And this is why I like boring

For those of you who know me (and us), we're probably pretty boring people. We work, we do chores, we eat and sleep. But we don't really party, or go on fancy trips, or do neat things. We're boring. Sure, we'd love to see Europe or Australia or the Grand Canyon (again), but we're boring. Here's why.

Saturday
In the morning we went to town to do our weekly food shopping and to run some errands. We checked out (to no avail) some railing systems as our front steps are in dire need of renovation. We came home, changed, cleaned up, then went to the wedding of our babysitter's daughter. Now, I don't like writing checks to pay for the sitter, but it's a great deal. Not only is it way less than what a commercial chain of daycare centers would charge, these people actually care about our kids. How many babysitters do you know that buy a dress just for your kid (with matching dress for her doll) so she can hand out bubbles at the wedding? Not many. Anyway, the wedding was nice, the rain stopped a few hours before the ceremony, and we had some snacky foods. William was getting cranky so we headed home to eat our dinner of Sheetz food.

Sunday
Sunday morning saw Yvonne sleeping in (per her request for mother's day) and plenty of laundry being done. Dishes were next on my list while Yvonne was going through Elizabeth's clothes (she's like the Imelda Marcos of kid's clothes - thank God for hand me downs). Suffice to say, the house was a mess with all the projects under way. Then William had some vanilla yogurt and some banana yogurt for lunch. Not a lot though, just some spoonfuls.

After an hour of fussing, he spewed. Everywhere. Floor. Mom. Not pretty.

Then he broke out in hives. After some phone calls, the nurse/triage people said to go to the ER since he's already taking various medications and is so young. So we zoomed to the ER, got behind the iron curtain of admissions very fast and waited. A quick checkup by the doc said he needed benadryl.

He had a bottle, and upchucked again while trying to give him the meds orally. So we moved to another room to await an IV infusion of benadryl.

And waited. Waited some more. And waited some more. After much waiting, some benadryl, more waiting, some fluids, more waiting, and yes, even more waiting, we finally got the hell out of there. Mother's Day dinner was Sheetz again (we had some right tasty looking steaks at home on the menu that have to wait now).

Monday
So, after another visit to the doctor for the post-allergy check-up, he's good to go for now. We'll be avoiding vanilla and milk until further tests come back (he eats banana all the time so it shouldn't be that). The rain is still coming down like the second coming of Moses. I'm still trying to catch up at you-know-where, school, and home. Projects galore at you-know-where, homework for class, and things to mend at home (those damn steps, the water timer under the house, and now the ditch needs fixin').

And that is why I like boring.

Today's Sunday Mobile is photo-less

Today's Sunday Mobile is photo-less as we are in the ER waiting for William to see the doctor after having an allergic reaction.

We survived

For those that didn't know, we survived last night's storm. The house just had some light winds, heavy rain, and plenty of thunder. Everything appears to be intact (haven't checked the shed yet), but in town, well, that's a different story. This particular photo is right outside my current location (you-know-where).

Annndd, Elizabeth was in today's paper in the Caboose Run race results (just her name). I'm working on the photos of the medal and of William. Give me a second.

Okay, they're uploaded. Here's the full album. And here are two of them.

Another Tarzan?

The Ancient

R. A. Salvatore

I really wanted to cry at certain points during this book. Not because the story was so gripping and moving, but because it wasn't. For the first time since ready Salvatore's Tarzan adaptation, I actually wanted to stop and listen to something else.

And to make matters worse, the ending gave some serious overtones of his previous Drizzt works. The Highwayman has fancy sword work and dresses all in black(Drizzt). The priest and his female companion (Wulfgar and Catti-brie). And the red cap powrie (Bruenor).

So, in light of this general malaise from reading (well, listening technically) The Ancient and the fact that my other reviews have been rather lackluster, this is all you get. If you want a glowing review, check out Rob's.

Great Train Race Video

Just posting the short video I took of the Train Race from Sunday.

Writerly and personal news

Audible
I've been sitting on the "audio book download" fence for some time now. I've been listening to audio books for several years now and must say, it makes my commute pass much faster than normal. And at seven to eight hours each week, that makes a world of difference. But my problem has become funding. An average audio book will run me $30 to $40. An insane amount considering that the same title in print would be half that in hardcover or even less in paperback. So I'll give the Audio Book Exchange a whirl and see what Trina and I can do (anyone else i welcome to join of course). But I'll still keep Audible as an option. Especially when I read this (bit of Star Wars news after it too):

Audible has formed a new imprint, Audible Frontiers, which will offer a range of exclusive science fiction and fantasy titles that will be available as digital downloads solely through its Web site. The imprint will feature a number of original works as well as titles from six publishers.

Mainspring
I'm seeing some static about Jay Lake's latest endeavour. Maybe it's good marketing, maybe it's a good book. Either way, flying ships always catch my eye.


School
Well, school is school. Not much to say about it right now. But I do plan on running through three classes before taking another break.

Shed
The shed has power and has passed the final inspection. That means we are done! Well, almost. We still have some insulation and drywall to install, but neither of those need an inspection because it is not a livable space. Maybe I'll be able to get some alone time to work on projects. More likely, I'll just putter.

Train Race
Elizabeth ran in a train race this weekend. It was only 400 meters or so but it's the largest race on the East Coast for kids. To put things in perspective, they limited the Caboose Run (for kids 6 and under - the one Elizabeth ran in) to 400 kids. That's right, 400. Overall, there were 2,500 kids there as racers. Add parents and fans and you get a madhouse. This photo should take you to more from the race (and of the shed).



And that's it folks.

Sunday Mobile

May the Fourth be with you.

A Study of Art

Briefly, seeing as I took all of five minutes to take the photos, what follows is a study of the art in our house.

The most prolific artist would be Yvonne's grandmother. Of all the hanging art in our house, she painted most of it. Nearly half in fact. I think this one is my favorite (it hangs in our hall bathroom):



The next artist would be my mother. Of the quilts in our house, she's made pretty much all of them. She's been featured in magazines, books, and national quilt shows. In other words, she does good work. Even as a child, she was a pretty good artist:



Various other artists grace our walls, but my favorite of all is the wood burning done by my great uncle:



You can view the rest of the art collection here.

Death of a Hero

I've been meaning to post this for some time, but have been too riddled with grief and confusion to put it down in words. After a few months of healing, I've finally gotten it out.

It was a slow death. One that's finally here and, while sad, somewhat a welcome relief. After years of a persistent illness, I regret to inform you that R. A. "Bob" Salvatore is no longer my favorite author. I weep with sadness at our departing, but know that we will both continue on in our lives and do great things.

