| jesse leo dot com - 2009 | ||
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12/31/09: -- Sandimation - amazing, spectacular, stupendous...
12/29/09: -- As the end of the decade approaches no one has figured out exactly what to call it. I suggest "The Decade that Sucked". Seriously. Let's move on. Time agrees. 12/28/09: -- Apparently it's a good time to buy 'pagne, just in time for New Year's Eve. This article doesn't seem to apply to us, the bubbly we'll be chugging barely breaks double digits cost-wise... -- Made it to and from NYC in once piece. Left my fate entirely up to Maggie, and though she became a bit cofused once I was in the heart of the Financial District she did find me a pretty good route in. -- And here I vowed not to get sick this winter... I'm guessing the bucket of yellow-green slime I extract from my lungs each morning isn't doing me any good and I should continue to extract it? -- Don't know what's more depressing: the fact that Christmas has come and gone so quickly, or the fact that I'm not nearly as sentimental and sappy sad about it as usual. Has real life finally gotten the best of me? Maybe it's all the great loot I scored this year - this must be taking the sting out of things. More on this later, about to hop in the car and head to NYC for a work thing... 12/24/09: -- If you're looking for me tomorrow AM I'll be curled up with doggy on the couch, slurping Starbucks Holiday Blend in my fluffy jammies and watching my boys lay siege to the mountain of goodies under the tree. Merry Christmas to all! -- Jazzy Christmas tunes streaming throughout the day here (thanks Ebert for the link). -- Holmes reviewed by Wired. Ok fine, I'll put this one on my list of must-sees along with Avatar. But if I hear the word "elementary" uttered once (Holmes never said that!) I'm leaving! 12/22/09: -- A man was killed within spitting distance of our house last night. Slow down, people... -- My beloved Polar Express is a marvel to watch, and at that time the technology used to create the human movements and facial expressions was unheard of. Heck, it was only six years ago. But even still, there's something about the faces that has always bothered me. It's like the technology was gettin' there, but juuuuust hadn't arrived yet. It's difficult to describe- the faces convey emotion, but then again don't quite. Botox injections come to mind. Avatar has brought the technology to the next level and solved this issue.. Check out this behind the scenes look, which details how Cameron pulled it off. Despite some intial misgivings I'm really getting excited about seeing this film. 12/21/09: -- Helluva save/pass... 12/18/09: -- Well this settles it, if I want to bolster my creativity I'd better start sleeping around... 12/17/09: -- Ok so maybe I'm wrong about Avatar. Virtually every review I've read is a love letter, here's one and here's another. RT gives it an 83% fresh rating. Now if I can just bring myself to wear those goofy 3D glasses for two hours... -- Christmas shopping with wife earlier this week: Wife: "Don't buy her an Edgar Degas calendar, pretty sure you got her that last year." Me: "I think you're right. Wouldn't want her to have a DEGAS-vu..." Wife didn't laugh. -- Reboot A Christmas Story? Don't you dare! 12/15/09: -- Octopuses (or is it octopi?) can use tools. Cool... -- Took yesterday and today off to do my Christmas shopping, have accomplished nil... But the thought was there. 12/12/09: -- Ebert has compiled a list of his favorite movie posters of the past decade, good stuff. Walk the Line and Saw get my vote... 12/11/09: -- How is it possible that despite my acute interest in gaming, fantasy novels/films, sci-fi and geeking out in general, I have less than zero interest in seeing Avatar? Here's Slate's take, this one will either make trillions or fall flat on its overly CGI'ed face... 12/10/09: -- If each one of these little specs is a galaxy, you can't tell me we're alone out here... -- Garfield Minus Garfield is a site "dedicated to removing Garfield... to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. John Arbuckle"... -- An awesome collection of bed jumping photos, makes me wanna run home, lose my shoes and join in the fun. Dude with the dog is especially hilarious... 12/8/09: -- One of my new favorite Twitterererers - badbanana, always good for a few yucks. -- AT&T kinda sorta admits that their network is lousy... -- Sketchy Santas! 12/5/09: -- If you can figure out Amazon's dreadful mp3 downloader thingamajig the 2009 Brushfire Fall Sampler is worth a listen... and it's free ! 12/4/09: -- A question of ethics? Or maybe one of practicality. Should or shouldn't this person be required to pay for two (or perhaps more) airline seats? -- A collection of flippin' sweet vintage Prime Computer ads featuring the legendary Tom Baker as The Doctor... -- Finally got around to watching the 2009 Star Trek movie on DVD last night, loved it loved it loved it. And all these years here I was thinking that Kirk was the one who was shagging Uhura, whooooaaa! Little did we know it was... well you'll just have to see it. One interesting scene involved (trying not to give too much away here) a major character conversing with his much older, future self. Got me thinking what a 75-year old Jesse would say to me should we meet, aside from the obvious "Man, we were handsome". I'm thinking "Run for your life!" would be one possibility. Or more likely "You're an idiot." But the optimist in me hopes he'd say "Keep it up. With a little luck we'll live long and prosper..." -- Took a Personal Day yesterday to dig out the rubble in the home office/den/junk room/whatever you wanna call it. After several hours of cursing, dusting, sifting, trashing, sorting and filing the place looks worse than it did before we started. Maybe we should just quarantine off the area, board the door shut and be done with it. Better yet maybe we can star in that new A&E "Hoarders" reality show I read about... 12/2/09: -- Trailer for the new Seagal flick looks reasonably cool, though Seagal's jowls make me think of Duke from the Beverly Hillbillies. Dude needs to drop about 40 lbs before he becomes a believable action hero again... -- Attention celebs (ahem Tiger, Kobe et al): once you achieve stardom you relinquish all possibility of hooking up with skanks and not getting caught. Of course one could argue that you give up the right to hook up with skanks in the first place upon getting married, but that's besides the point... -- So what law(s), if any, did the White House party crashers actually violate? Slate explains... 12/1/09: -- If more airline flight safety videos were like this one, people might actually pay attention to them... -- Much as I bash M$, the reality is I'm in Office (for Mac of course) pretty much all day, every day. And yeah, it's evolved into an absolutely essential tool in the business world. But this article makes a good point: what's the motivation to buy an updated version... ever? How many more bells & whistles can be tacked on? What else do we really need this software to do? 11/30/09: -- Just discovered that R2D2 is on Twitter! If only I knew what all those beeps and whistles meant... And if you'll note in his "following" list, many members of the Star Wars universe tweet as well. This has waaaay too much time wasting potential... -- AT&T U-verse gets the gas face! All of our saved TV recordings vanished mysteriously, no way to get them back. Gone gone gone. Lame. -- Santa - please please please, if you see this please see if there's anything you can do. I promise to be a good boy if you deliver... 11/27/09: -- It's been at least two years since I successfully staved off the demon within. But just like the ex-smoker yearning for a nic fix, the reformed crackhead feenin' for a hit of the pipe, the recovering alchy itching for the bottle, I feel it calling to me sometimes. And all this talk about the Cataclysm patch coming in 2010 isn't helping. Must. Be. Strong. My own personal struggles aside, it is jaw dropping what Blizzard has managed to do over the past five years. Games come and go, but Blizzard has developed an audience of over 11 million users worldwide and kept them engaged, entertained, and forking over their monthly fee. And it's easy to see why: the WoW universe is gorgeous to look at and infinitely varied - you could run through the same experiences with two different avatars and come away with something wonderfully different each time. The countless hours I've spent staring slack-jawed at my Troll Shaman's pixelated green backside while navigating him through battle after battle, dungeon after dungeon, forest after forest, quest after quest - in reality I experienced probably less than a tiny fraction of what the game has to offer. So kudos, Blizzard. Now stop haunting my dreams! -- 61 terrific free apps to be thankful for this festive time of year... 11/25/09: -- You've been warned: if I see my ugly mug bouncing around this holiday season on an "Elf Yourself" card I'm pulling out a pair of UZIs and going postal... -- How the H1N1 vaccine is made. Had no idea so many eggs were involved... -- How to quit properly. -- Amazingly spectacular shots from the Nat Geo photo contest, well worth the slow page load time. -- Black Friday is coming - resist the temptation! 11/24/09: -- Official New Moon review: Not having read the novels and only recently half-watched the first Twilight movie on DVD, I was going into New Moon last week expecting bubblegum and not much else. But hey - if you're in the right mood, bubblegum is tasty no matter how old you are. So check your brains at the door, plunk down your $10 and imagine you're 17 again. The good: - Bella (Kristen Stewart) is so damn cute when she sulks, which is most of the time. - Jacob (Taylor Lautner)'s carved physique is an inspiration to anyone who has ever hefted a dumbbell. - Edward (Robert Pattinson) has great hair. - Teenage angst at it's finest, God I wouldn't go back in time for a billion dollars (unless vampires were actually involved, then I'd consider it). - Nifty CGI lycanthropes, critters and whatnot. The Bad: - You'll be one of the oldest people in the theater. - You'll have to endure teenybopper gasps of admiration every time Lautner pulls off his shirt, but.... - ...(continued from above) his teeth are annoyingly white, like he fell asleep wearing Crest White Strips. - Edward's sullen, tortured expression grows tiresome. Lighten up once in a while! - As Wired touched on in its review, I feel (serious for a second here) the movie sends a negative message to its target demographic, which is of course highly impressionable teenage girls: Hold out for your man at all costs no matter how lousily he treats you, no matter how often he leaves you, no matter how many months you'll sit staring gloomily out the window... forsake your friends & family, persist at all costs and true love will endure. I've seen it time and again in real life and it ain't pretty. Enjoy life, girls. Your brooding undead prince will find you when the time is right... 11/23/09: -- Living nightmare: man supposedly trapped in coma for over twenty years was actually conscious and fully capable of normal thought processes... -- Anniversary dinner with the missus last night at the excellent Bull's Bridge Inn. Grandma & Grandpa graciously offered to watch the boys for a few hours, and when we came home we found this lively scene. It was a declicious meal, and a much-needed respite to celebrate our six years. 11/20/09: -- -- The problem with owning a 16-year old Audi is that a lot of the things that can go wrong with it can only be diagnosed/fixed by an Audi 11/18/09: -- Oh no. Oh God, please no. This website is just so wrong on so many levels. I just... no. I need to go lie down for a while... -- A sneak peek at some bizarrely awesome Tim Burton concept art, in preparation for an upcoming book. Love this stuff! -- There's not much I wouldn't do to keep us afloat. But if you ever see me working at the 11/17/09: -- Bittersweet Moment #318: Tucking APL into bed recently he sleepily murmured: "I love my dad" - something he never says. So of course I swooped in for a kiss, how could I not? He must've mistook this for a tickle attempt and reflexively tried to block with his hands - and in doing so accidentally gouged out the jelly of my left eye. And so it goes... -- Sammy - brown is beautiful. Embrace it, baby. I mean seriously, wtf was he thinking? I guess we always want what we don't have - in many parts of the world skin lightening lotions are all the rage, over here we roast ourselves to be darker. 