A blatant rip-off of what Rob did with his blog www.snowless.com
But the song is pretty and good for pictures.
Enjoy!
Dork is back on the running trail... for now
I am happy to report that ever since the 5 k run on Thanksgiving day I have managed to keep up an every other day 3 mile run routine. The hard part will be in 2 weeks when I don't feel like running, but for now it's nice to be back outside and have 30 minutes of exercise to clear my head.Sadly, the above photo is of me and yes, I know I am a dork.
Screw Patience I want it Now
Sitting here with my eye twitching for the last 2 weeks is starting to get to me. I am irritable and feeling less patient all the time... throw into the mix a lack of sleep, the end of the semester busy work at school, and a work situation that I won't go into because there aren't enough symbols on top of the keyboard to express how I @#$$%@~! feel.
Needless to say I am at my wits end.
Usually in a situation like this I respond by making a rash technology purchase and I really have been wanting a new PC lately but it's just not in the cards for now.
So, in the meantime, I think we are going to purchase about the least techy thing I can imagine... a toilet.
I very much doubt that this will flush away my stress... although our current toilet is both causing my eye to twitch and my feet to get wet (yick!)
The with purchasing a new toilet is that we live in an older house so we need a 10" rough-in to fit the hole - most toilets currently come as 12" rough-in standard... so my non-custom order options are few.
Has anyone heard of the Niagara Flapperless toilet? Right now it's about our only candidate... and I would really like to hear some feed back as to how it rides...
Patience is a virtue
So I couldn't take it. I have reset the blog to only display the last 3 days of postings. Having it all displayed at once was cool but took forever to load.
I did receive one nice offer to take the blog to Chuck E. Cheese for it's birthday.
Sounds like fun.
I did receive one nice offer to take the blog to Chuck E. Cheese for it's birthday.
Sounds like fun.
Happy Birthday mplsmerland
Okay, it's not quite my blog's one year anniversary but it's coming up in exactly one month. So to drive all of my readers crazy - I am setting it up to show all of my posts over the last year (I will do this until December 27)! So yes, this page will take longer than usual to load (go get a cup of coffee), but once it loads it should load faster the next time... if you can't stand it post a comment and let me know and I will revert back to displaying one-week's worth of posts at a time.Happy birthday mplsmerland!
A very weird post
For those of you who have known me for sometime you will know I have a vast collection of CDs from The Residents. I became infatuated with the band as a sophomore in High School. The other world feel of their music still takes me away. Not to say it takes me anywhere I'd like to go but it takes me away that is for sure... I am mostly a fan of their music from 1971 - 1990 but they live on today and continue to scare children well into the future. A nice site on the band exist here One. A nice biography of what they are or aren't all about is here Wikipedia.
I have to put this picture here becuase I thought the lyrics to Santa Dog went as follows... Santa's dog at Jesus' feet... but I am wrong... (I like my lyrics better...like I said they are a bit twisted). So the picture only fits with my lyrics so do with that what you will...
Here are the lyrics taken from the One site mentioned above... the by line is a mystery to me as most things Residents are.
I have to put this picture here becuase I thought the lyrics to Santa Dog went as follows... Santa's dog at Jesus' feet... but I am wrong... (I like my lyrics better...like I said they are a bit twisted). So the picture only fits with my lyrics so do with that what you will...Here are the lyrics taken from the One site mentioned above... the by line is a mystery to me as most things Residents are.
Fire
by Ivory & The Braineaters
Santa Dog's a Jesus Fetus
Santa Dog's a Jesus Fetus
Santa Dog's a Jesus Fetus
Has no presents,
Has no presence
In the future...
...In the future
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness severed sleeves
Bing, Bing, Bing, Bong, Bong, Bong, Snowness severed sleeves
A fleeting and a greeting scene of effervescent eves
Bing, Bing, Bing, Bong, Bong, Bong, Effervescent eves
Greeting and a meeting team of hoarse and frosty words
Bing, Bing, Bing, Bong, Bong, Bong, Hoarse and frosty words
A greeting and a cheating team and other noxious herbs
Bing, Bing, Bing, Bong, Bong, Bong, Other noxious herbs
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
A fleeting and a sleeting scene of snowness and of sleeves
Santa Dog
Has no presents
Has no presence
In the Future!
