Category: Daily Life
Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.
Parenting – nothing harder
I woke up late this morning. Amy and I would have to leave in 2 minutes to catch the bus. Wasn’t going to happen but getting to school on time in the carpool would be no problem. Well, one would think. Amy and I could not agree on her outfit. Need a tough negotiator? Send in a 5 year old! My patience ended up being tried and lost. I was outwitted by a child and my primordial reaction was to get gruff, raise my voice, and shove her to the car. Bad dad. Of course, she needed clothing so I tossed her anything and declared, "go ahead. Look like a clown." Certainly not a tv dad today! Fortunately, Mom rose from the dead, fighting back her nausea, to save Amy. She gently helped her get attired in clothing Amy liked. She wiped her tears, gave her a hug, scowled at me, and we were on our way. Amy arrived at school 16 minutes late which in the grand scheme of things was not worth one ounce of the stress I caused this morning. Coincidentally, one of her teachers was in the office and cheerfully greeted her. After asking Amy if she was ready for fun gym, she escorted her to class. Please have a great day Amy. I’m going to start mine over.
I had a panic attack at 2am
Somehow in this 4 day weekend I failed to complete what should have been a simple task. The problem is I assumed it to be a simple task and, having not truly relaxed in forever, I decided this weekend I could play it by ear. That is, I procrastinated. It would be okay because I only needed a few hours to get the work done and Saturday evening was mine, well, except that Saturday evening started awfully later after a long and fulfilling day. It would be okay because I only needed a few hours to get the work done and Sunday afternoon was mine, well, except for the parade in Lenoir City. Tommy needed that and it fit the "must relax this weekend." It would be okay because I only needed a few hours to get the work done and Sunday evening was mine, well, except that Cathy and Evan had come down with a migraine and fever respectively. I pulled the evening shift of getting the children into bed and getting school stuff out for the next day all while hearing Cathy’s voice in my head lamenting the horrid condition of the house. Could I possibly get the children ready, clean, and get the work done. It would be okay because I only needed a few hours to get the work done and I don’t really need sleep, well, except that it is difficult to type with your forehead and I presume that is what I was trying to do considering the number of times my head bounced off the keyboard with a series of ZZZZzzzs across the screen.
I attempted sleep but kept dreaming of my obligations so I woke with my head dully throbbing, my arms rubbery and weak as if I’d done hours of weight training, and my body aching sore. No, I do not have Evan and Cathy’s sickness. This is simply what it feels like to not allow yourself a good night’s sleep. Of course, I can sleep when I am dead. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend but I cannot allow myself too many of those.
What are you doing with your phones?!
Narration (with additions): [audio:http://realityme.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/whatareyoudoingwithyourphones.mp3]
During the Bearden Bulldogs versus Farragut Admirals high school football game, Cathy and I were busy tapping messages into our phones as quickly as our frozen fingers would allow. I was Twittering the game. My father-in-law, a true die hard football fan, did not understand how we could be looking away from the game to play with our phones, "what are you doing with your phones?!" Cathy explains, "Doug is putting game highlights on Internet for people to read. See (shows her phone to her father), the Knoxville News-Sentinel editor is encouraging Doug." He doesn’t believe her. Something significant happens on the field, he suggests, "Tell your ‘editor guy’ about that play."
So how does one explain this fascinating world of instant communication and self-publishing to people who have not experienced it or perhaps to those who have not even become comfortable with computers yet? Some people feel that if you are over 25 years old, you cannot understand things like Twitter. Jon Swanson suggests 8 ways to explain 2.0 friends to 0.0 parents. My favorites are:
2. You know how you like to shout at the television? With 2.0, @newmediajim can hear you.
…
4. Remember how you used to walk down the street and say hi to people along the street? That’s what i do when I turn on my computer.
[Source, Levite Chronicles, 8 ways to explain 2.0 friends to 0.0 parents]
Web 2.0 tools have such undiscovered potential. The Red Cross is using Twitter to help reunite families during disasters and to forewarn of impending doom and the request resources for help. Presidential candidates are using Twitter for publicity and to have closer contact with the voters. People blog for different reasons; I have published why I blog. This list could go on for pages. The possibilities are endless. The changes that will come in the next 5-10 years will blow people away! Of course, faster broadband in the United States is crucial.
