Music: The Warlocks, "So Paranoid"
I'm sleepy. Cat puked at the end of the bed around 3ish, about the worst alarm clock one could have, and I was up, and that was that. It's extra-bad because last night was Spousette's class night (Part 1, Wednesday is Part 2), so I waited up for her to get home, so I slept like 10:30 to 3:30, or something like that. Not enough sleep.
The song I have on, a syrupy bit of psychedelia from the Warlocks, is like a shot of NyQuil in my sleep-deprived condition, but oh well.
I just changed it to Negative Approach. Just try sleeping through that. Trouble is, it's only 1:17 long. Now I've got Nugent doing "Stranglehold," which is another long, sleepy one. Everything's gonna make me sleepy today. All part of the zombie dance, I guess.
I'll do black and orange tomorrow (black shirt, orange t-shirt, black fingernail polish), in honor of my favorite holiday, which, unfortunately, caught up to me this month way too quickly. We've just been too family-busy to stop and enjoy the moments.
And I hear it might rain tomorrow evening. Halloween rains suck. It better hold off.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Down with the sickness
I'm taking a sick day from work today; I actually do feel sick, and I'm sure that being at work will only make me feel sicker, yes? Best to stay home and get better than go to work and get sicker. Sure, it'd be best to go in and get everybody else sick, and then take tomorrow off, landing me a three-day weekend, but oh, well.
So, I watched ANTM last night, and what's-her-name quit the show when the time came for the judging. She actually wasn't going to be picked, but jumped the gun and quit, instead, earning the Contempt of Tyra(tm)! She was the gal who looked like she should be a 70s drug dealer's girlfriend in a movie, or something.
I'm definitely rooting for Heather in this. Lisa's really attractive, but has a kind of empty-eyed look and kittenish insecurity that's not appealing. I like that gal (Jenah, maybe??) who has the goose egg eyes and blonde hair who's not impressive in motion, but who nails it with the pictures. She reminds me of a gal I knew from college, except that she's bottled blonde. The so-called "plus sized" model is sort of interesting, too, at least in her looks -- on camera, anyway. In person, she's kind of furtive.
So, I watched ANTM last night, and what's-her-name quit the show when the time came for the judging. She actually wasn't going to be picked, but jumped the gun and quit, instead, earning the Contempt of Tyra(tm)! She was the gal who looked like she should be a 70s drug dealer's girlfriend in a movie, or something.
I'm definitely rooting for Heather in this. Lisa's really attractive, but has a kind of empty-eyed look and kittenish insecurity that's not appealing. I like that gal (Jenah, maybe??) who has the goose egg eyes and blonde hair who's not impressive in motion, but who nails it with the pictures. She reminds me of a gal I knew from college, except that she's bottled blonde. The so-called "plus sized" model is sort of interesting, too, at least in her looks -- on camera, anyway. In person, she's kind of furtive.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Printergate
Did I tell you that B2 broke our new printer? Same way he hamstrung the old printer, by snapping an internal guidewire. Christ!! The saga continues. I'd told Spousette to make sure that B2 didn't break it like he did our old one, but no dice. The stinker had gotten in there and busted it.
So, the circle is complete! But, since the printer was still covered by [Store's] returns policy, we took it back for a refund, told them it was broken. This was Spousette's suggestion. I wasn't keen on it, since it wasn't [Store's] fault the printer was broken, but she said "They won't care; I'm sure that happens all the time." So, we went back and returned it, nearly got our money back (e.g., it was credited to our credit card).
Thus, we are now currently printerless, with the memory cards still on their way, the ones I'd bought to fix the new printer problem to begin with. Fancy! Now, on one level, you might think, "Hey, Daibh, at least your system will have new memory, and perform better. And you can just grab any printer you like, now." and I'd agree. Except that we have several pricey inkjet cartridges that only go with particular HP printers. This was something we'd bought months ago when running low on cartridges, before we realized our Lil' Luddite would destroy our old printer.