I was introduced to Bob back in the mid 1980s. As a young boy, my aunt would take me to the bookstore in Williamsburg to buy me books or comics. On that particular day I chose a G. I. Joe comic. As I was reading it that night, again, I noticed I was continually entranced by the ad on the back cover. There was something haunting and compelling about it. Something that made me want to buy the book.

So I did. And with introductions to Drizzt, Wulfgar, Regis, Bruenor, and Catti-brie, my relationship with Bob grew. Other introductions were made over the years from Gary Leger to Elbryan and from Luthien to Nom Anor. All great people to meet, read about, and ride next to on their adventures.

But every adventure must come to an end, every McGuffin must be found. And to that end, when the story The Ancient began, I realized that our relationship had died. There was no longer a spark there. Bob's words no longer held any magic.

Over the years I've followed Bob across the country, through his life and mine. I cut my "fantasy" and "sci-fi" teeth on his books. I started following message boards back in the mid 1990s in the first incarnation of his website. I met great fans along the way and made great friends. I followed Bob to book signings. Traded emails. Even shared a drink once.

But each friendship evolves over time.

And to that end Bob, I'm sorry to say you have officially been replaced as my favorite author. Who has replaced you? Who now holds the coveted spot in my heart and in my mind? I don't know.

My favoritism is now adrift. I may have grown up reading Hardy Boy books, but I'm now looking for the new kid on the block. Man or woman, young or old, established or rookie. Nothing matters but my favoritism. There are some front runners with Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, Anton Strout, and others.

But who will finally arrive at the much desired spot of the trump-all author? Who will spur me on to read more of their work? Who can manage to turn my life so upside down I'm willing to spend more money just to get it spinning faster? Is it you Pat? Joe? Karen? Anton? Who can measure up in the end?

And that is where I will leave my faithful, yet small, group of readers. Salvatore is dead to me. His work doesn't measure up. I'll continue to follow his stories but only from afar. I can only hope someone will live up to the challenge.

Small update

- Just finished reading Before They Are Hanged. Great read. A "MUST" read (review link is in the Reading Log on the left).
- Working on a comic for you-know-what (yes, a comic, well, actually two of them).
- Hope to take some photos of the art in our house at some point (since somebody asked about it).
- Start school today (probably will wait until tonight).

And that's it for now.

Monday Moanday*

I lost my keys this morning. Looked around and around and couldn't find them. Then, like that magical pocket that rarely produces money, I found them in my shorts. I apparently decided to wear the same pair I wore on Saturday.

I also forgot to add that I'm like Monk in two other ways. First, the volume on the TV needs to be on a base ten number. Like "10" or "20." Maybe "15" if I'm feeling dangerous. Second, I color-code the clothes in my closet. My nice shirts are on white hangers. My dingy, bum around the house ones are on green hangers. I'm sure there are more ways that I resemble Monk, but that'll be it for now.

This weekend was rather productive. I was able to cut the grass, help Dad with the shed some, weed eat, wash the mower, wash the mini-van, wash the front and back porch, and various other minor tasks. Much more than I expected. Sunday was slower, with more indoor chores, but a lot still got done (I mean, heh, I actually mopped the kitchen floor!).

Finally, in reading news, if you enjoy fantasy, spec-fic, or whatever you want to call it, you must, absolutely must, read Joe Abercrombie's books. I can honestly say Before They Are Hanged is the best book I've read this year (and I'm not even done with it yet)! Even better than his first book, The Blade Itself. How can you beat the violence, the humor (or humour as he spells it), and the sex?! It's awesome!

* For those that noticed, no, I didn't spell it wrong.

How much like Monk are you?

A lot. And here's why. Partial list of Monk's phobia's and fear from this wiki:


Needles - I hate needles. A lot.
Death - I think we're all afraid of death.
Snakes - The only place I like them is under the mower deck.
Enclosed spaces/Caves - I need room to breath. Too much confinement and I get edgy.
Spiders - I'm no fan of them and can kill them without too much cringing. It's the big ones and the fast ones I don't like.
Public speaking - I'm much better at this than I once was, but it's still not a favorite thing of mine.
Chicken - Only if I eat it.
Frogs - Not afraid of them, just don't expect me to touch one.
Drowning - Even though I used to be a lifeguard, this is my most feared way of dying.
Food on my plate touching - This used to be a big issue when I was younger, but I've gotten much better. I even eat my food out of order now.
Sidewalk cracks - I actually avoid these when I can, but don't obsess about it.

And on a side note, if you watch me walk anywhere, you'll see me touch things as I walk around. Corners. Tags. Things that jut out. Kind of like Monk does with car antennae. And parking meters.

Audio Book Exchange

So I've thought about an audio book exchange for some time now and after looking at Audible and Borders, I've not been terribly happy with what I've found. In short, not a lot of options for audio book listeners. Audible does look like the best option for the future, download your mp3 version of the book and have a nice day. But until I get a fancy Zune like my wife, I'm stuck listening to them on CD in my car.

And since I'm sick of paying full price for a book that can cost as little as $8 in paperback, I cringe when my audio book queue starts to run dry. It means another expensive trip to the book store.

So I broached the idea of an audio book exchange. So far, only one nibble.

And to that end, I'm welcoming any and all takers. There will be an application process for those I don't know (i.e. stranger danger). But for the moment, it's open for business.

Behold the spreadsheet!

Just another update

Legends
I'm currently reading (listening to) I Am Legend and it's, well, creepy. That "Come out Neville" just gets to me every time. Creepy voice. The movie (which I watched the other night on PPV) was expectantly different than the book. And, also expectantly, not as good. I'm certainly glad I only paid $3.99 for it and that I'll be getting that back thanks to a coupon.

DirecTV
Speaking of DirecTV, we recently upgraded to an HD DVR in the living room. I had no plans to make the HD switch anytime soon until I realized we were paying for it anyway. So we'll be getting a new dish this weekend. Free. And Showtime for three months. Free. And a discounted bill for three months. Free.

Reading
And speaking of getting things for free, I'm slowly chugging through A Magic of Twilight. The war is on and nowhere near as exciting as the war in Before They Are Hanged. I like Ninefingers but I love Glotka. Best good/bad guy out there. Best good/bad guy since Keaton's Batman.

Sticks
Finally, we have the allergy test. Major allergies have been confirmed, minor ones clarified, and treatment plan in place. Fortunately no major changes.

PS - Let me know if you know of or want to participate in an audio book exchange. My wallet is running on empty and I need some new material.

Peanut Gallery

Tomorrow I get to feel like I spent the night in a sleeping bag with a dozen rabid hedgehogs. And I hope to come out of the experience wiser than before. I'm hoping the preliminary results of tomorrow's allergy tests will at least put some of my food related woes to rest. A definitive answer to what I'm allergic to and what I'm not allergic to. At least it's not like I'm allergic to peanuts but still like to eat them. They smell and look nasty. And chicken isn't far behind.

