Insignifica

1598 - Dessert, metroblogging OC, Bittorrent, three-days

Happy Wednesday!

I love the week after a three-day weekend - it's like a second little surprise when you get to the end of the week, and find you've only got four days to work instead of five. Plus I keep finding myself saying "it's already _________?!".

For my own, uh, research, I'd happily like to know where my readers find their bittorrent seeds. IRC? Search engines? Friends? Thanks!

Picture of the day!

Marek on the couch, giving the "Heyyyyyy" face. Notice also April through the window.

As lots of you know, I write for Metroblogging Orange County. If you live in OC (or nearby) and hear about something fun/cool/interesting/weird happening in the county, let me know! I'm always looking for new things to write about.

Question of the day: What's your favorite weird dessert?

Weekending, Cockeyed.com, Wikipedia, busy, birthdays

Happy Tuesday! In addition to Tori having a birthday Saturday, Scott had a birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Scott! Hope both of your events and parties went well.

I love the long weekends...especially ones that encourage BBQs and get-togethers. We had a bunch of people over to the house yesterday to grill and enjoy delicious beverages. And seeing as how we'll probably have a baby within two weeks, it's also likely our last party at home for a while...though we are scheduled to go to dinner next Saturday with a bunch of people...we'll see.

Picture of the day!

The girlfriend and me at Gary's birthday last year.

The rest of the weekend was busy as well...Strato in LA on Saturday, cleaning and party prep on Saturday night, then Breakfast on Sunday, followed by an afternoon walking around the Fiesta Hermosa, then X-Men at the Bridge theater up in LA, then dinner at the World Cafe in Venice. Busy busy, but lots of fun.

New interesting thing Yahoo's news is doing - on a story today about Henry M. Paulson Jr. being chosen as Treasury Secretary, Yahoo News used Paulson's Wikipedia page as a link in their little "learn more" type section of links. And not only that, they used the "live" wikipedia page (that can easily be changed) instead of a static page. Not that I don't think the information's good, but it represents an interesting trend.

Check out Cockeyed.com's "Four Awesome Products" page - Rob's got exactly the same attitude toward these kinds of things that I do, and it makes me want to go get a Sonicare toothbrush.

How was your weekending?

Tori's special day, Weekend plans, babytime

Happy Friday.

The closer we get to babytime, the faster time seems to be moving. The girlfriend's only got a week of work left, I'll be taking off as soon as needed, and we'll have a baby within 4 weeks, possibly as soon as 1 or 2. I have a feeling this weekend will also pass very quickly...

Picture of the day!

Adam, as a gnome, hands the cameraman a drink.

Let's see...we've got Strato tomorrow, then most of Saturday free, then Sunday we're doing breakfast with the girlfriend's aunt and uncle, going up to the Fiesta Hermosa street fair, and seeing the new X-Men movie. Monday's a BBQ, and that should go most of the day. Good times! All that said, doesn't look like I'll be leaving OC/LA this weekend. Anyone outside the area, though, is welcome to come visit us.

Tomorrow is Tori's birthday, and as I might not be online to wish her a happy birthday then, I'll do it today. Happy Birthday! I hope you get everything you want.

So, that's me today. What's up with you?

RIP DNA

Today is Towel Day. Douglas Adams really was a frood who knew where his towel was.

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Rest in Peace, DNA.

Comments, Poker, Myspace, Baby, Weekend

Alrighty, it's Thursday already! Tomorrow's Friday and the start of a three-day weekend. That's so exciting (Unlike most of the rest of civilization, this is my first work holiday since MLK day in January). What are you going to be doing?

Picture of the day!

Marek giving Chris a beatdown in the pool, July 2004.

This whole baby thing...yeah, it's gonna happen soon. Really soon. Not like "tomorrow" soon, but like "in a couple weeks" soon. It's weird how non-anxious we are. Excited, and a little unsure, but ready. Somehow, I think this is normal, too. Still no middle name, though.

Like much of the rest of the world, I probably spend a bit too much time using Myspace. It's such an entertaining diversion! My page is here. Feel free to add me if we know each other (or even if we really don't). Networking is fun.

I've been kicking some poker ass this week - Party Poker lured me back with a free $75, requiring me only to play 750 raked hands. Got through those with $30 or so left, and turned that into over $100 with a win in a 50 player SNG and a 29th place finish out of 500 in a multi-table. If any of you use Party Poker, I'm GoodRev42 there. Come play!

