where they made over a musician. He claimed to be in this "Indie Rock" (**) band that played in dive bars around NY, and so the show got his band a good gig at some place big, and got important people to show up. And when they showed his band, all I could think was… I can't believe a band that sucks that bad can get ANY gigs in Manhattan, even at a dive. I mean, they REALLY sucked. Even the WORST bands I've been in were tighter than these guys. It makes me want to start a band just to prove that I can not suck more than that.
Dr. Dave
(** Is "indie rock" a GENRE now that can apply to anyone? Because I thought "indie" meant you were released on an Independent Label. How can an unsigned band be "indie". I think he means he's in an "undie" rock band.)
Wednesday, September 22
peace plane...
Well... thank heavens we have the Department of Homeland Security on the job, keeping America safe from dangerous folk singers!!
We may not have Osana bin Laden yet, but you can bet we've got Cat Stevens under 24-hour surveillance.
Well... thank heavens we have the Department of Homeland Security on the job, keeping America safe from dangerous folk singers!!
We may not have Osana bin Laden yet, but you can bet we've got Cat Stevens under 24-hour surveillance.
Tuesday, September 21
the amazing race...
Watched the finale tonight - a synopsis...
The Nice Black Couple beat out the Dysfunctional Petty Crybabies and the Couple Who Can't Stop Talking About "The Lord".
And that took two hours! How is it that this show has managed to convince us that WATCHING PEOPLE BUY PLANE TICKETS is entertainment??
Watched the finale tonight - a synopsis...
The Nice Black Couple beat out the Dysfunctional Petty Crybabies and the Couple Who Can't Stop Talking About "The Lord".
And that took two hours! How is it that this show has managed to convince us that WATCHING PEOPLE BUY PLANE TICKETS is entertainment??
dave’s ‘fitness’ chronicles…
The thing is… I never MEAN to take a 2-and-a-half hour lunch… but sometimes it just HAPPENS! So today I am going to WORK, and I mean it.
But first, some blogging.
I did my yoga this morning, and it felt awful. I think I still have some residual “sickyness” floating around in my muscles from the flu I just got rid of. Apparently sickyness does not like being all stretched out like that. I think some of it got loose and swam back up to my head.
I’ve been having some trouble lately with my yoga - because of my wrists, of all things. I’m starting to experience a LOT of joint pain in general, but lately my left wrist has been just achy and weak. I can barely support my weight in a “plank” position – I have to go up on my fingertips because my wrist doesn’t like to bend back that far. I don’t know if it’s carpal tunnel or arthritis or a combination. The CTS usually makes my RIGHT wrist hurt, although I think all the piano-playing I’m doing lately could be aggravating it in my left hand. The computer work doesn’t help, of course. I bought a bunch of gelly wrist-rests for my keyboard and mousepad – They don’t seem to help and I just find them irritating. Then I read a review in Macworld of these things called Hand-Eze gloves, and the reviewer said they really extended the amount of time he could type comfortably by a factor of 4. So I figured I try them out. Now instead of just having sore hands, I have sore hands and dorky spandex gloves.
In other fitness news, I’ve taken my first step in my quest to return to tennis, which was to call the nearby tennis center and inquire about lessons. The bad news - $36/hour. Eeek! But the GOOD news is that they have $7 clinics in the evenings, which sounds like a much better idea for me anyway, because what I’d REALLY like to do is meet one or two people at my level with whom I could play a couple of times a week. So to celebrate the possibility, I bought some new shoes. (One reason for the aforementioned 2.5 hour lunch.)
I guess that’s all for now. Time to make some tea, then do some of that “work” stuff people are always talking about.
The thing is… I never MEAN to take a 2-and-a-half hour lunch… but sometimes it just HAPPENS! So today I am going to WORK, and I mean it.
But first, some blogging.
I did my yoga this morning, and it felt awful. I think I still have some residual “sickyness” floating around in my muscles from the flu I just got rid of. Apparently sickyness does not like being all stretched out like that. I think some of it got loose and swam back up to my head.
I’ve been having some trouble lately with my yoga - because of my wrists, of all things. I’m starting to experience a LOT of joint pain in general, but lately my left wrist has been just achy and weak. I can barely support my weight in a “plank” position – I have to go up on my fingertips because my wrist doesn’t like to bend back that far. I don’t know if it’s carpal tunnel or arthritis or a combination. The CTS usually makes my RIGHT wrist hurt, although I think all the piano-playing I’m doing lately could be aggravating it in my left hand. The computer work doesn’t help, of course. I bought a bunch of gelly wrist-rests for my keyboard and mousepad – They don’t seem to help and I just find them irritating. Then I read a review in Macworld of these things called Hand-Eze gloves, and the reviewer said they really extended the amount of time he could type comfortably by a factor of 4. So I figured I try them out. Now instead of just having sore hands, I have sore hands and dorky spandex gloves.
In other fitness news, I’ve taken my first step in my quest to return to tennis, which was to call the nearby tennis center and inquire about lessons. The bad news - $36/hour. Eeek! But the GOOD news is that they have $7 clinics in the evenings, which sounds like a much better idea for me anyway, because what I’d REALLY like to do is meet one or two people at my level with whom I could play a couple of times a week. So to celebrate the possibility, I bought some new shoes. (One reason for the aforementioned 2.5 hour lunch.)
I guess that’s all for now. Time to make some tea, then do some of that “work” stuff people are always talking about.
Monday, September 20
book reviews...
I know I've had those same two books in my right-hand-column over there for MONTHS. I'm not that slow a reader, really. I'm just lazy about editing my template. But before I take those two off and trade them for the books I'm reading now, I wanted to post quick reviews of both of them...
"Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs", by Chuck Klosterman: Sophomoric dorm-room philosophizing about pop-culture minutiae. I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT!! Brilliant. Favorite observation - that cereal commercials are every child's first introduction to the fact that "Exclusivity = Cool", as a large number of breakfast cereals feature a mascot who is not allowed to partake of the cereal in question, either through denial (Sonny, Trix Rabbit) or through attempted pilfering (Lucky). I'm in heaven.
"Choke", by Chuck Palahniuk: Ok... this one really DID take me that long to read. Someone, please STOP me if you see me about to read another Chuck Palahniuk book... seriously. A wholly unpleasant experience.
Dr. Dave
I know I've had those same two books in my right-hand-column over there for MONTHS. I'm not that slow a reader, really. I'm just lazy about editing my template. But before I take those two off and trade them for the books I'm reading now, I wanted to post quick reviews of both of them...
"Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs", by Chuck Klosterman: Sophomoric dorm-room philosophizing about pop-culture minutiae. I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT!! Brilliant. Favorite observation - that cereal commercials are every child's first introduction to the fact that "Exclusivity = Cool", as a large number of breakfast cereals feature a mascot who is not allowed to partake of the cereal in question, either through denial (Sonny, Trix Rabbit) or through attempted pilfering (Lucky). I'm in heaven.
"Choke", by Chuck Palahniuk: Ok... this one really DID take me that long to read. Someone, please STOP me if you see me about to read another Chuck Palahniuk book... seriously. A wholly unpleasant experience.
Dr. Dave
the kind of day...
...when you wake up in a puddle of urine, and it takes a while to figure out whose it is. I'm not sure which answer I prefer actually - whether I'd rather be "The Kind of Guy who becomes nocturnally incontinent at age 35" or "The Kind of Guy whose cat just walks up and pisses on him while he's asleep."
So, should I pick up this or this at Target on my way home today? Well, it was only my SIDE that was wet, so I'm assuming it's #2. But still. That sucks.
Today is the first day in about a week that I get to actually WORK as opposed to prepare for and/or clean up after a hurricane. It's nice to be reminded that there are things that suck worse than working. Still, I may not put in a very full day. The wife is sick with what I've had, and I suspect she will be calling for reinforcements at some point this afternoon. We'll see. Maybe I'll take the kids "out". (AAAGH!)
I would have treated you all to one of my famous "Award Show Recaps" this morning if it weren't for the fact that my CABLE WENT OUT AGAIN right in the middle of the Emmy's last night. Oh well... no big loss. Garry Shandling was sucking in an embarrassing-to-watch sort of way, and I got to go to bed early. The Daily Show won two awards before I lost the signal. Yay for that.
Anyway... I should go do a little work before Yoga class. More later, perhaps...
...when you wake up in a puddle of urine, and it takes a while to figure out whose it is. I'm not sure which answer I prefer actually - whether I'd rather be "The Kind of Guy who becomes nocturnally incontinent at age 35" or "The Kind of Guy whose cat just walks up and pisses on him while he's asleep."
So, should I pick up this or this at Target on my way home today? Well, it was only my SIDE that was wet, so I'm assuming it's #2. But still. That sucks.
Today is the first day in about a week that I get to actually WORK as opposed to prepare for and/or clean up after a hurricane. It's nice to be reminded that there are things that suck worse than working. Still, I may not put in a very full day. The wife is sick with what I've had, and I suspect she will be calling for reinforcements at some point this afternoon. We'll see. Maybe I'll take the kids "out". (AAAGH!)
I would have treated you all to one of my famous "Award Show Recaps" this morning if it weren't for the fact that my CABLE WENT OUT AGAIN right in the middle of the Emmy's last night. Oh well... no big loss. Garry Shandling was sucking in an embarrassing-to-watch sort of way, and I got to go to bed early. The Daily Show won two awards before I lost the signal. Yay for that.
Anyway... I should go do a little work before Yoga class. More later, perhaps...
Sunday, September 19
spin the big wheel...
power and cable but no phone...
power, cable, and phone but no mail...
power, phone, and mail, but no cable...
Yes, welcome to today's exciting episode of UTILITY ROULETTE!!
I know I shouldn't complain about minor interruptions of service when some people have flattened houses, but... god damn.
power and cable but no phone...
power, cable, and phone but no mail...
power, phone, and mail, but no cable...
Yes, welcome to today's exciting episode of UTILITY ROULETTE!!
I know I shouldn't complain about minor interruptions of service when some people have flattened houses, but... god damn.
Saturday, September 18
the slogan that drives me mad...
Pardon me if I've blogged about this before. Because if I have, it didn’t help get this rant out of my system. So I'm going to try again, and maybe my wife won’t have to hear it anymore.
You've heard it before, no doubt...
"Diet Dr. Pepper - Tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper"
Now I ask you... what the FUCK does this mean?? It makes me fucking crazy. "MORE" than WHAT?? I think I'm going to write a letter to someone. Because I've come up with about a half dozen possible parsings of this sentence. Among them...
1) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than any OTHER drink does. Well... duh. I fucking hope so. I hope that Diet Mountain Dew doesn't taste more like Dr. Pepper than Diet Dr. Pepper does.
2) ) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than it tastes like any other soft drink. The converse of #1. And equally stupid. If Diet Dr. Pepper tasted like Diet Coke, I assume they'd just call it "Diet Coke".
3) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than it USED to. This interpretation makes sense, although no historical change-of-formula is ever mentioned. And they've been using this slogan for YEARS. (I know this because it's been BUGGING me for years.) So unless they keep improving Diet Dr. Pepper on a regular basis so that its taste is asymptotically approaching that of regular Dr. Pepper, I don’t think this is it either.
4) Diet Dr. Pepper doesn't taste like Diet Dr. Pepper, rather, its tastes more like REGULAR Dr. Pepper. I'll leave it to Lewis Carroll to figure that one out.