But I did happen to read a rather interesting article in the paper the other day about manufacturers and how much they are in the dark. And it reminded me of my Mom's spoon theory about how much you need to plan out your day and be careful with what you do. Maybe having the allergy for so long has made me immune to the effects of caution, but I've learned that certain foods are safe and anything new needs to be checked.

And having a daughter that shares some of the same allergies makes you take notice a bit more than normal too.

And having friends with even worse combinations of allergies makes you a bit more thankful that your life isn't as bad.

And knowing the top eight ingredients that must be labeled on all foods makes you feel like a bit of a nut.

No pun intended.

Taking the Funding Out of Fundamental

So sayeth the "leader" of the free world. Yep, Bushy Baby stops RIF (Reading is Fundamental) funding.

And the same link will provide you with news about Borders reorganization and the rise in Graphic Novel sales. If I didn't read a few graphic novels, I'd be prone to suggest that cartoons and comics are the wave of the future since they have no words. (That was a vague reference to Fahrenheit 451 where reading and books are banned and all the news is in comic format, as in if RIF dies, will we all be reading comics in the future? Never mind, I lost myself in that one.)

And best of all, e-books and the Navy make a deal. It will certainly make things roomier on board that sub, but I'm sure the sailors will still like their real books in their real hands.

The Kessell Run

How many parsecs does that thing get to the gallon?

Sunday Mobile

At the Richmond Children's Museum proving dino's rock.

Free E-Books

While not a staunch supporter of e-books, I've slowly been collecting them. And with my recent email from TOR, I was able to add another to the collection.

And my thoughts began to churn on ways to get more. You call it greed, I call it curiosity.

So, use this search to find all the PDF files on the TOR site. Most are excerpts and reading guides, but there are a few nuggets of reading to be had. Like Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fear The Darkness.

Enjoy!

Star Wars Redux

A very talented artist by the name of Sillof has done wonders with Star Wars characters. Check out his Steampunk version and WWII version. Pretty freaking cool.



Oh, and Stargate Continuum comes out in July.

Situation Mistborn

I asked. You spoke.

Three and a half votes for Mistborn, half a vote for The Situation, and half a vote for Deadstock. I know, my math doesn't add up, but that's beside the point. It looks like Mistborn is on the list to be read next. Not to worry, I've already read The Situation and posted a review via my Reading Log. I already had thoughts of reading this first since it was a short story. VanderMeer is, well, VanderMeer. Nuff said.

Thanks to all who voted. I'll keep you posted on Mistborn.

You decide who lives or dies

Well, not really, but you get the drift. Taking my queues from other review blogs, I need you to tell me what to read next. Why? Because you-know-what is slowing down and I should have some free time.

Okay, okay, let me back up a bit. I can't talk about you-know-what so don't ask. No, seriously. Don't ask. Even if you already know or have guessed, I'm not going to talk about it. But I can tell you that you-know-what is going to be slower very soon. And with that in mind, I'd like to do something during some of that free time.

Add to the mix, free e-books (aka my queue/pile o' shame). I know some of you hate them (e-books I mean), but I have a plethora of them at the moment. And I don't know where to start. So, free time + free books = you choose what I read next. No need to tell me why I should read it, just tell me what to read.

Here are your choices:

Lord of the Isles by David Drake
Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Deadstock by Thomas Jeffrey
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
The Situation by Jeff VanderMeer

Thanks for helping!

PS - Yes, I narrowed down my e-book collection based on cover art. So sue me.

Movies and Books, An Update

At Hamburger man Paul's prompting, and to get it off my chest, I will now regale you with tales of recent movies and books and how I feel about them.

Hitman
(AKA - Tattoo'd Killers)
I watched this movie on PPV and was glad I didn't spend the money on the DVD. I love Deadwood and love Timothy Olyphant in it. He did a good job portraying a hit-man, but without prior knowledge of the game, I was a bit lost on the back story. With that in mind, it was a decent action movie with enough splattering heads to make you think twice about getting close to bald guys with bar-codes on the back of the heads.

American Gangster
(AKA - Heroin Anti-Hero Hero)
Yet another tie-in with Deadwood. This time John Hawkes has a supporting role. While another violent movie, the most striking part of this movie to me was the sheer brutal and business-like attitude Denzel's character uses to go about his day job. He was a bit of a hero and a bit of a demon. He took care of his own but didn't care about the end result of his heroin empire. All in all, a good movie, just longish. Maybe a DVD to buy on sale.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(AKA - Hedwig? Dead. Dobby? Dead. Who's next? Your choice.)
I'm nearing the end of this one and thankfully so. I have no clue how it turns out but it's progressing nicely so far. I have my theories but won't share them because, well, I don't want you commenting on it and ruining the ending for me. A few more CDs and I'll let you know.

A Magic of Twillight
(AKA - Mrs. R. D. Vandertramp Goes Mad)
I'm still plugging away at this book. It's a bit thickish (546 pages) and has not one map, not two, but four maps. Quite nice. The plot is, well, political and religious and magical, with all sorts of twists and turns. Some predictable, some not. Oddest of all to me is the author's use of perspective. The POV is clearly labeled and tells the story, but takes away from the overall story by jumping around and by being in your face so much. I mean, it's labeled twice. Do we really need that? The worst part, the language. If this were written in French and translated to English, I would be a bit more forgiving. But the ci, ca, cu, ce stuff is a bit out of hand. I know it's part of the social hierarchy, but there could have been an easier way around it. Bottom line, it's good enough that I'm still reading it. But I'm only keeping it because it was free and it's signed.

Before They Are Hanged
(AKA - Torturer Joins Comedy Club)
I'm only a little way into this book, but I have to say, I actually laughed out loud yesterday. Why? Because the much hated Tortured Torturer cut off a man's nipple. Gross I know, but I've come to love Glotka. Very much. So much, if Mr. Joe Abercrombie kills him off, well, I'll just have to tell the prat he's a horse's arse and needs to suffer for it. My dry wit will flay him worse than Glotka. Well, I'll at least try, but likely lose.

So, there you are.

Latest Book News

Borders
They've been slumping in the stock market and sales compared Barnes and Noble, but here's another blow to their bottom line.

Borders Group has finalized its new financing agreement with Pershing Square Capital Management under terms more favorable than the original deal. One change is the lowering of the interest rate, from 12.5% to 9.8%, that Borders will pay on the $42.5-million loan from Pershing. Pershing has also upped its offer to acquire Borders's international subsidiaries, from $125 million to $135 million. Pershing will acquire the operations if Borders cannot find another buyer.