Happy Thursday! Leave me some comments love.

Humpday, Weekending, message board software, mile

Day two of the current "going to gym more often" push, and for the first time in a long time, I ran a mile on the treadmill. Usually I use the other machines, but I've never been a big fan of running. It felt good, though, and it's nice knowing that even though I haven't run in years, I could do it without any stitches in my sides or other adverse effects, other than sweating. We'll see about improving that 15 minute time in the coming weeks.

Picture of the day!

Me with some weird cave formations in Sequoia, 2004.

Anyone out there use the MyPHPNuke software? The Orange County Atheists website uses it, and it's having some nasty spam issues. Any fixes? Barring that, anyone use any good stand-alone message board software? I'm thinking of migrating away from the current set up.

Plans for this weekend are still largely up in the air. A day trip to Santa Barbara is possible, as is a trip to Palmdale, and a trip to the Fiesta Hermosa in Hermosa Beach. Monday is spoken for; we're doing a BBQ at my place. Should be busy, if nothing else.

How's hump day treating you?

Friendly Wagers, Gym, Sunshine, Baby

Happy Tuesday!

I'm done with my childbirth classes, so now I'm officially allowed to raise a child, or something. People keep asking me how I'm feeling. I'm anxious sometimes, but not really scared or frantic. We've got our baby stuff, we live across the street from the hospital, and the girlfriend's in great health. It's just a matter of waiting.

For the first time in a LONG time, it was sunny when i woke up this morning, and it'll stay sunny all day. The last couple winters have been fairly rainy, so I've forgotten that we do have a long dry season here, even in wet years. Hopefully it stays this way for a while.

Picture of the day!

The girlfriend in her "Fly Naked" shirt at Brandon's birthday last week. She doesn't look 8 months pregnant here.

I went to my new gym for the first time yesterday as a real member (I wasn't up to it last week after I had my teeth out). It's a great place, and it's awesome that it's literally across the street from my house. I have a weight loss goal in mind, but I'd love some incentive, either in the form of a friendly Wager or someone who's also losing weight with me. Any takers?

Weekend plans, productivness, work

Work's been really busy lately, which is good in that it makes the days go faster, but bad because I don't always have time to do the little things, like breathe. That said, it's better than having nothing to do.

Pretty nice weekend - did dinner with Tom and Lisa last night, got our room rearranged for our new arrival, and did some shopping. Productive is good.

Picture of the day!

Chris getting beads from Lisa. Everyone certainly looks like they were enjoying themselves.

The sun looks like it's coming out, and I hope it's a nice week and weekend. I won't be going to Santa Cruz this weekend, but I might find my way as far north as Santa Barbara...

Congrats to Sarah and Nick!

Congrats to Sarah and Nick on the birth of Ruth and Alden!

Holy crap. I'm next.

Going out, pentagram, pregnant pics

Happy Friday!

The picture I posted last night of my very pregnant girlfriend is already my #20 top viewed photo on Flickr - and i only uploaded it 12 hours ago, many of hours being the middle of the night. Her swinging at the pinata from last week's baby shower is also way up there on the popularity scale. Everyone loves the pregnant pics...

Picture of the day!

This is one of my favorites in my whole collection, from Halloween last year. It's the decorative pentagram on the dance floor, made from several dozen sheets of paper taped down. We needed something cheap, quick, fairly easy, and UV reactive for the black lights. I love the long shadows as framing, too.

I've really been itching to go out and do something lately - bar hopping, see a show, go out to dinner and just hang out drinking coffee all night...I'd say it was the impending fatherhood, except I've been this way for most of the last few years. Just seems like it's harder to get people together lately. Who's up for going out?

New pic of my baby's mama

Because everyone's been asking...

36 1/2 weeks, taken tonight (5/18/06).

Middle Names, Pictures, Vacations, Almost Friday

Happy Thursday! It's almost Friday, which rules. Plus we're closing in on Memorial Day weekend, which is my first work holiday since January. Of course, I'll be taking six weeks off starting in June, but I'll be busy...

Pic of the day!

I was just thinking yesterday that it'd be weird if someone, on some random Fark thread, used a picture I took, but Sh0x's Groovy Blimp post in this post proved it could happen. He found that on either Google Images or directly from the OC Metblog, but it's on my Flickr page, too. It'd be great if Flickr had a tool to let you see what sites are linking to your pics.