5) The tastes of Diet Dr. Pepper and regular Dr. Pepper are more similar to one another than those of any other diet soft drink and it's regular counterpart. Now that's an awfully subtle claim, and as far as I'm concerned - damned hard to prove. But it's the one that makes the most sense to me. If this is what they mean, there has GOT to be a better way to say it.
"Diet Dr. Pepper - doesn't taste all diet-y!"
"Diet Dr. Pepper - bet you can't tell it from regular Dr. Pepper!"
"Is it Diet Dr. Pepper or regular?! Who knows?"
"Diet Dr. Pepper - Same bizarre, vaguely-but-not-quite-cherry taste... only diet."
Because really... bad slogans aside... who the hell drinks Dr. Pepper anyway?
Bleah...
Pardon me if I've blogged about this before. Because if I have, it didn’t help get this rant out of my system. So I'm going to try again, and maybe my wife won’t have to hear it anymore.
You've heard it before, no doubt...
"Diet Dr. Pepper - Tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper"
Now I ask you... what the FUCK does this mean?? It makes me fucking crazy. "MORE" than WHAT?? I think I'm going to write a letter to someone. Because I've come up with about a half dozen possible parsings of this sentence. Among them...
1) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than any OTHER drink does. Well... duh. I fucking hope so. I hope that Diet Mountain Dew doesn't taste more like Dr. Pepper than Diet Dr. Pepper does.
2) ) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than it tastes like any other soft drink. The converse of #1. And equally stupid. If Diet Dr. Pepper tasted like Diet Coke, I assume they'd just call it "Diet Coke".
3) Diet Dr. Pepper tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper than it USED to. This interpretation makes sense, although no historical change-of-formula is ever mentioned. And they've been using this slogan for YEARS. (I know this because it's been BUGGING me for years.) So unless they keep improving Diet Dr. Pepper on a regular basis so that its taste is asymptotically approaching that of regular Dr. Pepper, I don’t think this is it either.
4) Diet Dr. Pepper doesn't taste like Diet Dr. Pepper, rather, its tastes more like REGULAR Dr. Pepper. I'll leave it to Lewis Carroll to figure that one out.
5) The tastes of Diet Dr. Pepper and regular Dr. Pepper are more similar to one another than those of any other diet soft drink and it's regular counterpart. Now that's an awfully subtle claim, and as far as I'm concerned - damned hard to prove. But it's the one that makes the most sense to me. If this is what they mean, there has GOT to be a better way to say it.
"Diet Dr. Pepper - doesn't taste all diet-y!"
"Diet Dr. Pepper - bet you can't tell it from regular Dr. Pepper!"
"Is it Diet Dr. Pepper or regular?! Who knows?"
"Diet Dr. Pepper - Same bizarre, vaguely-but-not-quite-cherry taste... only diet."
Because really... bad slogans aside... who the hell drinks Dr. Pepper anyway?
Bleah...
Friday, September 17
work...
The office is in pretty good shape, although we're still without power. The building is running on a generator, but nothing on my end of the hall is connected to it, so I'm posting from my laptop in the Boss's office. There is no AC either, and it'a already starting to get warm. So what do I decide to do? Take everybody's computer and (2!) monitors out of the "vault" and put them back in their offices. Did I mention I still have the flu? Not the greatest idea to be lugging around 23" monitors.
The drive to work made me realize how lucky we were... a lot of the town got far more damage than we did. There are a LOT of trees down... BIG trees, just snapped like twigs. A few on houses, a LOT on power and phone lines. We have power at home, but most of the area doesn't. (We live in a new development with underground lines, and we're close to the distribution station.) ALmost nobody has phone service, although we have it at work. ALL the traffic lights are out, so driving means a 4-way-stop every block. It's a mess.
I have lots of video and pix. I'll post them as soon as I find myself someplace that has BOTH electricity and net access! (We just lost the cable at home, which sucks.)
All for now...
The office is in pretty good shape, although we're still without power. The building is running on a generator, but nothing on my end of the hall is connected to it, so I'm posting from my laptop in the Boss's office. There is no AC either, and it'a already starting to get warm. So what do I decide to do? Take everybody's computer and (2!) monitors out of the "vault" and put them back in their offices. Did I mention I still have the flu? Not the greatest idea to be lugging around 23" monitors.
The drive to work made me realize how lucky we were... a lot of the town got far more damage than we did. There are a LOT of trees down... BIG trees, just snapped like twigs. A few on houses, a LOT on power and phone lines. We have power at home, but most of the area doesn't. (We live in a new development with underground lines, and we're close to the distribution station.) ALmost nobody has phone service, although we have it at work. ALL the traffic lights are out, so driving means a 4-way-stop every block. It's a mess.
I have lots of video and pix. I'll post them as soon as I find myself someplace that has BOTH electricity and net access! (We just lost the cable at home, which sucks.)
All for now...
Thursday, September 16
Wednesday, September 15
calm (?) before...
We've prepared all we can prepare... water and food... batteries and flashlights... taped windows and packed bags. They given the evacuation order for people on the coast... maybe 10 miles from here.
The wind has started to pick up... that tropical wind that smells just a little too much like the ocean. No rain yet.
They are talking about 50 mph winds by noon, and hurricane force winds lasting 18-24 hours if the storm makes a direct hit, which seems likely.
But for now... we wait.
We've prepared all we can prepare... water and food... batteries and flashlights... taped windows and packed bags. They given the evacuation order for people on the coast... maybe 10 miles from here.
The wind has started to pick up... that tropical wind that smells just a little too much like the ocean. No rain yet.
They are talking about 50 mph winds by noon, and hurricane force winds lasting 18-24 hours if the storm makes a direct hit, which seems likely.
But for now... we wait.
Tuesday, September 14
and we PAY for this...?