Movie Tie-Ins
Expect some books in the near future to tie-in with these:

Movies
- Iron Man
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- WALL•E
- Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D
- The Dark Knight
- Untitled X-Files Sequel
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Part 2

TV Shows
- The Backyardigans
- Care Bears
- Dora the Explorer
- Go Diego Go!
- Max & Ruby
- Monk
- Wonder Pets
- Wow Wow Wubbzy!

Yes, I only included those that would interest me or other readers out there (I'm no big fan of Wow Wow Wubbzy!, but I do enjoy The Backyardigans (you can find the rest here).

Comic Memoirs
For all you aspiring artists that draw comics, you may find Persepolis interesting (assuming you've not heard of it yet).

Kindle vs. Sony Reader vs. E-Books
This really isn't news as much as a poll. Do you prefer any of the above? Why? I know e-books are beginning to mass again for an attack on print, but I don't see them winning. Physical books are here to stay for a long while I think. I'm just curious who prefers what and why.

And for the record, I prefer straight e-books. They're free and I don't need any special hardware to view them.

Sunday Mobile

She started on the bed and finished on the floor.

Beach Bum

Having fun in the sun.

One of those Meme things

I'm not a big fan of Memes, but I liked the 80's theme to this one.

1. How old were you in 1980? 4
2. How old were you in 1989? 13
3. Were you a Toys R Us kid? No, shopped at KayBee
4. Did you watch Transformers? No
5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen? Yes
6. Did you own a Lite Bright? No, but my grandparents did
7. When someone says ' Who you gonna call? ' You think? Ghostbusters of course.
8. What was your favorite toy? GI Joes.
9. Did you have a Pogo Ball? No
10. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block? Hell NO!
11. Which New Kid did you have a crush on? Let’s not go there…
12. Did you play M.A.S.H? Of course. My Dad looks just like Radar. My 4 year old daughter hums the theme song now.
13. Did you watch The Care Bears? Yes, but I’m not proud of it
14. Did you have Jelly bracelets? Nope
15. Did you have a charm necklace and/or bracelet? I had a necklace my girlfriend gave me with my name in gold wire (all swirly and cursive)
16. Did you own a glo-worm? No, but I wanted one
17. Did you ever own a slap bracelet? Several
18. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles? Rambo
19. Did you have a crazy hair style? I was ahead of my time and had a flattop
20. What was your first bike? A generic BMX bike with no pegs
21. Name one thing you still own from your childhood? Readily available…the kangaroo I made of clay in third grade
22. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid? Yes (and my daughter does too)
23. Did you dress like Madonna? Thankfully no
24. Did you watch Miami Vice? Loved it. Even had a blue sport coat that I rolled up the sleeves on.
25. Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes? No
26. Did you own a Trapper Keeper? Several, they never lasted long enough for me
27. Atari or Nintendo? Texas Instruments that hooked up to the back of the TV
28. Did you play Pac-Man? Only at the arcades
29. He-Man or She-Ra? He-Man (but I liked Orko better)
30.What movie scared you the most? I was forced to watch Nightmare on Elm Street and have never enjoyed scary movies since
31. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson? I still try to Moon Walk when nobody’s looking
32. What Is The First Thing That Comes To Mind When You Hear ‘flux capacitor?’ I slipped on the toilet seat and saw this…
33. What other colors did Pepsi come in? I don’t know, I was a Coke drinker
34. Roger Rabbit Or Howard The Duck? Howard and his PlayDuck magazine
35. Did you ever beg your parents to have your school picture taken with the LASER background? Nope
36. Do you know what the Ninja Rap is? Vaguely
37. Favorite slang word(s)? Awesome, cool (now repeated by my daughter), and book (as in run really fast – but I don’t use that in public)
38. Can you name the family members from National Lampoons Vacation movies? Rusty, Sparky, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Katherine, and I forget the rest
39. Did you have pump sneakers? Yes, but the pumps always broke
40. Did you own HYPER COLOR shirts? One
41. Did you watch Smurfs? Absolutely. Still do.
42. What is the most annoying 80s style? Pegged pants. So hard to get them even and looking juuuust right.

Thanks to urban princess for the idea.

More Book News

Attention all personnel:

I've talked to several people before about e-books and the future war between print and virtual publishing. To that end, I found this article interesting. I knew Baen had a ton of books online, but never knew they were considered pioneers in the field. A few mentions of Star Wars here (but a less interesting article). And this article on the Alternate History genre, one of my closet addictions, fails to mention Giambastiani. What a shame. But with the press the Yiddish Policeman book is getting, maybe I should check it out.

That is all.

The Weight of the World-edited-

Sometimes life decides to shift extra weight onto your shoulders. Weight that isn't needed or wanted, but does allow you to grow as a person. A few of the life-shifting moments were the birth of my son and daughter, getting married, graduating from college, you get the idea.

Note that those are the good moments in life that truly grow you as a person. For those single, childless, high school graduates out there, you may find it harder to relate.

Anywho, the world has shifted twice in the past few months. The IRS decided to recompute my 2006 return and tell me I owed them roughly $1,700. -edited- We didn't report the stock sale correctly. Talk about a faux pas. The net result of my amended return was they owed me $8 (and they were even nice enough to add 54 cents interest).

Shifting again because Karma sucks worse than a Hoover, the IRS then wanted to examine my Schedule C from 2005. That's right, 2005. Emphasis on the five there folks. That's ancient history to me. Not to them. So I shifted some weight back to them by kindly replying with my documentation.

I somehow feel that Karma will come back at me like a Boomerang from Oz when they don't get what they want.

Dear God. This is Neil. Is tax season over yet? Can you speed this next week up a little? Thanks.

Book News

First, I finished Sacrifice by Karen Traviss (very short review is here).

Second, Publisher's Weekly reports that:

Holt editor Sarah Knight preempted North American rights to Christian Moerk's Darling Jim; Joakim Hansson of the Nordin Agency made the six-figure sale. A bestseller in the author's native Denmark (Moerk writes in English and does his own Danish translation), the novel is a gothic tale of suspense, drawing on elements from classic mythology. Narrated largely through the diaries of two murdered sisters who had become involved with a handsome stranger, the story unfolds as a local postman reading the diaries attempts to find the mysterious survivor of the fate that claimed the sisters' lives. Moerk is a former New York Times film writer. Pub date is spring 2009.

And finally, FBS reports there's a free download (in installments) of Wasp Factory available, but alas, it's only for those on the other side of the pond. Damn.

New Video

A little late, but here's some video from Elizabeth's birthday.

Birthday Photos

Check them out here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tk42one/HappyBirthday

Sunday Mobile

The Queen's menagerie.