The webcam is back, again. I'd just kept forgetting to turn it on.

We still need a middle name for our daughter. Suggestions welcome, but will likely be ignored.

Weekends, Coffee, Birthday, Atheists

Another reminder to all of you atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, humanists, and the curious, check out this month's meeting of the Orange County Atheists, which is tonight, May 17 at 7:30pm at the International House of Pancakes at 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine, near John Wayne Airport. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday to my new friend Jennifer!

Picture of the day!

Brandon, Yours Truly, and Chris at Gary's poker night in February.

For some reason, I could really go for a nice cup of coffee right now. Though I'm more in the mood for a "coffee situation" - a nice, sweet cup of some dark roast after a really nice dinner somewhere. I'll have to make that happen, maybe this weekend.

Speaking of weekends, I'm running out of them before I'm a daddy, and that's scary. I was thinking it might be nice to take a mini road trip next weekend, but realized that everyone else will be too, since it's Memorial Day. I'll definitely try to rally the troops, though, for dinner.

teeth recovering nicely!

Rock on! Today's lunch was my first meal since I got my teeth out that I wasn't in pain afterward. Just thought I'd share.

Tuesday, OC Atheists, not as sick as I thought

After feeling like I was really getting sick yesterday, I'm doing pretty well today. Good dinner and good sleep probably helped there. Hopefully I won't get any worse. The teeth are also doing better, though I wake up every morning with a sore jaw because I either grind my teeth, or just sleep on my face. That should all get better eventually.

Picture of the day!

An entertaining photo of Ken.

A reminder that the next meeting of the Orange County Atheists will be held on TOMORROW, Wednesday, May 17 at 7:30pm at the International House of Pancakes at 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine, near John Wayne Airport. This is the same location as last month. A map to the location is available here. If you're planning on attending please RSVP at the Orange County Atheists website. More information and discussion is available there as well.

How's Tuesday treating you?

Weekend posting, baby shower pics, birthdays, teeth

Back at work today, and feeling pretty good, though I've been living on Tylenol since Friday. I've been better during the day, but I think I'm still being careful while I eat, so I move my jaw differently. This causes headaches, and getting little bits of food out from my old tooth holes is causing irritation there. I'm assuming things will all get back to normal before too long.

I forgot to give Birthday wishes to Ken and Jeremy this weekend. Happy Birthday!

Picture of the day!

Girlfriend in all her pregnant glory taking a big swing at the pinata at the baby shower last weekend. Most of those pictures are now up here.

Lots of posting this weekend...I'm sure this is the first time I've posted on both days of a weekend in months. No reason I don't...it's not like I don't use the computer those days. And I really should, considering I'm always bummed when I go to check out blogs, and people aren't updating much. I'll get right on that. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time this summer...

Funny Gadafhi pic

Sometimes I love CNN.com, just for the pics they choose for their front page:

This one could be alternatively titled "Dancin' Gadafhi" or "Christopher Columbus - leader of Libya".

DVD Planet is dumb

The girlfriend and I are big Stargate fans, and we're looking to fill out our collections of DVD sets. DVD Planet is a retail location around here with good prices, so I went to their website to see their offers. Searching for "stargate" turned up the results, but their descriptions of the shows and seasons are just radically wrong. Some examples:

1. Stargate (Ultimate Edition)
An examination of the tragic life of Ernest Hemingway, known for novels such as "The Old Man and the Sea" and "A Farewell to Arms." Includes interviews, memoirs, and photographs.

Huh? That's just the wrong caption for the 1994 movie.

2. Stargate SG-1: Season Eight
... Jackson (Michael Shanks), Lt. Col. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), and alien warrior Teal'c (Christopher Judge). They operate from the Air Force's Stargate Base deep within the Rocky Mountains, while their missions take them into uncharted realms, navigating across galaxies through the time-space ...

That's pretty close, though they don't go "across galaxies".

4. Stargate SG-1: Season 3 Gift Set
The third season of the popular science fiction series is included in its entirety in this collection. Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) leads his interplanetary crew into numerous adventures throughout the many galaxies. Based on the film starring Kurt Russell.

Again, close, but it's only one galaxy.

5. Stargate SG-1: Season 6 Gift Set
The futuristic action continues in the sixth season of STARGATE SG-1, the popular sci-fi series.Richard Dean Anderson is back as the leader of the crew who can instantly be transported to anywhere in this or any other universe. The crew hops from planet to planet in this collection containing every episode ...

