| Our New House |
[Feb. 10th, 2009|10:04 am] |
Check it out, it's our new house.
No, that's not a joke. |
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| HOW CUTE!! |
[Oct. 3rd, 2008|03:51 pm] |
...and then I clubbed them to death. |
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| Morning Stroll #1 |
[Sep. 25th, 2008|09:39 am] |
I found a place for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) snooks to stay if he'd like to come out for a while:
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| I look like a dad now |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|09:59 am] |
As requested by Snooks.
EDIT: Forgot the directions -
Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don’t change your clothes. Don’t fix your hair. Just take a picture.
Post that picture with no editing.
Post these instructions with your picture. |
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| Oh yeah I'm turning Japanese |
[Sep. 10th, 2008|11:15 pm] |
So I figured out tonight that I was most definitely Japanese in a past life. I've had dinner for the past two nights at a sushi restaurant and haven't been more happy. The sushi doesn't upset my stomach and I just love the peace of the setting. They recognized me (I took a picture of the chef the previous night) and just took care of me the whole time. And the sake... I love sake! It's so different from the reds. No heartburn, just warm happiness.
NOTE: I'M SLIGHTLY TIPSY AS I COMPOSE THIS POST.
It's really a revelation for me. I felt like I finally understood something about myself. My hatred of people and what not. I just like peace and manners is all. So my current theory is that I had to be some Samurai before. My guess is I was the crazy shirtless dude type in Seven Samurai (I have no patience to go and add the formatting for the film title - deal).
I miss my baby and my wife. I can't wait to go home and see them.
That is all. Just thought I'd share the whole Japanese thing. Really - I think it has to be true. God damn - I love sushi! |
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| My brain just melted a little bit |
[Sep. 9th, 2008|04:42 pm] |
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Scientists will launch an experiment in a tunnel deep beneath the French-Swiss border Wednesday, hoping to find evidence of extra dimensions, invisible "dark matter," and an elusive particle called the "Higgs boson." And although leading physicists such as Stephen Hawking say the atom-smashing experiment will be absolutely safe, some skeptics fear the proton collisions could unleash microscopic black holes that would eventually doom the Earth. The most powerful atom-smasher ever built will produce collisions of protons traveling at nearly the speed of light in the circular tunnel, giving off showers of particles that will provide more clues as to how everything in the universe is made. In the $10 billion project _ the most extensive physics experiment in history _ the Large Hadron Collider will come ever closer to re-enacting the "big bang," the theory that a colossal explosion created the cosmos. The project, organized by the 20 member nations of the European Organization for Nuclear Research _ known by its French initials CERN _ has attracted researchers of 80 nationalities. Some 1,200 are from the United States, an observer country that contributed $531 million. The collider is designed to push the proton beam close to the speed of light, moving around the 17-mile tunnel at 11,000 times a second at full power. Smaller colliders have been used for decades to study the atom. Scientists once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of an atom's nucleus, but experiments have shown they were made of still smaller quarks and gluons, and that there were other forces and particles. The CERN experiments could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. It could also find evidence of the hypothetical particle _ the Higgs boson _ which is sometimes called the "God particle." It is believed to give mass to all other particles, and thus to matter that makes up the universe. The two beams of protons will travel in two tubes about the width of fire hoses, speeding through a vacuum that is colder and emptier than outer space. Their trajectory will be curved by supercooled magnets _ to guide the beams. The paths of these beams will cross, and a few protons will collide. The two largest detectors _ essentially huge digital cameras weighing thousands of tons _ are capable of taking millions of snapshots a second. Some skeptics have said the collisions could result in tiny black holes _ subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars. "It's nonsense," said CERN chief spokesman James Gillies. Leading scientists like Hawking agree. Gillies told The Associated Press that the most dangerous thing that could happen would be if a beam at full power were to go out of control, and that would only damage the collider itself and burrow into the rock around the tunnel. Full power is probably a year away. "On Wednesday, we start small," Gillies said. "What we're putting in to start with is one single low intensity bunch at