So, my daughter’s school let out early today, what with the impending hurricane and all, and since I was pretty much done at work I picked her up on my way home. In the middle of the “What did you do at school today?” routine, she started in with this story...
”And then after recess, I hurt myself when I was carrying this bag... we were all carrying these bags of sand in from the playground to put around the classroom, and mine was so heavy that I fell, and – “
Wait a minute. They had the kindergarteners sandbagging the school??
I’m pretty sure there are laws against that sort of thing. To add to my indignation, I asked what she learned today, and she said they didn’t have TIME to learn anything because it was a short day and they just had free-play, then a snack, then PE, then recess, then lunch, then they went home.
I’m sorry... I know it’s kindergarten and all, but what the hell kind of schedule is 1)free-play, 2)snack, 3)phys-ed, 4)recess, 5)lunch?? Unless they normally have calculus after lunch, I don’t feel like I’m getting my tuition dollar’s worth.
So, my daughter’s school let out early today, what with the impending hurricane and all, and since I was pretty much done at work I picked her up on my way home. In the middle of the “What did you do at school today?” routine, she started in with this story...
”And then after recess, I hurt myself when I was carrying this bag... we were all carrying these bags of sand in from the playground to put around the classroom, and mine was so heavy that I fell, and – “
Wait a minute. They had the kindergarteners sandbagging the school??
I’m pretty sure there are laws against that sort of thing. To add to my indignation, I asked what she learned today, and she said they didn’t have TIME to learn anything because it was a short day and they just had free-play, then a snack, then PE, then recess, then lunch, then they went home.
I’m sorry... I know it’s kindergarten and all, but what the hell kind of schedule is 1)free-play, 2)snack, 3)phys-ed, 4)recess, 5)lunch?? Unless they normally have calculus after lunch, I don’t feel like I’m getting my tuition dollar’s worth.
good (?) news…
So, in my obsessive state yesterday, I was downloading evacuation maps and “storm surge” projections from the US Army Corps of Engineers website. And the good news is that our home seems to be well outside the storm surge area, and one zone removed from the potential evacuation zones. So visions of my house filled waist-deep with water have mostly subsided.
The other bit of good news is that Ivan was downgraded from a “category 5” to a “category 4” hurricane this morning. And even though that only amounts to a 5 mph decrease in wind speed, the psychological effect is profound. Still… 155 mph wind is nothing to ignore.
Speaking of ignore, I’ve noticed that the national weather services seem completely unaware that Mobile, Alabama even exists. I keep hearing things like – ”People along the Gulf need to be really careful, as Ivan could make landfall near New Orleans, coastal Mississippi, or the Florida panhandle.”
Um… hello? Alabama has a “coastal” too… what the hell?
Anyway… we’re battening down the hatches here at work… backing up all the computers and sealing the hard drives in plastic containers inside the soundproof booth in the studio. It seems a bit extreme to me, I mean… we’re on the FIFTH FLOOR! But I guess the biggest worry is leakage from ABOVE if we get a foot of rain sitting on the roof. And the building does have a lot of glass, so I guess it’s not impossible for an airborne roadsign to wind up flying into one of our offices… especially if there is a tornado or something. (A possibility that I’m trying not to dwell on too much.) Anyway, we’ve been given the OK to leave work at noon today so that we can go do the same sort of thing at home.
We’re not doing the plywood-thing. Mostly because we have nothing in which to TRANSPORT plywood. And because we’re reluctant to fill a 3-month-old home full of screw holes. We just decided we’d rather take the gamble and replace a few thousand-dollar windows rather than go through the hassle of fortifying the entire house. We will duct-tape the windows to prevent any wholesale shattering, and probably plastic/cardboard the windows in our bedroom to make it a ‘safe-zone’. There are no windowless rooms in our entire house, so we’re emptying a walk-in closet to use as a tornado shelter. And all this while TRYING NOT TO FREAK OUT.
Anyway, I need to finish up working on my Mac here so they can hermetically seal it in a water-tight vault.
Suddenly, shoveling a few inches of snow doesn’t seem so bad!
So, in my obsessive state yesterday, I was downloading evacuation maps and “storm surge” projections from the US Army Corps of Engineers website. And the good news is that our home seems to be well outside the storm surge area, and one zone removed from the potential evacuation zones. So visions of my house filled waist-deep with water have mostly subsided.
The other bit of good news is that Ivan was downgraded from a “category 5” to a “category 4” hurricane this morning. And even though that only amounts to a 5 mph decrease in wind speed, the psychological effect is profound. Still… 155 mph wind is nothing to ignore.
Speaking of ignore, I’ve noticed that the national weather services seem completely unaware that Mobile, Alabama even exists. I keep hearing things like – ”People along the Gulf need to be really careful, as Ivan could make landfall near New Orleans, coastal Mississippi, or the Florida panhandle.”
Um… hello? Alabama has a “coastal” too… what the hell?
Anyway… we’re battening down the hatches here at work… backing up all the computers and sealing the hard drives in plastic containers inside the soundproof booth in the studio. It seems a bit extreme to me, I mean… we’re on the FIFTH FLOOR! But I guess the biggest worry is leakage from ABOVE if we get a foot of rain sitting on the roof. And the building does have a lot of glass, so I guess it’s not impossible for an airborne roadsign to wind up flying into one of our offices… especially if there is a tornado or something. (A possibility that I’m trying not to dwell on too much.) Anyway, we’ve been given the OK to leave work at noon today so that we can go do the same sort of thing at home.
We’re not doing the plywood-thing. Mostly because we have nothing in which to TRANSPORT plywood. And because we’re reluctant to fill a 3-month-old home full of screw holes. We just decided we’d rather take the gamble and replace a few thousand-dollar windows rather than go through the hassle of fortifying the entire house. We will duct-tape the windows to prevent any wholesale shattering, and probably plastic/cardboard the windows in our bedroom to make it a ‘safe-zone’. There are no windowless rooms in our entire house, so we’re emptying a walk-in closet to use as a tornado shelter. And all this while TRYING NOT TO FREAK OUT.