Ok, this is just wrong. They pretty much stick to this universe. A few of the other descriptions are identical to this.

15. Stargate SG-1: Season 4 Gift Set
Based on the film starring Kurt Russell, this spin-off became a wildly successful cult hit among science fiction fans. This collection contains the entire fourth season of the adventures of the space station, intended to be a sort of interplanetary United Nations.

Space Station? "interplanetary United Nations"? The person who wrote this hasn't ever seen an episode of the show.

You'd think MGM would provide all the necessary promotional materials needed by retailers, but DVD Planet seemingly can't be bothered. What's funny, though, is someone spent the time to write these, and either miss or totally get wrong the details of the show. That's just weird.

Birthday!

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Days, missing work, feeling a bit better.

Still home today, and just now (it's almost 5pm) feeling better. Still wouldn't try to eat a bagel, pizza or a burger, but pasta seems to work just fine, and my throat's not nearly as swollen. I hate missing 3 days of work, though.

Picture of the day!

Eric and a shiny bike.

Got strato and poker tomorrow, then Mother's Day plans on Sunday. The weird thing that occured to me yesterday - by father's day, I'll actually be a father.

Any plans for your weekending?

recovery, sci fi

I'm taking another day off today - I'm better, but still bleeding and swollen, and the Vicodin, while effective, makes me a bit drowsy. So I'm at home. I should be able to make it in to work tomorrow, just in time for Friday.

Picture of the day!

A fine selection of booze from Halloween 2002. I'm sure some of those bottles are still in my stash - some things just don't get drunk.

Since I got rid of cable, I've generally be watching less TV, though when I do, it's typically a DVD now. Because of that, I've been watching a LOT of Star Trek: Voyager and Stargate. We've got Netflix...any other recommendations for good sci-fi to rent?

Back to bed with me, I think. Thank goodness for pain meds.

Beautiful day, winter formal, alive!

Woohoo! Alive!

No pain with the procedure, which is good...though it didn't really seem like the nitrous was doing anything. Still numb and bleeding, though. I’m currently enjoying a smoothie (with a spoon), and will enjoy some soup later. Vicodin is also available when I need it. Hopefully I’ll be back at work tomorrow.

Picture of the day!

Shannon sent this to me last week – it’s me, Brandon, Chris and Adam at her house before Winter Formal, 1996. I don’t remember ever being that young, and it was only 10 years ago…

Off to watch some Star Trek and enjoy a rather beautiful day out there!

Stories, teeth

Not sure if I'll have an entry tomorrow, as I'll be going in to have my wisdom teeth out with some sort of happy gas, and I may or may not be lucid or willing/able to type. As with almost all my dental work, however, I'm paying someone many hundreds of dollars to replace my total lack of pain and problems with bleeding and soreness. As they keep telling me, it's apparently better in the long run.

Pic of the day!

Another from my Jacaranda set - this is just about the view I have out my window at work on clear days (though this taken from our parking garage).

Please share your tooth extraction stories here with me! Comments have been so quiet lately, though I know hundreds of people come to the site. Rock on!

Weekending, LA Fitness, Travel Plans, Baby Shower

Wow, a busy, great weekend, capped off yesterday with the second baby shower. We got more cute outfits than thought we would, plus other essentials like diaper bags, travel sleepers, onesies (I keep reading that as "Onasis", bath accessories, gifts cards, a month of diaper service, and a breast pump (Marek is brave). Thanks everyone, especially Beth who did a LOT of work putting everything together and providing fantastic prizes.

Oh, yeah, if you were at the party and took pics, send them to me so I can collect them! Thanks!

Picture of the day!

Marek taking a big swing at Adam's birthday 2004.

The tentative plan for travel in July involves traveling to the bay area on July 20th, staying somewhere between San Francisco and Mountain View until Sunday, then spending three or four days in Santa Cruz. We've a huge list of people to see, so we hope we can fit everyone in. Because of the timing, we're not sure we'll be able to do the Gilroy Garlic Festival this year - we'll see. Let me know if you'd like to get together that week.

LA Fitness and I came to an agreement, and now I'm a member of two gyms (at least until I cancel 24 Hour Fitness). It'll be nice having a gym right across the street - the $10/month savings with the old club doesn't matter if I never go. Of course, I didn't have to go yesterday - moving a few hundred pounds of drinks and party supplies back and forth, and tables and chairs around the clubhouse, will give you a workout too.