Thus, the quest has shifted to me trying to find a replacement printer that uses those cartridges we have AND which our computer can handle. The Holy Grail would be a cakewalk by comparison, given that about half of the printers using those types of cartridges are discontinued. Sigh. There are still some out there, but they're generally older printers, not necessarily the latest-and-greatest printers -- and also they're not the cheapest printers, either (they run over $100 routinely, the ones that are compatible with the cartridges we have). If I find a good refurbished one, I'll be sorely tempted to snag it, and to place it behind Lexan to keep B2's cute little mitts away from it.
Amazing month of luck.
My three-word summary of last week: That fucking printer!!!
So, the circle is complete! But, since the printer was still covered by [Store's] returns policy, we took it back for a refund, told them it was broken. This was Spousette's suggestion. I wasn't keen on it, since it wasn't [Store's] fault the printer was broken, but she said "They won't care; I'm sure that happens all the time." So, we went back and returned it, nearly got our money back (e.g., it was credited to our credit card).
Thus, we are now currently printerless, with the memory cards still on their way, the ones I'd bought to fix the new printer problem to begin with. Fancy! Now, on one level, you might think, "Hey, Daibh, at least your system will have new memory, and perform better. And you can just grab any printer you like, now." and I'd agree. Except that we have several pricey inkjet cartridges that only go with particular HP printers. This was something we'd bought months ago when running low on cartridges, before we realized our Lil' Luddite would destroy our old printer.
Thus, the quest has shifted to me trying to find a replacement printer that uses those cartridges we have AND which our computer can handle. The Holy Grail would be a cakewalk by comparison, given that about half of the printers using those types of cartridges are discontinued. Sigh. There are still some out there, but they're generally older printers, not necessarily the latest-and-greatest printers -- and also they're not the cheapest printers, either (they run over $100 routinely, the ones that are compatible with the cartridges we have). If I find a good refurbished one, I'll be sorely tempted to snag it, and to place it behind Lexan to keep B2's cute little mitts away from it.
Amazing month of luck.
My three-word summary of last week: That fucking printer!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
ACG
Alice Cooper Group were great. I always get an extra hankering for them around Halloween, although their music holds up nearly 40 years later…
“I Love the Dead”
“Under My Wheels”
"Elected" (I think of this one every election year)
“Eighteen”
“Black Juju” (the pie in the face, classic!)
“Lay Down and Die Goodbye”
“Is It My Body”
“Public Animal #9”
“I Love the Dead”
“Under My Wheels”
"Elected" (I think of this one every election year)
“Eighteen”
“Black Juju” (the pie in the face, classic!)
“Lay Down and Die Goodbye”
“Is It My Body”
“Public Animal #9”
100th!
Today I got my 100th "Editor's Choice" comment star on Salon! Woo hoo! My day will be downhill from this point.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Carded.
The epic continues.
I can't fucking win. This is insane. It's been like a month, now, since B2 destroyed our old printer.
- New printer is too memory-intensive for old computer
- I order a memory card to add memory to old computer
- I discover that computer requires a matched set of memory cards to work
- I order another memory card matched to the original
- I try to install the cards, only to find out that the Dell only takes specific types of memory cards
- I then order a pair of Dell-friendly memory cards
- They finally arrive, I go to install them, only to find out that the company sent me a mismatched pair of cards; one works, the other doesn't
- So, I wrote the company and requested a matching card to match the one they should've fucking matched it to to begin with
I can't fucking win. This is insane. It's been like a month, now, since B2 destroyed our old printer.
Tricks are for kids
Some parental trickery -- Spousette took B2's Noo Noo (as he calls his blankie) and cut it in half without him knowing it. This was to make it easier to launder the thing, since any time we'd take the Noo Noo, B2 would squawk. So, magically, we now have two Noo Noo's, one of which we use and the other we keep in reserve. Come laundry day (Sunday), I take the dirty Noo Noo and replace it with Noo Noo 2. B2's none the wiser.
