Bullet Point Updates - A REAL Post!

I haven't posted anything of substance of late and if I wait until I post the updates to start posting new stuff, then the blog will remain a once-a-week funny clip server. That's no good. So, I'm going to give abridged updates on my life. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or in private mail.

• I started a new-new-new job at the end of August. You read that right. I am on my third job since leaving Cymer. It has been a long, hard summer. Each of the three jobs I left, Cymer and the two others, I left of my own free will, but not necessarily on my own terms. Well, that's not true. The terms were my own; they were just not the choices I wanted to make. They were each better than the alternatives available to me at the time. I just wanted better alternatives.
• Those events left me pretty depressed. Searching for a new job took up a lot of my free time, such as it was. I didn't take very good care of myself. As a result, I am in need of a weight loss jump start. So, I'm back on the program again. Eating well and exercising. I'm trying to keep my calories reasonable. With the whole "eat well and exercise" plan, I'm down 8.2 lbs in 3 weeks.
• The new job rocks! I'll post more about it later, but I'm at a company called DivX. I'm a Senior White box Test engineer. We're called ourselves QA Developers since we bridge the gap between the two realms. The corporate philosophy is reminiscent of the early days at Foliage. The people are cool. I'm working with interesting technology. And they actually expect good things from me. It's a huge boost to my self-esteem.
• Theater stuff is rocking again. I am now the Artistic Director of Patio Playhouse and am directing a fairly ambitious youth theatre production. We are working on "The Pirates of Penzance". We aren't doing the youth version, either. We are doing the full on show. So far, it is a great experience. She-who-is-a-great-complement-to-my-skills is my assistant director. We also have a kick butt music director and an amazing young choreographer. More as it develops.
• I missed a lot of news stories that I wanted to comment on. Most of them are no longer topical. One that I feel I need to is Senator Craig. I know that there are very few people out there who are buying his lame ass story, but I was still bothered by it. His excuse for touching feet with the other guy is that he has a "wide stance". I don't care how long your legs are, the distance you can spread your legs is limited by the material at your waist, because that is what will be around your ankles. Try it. I couldn't get my legs close to the edge of my stall, never mind into the next one. So, his pants had to be up to pull off this stunt. So, there is no way he was using the stall for its intended purpose.

That's not all the news from Lake Wobegon, but it's a darn good start.

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Friday Funny IX - Number Nine. Number Nine. Number Nine...

Classic comedy from one of my favorite duos of all time. The video quality is not the best and the audio is slightly out of synch, but they still make me laugh today.

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Friday Funny VIII - In D

Today's funny is a clip I saw while attending the symphony last weekend. They had a big screen above the orchestra and the conductor was introducing each piece with a little history or information. Then he'd show a video he found during his research. For the "Barber of Seville" he played some Bugs Bunny. For Pachelbel's Canon, he played this.



I've also got a couple of bonus clips this week because he showed us some other cool Pachelbel videos to further point to its pervasiveness.

Here's a rock guitar melange of Pachelbel:


How about hip hop? Here's a Korean version complete with dancing.

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Friday Funny VII - Seven Easy Funnies

Mario vs. Master Chief. Wonder who wins.

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Friday Funny VI - Six Funnies Laying

I haven't blogged much since starting the new job. I'll try an update this weekend. I may even have a new Karma story!!! Meantime, here is an animated history of popular net phenomena. How many do you recognize? I got about half.

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Friday Funny V - The Funny Strikes Back

Here is a clip from a comedy troupe that I enjoyed, though they never made it big. They had one Comedy Central special and then faded away.

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I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Last night, the community theater where we spend most of our free time, Patio Playhouse, held our annual awards banquet. There was food, entertainment, and of course, awards. The competition was pretty fierce this year, and I am proud of the many friends of mine that won. The show I helped produce took home 3 awards, including best ensemble. And I think you may know the person who won "Best Actor in a Minor Supporting Role".

I was surprised, pleased, and humbled at the same time. I fumbled through my acceptance speech, having never given one for an acting award before. So, I'd like to take this time to thank all the people who made this award possible.

First off, I need to thank She-Who-Deserves-Thanks, as well as Maya and Josh. They were supportive and encouraging throughout. Josh and Maya learned all my songs and practiced them with me daily.

I need to thank Mary Bright and Richard Brousil, my directors. They believed and me and gave me one of the juiciest part I've ever had and I ran with it. They gave me the latitude to make the role my own and reigned me in when I went too far afield. And they helped me achieve things musically that I never have before.

I also want to thank the rest of the cast. The mission band, the Hot Box girls, and the gamblers. You were all great to work with an fun to play off. Special thanks have to go to the leads in the show. All of you were larger than life. Bob, Sara, Kevin, and Kris; you all gave so much. And of course, we can't forget the orchestra, especially Emily, Dan, Richard, and She-Who-Gets-A-Second-Mention. I had a habit of changing things up, but they stayed right with me and made me look good. In my mind, Guys and Dolls will always be tops! Thanks again!

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Friday Funny IV - The Goblet of Funny

Today's clip is another of my favorite old comedy sketches. Watch as Dave Foley struggles to remember the name of a well known Orson Welles movie...

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Make Memories for Those Who Can't

This is another sponsored post, but it's an easy one for me to speak positively to. My grandmother died of Alzheimer's disease almost 10 years ago. It was painful to watch her go. It was even more painful to realize she had been gone a while and we never noticed because my grandfather covered for her so well. When he died, her last link to reality went as well. She lingered on for a number of years, but she didn't recognize many of us. She had rare lucid moments, but most of the time I doubt she even knew we were there. I remember her trying to read the newspaper out of habit. I say trying because it was upside down. It was hard to go visit her, but we knew she needed the company, even if she didn't know who we were. So we went and we watched as she slowly forgot how to do everything she ever learned.

Research has come a long way in the past 15 years with respect to treating and delaying the onset of symptoms, but there is still nothing remotely like a cure. So, if my giving a plug to a worthy charitable cause raises a few extra dollars, I'm OK with that. But you don't need to give money to help. You can volunteer your time as well. You can spread the word. You can get educated. The Alzheimer's Association has a lot of good data on the science behind the disease, dispelling myths, and even information for kids and teens. I personally like this link which lists 101 activities to do with a person with Alzheimer's.

Of course, if you can donate time or money, that would be great. The Memory Walk is a nationwide event. Odds are good that one is happening in a town near you. So, if you want to get involved, sign up now. The graphic above will take you to a page where you can enter a zip code and find out when and where your local walk is. I found two near me here in SoCal. One is in San Diego on October 27th and the other is in San Marcos on October 28th. From there, it's easy to sign up, donate, or even become a team Captain. If you don't live here, just go to the web site and enter your zip. I found four walks within 30 miles of my parents' house.

So, get out there and walk, donate, or just spend time with someone with Alzheimer's. It may not be easy, but very few things worth doing are.

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A Papaya Free Week

It's been a very weird week for us for a number of reasons. The main one is that Maya has gone to her first sleep away camp. She has been away for weekends before and overnights, but never a whole week. We sent her to the same camp that we like to go to for family camp on Thanksgiving and Mother's Day. The staff there always do a great job at family camp, so we figured she'd have fun. Even though we haven't seen her and only one of the ten pre-addressed and stamped envelopes we sent her with have surfaced, we know she is having fun. How do we know? They have a camp photographer who snaps hundreds of pictures a day and posts them to a web site where we can log in and view them. Of course, lame-o that I am, I get all mopey when I see the pictures and I miss her. Josh misses her, too. He's only asked where she is a couple of times. Tomorrow, we pick her up at a family cook out where she will show us all she has done. If you want to see the photos, private mail me and I'll send you the link. I don't think I am allowed to post it.