Anyway, I need to finish up working on my Mac here so they can hermetically seal it in a water-tight vault.
Suddenly, shoveling a few inches of snow doesn’t seem so bad!
Monday, September 13
bizarre child-rearing inventions...
Check it out - it's a chastity belt for your thumb
That's just... odd.
Check it out - it's a chastity belt for your thumb
That's just... odd.
creeping panic…
We were sitting and watching “The Butterfly Effect” last night (Quick review – slow first 45 min, but overall much better than a movie starring Ashton Kutcher should be expected to be.) and at the same time I had my laptop and was reading hurricane forecasts, and meanwhile my son came down with a 103º fever yesterday, and I just found myself growing weirdly agitated and anxious from all the negativity. I could NOT get to sleep last night. I’m starting to seriously freak out and I’m considering breaking into my wife’s Zoloft supply for a few days.
I don't think I used to be like this.
I really need my yoga class today.
Dave
PS> check out my photoblog for a graphical representation of my freak out.
We were sitting and watching “The Butterfly Effect” last night (Quick review – slow first 45 min, but overall much better than a movie starring Ashton Kutcher should be expected to be.) and at the same time I had my laptop and was reading hurricane forecasts, and meanwhile my son came down with a 103º fever yesterday, and I just found myself growing weirdly agitated and anxious from all the negativity. I could NOT get to sleep last night. I’m starting to seriously freak out and I’m considering breaking into my wife’s Zoloft supply for a few days.
I don't think I used to be like this.
I really need my yoga class today.
Dave
PS> check out my photoblog for a graphical representation of my freak out.
Saturday, September 11
ee-i-ee-i-oo...
You know, if I'm going to wake up before the fucking sunrise on a SATURDAY, I might as well go the whole 9-yards and plant some fucking CROPS out back... maybe buy some cows and a few chickens.
When do kids start sleeping until noon? Do I have to wait all the way until PUBERTY? I'm not sure I can survive until then.
You know, if I'm going to wake up before the fucking sunrise on a SATURDAY, I might as well go the whole 9-yards and plant some fucking CROPS out back... maybe buy some cows and a few chickens.
When do kids start sleeping until noon? Do I have to wait all the way until PUBERTY? I'm not sure I can survive until then.
Friday, September 10
tired…
No, I mean… REALLY tired. I’m really sick of the “two-steps-forwards, two-steps-back” progress with the child’s sleeping habits here. The Little One is back to waking up 3 times a night – screaming for “Mama” and to nurse… just completely berserk at 4:oo in the fucking morning. We’re wondering if he isn’t having little nocturnal separation-anxiety attacks as a result of starting Preschool. He seems fine while he’s THERE, but he’s pretty unpleasant all evening and all night. Either way, I feel like hell this morning.
I did my yoga this morning, though… dedicated New Age Guy that I am.
I need some caffeine…
And I need to water my plants…
Ok.
So, I’ve been putting off learning this program, “Maya”, ever since I started working here. It’s a 3D modeling and rendering program… real studio-quality capabilities… they use it to do the CG stuff in Lord of the Rings and Finding Nemo and real movies and all. As a result, it’s just INSANELY complicated. Just looking at the interface makes my head throb with the prospect of trying to learn how to use this program. This program is the reason we all have multiple 20” monitors here… you NEED that much screen for all the windows and palettes and timelines and whatnot.
Anyway, I finally got to the point in prototyping my video where I had to generate some of my own 3D footage. (Up until now I’ve just been pasting together stock footage and stills as placeholders for the actual footage.) So I decided to scrape together all the Maya books and videos around the office, watched a few of them, and went to try out the program myself. Click…
The copy on my computer is unlicensed.
And we have no more active serial ##’s around, apparently. They’re “working on it”. That was three days ago. So, guess what I’ve been doing for three days?
Nothing.
At least I have an excuse… kinda… right?
No, I mean… REALLY tired. I’m really sick of the “two-steps-forwards, two-steps-back” progress with the child’s sleeping habits here. The Little One is back to waking up 3 times a night – screaming for “Mama” and to nurse… just completely berserk at 4:oo in the fucking morning. We’re wondering if he isn’t having little nocturnal separation-anxiety attacks as a result of starting Preschool. He seems fine while he’s THERE, but he’s pretty unpleasant all evening and all night. Either way, I feel like hell this morning.
I did my yoga this morning, though… dedicated New Age Guy that I am.
I need some caffeine…
And I need to water my plants…
Ok.
So, I’ve been putting off learning this program, “Maya”, ever since I started working here. It’s a 3D modeling and rendering program… real studio-quality capabilities… they use it to do the CG stuff in Lord of the Rings and Finding Nemo and real movies and all. As a result, it’s just INSANELY complicated. Just looking at the interface makes my head throb with the prospect of trying to learn how to use this program. This program is the reason we all have multiple 20” monitors here… you NEED that much screen for all the windows and palettes and timelines and whatnot.
Anyway, I finally got to the point in prototyping my video where I had to generate some of my own 3D footage. (Up until now I’ve just been pasting together stock footage and stills as placeholders for the actual footage.) So I decided to scrape together all the Maya books and videos around the office, watched a few of them, and went to try out the program myself. Click…
The copy on my computer is unlicensed.
And we have no more active serial ##’s around, apparently. They’re “working on it”. That was three days ago. So, guess what I’ve been doing for three days?
Nothing.
At least I have an excuse… kinda… right?
Thursday, September 9
teachable moment...