Another trick: B1 doesn't like the crusts on his bread, so I slice the crusts from them. Then I dice them and put them in a little baggie for B2, who thinks because they're in a baggie, they're somehow a treat. In the past, if I put those diced crusts on his feeding tray, he'd just ignore them or throw them away. But in a baggie, why, suddenly they're special, and he's happily munching on them! Muahaha! So, no wasted bread, and children get fed!
Still another one -- B1, ever the diva, won't willingly eat the heels of the bread. Sometimes, though, that's all we have left. So, I take the heels and put peanut butter or Nutella on them, and stick them together. That way, he can't see the heels! Muhahahahh!
Our boys love "Between the Lions" -- muppettish kids' reading show, on at 6:30 a.m. CST on PBS, if you must know. And they do a great job with it, except for a couple of shows that kind of weird me out -- there's Cliff Hanger, this benighted soul who's always hanging from a cliff, never seems able to escape.
And then there's Chicken Jane, who occupies this twisted world where she's always getting reamed somehow and saving the kids (modeled after Dick and Jane) from peril. Here's a representative episode of it. I always feel bad for poor Chicken Jane, forced to protect these idiot children from all sorts of things. When the little ditty starts, I'm always saying to Spousette, "Poor Chicken Jane!"
Another trick: B1 doesn't like the crusts on his bread, so I slice the crusts from them. Then I dice them and put them in a little baggie for B2, who thinks because they're in a baggie, they're somehow a treat. In the past, if I put those diced crusts on his feeding tray, he'd just ignore them or throw them away. But in a baggie, why, suddenly they're special, and he's happily munching on them! Muahaha! So, no wasted bread, and children get fed!
Still another one -- B1, ever the diva, won't willingly eat the heels of the bread. Sometimes, though, that's all we have left. So, I take the heels and put peanut butter or Nutella on them, and stick them together. That way, he can't see the heels! Muhahahahh!
Our boys love "Between the Lions" -- muppettish kids' reading show, on at 6:30 a.m. CST on PBS, if you must know. And they do a great job with it, except for a couple of shows that kind of weird me out -- there's Cliff Hanger, this benighted soul who's always hanging from a cliff, never seems able to escape.
And then there's Chicken Jane, who occupies this twisted world where she's always getting reamed somehow and saving the kids (modeled after Dick and Jane) from peril. Here's a representative episode of it. I always feel bad for poor Chicken Jane, forced to protect these idiot children from all sorts of things. When the little ditty starts, I'm always saying to Spousette, "Poor Chicken Jane!"
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Shrinkage
With Halloween's imminent approach, the candy aisles overflow with chocolate. And that's swell, although I have to say that the "Fun Size" isn't so fun, anymore. They keep making them smaller. I just ate a fun size Mounds that was all of .6 of an ounce. I bet in the 70s, a fun sized Mounds was likely far bigger. I hate that. So, eating two of them, I end up eating 1.2 ounces of Mounds. I might as well go shoe-shopping afterwards. Sheesh.
Work's insane as ever. Annoying Bizarroworld, extra-annoying and mentally ill coworkers, and me just wanting to be gone from there, trying to keep my head down for when the bullets start flying. I have a couple of job-lead nibbles, but refuse to get my hopes up just yet, lest I jinx'em.
I watched "Beauty & the Geek" last night, again. I hate that they call the geeks "geeks" -- that bugs me. But it was still amusing. Spell "Intelligence" -- I loved how slowly and carefully the mimbo spelled that. The makeovers were amusing, too. Now they all look like hipsters, with varying degrees of success. The pretty boy did the best in the makeovers; hopefully he'll keep that look going, and should be up to his armpits in babes after this show's over.
I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Today should really be Thursday, shouldn't it? Lordy.
Something I stumbled on over the weekend, on one of the lame weekend shows, they had people sum up their week in three words, which led to a treaclefest. But I liked that concept, and will likely do that for kicks.
Last week: Sick of it!!
