Insignifica

Friday, Exercise, Halloween, Jesus, Marriage, Leap Day

Good Day, and happy Leap Day!

Picture of the day!

Jesus got here this morning, so I thought I'd take him to work. Here he is with my PETA Colonel Sanders.

This is my first-ever February 29 blog post - in 2004 it was a Sunday (I rarely write on Sundays), and in 2000 I wasn't blogging yet. Do something strange and unusual today, or all day (not that you shouldn't do something strang and unusual every day, but today's specialer). I had Asian-style noodles with mushrooms, carrots and egg for breakfast. I just took a picture of Jesus and demonic Colonel Sanders. I did jumping jacks in my living room. And it's still very early.

Oh, and ladies, if you'd like to propose marriage, today's your day. One at a time, please.

Like I said above, Jesus arrived home today, with a bunch of Wondercon swag and other Bay Area goodies. Many thanks to Tori for showing him a good time, as she always does. He's coming to Primm with me, then heading back to Tori to go to the east coast with her, then I'll likely pick him up when I'm up there in April or May, he'll come to Yosemite in July, then back to Tori for Burning Man. Dude gets around.

So, speaking of events for the rest of the year, I've decided it's time Halloween comes back to my place. I'm a bit conflicted, though, as Halloween falls on a Friday. I prefer Saturday parties (better attendance, more time to set up), but that'll put the party on the 25th, which seems awfully early. On the other hand, it'll give people two completely separate Halloween occasions to celebrate...more to come.

Exercise - did stuff around the house, but broke a sweat. Got some good stretching in. I need some new athletic shoes, but finding non-China, non-leather stuff is trouble.

That's all for Friday. Fill me in on your Leap Day plans. Rock on!

Excited, Yosemite, Spring, Milkshake, Hello

Hello my good friends and gentle readers. Happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Cloudy Grand Canyon day.

I've been going to Red Robin much more lately when I realized it's very easy to eat vegan there - they have Boca Burgers and a wide selection of non-animal toppings for their burgers. Last night we went, and the milkshake looked so good I had to make one at home myself. Real ice cream, real milk, real cream whipped up - wow. Double wow. Of course, I went into a sugar coma for an hour, but I've had worse.

Spring has sprung - it's nice out there. Picnic nice. I hope you're enjoying it.

So we've settled on dates for our Yosemite trip - July 15-18. Lots of us are going - it should be a good time. There's a Santa Cruz/Bay Area trip to be had sometime in late April or May too, we think. More on that as it's arranged.

I'm excited about playing poker this weekend. What are you excited about?

What up, WSOP, Cunningham's Remarks, Jesus, Weather, Hump

Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

New Years Festivities, 2006-2007.

Another clear, beautiful day, and it's gonna be this way for a while. Rock on, good weather!

Jesus is on his way back home today. We're going to Primm together.

Good on McCain - he publicly apologized for remarks made by radio host Bill Cunningham, an opening speaker at one of McCain's speeches. Cunningham called Obama a "hack, Chicago-style Daley politician", then repeatedly used Obama's middle name (Hussein) as an insult. Afterward, he defended his use of Hussein, which he called "a proud Muslim name" (regardless of what you've read, Obama isn't Muslim).

Now, though, conservatives are jumping on McCain for the apology. When did childlike insults and race-baiting become a party platform over there? I'm not gonna vote for the man, but good for him for standing up and saying that Cunningham's comments were wrong.

I've been catching up on my World Series of Poker, and have decided I'd like to play in either the main event or one of the host of other events someday. Lots of people use a year-long string of tournaments and point system to pool their money to send one guy - anyone out there interested in such a thing?

What's up, friends?

Restaurant Database, Poker, Coffee, Tuesday

Hello friends. Happy Tuesday!

Picture of the day.

Katie wants something.

My daughter usually gets 10-11 hours of sleep per night. last night she went to bed at 10:30, and this morning she got up at 7. That means that I got up at 7. Mmm, coffee.

So yeah, I'm very excited about my Nevada trip in two weeks, but we decided yesterday to go out and see family in Beaumont this weekend, meaning a Morongo excursion for me. It's gambling season! Good timing for it, too - my online poker skillz have been getting more more than my share of cashes in S&G tournies. We'll see how I do in a live event.