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Comment Roundup

Some things crept into the recent comments that I wanted to follow up on, but I didn't think any of them deserved a full post. So, I am hodgepodging.

* James had a good point about the Pay Per Post model. He wondered if your earnings dropped if you were too negative and your credibility dropped if you were too positive. The way I had planned to combat that was not to take offers that I couldn't speak to sincerely. But that may not be enough. After all, nobody sees me bypass an offer. Given this thought, I am now planning to do some work for them for free. If they ask for a positive tone write-up and I don't feel positively, I'll write a negative tone review and just not accept the offer. What do you think?

* The fruit fund raiser post brought up some interesting points on two topics. I had originally been complaining about the pervasiveness of unhealthful choices in our culture. But my suggestion opened the whole school/group fund raiser issue. I don't think many of us like these fund raisers. Parents don't like peddling overpriced crap for the pittance that comes back to the school. Friends and neighbors don't like being guilted into buying it. The alternative is just to beg for money, but that can be more awkward. So, what is the solution? How can we transform the fund raiser model into something that supports the local economy, gives the school an adequate return, and gives the donor a feeling of satisfaction with their donation?

* Steve wants me to recrunch the numbers with the current six game lead for the Red Sox. Consider it done. The Sox are 76-50 and the Yanks are 70-56. That puts the Sox slightly over 0.600. They have been fluctuating around that for some time. If they continue to play 0.600 ball for the rest of the season, they will go 22-14. If they only win half of their games, they will go 18-18. So, we are likely to finish with 94-98 wins. That means the Yanks need 95-99 total wins to beat us. Therefore, they have to win between 25 and 29 of their remaining 36 games. That translates to a low end winning percentage of 0.694 and a high end of 0.806!

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An Idea Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into

Like most of our population, I'm a bit overweight. Obesity is something of an epidemic here in this country. And yet, all of our school fund raisers seem to have candy or cookie dough or some other fattening item in them. And even though I love Girl Scout Cookies and think the program does teach the girls many valuable lessons, I once commented to She-Who-Sometimes-Agrees-With-Me that they ought to sell Girl Scout carrots or something. Then they are learning and promoting health. Enter the Fresh Fruit Fundraiser! You sell oranges, grapefruits, apples, and tangelos. You can sell them as gift baskets or sell them directly in bulk to people. The gift basket method seems to me the better way to go. Unless someone is planning on some mad baking or juicing, a 20 lb box of fruit seems excessive. I suppose a bunch of people could go in on a single box, but that dilutes your fund raising opportunity. Still, it seems like a step in the right direction to me and I intend to suggest it to the PTA this year.

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BriWise Advertise

That's right! This space is for rent. I am trying out a service called Pay Per Post. The concept is that they get money from advertisers and give a portion of it to you in exchange for writing an article that meets a set of requirements. I'm just getting started, so I haven't seen all the types of requirements yet, but they seem to be on the order of number of words in the post, links the need to be included, and the type or tone of the post.

There was some controversy when they first started out because people weren't disclosing the fact that their posts were paid advertisements. That's been cleaned up with the advent of the disclosure image you see at the bottom of the post.

Another thing I like is that it seems like they are trying to integrate into normal blog flow. For instance, you can't take more than 2 offers per day, you have to have non-advertising posts between each of your advertising ones, and your blog has to have a minimum of one regular post every seven days.

Now, before you get too excited, obviously there are some factors about your blog that play into things. Your Google page rank determines what level of offers are available. You will also get feedback rankings (number of tacks) based your sponsored posts as well. Did you do the bare minimum to qualify? Or did you take to the spirit of the task as well?

On the other side, there are also opportunities for advertisers. Pay Per Post is trying to use targeted marketing to drive traffic to advertiser sites. This is an extension of the Google Ad Words model. The difference is, the ads are not random. People only post the ads that fit into their interests on their site. This eliminates one of the amusing Google Ads quirks. If I write a post complaining about President Bush, my banner suddenly contains pro-Bush ads. With PPP, your opportunities are restricted to the categories you selected when you signed up.

I am guardedly optimistic about this. It seems like a nice way to have my blogging habit earn me a little side cash. I don't have any visions of retiring on my PPP income, but if it allows me to buy a toy or two once in a while, it will be worth the effort. It gives me a chance to practice a different style of writing, and I enjoy that whether or not I get paid. This just allows me to justify the time.

If you are interested in signing up, I have a widget on my sidebar. I do get paid for referrals, but in spite of that, I don't want people rushing to sign up just for that. The referral fee is $15 and is contingent upon the referee having a qualified blog and writing a post. So, you can't just have all your friends sign up and then quit.

My advice is to wait and see. I'm going to make a go of it and report my progress. That way, you will have more details and can make a more informed decision. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, so this seems to be in a different class of internet offer than "Shoot the mugger and get a free iPod", but it's better to be safe than sorry and I am happy to be your guinea pig.

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Friday Funny III

Here's an animation called "Gopher Broke" that I found on Stage6.com. It's like YouTube, but a bit newer. It's hosted by DivX, so it is supposed to support DivX content formatting as well. I'm just starting to explore it, but you may need a DivX plug in to view this.

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Extra Secure

I love the Security system at my office. It’s fun being a contractor. You get to jump through meaningless hoops so someone else can feel like they are effective. There are a number of excellent rules and regulations here. For example, every day all contractors enter through the side door. You can tell who the contractors are because they all have red bordered badges to contrast with the regular employees blue. They stop at the security desk to check in. Security click a button on the screen next the contractor’s name. How many of you think that does something? Perhaps it checks the employee in and activates their badge? Keeps them hones about their hours because they check in and out? Nope. It just acknowledges that they stopped by the desk. In order to prove that you checked in, they have to put a round sticker with a red C on it on the back of your badge. The sticker has day of the month hand written on it. It’d be impossible to circumvent this system. Well, maybe Tom Cruise could do it in the next MI movie.

 

The best part of the whole system is that it is possible to go out through a door that you are not allowed back in through. The first such place I found was the patio of the cafeteria. It was a nice day, so I went to sit at a cool and shady table while I ate. None of the doors would allow me back in. To add insult to injury, the patio is surrounded by a tall iron fence to prevent outsiders from eating with us without security clearance. The gates leading out through this fence are locked and not badge activated. I was trapped on the patio until someone opened the door for me, which by the way is a security violation. No piggybacking allowed.

 

Why am I ranting about all of this? I had to mail a letter at work today. The mail pickup is at the reception desk. I walked out to the lobby and dropped it off, completely forgetting that my badge does not allow me in through the lobby. Further, the receptionist is not allowed to open the door for me. So even though I just walked out that door for the sole purpose of putting an envelope on a tray, I can’t go back in. She looked at me without a hint of pity and said “You have to go around”. So, I walked out the front doors, down the far end of the building in the hundred degree heat, and back in through the unlocked doors. I then walked past security, which saw my red bordered badge and never bothered to check for the scarlet C. I then got the customary snub from my star-bellied, er, I mean, blue-bordered colleagues, and finally made it back to my desk. Well, I feel better.

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Mathological: Red Sox are Choking Edition

I'm not sure that I've coined a new term. Someone must have thought of it before. But here at BriWise, "Mathological" will now be used to refer to any attempt to mislead with numbers. It's part of my campaign for a more statistically aware planet. Yesterday was a topical attempt since I had been comparing job offers and was hoping to help others in the same boat. Today is a little more frivolous. As a Red Sox fan, current sports events just feel like history repeating itself. The Sox are choking again. They were up by 10 games at the All Star break and here it is, barely a month later and the lead is down to 4. It's inevitable that we implode and the Yankees overtake us, right?