low energy and we thread that around. We get experience with low energy things and then we ramp up as we get to know the machine better." Huge amounts of data will pour in _ so big that the lab's computers can't sift through it all. So scientists, who will monitor the experiment at above-ground control centers, have devised a way to share the load among dozens of leading computing centers worldwide. The result is the "LHC Grid," a network of 60,000 computers to analyze what happens when protons are hurled at each other. That computing power is needed if scientists are to find what they are looking for among the mountains of data. "You can think of each experiment as a giant digital camera with around 150 million pixels taking snapshots 600 million times a second," said CERN's Ian Bird, who leads the grid project. Sophisticated filters discard all but the most interesting data, still leaving some 15 petabytes to be analyzed. That's enough to fill 2 million DVDs. The data will be sent to 11 top research institutions in Europe, North America and Asia, and from there to a wider network of 150 research facilities around the world for scrutiny by thousands of researchers. Collaborating on such a large project has proved invaluable, said Ruth Pordes, executive director of the Open Science Grid at Fermilab in Chicago. The U.S.-government funded project is among the major contributors to the grid. "We are doing things that are at the boundaries of science," Pordes said. "But the technologies, the methods and the results will be picked up by industry." Scientists expect grid computing to become more widely used, for research ranging from new drugs to nuclear energy. Eventually, consumers will start seeing it in daily life to regulate traffic, predict the weather or help a flagging economy. So even if the LHC experiment doesn't yield answers to the cosmic questions, historians may one day see it as a key step in developing networked computing. It wouldn't be the first time that has happened at CERN. In 1990, a young British researcher there created a computer-based system for sharing information with colleagues around the world. He called it the World Wide Web. |
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| Home Alone |
[Aug. 19th, 2008|10:04 am] |
snooks flew back to Oregon yesterday so it's just the three of us again here. He was out here for a little over two weeks - helped us out with our back yard and setting up a pot garden in the front. No - not that kind. Just a bunch of pots with flowers in them. It was great having him here - Big D really liked having him around. It's very strange - he's a real quiet guy, but it seems more quiet in the house since he left. At any rate, it was great to have him here and we hope he enjoyed himself as well.
Whilst he was here he helped me install a porch light. I'm so freakin' psyched on my porch light. I had to drill through this brick facing on the front of our house and then match up that hole by drilling through cinder block on the other side. Yeah. That's what I thought as well - I measured to where the hole SHOULD be and got to going at it. I knew there was no way I was going to line it up - see, that's the way things of that nature go for me. But lo and behold this time it worked. Well, with a little help from snooks, that is. He had me shine a flashlight in one side and he was able to widen the hole on the other side to make the path for the wire. I don't have any power out front, so I had to take a light fixture and attach it to a stripped extension cord. I have that plugged into a timer. Once we start working on the stairs and fixing the front room I'll throw an electrical line out front. I might also try and get a water source out there, but that might be too much of a headache.
Big D had his first word yesterday. It was 'cat.' He's said 'Mama' a few times, but this was his first association with something other than C or I. He just loves Diego (and Bella when he sees her). He points at him and pretty much gets out 'ca.' He hasn't mastered the 't' yet, but what do you expect? He's cruising around like crazy. I imagine walking is possibly a month or so away, maybe sooner. It's crazy how fast this stuff happens.
Had a great time at Radiohead a couple weeks ago. snooks and I got really close. Here's a picture he took:
It was a great set. That was my fourth time to see them and I just love it every single time. Lately I've been reading some trash talk from other bands about how Radiohead has lost it and what are they doing anymore, it's all dreary and mopey and blah, blah, blah. Those people is stupid. The last album has quickly become one of my favorites and I truly believe they're pushing the envelope still whilst remaining completely accessible. Also saw Grizzly Bear and my major guilty pleasure, Underworld. Had a crazy good time.
Looks like my stepbrother is going to buy the Jeep from us. I'm also going to bribe him to put in a new sink and toilet for us on the third floor when he comes out. You see, that's how we do things out here now. If you come to visit you have to complete at least one (1!) major house project of our choosing. Them's the rules.
