Missing Mia
Mia has been gone this week visiting Grandma and Papa Hyde and while it's nice to relax without the responsibility of being a parent, the house is too quiet and and I'm really looking forward to having her back. She recently made the transition from crib into a "big girl bed" and the photo is of her while helping Mick to paint it.
I also uploaded about 40 new photos to Flickr if you haven't seen them already.
My Wish List
I always get a little panicked around my birthday or Christmas because inevitably people will be asking "What do you want?" First, I always feel a little sheepish because I really don't "need" anything and I really don't like asking for things. Second I never have the right answer for the right person. I don't know anyone that is super rich and the only things I can usually think of require at least 2 months salary. It's either that or a candy bar.
The conversation tends to go like this:
Gift Giver: "What do you want for your birthday this year?"
(translated - "please help me - I have no idea")
Me: "You don't need to get me anything."
(translated - "I can't think of anything you can afford.")
Gift Giver: "Oh come on there's got to be something."
(translated - "I would actually like to get you nothing but we both know that's really not an option.")
Me: "Hmmmm. I really can't think of anything I need right now."
(translated - "Come on think! There's tons of stuff you want. Doh!)
Gift Giver: "Really? Nothing?"
(translated - "Are you kidding me? That's all you got? Thanks. That was very helpful.")
Me: "Well unless you think I need a new LCD flat panel tv..."
(translated - I know you would never get me this...but just maybe if I mention it...")
Gift Giver: *Laughs*
(translated - "In your dreams.")
Me: "I'll let you know if I think of anything."
(translated - "I still can't think of anything and even when I do think of the perfect gift in 2 minutes I won't tell you because I'll feel like a greedy scumbag.")
Gift Giver: "Ok."
(translated - "I'll just ask his wife.")
So to save the world from this pain and frustration the internet invented "wish lists." The wish list is a list of items you would like to have from a particular website. The Amazon wish list is probably the most famous because they stock just about every product known to man.
This is the link to my wish list. If you have an affinity to give me a gift this year you check it and save us the awkward exchange.
Virbtacular
I've written about the nastiness of MySpace several times and the regular influx of provocative friend requests finally led to my divorce of "the largest social network on planet earth."
So now where do I go for all my social goodness? It's a question I'm really not that concerned with frankly but when I found out about Virb, I had a new home.
Mike Davidson introduced me to this glorious MySpace replacement that not only looks a million times better, it functions infinitely better.
What I like best is the ability to radically modify your profile page. You can see what I've done with mine here.
Check it out and create a profile for yourself.
My Running Diary of 24
I've never kept a running diary before so I'm jumping into uncharted waters. Sit back and relax and prepare to be catapulted into my weird and odd observations as I watch 24. If you haven't seen it yet - spoilers to follow.
No injury can keep Jack down.
Hmmm, anybody think those nukes won't make to the necessary facility???
Doyle got something up his sleeve - he's been waaay to nice lately.
Why can't the Chinese just get over it already?
Dang Morris and his component...he's the reason all of this has gone down.
Hmmm Jack has 1 hour to get the component...1 hour...1 hour...could there be any significance to this...no probably not...
I love the nicotine patch on Gary Payton's (Wayne Palmer) neck
Did Carrot Top re-incarnate and turn into Shawn White?
Just saw the preview for "The Condemned". I thought the wrester posing as an actor movies would end with the Marine.
Wow! We finally found a resignation that Gary Payton would accept.
It's official. Those Mac/PC ads are annoying.
Does anyone every tell Jack no?
CTU needs a stringent no-relationship policy.
Silver Spoons needs an attitude adjustment and our favorite CTU agent is just the person to give it to him.
Guess the the Glove needed a stronger nicotine patch. Yippee! More Powers Boothe! Who can we nuke next? My vote is for Canada.
This week should have been one of those double header episodes because there was no resolution at all. It's as if the writers got done with the season and realized they only had 23 hours. So they drew out the beginning of Jack's new mission. This might be the first episode in the history of 24 where it actually took someone 30 minutes to drive somewhere...
Well, it's been fun. Stay alive Jack.
BJU to Start "ThySpace"
Just got this from Josh Griffin's blog...
In order to fully appreciate this post follow the instructions below.
1. Read the title of post
2. Follow link below
3. Laugh really hard
4. Wonder to yourself "is it really true?"
5. Laugh at yourself for wondering
6. Stop laughing and wonder again...
Click to read really funny news-release
Hollywood Video Crisis Looms Large
While I was lucky enough to get my very own Nintendo Wii awhile ago it seems as if the shortages are not just affecting the consoles and accessories.
I went to Hollywood Video today to rent a game for some friends coming over tomorrow and they not only were they out of the game I wanted but every single Nintendo Wii game in the store was checked out. Every single copy of every single game.
Now I know how those people in Russia felt when they tried to buy bread only to find none on the shelves...
wait...what?