Well, there's perception and then there is reality. Let's look at the numbers

W L Pct
Boston 71 47 0.602
NYY 67 51 0.568

Now, how have they performed since the Al-Star break?

W L Pct
Boston 18 13 0.580
NYY 24 08 0.750

Which of those percentages looks closest to the season average? At the break, the Sox would have been 53-34 for a percentage of 0.609 while the Yankees were 43-43, for a percentage of 0.500.

If we apply those percentages to what they have done since the break, we see that the expected value of Sox wins was 19. So, they are certainly close to the pace they were setting before the break. For those who don't want to do the math, 19/31 = 0.612. The Yankees, conversely, played a mediocre first half and only won half their games. That means, they should have been expected to win 16 games. They won a full 50% more.

Does this help us predict anything? Of course not! If it did, we wouldn't need to play the season. But it does suggest that the Sox are not choking. They have lost 4 of their last 7. So, the immediate impression is that they are doing poorly. The Yankees, on the other hand, have caught fire. They are not as bad as the data of the first 86 games suggests, but they are not as good as the data of the last 32 either. How do I know? Let's look at more numbers!

If a team was to play 0.750 ball for a season, they would win 121 games. That hasn't been done in the modern era, which is a fairly large sample size. So, while it is not impossible, it is statistically unlikely.

That doesn't mean the Yankees won't catch the Red Sox. With 44 games left, if the Sox continue playing with consistency, they will win 26 or 27 more games, falling a little shy of the coveted 100 win plateau. Let's say 26 for the sake of argument meaning they would end up with 97 wins. The Yankees need to win 31 of their remaining 44 to overtake the Sox, a winning percentage of 0.704. Not impossible, but, again, statistically unlikely.

This isn't meant to cheer anybody up. Just a little numerical reminder that the Sox are not choking. The Yanks are surging. So, lay off and stop stressing all you doom and gloomers!

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Beware of Math

Comparing job offers is often a challenge. No two job offers are equal, even if they have the same dollar value attached. They are further complicated by the fact that different people value different things. For example, would you accept a lower salary for more time off? What if the salary discount subtracted more than the weekly value of the extra time? This is further complicated when you add contracting offers into the mix. Screw apples and oranges. It’s more like trying to compare a tropical fruit cup with a New England fruit cup with another New England fruit cup that somebody picked all the grapes out of. When you are a contractor, you get an hourly rate. You get no paid time off, but you do get paid for every hour you work. You also get a bump if you go into overtime. That means that the way you compare things is going to vary depending on what assumptions you make.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you are comparing two jobs. One is a $30/hour contract and one is a $50k a year job. To get these into the same units, we need to annualize the hourly rate. How do we do that?

1. Multiply it out times 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year.

30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year = $62,400 per year

Looks like a better job, no? This will tell you how much you would earn with no overtime and no time off. How realistic is that? Let’s take out the holidays since most companies will not let you work on holidays.

2. Same as 1, but subtract the holidays since you won’t earn anything for those. Let’s assume 10 holidays as that seems typical on average. That’s the equivalent of 2 weeks of business days.

30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 50 weeks/year = $60,000 per year

Of course, you aren’t allowed to take vacation under that scheme. So, if you are looking to compare, should you take unpaid vacation and see where you come out?

3. Same as 2, but subtract out the vacation days you don’t get. More and more high tech companies are standardizing on 3 weeks to start. That brings us down to 47 weeks.

30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 47 weeks/year = $56,400 per year

Starting to get close now, isn’t it? And what if you get sick? Can you take time off? And how will you pay for medicine and such?

4. Same as 3, but we are going to remove a week of sick time and a conservative $500 per month to cover the difference in having company health insurance and having to be self-insured.

30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 46 weeks/year - $500/month * 12 months/year = $49,200 per year

Now, all of a sudden they are similar. If we start adding to the salary with things like bonuses, tuition reimbursement, flexible spending plans, etc, it starts to far outpace the contract position.

The problem is that whole analysis is biased toward normalizing for benefits. If your goal is to make as much money as possible and assume some risks for yourself, then you may want to calculate for averages and maximums and may make some assumptions for overtime. You could probably calculate an annualized income of $70k.
What does this all mean? It means you need to decide your priorities and goals before you start searching. And you should do the math yourself. Other people will give you their takes on the numbers. This is not out of a desire to mislead or be malicious. They are just doing the math from their perspective. Do your homework. Set up your assumptions. Then do your comparison. Just realize that it is a subjective comparison. There’s nothing wrong with being subjective when you are the subject. After all, you are the one who needs to live with the decision.

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Friday Funny II

I may try to make this a regular thing. I'm going to look for amusing videos to plug in here and give you a new one each Friday. Here's a great bit from one of my favorite comedy groups of the 80's; The Frantics!

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How to Waste an Hour

Step 1: Be tired.

Step 2: Pop “Dark Side of the Moon” into your computer’s CD drive.

Step 3: Play in Windows Media Player in full screen mode with visualization on.

Step 4: Wipe drool from keyboard when you come to

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Not Blogging For a Few Days

My folks are in town and we are scheduled to the hilt. I even took a couple unpaid days from work so we could really run ourselves into the ground. Here's the schedule. Sea World today and tonight. Legoland tomorrow during the day. Kid Improv performance and Andrews Sisters tribute performance back to back tomorrow night. Saturday morning is the Renaissance Faire, where I am the Sheriff and Faire spokesperson. Saturday night is improve performed by the adult troupe I lead. They fly out early Sunday and I do another day of Faire. So, if there is blogging time in there, I'll do it. But don't hold your breath. ;)

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Acrostic Fever!

Not too long ago, Maya discovered acrostics. For Valentine’s day, all her close friends were given acrostics of their names. She also did it with birthdays and other card giving holidays. Here’s an example of her work:

Delightful
Amusing
Dancer

Well, Josh decided that he, too, wanted to make cards like these. He decided this just in time for Mother’s Day. Here, then, is the best Mother’s Day card She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has ever received.

Morkr
Obishus
Terifik
Histre
Ebnokshis
Rose

Naturally, we had to ask questions about it. Most were self-explanatory. Here is the oral translation he gave us. Morkr = Marker. (Guess what art supply has been renamed in our house?) Terifik is Terrific. Histre is History. Ebnokshis is Obnoxious. And Rose is Rose. Interesting sentiments. But that left one out.

Mom: But what is Obishus?
Josh: Mommy, YOU’RE Obishus.

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Shakeup in the High Court

Sorry. Bad pun. And the situation isn’t actually humorous. They have no explanation for the Chief Justice’s seizure, and since it is his second one on record, that makes it epilepsy. That doesn’t mean he is going to have daily seizures. It doesn’t mean he isn’t either. It’s like so many other disorders involving the brain. There’s a catch-all category for the ones they can’t definitively identify. The best I’ve read says that since he has had two seizures, even though they were separated by a good many years, there is a 60% chance he will have another. Someday. Nebulous, huh? The big question is, what should be done about it. Politics aside, what do you think ought to happen? Should he wait to see how long it is before it happens again and then decide? Or should he undertake more rigorous tests and observation? Perhaps alter his lifestyle? He says he is fine to resume his duties. What do you all think?

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Who Cares About Lindsay Lohan?

Actually, I do, but not for the reason that most of those who fawn over celebrity do. I am interested for the same reason I was interested in the Paris Hilton nonsense recently. I am bothered by the fact that celebrities get preferential treatment from the legal system out here in LA LA land. For those not as close to the epicenter as we are, Lindsay, fresh out of rehab, was pulled over for drunk driving about a week ago. She also had some cocaine on her. Oh, yes. And her license was suspended. Did I mention that she was chasing another car? That’s right. The police were called by the other driver. The latest version I read stated that the occupants of the other car were LiLo’s personal assistant who had just quit and the assistant’s mom. She was chasing them because she was drunk and mad at the girl for quitting.