My daughter is learning about insects in Kindergarten this week, so naturally I asked her if she knew the names of the three parts of an insect’s body. She said she didn’t. What?! I ask you… what is wrong with education today?? What the hell are they learning about insects if not that??
So I proceeded to teach her all about the head, thorax, and abdomen. Even going so far as to compose a song about it, to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”.
She was suitably impressed, although I’m not sure she ever quite got the pronunciation of the word “abdomen” quite worked out.
I’m praying she sings it for her teacher today!
My daughter is learning about insects in Kindergarten this week, so naturally I asked her if she knew the names of the three parts of an insect’s body. She said she didn’t. What?! I ask you… what is wrong with education today?? What the hell are they learning about insects if not that??
So I proceeded to teach her all about the head, thorax, and abdomen. Even going so far as to compose a song about it, to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”.
Head, thorax, ab-domen.
Abdomen!
Head, thorax, ab-domen.
Abdome-en-and
Legs and Legs and Legs and Antenna!
Head, thorax, abdomen. Abdomen!!
She was suitably impressed, although I’m not sure she ever quite got the pronunciation of the word “abdomen” quite worked out.
I’m praying she sings it for her teacher today!
days off...
Sorry for not really writing yesterday. (Pictures don't count.) Blogger was acting wacky and it took me all damned day just to publish those two images. I didn't feel like fighting it to try to get a post up.
I'm taking the morning off from Yoga. I just don't feel like it this morning. That's bad - I know... 5 days of vacation and I'm Out Of The Habit. That's how it always starts. I'll do it tomorrow... I promise.
Not much is going on really. We got our iJoy chair yesterday. It's nice, but no substitute for a "real" massage. It's actually pretty damned uncomfortable as a regular chair... just to SIT in.
My online class starts today. We'll see how that goes. I'm less than excited about it, honestly. I should treat myself to something nice with the extra money. Or... you know... save some for the kids to go to college or something.
Oh... here is one interesting thing. I bought the new Björk album the other night. ("Medulla") I'd heard nothing but good things about it. I've only listened to it once so far. It seems Björky enough to be enjoyable. Anyway, the very next day, I learned that there was a new Twilight Singers album out. (If you don't know who they are, it's the band currently fronted by Greg Dulli, formerly of the Afghan Whigs. If you don't know who THEY are... I'm very sorry and I just can't help you.) I couldn’t wait to get it, so I just bought it from the iTunes store online. Yay, Apple! It feels very futuristic, buying music like that. ”Oh, look… a new album… click, search, click, click… listen… burn” It’s like they just transported you a CD through some kind of Jetsons contraption. Anyway… I was listening to the new Twilight Singers album and complaining in an email to my friend Sam about how it sucks that this album came out at the same time as the Björk album, because I always wind up buying 5 albums in one week like that, and track #3 came on and I switched over to iTunes to see the name of the song, and it was called “Hyperballad” and I though, Hmmm… that’s funny, because there is a song called “Hyperballad”… but no… it can’t be the… but it WAS…
”Greg Dulli is singing a COVER of a BJÖRK song!!”
I had a little Jungian-Musical-Synchronicity-Orgasm, right there. Definitely worth $9.99.
Sooooo… time to start thinking about what I’m doing today at “work”. I think I’ll go check my online course now and see if my syllabus scared anybody away yet. Then maybe I’ll go ahead and do some yoga after all. I’m still not in the mood, but I’m LESS in the mood to WORK!
Sorry for not really writing yesterday. (Pictures don't count.) Blogger was acting wacky and it took me all damned day just to publish those two images. I didn't feel like fighting it to try to get a post up.
I'm taking the morning off from Yoga. I just don't feel like it this morning. That's bad - I know... 5 days of vacation and I'm Out Of The Habit. That's how it always starts. I'll do it tomorrow... I promise.
Not much is going on really. We got our iJoy chair yesterday. It's nice, but no substitute for a "real" massage. It's actually pretty damned uncomfortable as a regular chair... just to SIT in.
My online class starts today. We'll see how that goes. I'm less than excited about it, honestly. I should treat myself to something nice with the extra money. Or... you know... save some for the kids to go to college or something.
Oh... here is one interesting thing. I bought the new Björk album the other night. ("Medulla") I'd heard nothing but good things about it. I've only listened to it once so far. It seems Björky enough to be enjoyable. Anyway, the very next day, I learned that there was a new Twilight Singers album out. (If you don't know who they are, it's the band currently fronted by Greg Dulli, formerly of the Afghan Whigs. If you don't know who THEY are... I'm very sorry and I just can't help you.) I couldn’t wait to get it, so I just bought it from the iTunes store online. Yay, Apple! It feels very futuristic, buying music like that. ”Oh, look… a new album… click, search, click, click… listen… burn” It’s like they just transported you a CD through some kind of Jetsons contraption. Anyway… I was listening to the new Twilight Singers album and complaining in an email to my friend Sam about how it sucks that this album came out at the same time as the Björk album, because I always wind up buying 5 albums in one week like that, and track #3 came on and I switched over to iTunes to see the name of the song, and it was called “Hyperballad” and I though, Hmmm… that’s funny, because there is a song called “Hyperballad”… but no… it can’t be the… but it WAS…
”Greg Dulli is singing a COVER of a BJÖRK song!!”
I had a little Jungian-Musical-Synchronicity-Orgasm, right there. Definitely worth $9.99.
Sooooo… time to start thinking about what I’m doing today at “work”. I think I’ll go check my online course now and see if my syllabus scared anybody away yet. Then maybe I’ll go ahead and do some yoga after all. I’m still not in the mood, but I’m LESS in the mood to WORK!
Wednesday, September 8
wedding casualties...
A few more photos of the children (before they lost consciousness) can be found on my photoblog. No good ones of me yet... these are all from MY camera.
