Thursday, October 27

Three cool things

1. The new header design is courtesy of this website. This guy wrote a computer program that creates an adaptive community of dots playing tag. They get better as the game progresses, and live longer if they stay alive. They make some very great patterns.
(Thanks to Kottke)

2. A good creepy optical illusion called Mr. Angry and Mrs. Calm. Perfect for halloween. Click here.
(Thanks to BoingBoing)

Okay, I guess it was only two cool things.

Tuesday, October 25

New pictures of Nora



I put some new pictures on Flickr. Click here to visit the new set.

Thursday, October 20

The Bus Csar



There's this one guy who rides my bus every morning, and he's talkative. Every day, when he gets on, he says hi, and the bus driver says "Hi Steve", and the developmentally disabled guy in the back says "Hi Steve" (the other thing he always says is "Look at the big brown dog" in a very full voice anytime he sees a dog, which is often in the morning, when people are out for their daily walks).

Anyway, Steve always talks with the driver and some of the other passengers, but I usually just stay quite and read whatever it is that I have with me. He's not an unpleasant person, it's just not my style. He dominates the room, however, and I know when he goes on vacations (Las Vegas two months ago) and his political views (thinks Bush is an idiot, in a semi-informed manner. Today's comment: "Did you know that Rumsfeld actually re-wrote what our definition of torture is?". Maybe partially correct, but missing the point.)

Today, Steve started talking about me, saying "that guy doesn't talk much, does he?" I raised my head, saying something like "not really". He asked what I was reading, and I showed him the New York Times Magazine. He responded by saying: "Oh, so he's better than the rest of us..."

Nice. We continued the conversation, and talked about our jobs. He's a bill collector ("I sit at a computer and mess up peoples credit ratings"). It all ended friendly.

But still, it's not everyday you get accused of haughtiness by the most popular guy on the bus.

Saturday, October 15

Dad Brag

I've got a bit of a super-dad complex going today.

1. This morning Pete found two of his trains outside. These particular trains are motorized, and have been sitting outside in the weather for months. Needless to say, they didn't run, regardless of attempted battery replacement. Pete really wanted them to run, so I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to take them apart and clean them out. I took apart most of my toys when I was a kid; most of them were dismantled closer to purchase than my parents probably would have preferred. So, I have a lot of experience with the small electric motors used to power this type of toy. I fondly remember the little gear on the end working particularly well as a GI Joe mangler, once the motor was hooked up to a 9-volt battery. I had big plans to build a life sized robot using these motors.

Anyone who has taken apart their toys knows that the "apart" part is easy. It's the "back together" that never quite works out. Surprisingly, my skills have improved since age 8, and I was able to get both trains apart, cleaned, WD-40'd, and back together in working order. Flush from my success, I even souped one of them up, rigging it up to the trusty old 9-volt instead of the AA. Pete played with them the rest of the day, and I felt like a king. He calls the souped-up version "super-fast train".

2. Right now, I'm home with Pete while Heather and Nora are attending a dinner show event sponsored by her workplace. It was going to be steak and drinks, and cowboy music, which I've heard is shockingly entertaining.

Pete and I have to stay home because he's contracted a bit of a stomach bug, and really isn't in going-out shape. This afternoon, it became clear that it was not a minor issue when he went in his sleep and suddenly, everything within a 15 foot radius had poop on it. I literally did a crapload of laundry.

There's nothing more embarrassing than having your kid exhibit his explosive diarrhea in the middle of that song about the fiddle and the devil (fire on moutain, run boy run...), so he and I are sitting at home, watching "Finding Nemo", and baking a frozen pizza, and it's grand.

Friday, October 14

Creative Lyrics from Heather

"Send a bowl of lightning, very very frightening..."

from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Wednesday, October 12

Motivational Choo-Choo

The new header design is from the mural we have going in our main hallway. Everytime Pete makes a good try on the toilet, we draw a new train for him. Does anyone like the header below more than the one I used?

Tuesday, October 11

Fall has sprung

Live cam view of Pikes Peak

Fall has begun here in Co. Springs. Actually, one could make an argument that we've skipped straight from summer to winter, with fall lasting a few minutes on sunday morning.

Spring and fall appeal for different instinctual reasons:

Spring says prepare for productivity. Long days, landscaping, etc.
Fall says prepare for hibernation. Coffee, stew, movies, etc.

Thursday, October 6

My Intricate Tidbits

I was in Vegas for work earlier this week.

1. Overheard

A co-worker:
"I wonder if birds think that colorful butterflies taste fruity? You know, like fruit stripe gum":

Security police (these are the guys responsible for protecting the Air Force Base from unauthorized intruders):
"Where's Milwaukee? Missouri? Oklahoma? Hey, do you guys know where Milwaukee is?"

2. Surgery

My sister-in-law is having some surgery today. Think good thoughts. Surgery in the neck area is a little freaky.