Update: Random Mumblings talks about breaking news. See also Group Twittering instructions for events. Music City Bloggers talks about Instant Communication Changing the Rules. Michael Silence warns of Big Brother watching during Liveblogging of sports events. Read Ryan Sholin regarding Notes on breaking news. Les Jones chimes in.
My penis is a mountain
Last night at the Bearden Bulldogs vs Farragut Admirals football game, as the crowd stood respectfully as color guard brought in the American flag (and 3 others), Rocky Top blared from the speakers instead of the national anthem. Whoops! The crowd chuckled through the beginning of the actual national anthem. Why did they use a recording instead of having the two high school bands play? I wonder if they could have done it in sync.
Of course, the playing of the national anthem is not unique to sports events in the United States. Countries all around the world play their national anthem, and often a singer belts out the words. Croatia invited UK opera singer Tony Henry to perform their national anthem at the beginning of the Euro 2008 soccer tournament with Croatia vs England. He mispronounced a Croatian word (see the video) when trying to sing "we love your mountains" and instead announced to the crowd "my penis is a mountain." The Croatians believe the mistake relaxed the team enough to knock England out of the tournament with a 3-2 win for Croatia. They have since adopted Tony Henry, and his mountainous member, as their mascot.
(This post should pull in some interesting spam… )
Crayons in the wash? No, chapstick!
In 2004, we learned how to get crayons out of clothing. I wonder if the same basic principle will work for chocolate flavored chapstick.
I love me some Thanksgiving!
I thought yesterday was very special. I was tickled that our inlaws chose to join us at our house. The official family Thanksgiving is Saturday at their house when some other relatives will be in town. Between yesterday and Saturday we should have enough Turkey to last until Christmas. For half a decade or so, I have put off (ie. procrastinated) getting a meat thermometer. Yesterday, while the turkey cooked, I went to Walmart to get a meat thermometer, some ice cream, and a few essential non-essentials only to find that I wasn’t alone. I thought I would get to park right by the door but still had to park a distance before trekking around Wally World. Who needs a gym when you shop at Walmart! I did find a few things at the store for which to be thankful even if I don’t understand it. I felt sorry for the poor guy in line in front of me who had to produce his birth certificate, social security card, photo id, bring in three unrelated people to vouch for him, and give a blood sample before he could pay with a check. I sure hope there was a valid reason for the hassles. In America we should not have present papers simply because you look Hispanic. Do our schools teach any history anymore? Can people not draw the parallels between WWII Japanese and how we locked away American citizens because of their Japanese ancestry and today how we hassle American Hispanic citizens because of immigration politicism. Do people not see the risk of another race war hidden behind the word "immigrant?" Have we forgotten our Schoolhouse Rock Great American Melting Pot lyrics?
Whoops. How do these soap boxes keep getting under my feet? Yesterday was a thankful day. I brought a long standing project to a close. I was able to relax instead of spend the day in uncertainty and panic. I was with family and they laughed and played. I am thankful to have found countless friends on the Internet (I dare not make a list of links for fear of leaving someone out or having this post extend endlessly) who share such fascinating stories. I am thankful to those who have helped us in so many ways during the extremely hard times. I am thankful that I am not out shopping today. I am thankful for my children; they make me smile! And everyone knows, I am extra thankful for my wife! She is my sun which I gravitate around; she warms my soul; provides me energy; and shines on me to make my darkness go. I can think of so many things for which to be thankful that I believe I could type this post until next Thanksgiving! I hope you are thankful too.
Don’t put off until tomorrow…
So a couple of years ago I noticed my water bill doubled. Years? I hope not. Sure I meant to type "several months ago." It doubled because the washers on the spigots needed replacing but mostly because the flapper in the downstairs toilet needed replacing. Someone would flush the toilet and it could run all night before someone realized it needed fixing. A $3 part and a few minutes of my time would fix the problem but I had more important things to do like figure out how to pay the extra $30 or so per month the leaks were causing.