11/16/09: -- Why wine ratings are so pointless. Me I just like reading 'em - Velvety tannins gradually giving way to hints of oak and chestnut, blossoming into an intoxicating blend of coffee, chestnut and horseradish... Eh who am I kidding? One day when we're better off I hope to join the ranks of the oenological elite - gargling and spitting and actually uttering absurd lines like that one above - and meaning every word of it... 11/12/09: -- Bought the new Jack concert album for the missus' birthday, then promptly stole it back :) I usually don't care tuppence for live albums, but this one's pretty solid. Reminds me of a terrific night two summers ago when we saw him jam in MA with Rogue Wave. Jack is Jack, and he oozes mellow coolness. But the real musical mastery behind the live shows comes from Zach Gill... -- This is particularly timely for us - 11 myths of de-cluttering debunked... -- Initial Motorola Droid reviews: a kick-butt phone, but no iPhone-Killer... -- Run litte deer, RUN! 11/11/09: -- J'ever wonder how aircraft cabin air is recylced during flight? Me neither. But here it is, just in case... -- Hug a veteran! Poppy, Father, Sarge, and the millions that I don't know - thank you for all you do/have done. 11/9/09: -- Crocs - what happened? Don't know about ya'll but I still wear mine when no one's lookin'. Ideal for beach, doggy walkin' and so on... -- My new favorite way to amuse myself is to post things about the healthcare debate on Facebook and see how many arguments I can cause... Strong points can be raised for both sides, but for me it always comes back to the fire/police analogy: if your house is on fire, skilled professionals show up within minutes and try their best to quench the flames. They don't check to see if you're covered. They're not going to let your house burn to the ground if you're "out of network." Similarly, if you are attacked by muggers, the police will (hopefully) come to your aid. They will not say "sorry, this isn't covered" and drive off in their cruiser as the bludgeoning continues... you get the idea. To me it seems that healthcare belongs in the same category as these services. Leaving it in the hands of billion dollar corporations whose primary goal is to turn big profits just doesn't seem to be working. -- The missus spent her birthday weekend ripping up carpets and doing home improvements! I tried all I could to talk her out of it, to no avail. We did steal 10 minutes of her time for cake and coffee. Happy b-day babe! 29 never looked so damn sexy ;) 11/6/09: -- The internet's got some great site's for detailing the proper use of apostrophe's. This one's my favorite. That bit about the velociraptor is hilarious, it's my favorite part of the site! -- Freaky trippy panoramic monkeys falling from the sky (click & hold anywhere on the scene and move the mouse up, down, side to side). -- All this talk about Mr. Hooper (see below) prompted me to dig up the legendary episode where they dealt with his death, have the Kleenex ready. Can't wait to have this little chit-chat with the boys one day... -- Sesame Street turns 40! I only vaguely recall snippets of episodes here and there from my youth, and this makes me sad. But of course I remember the Ernie and Bert hand puppets perched atop our bunk bed for God knows how many years, these were used as hurled projectiles to wake up my sister. Also remember there being a Mr. Hooper on the show, and my dad telling me as he read Peter Benchley's novel Jaws that Mr. Hooper (the character played by Richard Dreyfuss who survives in the film but is devoured in the book) was being eaten by the shark and wouldn't be on Sesame Street anymore. Maybe this is why I turned out the way I did... 11/5/09: -- Free preview of the new NJ album... -- So if it's the World Series, and if the Yankees (**yawn**) are now the World Champions, why do only two countries get to participate? 11/4/09: -- Our hoops season starts tonight in the Washed-up Has Been League, ice packs are at the ready... -- Lotsa buzz about Maine jumping the shark last night. Aside from lobsters and allowing occasional use of the "Bangor? I just met her!" line, what exactly is this state good for? -- Enough to bring a tear to even the most cynical eye (i.e. mine), click here... 11/3/09: -- Because I love them so much, and because they are about to be chucked unceremoniously into a dumpster, I give you this 'Ode to My Pumpkins' (playing off of the "fierce sentinels" theme from earlier): Burn fierce, burn bright you leering sentinels of the night Instilling terror, spreading fun All Hallow's Eve has begun. Costumes and decor may come and go but none can match your otherworldly glow. -- Check out this British public commode with wrap-around one-way mirrors. Gotta say it'd take some getting used to... -- I don't care that they're starting to wither and resemble toothless, grumpy old geezers. I've been lighting the jack o' lanterns these past few crisp fall nights, and will probably do so the rest of the week. Burn brightly, burn fiercely, noble sentinels! Keep your vigil over all things wonderful and creepy! Man I've got to stop letting the holidays affect me in this way. Let it go already... 11/2/09: -- The rain dampened our costumes a bit, but not our spirits (man was that a cheesy line or what?). Actually, we lucked out - for the hour or so that we made the rounds in grandma's neighborhood the rain held off 'til the very end. By that point the boys had no spook left in them anway, and the treat bags were bulging. A great haul this year, I've been chomping for two days straight! In hindsight I'm bummed we didn't take greater advantage of a too-rare Saturday Halloween. There are so many great creeped-out houses to visit, so many more pumpkins I'd like to have carved... We did find time for a quick drive to a home in northern New Milford that Maria had read about in the paper. These folks went completely overboard, and it was terrific - two actual hearses with zombie-fied drivers, a chop shop with dismembered limbs everywhere, coffins, horrifying demon-babies, brain-eating ghouls, blood-encrusted weapons, bats, pumpkins, witches, corpses, even a life-size talking Hannibal Lecter serving up somebody's liver with a nice Chianti & a side of fava beans... absolutely spooktacular, I think we may need to pay them an annual visit around this time (I went ahead and checked, Halloween 2010 falls on a Sunday!). Funny thing about holidays - all the excitement, the build-up, the preparation... then BAM! Over. I'm usually given to great fits of melancholy during the first few days post holiday, and this one is no different. SIGH... 11/1/09: -- The calendar might say it's over, but the spirit lives on ! 10/30/09: -- A day in the life of Darth... 10/29/09: -- Ebert reviews the new MJ biography... Been hearing only positive things so far. -- Apologies in advance for Aidan's breath, he officially will no longer allow a toothbrush anywhere near his mouth... -- Free Larry! -- Suffering from a severe case of pumpkin envy... 10/27/09: -- Love this ad. Hey Verizon, if you can hear me: you can have us back if you 1) make a deal with Apple, and 2) pay my AT&T early termination fee. -- NBA opening night, methinks that a cauldon-sized bowl of cereal and my warm fuzzy sweats/slippers combo are in order... -- I'd better get downloading, this may be my last chance to ever own a GTI again. For those not in the know - several years ago I sold my beloved 2000 GTI for a more family-oriented vehicle, a Hon... a Hon... (God, I can't even type this through the tears stinging my eyes...) a HONDA CIVIC! That GTI, wherever it may be now, is viewed by most Jesse Leo biographers and historians as the last bastion of my independence... -- First this kindle thing, now B&N has an e-reader... call me old-school but I have less than 1% interest in lugging one of these infernal things around. 10/26/09: -- Scary Skeletons! -- Snorkling around our beloved St John is getting less interesting by the year... 10/25/09: -- RIP Public Option: Seems Obama's goin' wobbly on us. Fatcats win! 10/24/09: -- Love this - a 1984 review of the first Mac. Staggering to think how far these things have come in such a short time, frightening to imagine what they'll be able to do just 15 years from now... 10/23/09: -- The best restaurant names you'll ever see. -- Do not use while driving... 10/22/09: -- Since we're on the MS tip today I had to post this walkthrough of their new retail store. Looks... oddly... familiar... Have they ever had an original idea? -- Respected NYT tech guru David Pogue answers reader questions about the freshly-released Windows 7... -- 2010: the year of the antibacterial hand sanitizer... -- Was planning on being the Pope for Halloween, but decided it would be too scary... -- Don't get me wrong, I think they're great. But one can't help but wonder if there would still be such a big fuss over Rodrigo y Gabriela were they not hip and beautiful. If they were two old hairy fat dudes would anyone even know they exist? Just sayin' ... 10/21/09: -- That is one big friggin' spider. -- I just became an even bigger fan of the public option... 10/20/09: -- New Macs released today! -- Wasn't Wild about Wild Things. Don't get me wrong, the creatures were amazing and the film had many terrific moments. But I feel like in some ways Sendak's masterpiece should've been left alone. There's an important message there about childhood and anger and resentment and comfort and imagination and fantasy and about 1000 other things, and Sendak does a better job of delivering that message in ten sentences than any feature-length film could ever do... 10/19/09: -- 'memba this one? Rewind a few decades, I'm at Rollerland. Skating. Backwards. -- This is creep-out worthy. A few regular schmucks in pretty good shape - not exactly pros but not weekend warriors either. In generally great health with no known issues... decide to run a race for which they trained appropriately. All collapse and die from heart attacks during the event. Think Imma take it easy for a while... -- We are SO THERE (thx for the link Kate). 10/18/09: -- Attended a family party last weekend and this fine sow wandered onto the scene with a few piggy pals. As pigs are notorious yard digger-uppers, my uncle hopped on a golf cart and herded them away, hootin' and hollerin' like a wild west wrangler. What I would've given for a video cam at that moment! -- 24 years of awesomely bad Windows packaging. Though I don't mind admitting that 7 isn't so bad, let's hope the OS is worth a damn. 10/15/09: -- Wild Things: a potentially wonderous blend of puppetry and computer wizardy. Really looking forward to seeing this film, though initial reviews have been mixed... 10/14/09: -- So I was gonna post this lengthy write-up about how secretly magical Block Island is during the "Second Season" or "Septober" as it's sometimes called. But Mother pointed me to this NYT article which sums it up perfectly. And heck, they get paid to write these! But it's true - when the wifey and I snuck out last weekend for an overnight at the Bellevue, we were reminded that while the dog days of July/August have their place, the island's charm triples after Labor Day. At no time does the island feel more alive, it's almost as if the crickets & critters & creatures are rejoicing that the throngs are back at school/work. Food tastes better. Colors seem more vivid. The air itself has a sweetness to it. No, seriously. Weather for us was kind of "eh" - mild but gray, so we didn't make it to the beach. But long lunches and lazy meandering suited us just fine. Don't get me wrong - I love the beach more than life itself, but it has a way of consuming an entire day. For such a short trip, not having an itinerary was a great comfort. We're already pondering next year's logistics with Maria's new job, but if time/money/life allows we'll always return in Septober - even if only for a long weekend. If we can get the whole gang to agree, we may need to test-drive taking the primary week-long trip during peak season with the masses. Wouldn't be the end of the world, just need to get out the door a bit earlier for that parking spot. 10/13/09: -- It's official: I'm gay. Was boasting about my supreme coffee making skills to my wife, and - without being prompted - actually compared my knowledge of brewing technique to Carrie Bradshaw's shoe expertise... 10/12/09: -- Columbus Day off! Back later... 10/8/09: -- The in-laws graciously agreed to watch the boys overnight, so the missus and I are sneaking back out to the Block for a brief romantic getaway. Books, bikes, and plenty of down-time. Just what the doctor ordered... 10/7/09: -- Star Wars uncut ! 10/6/09: -- Was asked why I opted out of my recent 20 year high school reunion. Egads has it been 20 years? I went back & forth on it 100 times. Made a lot of dear friends back then, and looking through the reunion photos people are uploading to FB brought more than a few nostalgic pangs. But the reality is that there wasn't really a connection made with many people during those years. And the handful with whom there was, I'm fortunate enough to still see most of them from time to time (scroll way down to a 7/10 post). Just not nearly often enough for my liking. You know who you are, and you mean more to me than I've ever told you. -- What. A. Day. Gimme 350 days of this, maybe a few hot ones here and there, and about a week or two of 32 degree fluffy powder around the holidays. That too much to ask for? -- Ok so my diagnosis of Gout was incorrect. According to the doctor, Aidan has a mean case of Paronychia on his left big toe. Ow ! -- Pot to treat kids with autism? Doctors seem clueless on the matter, so I say why not... -- I Secondi... a mouthwatering scene from one of my fav movies. Anyone feel like cooking for me tonight? 10/5/09: -- So just what exactly is in that cuppa joe you chug every morning? -- Happy belated B-Day Grandpa! 50 never looked so good :) 10/2/09: -- So I dunno, should we get excited about Google Wave? It looks to me like a chat room that gradually evolves into a tangled mess of photos, comments, links and other miscellany... -- Question: is it bad to do laps around Stew Leonards during lunch, nibbling at all of the samples 'til full - then leave without buying anything? No reason... 9/30/09: -- Author JK Rowling is on Twitter! Though based on her first few tweets it seems like she created an account solely to defend herself against Twitter imposters... -- Apple tablet rumors abound ! 9/29/09: -- Microsoft bobs & weaves their way out of some $700M in taxes. Actually it appears legal, just sneaky... -- Loud crashes are so commonplace in our home that we generally pay them no mind, but this was a looooud crash. We ran into the living room to find Aidan clutching his forehead with a stunned look on his face, the mantel over the fireplace had fallen to the floor and apparently whacked him pretty good. To complicate this crisis I had a wriggling toad in my hand which I had just captured to delight the boys, and the poor lil bugger was squirming furiously to escape. What to do? I needed to check Aidan for wounds, but what about my warty captive? Drop him so he could hop away under the couch? Hand him to my wife ("HOLD THIS!")? Luckily Aidan was completely fine, it was a glancing blow and seconds later he'd forgotten the whole thing. I managed to keep a grip on my slippery buddy long enough to let him go down by the river. But why can't crises happen at more convenient times? 9/28/09: -- Batman Arkham Asylum: Restoring my faith in gaming, one ass-whuppin' at a time... 9/25/09: -- At long last, MMS comes to the iPhone! 