The Epic Saga Continues-edited-

-edited-

And I'll sneak some more personal news in here, last night was, well, hard and fun at the same time. Elizabeth opened her presents (pictures will be later) and had a fun day with Grammy and Bapa Dave. But this morning is better, and I finally found out what my father-in-law's book is going to be about (and I'm not telling - so THERE!).

Elizabeth Turns 4 Today

In celebration, she'll be spending the day with Yvonne's parents. I have no idea what they're doing or where they're going, but that's the plan.

And here is the artwork she created from yesterday.

PS - She appears to be a compulsive counter like her Dad. She's counting seats in the house, glasses on the table, etc.

The last -edited-

-edited-

And in the not-so-April-Fools category, William just seems to be a magnet for bad luck. Nice to see I've passed something on to my son besides my love of eating. Yesterday he took a trip to the doctor who nearly sent him to the hospital. He's been wheezing and coughing for a few days and it was worse yesterday. Bad enough that he went right in and the doc said to call 911 if it got worse at home. In the mean time he's building up some fighting skills while we try to give him his nebulizer treatment (he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis). On a more positive note, the in-laws arrived safely with baby food and a bed frame in tow.

And now I'm off to the UFO site to put the next photo up.

Sunday Mobile - Intermission

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Three-Year-Olds and Guns

So, yesterday had a bit of excitement. Apparently Elizabeth, a week shy of turning four, decided to shoot her toy gun at William's head. Mom was not happy.

Neither was Dad.

As many of you know, I carry. As in heat. Pack. As in pistol. There are exactly two guns in the house. My 9mm pistol and an AR-15. Both are unloaded and locked when they are in the house (unless I'm wearing them - which isn't often or long). My usual routine is to walk in, empty my pockets and lock/stow the gun.

Anyway, guns have been a part of my life since, well, for as long as I can remember. Shooting prairie dogs on the family farm, getting my first bb gun, killing a squirrel and freaking out. All important, gun related moments in my life. But I learned to respect guns. Not play with them. Sure, target shooting is fun and at times it feels like your playing because you enjoy it so much, but guns are dangerous. They can hurt people.

No, I'm not going to rant about "people killing people" and "guns killing people" or anything like that. Instead, I'm going to rant about how we should not have allowed Elizabeth to have a toy gun. Yes, I know, it was just a toy gun. Not even as powerful as a Nerf gun. You squeeze the handle (it's hollow) and a puff of air shoots the little foam dart.

Well, when you have a kid that just doesn't know that guns are guns, you have to live with the consequences. So today, I'm living with the consequences. After the "shooting" yesterday, she sat in time out. She's lucky she didn't an AB (that's code for Ass Beat) from Mom. The gun went into a Ziploc. Dad got home. She got a stern talking to. She almost got an AB from Dad. Mom and Dad made her throw the gun in the trash. She cried. Dad nearly cried, not from her crying, but from being so damn protective of both kids. She had no play time after dinner. No story. And only one round of music instead of two.

I don't know who to be mad at. Her for doing it. Or myself for letting her keep it. I told her she could have a toy gun when she gets older and understands how important it is to be safe with them. And I intend to do that. When she's even older, I'll teach her how to handle real guns. If she wants to.

But for now I need to do my best not to spank her bottom raw. I can only hope the punishment was enough to convey the importance of the situation. Somehow I think she'll forgive and forget before me.

Feel free to say "I told you so" Cinda.

Here's a photo of a similar gun for all you concerned parents out there. Note the age label.

Reading update

I finished Half-Blood Prince today. Read the review for some interesting comparisons.

The big news is, I'll be starting Deathly Hallows on the way home today. My big request to all (five) readers out there is: Please don't spoil it for me. I haven't read/listened to it yet.

And in other news, I am making some seriously slow progress on A Magic of Twilight. The language is hard to swallow and the characters don't really speak to me yet.

Sacrifice is coming along nicely. Ben assassinated the guy and is making his way off planet. I smell a Sith coming.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Have a good weekend everyone. I'm too pooped to post today.

Another News Roundup-edited-

If you want to skip ahead and ruin the ending, the new button is at the bottom. Otherwise, stick around.

Abuse Excuse
It appears the abuse excuse has been taken to a whole new level by this guy. Wow. Sure beats telling the cops that the neighbor's dog told me to do it.

Shorpy-like News
In this very Shorpy-like photo, we can see a bridge from the Civil War. You can read more about it in the article here.

Daddy's Shed
The permit is approved. We'll start running electrical wires soon. Once inspected and approved, we'll insulate, drywall, and paint. Then I can chillax/work in style.

Jericho
Damn. I hate to see such a quality show die like this, but at least it was a decent ending. Not like the ending of Season 1 of Witchblade (which sticks with me to this day) where she turns back time and jumps back to the beginning of the season. I was a little worried the plane would be struck by lightening and blow up. Then I was worried Chavez or Hawkins would flip and blow up the bomb in Texas. But damn. Why can't we see what happens to Beck and the other troops? ARGHARGH!!! Oh, and if you've ever wondered what the Morse Code meant at the beginning of each episode, check this out.

DC Gun Ban
Did you know that guns in DC were once legal? Even in school?

Stripper + Funeral = WTF?!
You read that right.

Snakes on a Plane
Did you guys know I'm on the SOAP DVD? Well I am. But not for reasons like this.

-edited-
-edited-

Book News

Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
I'm about halfway through this book and it's better than the Republic Commando books, but still not as good as I'd like. Maybe I've been spoiled by some other high class reading (think Rothfuss and Abercrombie), but there you have it.

A Magic of Twilight by S. L. Ferrell
A free (and signed) book I won in a contest. I love free books because no matter how bad they are, you still make out in the end. So far, this one isn't bad, but it is a bit rougher than most getting into. I think it's the language part that I haven't figured out yet. All the ce, cu, ca, etc. before last names is throwing me back to my 9th grade French class and it's hard adjusting.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
I'm making quick work of this one. But I never remembered that this one appears to move faster than previous ones. I'm on disc 13 and it's already March or April or something. I think it was Goblet of Fire that it took half the book to get past the Quidditch World Cup.



Jack Du Brul
He's an author, not a book. I've read all of his work and have enjoyed most of it. His co-authoring with Clive Cussler left something seriously desired, enough so that I think Cussler wrote the crap, not Du Brul. But the news here is Doubleday bought rights to the next two Mercer novels by Du Brul. Here's hoping he can keep Cussler away long enough to get some quality writing done.

Easter photos

Some Easter photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tk42one/2008Easter

Sunday Mobile

William takes a starring role in Risky Business (courtesy of Yvonne).

Another book done

Finally finished a depressing read of The Blizzard's Children by David Laskin. Which means I'm keeping pace with Paul (this was book 11 for me) and that I can pick a new (more happy) book!