Plug: The OC Register just put up a database of all of last year's restaurant health dept. inspections here. Look for your favorite eatery, and be grossed out, at least as long as it takes you to return there for something delicious.

That's all. Tell me what's up.

Dessert, In God We Trust, Nader, CS, Hello

Hello There!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend and Katie at Ren Faire last year. We're planning on going back, but this kid's gonna need a new outfit every year.

Happy birthday to CS last Saturday.

So, Nader is back in. Good luck, buddy. On one hand, I agree with pretty much everything he's fighting for. On the other, a lot of his key topics (No to nuclear power, solar energy first, Repeal the Taft-Hartley anti-union law, Put an end to ballot access obstructionism) aren't exactly at the top of America's priorities right now. Unfortunately he's hated by people who have no idea what he's running for, or about. That said, a lot of his positions are best fought on a smaller, local level, at least at first - making them presidential priorities just make you seem out of touch. I don't think he'll get a lot of support, especially coming in later than most, but we'll see what happens.

More on "In God We Trust" in OC city councils here.

I had an awesome brownie sundae yesterday - just a warmed, homemade brownie with a small scoop of real vanilla ice cream on top. That was it. I honestly think it was one of the best desserts I've had in my life.

What's new friends?

Ranting, Witnessing Classes, DVD, Birthday, Friday

Quick week - Friday already. Good day!

Picture of the day!

April and Chris at my 2003 birthday celebration.

Speaking of birthday celebrations, my 30th is being planned now. We're thinking charity dinner again (and canned food drive - more on that later). Details as they become available.

This week I got the "Dinner with 40 Atheists" DVD in the mail, featuring Orange County Atheists having conversations with Ray Comfort of Living Waters Ministries.

It's really poorly produced.

When he said he it was being released on DVD, I thought that was pretty cool - maybe he'd have commentary about our points, or embarrass himself trying to explain away our questions. There was worry from people in OCA that he'd edit us to hell (pun intended) and put words in our mouths - no such problem. In fact, it barely looks like an editor touched this at all except to jump to the next topic. The DVD has no menus, no chapters, no commentary, no post-dinner comments, and the content pretty much just jumps around between questions and responses, without much form or order. We don't come off looking bad - they included our hard questions and their own soft responses - but the production sucks. It's too bad.

Speaking of such things, Ray's church (Living Waters) sells all sorts of "training materials" that teaches Christians how to witness (talk about Christ to others), most at a pretty high price. Last week we met with Stand To Reason, which also has courses, though they're free online. I always assumed there were a few sources for such things, as I'd get such radically similar questions from Christians, but I never realized it was a business. That's just a little bit weird to me.

That's all the ranting I have in me at the moment. Any on your side? Have a great weekend!

Rockin, LAV, Goatee, Corrupt, Tax Return, Thursday

It's already Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Daddy and baby.

I finally got my state tax refund today - but it took 10 days. I'm pretty sure last year it took less than a week. Federal should come in before too long, but I ain't hurtin. Hello new kitchen!

Haha! Police get real-looking awards for being corrupt. Great cockeyed-style prank! I love how the police are trying to get federal charges thrown at the as-yet-unidentified senders.

I'm considering getting rid of the goatee once I drop about 10 more lbs. Thoughts? I always have this fear that I look like a thug. A nice thug, but a thug nonetheless.

Remember that Liberal Atheist Vegetarian announcement I was gonna make? Yeah, it's still coming. Just slowly.

Ok, that's it, got stuff to do. Keep on rockin'.

Comments, Primm, Rainy, Oh Hai

Oh Hai. It's Wednesday. LOLCat is a funky language.

Picture of the day!

Baby and Daddy Castro.

Rainy. It happens.

Primm is Planned. I probably won't make it into Vegas, unless you're there and you tell me that I need to drive up. But that's ok. I hope Buffalo Bill's has small poker tournaments, not just cash games.

We'll keep it short today, as I have a lot to do. It's been a while - come leave a comment and tell me what's up. Yes, you - leave a comment. I know you're reading, because if you're not, well, you didn't just read that, did you?