'Bout damn time... -- Wired has an awesome list of the top 10 geeky unanswered movie questions. I gotta be honest, the question about Luke's Jedi training has bothered me for decades. Let's face it, he couldn't have had more than a couple of weeks' worth of training sessions, and yet Master Yoda declared him fully trained. Most Jedi Knights start at childhood and train throughout their entire lives... The Indy Jones submarine one not so much - in the book the sub skimmed barely below the surface with Indy clutching on for dear life, head above water & praying it wouldn't submerge any deeper. A stretch, yes. But not worth getting my bullwhip in a knot over... 9/24/09: -- Laptop owners - some popular battery myths debunked... -- I'm officially creeped out... 9/23/09: -- A list of the top 10 survival tools that belong in your pack. But what's this, no TP? -- This time my nemesis was Artemis, not Hermes (see 9/18 post below). About a mile into the idic15 race last Sunday I parked myself behind some little twenty-something in pigtails and skimpy running shorts. Maybe I liked the view from back there, or maybe it was the fact that the pace she was setting seemed aggressive but manageable. The fatal faux pas occurred around the halfway point: I overtook her and started moving on to the next victim, or so I thought. The effort left me weazing and gasping, while she seemed to be doing just fine - working hard, but calm as a Hindu cow. You can see where this is going... quarter of a mile left she bounded past me, gazelle-like, while I faltered and did all I could to not fall off the road into a drainage ditch... But my golly, what a spectacular stupendously perfect September day for the event. Food, games, prizes (I won a Mountain Dew water bottle!), and plenty of blue sky. We were about a week too early for the foliage explosion, but still we couldn't have drawn it up any better. 9/18/09: -- Jennifer's Body is getting terrific reviews, and not just because of Megan's Body (though I'm sure that won't hurt ticket sales)... Gotta love Diablo Cody. -- Can we assume Ernie meant to say "plucking"? -- In case you're wondering what to get me for Christmas this year, one of these sweet Apple shirts will do the trick... -- I had him. Or so I thought. Gorgeous night for the King of Hill race. With about 1/2 mile to go I spotted a kid with about 100 yards on me. MINE. Struggled and labored and huffed and puffed and grunted and groaned, finally pulled up alongside him in the home stretch. It was then I noticed he was about 10 years my junior and looked/moved like Hermes. He shot me an annoyed glance as if I were nothing more than an annoying gnat, then cooly accelerated out of reach to the finish. Oh well, proud that I was able to close the gap at least. But now my legs are toast for Sunday's event... 9/17/09: -- On the fence about whether or not to run King of the Hill tonight. Might be a nice segue into this weekend's IDIC(15) race at Killington, guess I'll see what the weather's doing in a few hours. After Sunday it'll be nice to be done with this running bit for a while, my feet hurt. -- Parental Conundrum: School is not going well for Jakey. I'm told this morning he kicked off his shoes and threw himself on the ground, shrieking like someone was carving out his liver with a butter knife. Last night he wet the bed (which is not like him) and moaned throughout the night. Most of his waking hours when not in school are spent fretting about it. What to do? On the one hand he's only 3 years old, is he just not ready? On the other hand this is school we're talking about here, sooner or later he's gonna have to suck it up. Would pulling him out for a while reinforce the "crying gets you what you want" principle? Would leaving him in cause long-term damage, prompting him to go on a killing spree 14 years from now? Not to mention the disruption to the other students and staff, since he sobs the entire time... Thoughts? Suggestions? 9/16/09: -- Mafia bypassing toxic waste disposal rules to gain a leg up in that industry by - get this - sinking the stuff into the ocean. Nice. -- Real-life haunted houses! If you believe in that sort of thing... -- Slate: Your health insurance sucks worse than you think, and will cost you even more in 2010... 9/15/09: -- A less than favorable review of the new Leno show, which premiered last night. "Comedic sludge caught in toxic chemical run-off" OUCH! I guess good guests aren't always enough... -- Obsessing over whether or not you should vaccinate your kids againt H1N1? Here's a better idea: wash their hands! -- Oh no. Please no, say it isn't so. There are talks about an Indy 5... -- Well at least Jake seemed excited about his first day of school yesterday morning. But apparently the shrieking ensued shortly after mommy left, and it didn't let up. They even tried retrieving his brother from the other side of the building, and that only made matters worse - seeing Jake upset launched Aidan into a fit of tears as well. From what I hear today didn't go much better. Oh well, I remember screaming each morning when my mother dropped me off at Little Thinkers Nursery School, and I lived to tell the tale... 9/14/09: -- It won't be long yeah! yeah! yeah! It won't be long yeah! yeah! yeah! It won't be long yeah! 'til IIIIIIII'm playing Rock Band Beatles... -- America's Deadliest jobs... -- So all of the whining and complaining about the weather paid off. Yesterday before our return ferry we enjoyed two hours of BI bliss on Mansion Beach, and boy did we need it. Back to the **sob** office today, loads of unpacking still to do... Ugh. Just, ugh. 9/12/09: -- The end is near, this one's gonna hurt... 9/11/09: -- Here in the home stretch we've run into a spat of nasty vacation weather the likes of which I don't think we've ever seen, sigh... 9/9/09: -- Ugh, things have taken a turn for the chilly. We had a terrific day, a friend of a friend arranged a private tour of the inside of the legendary North Lighthouse. But then a crazy arctic wind has kicked up out of nowhere, forcing us indoors and thoroughly bumming us out! 9/8/09: -- Three days in, somehow this amazing place always lives up to it's billing... 9/5/09: -- It's time. Pinch me. 9/4/09: -- 11 obscure Monopoly facts that you really need to know... -- LOTR vs HP, YOU be the judge! A no-brainer, LOTR wins based on sheer staying power and overall literary contribution. However it's worth mentioning that HP gets major props for getting kids to put down the Xbox controller and pick up a book. -- Contest for 'True Blood' fans - EW wants you to write your own 'sode! Any ideas? -- Was asked how I specifically know it was human crap that H-Dawg romped in (see 9/3 post below). Trust me. In the past 5 years I've become an expert in fecal matters. I know it was human... 9/3/09: -- Took doggie and boys for a hike this evening. 10 minutes in Honey gleefully leaps onto a pile of human - yes, human turds and rolls all around in the stuff. The stench was almost unbearable. Had to drag everyone back to the car, dart home and toss her in the shower. Two things: 1) who sh*ts in the woods (besides bears)?, and 2) why, Honey, why???? -- Texas executed an innocent man. A great read, but set aside some time - in typical New Yorker fashion they wrote this one to death... -- Healthcare: when you look at this way it sorta makes sense. Said it before and I'll say it again - the current system is broken, and something needs to be done. Or maybe I'm just grouchy because our monthly healthcare costs are about to triple come New Years. No, seriously - triple... -- Weather.com seems to paint a gloomier picture every time I check the extended Block Island forecast, so I'm done. Not even gonna look anymore... -- FINALLY! AT&T to bring MMS to the iPhone this month... 9/2/09: -- Did Gmail really go down yesterday for a few hours? So Google's not bulletproof afterall... -- 10 famous doctored photographs... -- Using Twitter to become a squeaky wheel. Enjoyed the part about dooce & her Maytag debacle, guess it helps if you have over a million Twitter followers... -- The Summer That Wasn't: Am I the only one who feels like we were cheated out of Summer 2009? It basically consisted of about two weeks in August. But with all the rain at least the flowers are healthy. September, thankfully, has started off with two of the most achingly perfect days in Earth's history. Holy mackerel, did I just blog about the weather? I get weird this time of year... 8/31/09: -- I can see it now, Winnie the Pooh defeating Spiderman by bonking him on the head with a honey pot. This acquisition is lame as hell... -- The locals call it Snake Beach, as it's only accessable via a tiny, treacherous trail off the bottom of Snake Hole Road. I make a point of scouting it out every year alone before deciding whether or not to drag the family kicking and screaming to its shore. You see, some years it's beachable, other years barely navigable. Guess it depends upon the tides. One year it almost drowned me. This year, sadly, it appears that it will be off-limits entirely due to a (ew!) septic issue, read on... 8/29/09: -- Crashbox, finally a children's show worth a damn... 8/28/09: -- I've resisted the whole Rock Band/Guitar Hero bit for as long as I could, but Rock Band Beatles Edition might just get the best of me. I mean come on, the chance to play that famous Day Tripper hook alongside the Fab Four, what mortal could resist? -- Just when I thought my life couldn't get any cooler, I've setup my iMac G5 at the office with a 2nd monitor using Screen Spanning Doctor. Tres sweet, the extra real-estate on the desktop is making a huge difference. 8/27/09: -- Cuba faces a major TP shortage. No, I'm serious... -- So this new "Cataclysm" expansion pack for World of Warcraft has me thinking... thoughts... evil, impure, horrible thoughts... PLEASE NO! Thought I was over it, I don't want another hit from the crack pipe! -- Nessie lives! -- Basterds tonight, will let yawl know my thoughts... -- Snow Leopard hits store shelves tomorrow, here are six things you should know. I'll be upgrading, of course, but will probably give it a week or two to hear what other folks are saying. Let them be the gineau pigs! This isn't a major overhaul, most of the improvements are under the hood... 8/26/09: -- $259M Powerball jackpot winner comes forward. Seems like a nice enough fellow, but I still f*cking hate him... -- Nice Guys Finish Last, Episode 38: Was pulling into the Dunks drivethrough near our house the other day, dutifully following the arrows around the outermost corners of the parking lot en route to the window. Sure, I could've ignored the arrows and taken the shortcut straight to the window, possibly shaving a few seconds off the process... but I declined in the name of order. Well the scalawag behind me had no such reservations, skipping ahead and cutting me off. Maybe I earned a few more karma points than he, but the harsh reality is that he was enjoying his java/getting the girl/earning the big dollars/flying first class/driving the Mercedes/retiring in the British Virgin Islands before I was... 8/25/09: -- Along the Obama/MVD vein (see below), here is the presidential vacation reading list. I call bullsh*t, I saw a Sookie Stackhouse novel peeking out from his duffle bag... -- Attention Mother Nature: We'd like six or seven carbon copies of today bottled up for our upcoming Block Island trip, see what you can do, k? Thanks. -- Still enjoy streaming WMVY Radio most days while at work (though FUV and EHM still get some love). The big news, of course, is the Obama family's visit to Martha's Vineyard. Yesterday the dj went so far as to describe the president's daily itinerary, even providing such details as his first drive on the golf course - hooked to the left and into the woods. Slow news day? -- This might be the most romantic thing I've seen in years. Scroll through these, they're really geeky clever/cute (thx Jeremy). 8/21/09: -- Wired reviews Basterds. Will someone please take me to see this already? Jeez! -- Lightning strikes twice- Usain Bolt crushed another World Record today (his own, yet again), this time in the 200m. Video here, those other guys look like three-toed sloths by comparison... -- Spent the day in NYC, and while not a huge fan of the hustle & bustle I do enjoy the occasional city jaunt. 8/20/09: -- Season Two of Clone Wars looks pretty hardcore... -- It's the dialogue, stupid. Tarantino films might just have the most frequently quoted lines in Hollywood history, with yours truly leading the charge. Philosophical conversations that ramble - but never bore - about seemingly trivial topics... these dialogues absolutely sparkle in their potty-mouthed absurdity & originality. And sometimes they really make you wonder... Here's a compilation of a few gems (via Kottke). -- Man that $250M would've really helped put a dent in the bills. Someone in S. Carolina is going to have a really good day... 8/19/09: -- I want to die and come back as a sea turtle, absolutely heart them. -- Study: Lakers would score more without Kobe. Say whaaaaat? -- Parked over a storm grate this AM which obviously contains a wasp nest, there's an unruly mob circling above, in and around my vehicle. Guess I'll take lunch at the office today... 8/18/09: -- Was listening to a South African woman speak recently, fascinating to hear how gutteral environmental sounds are very much a part of the language. For example she demonstrated how a sound like rustling reeds would be worked into a normal conversation. Then in mid-sentence she made an amazing clicking sound with her tongue/roof of the mouth - it was so forceful that you could almost feel shockwaves in the air. Impossible to imitate, awesome to hear. -- One thing is certain: Coraline is far too creepy to be a children's movie... -- Clowns. What else is there to say? Horrifying, but admit it - you're transfixed... -- Usain Bolt does it again, besting his own 100m World Record. Dude's a freak of nature. And he's only 22... 