 

With all of that, you figure she must be in jail, right? Nope. She was released on $25,000 bail. I’m pretty sure she didn’t even spend the night. It’s lucky that she didn’t kill anybody. Personally, I think a repeat drunk driver, especially one on a suspended license, needs to do some real time to get the message home. Clearly rehab is not working for this train wreck. Is her contribution to society so great that we need to look the other way for her?

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Friday Funny

A friend of mine turned me on to this Iranian comic named Maz Jobrani. Here he is on Leno. I am going to do some more digging on him, but I like what he is doing and how he is saying it. Funny, but with undertones.

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Pourquoi détestons-nous les Français?

Ever since the Iraq war, the French have been the butt of many jokes here. There was the ill conceived substitution of Freedom for French in our cuisine as in Freedom Fries, Freedom Toast, and the ever popular Freedom Tickler. Then there are all of the surrender jokes. I’m not sure where those came from, exactly. Then, during the last Presidential election, they dropped the big one. John Kerry just looks French. The approval ratings for the war that started this whole rift with France are at an all time low, and nobody seems to want to reconcile. Members of the right are still convinced that France is going to be overrun by Muslim extremists and plan to laugh at them and say “I told you so!” when it happens. We seem to have forgotten all that the French have done for us. We’ve also forgotten that intelligent people can disagree, but that’s a topic for another post. Let’s look at what France has done for us.

 

They helped us win the Revolution. They gave us aid in arms, ammunition, funds, and troops. They sold us the Louisiana Purchase. Just think of all the red states that would not exist today without that land. On the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, they gave us the Statue of Liberty, one of our greatest symbols of freedom! So, they helped us win our freedom, sold us valuable land to continue our growth, and gave us one of the most renowned global symbols. But they wouldn’t participate in an ill-advised, elective war. I don’t think I got to the bottom of why we hate them, but I know why they hate us!

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Airplane, Torpedo, Machine Gun

Voldemom and the kids went to the San Diego Air and Space Museum yesterday. The museums in Balboa Park are free on Tuesdays and they are air conditioned. Education and comfort! Who could ask for anything more? As they explored, Maya began devising her own version of rock-paper-scissors based on the things in the museum. Hers is a two handed version. Airplane (palms facing you, hands crossed, thumbs linked such that your hands look like wings), Torpedo (palms touching, fingers straight, all fingers and thumbs pointing forward), and Machine Gun (palms touching, index fingers pointing forward, thumbs pointing upward, other fingers clasped). Airplane bombs torpedo. Torpedo blows up machine gun nest. Machine gun shoots down airplane. Pretty simple, right?

 

They were walking around the museum playing and Josh felt left out. They explained the game to him in detail. They taught him all the signs. Maya and Josh squared off for the confrontation. One-two-three-shoot! Maya threw torpedo. Josh threw scissors.

 

They had another round of rules discussions. They reviewed the signs. This time he had it. Josh was sure. Again they squared off. Again they stared each other down. One-two-three-shoot! This time, Maya threw machine gun. Josh threw his arms up and surrendered.  

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Happy Day-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named

That’s right, today is the birthday of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And if you think I can’t name her, then I’m sure you can guess that I can’t tell you how old she is. Actually, I doubt she’d care, but this is more fun. I also decided on a new nickname for her. This is not due to any actions on her so much as her current nickname. How about Voldemom? So, Happy Birthday Voldemom! We love you! Enjoy your new hammock!

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Admira-Bull

I’ve been waiting to do this until the pictures were up, but I need to give a shout out to one of my oldest and dearest friends. He is also the current title holder of “Coolest Person I Know”. Don’t be jealous. He’s just that good. He is my second oldest friend. We’ve been through high school and college together. He opted for the ROTC route and has done quite well. As a matter of fact, he is now the Commanding Officer for the USS Constitution.  Check him out with his crew in all their old-timey glory. And here is his personal photo. Congrats, Bull. I’m mighty proud of you, bro.

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Bit the bullet

I bit the bullet and upgraded my Blogger template. As such, many enhancements have disappeared. I’ll try to add them back. My main goal was to get the comments back to being reliable again. It looks like I have done that. So, I should be able to respond to some of the recent comments now. I was having trouble doing so recently. I’ll add the blogroll back next. Then the recent comments. Then any other widget that tickles my fancy.

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Would you rather?

I’m stealing a concept from my friend James over at Aces Full. Every week he poses a conundrum of the sort “Would you rather: X or Y”. Sometimes it is a question of having something. Sometimes it is a question of doing something. I thought of one recently based on a personal situation and decided to throw it out to my viewers. I’ve modified it slightly from what actually happened to try to reflect a more objective mind set as opposed to my interpretation of events. Here goes.

Would you rather:

· Stand up for what you believe is right if doing so has even a small possibility of posing a major risk (financial, emotional, social) to you and your family.

· Allow a grave injustice to pass at a smaller personal cost, but a potentially larger cost to society

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she-who-must-not-be-named.com

Ok, a bit of a contradiction here. Or perhaps this is a concession that you can’t always avoid having your name on the internet. She-who-is-looking-to-reenter-the-workforce has created a website for her teaching portfolio. Ok. I created a website for her portfolio, but she created the portfolio. I just converted it from the school’s content management system (which is lousy) to Microsoft’s free Office Live (which is less lousy, but still pretty lousy). I was looking for free and easy and got that more or less. It came at the cost of flexibility and functionality.

 

The purpose of this site is to allow principals who are given her application and the URL to see what she has done and is capable of. Apparently, none of them look at it, but you have to either have a print version or a CD version. I was unsuccessful at a multi-format auto launch CD (since people can turn that feature off), so I came up with the idea of a website.

 

I wouldn’t mind a little review from my friends. I can only find so many bugs before I start to interpret what I see. If you want to look, go to she-who-must-not-be-named.com. I tinyurl’d it for obfuscation, so you’ll have to trust me that I am not trying to mess with you.

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The Papaya Decade

Today marks a full decade of Maya! Happy Birthday, kiddo. About this time 10 years ago, She-who-was-well-into-labor was recounting her conversation with dead relatives to all of us in the delivery room. Although, that was east coast time. So, if we are dealing with GMT, contractions were in full swing and the medical staff were ignoring her requests for an epidural as it was far too late for that. Tonight, we celebrate with Red Brick pizza, Cold Stone ice cream cake, and Harry Potter. And about 22 friends and their families. Expecto Pandamonium!

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I Has a Post

Ok. I haven't posted in a while again. Not as long as my last while, but still. Stuff going on. I know. There's always stuff going on. I'm a magnet. Or a catalyst. Or a well dressed digestive enzyme. Anyway, here's some LOLcat fun I found to distract you in the meantime?

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The Aforementioned Improv

There’s a really good article in Today’s Local News about what I’m up to.  I was impressed with the flow of the story and how well he captured what Improv is about. Even better, he edited out all my verbal fumbling and made me look like I really know something about this Improv stuff.

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You Read My Mind

As some of you know, I am occasionally a little sarcastic. Okay. Revise that to be often and quite. I know when I’m pegged. But don’t throw too many stones. I know many of my readers also possess the snarky gene. I’m most often snarky in the face of stupidity. Yesterday, I had a snarky thought. Stop the presses! What was newsworthy was the fact that someone near me vocalized it. I was in the grocery store that is part of my office’s plaza and was in the checkout line. A young woman walked up to the checkout clerk and asked “Where is your refrigerated water.” The clerk looked at her as though she was crazy and replied “In the refrigerator.”