Music: Big Black, "He's a Whore" (perfect tune for the moment)
Work's insane as ever. Annoying Bizarroworld, extra-annoying and mentally ill coworkers, and me just wanting to be gone from there, trying to keep my head down for when the bullets start flying. I have a couple of job-lead nibbles, but refuse to get my hopes up just yet, lest I jinx'em.
I watched "Beauty & the Geek" last night, again. I hate that they call the geeks "geeks" -- that bugs me. But it was still amusing. Spell "Intelligence" -- I loved how slowly and carefully the mimbo spelled that. The makeovers were amusing, too. Now they all look like hipsters, with varying degrees of success. The pretty boy did the best in the makeovers; hopefully he'll keep that look going, and should be up to his armpits in babes after this show's over.
I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Today should really be Thursday, shouldn't it? Lordy.
Something I stumbled on over the weekend, on one of the lame weekend shows, they had people sum up their week in three words, which led to a treaclefest. But I liked that concept, and will likely do that for kicks.
Last week: Sick of it!!
Music: Big Black, "He's a Whore" (perfect tune for the moment)
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Saturdazed
Well, I'm back. What a gray, overcast day today's been! But busy, too, as Saturdays always are.
Got up my usual crack o' dawn (the word "dawn" will forever be tainted to me, for those who know why, there's no need to 'splain it). And I exercised in the fitness room downstairs (nautilus then 35 minutes of elliptical trainer -- part of my fall/winter routine, when the weather gets ucky). Then later, I dropped Spousette off for labs this morning (got her up there around 8:30 a.m.), then took the boys to the Dominick's that's off of Howard (pretty nice for a Dominick's, very roomy -- it's the point of the spear of the gentrification going on in the area, part of a plaza of various things, like a Bally's etc.) Went grocery-shopping ($133, got a wide array of needed staples), then drove back home, did the dead-dad shuffle (that is, toting B2 in left arm, pushing packed grocery cart with right arm, while helping B1 along as well). Of course, I couldn't get parking too close, so it was a bit of a hike, maybe 150 urban yards, zigzagging. The kind of haul that prompts bachelors to walk by me with looks like "Christ, I'm so glad I'm not a dad."
Then getting into our building and unloading the groceries, making raisin toast for the boys (they both loved it. B1 ate nearly six pieces of it! B2 ate two plus some of the ones his brother left). Then I put B2 down for a nap, then watched some morning cartoons with B1 (he loves "Legion of Super Heroes" and "the Batman" -- even though I'm a Marvel guy at heart, I must admit that with the animated stuff, DC does it better).
By that point, it was time to get B1 ready for soccer, so I got him all ready to go, and at the last minute, roused his brother from his nap to get him ready. Then it was a hasty drive to the park, managing to luck into some parking, and hot-footing it to the game.
I'd brought the baby backpack, so B2 was riding on my back. B1's whole team was there, and while they practiced, I let B2 toddle around, get into mischief. With Spousette at labs, and me the only parental representative from our fams there, it's kind of isolating -- like all the other parents are there and talking, and I'm busy trying to keep B2 from swallowing bottlecaps and pieces of park-glass. Although I have to let him walk himself out, so he'll be more sanguine about being piggybacked when the game actually begins. The parents are all nice, and are always pleased by my enthusiasm when the game begins. One of the moms, Kate, totally reminds me of Mame. She could be Mame's other sister.
So the game was played, and the Silver Sharks (B1's team) played very well, but they were up against this impeccably-drilled team, these five little soccer robots trained by this hardcore coach. They were all little, but the kids could play -- they held great field position, played incredible defense, and even made actual offensive plays on the field. They were great, but it was kind of unpleasantly so, like they were grimly great, you know? Versus joyously so. They scored the first goal, but then our team rebounded.
Long story short, we lost 3 to 5 -- but it was a far closer game than that score might make it seem. It was tied for most of it, and only an accidental goal error by our ace (he knocked it into our own goal) made it a two-goal game. Otherwise it would've been 3 to 4, for real. So, even though our team was beaten, they played hard and they played well.