8/17/09: -- Windows 7 early reviews continue to impress. If for no other reason I'll be upgrading for those freaky cool wallpapers. But no, I won't be throwing away our Mac any time soon... -- Ten essential things every coffee drinker should know. Ladies, pay special attention to #3, shall I brew another pot? 8/14/09: -- Don't look now but a decent version of Office for Mac is in the works... -- Hey it just occurred to me that I never posted my official Jesse Leo dot com review of Half-Blood Prince. Pretty much a carbon copy of my review of its predecessor: loved it and was blown away by the visual effects. But, long as the movie was (something like 2:40), it sprints along cramming in as much plot as possible - very little time is dedicated to the bond between the lead characters and the quirky isms that made the books so loveable. Seven magic wands out of ten. Really looking forward to District 9... 8/12/09: -- Who knows, maybe all these whackos are right - one day we'll wake up and find ourselves living in the U.S.S.R. circa 1981. Maybe I just haven't been following the pro and con arguments closely enough. But I'll tell you what I do know: right now many of us pay waaaay too much for healthcare. And the coverage is sucky. And the copays are outrageous. And these private companies with their "DENIED" stamps held aloft turn massive profits. And what's worse, millions of us aren't covered at all. So yeah, this attempt will probably get shot down. But can't blame a guy for tryin'... -- Two dudes steal $65M in jewlery from a London store. Not a bad haul... -- Sorry folks - the winning Powerball ticket for tonight's $187M drawing has already been purchased. But feel free to keep buying more tickets to up my prize. Appreciate it. -- More grim news about our coral reefs... -- Ok whoever snuck the espresso beans into Aidan's dinner last night - we really don't appreciate it. He's been up since 2AM and hasn't stopped talking/shouting/climbing/running... 8/10/09: -- Was speaking with someone from Maine recently, and when he told me which city he lived in I asked that city's proximity to Bangor. I did this for two reasons: the first being that Bangor is the only city that I know of in Maine, and the second being that I obviously wanted to set him up for the classic but played-out "Bang her? I hardly even know her!" line. But he was far too clever for that tom foolery, and carefully enunciated BANG OR. Thwarted, yet again! -- Ugh - is there anything worse than a post-run shower on a nasty humid day, getting out and still be dripping sweat? Worst feeling in the world... -- Thanks to traffic on 95 the ride home took waaaaay too long. But a weekend in the sun spent shoe-less and (relatively) worry-free is always worth the trouble. In many ways this was a primer for Block Island next month, we had our first taste of the ocean - LONG overdue, and the boys now have lovely base tans. August flying by really bums me out, but still - can't help but think that it won't be long now :) 8/7/09: -- Off to RI for a long weekend of fun -n- sun! Bringing the Mac, will try to blog later. 8/5/09: -- Java showdown: Slate conducts a blind taste test between SBucks, Dunks and Mickey D's coffee. No surprise on the outcome... 8/4/09: -- FL dude loses big-time lottery ticket... -- Attended an excellent family reunion last weekend - a side of the fam that I'd never met before. Something like that always has the potential to get weird, but happy to say that was not the case. Just wish I'd had more time to shmooze and go through some of the terrific old photos, newspaper clippings and assorted family memorobilia that was on hand. One of my young cousins, a strapping teen with a handsome face and a killer tan, paid me a great compliment that simultaneously made me feel really old. He said he hopes to be in my shape when HE'S my age. Ugh. Thanks, but ugh. Hoping this will be the first of many more such gatherings. They're a fun bunch and, who knew - family! 8/3/09: -- $ to be enshrined next month... 7/31/09: -- Interesting read: Daring Fireball on the slow decline of MS. -- Make sure you squeeze your sysadmin today! -- Intense shoulder pain keeping me up for the past two nights. But then by 10AM feels like I could pitch 9 innings (if I were left-handed). Body is playing some cruel sleep-deprivation joke on me. Zzzzzzzzzzz ... 7/29/09: -- Ok BO, this is all well & good. But what's the catch? Chances are if it sounds too good to be true... -- I'll lie awake at night, tossing & turning trying to remember who sings it. Lyric Rat to the rescue! My sleepless nights are over... -- Being something of a Holmes purist I'm very much on the fence about the upcoming blockbuster starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Holmes was anything but a swashbuckling ladies' man with rippling abs and a swift left hook (though at times he was known to roll up the sleeves and throw a few blows if need be). That said, I think this film will ignite the franchise and spur a new generation of younger Holmes fans - certainly not a bad thing. -- Good read on Slate: Modern vampires suck because they do not suck... 7/27/09: -- For once race day doesn't coincide with our Block Island September Sessions. So won't you join us at Killington on 9/20? VT is lovely that time of year, and it's for a worthy cause. Gonna run 'til my heart explodes... 7/24/09: -- Goldens, I'm told, are supposed to be natural swimmers. But Honey so far has been hesitant to fully take the plunge - she would wade in up to her chest but never actually leave the ground and commit to the doggy paddle. But last weekend she took her first steps, errr, strokes, towards becoming a water dog (pictured here). All it took was a tempting stick and a few gentle nudges. 7/22/09: -- I neither read nor saw Twilight, but this made me laugh out loud... 7/21/09: -- Study: US is now tops in spam... I woulda guessed China. 7/20/09: -- On the plus side, the plantar wart that's had me hobbling around like a cripple for the past 2 weeks feels a lot better. On the minus side, this has been the most stressful Monday in recent memory... -- Blob update (see 7/16 post): just a big ol' hunk of algae. Booooorrrrrinnnngggg... Was hoping for some flesh-devouring mutant straight out of a Calvin & Hobbes Sunday morning comic strip... -- Terrible news for Beastie fans... 7/18/09: -- RIP Walter Cronkite. 7/17/09: -- The video might be a bit over the top, but of course it gets me every time (for obvious reasons)... Beautifully sung, Joan. -- Lords of Light! Thundarr the Barbarian 'sodes can be seen on Boomerang network. This is further proof that God not only exists, but loves us and wants us to be happy. Ariel! Ookla! Riiiiiiiiiide !!!! -- My new favorite iPhone app! -- Man, this is priceless... -- I could watch buzzer-beaters all day long. 19,000 crazed fans leaping out of their seats as one, Marv Albert going nuts, teamates mobbing the shot-maker with man-hugs... good stuff. Here are the top 10 from last season. 7/16/09: -- Don't walk, run! The blob is coming! -- Was having a rough morning 'til EHM played I've Just Seen a Face, one of my all-time favs. Much better now. -- Ballsy move by Microsoft, opening a new retail store right next to Apple's. 7/15/09: -- Out for a lunchtime run yesterday and miscalculated the distance. Panic set in as I realized the 2PM conference call I was supposed to host was in jeopardy. Broke a few world records and blew by Usain Bolt on the way back to the office, just made it in time. But my back is killing me now, anyone have any pity to spare? -- Lost your wallet? Keeping a cute baby pic greatly increases your odds that a stranger will return it... -- Been streaming mvyradio lately, good stuff. A bit folksy at times, but gets me through the day... -- Absolutely perfect, what I would give to bottle this week's weather and save it for our September Block Island trip... -- Initial reviews are pouring in for the new Harry Potter flick. General consensus: - "the kids are alright." 7/14/09: -- Hawaii has the most millionaires per population... **SIGH** -- Use a wet towel to cool a hot house - brilliant! 7/13/09: -- Want to make yourself disappear? Call this guy... -- Recently while picking berries we caught some wasps gettin' their freak on (pictured here), so I closed in with the camera's macro setting, paparazzi style! 7/10/09: -- Obama likes 'em round... -- New episodes this weekend of True Blood, Hung, then Entourage. Yes, Sunday nights are officially shot, and yes, I am officially HBO's bitch... -- Guys, too much time passes between outings like last night... but it's great to know we can always pick right up where we left off. I heart yous! 7/9/09: -- Gentlemen, start your downloads - VLC, the terrific Open Source (meaning FREE!) video player has finally reached Version 1.0. This is an amazing app for playing just about any sort of media. I booted Apple's lame built-in DVD player years ago in favor of this gem. -- Fireland makes me laugh for about 10 minutes every time he Tweets. Some deliciously outrageous and just plain f'ed up stuff. A recent favorite: "Been on hold so long I can't remember who I called. I have a credit card out and my pants off but that doesn't really narrow it down much." or: "I'm in the front yard, running through the sprinklers. I feel like a kid again. A crying, drunk, naked, hairy kid." I only hope none of his Tweets are actually true... -- Usually haircuts for the boys is a traumatic affair, I can hear the screaming from our window as I arrive home from work. We get through it, but poor Aunt Kasey leaves a nervous wreck. But Maria just found a barbershop in Bethel that is geared towards kids - there are toys, candies, and I'm told the barber does a mean Donald Duck impersonation. Not only did Jake get through the operation sans tears, he was actually cracking up by the end of it. Aidan did great as well, I think we're on to something here. Now maybe they won't tremble in terror whenever Aunt Kasey comes to visit! 7/8/09: -- Guys, it's official: we are not needed any longer... -- Google to release a new OS. They're taking over the world! -- Finally, a celebrity funeral done tastefully. The MJ ceremony recap actually made me sorta sad. Wasn't crazy about the musical performances, though John Mayer nailed it with an accoustic performance of one of my all-time fav MJ tunes. The perceived wackiness of MJ's later years was alluded to, how could it not be? But it wasn't harped upon, and that made all of the difference. 7/7/09: -- My 2nd favorite MJ video of all time (behind Thriller of course). LOVE that choreography with the Egyptian twist. Plus all throughout the 90's I had a thing for that backup dancer with the long braids/weave thing, I think she was in a bunch of hip hop videos. But anyway, here's what I loved about MJ - even though he's singing, well, err, lip synching in the video - he can still step in and out of sync with his dancers as easily as you or I could stop or start walking. And his moves are just a tad tighter, a tad more precise. Just shows the level of commitment the man had to his craft... -- True Blood addicts and fangbangers: sink your teeth into this great blog post with some amazing shots of the TB set and cast. -- Researchers conclude that our Social Security numbers can be guessed. Greeeeeaaaattt... 7/6/09: -- As if you needed another reason to move to Costa Rica, check this out... -- J'ever have one of those July 4th weekends where (almost) everything just seems to go right? We just did. Friday night took in the tired but effective Danbury Mall fireworks. Scooted away before getting stuck for an hour in the traffic cluster-f*ck that normally ensues after this event. Spent Saturday at a terrific barby which included an Olympic sized pool, an egg toss (my partner got yolked, not me) and some of the most amazing desserts ever tasted. Then yesterday, arguably the best day weather-wise of 2009 so far, took us to my Pops' house for rasberry picking and some lounging by la piscine. Only two short windows of time per year that those berries are ready - yesterday we found them plump, colorful & begging to be picked. And mercifully the damn birds hadn't ravaged them yet. What was interesting was that no matter how quickly I picked, the bucket never seemed to get any fuller. I'll have to take this up with my two little "helpers"... 7/2/09: -- A collection of truly horrifying vintage ads... (via Guy) -- Support a just cause, join the AVL today ! -- Might've posted this last year at this time, but in case you missed it: how to properly photograph fireworks. -- Just had the opportunity to use the phrase "Given my druthers...", in a real life situation. LOVE that one. Makes me happy. -- Note to self: don't agree to go running with people who are in training for a marathon, even if it's supposedly "a quick one"... 6/30/09: -- Sad to hear - decorated Danbury Police officer passed away recently. Didn't know him at all personally, but knew him well from countless Industrial League hoops games over the years. He was a fierce competitor, and I'm told a great person and an asset to the force. -- One of the many fine gifts I received for my recent b-day was a gift card to GameStop (thanks Kate!). So in a fit of lust I sprinted to the nearest GS branch to pick up Conduit for the Wii. Only after arriving on the scene did I realize I'd forgotten my gift card. Arrggh! Ran home to retrieve it, and it was then that I decided to see what people are saying about the game. Turns out pretty much every review is lukewarm at best. So for once my forgetfulness actually served me well, I'll sit on my gift card 'til something better comes along... -- Soul Train is on Youtube! The Soooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuullll Train ! -- You've probably heard by now that Madoff will get 150 years in the slammer. What's up with sentences like that? Do they keep the rotting corpse in the cell all those years after he dies? Slate explains here. 6/29/09: -- So yeah, the IDEAS Conference. Just like last time around in Boston, we came home with a renewed sense of purpose, hope and determination. There were lectures on safety, raising siblings, school, potty training, and many others. Of particular interest to me was the talk on nutrition. If you have kids, regardless of where they are developmentally, you owe it to them to do two things right off the bat: 1) get them on a good multivitamin and 2) get them on Omega 3 fatty acid supplements (there are some great products to bypass the fishy smell/taste, just google it). I could go on and on... And also, just like Boston, we came home with a heightened sense of just how lucky we are. Aidan can walk. Run. Speak (hell, sometimes he won't shut up). Smile. Laugh. Swim. And 100 other things that so many of these kids will never even come close to doing. Every bit of anger/resentment I've ever felt over how not fair it is that our child was born with a disability evaporated in Indianapolis. Feels so petty to have ever had such thoughts in the first place. Count your blessings, folks... -- New iPhones: too hot to handle? -- Back from Indy, all is well. A terrific conference, so much information to digest. I'll try to steal a few minutes to put fingers to keyboard tonight. 