Once again I’m at the office, this time at the tail end of my monthly Traffic server backup. It takes five hours to fill the first tape and about an hour and a half to fill the second… give or take.
I managed to amuse myself, however, by successfully getting City of Heroes to work on the future “lobby video” computer. Hey, it was that or six solid hours of anime and Neopets.
Hmm, wait…
There are certain rituals when the kids come to my place for a visit that are becoming, if not time-honored, at least somewhat amusing. For instance: Erica must not like what’s for dinner. Alex must pace, a lot. Erica must give the kitties lots of love. Alex must gaze longingly at the Playstation 2 long enough to work up the nerve to ask if he can play on it. And so on.
Seriously, though, it was a pretty good visit. We even got in a game of Carcassonne… during which I lost by ten points (and I only did that well because I was master of the farmland and the trade goods) and the kids had six points separating ‘em. Erica won, mind you. Maybe I shouldn’t have finished that city of hers, but I couldn’t let her tie me on textiles, now could I?
I also talked Alex into rolling a new character in City of Heroes. I suspect his new Sonic/Sonic Defender will replace his Force Field character before too long.
Anyway, I was glad to have them over. It’s nice to have a change of venue from time to time, you know?
Via Jack Bog, etc, the following article from National Geographic Magazine… dated October of 2004.
My teenaged son is learning to skateboard. (That is a verb, right?) Now, there are parents out there who would be mortified at this prospect, but to us it just means he’s getting outside… on purpose… voluntarily! As long as he’s reasonably careful, I’m totally okay with this.
My daughter is learning to cope with life in a more positive and responsible fashion. She’s become much more respectful, more helpful, and more protective of her family than ever before. I mean, it’s not like we expect her to be a Perfect Little Angel ™ all of the time, but she’s doing what counts, when it counts. Isn’t that all any parent can ask?
I don’t know how we got lucky enough to end up with such awesome children. I know it’s not anything I did…
I knew about Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy website, but I wasn’t aware until very recently that he runs a related blog as well. Hot diggity!
Check out the following entry which consists (mainly) of a priceless rant against astrology.
So you’re handed an opportunity on a silver platter; it’s the chance of a lifetime. You take it by the reins. You work your butt off, learning a variety of new skills in the arenas of finance, diplomacy and technology. You hear phrases like “saving angel” from those who’ll be responsible for deciding your future in this endeavor.
After many months of this effort, a lot of it unpaid-for, at quite literally the last possible minute… you’re told, “Sorry, we’ve decided to let someone else reap the benefits of this opportunity.”
I cannot begin to describe how intensely furious I am that someone would pull that kind of crap on a good person who’s poured their heart and soul into something for most of this entire year. Words fail me.
