Insignifica

Rest of the Week, Tonight, Workshops, Dinner Last Night, Halloween

Good day, my friends! Happy Halloween!

Picture of the day!

Little Bunny Katie and her mommy.

Saw a bunch of the crew yesterday - Mariah, Jeff, Alex and Helen and Gwen and Cedric, Garrett and Sherrila, Tori, and Gabe. Somehow, all of us (save Gabe who was late and Sherrila who was just stopping by) fit around a table at Saturn in Santa Cruz. We ate food, rode out an earthquake (which ended with a stereotypical Santa Cruz/California response of applause), and enjoyed catching up. Mariah also gave us beautiful print of pics she took of Katie, and Tori rocked my world with Jesus. More on that later.

I'm down to one session left, plus an ending keynote I may or may not attend. It's been a good conference, some sessions better than others (yesterday's Taxonomy workshop was so bad it was funny), but I've learned a lot, so I've got a find a good way to teach it. More than anything, I think, it's given me ideas for training, for improving how we deal with our "clients" (my co-workers), and how to make things easier/better/more useful.

Tonight? No Halloween plans. We might see if Monterey has something for us to do in regards to showing off costumes (we all have one up here), or we might just relax. It's cool and foggy up here today, but not rainy like Monday. Halloween day hasn't ever been as big a deal to me as an adult as the Halloween party.

We drive home tomorrow. We're off Friday, and hope to get a lot of house stuff done. No weekend plans, as far as I know. Always nice to have a few days off from your travels.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Santa Cruz, Between Sessions, Butter, Pizza

Good day my friends!

Picture of the day!

Sea critter, out near the wharf.

Things are good in Monterey - nice weather (and getting nicer), the conference is interesting (I've only checked my watch in one session), and we got to enjoy delicious pizza at Pizza My Heart (I made mine vegan, but it was still good - it's all about the crust there).

We also found Clover Stornetta butter (and yogurt) at the Whole Foods here - yum. I'm actually buying 10 pounds and bringing it down for holiday cooking (and for my mom's holiday cooking, so I can eat it). They've got some cheeses made by Romiano as well, but it's not going to freeze as well, so there's only so much I can buy.

We're in between sessions right now, just FYI. The Girlfriend and Katie are at the Monterey Bay Aquarium by now, and my daughter is likely running around, enjoying fish.

Heading to Santa Cruz this evening to see far too many people and effective take over the Saturn cafe. Good times!

Monterey Monday

Good morning. We're in Monterey, where the air isn't smoky. I'm enjoying a conference bagel before a conference keynote address, before a day of conference seminars.

Picture of the day!

Roxanne and myself.

Also, seagulls.

Dined with Colleen and Chad yesterday, dining on our own tonight, and dining with untold numbers of friends tomorrow. No Halloween plans yet.

Chris has found his way into my paper.

Halloween (Observed) was a very good time. I dressed as Fidel Castro, with army coat and beard and cigar. The Girlfriend was a Devil lady. I no longer have a beard.

More news as it happens. What's happening?

Updates, Cabinet Work, Fire Update, Monterey, Beard, Friday

Good day, and Friday!

Picture of the day!

The beard, two weeks ago. It's a little crazier now, but you get the idea. I'll post pictures from this weekend (as well as before/after shots of my finally shaving this beast) next week.

Speaking of next week, we will, of course, be in beautiful Monterey, and I'll be attending the Internet Librarian 2007 conference. Our schedule is starting to fill up, but if you're up there and interested in making the drive down, let me know, and we'll see about getting together.

Fire update - still smoky. It's mostly away from OC homes now, but the onshore flow this morning, while cooling things down, dispersed the smoke a bit - Katie's daycare was smokier this morning than any day this week. It'll be nice to breath again.

I haven't been getting as much done now that my cabinets are down - which is funny, because patching and painting is very easy work compared to demolition. But between the fires making us keep everything closed and getting ready for the trip, we'll put it off until we get back. You'll all enjoy it for the holiday party season, though.