6/25/09: -- Attending the 2009 IDEAS Conference! So far so good, but we're running on vapors - about 45 minutes of sleep and a handful of goldfish crackers. I'll try to get caught up tomorrow. P.S. - Stunned and saddened that Michael died. Yes he became something of a freak show over the years, but I choose to remember the genius... 6/24/09: -- How could I have forgotten to mention the greatest gift of all? Jake is potty trained! Just like that. Not 100% mind you, there are still going to be a few accidents here and there. But it was like the light just switched on. We've been using toys to motivate him and it started working all of a sudden. Now of course we need to cough up a fortune to keep this motivation going, but well worth it. Now if only his brother would follow suit, maybe we'll learn a thing or two at the conference... -- Hit 38 yesterday! Honestly there's been so much going on that this one came and went without any feelings of dread. And this is a good thing! The next one, I'm told, is a lot worse because you are right there on the cusp of fo... fo... I can't even bring myself to type that number. I did receive some great loot, thanks to all. My sister played an unimaginably cruel prank on me, more on that later. Just remember, dear sis, revenge is a dish best served cold... More craziness today, as we're leaving for the airport at 3AM tomorrow or some absurd time like that. Haven't even packed yet. Do we bother going to bed? Ah whatever, I'm sure the IDEAS Conference will be worth a few missed winks... 6/22/09: -- Happy belated Pops Day to all you dads. No time to blog today, so I'll be quick: my highlights included my first ever pedicure! The Missus got me a gift card to a local spa and signed me up for the "Men's Sports Pedicure", which is basically the same as a woman's pedicure minus the paint. But oooooooooh it was heavenly, corns & bunions begone! Other highlights included not slaughtering our children, who must've gotten a hold of a giant bag of espresso beans and ate every last one... they were nuts! ... a nice barbecue up at my dad's with burgers, homeade fries and a sinfully chocolatey cake... capped off the night with a pulse-pounding ep of True Blood... 6/19/09: -- How screwed are those journalists in N. Korea? Guess that was a rhetorical question... -- Have the box of Kleenex ready, and I don't mean that in a good way. Pixar grants a dying 9-year old girl's final wish, a personal screening of the movie Up. Absolutely heartbreaking... But wouldn't it have been great if the employee flew to her home in a balloon powered house? We saw the movie, it's terrific by the way! -- Vote for your fav show, the Tubeys are coming! Personally I only watch like two of these, and you know what? Doesn't feel like I'm missing much. -- So the AT&T U-Verse setup got off to rocky start, while the TV stuff seemed to work fine the internet was kapoot. I had to jump on the phone and finally got a hold of a savvy fella who set things straight. Still a few adjustments I need to make (want to lock down our wireless network a bit more), but so far so good. Until the bill comes. 6/18/09: -- More trouble in the sky, this isn't helping (refer to yesterday's post)... 6/17/09: -- And since we're talking reviews, this one is of particular interest to me... -- We came, we saw... first review of Ghostbusters Wii is in. Looks like goofy fun. -- This is getting ridiculous, check out this screenshot from weather.com for our area. Not shown are two additional rain days that couldn't fit on screen. -- At the rate planes are dropping out of the sky these days, I'd be a liar to say there hasn't been the occasional moment of reservation about next week's trip to Indianapolis for the IDEAS Conference. Silly, I know... 6/16/09: -- Ok today I buy my last iced coffee at Dunks, my latte factor is spiraling out of control... 6/15/09: -- Niiiiiiiice... Druggie mom puts baby up for grabs on Craigslist. -- Every once in a while the thing you're so excited about actually turns out to be every bit as awesome as you'd hoped. Season 2, Ep 1 of True Blood was just that, we're more hooked than ever. Here's a recap of the 'sode (With a typo! I'm shocked! Can you find it?). Next Sunday evening can't get here fast enough! -- A snoozer of an NBA Finals has come to a close, Orlando never really had a chance. Video recap here, for the two people on the face of the planet who may be interested. At least the terrific second and third playoff rounds made up for the overall lameness of the Finals... -- Monday, why dost thou come so fast? 6/12/09: -- Excitement over Sunday night's season 2 TB premier is reaching a fever pitch, we're considering putting red dye in our drinks and wearing plastic vampire fangs for the occasion... -- Kid gets smacked by a meteorite, lives to boast about it. -- Holy mackerel, 11 million Safari downloads since new version announced a few days ago. 6/11/09: -- Aaaawwww, Prez hand-writes a note to teacher asking that a student who ditched class to attend his town hall meeting be excused. Wouldn't it be great if the teacher was a disgruntled right-winger and the kid gets detention anyway... -- Taking the plunge: Ditching Charter and going all in with AT&T U-verse. I did the math 100 times with the rep on the phone, we'll actually be saving $20 a month and getting more goodies. If there is a catch, it's a pretty darn sneaky one. Some neighbors have it and say it's terrific. If nothing else it'll be a nice thumb in Charter's eye, gawd they're horrendous. Of course I'm filled with anxiety about that first bill, tell me I'm doing the right thing here, someone, anyone... ? -- Ah, guilty pleasures. Been staying up waaaay too late re-watching season 1 episodes of True Blood in preparation for Sunday's season 2 kickoff. Lafayette can't be dead, he just can't be! 6/10/09: -- I've never been a huge fan, but Apple has updated Safari and it's officially my default browser again. I dunno, it just seems... nimble. Come on Firefox, whatchoogot??? -- Possibly the most badass game trailer I've ever seen. I mean seriously, why don't they make a movie like this or something? -- Advice for nerds on how to flirt with confidence... 6/9/09: -- Aidan received his pre-school diploma yesterday ! 6/8/09: -- Aww, Bret Michaels takes a tumble... -- Apple just announced the new iPhone 3Gs - I must have it NOW !! Just in time for my birthday :) And if you're really feeling generous they also announced a drool-worthy new Macbook Pro as well... -- Folks are expecting some big announcements from Apple at today's 2009 Worldwide Developer Conference, live blog here. -- Aidan's pre-school graduation ceremony today ! 6/5/09: -- Enjoying new Dave. Not blown away, but a great listen nonetheless... -- Starting to believe my wife's theory that the Air France passengers are stuck on some purgatory-esque island, Lost style. The debris found yesterday was not from the crash afterall... -- July should be an interesting month for iPhone nerds... -- So it seems no one knows for sure what sent David Carradine to that great Shaolin dojo in the sky, though the web is buzzing this morning that it may have been a result of self-induced asphyxiation resulting from some kinky stuff he was into (article here). Hey, if ya gotta go... 6/4/09: -- Painting Pachyderm - For the life of me I can't tell if this is real or not. Amazing, though. -- NBA Finals start tonight, huzzah! I'm sure the League is pissed that King James will be watching from his living room, but there's always next year... -- Attention Starbucks snobs (I admit, this applies to me sometimes - but ONLY if there isn't a Dunks nearby with a drive-through) - snacks & bakery goodies are about to get healthier... -- Sad: David Carradine dies at age 72 (best noted for his roles of Caine from Kung Fu & Bill from Kill Bill). 6/3/09: -- Slate has an initial review of bing, and guess what? It's pretty darn good... -- Lame: China blocking Twitter, Flickr, Hotmail, Youtube and similar sites as the Tiananmen Square 20th anniversary approaches. Silence, dissidents! -- Wired: Apple can afford to coast with its next iPhone release and still kick everyone's butt. This may or may not be true, but I'm really hoping for some awesome new functionality. My 1st gen is getting long in the tooth, not to mention the battery is flakin' out on me... 6/2/09: -- An awesomely Dilbertian collection of office eCards, some of these are a riot (thanks CP!)... -- Wired: Earth could be habitable for another 2.3 billion years. Well that's a relief... 6/1/09: -- A compilation of the Top 10 movie catchphrases of all time. I can't see how they forgot to include Thinkin' of tryin' out for a SCHOLARship from The Breakfast Club, but whatever... -- Last known Titanic survivor has died. Except of course for Rose Dewitt Bukater, who was last seen exploring the Northern Atlantic in a submarine looking for a priceless brooch she foolishly chucked overboard... 5/29/09: -- Slate: eBay isn't completely useless afterall. -- Picked up a brainless thriller novel to kill some time at Grand Central Terminal today. I'm not above cheap thrills, and this one is damn good so far... -- Spending Friday at the NYC office, which translates to zero sleep the night before as I lay awake worrying that I'll miss my train. But I do enjoy the downtime during the commute, not much else to do but sit, read and/or snooze. 5/28/09: -- Some lucky bastid in S. Dakota woke up a $222 million Powerball winner. I'd have to say that would be a delightful way to start off the day... -- After way too much coaxing Maria finally convinced Jakey to not only allow a helmet on his head, but to actually ride a pony (pictured here)! Way off in the background if you look closely you can see Aidan astride his own steed, but this equestrian stuff is old hat to him... -- Baseball is way deadlier than you think... 5/27/09: -- NPR's summer book list is up. Whaddya think? Nothin's really jumping out at me... -- No smiling allowed. And they might just ban fun as well... -- Airborne packaging has undergone subtle changes of late, possibly a result of their recent lawsuit catastrophe? Doesn't matter much to me, I still love the stuff... (via boingboing) -- Betcha didn't know that Hurley (the big dude from Lost) keeps a blog... 5/26/09: -- Sad - Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daugther killed in freak accident... -- M$ has ambitious plans for search. I just don't see them de-throning Big G anytime soon. To "google" something is so ingrained in modern culture... To Bing something just doesn't have the same kick to it. -- Tip o' the day: don't double-wash the dishes. Don't know about you guys, but if I skip that step we end up with big yucky food particles clinging for dear life to the forks... -- Well you won't see me wearing Birkenstocks or petting owls anytime soon, but there's definitely something about being up north breathing that clean Vermont air... came home feeling cleansed somehow. Crazed (boys challenged our sanity a few times during the ride home) and sniffly, but cleansed. Lots of time doing absolutely nothing in a back yard you could get lost in - just what I was hoping for. Glorious weather. Breakfast next to an authentic babbling brook. Honey and Mother's doggies logged more exercise this weekend than they had cumulatively in the past 6 months. Hit the outlets for half a day, found some great deals. Pony rides for the boys. Aunt Kos' world famous Mexican Salad. I could go on and on, but suffice to say there are worse ways to spend a long weekend. 5/22/09: -- Heading north to Vermont this weekend for a sanity check - the clean mountain air and a little bit of factory outlet store window shopping might be just what the doctor ordered... Or maybe we'll come home even more insane than we already are, these boys of ours don't always travel well... -- The taxman cometh... I almost feel badly for her. Almost... 5/21/09: -- Vancouver Olympic athletes expected to reach new "highs" during the upcoming 2010 games, read on... -- First review of Salvation is in. In a nutshell: Loud. Bleak. Awesome. I'm thinking the only way for me to do this properly is to make a day of it - rattle off this one and 'Trek in one big popcorn binge-fest sitting... And no, there are no plans to see Angels and Demons, if for no reason other than the fact that I can't stand Tom Hanks' hairdo. -- I am SO getting this for the beach this summer... 5/20/09: -- She's 39 again ;) Happy Birthday Kate! For your gift we'll consider forgiving you for leaving us here while you're in BVI next week! Maybe... 5/19/09: -- Tips for getting that upgrade at the airport. -- Attended a children's party last weekend which featured pony rides, a goat, bales of hay, homemade cupcakes and bad music. But as you can imagine it yielded some terrific photo-ops! 5/18/09: -- Dissed ya Vista: The respected Gartner Group basically advises companies to skip right over Vista and hold out for Windows 7... -- This is officially getting weird: Started following MC Hammer on Twitter yesterday (doesn't everyone?). He mentioned something about No Doubt in one of his recent tweets, I guess they did a show together or something. Last night I dreamed that Gwen Stephani died tragically... WTF? 5/17/09: -- No that's not a booger, the missus took the plunge and got a nostril pierced (here)! Just when I thought she couldn't get any hotter... 