Insignifica

Plans for 2008

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008!

Picture of the day!

The GEEEEEK-mobile, frosted over in Big Bear yesterday.

Happy New Year, my friends. My plans have changes, and now consist of a quiet evening at home with the family. Somehow, that's not so bad. But get ready for New Year's Eve 2008 - we'll go large next year. Mark your calenders.

So, that's the year. And next year is a big one - me, and a lot of my close friends, all turn 30 in 2008. There'll be a few parties, of course. Probably some complaining. For me, it's about remembering that life is short, no matter how long it is. Tori's got her "Project 30" events happening, and it's inspiring - so while my list won't be as ambitious as hers, I think the idea of doing 30 new things (or things I want to do again, or things I just don't do enough) is a great one. A year is a long time, even doing an average of 2 or 3 things a month. Here are my ideas so far:

- Play in a large (buy-in more than $100, maybe closer to $1,000 if I get in a satellite) poker tournament.

- Climb to the top of Saddleback mountain.

- Attend several baseball games in good field level seats - perhaps do the California tour of stadiums if I'm feeling ambitious.

- Learn the basics of piano.

- Be in falling snow (yes, I've never done that).

- Donate blood at least four times.

- Get back in touch with at least 10 friends I haven't seen in too long. Lunch or dinner with all of them.

- Attend (and speak at) one or more Anaheim city council meetings regarding invocations.

I'm not putting on stuff I'm already planning on doing (like getting new countertops for my kitchen, or throwing happenin' parties), or things that are too general (eat fewer processed foods, or exercise more). Those things, of course, will likely happen in the background. As you can also see, my list is lacking. I'm sure I'll come up with a few more things, but any and all suggestions are welcome! I'll tell you "nah, I don't think so" if it's not something I'm interested in, or think I can do - but I'd love to hear what you think I can/should do in 2008. And since this is the last post of the year, have a happy and safe New Year's Eve, and a wonderful New Year!

Almost 2008, New Years, Stuffy, 3.5 Day Weekend, Happy Friday

Happy Friday, all! Tuesday holidays make for quick weeks.

Picture of the day!

Yellin' Castro and slightly confused cute baby.

While last weekend's 4 days were nice, I do have to work on Monday, though it's a half day. Still, I was going to be home anyway - it's not like I have to cut travel short to come back and work for 4 hours.

Stuffy again. I thought it was just allergies, but these are pretty bad. Oddly enough, I don't FEEL bad - just very congested. I'm sure traveling up to Big Bear and the cold will improve that. Yeah...

New Years is looking to be a small affair. What happened to the lavish parties? Next year Katie might be a old enough to stay with a babysitter (well, she's old enough now, but we don't want to leave her anywhere). We'll have games, snacks, and friends though - that's good stuff too.

This won't be the last post in 2007, but we're close. Have a fantastic weekend!

Presidental Preferences, Scrabble, Weather and Travel, Good Day

Good day my friends!

Picture of the day!

Building 7 at Kresge during its redesign, August 2004.

Sunny, clear and windy again today. The rain that was predicted for Friday/Saturday is now just a small chance, which is good, as I'm driving to the mountains Saturday morning. Other than being in the low 20s, the Girlfriend, Katie and family shouldn't have any weather issues going up there today. So begins my two days of freedom, which will be wonderfully served going out and doing everything, or staying home and doing nothing.

I'm getting my ass handed to me in Scrabble today. Just thought I'd share that.

It's a slow week here, so we'll talk about politics. Who do you like for president in 2008? I'm not a huge fan of any of the democrats (except for Dennis Kucinich, who is without a chance) - they all seem to be tripping over each other to seem more evangelical. I prefer Obama to Clinton, and Edwards is still kinda creepy to me for an unknown reason (though this story feeds my paranoia). None of the Republicans are better to me, of course, and Ron Paul scares the hell of out me. Who do you like, and why?

New Years, Non-Dairy, Free Time, Great Christmas, Day After

Happy day after Christmas!

Picture of the day!

Laughlin, this year. About as un Christmasy as one can get.

We had a great holiday - two family functions, plus present opening at home. Katie decided to wake up at 4:30am, however (could have been the winds, could have been the collective unconsciousness of the world's children letting her know to get up early for the holiday). Regardless, it was a long day, but good times. Thanks to everyone who gifted for us!

Now, a little free time - The Girlfriend and Katie are going out of town Thursday, and I'm not joining them until Saturday morning. That's two nights to sleep through the night and wake up when I want (before work, of course). If you're looking to go out on the town Thursday night, let me know.

Did you know that almost all "non-dairy" creamer contains milk? What the hell, labeling guys?