Oh yeah that applies to you, Kel. Don't you think it doesn't. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|09:46 am] |
The Jeep has been recovered. I got a call yesterday from the police department about it. First there was the headache of all the tasks reporting it stolen, now we've got to deal with all of the headaches in getting it back. The steering column and the battery need to be replaced. I didn't bother to ask if C's massage table was in the back. At least we'll still make some money on it - although I'm not sure people are going to be eager to buy a gas guzzler like the Jeep. I'm also not looking forward to driving it. It creeps me out that some scumbag was driving it around all this time. Ick.
Our trip to Portland/Bellevue went well. It was way too short. It was great seeing everyone and really begins to make it clear that Portland is the place for us to be. I'm going to give it a max of two years. It's going to be really tough leaving some folks here, but I just don't see Big D growing up here - especially in our neighborhood. It's not TERRIBLE or anything like that, but there's no parks nearby - no yard for him to play in. There's still break-ins, drugs and general tom foolery going on all around here and I'd rather not get him mixed up in it at all. Not to say that Portland doesn't have all the above - it does. It's just that I'll be able to choose where we reside there and give him access to more physical activity. Of course it will be raining, but really when I think about it, it's not so different here. There's LOTS of freezing ass cold days when you don't go outside and LOTS of super humid hot days that you don't go outside. Also unlike Portland, when it's raining here, it pours. Portland has lots of gray days and drizzle - which is gloomy, yeah, but it's predictable. You know what you're getting there and it's not so uncomfortable that you won't go out in it. We still have some work to do on the house before we go about any of this. It won't sell as easily in the current configuration.
I'm listening to The Shins this morning and was reminded of a post by hoymak. I can barely understand any of the lyrics this guy sings. I catch bits and pieces, but really most of it is a blur. I get too caught up in the song to try and parse out the words. However every now and then a phrase jumps out at me and makes me want to listen more carefully - Eviscerate your fragile frame and spill it out on ragged floor? Huh?
Okay, I've gone back to a few songs and really listened - you can hear the words if that's all you do - just listen to the song. It's sad, I used to be able to do that, but don't really have time for it anymore. Not that I'm really complaining - aside from work, I enjoy what I do with all the time I used to spend listening (really listening) to songs. |
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| Actor's Nightmare |
[Jun. 13th, 2008|09:57 am] |
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GODDAMMIT hoymak! I had a dream where I was rehearsing Electra with you and it just went on and on because I couldn't remember any of my lines. You started getting frustrated with me and I of course couldn't find a copy of the script anywhere. At one point I think you even morphed into the SM. DAMN YOU - don't you know I have a baby and get limited sleep as it is? |
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| Time to Breed |
[Jun. 10th, 2008|02:42 pm] |
Happy Birthday Kim and Kelley!
I'm off to see The Breeders tonight. First concert in quite some time. It should be awesome as it's Kim and Kelley's birthday. They put on an awesome show. It's actually more fun to listen to the banter in between songs (and sometimes during) than the songs themselves at times. I'm not thrilled about the locale - it's Webster Hall which is really kinda big and not the best place to see a show, but it is what it is. I won't enjoy getting up bright and early with Big D tomorrow, but again - it is what it is. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 5th, 2008|02:43 pm] |
I don't know why I keep taking these massive breaks in posts. It's not like I don't have anything to really post about. Our Jeep was stolen last month from right in front of our house. That really sucked. The cops in JC don't come to you to file a report (they're really too busy for that sort of thing) - you have to go to the station to file it. To what end, I don't know, because I can tell you that nothing gets done by them. Well, I found out that it was actually great that I filed a prompt report as we got a notice from an insurance company two days later that our Jeep had rear ended someone - hit and run situation. Beautiful. I have to say it wasn't so much the loss of the car that upset me - it was all of the CRAP that I had to deal with after it was gone. Send this form here, get it notarized. The cop had put the wrong color (cream not green) on the report so I went down to the station to have it corrected. Oh, no they don't take changes over the phone. I had to wait for the same officer to come in to make the correction and once he did come in he told me it didn't matter anyway. It seems to be resolved now. We were going to get rid of the Jeep anyway - our plan was to trade it in soon. Oops. We basically lost $2K.