Happy Tuesday, Carrot Cake, Primm Trip, Castro, OC Atheists DVD, Birthday

Good Day, it's Tuesday. Happy Birthday to Ryan today also!

Picture of the day!

Ryan and myself, Halloween 2002.

So remember last month when Ray Comfort came to the OC Atheists meeting, and I told you he videotaped the event? The DVD has been released. I ordered my copy yesterday - I can't wait to see what it all looks like, and how much editing has been done.

It's the end of Castro! Well, he probably hasn't been in control in a long time, but I was hoping he'd hang on for at least one more president - he's been in charge since Eisenhower, and went through Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush, including 2-term presidencies for three of the last four presidents. That's a hell of a reign.

I'm going to beautiful Primm, NV on March 8, and returning March 10. Am I an old man because 90% of what I want in Vegas I can get in Primm, but at 1/2 the hotel cost and with low table limits?

Oh, yesterday's carrot cake turned out pretty good - it could have stood to be cooked for 5 fewer minutes, and I should have trimmed it up, but it tasted great. Not bad for a first attempt.

Happy Tuesday my friends. What is up?

St. Patty's Pie Day, March Birthdays, I Robot, Carrot Cake, Area Code, Monday

Hello Monday.

Picture of the day!

Emily and Gary - dancing? - at Halloween 2003.

Hey north OC people - did you know we're getting a new area code overlay this year? Say hello to 657. Honestly, if I didn't work where I do, I'm not sure I would have heard of it either.

I made my first carrot cake last night - it looks pretty good, though I haven't had a slice yet. It's a very dense, moist cake, and I got started so late that I had to wait until this morning to frost it.

The Will Smith version of "I, Robot" was one this weekend, and I caught it on TNT, mostly because there wasn't anything else on. I actually really enjoyed it! I'm not an Asimov fan, so the yelling from his camp about the lack of connection didn't bother me at all. I thought it was very good action sci-fi.

I don't have anyone with a March birthday on my calendar. Do you have one? Even if you don't, let me know when yours is - I'd like to add it.

Speaking of March, we're coming up on Pi(e) Day and St. Patty's Day. We'll likely do our event on March 15th (the Saturday between). I'm excited.

What's up, friends?

Weekend, More Christian Goodness, Primm, Birthdays, Weather, Friday

Friday For Everyone (except you darn Australians).

Picture of the day!

Tree at Point Lobos. Notice baby and mamma in the background.

It's nice out today, and I'll be nice out this weekend. Yesterday started all funky, and it looked like someone poured dirty water all over my car. Clouds over Saddleback dropped snow, which melted 20 minutes later, but then returned when more clouds came over. This repeated several times over the day. By late afternoon, it was totally clear out. Nice.

Two ladies have birthdays on Sunday. Happy Birthday, ladies!

I'm going to beautiful Primm, Nevada next month for one or two days of casino gambling. If you're interested in joining me, let me know!

Stay Classy, Baptists - OC Pastor Again Prays For Deaths of Americans United Staff Members. Again.

Any big plans this weekend, friends? Have a great one!

Valentine's, Superdelegates, OC Atheists, Back, Birthday

Oh, hello. Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy Birthday to April!

Picture of the day!

Alcatraz.

Back to work today. Mostly better, just lingering effects. I'm still not sure what hit me.

Huge OC Atheists meeting yesterday - 40 or so folks joined us. Every meeting lately is bigger than the last, and we're getting more and more attention. What have I created?

I'm on a lot of liberal mailing lists. That's fine, most of the time, but I don't always agree with it all (particularly partisan politics stuff). Lately it's been all Superdelegates, all the time - most of the email urging me to sign some online petition or another to "make sure the will of the people is heard". What I don't think most of us realize is that the superdelegate system in the Democratic party was set up in 1980 to ensure that the voters DID NOT have the last word - they wanted more control for party officials. Remember: Neither the Democratic nor Republican parties are "the people" - they're private organizations that most of us join, and they're allowed to choose their candidates however they want.

We're not going out for Valentine's, as it's absurdly busy at most restaurants. Hint: Sports bars are usually easier to get into tonight, if you and your sweetie like that kind of thing.

What's up, friends?

Obama, OC Atheists, Bored, Sick, Wednesday

Wednesday!

Picture of the day!