That's all for today. What are your New Years plans? Inquiring minds want to know.

Merry Christmas!

From my family to you and yours, a very merry Christmas!

Posts, Cravings, Cookies, Weather, Solstice

Happy Friday, and Happy Solstice! Today's the shortest day of the year, and tomorrow daylight begins to return. Happy Yule as well, my friends!

Picture of the day!

Katie and her Uncle Evan last week.

Wow - yesterday was rainy and cloudy all day - this morning is crisp, clear as can be, and windy. Not much snow from yesterday's storm, though, the mountains are fairly bare.

All my cookies and cards are now out. Teresa might not get hers on time, but otherwise, I think we're good. Besides, her cookies will still be good on the 26th. Mmm. Cookies.

I was craving Hot Chocolate and ramen yesterday - not necessarily together, but perhaps in the same meal. I'm not sure what that means.

I'm not sure how much posting will happen early next week, as I'm off Monday and Tuesday. Maybe I'll come by and wish you all a Merry Christmas, in case it's December 25th and you're hungry for blog posts. Otherwise, Happy Holidays, and have a great one!

Flickr, Gypsy Den, Cards Out, Almost Christmas

Hello my friends!

Picture of the day!

Bunny and Garrett, last New Years Eve.

Wow, it's almost Christmas! I'm finding myself saying "goodbye until next year" and "have a great holiday!" quite often. The solstice is also tomorrow - of all the solar/pagan holidays, this is the one I love the most, as it means the days will start getting longer.

98% of cards are out. Presents for most of the out-of-towners getting them are out. Still have some shopping for the locals, but that's what the Saturday before Christmas is for, right?

Mmm. Gypsy Den tonight. Everybody loves the Gypsy Den.

Flickr now has some minor usage/linkage stats for members. It's a lot of the same info from the "Popular" and "Favorites" menus, plus info on what domains are linking to you, at least recently. I'd like to see a lifetime of stats for all pictures, but maybe that's coming (right now, "all time" lists 53 referers for Insignifica. There should be upwards of 1,000). It is nice to have more than we've had in the past.

I think that's all I've got. What's up?

Comment, Gmail, Scrabble, Christmas Cookies, 18 Months, Hump

Hello friends! Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

Tree bits. Sequoia 2004.

In all the hubbub yesterday (eh, not really, I just forgot), I neglected to tell you all that Katherine turned 18 months old. This may not seem like much to you, but she's 50% older than she was on her last birthday! I won't be 50% older than I am now until 2022!

I made 100 cookies yesterday - my Turkish Twirls (basic dough with cardamom, lemon zest and sugar crystals), my Clove Balls (basic dough with ground clove) and my new invention, the Pumpkin Thumbprint (basic dough with nutmeg, topped with pumpkin butter - new name still pending). Tonight, cards. I should probably finish shopping at some point, too.

I'm very proud of my 100 point Scrabble play this morning - used my entire rack to play "gracing" attached to mow(n) and za(g). It's time for a tournament, my friends. It's time.

Gmail is just about everything I ever wanted it to be - except that it's missing an integrated calendar. Google's Calendar is fine, but I want to see my upcoming events as a feed or box in Gmail. Any ideas how I could go about doing that?

That's it. Leave a comment. Make my day!

Scrabble on Facebook, Off to Daycare, Mystery Gift, One Week Out

Happy Tuesday! One week until Christmas.

Picture of the day!

Yours truly and the little lady, last Sunday.

Yesterday's mystery of the magically appearing memory card gift has been solved. Thanks Lisa and Tolga!

We actually got the baby up and out of the house at 8am today - she's been sleeping in, which is good if I want to sleep in, but bad if I want any time in the morning to get something constructive, like breakfast, done. Last night she fell asleep before 9, and was up bright and early at quarter to 7. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually prefer waking up early when she's got to go to daycare. What happened to the old me?

I've been playing a lot of "Scrabble" (tm) lately, in the form of the "Scrabulous" app at Facebook (finally, a useful, instead of just silly, application!). If you're a facebooker and want to play a game with me (I usually have a few going at any given time), look me up there.

That's that. What's up with you, readers?

Holiday, American Made Cards, Anka, Mystery Gift, Better, Monday

Hello and Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend, staring in "Too Many Babies".

Feeling better. I was better yesterday than Saturday, and better Saturday than Friday. I do believe this is how the wellness progression should work.

Merry Christmas! Some mystery gifter sent me a 2gb MicroSD memory card, presumably from my Amazon Wishlist. Thanks! The only problem is that the package came from a third party, with no "from" information, no note, no gift wrapping, etc. It's very possibly from my family Secret Santa, but it could be from a friend. Who's the mystery Kris Kringle?