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Father's Day Fun

Well, another Father’s Day in the books and I rather enjoyed myself. We made it a Father’s Weekend instead of just a day. We opted for simple burgers and dogs on the grill Friday night after which I got my presents. Most were very cool handmade items. The kids made popsicle stick frames with pictures of us that they drew. Josh also made a footprint painting with a poem in it. His Kindergarten teacher laminated the whole thing and helped him wrap it. I also got a couple of Superhero T-Shirts so Josh and I can match, as he is always wearing Marvel apparel of some sort or other. I am now the proud owner of a green T with the heads of Wolverine,  Captain America, Spidey, and The Hulk and a red T with an action shot of Spidey. Woot!

 

Saturday we went to Olive Garden with some friends for a nice dinner. A good time was had by all even though they were out of the Torta di Chocolate and forgot to bring us our Black Tie Mousse Cake which we chose as an alternative. We forgave them. We’re magnanimous like that.

 

Sunday was the big adventure. We got up early and drove downtown to catch the ferry to Coronado. You can drive to Coronado, but we wanted to try out the boat. It was an easy 15-minute ride and though I am exceptionally prone to seasickness, I didn’t even entertain a notion of nausea.  Upon landing, we made a short walk across a long pier and over to Bikes & Beyond. We rented a 2-pedal single bench surrey and set off to explore the island. We wanted the 4-pedal dual bench, but Josh couldn’t reach the pedals and Maya only barely could.  Plus, it was a lot heavier and with the two of them and she-who-still-has-a-ways-to-go-in-recovering-her-leg-strength with me, who do you think would be supplying most of the pedal power? Opting for the lighter model was a good choice. Josh sat in the basket up front. Maya and she-who-etc-etc took turns pedaling and sitting in the middle, and  I got a great leg workout. To mix it up a little, I occasionally got out and pushed while they both pedaled. That was an even better workout as I jogged along behind. With my assistance in the back and my weight not in the seat, we were able to reach tremendous speeds of six or seven miles per hour! When all of us were riding, and I was pedaling, we were passed by kids on scooters.

 

We pedaled all the way to the Hotel del Coronado and took a rest break so we could see the interior of the famed structure. It was designed by wizard of Oz author Frank Baum and was used in the film Some Like it Hot.  It was quite fancy inside. Josh and I took a ride in the old cage style elevator just because we could. Rest break was over and we had to try to get out of the hotel grounds. That’s when we noticed the street sign. Orange. Doh! There were only a few rules with renting the pedal car. Pedestrians have the right of way. Don’t pedal it through the market area. And stay off D, E, and Orange. That explains why it was so hard to get the car up the street. Luckily, we avoided the island police as we made our way back to the bike paths and eventually the shop.

 

From there, it was lunch at the Bayside Café, a little playtime on the beach, and a ferry ride home.  We made it back with enough time for showers, a change of clothes, and a quick stop to pick up sandwiches before the evening revels. We topped off the evening with a 3 hour Improv rehearsal.  But that will have to wait until next post…

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Post something You Idiot

Ok. Ok. So this blog has been pretty neglected in 2007. I am sorry. For those of you who are still checking in on me, thank you. For those who aren’t, will those of you who are let them know that there is something new? The rest of this post was deleted. Private mail me if you don't know why.

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Meme Time!

I was tagged (at my own request) with a meme by net friend barbie2be. I'm trying to jump start things here. She sent me 5 random questions. Here they are, with my answers:

1. Have you ever ignored the advice of your spellchecker?

Constantly. Spell checkers are weak on technical terminology. I also like to make up my own words. There are occasions when there is no right word for a situation and I need to adjectivize a noun. (I'm ignoring sc's red flagging of 'adjectivize' right now.)

Of course, sometimes I listen even when I know the spell checker is wrong. You can get some creative names that way. My friend Patti's email alias is now indelibly in my memory as "Puffy Merger" because of a spell check.

2. If you could only listen to one CD on a cross-country drive, what would it be?

I'm guessing that an MP3 mix tape CD would be cheating. I think I'd pick something I only marginally like as listening to it for an entire cross country trip would probably kill it for me. I'm going to go with Pure 80s as I can see myself belting out these greats hour after hour.

3. When life throws you a curve ball, do you swing hard and hope you connect, or do you just duck out of the way?

I lean in and get hit by the pitch.

4. Have you ever sent food back in a restaurant, and of so, why?

Yes. It was chicken and it was not cooked all the way through. And it was pretty clearly not cooked all they way through. I also send back food when I ask for something specifically, like 'no bacon', 'no cheese', or 'no mushrooms' and they didn't listen.

5. How long does it have to be since you last saw a friend or acquaintance for you to greet them with a hug?

Not long at all. I'm a hugger. It has to be the right person though. There are people I have known for years who aren't huggable and there are people I've know for only a month or so who are.

Now you know some more random stuff about me. Doesn't that just make you want to comment?

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Your Vote Doesn't Count

Ok. This is a little out of date, but I still wanted to comment on it. Last summer there was a lawsuit here in North County San Diego regarding the special runoff election for Duke Cunningham's disgraced seat. The contest was between Democrat Francine Busby, a member of the Cardiff School Board, and Brian Bilbray, an immigration and gambling lobbyist with ties to Jack Abramoff. Polls leading up to the election showed Busby with a small lead, but one that was within the margin of error...
Bilbray ended being declared the winner by the various organizations that call these things. On the say so of the Republican Secretary of State, Bilbray was whisked away to DC and sworn in before the election was certified. Some constituents of the 50th district wanted a hand recount and were given an unreasonable price tag ($150,000) by the Republican election commissioner. You see where this is going?

Lacking other alternatives, the constituents sued the San Diego commissioner and Bilbray in an attempt to get a hand recount. Their basis for the suit included the following points:

• Some polls showed Busby up 7% just before the election
• The outcome was close (Bilbray 49.57% , Busby 45.02% according to the Registrar’s certified result)
• Some absentee ballots were lumped into mega-precincts that listed total ballot numbers that were “thousands of percentages” above the total number of voters
• Diebold voting machines (the easily hackable ones) were sent home with precinct workers up to 2 WEEKS before the election

As you can guess from the title of this article, they lost. That isn't the troubling part. The troubling part is the precedent set by the text of the ruling. You can read the summary in the North County Times or Sign On San Diego, but I'll give you the high points.

Once Bilbray was sworn in, the state no longer had jurisdiction. This conclusion arose from Article 1, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that each House is responsible for the elections of its own members. Bilbray asserted, throguh his attorney, that only the House can now challenge the election. Of course, if you accept the assertion that once he was sworn in, the state had no jurisdiction to challenge, then you also have to logically conclude that the state had no jurisdiction to certify the election. So, it never actually happened. Ergo, your vote does not count. Welcom to George Bush's Amerika. Enjoy your stay.

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You Got Hockey In My Baseball

Busy day, but wanted to send along this funny courtesy of net friend barbie2be.

Now, thaht's what ahm tahkin aboot!

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One Movie to Watch and Another to Miss

I actually watched some semi-recent movies. I didn't catch them in the theater. That's why they are only semi-recent. I'm giving a thumbs up to The Good Shepherd and a thumbs down to The Pursuit of Happyness. Go below the fold if you want to know why.
The Good Shepherd stars Matt Damon as Edward Wilson. The movies uses flashbacks Wilson's life to chronicle in a fictionalized retelling of the early days of the CIA. Some of the jumps are a little confusing, but overall, the movie flows well. There are more than enough plot twists to keep you guessing. I may see it again just to fill in some of the blanks I missed. That said, the feel of the movie is very good as is the supporting cast. William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Robert DeNiro and more all play supporting roles. The supporting standout, though, is Angelina Jolie as Wilson's long suffering wife. She gives a strong performance that is aided by the makeup people who did a nice job of aging her through the movie.