A few more photos of the children (before they lost consciousness) can be found on my photoblog. No good ones of me yet... these are all from MY camera.
Tuesday, September 7
the kind of day i'm having...
I wonder if I can pick up the wireless office network in the men's room, because apparently that's where I'll be spending the bulk of the day. Seriously, if childbirth hurts any worse than the stomach cramps I have today, you women deserve a fucking medal, because I just don't see how it's humanly possible. I nearly lost consciousness... twice.
I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but I'll be steering clear of TGIFridays for a while, that's for damned sure.
I wonder if I can pick up the wireless office network in the men's room, because apparently that's where I'll be spending the bulk of the day. Seriously, if childbirth hurts any worse than the stomach cramps I have today, you women deserve a fucking medal, because I just don't see how it's humanly possible. I nearly lost consciousness... twice.
I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but I'll be steering clear of TGIFridays for a while, that's for damned sure.
home again…
Aaah… nothing like returning home from a long vacation back to your own smelly, cat-urine-soaked hovel.
Ahem.
Have I posted since the wedding? I can’t even remember. (checks…) Oh, look… I did! What a good blogger am I.
(MS Word alternate suggestions for the unrecognized word “blogger” – logger, flogger, boggier, Bolger. “Bolger”? As in “Ray Bolger” – the guy who played the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz? What the hell kind of word is THAT for a spellchecker to know?)
Anyway, we managed to squeeze back in to town just before the tropical storm breezed by, but it missed us anyway. That’s actually one of my favorite weather phenomena… being grazed by a tropical storm. We got that a lot growing up in Maryland. Some hurricane would hit the Carolinas, drift up the coast, get downgraded to a tropical storm (or the even more pitiful “tropical depression”) and then treat us to a day of spooky skies and eerie, quiet wind. Hurricanes suck, but almost hurricanes rock.
("Here I am! Rock you like a tropical depression!!")
So… back to work. The Little One starts preschool today, so now everyone is going to be on a routine. And that will magically fix everything that is wrong with our lives. The house will be clean… we will eat food that does not come in a box… sometimes we will all eat the SAME food, at the SAME time, together at the SAME table… we will lose 20 pounds… we will have friends… the sun will shine, and birds will sing!
Or my wife will just sleep all day on M, W, and F…
Aaah… nothing like returning home from a long vacation back to your own smelly, cat-urine-soaked hovel.
Ahem.
Have I posted since the wedding? I can’t even remember. (checks…) Oh, look… I did! What a good blogger am I.
(MS Word alternate suggestions for the unrecognized word “blogger” – logger, flogger, boggier, Bolger. “Bolger”? As in “Ray Bolger” – the guy who played the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz? What the hell kind of word is THAT for a spellchecker to know?)
Anyway, we managed to squeeze back in to town just before the tropical storm breezed by, but it missed us anyway. That’s actually one of my favorite weather phenomena… being grazed by a tropical storm. We got that a lot growing up in Maryland. Some hurricane would hit the Carolinas, drift up the coast, get downgraded to a tropical storm (or the even more pitiful “tropical depression”) and then treat us to a day of spooky skies and eerie, quiet wind. Hurricanes suck, but almost hurricanes rock.
("Here I am! Rock you like a tropical depression!!")
So… back to work. The Little One starts preschool today, so now everyone is going to be on a routine. And that will magically fix everything that is wrong with our lives. The house will be clean… we will eat food that does not come in a box… sometimes we will all eat the SAME food, at the SAME time, together at the SAME table… we will lose 20 pounds… we will have friends… the sun will shine, and birds will sing!
Or my wife will just sleep all day on M, W, and F…
Sunday, September 5
the day after...
The wedding was fine... fun even, although being out until 1:00 AM again was a bit much... especially for the kids, who were completely asleep in carseats and chairs by 10:00. As for me, it's left me with an 800mg-Advil worthy headache and absolutely ZERO desire to socialize today... especially with people like my wife's 20-year old cousin, who is in the Coast Guard, and thinks that people should be impressed by that, and insists on telling stories about it constantly, which always come off sounding like an 8-year-old talking about what he got for Christmas.
Shut up. Everyone.
So... Dave is ready to go HOME now, a desire which may be hampered by the fact that there will likely be a large HURRICANE sitting on top of said home at precisely the time his flight is scheduled to land tomorrow.
Ugh.
The wedding was fine... fun even, although being out until 1:00 AM again was a bit much... especially for the kids, who were completely asleep in carseats and chairs by 10:00. As for me, it's left me with an 800mg-Advil worthy headache and absolutely ZERO desire to socialize today... especially with people like my wife's 20-year old cousin, who is in the Coast Guard, and thinks that people should be impressed by that, and insists on telling stories about it constantly, which always come off sounding like an 8-year-old talking about what he got for Christmas.
Shut up. Everyone.
So... Dave is ready to go HOME now, a desire which may be hampered by the fact that there will likely be a large HURRICANE sitting on top of said home at precisely the time his flight is scheduled to land tomorrow.
Ugh.
Friday, September 3
nerdy guys’ night out...
The bachelor party was nice enough, I guess. No strippers. Dinner out at a nice Italian place (salmon - $22) and then a night out at GameWorks (unlimited pool and videogames - $20) with 8 of the groom’s friends, all of whom seem to be some variety of engineer or computer geek. (With the exception of one med student.) My kinda guys, really, although I didn’t really know anybody except the groom and my brother-in-law. I felt a bit old, too.
Not much else to say. A couple of drinks, 4 games of pool, and lots of blowing the heads off zombies. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up until 2:00 AM for some reason OTHER than crying children.
Today is the rehearsal/dinner, but that doesn’t start until 4:30. Hopefully things will be quiet until then. Hopefully I can score a NAP at some point, too.
Stay tuned...