5/15/09: -- Snuggie bandit apprehended... -- Happy Birthday Pops, 51 never looked so good :) We'll be up this weekend for haircuts and chaos. What do ya want for your birthday anyway, in case there's anyone out there who may be a bit behind in his/her shopping (hypothetically speaking of course)? 5/14/09: -- So there were two events last weekend that started this whole thing. The first was prompted by our moronic neighbor, with whom we've had several run-ins over the years. Poor old fellow, doesn't have much going for him and as such goes to great lengths to assume the role of the Condo Rule Enforcer. Parking spots are closely monitored, noise levels measured, etc. It's all he has in his little life. Anyway, he came home and noticed that ours and our neighbor's kids had smeared some chalk on our (not his) front doors. Well under section 38C, paragraph 7 of the condo rulebook this must be a violation of some sort. In two shakes of a lamb's tail he had the security guard documenting the issue, and our friends (the other neighbors, the ones that we like who have kids) ended up scrubbing the doors later that night. Keep in mind this is just one of a bunch of episodes in this saga, but this one irked me a great deal... The second event was the stellar time we had on Mom's Day (described below, 5/11 post). In one sunny afternoon it became crystal clear what's missing from our boys' upbringing: a yard. As a condo dweller I'm in a constant state of anxiety whenever the kids run free outside our home, much (but not all) of this stemming from the aforementioned neighbor. This is compounded by a dreadful feeling that we're being watched at all times. Maybe it's all of those windows, who knows? But for whatever reason I just can't relax. And how much fun can one really have on a small strip of concrete? But last Sunday all it took was a soft chunk of my grandmother's gorgeous lawn, three rubber lizards and a picnic blanket to entertain the guys for hours. And H-Dawg as well - she darted back and forth, rejoicing in the fact that she actually had enough room to stretch her limbs and accelerate to a full sprint. More than once I caught her rolling back and forth on her back, either chasing a hard-to-reach itch or simply rejoicing in the beautiful green stuff. It might take 8 months or it might take 3 years. But one thing's certain: we're outta here. 5/13/09: -- Coffee art. Cool. -- Must have this! -- Don't know which is worse: realizing you have no half and half after you've poured the coffee, or discovering there's no milk after pouring a bowl of cereal... 5/12/09: -- Heard Wouldn't It Be Nice on EHM the other day. Probably my favorite Beach Boys tune, and arguably on my top20 all time list. But it makes me sad: unless I'm mistaken it's about a young couple (my guess around 15-ish) lamenting the fact that they're too young to spend every moment of every day together on account of their age. Tres romantic, yes, but I can't help but worry that their youthful 5/11/09: -- I... I... I don't even know how to comment on this (via dunstan)... -- Hate on the NBA all you want, but the playoffs have given us some terrific games so far. Come on, ya can't beat last night's Celts/Magic finish. Of course Marv Albert could make a stamp collecting convention sound exciting, but that's besides the point... -- A terrific Mom's Day. Wifey took a well-deserved break at a local day spa where she was (hopefully) pampered to the brink of ecstacy, then spent some qt with her good friend TJ. She closed out the evening with her novel, her cat and a dog (pictured here). I met with my Mommy at HER mommy's for a front lawn picnic - snacks provided by Kate and entertainment provided by my sons. Every so often the stars, planets and moon perfectly align and they play together so well... warms my grouchy heart. Yesterday was just such a day, watched them catch bugs, play with toy lizards and get dirty for hours. Anyway, happy Mom's Day to everyone! Not enough hours in the day to visit all of the mothers in my life, but we were thinking of you all. 5/8/09: -- Since we're on a Star Trek kick (see yesterday's post), how could I resist posting more cheesy awesomeness... I vaguely remenber that big lizard guy (creature #2) from my youth and being terrified of him. -- Sad: A little black stray cat we've seen lurking around the dumpster for the past few months was apparently hit by a car. Some kindhearted neighbors had him/her in a box with some blankets, and were anxiously awaiting a return call from the local Animal Welfare place. Truthfully he really didn't look good, I'm hoping if it's his time to to go it happens quickly and painlessly... 5/7/09: -- So The New Yorker hates the new Star Trek flick, apparently. I for one intend to see it if only to get a closer look at the young, incredibly hot Uhura. I hope this doesn't offend die-hard trekkies... -- Cannot. Get. This jingle. Out. Of. My. Head. AAAAAAAHHH! Make it stop! -- Oh, to be a basking shark. For decades scientists couldn't figure out where the heck they disappear to every winter. Turns out they vacation in the Caribbean... 5/6/09: -- Lucky bastid: Best Job in the World winner has been selected, and a stooge by the look of him. I could so do that job, sigh... 5/5/09: -- So yesterday I tried the daunting P90X Plyometrics workout. Nearly had a cardiac arrest, but made it through to the other side still alive. And I don't mind saying that I was rather proud of m'self for finishing. Later that night Wii Fit tells me that my fitness age is 47. I give up... 5/4/09: -- I'm quickly learning that when people ask what I'll be doing for Maria next Sunday, "Why? She's not my mother." isn't necessarily the best response... -- Hydroxycut = bad idea. There are no shortcuts, folks... 5/2/09: -- Haven't said this since the 90's, but... Go Bulls? -- A 50-1 wins the Derby? Damn! Anyone know what the payout was? If only I'd had a copy of Biff's sports almanac... 5/1/09: -- -- Found my next novel... -- Yeah, they were twenty bucks. I had a moment of weakness. So sue me. While visiting a faux-hippie shop in Cape May last Sunday I caved to desire (hey, wouldn't be the first time) and splurged for a pair of terrific faux-hippie shorts. Hey they look the genuine article, and rest assured they will see plenty of wear over the next few years... -- Ah jeez, Jakey has a stomach ache & barfed, and is now complaining about being sick in general. Not cool, what with everything I'm hearing on the news... -- Derby this weekend, not that anyone will be watching. But I found this interesting, here's the dirt on the dirt... 4/30/09: -- The torture technique that doesn't make the headlines, an interesting read. -- Said it before and I'll say it again: never met an episode of G-Squared that I didn't like, if for no other reason than the magnificently crafted wise-cracks. Slate has posted a great tribute. Rest well, Beatrice. You were a firecracker. 4/29/09: -- Why didn't anyone tell me that lower-jaw dental work is far more traumatic that upper? I plopped myself into the chair this AM for what I anticipate to be my last filling - EVER, worry free and smiling. After all I've had this procedure done a zillion times in the past year, what's one more? Well jeez - the fun started when the doc jabbed the javelin-size needle - the one you usually don't feel - directly into the nerve... Zzzzzzz! Felt a jolt of intolerable agony. "Well at least we know you'll be good and numb", joked the Doc. "We must've hit the nerve." Nerve, indeed... 4/28/09: -- Since we're talking games today, it goes without saying that the online -- My life officially begins when Punch Out for Wii comes out next month. Curious that they dropped Mike Tyson off of the game title (in passing it's worth mentioning that back in the day I was probably one of the top 10 Mike Tyson's Punch Out players in the country. No, seriously). Well, maybe not that curious. The man's a train wreck... 4/27/09: -- Asked the cat to send a few emails on my behalf... -- When my step-sister first started talking a year ago about a possible April wedding on the beach, we thought she was nuts. Harsh winds, 40 degree temps, driving rain... what were they thinking? Ah but what a picture-perfect day for it on Saturday down in Cape May, couldn't have drawn it up any better. So just what the heck is this - an unusual but not unheard of heat wave, or The Revenge of Al Gore? Let's face it, going from 50's and 60's to 90 in about a day is a bit odd... 4/24/09: -- Apple celebrating one buh-buh-buh billion App Store downloads. Amazing for such a short time. And man, that billionth downloader is lucky, winning about ten grand worth of Apple goodies. Coulda been me ! 4/22/09: -- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Saddened to see the excellent John Corbett has been reduced to plugging burgers for Applebees. Of course to me he'll always be Chris from K-Bear, the role he was clearly born for. And of course to my wife he'll alway be the hunky Aidan, who was Carrie Bradshaw's love interest for several episodes of Sex and the City (and possibly a contributing factor in our choice of names for our first born perhaps? Only we know for sure and we ain't tellin')... 4/21/09: -- Participated in Kent Quiz Night again this year, and did horribly. Considering we took 3rd place a few years ago, this year's showing was downright inexcusable. I blame no one but myself - my teammates carried the load while I floundered, missing on a number of gimmes (I won't even name them here I'm so ashamed). Well I have a year to train, already bought the entire Encyclopeida Brittanica and am well into the A's. Did you know that the invention of the earliest aqueducts, though often attributed to the Roman Empire, is actually credited to the Egyptians and Harappans? Fascinating stuff... 4/20/09: -- Back to back days of 70 degree optimism this past weekend... wouldn't trade that feeling for a million bucks. Gotta get the Cabriolet ragtop running again, any VW grease monkeys out there that can spare an hour or three? 4/16/09: -- J'ever have one of those days where it wasn't even 9AM yet and your to-do list was already longer than Santa's naughty/nice list? 4/14/09: -- The Presidental Pup has arrived! -- A chart outlining the # of pirates killed by each US president (via buzzfeed)... -- Climbing up onto the counter is strictly forbidden, and they know that. But the temptation of leftover Easter candy, Craisins and dried sugary mangos was just too much for them to resist. So I came down from a shower and found both boys enjoying a jocund little picnic (click here). Of course I tried to sternly reprimand them, but this proved ineffective between the giggles... 4/13/09: -- The workouts begin in earnest this week. No, this time I mean it. My gift to myself: look like D'Angelo by my b-day. Ok maybe not, but I'd at least like to be conditioned enough to run up and down the court without needing to call in the paramedics. -- Slate asks: why do we Tweet? No idea, but I'm completely hooked... Now if only I could convert a few dozen Facebook'ers to join my little flock... -- Aidan has off from school this week, some nonsense about spring recess or whatever. Normally this would inspire terror, as the notion of keeping he and his brother entertained all day for five straight days is akin to cleaning out the Augean Stables. And my lovely wife has done a Yeoman's job of it so far (I know it's only Monday, but she's got a full itinerary of fun things planned for the week!). But I gotta tell ya - it's been such a relief not having to get him awake, fed, supplemented, pottied, dressed, brushed, backpacked, lunch money'ed and ready for the bus at 8:19. I actually made it to the office with 6 minutes to spare today... -- CONFIRMED: Polar Bears will bite you if you jump into their enclosure. Thanks, idiotic German woman, for your research on this topic. -- Double cause for celebration yesterday, Nanclyn's B-Day landed on Easter Sunday! Started off the day with a brisk hike/egg hunt atop Skiff Mountain in Kent. Brrrrrrrr... full winter gear and plenty of snotty nostrils. But a quality hike, making a note of that one for a warmer day. I vaguely recall that stellar view of Kent from my youth, methinks we've done that one before in a previous life. Then it was southward to Grandma Nanclyn's for cake, coffee, and screaming at the boys to get off the furniture. Suffice to say we all slept heavily last night... -- DWade drops double-nickels at MSG... 4/12/09: -- Where the Wild Things Are. By God, it's Where the Wild Things Are. Based on the trailer this will either be brilliant or just downright creepy. Or maybe both... -- Happy Easter! Or maybe not so happy if you're a whacked-out extreme devotee who subjects yourself to floggings and crucifixion each year at this time. But who am I to judge? 4/11/09: -- Where are the Secret Service guys when you really need them? -- Must. Have. This. Part 2 (scroll down to 4/7 post below). 