OK readers, your turn to leave comments. How was your weekending?

Pants, Mayo, Birthday - a good time!

Oh, Friday. The sun made it out yesterday, and just might do the same today. We'll see...

Happy Birthday, Angela!

Picture of the day!

Ari posing at Gary's. We haven't seen Ari in a while...

Happy Cinco de Mayo, and happy No Pants Day (see my entry below). Hope you find a way to celebrate!

No Pants Day!

Happy No Pants Day!

http://www.nopantsday.com/

If you've got one, email me a picture of you without pants on (I don't care what else you're wearing). I'll return one in kind! If you don't have one, take one!

Enjoy pantslessness, all day!

writing, indian and sushi, weekend plans

Wow, I've been a prolific writer today. Two long pieces are right below this entry - one on the National Day of Prayer, and one on LA Fitness. Leave your thoughts on both

Picture of the day!

Lisa, showing some love. Me, looking confused.

It feels like Friday, which is kinda cool, except it's only Thursday, and there's another whole work day tomorrow. Baby Shower the Second is this Sunday, and Saturday I'm sure there'll be some prep for that, some Strat-o-Matic baseball, and maybe some delicious Chinese food.

Speaking of food, do any of my fine readers have suggestions for good Indian food in the OC? We haven't tried many places, but we'd like to find a nice place. Same goes for a Sushi place that specializes in vegetarian items. Does that even exist?

Your mission for today is to leave a comment. I've done my writing, you do yours.

Sorry LA Fitness, you lose.

When my dad was around, my siblings (and their friends) always took him with them if they were buying a car or a house - there was not a better price negotiator. And I'm not sure if was genetics or upbringing, but we've all got the same skill - walking away is easy. That's the reason this morning I'm still a 24 Hour Fitness member, and not an LA Fitness newbie.

Let me explain.

Looking to join a gym 4 years ago (as many people in their early 20s do), I immediately thought of 24 Hour Fitness, as it was where Adam was working, and he occasionally had good deals for us. I got a membership for $19/month which entitled me to use just about every club - an awesome deal then, and better now as other prices have gone up. They've got a lot of locations, and it typically worked for me.

When I moved to this house in 2004, the club in Orange I usually went to was now 3.5 miles away. A new LA Fitness had just opened up literally across from my house - I could walk there in 2 minutes - but not having a membership there, I never went in. But I found myself going to 24 Hour Fitness less and less since it wasn't as close, and I figured even if I had to pay a little more, LA Fitness would get me to the gym more often.

The LA Fitness regularly has "specials" on the weekends, and two of their recruiters were standing outside one day and handed me a free week pass. Nice and all, but it's really just a way to get a tour and a sales pitch. Expecting that, I went to the gym two weeks ago, got the tour, and in his best "I'm really serious" voice, Muscley Jeff told me that if I signed up today, the usual $49.95/month price could be $29.95, and the $139 startup fee could be reduced to $79. He whispered all of this to me, as if he didn't want his manager to know. I told him I'd think about it.

A week passed, and I hadn't been back. I'm a busy guy. Jeff calls on Friday to let me know it's been a week, and if I wanted to come in to talk about getting a membership. I said sure, let's do it Thursday. I came in today and sat down with him, and he showed me the same price list from the week before - $49.95/month and a $139 startup fee. I told him that was too much, and he leaned over and whispered again "What if I could do $29.95?".

Perhaps he forgot that he went through all this last week, but I told him that was great, but the startup fee was too high. The acting started up again, he leaned in and said "I don't think I can do that - are you sure that's the deal breaker? You can spread it out over 60 days...". I begin my side of the act, telling him about my pregnant wife and money being tight. Then the classic used-car salesman line that tells me I'm actually the one in a position of power here - "My manager's not gonna like this, but I'll ask him if we can get it lower".

I sit for a second, wishing I could see Jeff talk to his manager. He comes back with more muscley manager, who sits down and repeats a lot of the same things, mentioning no discount to the fee. He tells me how great the club is, etc, and I start telling him that my $19/month membership at 24 Hour Fitness is just as great, and gives me access to more clubs. He then also leans over and whispers that he could give me his "family discount" - to the $79 rate Jeff gave me last week.

