Month: June 2005

  • Dad And Daughter Day

    With Alex away at the coast, I decided that today would be a Father/Daughter outing. When presented with a set of options, Erica immediately decided that the zoo was the place to be. And so, off we went.

    First, of course, we had to stop for food. I took her to the Pizza Schmizza that’s near one of the bus stops downtown (the service was markedly improved over that of when Dawn and I went, last weekend). Then we hit the MAX up to Washington Square Park Zoo, where we arrived just in time to see the one of the performances of “Discover Birds” on its inaugural date of the summer. Hawks, scavengers, owls, ducks and an eagle all graced the auditorium. (The Harris’ Hawk graced someone’s shirt before leaving one of the platforms, though. And this is why you don’t sit right next to those things.) We also made a point of seeing the goats, bears, penguins, meerkats, giraffe and butterflies.

    Afterward Erica decided that the best thing to do next would be… to come home and play some games with her Dad. Aww! That’s my girl. I decided to introduce her to Empire Earth, since we’ve always had fun playing the various “Age Of” games over the years. Several hours later… we emerged victorious over our enemies. For what it’s worth, she outfought and outproduced me, though I did better at epoch advancements and research. It was her second wonder that triggered the win timer, not a minute too soon as it turns out we’d been at it much longer than I thought we would be. Whoops.

    When I finally got her home (thanks in large part to a lift offered by the roomie), I received my Father’s Day present: A t-shirt that reads, “Bank of Dad” and done up like an ATM. “Enter excuse or sob story, then press —->” and the buttons are marked Clothes, Road Trip, Tuition, Bail, Pizza and Concert. The “Deposits” slot is cobwebbed over, and the cash dispenser slot is labeled “Take Money And Run.”

    I said, “Heck, you should’ve given me the shirt before we left…”

    (I was just joking, mind you. Erica was a complete sweetheart the entire time, not once begging me for money. She’s the best daughter an underqualified dad like me could want, I tell ya.)

  • Geek Social Fallacies

    Ginerva linked to a splendid little treatise covering some of the things that we geeks deal with in our social circles all the time. Each of us probably exhibits one or more of these to some extent, but hey, knowing is half the battle, right?

    (In case you’re wondering? GSF4, though I’m not as bad about it nowadays as I used to be…)

    Five Geek Social Fallacies

  • 35 not-exactly-questions…

    Sarah seems to have struck gold with another spiffy one…

    1) My uncle once: dislocated my shoulder by energetically swinging me around. I went days without using my arm, until Mom finally noticed and asked me why I wasn’t using it. Suffer in silence much? Nah…
    2) Never in my life: have I sought happiness through recreational chemicals.
    3) When I was five: I told my mother that I was to be called “Carl” from that point on, because the real pronunciation of my name sounded too much to me like a girl’s name. It kind of still does, actually.
    4) High school was: moderately unpleasant, but for most of one year and part of another.
    5) Fire is: the best way to cook meat.
    6) I once saw: ash blanketing the small town I lived in.
    7) There’s this woman I know who: is hopelessly addicted to Neopets.
    8) Once, at a bar: I was thrown out because my state ID card had expired two years previously.
    9) By noon I’m usually: wondering if it’s time to go home yet.
    10) Last night: I was a good boy and resisted several urges to spend money.
    11) If I only had: told that girl I went to school with how I really felt.
    12) Next time I go to church: will be too soon, however far off it may be.
    13) The best thing about my last relationship was: more than just one thing. And even then, it depends on what you mean by “last relationship.” And… no, I don’t think I can narrow this down for you. Sorry.
    14) What worries me most: is that I’m going to hopelessly bungle… everything.
    15) When I turn my head left: I see the hallway outside my office through the nearly-ceiling-height window.
    16) When I turn my head right: I see the second monitor that’s attached to this workstation. Dual-head displays rock.
    17) You know I’m lying when: I’m clearly full of it.
    18) What I miss most about the eighties: is regular musical output from my favorite bands.
    19) If I were a character written by Shakespeare, I’d be: a comedic foil.
    20) By this time next year: I’ll have more money, more sex and more of a wardrobe, among other things.
    21) I have a hard time understanding: how Bush got re-elected.
    22) You know I like you if: I go out of my way to do nice things for you.
    23) If I won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: my kids, for helping make me the kind of person who doesn’t feel ashamed to accept awards.
    24) Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: walk into a bar… except for Darwin, who ducks. Clearly, he’s the more-evolved one.
    25) Take my advice, never: assume that you know what a woman is thinking.
    26) My ideal breakfast is: corned-beef hash, eggs over-easy, hash browns, with a side of bacon and an english muffin.
    27) If you visit my hometown, I suggest you go to: NoHo’s for lunch or dinner, The Original Hot Cake House for breakfast, and the Rose Garden (no, not the arena, the one with actual roses) for the view. (Note: This is for values of “hometown” that equal “Portland, Oregon.” For other, childhood values of “hometown,” no valuable data is on file. Terribly sorry. Do come again.)
    28) Why doesn’t everyone: take a deep breath and agree to disagree about certain things?
    29) If you spend the night at my house: you’ll not want for entertainment options.
    30) I’d stop my wedding: as soon as the drugs wore off and I realized what was happening.
    31) The world could do without: bigots of any stripe. And mosquitos.
    32) My favorite blonde is: strawberry. Oh, you wanted a person?
    33) If I do anything well, it’s: a complete mystery to me.
    34) And by the way: I’m pretty good company, most days.
    35) The last time I was drunk, I: wasn’t even a teenager yet. Mitch and I just about killed his little brother when we realized that the kid had spiked our apple juice…

  • Beautiful And Educational

    You may have noticed that many of the randomly-selected images that appear at the top of this website are astronomical in nature. Most of them, in fact, come from the Astronomy Picture of the Day website…

    …which is celebrating its tenth anniversary! Go forth, enjoy, and have fun perusing the archives. I know I do.

    APOD Tenth Anniversary

  • Blogathon’s call for volunteers

    A random drive-by IM from someone I don’t recognize directed me to the Blogathon website, where a call for volunteers has been posted this very day. I’m thankful for this randomly delivered news, actually, since I’d almost totally forgotten about the ‘thon… after all, it has been a (long and interesting) couple of years.

    Me? Hell yeah, I’m totally doing it. No bunny pics this year, though. No on-the-fly reviews of Serial Experiments Lain, either, come to think on it.

    I’ll think of something. Don’t you worry. You should check out the website, though.

    Blogathon 2005

  • Listing to port, or starboard?

    I don’t have enough for an entry, but I have enough for some bullet points…

    • The new Garbage album, “Bleed Like Me,” is quite good. The new Kotoko album, “Glass no Kaze,” is better overall than her first album, “Hane,” but features fewer actual standout tracks.
    • I may never “get” military sci-fi. I’ve tried, mind you, and will probably try again before I give up completely.
    • When you try to go to a pub for lunch and one out of the first three to arrive has forgotten their ID, it’s an annoyance. When, later, it turns out that two of the five have forgotten, well, that’s a sign that the gathering needs to take place elsewhere.
    • The kids are out of school, now. I expect Wendi to go absolutely bonkers in a few short days.
    • I’ve seen a bit of the new Doctor Who series, now, and it’s not too shabby. On a related note, I liked the first season of The 4400 better than the new season so far.
    • I have a rubber-duck-themed shower curtain now. May the gods have mercy on my soul.
    • I’m very, very glad that I get paid tomorrow… and my resolve to closely track my transactions is considerably stronger now than it was a couple of weeks ago.