Anyway, happy weekend everyone. Hope the weather holds out for your egg hunting, the dies don't stain your eggs much, and the bunny has plenty of ears to eat.

Swinging in March Video

And here are some videos of the kids swinging (figured I'd try Blogger's video interface to see how it compares to Revver's).

Swinging in March

Some new photos are up of the kids enjoying a spring day on the swing set.





You can see the rest of them here.

To blog-mobile? I've kept blogging

To blog-mobile? I've kept blogging to a minimum as I'm busy and lack "quality" material. But I feel like I'm neglecting you. Thoughts?

Calling in Well-edited-

-edited-

I know, I know, quit whining.

And in other depressing news.....William is slowly recovering from some sort of stomach bug. He couldn't keep anything down and we've had to scale back to pedialyte in small doses. Yesterday he was able to handle some formula in small doses, so we'll see how he does today at the sitter's.

And in more depressing news.....I'm still plugging along in The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. Reading about kids freezing to death in a blizzard is about as much fun as reading about Nazis killing kids in Night by Elie Wiesel.

In happier news.....I've made some slow progress on scanning more family history (this time a box from Mom). No surprise, there's some depressing stuff in there, but there's also some very interesting reading material. I'm thinking this summer I'll try to keep busy at work by scanning boxes of photos.

In more happier news.....I should be getting some more feedback on a short story I wrote (that's you Paul and Stone). I'll add that to Epheros' and hopefully get a re-write in at some point in the near future (think after April 15th).

And one final depressing story.....because that's my mood right now.....A fellow Edinboro alumni died. Nobody I knew in person, but I recognized from her flights as a kid.

Weekend Recovery

I'm hoping to recover this week from our busy weekend. Busy you ask? Yes. We were this busy:

- rake leaves out from flower bed
Check. And I raked around the shed and along the tree line. And cleaned out the shed gutters.
- burn after 4 pm
Check. Plus some scrap cardboard and lumber from the shed.
- oil change at 8 am and 9 am
Check and check.
- prep/plan for yard sale/free ads
Kind of a check on this one. Not much left for the free ads, so we'll get into planning for the yard sale later.
- finish bedroom floor
Check. It squeaked. Now it doesn't.

And that was just my To Do List. Added to this we also:
- Bought clothes. Lots of new clothes. Enough to make us both go through our closets and dressers a bit and empty them out.
- Bought/Read books. Bought Before They Are Hanged, Revelation, and The Blade Itself (the non-Abercrombie version). Finished Dead to Me (which I highly recommend). Started Sacrifice.
- Buy/Watch movies. Bought The Ark of Truth and No Country For Old Men. The later was awesome. Best movie I've seen in ages and I don't know why. Purely gripping. Opposite that was Order of the Phoenix. By far the worst of the Harry Potter movies so far.
- Buy Elizabeth's new bed. She's in a Twin bed now. Kid loves it.
- Buy yard supplies. Bought some crabgrass killer, shade flowers, and potting soil.

And I'm sure there's more to add to this insane list, but I'll leave it at that. Now if today was only slow enough at work for me to recover a bit, I might be okay. Sleep was elusive last night. After crawling into bed at 10 pm, I was up at midnight (dog wanted out), 12:30 am (Elizabeth had a bad dream), 4:30 am (William was screaming from a messy diaper), 5:30 am (Yvonne's alarm went off), and 5:50 am (my alarm). I should have been an insomniac.

Sunday Mobile

Eating lunch at Red Lobster.

New photos and video

Here are some new photos. Most are from Elizabeth (amazing to look at the world through the eyes of a three-year-old). And of course, there's a new video of William:

Jericho

Well, after last week's upset with Bonnie's death, Jericho has redeemed itself with the asshole Getz's death. Bout damn time.

Two more episodes left.

Anton Strout's Green Haze

Bear with me while I do some explaining.

First, I was out sick yesterday, so I'll be a bit catching up on things. So if I owe you money or an email, you'll just need to wait.

Second, I recently finished reading True Colors and was very disappointed. You can find the link to me short review in my Reading Log.

Finally, when I combine these two items, I get a green haze. You've all heard of a "purple haze," right? Well I was in a bit of a green haze yesterday. You know that feeling of lightheadedness you get when you wake up and you feel all crappy kind of like you drank half a bottle of Nyquil the night before? And you know how you semi-hallucinate and see and think things that are just bizarre? Well, thanks to one Anton Strout, author of Dead To Me, I had an even more bizarre green haze yesterday.

Within the first 30 pages of his book, I was able to get a dose of ghosts, psychometricaly induced coitus interruptus, and peek at the workings of an unofficial government agency.

I'm sure you can imagine how my green haze went. Well beyond the bizarre.

But thanks to yesterday's sick day, I was able to make serious progress reading.

I miss you Uncle George

I'm thinking of you more today than I have in awhile. I've been scanning some old photos that were once yours and Aunt Wilma's and, well, I miss you. You were very much an extra grandfather and an extra uncle.

Without you, I would have had a different name.

So here's to you and the good old days when we were both younger and happier.

Free E-Books

No, I'm not talking about some cheesy looking website like this one. I'm talking about real, honest to goodness free books.

So, here's a small list I've compiled so far. Feel free to add to it as you see fit.

- Project Gutenberg (basically books that are out of copyright, like say Mark Twain)
- Librivox (the audio version of Gutenberg books)
- Baen's Free Library (primarily older sci-fi and fantasy books)
- TOR's Free Books (you'll need to sign up, but it's free - so far I've gotten sci-fi and fantasy books - they just send a link in your email)
- Nightshade's Free Books (not many so far, but I'd expect to see more)
- Jeff VanderMeer's The Situation (via Wired's Geek Dad)
- Kurt R. A. Giambastiani's short stories (a very under appreciated spec fic writer)
- S. M. Stirling's previews (granted, they are just previews, but, I read half of Sunrise Lands before buying the book)

So there you have it, a short list of free books. Feel free to add to it with anything you find out there. I've used all of these with varying degrees of success/satisfaction. Right now, I'd say the free books from TOR are the best as they come right to me and are easy to download and read. Baen's appears to be the largest, but also the oldest (in terms of original publication dates). And yes, I know Stirling's site just has previews, just like every other author out there. But I wanted to draw attention to it since it is a great place to read more than just a sample chapter. In some cases, quite a few chapters.

The Deaf

So last night I had one of those dreams that, well, disturbed me a bit. it wasn't scary or anything, just odd. My father-in-law was working as a bus driver for the deaf (and not really a bus, more like one of those airport transport thingies). He knew sign language and everything. He's pick up kids, grown-ups, anyone that was deaf and drive them around to do things. Odd.