Tori, Katherine and me at Saturn in Santa Cruz. Tori's only in 7 pictures out of my 5,400 on Flickr. We're gonna have to do something about that.

Still sick. Better, but not well enough to work (I'm getting winded easily and I'm still dehydrated, though my stomach distress is mostly gone). I'm thinking food poisoning, but it's hard to say. No more 2-month-old fruit juice for me, no matter how good it smells/tastes.

Today, then, is a "be bored" day rather than a "stay in bed and hope I don't die" day. I'm pretty consistently cashing in the poker tournaments I'm playing today, though.

I do hope I'll be well enough to attend tonight's OC Atheists meeting. Looking to have another grand turnout.

Three more Obama wins. While these were all projected, it's nice to see the momentum building - it'll change the outcome of the Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania events in the coming weeks, either way. I'm noticing Obama really is attracting people my age (and younger/older) and resonating with them - I keep hearing that he's not just a candidate to support because he's not a Republican, but because he's inspiring. While inspiration alone doesn't get everything done in Washington, it can inspire social change (as well as technological - see Kennedy). I'm excited.

What's up with you?

Back to Bed, Scientology, Sick, Tuesday

Tuesday!

Picture of the day!

Moi.

Ugh. Short entry today, as I'm home sick. It's either food poisoning or some intestinal virus - I'm hoping for the former, as that way I won't pass it on to anyone. Alas, this is a "pretty much stay in bed" type of thing today. Not particularly happy about it. Hopefully it'll be cleared up by tomorrow.

My buddy Kallahar went to the Anonymous protest of the Church of Scientology this weekend, and came back with a great story and pictures.

That's all. back to bed. Pray for Mojo.

Hello in Lolcat, Ron Paul, Jesus in Santa Cruz, Trucrypt, Roomba, Weather, Hello

Hello friends!

Picture of the day!

Marek and Jenn - drunk portrait style.

Nice relaxing weekend, and I got to wear shorts and not be cold. More warming this week - it's hot for February, even for southern California. Rock on.

Roomba has lived up to expectations in my first week with it. If you're on the fence, get one. Robots rule.

Trucrypt version 5.0 has been released. This one can encrypt an entire bootable drive or partition - a fantastic feature for laptops. I still use 4.3 for my key chain drives and sensitive files on my computers. With more and more stories like this, now is the time to encrypt your data. Privacy is your right!

Jesus went to visit Tori, and she's taking him on adventures. Yes indeed.

Ron Paul - all done? But who will plaster my city with homemade-looking posters now?

Flickr greets you in a different language every day (basically by filling in a field with a translation of "hello". Today's made me giggle: OH HAI mikebdoss! Now you know how to greet people in Lolcat!

That's all. What's new?

Weekend Plans, White Shirt, New Sites, 2^11, Superdelegates, Sleep, Friday

Happy Friday!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend at the Farmer's Market in Irvine. I'll be there tomorrow.

Another week gone. Another week without enough sleep. I really only have myself to blame, though I got almost 8 hours last night. Sleeping in should happen Sunday.

In case you're wondering, I don't care for the Superdelegate system either. That said, both major political parties are really just private organizations that we're allowed to join - while they're powerful in government, they're not the government. Of course, I don't know what I'd do differently. Ask me some time about the electoral college - that's something I can talk at length about.

Man, I missed that my Tuesday post was number 2,048, or 2^11. I posted number 1,024 (2^10) back on March 4, 2004. Post number 4,096 (2^12) will likely come in 2015 or 2016. Yikes.

If you're a fan of icanhascheezburger.com, you'll love lolthulhu.com and omnomnomnom.com.

I'm wearing a white shirt today. The happening is so rare that I can't find a picture of myself in this white shirt.

Any weekend plans, my friends?

Projects, Romney, Hazy, Thursday

Well, it's Thursday, isn't it?

Picture of the day!

Mohawk.

It's kinda hazy out there today. But it's also nice and sunny, and it looking to be for a while. I can get used to that.

So it looks like Romney's out. He must have thought he had less of a chance than a lot of people did - maybe he knew he needed Super Tuesday, and the upcoming states don't hold a lot of promise. Whatever the reason, it's really looking like McCain now. Will the Republican base stay home? Back a "real" conservative third party (and split the vote)? I don't know. I'm curious, though.