As a note to myself and other readers, Paul Anka's "Winter Wonderland" is pretty badass.

I finally found some American-made Christmas cards - made my Hallmark. I hope to get a good start on them today. We also took our Christmas picture yesterday, so y'all might get something by the end of the week.

Wow, very holiday-themed post, 8 days out. What's up, my friends?

Nap, Cards, Sick, Friday

Happy Friday!

Picture of the day!

Adam, Eric and Ryan, all smiles.

Bah. Home sick, again. Starting around noon yesterday I could feel myself going downhill, getting more worn out and coughing more. Today's a little better, but I got stuff done yesterday so today's a good day to rest here at home. Not to mention there are a lot of cookies to make.

We haven't gotten our cards out yet, but we've been getting one or two a day. Be patient, friends.

That's all you're getting today. I've got a nap to take. Entertain me - what's up?

Rockin', Don't Ask, Steroids, OCA Charity, Birthday Thursday

Hello, Happy Birthday Susie, and happy Thursday my friends!

Picture of the day!

Cookie platter.

Had a great meeting with the Orange County Atheists last night, and we started our mini fund raiser for South County Outreach, a local charity. If you'd like to get involved, check out this post for more information, and thank you!

I'm wondering how this steroid report will affect people's perceptions of their favorite players who happen to be on the list - people gave Barry Bonds a lot of shit, but I think that was much more because they don't like him, not because of steroid issues. Will Clemens and Tejada get the same reaction? I don't think so. There's also the overarching question of why Congress cares about use of non-illegal substances in a private (though large and civic-involved) group of companies.

Here's an interesting story - discharges of gay soldiers has dropped since the wars began - even with more people in the military outing themselves to leave the battlefield. Seems "Don't ask, don't tell" is being ignored because troop levels are low. You can't trust the military.

I think that's it for today. Thanks for all your comments - hope to see more. Keep on rockin!

Gifts, Amazon.com, USB Awesomeness, Tree, OCA Meeting, Sick, Hump

Hump!

Picture of the day!

Katie loves LEGO bricks.

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday - I stayed home sick and wasn't my usual chatty self. I'm back in action today, and going back to work.

The next meeting of the Orange County Atheists will be held tonight, Wednesday, December 12 at 7:30PM at the International House of Pancakes at 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine. If you consider yourself an atheist, an agnostic, a freethinker, a humanist, or are just curious, check out this month's event. If you're planning on attending please RSVP at our website forums. Hope to see you there!

We have acquired a tree.

When I got my new cell phone (Nokia RARZ vrxx), I didn't think much about the fact that the power adapter, even though it plugs into the wall, is USB. The port is also used to access an installed MircoSD card (if you have one) and to interface with the phone if you have Nokia's software. In addition to being able to limit the number of ports coming out of the phone (a plus in my book), a USB port also means that just plugging it into your computer charges the phone - the coolest feature no one told me about. This means never having to buy another phone charger, never having to fret if I forget it on a trip, and the phone gets charged when I'm doing other things with it. Why isn't this the standard for all small appliances?

Hey, Amazon.com - I keep hearing how you've been changing prices when stock changes, and removing items from shopping carts instead of just notifying people that something's amiss. So when I went to buy my sister's Christmas present, I made sure to buy it in the same session so I'd get the price I want, and your software told me that by using Super Saver Shipping, I'd get there in plenty of time for Christmas. So what's up with the email you sent yesterday saying that the estimated arrival date is 12/26/07? Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Why don't you give me any options other than canceling my order, or a link to your standard "help" page? Amazon.com, why do you suck?

Sorry, no more ranting. We're running out time to get you a homemade gift, so if you want one, let me know here, today, now!

What's new?

Christmas Party, Baking Week, Sicknesses, Beautiful, Happy Monday

Hello my friends! Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

Beetlejuice handing SpongeBob an eyeball.

It is a beautiful day out there - a weekend of rain and a day of winds has made clear skies with a nice view of snow-capped mountains (there was even snow on Saddleback), and it's not as cold as it was yesterday. Picnics for everyone!

I'm not sure if I'm getting new little colds, or if the old ones just aren't totally going away. Either way, it sucks - I'm tired of having coughs and sore throats and congestion.

This is a week for cookie and holiday goodie baking. If you're on my list, expect packages early next week. If you're not, get on the list and trade deliciously this holiday season! Leave a comment here.

Your poll question of the day: Does your company have a Christmas party? Is it large or small? On site or off? Food and drinks provided? Booze? Presents (exchange, from the company, something else)?

What's up?