Grandpa and the Animal Farm
Sonja was so lucky she got to see great-grandpa Bob this weekend. Plus she got to animal wrestle!
It's how early in the morning?
Sonja was up at 3 A.M. this morning and wasn't too keen on falling back to sleep.
She was however very good and wailing at the top of her lungs for 20 minutes.
Perhaps this is why I did what I did with the hair and the beer once we got up for good around 7 A.M.
She was however very good and wailing at the top of her lungs for 20 minutes.
Perhaps this is why I did what I did with the hair and the beer once we got up for good around 7 A.M.
Thanksgiving good, black Friday bad
Thanksgiving went great. I began the day with the 5k Turkey Trot with a group of friends then we all met at Starbucks afterwards for some coffee and thankful friend time. Next it was off to my grandmothers for feast #1 and then finally off to my mother-in-laws for the final feast of the evening. Sonja held up remarkable well.
Black Friday, however has not gone quite as smoothly. I did my part for capitalism and awoke at 6am to purchase a gift (online from best buy) can't say what it was as the recipient of said item is one of the 12 readers of this blog (now actually more like 13 readers as I discovered my cousin Dylan has a blog and we traded URLs).
Next we headed out to my eye appt where I have slighlty worse vision than before but will be getting some new frames as reward for failing my vision test.
The rest of the day has been spent trying to get Sonja to take a nap (without much luck).
Must go now as it is time for food and crying.
Black Friday, however has not gone quite as smoothly. I did my part for capitalism and awoke at 6am to purchase a gift (online from best buy) can't say what it was as the recipient of said item is one of the 12 readers of this blog (now actually more like 13 readers as I discovered my cousin Dylan has a blog and we traded URLs).
Next we headed out to my eye appt where I have slighlty worse vision than before but will be getting some new frames as reward for failing my vision test.
The rest of the day has been spent trying to get Sonja to take a nap (without much luck).
Must go now as it is time for food and crying.
Nostalogy
So I made up a word for this post... Nostalgic for Technology - Nostalogy. This is what I am. I find that I often think back to technology of old with fleeting whimsy. I miss rotary dial phones, phones with cords, no cell phones. I miss low resolution graphics. I miss getting my computer programming magazine when I was 13 and being all excited about retyping in the hundred's of line of basic code into the school computer so I could create a very basic text game or hear the computer speaker beep out the first few bars of Beethoven's 5th.I miss computer camp and turning on my Apple IIe all the while making sure the boot up disk was in the drive. I miss having to have a boot up disk in the drive in order to start a computer. I miss 5 1/4" floppy disks heck I miss disks in general, most PCs now don't include one.
I miss the days when computers were seen as a fringe phenomenon of ultra-geeks.
...sigh
Don't let the cuteness fool you
They make them so cute so you don't 'accidentally' forget them at the bus stop.
Perhaps I am speaking out of bitterness right now but Sonja managed to keep mom and dad awake from about midnight until 7am... and then we got about 2 hours of sleep.
A quick trip to the Dr. office (again - we just went in on Friday because we thought she might have RSV or the croup which are going around at daycare, but nope just a little cold) because when we called to explain our night from hell the Dr. asked if she wailed when we tried to lay her down. Jenn was very excited by this question because yes, in fact that was exactly what was happening.
The Dr. said that it sounds like a likely ear infection so bring her in. This phone diagnosis made us very excited perhaps there was a reason for this mega-crabitude and more importantly if there was a cause surely there is a cure (medicine!). But all for naught, after a hurried 30 mile drive to the clinic we were told she was the picture of health and that was that.
Mom and Dad are feeling dejected right now and plan to drown our sorrows in donuts and frozen pizza.
Pictures can be misleading:
Perhaps I am speaking out of bitterness right now but Sonja managed to keep mom and dad awake from about midnight until 7am... and then we got about 2 hours of sleep.
A quick trip to the Dr. office (again - we just went in on Friday because we thought she might have RSV or the croup which are going around at daycare, but nope just a little cold) because when we called to explain our night from hell the Dr. asked if she wailed when we tried to lay her down. Jenn was very excited by this question because yes, in fact that was exactly what was happening.