I'm going to try to do updates (we'll have internet access) while I'm away next week, but I'm not making any promises. I will be updating the Flickr stream, though, so you can see what we're up to. Have a fantastic week and weekend!

Beard, Accidentally Vegan, Phone Spam, Smoke, Thursday

Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Tiny Katherine, taken one year ago today. She had just started using her walker.

Yuck. I can't even see plumes of smoke anymore - just a blanket of white, nasty smoke. It's like Rock And Bowl 1993, but without bowling or "Rooster" by Alice in Chains.

I've been getting 5-10 spam a day on my cell phone, mostly because my cell phone's email address is posted on this page. Any advice on how to stop it?

I thought I remembered reading this, but I confirmed it at the grocery store last night - Pop Tarts are vegan. Well, some - generally the frosted ones aren't, but the unfrosted ones are. Not good for you, but no animal products. Nice. More about this and other accidentally vegan products at the LAV Blog.

Two days until Halloween festivities, and three days until I shave this beard. I was thinking of keeping it on through actual Halloween on the 31st (and to show everyone in Santa Cruz/Monterey), but seriously, this beard is evil. If you want to see it, convince me otherwise!

That's that for today. What's new?

Update, Cold, Smoky, Wednesday

Good day, and happy Wednesday!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend and Katie, last Halloween.

Smoky day. The winds have largely died down (great for firefighting), but that means that the Santiago fire's ashes are now falling here, instead of blowing out to sea. Beautiful sunrise this morning, though.

I have a cold. The fires aren't helping. I hope to be over it by this weekend - got some partying and driving to do.

Lunchtime update - sorry it's so late. It's nasty-smoky out there, we're getting the brunt of the ash and smoke from the Santiago fires. Icky.

That's all for now - how are things where the sun is shining?

2000 Soon, Vegan Guide, Smoky, Costume, Birthday

Happy Tuesday, and happy birthday Marcia!

Picture of the day!

Ken as Pimp Vader, Halloween 2004.

This week's been busy/crazy, but I realized that I don't have all of my costume yet, and the only place I think will have it will likely charge $50 for it. That's a lot for one night of fun, but it may well be worth it.

It's still smoky out there. The Irvine/Santiago fire looks better, but it's really hard to tell from my vantage point. I am, however, tired of fires.

Check out my LAV post about the Friends of Animals Vegan Restaurant Guide.

That's all for today. I'm coming up on 2000 entries here. Thoughts about what to do to celebrate?

OC Metblogs, Cabinets, Wind, Fire, Monday

Happy Windy Monday!

Picture of the day!

Katie at Babies R Us.

Yeah, so, it's windy. And fiery. For all you non-socal people, we're in no fire danger where we live, but we could see the flames (and of course smoke) from the Irvine fire just outside our front door. We're lucky to not have any major smoke issues at our place, yet, as the wind is blowing it all away from us. A little change, though, and it's bad for the fire and bad for those of us downwind. That's not to say it's not smoky and hazy in general out, we're just not suffering with ash and thick air, yet.

The bigger story has been that wind - while this isn't the harshest Santa Ana condition I've been in, it's bad - there's a lot of debris on the roads, a LOT of large fallen branches, and anything large and flat is now on the ground (the most remarkable thing is that those large real-estate signs outside commercial buildings (typically with two large wooden posts in the ground) are down all over. On my 1.5 mile drive to work today I saw four of those down, a few other large signs blown down or out (a street-level back lit sign has its plastic blown away), and a speed limit sign was upside down on a pole. Quite a few trees down as well. Nasty stuff.

Oh, cabinets! They're down. I had a couple hours to myself yesterday, and they were on my list. There's a whole set of pictures, but here are the before and after:

All that's left now is a little patchwork, some sanding, some priming, and some painting, plus a new endcap of some sort on the left side there. I'm very proud of my work, and glad my 5 or 6 hours of work total saved me almost $500. Those pictures also put me up above 5,000 images on Flickr. Wowzers.