Our new car is pretty nice - it's a used Pontiac Vibe. I like it. Well, until today when I discovered that the sunroof leaks. I had a sunroof in my old truck and it leaked as well. Sunroofs suck. We'll get it fixed, but it's just another thing to do.
Duncan is great. He's back to a good sleep schedule. He was teething like crazy for awhile there so sleep was very difficult. He was getting up twice a night most nights. He's been sleeping through the night again recently. Last night he got up once - it took C an hour and a half to get him back down. Overall though he's great. His personality is really starting to come out and it's a lot of fun.
We were recently in Texas for a week. We drove up to see princess_hang5 and her man. It was beautiful as ever up there. They've got a great house. Nice back yard as well. Texas was fun. My mom was super with Big D. She loves him like crazy. She cries every time we leave. She just can't get enough of him. It's really sweet. Her relationship with C has also improved so much. I couldn't be happier about that. There used to be this underlying tension when my mother would visit in the past. It was nothing major - it was just slightly uncomfortable. That's completely gone now. C is also racking points up like crazy with my parents. When we were driving back from Santa Fe she said that we should call my parents to let them know when we were getting close. I of course didn't care, but my parents thanked me later for it. We were there for my grandma's 80th birthday and my parents put together this dinner for her with friends and family. They totally footed the bill. Charmian offered to help out and that had my mom teary. Amazing. I tried smoking some ribs while I was there. I was only semi-successful. We had put a rub on them and then proceeded to mop them as they cooked - but I think I let them go for twenty minutes too long. That's death to ribs. It's such a fine line - one minute, tender juiciness - the next, shoe leather. Okay, they weren't exactly leather, but they could have been better. I'm going to try it again this Sunday for C's birthday. Wish me luck. |
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| Dooood.... |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|10:21 pm] |
These pictures will have child services knocking on my door. |
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| Misty and Water-colored |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|09:50 am] |
I was up in Seattle for work on Mon. and Tues. so decided to drive down to Portland on Friday for the weekend. It was a good trip. It also looks to be a fairly regular thing - my work plans to have me out every two months or so.
So yeah, this place. Should ring a bell for some of you - might have been there once or twice. I had some work I needed to do on Sunday morning so went here. They have like full on food now. Oh and the real killer - they now accept credit cards! I can't tell you how many times I recall scrounging pennies out of my truck for a freakin' cookie having not eaten in five or six hours. Not to mention the times when I wanted a large coffee, but only had money for a small. Ah, those were the days. |
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| Growing |
[Feb. 25th, 2008|10:23 am] |
- EDIT -
The first image was too small - trying again with separate images...
I stole this idea from omeletbird. What better way to track my son's growth than by torturing my dog?
( More pictures here... ) |
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| POWDER - always POWDER. |
[Feb. 15th, 2008|02:22 pm] |
Oh and I forgot to tell you - I made a cake for C yesterday. I researched recipes and went out and bought buttermilk (which I'm sure will sit in our refrigerator unused for weeks), powdered sugar, baking pan... C kept asking me as we were going along if I was sure we had baking powder. I kept saying - yes, of course we do. I have a thing about her hovering and asking questions when I'm cooking, baking what have you. See, fact is she's way better at it than I, but I don't care. I want to do it without the advice. As many of you know, I shun the advice. So I start getting stuff together, C asks again about the motherfucking baking powder which I say AGAIN that we have and that it's in the refrigerator. She says - um, okay, are you sure? Annoying. YES - it's in the refrigerator - leave me alone. So I separate eggs, I make soft peaks, I make hard peaks, I beat some more, I sift, I beat, I sift - I get flour, sugar, cornstarch EVERYWHERE - I dirty every Pyrex we have in the house, but I am proud dammit, proud! These puppies are going in the oven, this is going to be a great ca...
"This is baking soda."
Fuck.
Fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck.
Imagine lemon cornbread w/ frosting. Yeah - but it doesn't taste as good as that trust me.
Sometimes, just sometimes - she's right. |
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