It Was the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
I was just thinking...
The smell of a fresh bag of properly cooked popcorn is one of the best things in the world. The smell of a burned bag is one of the worst. Just a few seconds in the microwave separate one of life's great experiences from 2 days of horrible stench in your kitchen.
It's either really good or really bad - there's not a lot of in-between.
Here are a few more things that are either the best or the worst:
- An orange - you never really know until after you bit in and sucked down some juice
- Your favorite team in the championship game
- The Matrix trilogy (1st 2=awesome, 3rd=worst. movie. ever.)
Any other ideas?
What's New in '07?
Time for the requisite family and friends update.
I have been getting a lot of emails from family and friends with all the cute and cuddly details about their lives. And since my email habits are like my phone habits (I try and spend as little time on both as possible) I've been feeling a little guilty about not sharing the details that some of you love (Mom...)
First of all, it would be nice if the temperature would stay above 20 degrees for 2 straight days. I don't think I'm asking a lot here. I honestly can't remember a stretch this cold this long in my lifetime. I promise I will never make "Old People Living in Florida" jokes again. My Christmas lights are still half up...and I'm a person who can't stand it when people leave their lights up past the 26th of December. If I were to try and go on our roof at this point I am pretty sure I would either slide off on to the driveway and break something vital or slide into the power lines and fry something vital. So the lights are staying up for now - at least they're not on.
I traveled to San Francisco again in January for my job but was unable to bring Mickie along this time. It was too bad too because my second day of training was canceled. I ended up driving to Monterey Bay for the day. It is a really cool coastal town. I was going to go to the Aquarium but it was a wee bit pricey. Its always fun eating by yourself in a touristy place as well. I tried to make myself look like as little of a loser as possible by spreading out a couple folders and made it look like I was working or something. I actually just stared at the water and the sea gulls. I ended the day by driving back up the coast to SF which was really cool.
Probably the single biggest thing to happen in 2007 so far was my acquisition of a Nintendo Wii. If you don't know the Nintendo Wii is revolutionary game system that gets most of its input based on motion. So if you are playing Tennis you swing the controller just like a racket and the system picks up your motion and translates it on the screen. Mickie and I played one at our friends the Criggers' house and had a lot of fun. You know it's a good gaming system when Mick gets into it - and let me tell she gets into it. Playing tennis one day I had to cower in fear against the wall to avoid her Venus Williams like arm swings... The youth group has had a blast with it as well. Bowling is the most popular among that group.
Mia has been going through, well how do I say it, an independent stage...
I probably say this every time I write about her but I love watching her figure out new things. Her conversation gets more mature all the time and I can't believe the size of clothes Mickie bought for her the other day. She has been memorizing a lot of songs recently and the current hit is from the Little Mermaid. I have a video I'll post soon or maybe in a year... Her favorite activity right now is to make "Jumpers". Well, I actually make them she just jumps on them. For the uneducated a "jumper" is a combination of couch cushions, pillows, blankets and anything else that would break the fall of a 2 year old from about 4 feet.
This post is getting a little long so I'll spare you all the rest and try and update a little more frequently and a lot shorter.
Hopefully none of you are as dumb as this guy...
The Greatest Invention Ever...No Really
I just found possibly one of the most useful things in my lifetime. No, not a really fast electric car, or even a Feline Stay-Fresh Drinking Fountain...(which is sold out by the way due to its immense popularity) No dear brothers and sisters I'm talking about the Procrastinator's Clock.
What? Me? A Procrastinator? Those who know me best would say I am, though I like to say I manage my tasks to be done when they need to be not when they could be... Anyway this particular clock courtesy of David Seah runs 15 minutes fast. Not impressed are you? You can do that with a normal clock? Ahhh, but does your clock speed up and slow down unpredictably? Didn't think so. The slogan for this fine product is really great: "This clock runs fast up to 15 minutes...or does it?
You never know if you're 15 minutes ahead or if you're right on time - so you can't cheat.
This needs to be a function put into all alarm clocks. Why hasn't someone thought of this before? Millions of dollars are waiting to be made.
Well, I need to end this post - I'm late for work...
Mia-Speak
Over the last 2 years I have become bi-lingual. I speak fluent English and passable "Toddler." The tricky thing is that "Toddler" is not a standardized language and there are many dialects. In fact its probably safe to say that just about every kid from the age of 0-4 has their own personal dialect (some adults too...).
When this all starts its about as hard to learn and understand as Elvish in Tolkien novel - but with time and a good amount of paying attention you start to figure it out.
With this comes a challenge: Can you match the toddler speak to the song titles below that Mia requests over and over?
- Bom Bom Ding
- Do bop a do bop
- Hammerhamham
Answers:
- U Can't Touch This
- I Can See Clearly Now
- Orinoco Flow
Good Luck.