I write for the Orange County metblog, and sadly, it's kinda gone downhill in terms of regular posting in the last year or so. But I was compelled to post a couple times yesterday, and had a lot of comments from readers. People still read, and come there for updates. That's very cool.

That's that, folks. What's new with you?

Conservapedia, Monterey Trip, Cinnamon Roll Diet, Cabinets, Friday

Happy Friday!

Picture of the day!

The contents of my cabinet. The cabinet removal work is going well - I got the front off today. I hope to be finished with removal before I leave for Monterey, then we'll cap it, sand and paint.

Maybe it's because my delicious cinnamon rolls had a lot of fat in them, but I've just not been hungry today or yesterday. Is it possible I've designed a weight loss super food, and it's deliciously doughy and sweet?

The Monterey trip has been set. We'll be arriving Sunday, October 28th in the evening (depends on the little beast and her tolerance for long car rides) and departing early on Thursday, November 1. I've got conference stuff to do every day until about 4, at which point we're free for dinner/drink/dessert, etc. We'll likely go up to Santa Cruz one night, but doubtful that we'll make it up to the bay area (San Jose/San Francisco), only because it's logistically difficult. That doesn't mean we don't want to see you - just that we should meet in the middle. We have plans for Sunday night already, and the girlfriend has a couple days set with people coming down, but we still have most nights free. Inquire within!

If you'd like a good laugh, check out Conservapedia - the "Trustworthy" encyclopedia, and a response to the "liberal bias" of Wikipedia. It's insanely bad.

That's it for today, friends. How's your weekend shaping up?

Nice Weekend, Butternut, Pastry Dough, Butter, Thursday

Good day, and happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend with Katie and Nathan.

Tori was awesome and scoped out the butter scene for me in Santa Cruz. Success! Many, many stores carry Clover Stornetta products, including the Whole Foods in Monterey. I'm actually going to go down to MY Whole Foods this week and ask if they can carry the cheese and butter, as they already carry the liquid milk products, sour cream, and cottage cheese. Thanks Tor!

I experimented with a pastry dough made in my bread maker last night - it worked very well! I don't have a nice stand mixer, but the bread maker's "dough" setting has what is effectively a paddle attachment and provides a warm, stable rising environment. I took it out after it had doubled in size (an hour an a half, instead of the regular 2 1/2 cycle), made some cinnamon rolls, and let them proof overnight. They turned out great (though more of a solid, delicious mass of roll, due to my tiny pan). Still, a great first shot. It's nice to have such a simple recipe.

More food - we have a butternut squash at home. What should we do with it?

After a few cloudy days and a wet weekend, it's warm and sunny out there, and there'll be warm winds this weekend. Nice. Go out and enjoy it!

Gmail Spam, Beards and Bets, Sleepy Still, Coffee Adjectives, Parking, Wednesday Birthdays

Wednesday. Hump day. Odin's Day. Mike and Evan's Birthdays. Happy day!

Picture of the day!

Here's today's parking genius. Photo snapped outside Starbucks on the corner of Tustin Ave. and 17th Street in Tustin this morning, in an amazingly small parking lot. Bonus points: He came roaring in at about 30mph, and only missed me by about 5 feet.

Speaking of Starbucks, my coffee this morning had 4 adjectives - "Iced", "Venti", "Soy", and "Pumpkin Spice". I feel like less of a man, but darn it, it's tasty.

Still tired. Baby woke up before 7am. My goal now is to want to go to bed at 11:30pm. Good luck there.

Remember when I said I'd like to get involved in some prop bets, for fun and competition? Yeah, if you'd ever like to WIN one of those, bet that you can go longer than me without shaving. This beard sucks. Oh, the sacrifices I make for Halloween...

