It too blasted cold to work in the basement. I had planned on saving up for a nice laptop but nooo…I’m just going to buy a cheap one because any laptop is better than no laptop and it is really too stinking cold to in that basement today. I need to be able to work at Starbucks! What kind of geek am I if I never work in Starbucks?!
Year: 2008
Not making the bus today
Everyone in this house is moving in slow motion today. Maybe I should slip the kids some coffee.
Dad of the year nomination revoked
Bad Dad sent the kindergartener to school today with nothing but Scooby snacks for lunch.
Update: Yesterday Amy came home and admonished me, "You forgot to send me lunch. All I had was Scooby snacks. I was starving!" And man was she ever put out. She was whimpery and whining and crying. She went into the kitchen and fixed herself a feast of a sandwich, fruit, apple sauce, and cookies. Then she laid in bed and boohoo’d that we never feed her. She gave it the royal treatment! Around dinner we talked about things she could do if it ever happened again including talking to the teacher, the cafeteria volunteers, or the cashier at which point she cheerfully responded, "I did! I had mashed potatoes and … and … and … and strawberry milk and … The IOU is in my lunchbox." Boy does she know how to milk guilt!
Today she was sent with more food than she will eat.
Carpool update
Voting for Stacey Campfield would be asinine
People of Tennessee, particularly District 18, quit voting Stacey Campfield into office. It’s embarrassing!
Related: The pernicious effects of banning words, by By Christopher Hitchens, slate.com
Do not legislate morals to me
Dear Sen. Doug Jackson, Please quit wasting time and money trying to legislate morals. Allowing people the free will to turn off their televisions is far cheaper and more in line with the basic principles of freedom on which this nation prides itself. These commercials are shown late at night when children should be in bed. Our legislature should be far more concerned with important issues such as education and health care. Please keep your eye on the ball!
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A proposal that would ban late-night TV ads showing half-naked young women is stalling its second time through the Legislature.
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The legislation sponsored by Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, would fine cable and satellite companies up to $50,000 for airing ads for obscene products. [Source, Michael Silence, Knoxnews No Silence Here]
What is obscene? Much of Europe finds America’s prudishness laughable.
From the mouths of babes
Amy: "The thing I love the most is my family."
We’ve lost our motivation
The bus was a very exciting part of school for Amy. As a kindergartener I never expected her to ride the bus but it was such a big deal to her that the first time we missed it she had alligator tears. Now she has grown indifferent. She has friends in the carpool lobby as well as the bus lobby. We miss the bus primarily because I choose to sleep "just another 15 minutes." I think perhaps it is time to start waking everyone 30 minutes earlier.
Our children grow so fast. The conversations. The logic. The sentence structures. The choices made. I am awed that she is only 5! I love watching the children grow!
Seesmic Exploded Tonight
Seesmic got demo’d at DEMO tonight. The timeline was speeding by! The Seesmic team also slipped in some fantastic new features. I also noticed the new release no longer burdens my machine. The previous version would force me to reboot after about 15 minutes because the antique computer I have just couldn’t handle it.
Want to read more? David Howlett has posted Seesmic’s next steps. Want to participate? I still have a few invites.
101 days of school
Carpool update
Knoxville Asperger Support Group Tonight
As a reminder, ice moved last week’s support group meeting to tonight. Details including directions to new location here.
Calling the electronic gurus
If I have a device that is labeled as needing 12v 250ma and I have a power supply that outputs 12v 1200ma am I putting my device at risk?
I seem to recall someone once telling me the milliamps don’t really matter but that doesn’t feel right.
Break the mental dam
I’m stuck. You know. Bouncing between Twitter and checking Reality Me for comments and email and generally not getting over the programming hurdle that has me in gridlock. So I’ve turned off the distractions but the mind races. It thinks of that overdue post about this past Thursday’s parent night at the high school. It thinks about the phone calls which need to be made to the NRA, Les Jones, and lawyers etc. It thinks about the squirrel trap in the attic. It thinks about anything but what it needs to be doing? How to calm the mind and get focused on work? Simple! Step away from the keyboard. Juggle or clean something. Do something drastically different from the task at hand so that in 5 minutes the task at hand seems fresh and new!
State of Me
Cold. Needed a haircut before Christmas. Now I really need a haircut. Focused on tying up some loose ends on some old projects so that I can move forward with some new projects. Dreading next month’s electric bill. Am feeling pretty sane and balanced between work, personal life/children, and community/volunteer activities.