The Dr. said that it sounds like a likely ear infection so bring her in. This phone diagnosis made us very excited perhaps there was a reason for this mega-crabitude and more importantly if there was a cause surely there is a cure (medicine!). But all for naught, after a hurried 30 mile drive to the clinic we were told she was the picture of health and that was that.
Mom and Dad are feeling dejected right now and plan to drown our sorrows in donuts and frozen pizza.
Pictures can be misleading:
Sonja's first performance
To explain this 3 minute video clip I should probably say that Sonja's daycare classroom is called the ducklings so the song that they "performed", and I use this term loosely, was Rubber Ducky. I imagine I will be attending quite a few of these event in my future and I am really looking forward to it. It may sound weird but I was proud of Sonja for sitting there and basically chewing on her maraca for 3 minutes. It takes talent to chew on something for that long without loosing interest, and in front of an audience no less!
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia Haiku
A hippopoto-monstrosesquippedalio-
phobic, likes small words
Mondo Sonja
178 photos of Sonja... Really who needs to look at that many photos... but here they are anywho.
Oatmeal
New food for this week - oatmeal!
Not only is oatmeal tasty, it's fun to wear!
Give me that spoon!
Not only is oatmeal tasty, it's fun to wear!
Give me that spoon!Gears of War
I am what some call a gamer. I love games of all varieties - card, board, mind - but my favorite games are video games.It started with the Atari system in the early 80's. I have been hooked ever since. I have wasted untold hours staring at a T.V. trying to kill bad guys, collecting coins, solving problems, racing cars etc...
I am now in my mid-thirties and feel that perhaps I am too old for video games.
The thing is that the games keep getting cooler. I just bought the new game, Gears of War, for my Xbox 360 this past week and I made a startling discovery. I am the target market for many of these video games.
This insight into my position as a primary target of the video game industry oddly came as I was playing through the Gears of War game. The game is rated M (mature). It contains some pretty graphic violence and (a first for me) some pretty graphic language.
I oddly appreciated the use of this coarser language. It fit with the overall theme of the game, a dark sci-fi kill the aliens thing, and the mature language fit with the action on the screen.
When you're about to be blown to smithereens by a 10-foot tall drooling alien the last thing you would likely say is oh golly, or help, or ahhhhh... more than likely a steady stream of foul language would spew forth.
Marketing by vulgarity and violence - a sad statement on the current state of the world - but one I appreciate nonetheless.
The meaning of pure joy
I think Jenn and I discovered where pure joy comes from last night. It lies in the uncontrollable giggles of a 5 month old baby.
We had just put Sonja down in her crib for the night and were about to start singing her the nightly cannon of lullabies when I bent over to kiss Sonja's tummy. She giggled and giggled. So of course we kept doing that until all of us could laugh no longer.
It will be the thought that gets me through this week. Work remains stressful and school is moving towards it's semester's end crescendo of loads of group work and reading.
The weather has been cooperating with my mood. Today it is cold about 32°F snow/sleet and the air is permeated by a grey colorless cloud of haze. Ahh Mondays
We had just put Sonja down in her crib for the night and were about to start singing her the nightly cannon of lullabies when I bent over to kiss Sonja's tummy. She giggled and giggled. So of course we kept doing that until all of us could laugh no longer.
It will be the thought that gets me through this week. Work remains stressful and school is moving towards it's semester's end crescendo of loads of group work and reading.
The weather has been cooperating with my mood. Today it is cold about 32°F snow/sleet and the air is permeated by a grey colorless cloud of haze. Ahh Mondays
Sonja Jumping and Eating
Sonja is starting to get better at the johnny-jump-up thing and really likes to work the legs.
We are also quickly thickening up her cereal - so it sticks to the spoon and her face much better.
We are also quickly thickening up her cereal - so it sticks to the spoon and her face much better.
Sonja in the High Chair and with Kitty
Another busy weekend here at the house. We hosted the monthly neighborhood party on Friday (proof of our insanity). Sonja held up better than her parents did. Karma also taught us a lesson.
Jenn and I were braggin' up the fact that Sonja has been such a good sleeper since about 2.5 months. Sleeping though the night, easy to put to bed, etc. So of course every night for the past few days she has been hard to get to bed and has woken up at hours best fit for the zombies and Wal-Mart shelf stockers.