I think I just have deaf people on my brain. Likely due to the fact that the deaf girl on Jericho was killed this week. Damn. Why her? She was so nice. Guess her brother will go on a rampage against the new government? I hope so. I really want to see that Ravenwood guy get his ass kicked, but I get this funny feeling that he's the stranger on Hawkins' phone.

And in other news, I think I finished my short story. I'll be sending to a few of you readers out there for your feedback. I know it stops abruptly, but that was kind of the idea (plus I wasn't sure where to go from there).

Pizza the Hutt

Eating lunch with a little girl that doesn't have a temperature anymore.

It's getting hot in here

So, yesterday the weather was nice at a balmy 67 degrees (give or take a few degrees). I, however, didn't get the chance to enjoy the sun as I had to stay home with William and Elizabeth. William was running a temp of 101 in the morning that eventually came down to about 99 before disappearing by this morning. I figure it was due to his three shots he got on Thursday.

And this morning, when all looked like it was getting back on the normal routine, Elizabeth looked a little green around the gills, didn't want her breakfast and barely touched her milk (despite being thirsty). Checked her temp, yep, 101.

So, Dad is watching Elizabeth today while William is at work. Hopefully she'll feel better watching Noggin on my nice, LCD, full HD, newly anchored to the wall, 47 inch television.

Weekenday Update-edited-

Yesterday was a weekenday for me. Yvonne was proctoring another SAT test (scary that kids these days can't write in cursive, even scarier that one fell asleep during her test). Which means I got to babysit. After getting the kids up, fed, and dressed we headed to the local Home and Craft show. Saw lot of jewelry, hand sewn bags, builders, and real estate agents. Way too many people for Elizabeth and I, but we survived. I snapped these on the way out.

After that, we headed home for a steady stream of Noggin while I worked on chores when William was napping. Once Yvonne was done, we headed to town to do some shopping. Nothing terribly exciting, but I did pick up Dead to Me by Anton Strout to add to my ever growing Reading List. We also ran into a former classmate/-edited- of mine. I actually went to high school and college with her before ending up as her -edited- for a few months. It was great to catch up on things and hear that she's doing well.

-edited-

The Fantasy Genre

Okay, okay, "fantasy" may be a bad stereotype. But that's what I want to deal with, stereotypes.

What stereotype? The fantasy one of course. To be more specific, the young hero that is taught by a wise old man before said old man leaves/dies so young hero can fulfill his fate/destiny/prophecy as a hero.

Where to start.....how about Kvothe, the young hero of Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I like Pat and his book, so I'll pick on him to start with. We see Kvothe as a young boy with a "wise old man," Abenthy, acting as his tutor. Ben teaches Kvothe, Ben leaves, Kvothe grows to be a hero. That's the stereotype right? How about we see where everyone measures up:

Name of the Wind
Young Hero - Kvothe
Wise Old Man - Abenthy (aka Ben)
Fate of Old Man - Leaves the troupe to resume living his own life
Fate of Hero - To be determined

Star Wars
Young Hero - Luke Skywalker
Wise Old Man - Obi-Wan Kenobi (aka Ben)
Fate of Old Man - Dies while fighting Luke's father, Darth Vader
Fate of Hero - Saves the galaxy from the evil clutches of the Empire

Wheel of Time
Young Hero - Rand al'Thor
Wise Old Man - Thom Merrilan or al'Lan Mandragoran
Fate of Old Man - I don't know, I haven't finished the series yet
Fate of Hero - I don't know, I haven't finished the series yet

Harry Potter
Young Hero - Harry Potter
Wise Old Man - Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Fate of Old Man - He dies in one book, but I still haven't read the last one to see if he comes back (shame on me, I know)
Fate of Hero - Yes, that's right, I haven't read the last book yet - just don't spoil it for me please

Feel free to chime in with your own - or to correct my errors.

Writing Contracts

Some wishful thinking here, I know, but I began wondering today about contracts for authors. I read a short story by a friend and saw the site had a contract that they essentially copied from SWFA.org. Which prompted this post.

So, what is in a contract? SWFA's simple web contract appears to be just that, simple. Their paperback contract by comparison is much more complex. But having studied law and code, I want to know what it means. For me, my big question lies in what the first sentence means.

AGREEMENT dated this day of [DATE] in which we, the publisher, [NAME], agree
with you, the author, [NAME}, that you grant us the nonexclusive right to
publish your work entitled [TITLE] on our World Wide Web site.

Specifically, the part about "nonexclusive rights to publish." So in an attempt to decipher the legal code, here's what I found.

- A great definition of Exclusive vs. Nonexclusive Rights.
- A listing of Types of Rights Commonly Sold by Freelancers.
- Some very old but interesting reading (for those of us in the tax industry) about Authors and the Internal Revenue Code.

For those of you readers who have actually published, feel free to chime in on your experiences (good or bad).

The new TV

So, this weekend's excitement was the new TV's arrival. Dad agreed to purchase it for us on a short term loan. Once the refund arrives, it'll get kicked over to Dad.

And since he was nice enough to help transport the I guess we'll have to let him watch it.

Anyway, here's the "old"setup.



And here's the "new" setup.



* Apologies for the poor photos. The first is Elizabeth's and the second is from my phone. But hey, I did the best I could. Both entertainment centers are roughly the same size. It's just the TV that's changed.

** Paul, the Wii is awesome on here. Played Order of the Phoenix last night and it was almost like being inside the movie. I think if I can get an HDMI cable for it, it might even be better.

The latest photo of Elizabeth

We had a fun morning coloring and putting stickers in her sticker book and playing checkers (she was pretty good for her age). It sure beat all the excitement I missed from the night before. Yes, last night was apparently so exciting at home, the cops came. Me? I was at work completely oblivious to it all. Short story is a couple came to the house needing the phone, guy left, girl came inside, cops come for a statement, yeah. Lots of fun.

But, everyone is safe and sound, Yvonne was pretty smart through it all, and I'm glad for both. But enough of that. Here's "Bizzy" being busy playing games on the computer.

Assassin's Apprentice

Finally finished. You can read my review via my Reading Log. It was good enough to keep me reading and I'm willing to keep with the series for now.

Up next, True Colors, the latest Republic Commando book.

Some choice search results

Amazing what people search for online. Even more amazing that they found my blog.

• les stroud hairy chest
• kvothe was raped
• blogspot nudist hairymen

There were also countless, countless searches on variations of "how much money does an author make," "hairy men," "lasik," and "pella storm doors."

For everyone that found my blog, I'm so glad I could be of service.

PS - that was just the last month.