By contrast, The Pursuit of Happyness stars Wil Smith as Chris Gardner. It also features his real life son Jaden as Gardner's son Christopher. This one is also based on a true story. Unlike Good Shepherd, though, this one is entirely predictable. Smith turns in a very good performance, but the movie is too angsty throughout. They really drive home all the obstacles he needs to overcome as they railroad the story from misery to misery and try to create suspense. "What is going to happen to Gardner and his son?" But the ending is never really in doubt and the emotional uplift is too little, too late to make this worth watching.

We also did a nostalgia turn and watched The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye, a young (and surprisingly attractive) Angela Lansbury, and Basil Rathbone. I've been on a Danny Kaye kick lately as I prep to portray him in an Andrew's sisters tribute show. So, I've been working on his mannerisms and voice. The kids have been enjoying him greatly. His movies aren't great cinema compared to the movies of today, but his comedy is wonderful. Josh watched this and he watched the recent Dreamworks flick Flushed Away. Afterwards, he told me, "Danny Kaye is better than Flushed Away. Kids today just don't know it." That's my boy.

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Why Is It Called...?

We were on vacation a couple weeks ago and decided to try to do a couple of days at Disney before our passes expired. We were forced to change this to one day as our passes were blacked out for Good Friday. It's just as well as the place was obscenely crowded. As I was explaining all this to the kids, Maya asked what Good Friday was. So, I decided to explain it the best my Jewish upbringing would allow. "Christians believe that Good Friday represents the day that Jesus was crucified. Easter Sunday is the day he rose from the dead." She thought about that for a moment. "That's the day he was crucified?", she asked. "That's what the believe," I answered. "Then why do they call it GOOD Friday?" "That's a very good question," was all I could come back with. Anyone?

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More Car Nonsense

Ok. Perhaps I shouldn't have jinxed myself. We all know how fickle the fates are. Granted, all I said was I wanted to wrap it up. I wasn't asking for St. Christopher to come down and lay hands on my car, making it new. I was just looking for closure. Which is why I shouldn't be surprised that I was rear-ended on my way to the dentist...
I was about fifth or sixth back in a column of cars. As each car in front of me stopped for the red light ahead of us, the gap between cars for stopping naturally shrank. I had just enough space to stop. The woman behind me, less so. WHAM! I bounced forward and then back. No airbag deployment. No shattered glass flying. Just your basic impact, lurch forward, and lurch back. However, the sudden throw did cause me some pain in my shoulders, neck, and lower back. And what are you not supposed to do if you think you have a back or neck injury? That's right. No moving allowed. So, I used my cell phone to dial 911. I didn't even get out to look at the damamge. The other motorist did not get out either. From what I could see in my rear view, she looked like a young woman in her twenties. She seemed unhurt, but upset.

I got through to 911 and was placed on hold. No operators available. I'm not kidding. All I could think was, good thing nobody is bleeding. I hung up and tried the local police department, since that was who I needed anyway. While I was in their menu system, a police car drove by. It didn't stop. It just drove by. I was unsuccessful in signalling them, so I went back to the phone tree. I couldn't get through the menu to a person. The automated message said to call 911. I called them back and this time got a person. He took all my info and said the fire department was on the way.

Huh? Not the police? Well, I was in no position to argue. Apparently the EMTs ride with the fire engines. So, the EMTs arrived in short order and did their assessment. The other woman was unhurt, but since I was complaining of back and neck pain, they decided to put a collar on me and strap me to a back board. Even though I wzas fairly certain I had no spinal damage, that is not something you want to take risks with. So, I was strapped down nice and tight and whisked away in an ambulance. (Special kudos to the fire fighters at Escondido Station No. 4 - They drove my car to the station so I didn't have to worry anbout towing or security or anything like that.)

The ride to the ER was nice and bumpy and made me more than a little motion sick. This is actually a more significant concern when you are strapped on your back and immobile. I told the EMT I'd try to hold it in so she didn't have to spray down the rig and she told me not to worry. She'd just roll the board on its side. Several bumps and a fortunate lack of vomit later, I was rolled into the ER and swapped to an ER bed. The nurse informed me that I couldn't come off the board until the doctor checked me and left.

Fortunately, there was a TV. Unfortunately, it was on Dr. Phil. And I was strapped to a board. Add some toothpicks to my eyes and we'd have Clockwork Orange. Dr. Phil was very sensitively ripping apart Anna Nicole's half-sister for trying to cash in on her sister's death. I was trying to gnaw through the back board restraints. The doctor came in and undid the collar for my first test. He poked at various spots along my upper spine and said "does this hurt?" It didn't, so he told me he'd check back again in 10 minutes and put the collar back on. As I lay there, Phil dissolved into Oprah, who wanted us all to take a test to determine how happy we were. I was pretty sure I was not happy to be in the ER and strapped to a board. No quiz needed.

The doctor came back and we repeated the test. Still no pain. So, he released me from the board and the collar. No X-Rays needed. Ahhhhhhh. Relief. Then he made sure I could move my extremities and had me lay still for a while again. He said that if I was still doing all right in a while, he'd let me go. It was at this time that She-Who-Occasionally-Shows-Sympathy arrived to take care of me. She fed me nacho chips and lemonade while we waited for me to be discharged. They told me that if I thought I felt bad now, I'd be worse tomorrow. Lovely. They offered me painkillers, but I'm not a fan of how that stuff makes me feel and I wasn't in THAT much pain. So, I passed. I was sore and miserable, but I could live with it. That plus the fact that SWOSS has a mini pharmacy of her own for joint and muscle pain.

The next morning, we went to get the car. At least, I thought, I would be able to get the damage fixed on someone else's nickel. When we got to the fire station, we saw the extent of the damage. I'd post the picture, but the zoom level I'd need to be at for you to see the scratch she left would be hard to achieve. That's right. My car can't handle rolling into a fire hydrant at 2 mph, but a read ending from another car? No sweat.

End result? Stupid car is still broken and not likely to get fixed, I missed a couple days work, and I have a stiff and sore back for a couple weeks. My weight loss was going pretty well, too. But now I have to take a break from basketball. Crap.

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Car Saga Update

Well, I am back from vacation and mostly caught up at work and at home. I'll post about the vacation and other assorted happenings later. First, I'd like to wrap up the car saga insofar as it can be wrapped up for now...
As you may recall, the first estimate I got for the repair work was $2800. That was not a promising start at all. So, I shared the saga with Jeff, a car savvy buddy at work. He felt the total was a little high so he suggested a couple other body shops in the area. I offered to treat him to lunch if he'd come along. Free lunch to go to a car place? I didn't have to ask him twice. We grabbed Sal because mischief is more fun with three and off we went.

We headed south of the office and took our business to El Dorado Collision Center in Poway. We made small talk with the office manager while one of the service technicians was paged. John came right out and we walked out to the vehicle. He looked at it and gave an off the cuff estimate that was even higher than my first estimate. I'm sure if he sat down and did the detail work it would have come out closer to the $2800 number, but his overall point was that it was likely not worth it for me to do it. He wanted, instead, to focus on the problem of getting the trunk functional.

After a careful examination, he told me there was no reason the trunk could not be opened. The damage was not sgnificant enough to wedge it closed. Therefore, the mechanism was the likely culprit. He got me a flashlight and a screwdriver so I could crawl into the trunk from the inside and jimmy the mechanism. I figured out how to get it to pop open with a little help from Jeff and Sal. They flipped the release repeatedly so that I could see the device attempting to act. My keen mechanical eye combined with the flashlight and screwdriver to do the rest. Clunk! The trunk popped open and in flowed sweet, cool air. Inside the trunk was rather hot given that it was around 85 degrees outside.