Yesterday I put a new flapper on the commode. It was $3.45 and took about 2 minutes. Assuming this has been going on a year and that toilet was the total cause of a $30 increase in water costs, then I spent $360 waiting for my round tuit! I may never learn. In 1998, I left for a month of work in South Carolina to return to a very molded bathroom because I could not find the time to replace a 25 cent washer. Failing to change that 25 cent washer resulted in a bathroom remodel! Don’t mess around with water! Don’t put off until tomorrow that which you can do today!
That Feeling of Disbelief
Sometimes you get a project that goes wrong. This happens more frequently if your specification is loosely defined or non-existent. I have just finished a project that threatened to drive me from consulting back to the corporate world. It is a wonderful project! A real showcase piece! (that coincidentally I cannot show anyone) One feature was very technically challenging and at one point I, the believer that anything is possible, was thinking that maybe this could not be done. Well it is done! I anticipate some cleanup but I’m through the rough waters. Time to regroup and do damage control. Now where is my desk? Anyone got a shovel?
Prohibition Broken
I can’t remember the last time I had some scotch. I used to drink mine neat. On a whim tonight, I bought one of those $1 airport bottles of Danfield’s Private Reserve 10 year old Canadian whisky. Wait a darn tootin minute. This is a blend! Well, regardless, mmmMmmm. The aroma is like perfume under my nose. Sort of caramelly with a sharpness to it. To do nothing more than touch the liquid to my lips produces a warmth in my gullet. The initial taste is like liquid candy. The mouth has a burning sensation as if it was holding a fireball candy. The aftertaste lingers with sweetness. Whisky has a calming affect on me. I remember why this was a favorite of beverage of mine!
From the mouths of babes
Me: "We should make love tonight."
Her: "We have to buy groceries tonight!"
Let the day begin!
2am beginnings is the reason waiting 2-3 weeks for coffee grounds just isn’t going to fly.
Starbucks, please improve your gift card
I’m staring at that container of contaminated coffee grounds trying to calculate the odds that it contains cyanide or razor blades or spit or roach eggs or something equally as horrible. I could easily join Futurama’s Fry’s 100 cup coffee zen state right now. That would be awesome! But, really, that is not an option. The right thing to do is returned the damaged container to the store.
Starbucks needs to improve their gift card. Right now, you can add money to the gift card which is cool. But others need to be able to add money to the gift card! How much cooler it would be to have a "Gimme Coffee" button on a site instead of a Paypal button! So Starbucks, if you are listening, please change your gift card so that people from the Internet can put more money on my gift card. Thanks!
Update: My wife put this idea into my head and email the suggestion to Starbucks.
Oh no! Dizzy-free no more?
I have spent so much time without a dizzy spell and I have had such a wonderfully relaxing weekend. Why now do I feel a dizzy spell threatening? I need sleep but I have obligations that must be met first.
Elkmont was wonderful!
I’ve been sucked into the computer almost as much as Jeff Bridges. Worse yet my coffee grounds have run out. I almost canceled on the Boy Scouts this weekend but that is a commitment just as strong as my commitments to my clients. And I have one! I have work that must be complete by the morning so I went by Sam’s and bought enough coffee grounds for 360 cups of coffee! (That should get me through the night!) Unfortunately, when I got home and took the lid off, the safety seal was not correctly secured. The tab usually used to open the seal was folded under so this looked like a manufacturing defect. I know bad people have put bad things in products in the past but I really doubt this coffee is tainted so I was tempted to use it. What I don’t know, is how long the product sat in storage and shipping. Coffee deteriorates quickly so I’ll return it tomorrow but man I could use a pot of joe right now!
Update: Folgers is sending me coupons to replace the coffee I purchased. They implored me to disposed of the grounds. Now I have to find something creative to do with the grounds. Instead of returning it to Sam’s Wholesale Club, I am to wait 2-3 weeks for the coupons then I can get more coffee. Hmm. Btw, if you call their 800 number, they’ll happily send you coupons and samples.