Oh yeah, and I did finish my paper for class, but unlike previous classes I will spare all of you and not post it to the blog. It's about the importance of blogging for businesses so I am certain no one wants to read it.
Here are a few more pictures from the weekend. Feel free to post comments and click ads : )
Jenn and I were braggin' up the fact that Sonja has been such a good sleeper since about 2.5 months. Sleeping though the night, easy to put to bed, etc. So of course every night for the past few days she has been hard to get to bed and has woken up at hours best fit for the zombies and Wal-Mart shelf stockers.
Oh yeah, and I did finish my paper for class, but unlike previous classes I will spare all of you and not post it to the blog. It's about the importance of blogging for businesses so I am certain no one wants to read it.
Here are a few more pictures from the weekend. Feel free to post comments and click ads : )
Sonja Reads
Can you tell I have a large homework assignment due on Monday. I have posted lots today and it is because I am a procrastinator. Oh well. It's just school.
Haikus for Breed 'em and Weep
Okay three haikus in one posting here... this is a shout out to my wife's frien Jenn. She writes a great blog (Breed 'em and Weep). I clicked on the "about" tab and discovered that she is afraid of three things - swans, teenage boys and IVs. So I couldn't help myself.
Ornithophobic
Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds
Or a giant swan
Boys filled with hormones
And a new drivers license
Ephebiphobic
Sharp, long and pointed
Made to insert into flesh
Aichmophobic
OrnithophobicAlfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds
Or a giant swan
Boys filled with hormonesAnd a new drivers license
Ephebiphobic
Sharp, long and pointedMade to insert into flesh
Aichmophobic
Sonja makes the jump to real food!
You want me to eat that?!? It looks like gruel... wait a minute, it is gruel... Rice cereal is for babies, bring on the pizza! Click on play to watch the video below.Lots of pictures
Okay, so I don't get my 35mm film developed all that often. I think we move from Christmas 2005 up to just a few days ago. Please click on the image above to see all 48 photos.
Sonja in Yellow and Pink
Just click on the picture to go to the photo album to see all the pictures. Just getting ready to feed Sonja for the morning feeding. It's 7:30 AM and this will be second breakfasts as she decided that she was hungry at 4:30AM... After we eat we are going on a field trip to Walgreens for a prescription refill and to develop some film... and the Walgreens just happens to be across the street from a Starbucks : )
Common Ground
Since it is election season I thought I would dig up an old idea I had a few years back. It's a radical idea, a notion that could revolutionize the country. It's cooperation.
Two years ago Minnesota was seeing some pretty ugly partisan bickering going on within our the state government. It nearly led to a shut down of the government.
I tend to lean left, but it doesn't mean that I walk lock-step with the DFL party. In fact, for me, party loyalty is a crutch for the weak minded. Now this may sound harsh and probably not well thought out (which it isn't) but really shouldn't our loyalties lie within our communities and families?
Shouldn't GOP and DFL representatives be able to COMPROMISE and COOPERATE? I expect any political representative not to be able to fulfill every plank of their party platform. I expect them to use the plank as a starting point and then to move towards the center as they compromise with opposing viewpoints.
This was the thought that made me force a small group of friends and family to meet for coffee and treats to discuss what we could do about the gridlock that was (and is) the Minnesota political system.
A good conversation took place. Coffee was consumed. Ideas were bandied about, but in the end we did little. We left with plans to talk to our local representatives and to let them know that we valued compromise over conflict.
Unfortunately, life is busy. Time is scarce and motivation even scarcer. Perhaps someday, someone will pick up this dusty idea and run with it.
For my dad in China
My dad is in China for the next three weeks and I promised I would post lost of pictures of Sonja for him so he wouldn't miss out on anything...
I love Grandma
Everybody loves me (what's with all the hands?!?)John Kerry is not a comedian
I have debated about writing down my observations regarding John Kerry's recent comments regarding education and the war in Iraq.Thankfully, I no longer have to because someone spelled it out for me. Click here to read a well written opinion on the matter.
One thing I haven't heard anyone mention, and I am curious to know, is what is the average education level of our men and women serving in the military. My guess is that Kerry may have a point, the average enlistee enrolls out of high school and doesn't have a college degree. However, I still think there is a wide gap between education and intelligence. So while those serving our country via the military may not have an abundance of the former they make up for it with and overabundance of the latter.
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