Only Kate's kid (who is this little diehard, all heart, a good player, though mostly instinctively athletic, versus being an ace) cried this time out, with Kate cornering him and saying "C'mon, C___, you need to get a hold of yourself. You played really well; everybody did. C___, enough tears."
So, that's some progress. And B1 asked right after the game if we'd won or lost, so that's progress, too! And our team really did play hard and well, and made those little robots work for their win.
After that, I let the boys play on the super-happy-fun playground (B1 scouted it out, said "Since there are no clowns there today, we can play there, Daddy!") I asked him what he didn't like about clowns, and he said "They're boring!" That amused me. I let the boys play about 45 minutes, both of'em running around, having fun.
Then we stopped by the gas station, and I added some air to one of the tires, which was a little low, then it was home (again, no parking behind the building -- gruh) so I had to go to one of my secondary parking areas, and haul the boys back home.
Then it was a snack-and-a-nap for B2, and a snack and Wallac & Gromit for B1, with Daddy taking a few minutes to rest! In no time, Spousette'll be home, and it'll be dinner time. I figure I'll do pizza.
Oh, and I ordered a soccer ball with a shark face imprinted on it, as a surprise for B1. He'll love it. I was inspired to look for it when I'd spied a soccer ball with a tiger on it. I thought "Oh, I bet they've got shark soccer balls." B1 might not be the best player, but he'll have the coolest ball, once it eventually arrives.
This was Game 6 for them; so there are three more in this part of the season. Then nine more games in spring. I have to say that the soccer league is really generous with the amount of games you get for what you pay for. Pretty great!
Alright, sofa-time for Daddeo!
Got up my usual crack o' dawn (the word "dawn" will forever be tainted to me, for those who know why, there's no need to 'splain it). And I exercised in the fitness room downstairs (nautilus then 35 minutes of elliptical trainer -- part of my fall/winter routine, when the weather gets ucky). Then later, I dropped Spousette off for labs this morning (got her up there around 8:30 a.m.), then took the boys to the Dominick's that's off of Howard (pretty nice for a Dominick's, very roomy -- it's the point of the spear of the gentrification going on in the area, part of a plaza of various things, like a Bally's etc.) Went grocery-shopping ($133, got a wide array of needed staples), then drove back home, did the dead-dad shuffle (that is, toting B2 in left arm, pushing packed grocery cart with right arm, while helping B1 along as well). Of course, I couldn't get parking too close, so it was a bit of a hike, maybe 150 urban yards, zigzagging. The kind of haul that prompts bachelors to walk by me with looks like "Christ, I'm so glad I'm not a dad."
Then getting into our building and unloading the groceries, making raisin toast for the boys (they both loved it. B1 ate nearly six pieces of it! B2 ate two plus some of the ones his brother left). Then I put B2 down for a nap, then watched some morning cartoons with B1 (he loves "Legion of Super Heroes" and "the Batman" -- even though I'm a Marvel guy at heart, I must admit that with the animated stuff, DC does it better).
By that point, it was time to get B1 ready for soccer, so I got him all ready to go, and at the last minute, roused his brother from his nap to get him ready. Then it was a hasty drive to the park, managing to luck into some parking, and hot-footing it to the game.
I'd brought the baby backpack, so B2 was riding on my back. B1's whole team was there, and while they practiced, I let B2 toddle around, get into mischief. With Spousette at labs, and me the only parental representative from our fams there, it's kind of isolating -- like all the other parents are there and talking, and I'm busy trying to keep B2 from swallowing bottlecaps and pieces of park-glass. Although I have to let him walk himself out, so he'll be more sanguine about being piggybacked when the game actually begins. The parents are all nice, and are always pleased by my enthusiasm when the game begins. One of the moms, Kate, totally reminds me of Mame. She could be Mame's other sister.
So the game was played, and the Silver Sharks (B1's team) played very well, but they were up against this impeccably-drilled team, these five little soccer robots trained by this hardcore coach. They were all little, but the kids could play -- they held great field position, played incredible defense, and even made actual offensive plays on the field. They were great, but it was kind of unpleasantly so, like they were grimly great, you know? Versus joyously so. They scored the first goal, but then our team rebounded.