The bachelor party was nice enough, I guess. No strippers. Dinner out at a nice Italian place (salmon - $22) and then a night out at GameWorks (unlimited pool and videogames - $20) with 8 of the groom’s friends, all of whom seem to be some variety of engineer or computer geek. (With the exception of one med student.) My kinda guys, really, although I didn’t really know anybody except the groom and my brother-in-law. I felt a bit old, too.
Not much else to say. A couple of drinks, 4 games of pool, and lots of blowing the heads off zombies. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up until 2:00 AM for some reason OTHER than crying children.
Today is the rehearsal/dinner, but that doesn’t start until 4:30. Hopefully things will be quiet until then. Hopefully I can score a NAP at some point, too.
Stay tuned...
Thursday, September 2
Wednesday, September 1
need some help spinning the propeller...?
I hate walking across the runway to these little tiny airplanes. I feel like Charles-fucking-Lindbergh or something.
Our flight out of Mobile is delayed about a half-hour. That could make it a little tight for the second leg of the trip from ATL to Chicago. I’d rather not be stranded in an airport tonight, thanks.
I’m tired... really tired. There’s no Starbuck’s or anything here. Big surprise. There is wireless net access, but it’s not free, and I do NOT pay for wireless access. Everybody in the area is talking on their cell, really loudly, and the noise is competing with my equally loud daughter, and giving me a headache. One of the people is a vet who keeps calling people and saying things like ”I’m sorry to hear about your rabbit.”
My daughter just had a total freaking tantrum, because she was reading a boot and came across the name “Juanita” and asked me how to read it and when I told her she said “NOOO, BUT IT STARTS WITH A “J” SOUND!!!” and went completely berserk. Sorry, honey... but we’re not British... I will NOT allow you to say things like “Jew-Ah-Nita”.
Anyway.... all that was before we left Mobile.
(more later...)
I hate walking across the runway to these little tiny airplanes. I feel like Charles-fucking-Lindbergh or something.
Our flight out of Mobile is delayed about a half-hour. That could make it a little tight for the second leg of the trip from ATL to Chicago. I’d rather not be stranded in an airport tonight, thanks.
I’m tired... really tired. There’s no Starbuck’s or anything here. Big surprise. There is wireless net access, but it’s not free, and I do NOT pay for wireless access. Everybody in the area is talking on their cell, really loudly, and the noise is competing with my equally loud daughter, and giving me a headache. One of the people is a vet who keeps calling people and saying things like ”I’m sorry to hear about your rabbit.”
My daughter just had a total freaking tantrum, because she was reading a boot and came across the name “Juanita” and asked me how to read it and when I told her she said “NOOO, BUT IT STARTS WITH A “J” SOUND!!!” and went completely berserk. Sorry, honey... but we’re not British... I will NOT allow you to say things like “Jew-Ah-Nita”.
Anyway.... all that was before we left Mobile.
(more later...)
she looks very life-like...
Hey, look... Farrah Fawcett is on Letterman. And she's apparently borrowed Joan Rivers' plastic "upper-lip-don't-move" mask.
And then she goes on talking about how she's never had any plastic surgery.
Umm... am I on crack? Were your nostrils two different sizes in the 70's??
d.
(PS> note to self - "The Clarks" don't suck. In fact, they sound like exactly the kind of band I'd like to be in if I had time to be in a band nowadays.)
Hey, look... Farrah Fawcett is on Letterman. And she's apparently borrowed Joan Rivers' plastic "upper-lip-don't-move" mask.
And then she goes on talking about how she's never had any plastic surgery.
Umm... am I on crack? Were your nostrils two different sizes in the 70's??
d.
(PS> note to self - "The Clarks" don't suck. In fact, they sound like exactly the kind of band I'd like to be in if I had time to be in a band nowadays.)
t-minus one...
Tomorrow I get to fly by myself with a 5 year old.
Eek.
I hope she behaves herself. Like I said before... I'm not particularly looking forward to any aspect of this whole weekend. I'll pretty much be hanging back the whole time waiting for the tantrums to start... kids, wife, sister-in-law, mother-in-law... you name it.
I did get invited to a Bachelor Party, which is interesting. I've never been to one. Other than my own of course, which wasn't your typical Bachelor Party. (It was a day-long, musicians-only jam-session.) It sounds like this one will be one of those stripper-free, drinking-for-no-reason with people-I-don't-really-know kind of things. Which normally I wouldn't enjoy very much, but I'm thinking that if the alternative is watching the kids during the bridal shower... fuck, sign me up!
I always say this before I go away, but I'm not sure how much or when I'll be posting until after Labor Day. I always figure SOMETHING out, so... I'm sure you'll hear from me a bit.
As for those of you who asked for pictures of me in my new suit... I dunno... I'll be wearing it to a wedding... you don't think there will be anybody taking pictures do you??
Tomorrow I get to fly by myself with a 5 year old.
Eek.
I hope she behaves herself. Like I said before... I'm not particularly looking forward to any aspect of this whole weekend. I'll pretty much be hanging back the whole time waiting for the tantrums to start... kids, wife, sister-in-law, mother-in-law... you name it.
I did get invited to a Bachelor Party, which is interesting. I've never been to one. Other than my own of course, which wasn't your typical Bachelor Party. (It was a day-long, musicians-only jam-session.) It sounds like this one will be one of those stripper-free, drinking-for-no-reason with people-I-don't-really-know kind of things. Which normally I wouldn't enjoy very much, but I'm thinking that if the alternative is watching the kids during the bridal shower... fuck, sign me up!
I always say this before I go away, but I'm not sure how much or when I'll be posting until after Labor Day. I always figure SOMETHING out, so... I'm sure you'll hear from me a bit.
As for those of you who asked for pictures of me in my new suit... I dunno... I'll be wearing it to a wedding... you don't think there will be anybody taking pictures do you??
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