Hypothetical, Cookies, Rain, End of the Week

Hello Friends! Welcome to the end of the week!

Picture of the day!

A lot of my crew from Halloween.

Well, it's wet out there, but it's not as wet as it might have been. That said, storms like this often bring up moisture later when the unstable air behind the front moves through, so we'll see. I'd like to do Farmer's Marketing tomorrow, but that place isn't fun in any more than a sprinkle.

I made 80+ cookies last night for my daughter's first daycare party. Will I be the dad that makes food for all the parties? Time will tell. I did find a nice Paula Deen recipe for a easy chocolate cookie that's nice and Christmassy. Expect to see it if you're getting cookies from me.

A hypothetical for you: Say you have a friend who insists, with all his heart, that moon is literally made of green cheese, and there's a man there who tends to it. You've shown him all the evidence you can that he's mistaken, but he refuses to believe you, saying that he knows his version of things to be true. Do you pity him? Continue to try to change his mind? Worry about his sanity? Some combination? Do you think his version of things deserves as much attention as accepted theories? I look forward to your thoughts!

Holiday Cards, LAV, Pot Cop Youtube, Scrabble, Cooking, Thursday

Good day, my friends! Happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Vodka, mid-construction, last year.

I don't think I'll be making vodka again this year, although cookie production is in full swing. I would like to make something else, I just don't know what yet. I've also decided that making dough in advance is like giving myself the gift of time.

Roxanne introduced me to Scrabulous, a great Scrabble app for Facebook. Jen, Colleen and I used to play this style in college, and I'm always amazed how many people are really, really into their Scrabble. Come join me for a game!

This video made me laugh.

I often complain about lack of comments here, but I'm really lacking over at the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian Blog that I write for SqueezeOC.com (work, for those of you playing along at home). Take a read - it's got a lot of stuff I don't post here.

We got our first two holiday cards yesterday - time to get that ball rolling and take some pictures. We don't currently have any pictures taken this month featuring our little 18 month old beast.

That's that. What's up?

Card Question, Nativity of Jesus, Time Traveler Day, OC Atheists, Hump

Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

This is what 30 atheists look like.

Speaking of such things, the next meeting of the Orange County Atheists will be held Wednesday, December 12 at 7:30PM (one week from today) at the International House of Pancakes at 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine. If you consider yourself an atheist, an agnostic, a freethinker, a humanist, or are just curious, check out this month's event. If you're planning on attending please RSVP at our website forums. Hope to see you there!

Facebook has reminded me that Saturday is "Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day". I need to make my way to some geeky locals and see if it's being practiced.

Wikipedia's page on the Nativity of Jesus is a great historical read and has a lot of very interesting information. Just so you know.

Your question for today: When you get a Holiday Greeting in the mail, do you prefer card with handwritten note, a picture (with or without a note), a Christmas Letter, or something else? Thanks!

Hanukkah, December Weather, Heroes, Vegetarian Jello

Good day, my friends!

Picture of the day!

Another neat shot from Point Lobos. Enbiggen here.

I'm looking for vegetarian jello mix. Can you help?

Great Heroes finale last night - exciting, wrapped up some loose ends, and raised a bunch of questions. I'm sad that we might not see any more Heroes until September, but that's life. The comics keep coming, and they're good to fans, so I'm sure we'll see some more content.

I love December in Socal - 40s at night, it'll hit 80 or so today, it'll rain this weekend, and it'll be sunny and clear again right after that. Christmas here has always been a crapshoot - sometimes warm, sometimes cold, sometimes rainy, sometimes dry Santa Ana winds. Who says we don't have weather?

Happy Hanukkah tonight, my Jewish friends! Even if it less important than Tu Bishvat. Have a great day!

Homemade Gifts, Cookies, Gmail Spam, Weather, December

Happy December!

Picture of the day!

Me and a bird.

We had a nice chilly weekend here in Southern California - rained all day Friday, and it was sunny, windy and cool both Saturday and Sunday. A nice seasonal change!

Gmail is kind enough to delete spam messages older than 30 days, so my spam folder is holding steady at between 16,000 and 17,000 spam messages. So far I haven't found any non-spam in there other than comment post notifications, which often have spam elements. I have been getting one or two spam a day in my inbox, but compared to the 500 I used to get, I'm not too concerned.

Made my first batch of Christmas cookies yesterday - my mom's Turkish Twirl and Clove Crescent recipes. Both turned out well, though I left the red twirls in about 2 minutes too long, and the Crescents are a little ugly. Oh well, that's what early December is for!

I have one taker for my homemade Christmas event this year, plus two others who I'm gonna send presents to whether they like it or not. Get in on the fun!

What's new, my friends?