Long story short, we lost 3 to 5 -- but it was a far closer game than that score might make it seem. It was tied for most of it, and only an accidental goal error by our ace (he knocked it into our own goal) made it a two-goal game. Otherwise it would've been 3 to 4, for real. So, even though our team was beaten, they played hard and they played well.
Only Kate's kid (who is this little diehard, all heart, a good player, though mostly instinctively athletic, versus being an ace) cried this time out, with Kate cornering him and saying "C'mon, C___, you need to get a hold of yourself. You played really well; everybody did. C___, enough tears."
So, that's some progress. And B1 asked right after the game if we'd won or lost, so that's progress, too! And our team really did play hard and well, and made those little robots work for their win.
After that, I let the boys play on the super-happy-fun playground (B1 scouted it out, said "Since there are no clowns there today, we can play there, Daddy!") I asked him what he didn't like about clowns, and he said "They're boring!" That amused me. I let the boys play about 45 minutes, both of'em running around, having fun.
Then we stopped by the gas station, and I added some air to one of the tires, which was a little low, then it was home (again, no parking behind the building -- gruh) so I had to go to one of my secondary parking areas, and haul the boys back home.
Then it was a snack-and-a-nap for B2, and a snack and Wallac & Gromit for B1, with Daddy taking a few minutes to rest! In no time, Spousette'll be home, and it'll be dinner time. I figure I'll do pizza.
Oh, and I ordered a soccer ball with a shark face imprinted on it, as a surprise for B1. He'll love it. I was inspired to look for it when I'd spied a soccer ball with a tiger on it. I thought "Oh, I bet they've got shark soccer balls." B1 might not be the best player, but he'll have the coolest ball, once it eventually arrives.
This was Game 6 for them; so there are three more in this part of the season. Then nine more games in spring. I have to say that the soccer league is really generous with the amount of games you get for what you pay for. Pretty great!
Alright, sofa-time for Daddeo!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Big Star
Song for the day, from Big Star. Sadly, there's no Big Star clip, but here's some guys covering it...
Don't Lie To Me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
I know where you been
And I know what you been doing
Don't lie to me
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
I don't like that
Now, I'm telling you
Don't push me 'round
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Don't Lie To Me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
Don't lie to me
I know where you been
And I know what you been doing
Don't lie to me
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
Don't push me 'round
I don't like that
Now, I'm telling you
Don't push me 'round
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Don't cross me babe
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Weekender
I find Monday's the best time to recount the weekend, since it's best to do so on company time, versus on home time. Not that there's terribly much to recount. Going backwards in time, let's see...
Sent out some rezzies, as ever. We'll see what happens. We took the boys outside to watch the marathon (where we live, we can catch them at Mile 5 and then can walk up the street to catch Mile 11). That was fun -- I'm a good cheerer, cheered those sorry running bastards on. We managed to hotfoot it to the Mile 11 spot (intersection of Armitage and Sedgewick) and see the elite marathoners shoot by, and waited there awhile (maybe 45 minutes) and watched some of the folks we cheered at Mile 5 make their way sweatily past us. Some of them were looking pretty worn out by then, ready to drop. The humidity took its toll, for sure. Then we went back to our apartment and watched the great finishes for the elite runners. I felt bad for Adriana Prieta, the Romanian who was coasting to a first-time marathon victory, only to have it snatched from her in the last minute by a sprinting Ethiopian champ. That was pretty amazing -- Prieta made a classic blunder: ending the race before crossing the finish line. Live and learn, I guess? She had an amazingly light stride for somebody running so damned far.
Spousette's definitely wanting to run a marathon at some point, but I told her no way am I doing it; I'd happily cheer her from the sidelines, but I only run when chased. The boys and I would cheer her on, but that's her particular mountain to climb, not mine!