Once it was open, John carefully removed the carpeted lining around the mechanism and examined it while we tried to work the release. He showed me how I could take it apart with some pretty basic tools and said that the release wire either just came loose or the wire was stretched and needed to be repaired. Based on this, I was able to see (without even removing the bolts) that the release wire just came out of its groove. I put it back and and we did a little testing. Trunk victory!

John basically served as a service consultant. He diagnosed the problem and guided me through fixing it. He spent about 15 minutes with us and didn't charge me a thing! I told him if I ever needed vehicle body work again, I'd definitely head in his direction. And you should too! If you are interested, I can recommend them for their integrity and Jeff can recommend them for quality of work.

El Dorado Collison Center
12502 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064

My story didn't exactly have a happy ending. I still have an ugly dent in the trunk and bumper. The big dent needs to be sanded out and painted over as it is already starting to rust. But John managed to make it a less miserable ending. The car still functions and was never terribly lovely to begin with. All things considered, it was about as good as I could expect.

With that taken care of, it was off to lunch!

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How Much Would You Pay?

Well, my long silence has ended. Will it last? Who knows. The desire is there, but the drive seems to fail me when it comes time to post. And speaking of the drive failing me...

Yes. Check out these lovely pictures of the rear left corner of my car. I was involved in a minor accident. Who was at fault? That depends on whether or not you think the hydrant was capable of movement. This is what happens when a hydrant is in your blind spot and there is a curb preventing you from cutting the wheel back.



Unfortunately for me, the hydrant was not a residential one, but rather an industrial one. Those are just a bit taller and have protrusions at the top and the center. The height, as you can see, is just right for denting a bumper and a corner panel at the same time. I wasn't even backing up fast. I didn't hit the accelerator at all. I just put it in gear, rolled backwards, and CRUNCH!

The dent was of sufficient size and location so as to prevent my trunk from opening without professional assistance. I called the insurance company to find out if there was any help there. They told me that if I filed a claim and the damage was over $750, I'd get 2 points added to my license and my premiums would skyrocket. So, I opted not to use the service I pay so handsomely for. Instead, I went to a body shop. Anyone care to guess what they want to fix it? This would include the bumper, the trunk, the dent, and the paint.

Ready?

$2800!

I checked the blue book value on this guy and, if it were in excellent condition (which it damn well better be after $2800 of body work) it would be worth $5700. The value if I can get the trunk open and leave it as is? $4700. Trade-in value as is? $3000. I will, of course, be getting a second opinion. I mean, that is freaking nuts. What is the insurance definition of totaled? For some, it is 51% of value. If we assume a middle ground valuation due to the fact that the car was not in "Excellent" condition before I crunched it, that gets us $5200. That means my repairs would be around 54% of the vehicle's value. I backed into a hydrant at under 5 mph and totaled my car.

How humiliating.

Stay tuned. The saga continues.

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Fun With Microwaves

I have to blog this story because of all the fun James and I used to have with Microwaves. Apparently, some researchers in Florida have determined that microwaving a sponge kills the bacteria. They proved this by soaking a sponge in waste water and microwaving it for 2 minutes. After reading the reports, people had to try for themselves. They ran into problems. Can anyone guess? That's right, they didn't WET the sponges. They microwaved dry sponges with unfortunate results. Of course, they blamed the reporting agencies. Here's my favorite quote:

First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open,

You know, because the burning sponge isn't an indication that he's done it wrong. That was obviously part of the experiment. Yet another thing to add to the disclaimer list.

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You Call That an Improvement?

So, when I started blogging again, recently, I upgraded my Blogger account. Now my recent comments hack is broken and they want me to upgrade my template. So, it looks like I may have to dig in to the template code again and futz around. That's so much more fun than actually writing. *sigh* If you notice anything not working in your browser, let me know.

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Show of Hands

How many of you thought I was dead. Be honest. I admist, I've been gone for a while. At first, there was stuff. Then more stuff. Eventually, it was hard to pick back up again. What do you say? How do you sum up everything that kept you away from your community for six months more or less. Let's see.

Life sucked. It's better now.

That ought to do it.

I'm back and digging my way out. Don't expect a crazy mad flurry of posting. But I will try to easer my way back into regularity. Fiber and all that.

Thanks to those of you who checked on me and were concerned. Sorry I wasn't the best correspondent. I'll do better.

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It Be Talk Like a Pirate Day, ARRRRRRRRR!

My pirate name is:

Captain Sam Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

For more piratey fun, check out International Talk Like a Pirate Day And if you need any help with the talking, go see Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy. They'll help you learn the Five A's

Tags:

• Silly
• Humor
• Entertainment

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They Love Us!

Check out the reviews for Guys and Dolls! Both the North County Times and the Poway Chieftain agree that we rock. Some excerpts from the Times include:

The company's summer staging of the classic musical "Guys and Dolls" is their best yet at the outdoor venue, with a strong principal cast, smooth pacing, elaborate sets and costumes and sharp choreography.

And why not a little pat on the back for yours truly?

Scott Kolod and Brian Weissman are both strong singers and colorful personalities as the gambling duo Benny Southstreet and Nicely Nicely Johnson, and their delivery of the musical's Runyonesque dialogue is just right.

This is definitely one of the better shows I've been a part of, so it's nice to see that recognized, particularly by a normally tough critic.

The Poway paper's review is also very good, though has a minor factual inaccuracy. Frank Sinatra did not play Sky Masterson.

However, the true standout is lead actor Bob Himlin, playing Sky Masterson, a role assumed in the film version by the ever-suave Frank Sinatra. Himlin does quite admirably in shoes formerly occupied by so lofty a personage.

Still, as Bob said, nothing wrong with a comparison to Sinatra. And this reviewer can be forgiven a detail like that. After all, she thinks

...this “Guys and Dolls seems at times almost every bit as good as a professional version might be.

She, too, was a fan of Scott's and my performances:

Two standouts in this supporting cast in which everyone is notable are Brian Weissman as Nicely Nicely Johnson and Scott Kolod as Benny Southstreet.

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Boa To Be Wild

I was trying to think of a name for this post that included the boa and the slippers, but I thought "Slip Me The Boa" would get the wrong kind of search hits. The only other thing I had was "Pink Slip" and that might make people think of things I'd rather they didn't. At least not with respect to me. Anyway, I owe you all an update on my fundraising activities, especially since you all have been such big supporters...

We've reached level 2. I have the Red Sox cap and I'll be getting the Yankee cap later today. I just need to find a place I can legally burn it. Soon!

Level 3 pictures are here! Because I made you wait, I wore the slippers for two days. They may make a comeback if I make it all the way to level 8.







Level 4 pictures are up and I look fabulous in Robin's boa. I also wore this one for two days to make up for the delay.



Level 5 is reached, which is the tutu. I'm having trouble finding one, but I'll make that up to you as well. I had said I'd wear it over my normal clothes. Instead, I'll wear it with pink tights. I'm going to check my theater's costume collection this weekend.

We have level 6 as well. Since I have the pink outfit, we'll leapfrog that one while we are waiting. That'll have to be a one day affair though I may reprise it after the outfit is through the laundry. I'm wearing the outfit now and will get it photgraphed today.

Tags:

• Personal
• Silly
• Charity

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Opening night!