I switched over to gmail about two months ago (the beard, the veganism, and the gmail all started at the same time - spooky). Since then, my spam problem has all but disappeared. Well, disappeared into the spam folder, at least. But out of habit, and out of fear of losing messages, I still check the messages every day, scanning through them, "just in case". My question - should I? I haven't had more than a dozen false positives in two months, and all but a couple of those were comment notifications (which don't require action). Do you go through your segregated spam? When I had to read though all my messages I considered it a pain, but now it's just weird only seeing a few messages a day in my inbox. Thoughts?

Facebook, Mints, Early Day, Birthdays, Tuesday.

So, yeah, it's Tuesday. Tuesday, right? I'm tired.

Picture of the day!

The girlfriend and Tolga, last Halloween. Happy Birthday Tolga!

Hey, it's my half-birthday too! Rock on, cupcakes tonight!

Katie decided at 4:30 this morning that it'd be fun to wake up. She wasn't wandering all over her room (as she's done before), but she was playful and chatty, and I don't like going all the way back to sleep if she's gonna be up and about. Luckily she decided on a nap around 5:30.

I'm in need of simple, normal mints (Altoid style) that are both vegetarian and don't have tins/containers made in China. Thanks for your support.

I've been all over the facebook lately - mostly because it's new and there's a bit more "action" than at Myspace. By "action" I mean "people using it" and by "all over" I mean "spending upwards of 10 minutes a day there". Just FYI.

That's all. Enjoy your day!

Keepin' On, Butter, New Mailing List, Halloween, Cats and Poker, Monday

Oi, it's Monday already. The weekend's pace matched that of the previous week.

Picture of the day!

Baby and Daddy.

I often seem to forget lately that I'm allergic to cats, and when I'm running around Gary's house chasing my daughter while nursing a cold anyway, those pesky felines can fuck me up. I'm feeling much better this morning, though. Also, congrats to Gary, Emily and The Girlfriend, yesterday's poker winners.

I spilled the beans about my Halloween costume yesterday to a bunch of friends, mostly because none will be seeing me on/around Halloween. Positive reaction! I'm looking forward to having the full setup.

We've had some great discussion in the last week on the OC Atheists mailing list, but that list was meant mainly for announcements. To solve the problem, I've created a new list for discussions. To subscribe to the OC Atheists Discussions mailing list, simply send a message with the word 'subscribe' in the message body to discussion-list-request@ocatheists.com.

I need butter. Can any of you folks up in northern California check to see if Clover Stornetta Farms or Humboldt Creamery Association sells it in your area?

That's it for today. Keep on keepin' on.

Halloween Party Canceled, Breakfast For Dinner, Sad Songs, Quick Week

Friday! For whatever reason, this week seemed to start Wednesday, and even that went quick. It's been a blur for no particular reason.

Picture of the day!

Heather as Minnie Mouse, Marek as savage, and my mom, hiding in the background.

Am I the only one who thinks Against Me!'s "Thrash Unreal" is actually a sad song? I thought the same thing about Bowling For Soup's "1985", too.

We're having breakfast for dinner - man, we don't do that much, but I love it.

I've canceled the Halloween party. It makes me sad, but interest just wasn't there this year. We'll try again in 2008. That said, it's time to get together with friends. Email me and we'll plan and meet. There's no good excuse for not getting together over drinks or dinner and catching up.

Hungry, Late, Hawaiian, OC Atheists, Birthday

Good Day, Thursday! And Happy Birthday Gary!

Picture of the Day!

Gary and Emily, Halloween 2003.

We had 32 attendees at last night's OC Atheists meeting - a new record for us. The group is growing, we've got projects and fundraisers planned, and we're working closely with UCI's Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists - things are looking good.

I'm wearing a bright red Hawaiian shirt today, and between that and the beard, this is likely the least recognizable I've been in a long time. Who is this guy?

I keep going to bed around 1am. This is a problem when I wake up at 7. Of course, the baby was really good last night, and she slept until 8 this morning. That was refreshing.

Hungry again. Off to see the Wizard.

Hungry, Beard, Axis, Demolition, Dear Abby, Hump

Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

Bear at the San Diego Zoo. This photo was taken two years ago today. Why was I off on a Monday?