We also went out and wore the boys out with some soccer and walking around the neighborhood; the boys enjoyed playing in the fountains in the kiddie part of the Zoo, which was cute. Although B2 was drawn to try to pick up cobbles and throw'em. He loves grabbing rocks and chucking'em. What else? Oh, speaking of soccer, B1's team won again, so they're 3 and 2, which is nice. Once again, B1 is hopeless at soccer, compared to three of his teammates (he's about equivalent to the remaining teammate). But he's young, is still learning.
Athletically, he's certainly capable of playing, but he's not aggressive or competitive enough to get much play time, and kind of loses his focus during play, although he seems to enjoy himself, and that's good. I thought he'd enjoy soccer for all of the running, but he just kind of goes off into his own world, although, as I said, he seems to have fun. The season is an amazingly long 18 games, so there's still a lot of time to learn and develop his skills.
One amusing thing -- as we finished, he said "did my team win?" and I told him they did, and he was happy, wanted to go to the playground nearby (which was all wet from the rain). I didn't really want to, wanted to get the boys back home, but we went over there, and I saw an honest-to-goodness (or badness) clown on a bicycle, riding around in there, like for some kid's birthday party, or something. I said "Hey, there's a clown in there." and B1's like "What?" and he looks, and says "Oooh, I don't want to go to the playground, now." And I said "Are you sure?" and he's like "Yeah. Let's get out of here!" so we went home, after all. For once, I was almost glad to see a goddamned clown.
We Peapodded our groceries on Friday, which left a lot of the weekend, open, thankfully. Spousette's labs started Saturday, so I drove her up there and played Soccer Dad for the game. I'll actually have to do that for the remainder of the fall season, and probably for spring, too. I just put B2 in our baby backpack, carry him the way, keep him out of trouble -- I let him run around and wear himself out while B1's practicing, and then backpack him for the game, so I can watch B1 play.
One thing we got from Peapod is this great full-fat mozzarella cheese. It's soooo good! First time we had it, we didn't realize it was full-fat, and were like "Damn, this cheese is great!" and then we saw it was full-fat. Yummers.
I was disappointed to hear the Cubs blow it on AM radio. They totally imploded.
Sent out some rezzies, as ever. We'll see what happens. We took the boys outside to watch the marathon (where we live, we can catch them at Mile 5 and then can walk up the street to catch Mile 11). That was fun -- I'm a good cheerer, cheered those sorry running bastards on. We managed to hotfoot it to the Mile 11 spot (intersection of Armitage and Sedgewick) and see the elite marathoners shoot by, and waited there awhile (maybe 45 minutes) and watched some of the folks we cheered at Mile 5 make their way sweatily past us. Some of them were looking pretty worn out by then, ready to drop. The humidity took its toll, for sure. Then we went back to our apartment and watched the great finishes for the elite runners. I felt bad for Adriana Prieta, the Romanian who was coasting to a first-time marathon victory, only to have it snatched from her in the last minute by a sprinting Ethiopian champ. That was pretty amazing -- Prieta made a classic blunder: ending the race before crossing the finish line. Live and learn, I guess? She had an amazingly light stride for somebody running so damned far.
Spousette's definitely wanting to run a marathon at some point, but I told her no way am I doing it; I'd happily cheer her from the sidelines, but I only run when chased. The boys and I would cheer her on, but that's her particular mountain to climb, not mine!
We also went out and wore the boys out with some soccer and walking around the neighborhood; the boys enjoyed playing in the fountains in the kiddie part of the Zoo, which was cute. Although B2 was drawn to try to pick up cobbles and throw'em. He loves grabbing rocks and chucking'em. What else? Oh, speaking of soccer, B1's team won again, so they're 3 and 2, which is nice. Once again, B1 is hopeless at soccer, compared to three of his teammates (he's about equivalent to the remaining teammate). But he's young, is still learning.
Athletically, he's certainly capable of playing, but he's not aggressive or competitive enough to get much play time, and kind of loses his focus during play, although he seems to enjoy himself, and that's good. I thought he'd enjoy soccer for all of the running, but he just kind of goes off into his own world, although, as I said, he seems to have fun. The season is an amazingly long 18 games, so there's still a lot of time to learn and develop his skills.