Weather-edited-

I hate snow, ice, and cold. Maybe hate is a too-strong word, but I certainly have an extreme dislike of winter weather. It looks all nice and pretty, like sugar coated pine trees in a Courier and Ives print, but I'll be damned if I want to spend enough time in it to catch a chill, freeze my ninny-who-whos off, and try to drive with the insane people in it.

So I sit here at -edited- and watch the temperature hover at the freezing point with rain and ice and snow and sleet knocking on my door as I ponder my commute tomorrow afternoon and my intent to finally purchase the TV stand and TV Saturday.

If I'm lucky, I'll either make it to -edited-. But knowing how I trend toward attracting bad luck, it will likely be a sketchy drive to and from -edited- on to make up for those missing and a dash of no TV. Damn. I knew I should have checked the bank account before making that purchase....

Farseer Update

So I've progressed nicely in Assassin's Apprentice. Not as fast as I'd like, but considering the serious increase in my workload, my free time is much smaller.

Anyway, I've gotten far enough I should be able to start my next book soon and still be able to finish Fitz's story. I'm interested enough to buy the next book about Fitz, but I'm not sure how much I'll go beyond this particular trilogy. It's not that I don't like it, I do. I'm just not sure there's enough of a hook to keep me reading. Guess we'll see.

Norwegian Family Photos

Since I'm at a loss of what to write today, I'll be plugging my other blog, Unidentified Family Objects. If you are not familiar with it, it's essentially a place where I post photos of family heirlooms. Some of them I'm able to research and discover more information about them, others I'm not. There's also a fair bit of creative writing in some parts, so enjoy my dry wit if you can.

Today, well, yesterday really, I started a very long "special theme" of old photos I found in an old album. As you'll learn quickly, I know very little about the people in the photos. Anyway, enough blathering, enjoy the old photos if you're into that kind of thing.

Here's the first photo to entice you.....

William

As you can see in the first photo, William's cheeks have cleared up nicely. In the second photo, you'll see he likes to stare out the window instead of napping.

A Drow Child

Ever see pictures of one? We know they are evil as are all Dark Elves, but this little brochure tells you how to prevent them. What water has to do with the process, I'm not sure.


Yes, this is from a real Bumbo seat. No it has not been edited (other than that red box to get your attention). We have one for William, but other than giving a comfy seat to sit in, there's no way of keeping him there. He's such a Houdini at the moment and is days/weeks from crawling.

Weekenday Update

So yesterday was one of those rare days when you go to every store you want and accomplish nearly everything on your list. Wow. I'm pooped.

After the early morning wake-up from William, we headed out the door to do the following:

- buy water
- stop at the old pediatrician to pay for copies of paperwork to send to the new pediatrician
- meet Dad at BJ's to buy formula and get TV measurements
- stop at Good Wood Furniture to shop for entertainment center and shelves, buy entertainment center, get measurements on shelves to purchase later
- I shop at Costco (for gum and Pledge) while Yvonne shops at Belk (for makeup)
- lunch at Quiznos (our usual minus Elizabeth's order)
- I shop at Borders (bought I Am Legend and the 25th Anniversary of Thriller album) while Yvonne shops at Target (to return William's shoes)
- stop at Lowe's to buy new kitchen faucet (old one leaked)
- I shop at Best Buy (didn't find anything) while Yvonne shops at Kohls (new sunglasses and holiday socks)
- then Wal-Mart to get groceries

After all that, we made it home for dinner time and I even had time to replace the kitchen faucet (I like the new one a lot).

But the best part of all this? The trip to the Good Wood store. While we were looking at the bookshelves (we are such bibliophiles, it isn't even funny) the store employee guy was waiting behind us while we talked to each other about the design and measurements. So here's the little story of the day:

I hear her ask the guy "Is he wearing a gun?"
"I think so ma'am" he said.
So I turn around and the lady says to me "Are you a private citizen?"
"Yes ma'am" I replied.
"And you're allowed to carry a gun?" she asked pointing a gnarled finger in the general direction of my gun.
"Yes, Virginia has an open-carry law" I said. "But I also have a concealed weapons permit" I added with a smile on my face.
With a look of shock she muttered "Oh" under her breath a bit.
Yvonne and I returned to the counter at the front with the store employee to pay for the entertainment center. While he was writing things up he said "I'd like to apologize for that lady back there."
I kind of chuckled and said not to worry about it.

I didn't know what was funnier, the lady's reaction or the man's apology. Anyway, that's it from here. Entertainment center has been secured for pick-up next week. TV will be purchased after the refund arrives (which will be after the return is filed).

Sailors take warn

There was a red sky this morn:



And Elizabeth will be leaving with Grammy and Bapa Dave this morning. I hope they all have a fun time at Aunt Monica's!

History in HD

Shorpy, from the creators of Plan 59, turns a year old today. This is one of those sites that is both entertaining and educational. And the scans are amazing, especially those Kodak photos where the colors literally pop.

Anyway, the only other comment I can think of about today is the amazing chance that we might get something positive out of our President. Money. Maybe he'll actually end his term on a positive note. Well, in addition to him leaving being positive.

Rogue Jedi on the loose

That's right folks, our very own Fredericksburg, VA has a Jedi on the loose. And he's not afraid of showing off his lightsaber skills on the rooftops in the city.

You can read the article here.

My caucus is bigger than yours-edited-

Stealing a line from Erik Scott de Bie, I did some quick math this morning using the newspaper's election results and was pleasantly surprised to see the Democrats had roughly 400 more people voting on the blue side. Our county is usually Republican when it comes to voting and I wouldn't be surprised if McCain carries the state (or at least the immediate area) when it comes to the big election in November.

-edited-

And finally, let's all bow our heads in respect for those fans who put time into bringing Jericho back. Thank you. We bow in your almighty presence. Last night's show was great.

No Gym Today

I wanted to, but wanted to relax a bit at work. Seems like a rash of illness is going around work and that means those well enough to make it, get to pick up the extra slack. And it's tax season. Not a good combination.

But, if it makes me (or you) feel any better, I was inspired enough to write some of my story. Nothing fancy, clearly a rough draft, but it actually follows my outline, which is something new for me. Both the outline and following it. So, we'll see how it turns out. I'm looking to keep it a short story and non-fantasy. More crime or suspense. A bit odd, but the idea came and well, I have to get it out now before I crowd out everything else I need to keep in there.

Reading progress

With the end of the writer's trike looming, I fear I'll fall into my old TV habits. Curse you writers! You should demand more money!

This weekend I finished Triple Zero and Harry Potter IV. I'm hoping to start Potter V tomorrow but will wait a bit before I start another book (likely True Colors, another Republic Commando book). I'd like to concentrate on Assassin's Apprentice to get a better scope of the story, plot, characters, etc. before moving on.

And with that, I leave you for lunch.