4/9/09: -- Are NY Firefighters conspiracy theorists? I know I sure am. Proud of it, too. Building 7, sheeple, Building 7. What was the formal conclusion, some diesel tanks exploded and caused the whole place to collapse into its own footprint? Please. Ah now look, you've got me going again... -- She Breaches! Whale stuck in NY Harbor, headed towards Coney Island. Don't suppose it wants a ride on the Cyclone? -- Vaccination debate is absolutely RAGING over in the comments section of dooce.com... -- A small but jocund pizza party for Grandma Rie-Rie the birthday girl last night, capped off with some sinfully gushy chocolatey pie stuff and cawfee. Happy B-Day Grandma! Thank you for all that you do :) 4/8/09: -- Microsoft: 97% of all email sent is spam. And 88% of it ends up in MY &*$#ing inbox... -- Extremely rare shark captured in the Philippines, and is promptly eaten... -- This episode of Monty is SO us. 4/7/09: -- Must. Have. This. 4/6/09: -- Lame: Facebook yanked my wife's video on Autism Awareness, citing copyright infringement (don't Alicia Keys' lawyers have anything better to do?). For now it's still on Youtube, though I'm sure they'll soon follow suit... -- Ford Focus versus BMW 3-Series: MS takes a swipe at Mac Users in a recent NW article. And I get it, those "I'm a Mac" ads, while cute, did nothing to dispel the perceived elitist Mac attitude. I've said it before, those ads made me want to punch the Mac kid in the nose. But Unicorn tears? No. How 'bout a computer that works well, runs an OS that shows some modicum of intuitiveness & won't be obliterated by spyware/malware, and one that will hold its value for many years? The few hundred bucks saved at checkout cancels out after about a year. -- Is there no end to my mechanical skills? Not only did I go ahead and add windshield wiper solvent (see 4/3 post), I jump-started grandpa's car and replaced a brake-light bulb in the Pilot. 4/3/09: -- My Personal Journey Towards Handiness: Come on fellas, back me up here: it's not as easy as it looks. But I did it, yes, I DID it! A windshield wiper blade popped out on me for no apparent reason en route to work today. After a fair amount of tinkering and swearing I was able to re-attach the damn thing, and I'm pleased to report it's working properly. What next, topping off my own windshield washer fluid? Sky's the limit! 4/2/09: -- My talented wife assembled a terrific video in honor of World Autism Awareness Day. -- Free pizza anyone? -- Interesting read: Why parents swear by ineffective autism treatments. I'll give you a hint: It springs eternal... -- Loaded up around $500 on the Sears card recently for new tires, ouch! But damn, what a difference. Always felt that tires are one area you don't screw around with. It'd gotten to the point where I'd cringe driving over the smallest bump and flinch taking sharp corners... -- Today is World Autism Awareness Day. To celebrate this event Aidan got on the bus with the tantrum to end all tantrums... 3/30/09: -- OSX: Eight years and counting. -- Continuing down this expensive but necessary road to dental wellness, I had a Grand Canyon-sized cavity filled this morning. Comparing this procedure to my recent wisdom tooth extraction, I'd have to say this was worse - the sounds, smells and sensations associated with drilling (found a bone fragment in my mouth as I was checking out, EEWWWW) are ghastly every time. But I'm so glad it's done. Along with two or three other things I'd have done differently in my 20's, taking better care of the choppers is definitely one of 'em. A cautionary tale for you youngsters out there... But now, since sensation is slowly creeping back into my jaw, SOMEONE GET ME SOME FOOD! -- Visited an indoor water park yesterday with the fam. Normally when visiting places like this I can't get past the floating band aids and general skeeviness, but the boys were having such a good time that it was easy to overlook such unpleasantries. Plus there was enough chlorine in the water to dissolve all but the heartiest germs... 3/27/09: -- Kinda takes the guess-work (and the fun, perhaps?) out of finding your shirt size... -- Who needs Steve, anyway? -- Nice freaking shot... 3/26/09: -- He's three! God help us... 3/24/09: -- Dooce's book hit the shelves today, I'm sure it's selling like hotcakes. Where does that expression come from, anyway? Are hotcakes the same as pancakes? And if that's the case I don't see them selling particularly fast (unless it's Sunday morning at Denny's). If anyone can shed any light on this please email me immediately. And if anyone reads dooce's book let me know how it is. In some future life I do plan to start reading again. Someday... -- It's official: yoga is not for wussies... 3/23/09: -- Woz, you're a disgrace to the geek community... -- A cautionary tale: mind what you tweet, peeps... -- Want to pump up your muscles for a good cause? Bring those perky pecs to WestConn! 3/20/09: -- Best. iPhone App. Ever. (thx CousinJoe). -- End of Line: Can it really be ending tonight? Makes me sad. Four years of Battlestar Galactica episodes, each more amazing than the last. Might have to break out a bottle of bubbly for the two-hour series finale... By the way if you don't know the origins of "End of Line", well, maybe you were never a good candidate for a show like BSG to begin with ;) 3/19/09: -- Julia does the perfect omlette. "More eggs makes a rather leathery omlette. The best and the tenderest one is made out of 2-3 eggs." Man oh man I've been doing it so wrong all these years, no wonder the boys never eat mine... -- Yet another sign that the apocalypse is upon us: the 6th most downloaded song from the iTunes Music Store is called "My Life Would Suck Without You." Guess things could be worse, it could be #1... 3/18/09: -- Watch those bananas! World's deadliest spider discovered in grocery store... "Within minutes you will have breathing problems, you'll start to lose control of your muscles, you'll start to drool and within 20 to 25 minutes you'll probably collapse on the floor and die of asphyxiation..." 3/16/09: -- Picked up a timeshare catalog today, closed my eyes and proclaimed that whatever random page I open up to RIGHT NOW is where I will vacation next. Took only a few tries to find Oahu... -- This is awesome: a health club has designed a bus stop bench that displays the weight of the person waiting for the bus, presumably enticing him/her to join based on public humiliation (via Kottke)... -- NYT: Imus has prostate cancer. -- Ok fine, I admit it - I liked Slumdog... Happy?! 3/14/09: -- Thinking of starting a new website, can someone check if the domain name officiallysickofbeyonce.com is taken? -- Cyberduck is rapidly overtaking Fetch as my favorite Mac FTP client. But for text editing I don't see Smultron beating out BBEdit anytime soon... -- Worked late yesterday and blew off an Industrial League hoop game. Then missed today's Saturday morning pickup games. Jake was up around 3:45 screaming at the top of his lungs, nightmare I suppose. All of this racket of course woke up Aidan, who tossed about and babbled for an hour before falling back asleep... It's official: at this juncture life does not allow for anything outside of work and children. 3/13/09: -- Cop got behind me en route to work today. Forced... to drive... 25... alllllllll the way.... Candlewood Lake Road.... ugh. 3/12/09: -- Daddy Didn't Raise No Sissy Boy: I'm told that Jake wimped out at his first Little Ninjas class earlier this week, hiding under a table while the other kids karate chopped, kicked, and had a great time. Art class supposedly went much better... -- My nomination for moronic conversation of the year: Wife: "Since when does the Mystery Machine have GPS and a DVD player?" Me: "In the new episodes it's a modified Honda Odyssey." It goes without saying that the new episodes to which Jakey is addicted can't hold a candle to the Classic Scooby Doo I grew up with. But I'll admit that the new theme song is growing on me... 3/11/09: -- My birthday is still several months from now, but for any of you early shoppers out there, this tops my most wanted list... -- Some sick individuals in this world, read on. 3/9/09: -- Ciruit City: Good riddance to bad rubbish. Serves you right for referring me to the manufacturer for a defective product you sold to me. Stand by what you sell! It was only a pair of headphones, but I've been carrying that anger around with me for about 3 years... -- This is hilarious, but you won't get it unless you've seen those NYT commercials... -- At first I didn't see the point. But I'm slowly starting to like Twitter more than Facebook. The beauty is in the brevity... Tweet me! -- A cruel tease of a weekend, Saturday was gorgeous enough to warrant t-shirts, open windows, and sunny happy sentiments. But just like that we're back to soggy and shivering. That settles it, I'm moving to FL... 3/6/09: -- The deed is done (see below)... Ugh. Remember that scene from Marathon Man? This was worse... Ok just kidding. Truth be told it wasn't so bad at all, I was in and out in about 20 minutes. Fillings are far more traumatic. There was discomfort, don't get me wrong - and a totally skeevy feeling as the roots were ripping. But just like that it was over. -- It's been a thorn in my side for years. Not so much from pain (though in the past few days it's become unendurable at times) - more so from the knowledge that there's a wisdom tooth waaaaay back there that I'm unable to effectively reach with a brush - and as such it's developed a doozy of a cavity burrowing ever deeper. A nagging item on life's to-do list, a ticking time bomb that's been scheduled for defusal since I don't know when. So at 2:20PM today it's getting the ol' yankola. Can't wait... 3/5/09: -- Smart Loans for students. It makes a lot of sense from where I sit... -- My guess is that some toys, when their batteries are almost dead, do strange things in their death throes. That can be the only explanation for Buzz Lightyear's act this morning at 3:27AM: "I am Buzz Lightyear. I come in peace." He also did his patented: "To infinity and BEYOND!" Through bleary eyes I implored him to shut the hell up, as Buzz has no OFF button as far as I can tell. Worse, his battery can't be removed without the help of a screwdriver. I half expected the Candid Camera guys to jump out of the closet. Given my temperament at that moment it wouldn't have gone well for them... 3/3/09: -- Big beefy chunk of space rock zipped by earth the other day, missing by a hair's breadth. Am I the only one freaked out by this? It would've been catastrophic! -- Update (see below) - First the bad news: the Honda techs were unable to duplicate the idling problem, the car made a liar outta me. The good news: there was no charge for looking :) -- Really bad time, Mr. 2003 Honda Pilot, to have a strange idling problem. -- So just how much stronger than us wimpy humans are chimps, really? -- New Macs! I gotta tell ya, the Mini continues to be the best deal that no one talks about. Paired with a decent monitor and cheap-o mice & keyboards, they've been standard issue at work for years - sturdy little servants for sure. If pressed to find a soft spot in their armor, I'd say they seem to run a little hot. Also it's a pain in the 'tocks to add memory. Those aside, they're a very passable desktop solution for the price... 3/2/09: I was just saying last week how "over" winter I am, and that spring can't come soon enough. Nuttin' like a foot of the white stuff to give ya a kick in the arse. But it is beautiful, I must say... 2/27/09: -- Yummmmm ! -- Housing conundrum - so everyone's saying we need to redo our mortgage immediately, as rates are at an all-time low. We've got a guy helping us with it, and it comes down to this: spend $350 for an appraisal. If the value is where it needs to be (unlikely), we could potentially knock a nice chunk off our mortgage payment. If the value is as crappy as I think it is, it's $350 down the crapper and we're no better off. What to do? -- Beatles. New stuff from Adele. Then some Marley. Then my all-time fav Chris Isaak tune. Ben Harper next (his older stuff, thankfully), then a little Van Morrison. EHM is really growing on me (see 2/5 post below)... -- So what's the going rate for a hit these days, anyway? 2/26/09: -- In case you haven't seen this, it's pretty damn funny... 2/25/09: -- A note to my teeth: I know I promised you that this is the year we finally get some of those old issues taken care of: upper wisdoms will be yanked (ugh, can't wait), & the filling or two needed in the upper-left area will be done. Just need more time, please bear with me... -- Pasta: you don't need as much water as you think (thx Kottke)... -- Ya catch the big speech last night? He talks a good game, and his calm, confident manner is contagious (though the standing O after standing O every time he so much as belched was a bit too cheerleaderish for my liking). But even if his ambitious plans flop miserably, confidence is exactly what people need right now. Well done, Mr. President... 2/24/09: -- World's shortest escalator... -- Ok so now that I'm back above 85% health-wise, what excuses do I have left for not working out? None? Ok, fine, I'll do it. 2/23/09: -- A shot of yesterday's MARVEL-ous cake! -- And just like that, he's five years old! Makes me sad. Yesterday's Marvel hero-themed party was a success due to meticulous planning by the missus - every mouth was well-fed, and chaotic fun was the order of the day. There was even an appearance by the Caped Crusader himself (yes Jeremy, photos will be posted). The celebration continues tonight at his favorite - Mickey Dees. Won't you join us for a Happy Meal? 2/19/09: -- Using techniques usually used to locate endangered species, a Geography professor claims he has determined the probable (90%) location of OBL (via Kottke). -- I generally don't go home sick unless my aorta has been severed and blood is cascading all around the room. But yesterday was pretty bad, it was getting to the point where I'd find myself hanging out in the boiler room every few minutes to keep warm. Doc gave me some antibiotics which have already made a world of difference. Thanks for all of the well-wishes, it does in fact look like I'll survive afterall... 2/17/09: -- Jenny McCarthy's crusade to establish a vaccinations/autism link took a crushing blow recently. Though we don't believe this whole argument necessarily applies to our situation, we're often asked our opinion on the matter. Truth is I just don't know. But I do know that anytime lots of well-placed people stand to lose loads of money, all bets are off... -- Aaaaaaaand I'm sick again. Looking at the calendar, there have been... one, two three... about six full days in 2009 where I have enjoyed good health. This is getting ridiculous. 