When I was reading a few comics every day in the last few years, I'd read Dear Abby when I came across it. I was always a bit surprised at how "liberal" her views toward sex and gay rights were - not that she'd be anti- either of them, but perhaps just a bit more reserved. But I'm glad to see her getting honored this week by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays for her views. She's hardcore FOR gay marriage, seeing civil unions and domestic partnerships as relegating gays to a second-class citizenship. If we're gonna have marriage, it has to be for everyone. Kudos to Jeanne Phillips.

Demolition goes well. I have the front cabinet doors off, and I tore down the backing (the side the faces the living room) today (the Girlfriend might be surprised when she gets home from work). Next up is taking off the front panel (kitchen side), and from where we'll see what makes sense to get rid of next. I am discovering that we've had at least 6 or 7 paint jobs done on the house - there's a good 5-10mm history layer where the shelves have come away from the wall.

I went to buy "Axis", the sequel to Robert Charles Wilson's "Spin" (2006 Hugo Novel winner), forgetting that it was still in Hardcover, and wouldn't be a paperback for a while. I'm somewhat surprised that books still have these different phases to their lives.

You know, if my regular Halloween plan doesn't work, I could go as "shipwreck victim" - I'm starting to look homeless over here with this beard. I think I'll last another three weeks. But you better come to my party.

Hungry. Need Food. Come back again!

Humboldt Creamery, Comb, Demolishing, Ants, Tuesday

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Picture of the day!

Bald Pepsi-drinkin' baby.

We found out this morning that the ants really enjoy the organic french fries. They invaded the toaster oven - quite a sight.

We got an estimate for dismantling/demolishing the cabinet over our bar, and it was quite a bit more than I expected ($450). We're gonna take a turn at taking it out ourselves. I think risk of injury to ourselves is greater than the risk of injury to the walls, but we'll see.

I had to comb my beard today. Yes, I'm disturbed also.

It turns out that the Humboldt Creamery Association makes all the dairy products I could want, but some are only sold to food service. That means there are restaurants I can eat at, but I'll likely never know because it's next to impossible to get a list of retailers/customers from a manufacturer. That said, it's nice to know it's out there. I just have to find some (the first pizza parlor that uses their cheese will have my business forever).

What's new, my friends?

Peaches, Fall Weather, Spam, Monday

So, yeah, I didn't want to go to a baseball game tonight or next week anyway! Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

Baby and Mamma at Mariah's wedding. Baby was not yet a month old, which would help explain her amazing tininess.

Another weekend not checking my spam folder, another weekend with 1000+ to look through today. I haven't found any false positives in a long time, but it's always a fear of mine that legit emails will get shuffled away and I'll never see them if I just clear the bunch. Of course, most of the false positives have been comment notices and the like, and I see those comments when I log into the respective service. Still, I like to scan. I must say, though, it's nice having all my legit emails show up in one place and not mixed with my spam, as was the case in my old client.

We're having what I like to think is very normal fall weather for Socal - Santa Ana winds, warm days, and very cool (relatively, especially compared to the summer) nights. It's dusty as hell out there, though.

The peaches are STILL good at some Irvine Farmer's Market stands - I'm amazed, since it's October and all. I am saddened, though, that my grape lady said it was her last week there, as they're done for the season. The Japanese variety of Concords she sells are some of the best I've ever had.

How's your week looking my friends?

Comment, Balance, Halloween In Flux, Los Amigos, Friday

Friday already! Today started kinda ugly, but it's beautiful out today.

Picture of the day!

Adam and myself, at my 2005 birthday party.

Oh, Los Amigos. What have you done? First you're in the paper last week for having the gym mural painted over, then again this week because all students are forced to wear ID badges. Can't say I'm pleased by either decision.

Halloween plans are in flux! We might need a new location. Inquire within. I have to have somewhere good to show off the costume.