Well, Guys and Dolls opened last night and the opening was great! We had over 100 people there and the mistakes were minimal, forgivable, and well covered. The North County Times did a bit on us in their Preview section and the Union Tribune listed us as a Best Bet. Recognize the guy in the NC Times photo? We also had a few reviewers there last night. It will be interesting to see what they say. Of course, I'll link to all reviews as soon as they come out. Stay tuned! And if you are in the area, stop by Kit Carson park and check us out!

Tags:

• SanDiego
• Entertainment
• Personal

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Perhaps There IS Hope for Democracy

A new poll came out recently on the heels of the assorted "voting irregularities" in places like Ohio and California

Asked whether Americans have the right to view and obtain information about how elections officials count votes, 92% of respondents concurred.

Zogby International

In the poll, they asked a number of questions about voting transparency. People overwhelmingly support checks and balances on our elections process. So, how do we turn this sentiment into action? November is nearly upon us and e-voting machines are becoming more and more prevalent. Here in San Diego, you enter and electronic vote and it gets stored in the machine at the precinct. Then the precinct votes are aggregated and sent to the central tabulator. It spits out the results. No ballots. No paper trail. No verification.

The Open Voting Consortium has what I would consider a decent solution. Any thoughts as to how we make it happen?

Tags:

• SanDiego
• Politics
• Rant

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Level 1 reached!

Thanks to all your donations, I have achieved level 1 of my Breast Cancer Walk fundraising goals. I've actually made it to level 2 and am frighteningly close to level 3, but level 1 is the only one I have had time to complete. I assure you that the picture you see *is* of the back of my head and I have been parading around with it uncovered. In fact, this has resulted in four more individuals donating.

Special thanks to the folks in the finance department for helping paint my skull. Rebecca, Tara, Tanisha, Wayne, and Heather all helped, though Rebecca did the actual painting. We opted for the back of the skull as it seemed more visible.

Shortly after the painting was done, my donations jumped up a bit to $666! I was concerned that perhaps my work was the work of the devil, but then someone threw in another $5 to make it $671 and I was saved!

Tags:

• Personal
• Charity
• Silly

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It's the Law

So, Josh was recently climbing on the climbing wall in the back yard and he was trying to explain how to do it to a friend of his. "You have to hang on or you'll fall. That's cuz of grabbity."

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Think Pink!

Time for some good old-fashioned self-abuse. But not just any old self-abuse. It's self-abuse for a cause. How many times do you think I need to type self-abuse to be tops on Google for the term? Of course, that may direct the wrong kind of traffic here. Ah, who am I kidding. I'm a traffic whore.

So, what is this self-abuse, you ask? I have joined my company's team in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. So, I am working on raising funds. If our team raises $15k, Cymer will match it! However, I've never been good at telling those sappy, syrupy tales to get people to give money. I'm opting instead for giving some entertainment for people's donations. This is where I need your help.

I'm creating donation levels. Every time my funds raised pass a certain level, I will do something silly or embarrassing and post pictures and or video. For example, when my total has passed $300, I am going to complete shave my head and paint a large, pink ribbon on it. I need ideas for other levels. How can I debase myself for people's amusement in order to raise money? You can check my progress here. Ready? Go!

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Is This Thing On?

Ok. So, I've been gone a while. I don't think I've transitioned from "while" to "eternity" just yet, but I'm on the cusp. Life has been a bit on the hectic side. There's too much to go into right now, and I don't want to scare myself off. I gotta ease back into it. So, I'm probably going to throw a few quick hitting updates in over the next few days and get back into a rhythm. After all, it's been weeks since I've read or wrote anything. And I'd like to re-establish myself in my net communities before I throw too much of my own stuff out there. I feel like I need to reconnect with you all first. Find out what is going on in your corners of the world. But, rest assured, I am back.

I do want to thank everyone for their condolences about Nala. That was a pretty hard thing to go through. And I still see her death replay in my mind's eye a little more often than I'd like. But we are doing much better with it. The only lingering affects are Maya thinking her room is haunted by Nala's ghost and Josh developing an obsession with exactly when everyone and everything will die.

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The Christmas Trees are Safe

I know I haven't kept up on the blogging of late. Life has been a bit on the hectic side. I mean, none of you ever really come here for timely news or commentary. I've always moved at my own pace. And you've always stuck around. I appreciate that. Occasionally, a story comes along that moves me to write it as soon as I can. To make time when I really have none. This is one of those occasions...

Today, at just a little before noon, Nala left us. I wish I could say that she went peacefully in her sleep, but neither she, nor we, were that lucky. The trouble started a couple of days ago. She was having a weird drool problem. She would chew as though there were something tough in her mouth and her mouth would twitch and there would be saliva everywhere. I thought it was just an oral irritation and tried to be more careful of what I gave her to eat. But it increased in frequency, and yesterday, during a particularly bad bout, I tried to get her to go out to the backyard as we had just cleaned the floors.

She looked at me with little awareness or acknowledgement, and when she finally did get up to go outside, she couldn't remember how to walk. She walked in a circle three times and then lost the ability to walk altogether. That's when it got scary. She starting having a seizure. She stumbled to the ground and began spasming uncontrollably. We all stood helpless watching her. As the seizure passed, I scooped her up in a blanket and whisked her off to the vet. During the drive, her breathing was labored, but she was calm. We had prepared the kids when I left that I might come back alone.

While at the vet, she slowly started to revive. When the vet saw her, she looked almost normal. She did have one of her drooling episodes while the tech was taking the case history. Based on history and examination, the vet recommended bloodwork first. By the time that was done and the results were back, Nala was walking around like herself again. Apparently, apart from the twitching and drooling, Nala was a perfectly healthy dog. The best they could come up with on the seizure was one of two things. The more easily treatable was the bacterial infection in her mouth. The vet surmised that the pain from the infection could cause her to spasm. Possibility two was a brain tumor or other neurological problem. That would be harder to diagnose. So, the plan was to put her on the antibiotics for a week to ten days and if she wasn't better, we'd go back and decide our next move. We never got the chance.

This morning, while I was out getting last minute things for our trip to Puerto Vallarta, She Who Must Be Given Sympathy called me on the cell phone. Nala was having another seizure. What was she supposed to do? I told her to administer the valium and then call the vet. I grabbed the last few items, waited in the checkout line, and rushed home. The seizure lasted twenty minutes. We couldn't get the valium in her. I just stood there and watched her slowly die. I rubbed her fur and tried to ease her passing, but I'm not sure she was there. When it was over, I covered her with a blanket and we saw to the kids.

They took it pretty hard. It's tough to say who had it worse. Nala was originally bought for She Who Must Be Given Sympathy to help her through two consecutive miscarriages. Maya pointed out that she had known Nala her whole life. They had grown up together. Just was just appalled that dogs could die. And me, well, I'm a pretty emotional sort and a dog person. We all made little tributes and put them in her box before I took her off for her final arrangements. Maya wrote her a letter and made her an origami purse full of dog food. Josh drew a picture of her. She Who Must Be Given Sympathy and I wrote her little notes on old dirty socks. It was kind of reminiscent of the send-off a Pharaoh got. And that was it.

All that is left is the grieving. And the memories. Josh wants to know if I'll miss him when he dies. Maya just wants to know why. She Who Must Be Given Sympathy blames herself for not taking care of Nala's teeth sooner. And me. I just want to get that image of her out of my head. The one where she is lying on the ground shaking herself to death.

I'd rather remember her as she is here. As the silly dog who barked when Christmas trees rode past. Or motorcycles. Or bicyclists. Or pedestrians. She felt like she was watching the flock. We'll miss you Nala. Thanks for keeping us safe these last ten years.

In eight hours I get on a plane to PV. I'll try to check in while I'm there. If not, see you on the flip side. Sorry to bring you down. If you made it this far, thanks.

Categories: Personal, Family

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