I always have a lot of projects going on - some specific (clearing out the baby's room and finishing the babyproofing of it), and some general. One of the big general ones right now is cutting down on plastic use. I'm coming to find that I use an amazing amount, and unfortunately I'm probably very good about it compared to most people. I love my Ziploc bags, but reusable containers are the way to go lately. Now I gotta find me some generic non-plastic grocery bags that aren't dumb looking.

What's going on with you?

LAV, Busy Week, No Exercise, Super Tuesday, Hump

Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

Katie in her 70s PJs. They used to belong to her mother.

Interesting Super Tuesday results - The dems are still split (with Clinton winning a bit more, but Obama showing strong and poised to win many of next week's contests), and the GOP's settling on McCain, though frighteningly enough, Huckabee did very well. I kinda like the idea of McCain running - I think we'll have a Democratic president that way.

No exercise this morning - Katie didn't wake up until 8:30. But we did a lot of walking yesterday.

Busy week ahead - doctor's appointment today, Mariah's coming down tomorrow, I've got my tax appointment Monday, OC Atheists Wednesday and Valentine's Day (which is usually an evening in, but still a "holiday") a week from tomorrow.

Big Liberal Atheist Vegetarian Blog announcement coming next week too!

Happy Tuesday, Support AAR@UCI, The Robot Age, Mardi Gras, Vote!

Happy Super Fat Tuesday!

Picture of the day!

This year's King Cake, a Christmas present from Tori.

I've voted. There's a lot of confusion out there about the ballot measures here in California, which leads me to believe they'll largely fail. Have I said before how much I detest this type of ballot measure? We're in a representative republic for a reason, folks.

It's also Mardi Gras, and some smartass is gonna ask what an Atheist is doing celebrating a Catholic holiday. Like so many other holidays, it's also a social and cultural one, and about as close to hedonism as some people get each year (which is strange if you're really looking to repent for Lent, but I digress). It's a day to let lose, eat and drink well, and have fun. No harm in anyone and everyone doing that. Happy Mardi Gras!

In other news, the Robot Age has begun - I now own a real working robot, and it swept and vacuumed my floors for me today. Hello Roomba, and welcome to the family.

Eat pizza, support Atheists, Agnostics, and Rationalists at UCI - more info here.

What's new, my friends? Happy Tuesday!

Super Fat Tuesday, Election Week, Super Bowl, Monday

Hello Friends! It's Monday!

Picture of the day!

Confused baby in the mountains.

Good Super Bowl last night - close game until the end. I didn't particularly care if it was the underdogs or record-breakers winning, but it's nice to see a well-played contest. As far as the commercials go, I missed many, but one stood out for me - for being openly racist and really, really dumb. Joz blogged about it at 8Asians.

It's election week! I've pretty much settled on Obama, because I really would rather he win than Hillary. I would cast a "protest vote" for Kucinich, but dude dropped out on his own, and this contest doesn't affect federal funding for parties like the November contest will (where voting for a third party/alternative candidate might help them with future funding). I'm also all about the Indian Gaming ads ending, as well as the 5-times-daily phone calls.

Tomorrow's Super Fat Tuesday. Can you give beads to poll workers? Would you want to?

What's up?

Weekend, MS and Yahoo, OC Atheists, New Project, Feburary

Happy February! It's a leap year. Neat!

Picture of the day!

Another from the Mardi Gras Game Night. Brandon and I pose for a perspective shot.

I've been missing having a project, so I've broken out my Ubuntu machine and I'm working on making it a webserver/camera server for the house. I'm learning all sorts of neat things about generic drivers, linux file operations, and supported/unsupported hardware. Good times!

The OC Atheists have been super popular lately - offers from Christian groups for meetings and debates, new members RSVPing and joining our mailing list every day, and quite a bit of discussion on teh internetz following last month's visit from Ray Comfort. It's certainly interesting getting this much attention.

So Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo? Weird. As long as the search works and my YIM and email addresses aren't fucked with, that's cool. But does that mean MS will own Flickr? Hopefully they'd just keep things how they were.

I hear there's a football game this weekend. Do you have any interesting plans?