Our baby has amazing balance. She'll stand up on boxes, step stools, her fire engine, and her other toys. She falls, too, which makes us try to stop the climbing and balancing. I have a feeling this won't get any easier.

It's time to leave a comment. Have a great weekend!

Group Trip to Yosemite, LAV, Angels Tix, Fast Times, Exercise, Thursday

Hey, it's Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Katie, her mamma, and a big tree.

Jogged/walked my 1.4 mile route today. Rock.

This week is moving absurdly fast. The fact that it's already October, and Halloween is 4 weeks away (and the party is like 3 weeks away) - Gotta get on my costume. I have one part, I have two more potentially expensive parts to get. But it should look awesome.

Yours truly scored two Row A Field Level tickets to Home Game 3 of the ALCS, providing the Angels are playing. Darn you Boston, and your Josh Beckett!

Some days I struggle for ideas for my LAV Blog and other days, like today, I'm gonna have to make three or four posts. Im' weird like that.

A thought we've had, and a QOTD for you - would you be interested in an "all groups" (friends, families, anyone you know) trip to either Yosemite or a national park in the south west? People could get their own accommodations and transportation, but we could do things together (in any combination) while we were there. Thoughts?

Hump Day, Sports Fans, Exercise, Succession, Good Day

Good day, mi amigos!

Picture of the day!

I are serious baby.

There's an interesting story today about secessionists from Vermont and the south meeting together to discuss common goals, even with radically different approaches and philosophies. I don't think secession is a real possibility (at least not yet), but I don't think any individual state, save California, could really survive on its own. It's be an interesting experiment, though.

Just as I write yesterday that I'm gonna jog today, the baby's cranky and keeps us up from 5:30 until 6:30 this morning, then her and I sleep until 8:30, eating all my time. Tomorrow!

Baseball playoffs start today! The Angels play Boston at 3:30pm PDT (thanks crazy TV schedules!). In a discussion online this morning, I was saying that I always like to think of baseball (and all sports) as just a very visible business, which is why I think it's funny that people get SO life-changingly involved in it, when they have no stake except as observers. I love watching and keeping up with the game (it's wonderfully in-depth and entertaining), but I'm always amazed when others life their life by the teams, or their moods depend on the status of their team or players. Your thoughts?

That's all. Happy hump day!

No Exercise, Pay As You Go, Cavemen, Light Sharpener, Britney, Birthday

Happy Tuesday and Happy Birthday John!

Picture of the day!

Bougainvillea in my backyard. Look closely - there's a butterfly too.

So, Britney. How's about you get a nanny and a driver? You're rich, right? Damn.

Rob Cockerham is auctioning off his Light Sharpener. Man, if I had the space and a way to transport it, I'd get it in a second. That thing is awesome.

Oh man, cavemen, based on the Geico Cavemen commercials, airs tonight. I have to watch. I just...have to. When are the Esurance chick and the Aflak duck getting shows?

Do any of you have experience with pay-as-you-go or other non-contract cellular? The Girlfriend's phone costs about $40 a month, and we don't use nearly that much of it.

No exercising this morning. I'm actually still sore from Sunday's moving of things. But I'm planning on starting up actually jogging again tomorrow, assuming I can get the baby out on time.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading!

2007Q4, Pumpkin Muffins, Spam, OSF, October

Good day, and happy October!

Picture of the day!

A "perhaps too close up" picture of my face. Note the whiskers. Click here for frightening detail.

After Macaroni Grill/Maggiano's couldn't help with my menu questions, Old Spaghetti Factory comes through with great personal interaction and a list of all ingredients in all menu items (pdf). Top drawer, Old Spaghetti Factory!

Being lazy and busy, I didn't go through my gmail spam folder over the weekend. Now there are 1,049 items in there, and I'm scared. I did mop my entire living room and got a bunch of boxes out to the garage, though. That was nice.

I made pumpkin muffins. Let me know if you want one. I'll mail it - don't doubt that.

That's all for today, readers. 2007Q4 begins today. What do you have planned?