We go back and forth for a while, and I was thinking either I'd get them to waive the fee entirely, or I'd walk out. Manager starts telling me that I'm actually saving money, because of all of the club's great features. I'm not sure if they usually only deal with weak minded/bad at math crowd, but I told him I'd have to ask my wife. He then told me "So this fee is the only thing stopping you?" I told him yes, and he said "Sorry, that's as low as we can go". I got up and thanked them both, and I was actually surprised that they didn't call me back after I walked out the door. But I got to my car and left, and I wouldn't be surprised if I get a call tonight or tomorrow. For now, I'll just have to drive that 3.5 miles.

Update! Jeff DID call me back and left a message on my phone around 6:30, asking me to call him. I did, and he said he could give me "$0/$29" if I refered three friends. He said he'll call back tomorrow, where I'll tell him there's no way in hell that's gonna happen.

National Day of Prayer 2006

Today's May 4, the first Thursday in May, so we find ourselves on another National Day of Prayer.

Oh, the number of problems I have with this.

Let's start biblically, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 5-6:

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly."

See also my 2001 piece called "The Presumption of Prayer" - highlights my issues with prayer to an all-knowing god.

Constitutionally, I have a big issue with the NDOP because it strictly highlights Christianity, although it says it's for "all faiths". But that tends to mean "Oh, OK, we'll include Jews and Muslims in there too". First off, not all faiths have prayer. Second, all the language associated with the NDOP capitalizes and singularizes "God" - excluding polytheists and nontheists. This problem exists in all of government; the NDOP just highlights it.

Socially, I still have issue with praying for "silly" things, or asking for things you want, when others are suffering - especially if you're praying to a God you think can do anything. David Mann's quote says it well - "I am often made sick when a rich person in a rich nation attributes some minor blessing to God on account of his faith and prayers when the same God allows thousands of orphaned, exploited, abused, malnourished, homeless, innocent children to die in filthy gutters around the world every single day."

You can read more at Religious Tolerance's National Day of Prayer page. You might also want to check out the National Day of Prayer Task Force, the national group who's made it their mission to promote the NDOP in a no-holds-barred Christian manner.

about me page, no pants day, new neighbors

I hope it's not me, but in fairly short order, I've got three neighbors in my courtyard (the three places across from me) all up for sale or getting new tenants. It'd be nice to have some new people, especially without a large, loud dog.

Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

Friday is No Pants Day. Celebrate if you can. It'd be great to have a No Pants Day Party (also Cinco de Mayo - damn!), but I'm not sure I'll be able to get that many people together in time. Email me if you're interested.

Picture of the day!

Chris Clark - Waffles.

I'm looking for people to play poker with - Saturday or Sunday mornings at Pechanga. Any takers? It'd be nice to split gas costs too...at current prices it'll cost me about $15 round trip (120 miles).

What are my readers opinions on an "about me" page? Too narcissistic? Just right? Should I force people coming here looking for football players and lawyers to actually read the blog?

Poll, pictures, weird and creepy

Tuesday. Time keeps on slippin'...

I made a friend today, and as I often do, I do some googling to see what they've got out there about themselves. Is this creepy? Weird? Or pretty much standard practice nowadays? Is it stranger because I'm really good at it?

Picture of the day!

Some of the relatively new buildings at Kresge at UCSC.

In other picture news, the pregnant girlfrind picture () is still by far the most popular picture on my Flickr account. she's cute and all, but why have so many hundreds of you clicked on that pic, and not the rest I post here every day? That's just a little weird, since the other picture that's been getting a lot of attention is also a picture of her belly. Am I fueling a fetish here?

Poll: Tonight's activity - beer tasting, or childbirth class?

CNN graphics at it again

To go along with their headline story "Source: U.S. may be holding bin Laden aide", CNN used the following picture:

Is someone commissioning impressionist paintings of terrorist suspects now? Or are we holding Vincent Van Gogh?

Beer, baby showers

Happy Monday! I highly recommend baby showers that include home-brewed beer and gifts of good tequila for the father to be. Thanks to everyone who made it, and for all the gifts. Baby Shower the Second takes place this coming Sunday. Woo!

Picture of the day!

Ken and Chris at a party at our place in 2004.

I'm considering skipping my childbirth class in favor of going to beer tasting. This week's theme is "Maibock and other Pale Bocks" - That'll take a little research. It's certainly more fun than a 2 hour class on breathing and c-sections. Girlfriend already approves, so we'll see if there's interest.