2/16/09: -- A serious tattoo application session took place the other night (above), even after Jakey's limbs were completely covered with images of creepy crawley critters he was asking for more. I was the hit of my recent basketball game, receiving numerous compliments on the half-faded dragonfly on my forearm. If only I'd done the "Mom" on the biceps, then I'd have truly struck fear in the hearts of my opponents... 2/14/09: -- Happy V-Day! To love birds everywhere, hope you get some quality time (wink wink) with your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner/booty call/whatever. As for us, we'll be stuffing our faces with chocolate and slurping a bottle of bubbly we found leftover from 12/31/08, hopefully the boyz will cooperate and go down early! To celebrate this romantic holiday, Slate has compiled a nice collection of vintage photos of couples making out. Tastefully done, of course. Smmmmmmmoooooch ! 2/13/09: Michael Phelps I ain't - Even though I'm in the workout slump from hell, I generally consider myself reasonably fit and able to find an extra gear when needed. Well the other night I donned some goofy goggles and set out to try a few laps in an olympic sized pool... MEDIC! -- UNIX geeks, break out the champagne... 2/11/09: -- WAPO: 10 lessons BO can learn from the Dubya years. 2/10/09: -- J'ever watch a movie that was so damn cute you wanted to actually pinch it on its chubby lil cheeks? Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is just such a film. Nice soundtrack to boot. The one tragic flaw, and you'll see this in many films, is that the "good guy" girl (would that be protagonist? I dunno) is far better looking than the "bad guy" girl. Should be the other way around methinks. But who am I to nit-pick? Great movie. And if I ever have a daughter (God forbid), Paulie Bleaker - errr, Michael Cera - could totally take her to the prom... 2/9/09: -- Fell asleep to From Russia with Love. Woke up to Never Say Never Again. Caught smatterings of Diamonds are Forever, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me throughout the day. Fell asleep to For Your Eyes Only, woke up to The Living Daylights... You get the idea. MAJOR props to Encore for hosting a Bond Marathon all bloody weekend long. Had there been a supply of adult diapers on hand I might not have gotten up at all... 2/7/09: -- Stuuuuck! Stuuuuck! Stuuuck! - Advice from my "Worst Case Scenario" daily calendar on what to do if your tongue is stuck to a frozen pole: Step 1: Do not pull your tongue off the pole - A sharp pull will be very painful. Step 2: Move closer to the pole - Get as close as possible without letting more of the tongue's surface touch the pole. Step 3: Warm the pole with your hands - A tongue will stick when the surface of the pole is very cold. The top few layers of the tongue will freeze when it touches the pole, causing bonding. Place your gloved hands on the area of the pole closest to the tongue. Hold them there for several minutes. If hot water is available, pour it on the tongue and pole. Step 4: Take a test pull - As the pole warms, the frozen area around the tongue should begin to thaw. Gently pull the tongue away from the pole. You may leave a layer or two of skin on the pole, which will be painful, but the tongue will quickly heal. 2/6/09: -- Learned a neat bac-o-matic trick today. Click here to reload my site, bacomatized! 2/5/09: -- Discovered a cool new station - WEHM out of Lawng Gisland. Stream at once... 2/4/09: -- Colorado man faces a decade in the slammer for threatening Obama. Dumbass. 2/3/09: -- Go ahead, mock my sweater vests. But Newsweek says grandpa clothes are all the rage. And they say that because I wear them. -- Playing hoops last night I jammed my finger so badly that for a moment I considered amputation as a means to stop the pain. But then I remembered that I'd need that finger to flip people the bird, and decided against it. 2/2/09: -- What started off as the Boring Bowl ended being a cliffhanger classic, even if you only watch for the commercials. That was one helluva tippy-toe grab by Santonio Holmes with just 35 ticks left, I mean come on- you couldn't make up an awesomer finish. Is there even such a word as awesomer? And the commercials? Eh. Since I can't really remember many of them they couldn't have been that good. I remember chuckling out loud at the Pedigree ad with the exotic animals, but maybe that's just because I've secretly always wanted a wild boar for a pet... Anyway, here's the full rundown if you weren't watching. 2/1/09: -- Will we all remember where we were and what we were doing the day Google bombed? The site is not loading for me at all right now, 8:17AM. Guess it's off to Yahoo! 1/30/09: -- Came across this old pic of my '93 VW Corrado VR6. Ask me today which was the best car I've ever owned and this one would be my answer. Ask me again in 40 years and I'll say the same. My God it drove like a dream, shifting was butter, absolute butter. In time I established a psionic link with this vehicle - she and I would mind-meld when I got behind the wheel, and driving was truly effortless. I wouldn't shift or steer, I would simply think about shifting and steering - she would respond with laser precision. But as time went by and the miles added up, she slowly broke my heart like only the best lover could. The rub on these cars was always the little things that would go - electric seatbelts... the sunroof... the cracking fog lamps... under the hood she stayed solid, but one by one the bells & whistles began to die off. And trust me, every trip to the mechanic was a $700 spot. So when I sold her to some boy with a backwards baseball cap, it was with loads of regret. But it was time... 1/28/09: -- Movie Review: The Wackness, starring Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck. 6 1/2 stars out of 10, and not just because of the bangin' 90's hip-hop soundtrack (though that helped). No new ground is broken here, but the performances were damn cute and the script damn clever. Fire up your Netflix queues. 1/27/09: -- Word to the wise: don't order the fish balls... -- Amazing compilation by various news photographers of their favorite Bush shots, with explainers... 1/26/09: -- A Pun a Day... Wife was checking out the 1/24 post (below) about the otter and asked if we could get one. How could I have responded with anything other than: "We can't afford an otter pet." 1/24/09: --Otterly cute. I so want one for a pet... 1/23/09: -- CNet's review of Windows 7 Beta: a damn good OS. Let's hope MS can redeem themselves after the disaster that is Windows Vista... -- How could I stay mad a him? Was giving Jake a "time-out" the other day, which entailed dragging him into my dark icy office (junk room, actually), plunking him down in the chair and making him sit still for two minutes. At first he was fine with it, but suddenly blurted out "Get me outta this creepy place!", a line he obviously stole from Shaggy. I started laughing of course, thereby ruining any possible disciplinary effects of the "time-out"... 1/22/09: -- Here it goes, the first ever restaurant review on jesseleo.com! Arturo's of Bethel: sometimes, just sometimes, a meal can be delicious enough to make one forget about somewhat scatterbrained service and too-close-together tables (heck, I've been forgiving Sesame Seed for some 15 years now). And damn it was some good Mexican fare, everyone at Mimi's recent birthday dinner gathering ordered a different entree and everyone was satisfied. Very generous portions, and a nice kick to the 'ritas - they certainly ain't stingy with the Tequila. I'd go back for sure. Just not on a weekend... 1/21/09: -- How to properly give a homie handshake... -- Everything you'll ever need know about the new Obama-mobile. By the looks of it you could fire a bazooka at the windshield from about ten feet away and the passengers wouldn't even notice... -- Good Riddance - By the end of his presidency the old jokes weren't even funny anymore. Bush should just vanish into obscurity and let the historians have their way with him. BO delivered a terrific speech yesterday (though it wasn't enough to cover up for the horrendous dance moves he would attempt later that night). Particularly memorable were the jabs taken at his predecessor when he spoke of the petty partisianship that has been infesting Washington, and when he spoke of choosing hope over fear, etc. It's fine to be gracious and applaud politely as the torch is passed, but these were things that needed to be said and BO didn't disappoint... 1/20/09: -- US Air to passengers of downed flight: $5 grand for your troubles. -- Innaug Day - I dunno, I spose there's something to be said for "being a part of history". But to me it's kind of like Times Square on 12/31 - why not celebrate from the cozy comfort of my own living room, with constant access to food and A BATHROOM? If I can steal a few moments away from work I'll be perfectly content watching BO take the oath on CNN. No need to be a part of the shivering masses in DC... 1/19/09: -- MLK Day - Coexist, people. It's what he would've wanted... 1/17/09: -- So I guess the App Store is for real, eh? -- In the history of birthdays, no one is more deserving of a great day than thou, Mother. See you tonight for a 'rita!! Or maybe even two! 1/16/09: -- Rescue in progress. Man that water looks cold... -- It was a toasty 8 degrees as I drove to work this AM. So... sent in your application yet? -- It's a few years too late for me, but someone I know please get this gig so I can live vicariously through you! 1/15/09: -- The nightmare I had the other night was exponentially scarier than anything Stephen King ever concocted. To summarize: I must've been in the undertaking business (a la Six Feet Under), because having a cadaver in the attic seemed to be a matter of course. I was annoyed with myself for not having zippered the body up in plastic before shutting off the lights and locking up for the night. So I had to go back to take care of it - in the pitch dark, with just a flashlight. Of course. So I open up the attic door and it looks very much like the old attic staircase in the house I grew up in (which still evokes terror in me to this day) - wooden, rickety, very haunted-house-ish. I shine the light upstairs and catch a glimpse of... something. Foul black eyes. Decomposing brown skin. Long, stringy strands of crusty hair. And then there's a hollow, terrifying groan, which may actually have been a laugh. It, whatever It is, starts descending the staircase towards me very quickly - not taking steps, It was almost sliding somehow. It's just a few feet away as I try to slam the door, but for some reason the door has transformed into unwieldy tent flaps which won't close completely. It's so close... I fumble with the flaps... ... then I woke up. 1/13/09: -- Watched a presentation by a MetLife representative last night on how to properly provision for a Special Needs child should we depart this world unexpectedly. We'd had a similar meeting last year, but really didn't do much about it other than get a basic life-insurance policy running for me. But this is important: if you have anything, anything at all, allocated for our boy in a will, insurance polcy, or whatever - we thank you 100 times and we love you for it. But stop it. Immediately. Take it out of his name, whatever it is. There is an absurd law in existence that could render him completely ineligible from any federal assistance should funds in excess of $1600 be left to him. Ridiculous but true. Everything must be left to a Trust for him, which we'll be setting up hopefully sooner than later. Could you just imagine? Because of this silly little law of which no one is aware, the kindest intentions of a distant family relative could lead to millions of missed dollars in federal help. We'll post more info as we get it. -- Wired's Top 10 Animal Photo Contest submissions. Some of these are absolutely stunning. Is there anything more glorious than an exotic bird's plumage (see entry #6)? A-parrot-ly not (nyuk nyuk nyuk). 1/12/09: -- How to Completely Waste a Sunday - Normally the notion of wasting a Sunday involves coffee, breakfast in bed, NPR, the NY Times (Arts & Leisure section), a bathrobe, etc. But here's what really happened: I was sick and spent the day groaning in pain and/or barfing, wishing a meteorite would come plummeting from the heavens to end the misery. The boys were no doubt wishing the same thing, as they were on the brink of boredom-induced madness... 1/11/09: -- Move over Doc Brown! Here are the steps to convert your car to run on refuse... 1/8/09: -- Where the Wild Things Are, coming soon to a theater near you? I'll see it so long as my dinner is still hot when I get home... -- Slate ponders which dog breed may be the least loyal. Mother, I'm sorry to say it - the news on Springer Spaniels ain't good... 1/7/09: -- Because I'm wild and crazy like that: Nuked some 3-day old chicken nuggets today using the microwave's "Beverage" setting to see if it would yield different cooking results. Alas, they tasted the same. Now I don't want to hear anyone accuse me of not having a life... 1/5/09: -- My Gods, is a new BSG episode just a week away? Ok maybe ten days? Well it's time to catch the frak up! Here is the previous one for all you rookies... -- So just what IS the status of Steve Jobs' health? All I know is that as his health goes, so goes AAPL... -- Showed Aidan the Michelle Obama book and asked him who they two people on the cover are. "Doctors" he replied. Let's hope so, buddy. Cuz they've got their work cut out for them. 1/4/09: And now back to your regularly scheduled blogging: I'm rebooting. My brain. My soul. My outlook on... everything. Take two parts Scrooge on Christmas morning. Sprinkle in Tigger, while being careful to avoid Eeyore. Throw in certain pieces of Mark Twight's Twitching, minus the anger. In '08 being angry aged me about 5 years. Exist for family, exist for laughs. Work hard. Play harder. Clichés, yes, but good ones. Mind, this won't be an easy year - mucho belt tightening. Hell, pull our belts off and hock 'em on craigslist. Did I make the same resolution(s) last year at this time? Probably. But I mean it this time. | Sites Worth a
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