One amusing thing -- as we finished, he said "did my team win?" and I told him they did, and he was happy, wanted to go to the playground nearby (which was all wet from the rain). I didn't really want to, wanted to get the boys back home, but we went over there, and I saw an honest-to-goodness (or badness) clown on a bicycle, riding around in there, like for some kid's birthday party, or something. I said "Hey, there's a clown in there." and B1's like "What?" and he looks, and says "Oooh, I don't want to go to the playground, now." And I said "Are you sure?" and he's like "Yeah. Let's get out of here!" so we went home, after all. For once, I was almost glad to see a goddamned clown.
We Peapodded our groceries on Friday, which left a lot of the weekend, open, thankfully. Spousette's labs started Saturday, so I drove her up there and played Soccer Dad for the game. I'll actually have to do that for the remainder of the fall season, and probably for spring, too. I just put B2 in our baby backpack, carry him the way, keep him out of trouble -- I let him run around and wear himself out while B1's practicing, and then backpack him for the game, so I can watch B1 play.
One thing we got from Peapod is this great full-fat mozzarella cheese. It's soooo good! First time we had it, we didn't realize it was full-fat, and were like "Damn, this cheese is great!" and then we saw it was full-fat. Yummers.
I was disappointed to hear the Cubs blow it on AM radio. They totally imploded.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Lightsabers Rule
Man, these guys do some amazing lightsaber duels. The dork factor is through the roof, but what amazing stuff; my production geek self is amazed at the cinematography on this...
Ryan v. Dorkman 1
Ryan v. Brandon
Ryan v. Dorkman 2
I always wanted a lightsaber. I really want one at my current job.
Ryan v. Dorkman 1
Ryan v. Brandon
Ryan v. Dorkman 2
I always wanted a lightsaber. I really want one at my current job.
Mac-n-Cheezus Christ!
We went to Stanley's up the street, a bar and restaurant, kinda mangy on the inside, but good Southern cooking in there, poppets. Anyway, I encountered a new mac-n-cheese delivery system that was fantastic!
Fried mac-n-cheese! That's right! You take mac-n-cheese that's thick enough to be molded and cut it into cubes, and then dredge it in breadcrumbs/batter, and then fry it. They served it with a tasty ranch dressing variant and also a tasty tomato dipping sauce. The delectable mac-n-cheese cubes were finger food, roughly the size of a pair of old-school alphabet blocks side-by-side, to form a rectangle of mac-n-cheesy goodness.
Just when you think nobody could improve on mac-n-cheese, along comes this! I have to experiment, now, try to render this at home. It was really tasty.
I also had a country-style pork tenderloin dinner (with mashed potatoes, biscuit, and yummy gravy), and a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale. All was good!
Fried mac-n-cheese! That's right! You take mac-n-cheese that's thick enough to be molded and cut it into cubes, and then dredge it in breadcrumbs/batter, and then fry it. They served it with a tasty ranch dressing variant and also a tasty tomato dipping sauce. The delectable mac-n-cheese cubes were finger food, roughly the size of a pair of old-school alphabet blocks side-by-side, to form a rectangle of mac-n-cheesy goodness.
Just when you think nobody could improve on mac-n-cheese, along comes this! I have to experiment, now, try to render this at home. It was really tasty.
I also had a country-style pork tenderloin dinner (with mashed potatoes, biscuit, and yummy gravy), and a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale. All was good!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Can't win for losing
I knew our free (sigh) cable went out for a reason this summer; they're doing the MLB playoffs on basic cable this year! Thanks heaps, Bud fuckin' Selig. Now I won't be able to watch the Cubs play. That alone might guarantee them a World Series Championship, just in sheer Fuck You Factor. Still, it's really irritating -- I love watching the playoffs, and they took them off network television. WTF? Those of you with basic cable, looks like they'll be on TBS. I guess I'll listen to the games on WGN AM 720. Pout.
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