Insignifica

More Eating Nonsense, Birthday, Better, Monday

Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

Ta da!

Katie's still doing well. Just thought I'd let you know.

I'm getting better. I have some disgusting substance filling my sinuses, but I've been worse. Hopefully I'll be healthy for a while again. It was nice!

My birthday is absurdly soon.

I'm taking a more "freegan" approach to food lately, at least in terms of my humane eating habits. For example, after last night's Easter dinner, there was a lot of dessert left. While it wasn't made with organic cream cheese, I bought it home anyway - wasting food isn't good either. My main point with my vegan/humane purchases is that I don't want to support practices that contribute to less than ideal conditions, not that I don't eat the food. Confusing. Thoughts?

That's all for today. Have a great one!

Getting Better, Baby's Better, Back to the Grind

Back to the grind. Happy Friday!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend at the Huntington in 2004.

Katie's a little clingy this morning, but seems to be doing fine. The girlfriend is taking the day off work, and I get to be a productive member of society today.

My cold is getting better, I'm more congested this morning than anything else. Hopefully everyone will be well for family Easter celebrations on Sunday.

That's it for today. I wanna hear from you. What's up?

Home

Hi, we're home.

Picture of the day!

Katie jumping on the chair at CHOC yesterday. Notice the IV.

Katie's just about back to normal. Except for an absurdly long checkout (we were ready at 5pm, but didn't get out until 9:30), the whole experience was as good as such experiences can be. Today, especially, Katie was in very good spirits (90% of normal, at least) and seems to be well, save still having the cold I got. I'm exhausted but none the worse for wear - actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, though it'll be busy. Thanks to everyone who said kind things in support!

Katie Update

Yo.

Picture of the day!

Baby and Daddy.

We took Katie to the hospital last night cause she was puking too much. She's better now, but still there until tomorrow. Hence my absence. After getting her IV last night, she perked up, played with me from 1am until 3am, and was generally pretty happy today.

Lemme tell ya, sleeping in two waiting room style chairs in a ER room is no way to go through life. The Girlfriend is watching her tonight, and gets the private room with the "easier to sleep on but still not comfortable" folding chair thing. I go back tomorrow, and hopefully she'll get released.

Also, I discovered my addiction to the internet is real. Not only was I jonsing for it (especially after my cell died), but the first thing I did after coming home and eating was getting online, answering my home and work email, checking my websites, looking for blog posts for LAV, and writing here. I love the tubez.

Birthday List, Crafty Project, LAV, Sick, Oh Hai

Oh Hai. I can has Tuesday?

Picture of the day!

Marek at St. Patty's Pi(e) Day.

In news that won't be a surprise to any regular readers, I may be coming down with a cold. Katie's got something she likely picked up late last week, and while she's got flu-like symptoms, my cold-like symptoms are probably the same thing. Right now it's just a bit of a sore throat, so we'll see if we can't nip it in the bud. Everyone else seemed to have something the last month, I was hoping it was me who gave it to them.

Read the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian blog. I write it, ya know.

Not that I have a lot of time, but I'm looking to start a crafty project. A LEGO creation. A new hobby. Something on the web, I dunno. Baking is great (and delicious), but temporary. Maybe I'll start digging though my stuff for things I've been meaning to get rid of. Thoughts?

Three weeks until I turn 30. Gotta go going on my list!

Springtime, Pizza, Baby, Easter, Good Day

Good day!

Picture of the day!

Some dude's RV. Might make a good Om Nom Nom Nom pic.

Yesterday was the first Easter Sunday I didn't actually do something Eastery. We had dinner with the Girlfriend's side on Friday, and stuff with my family next Sunday. We did do lunch with my mom, which was nice, but it's still weird.

So Katie's got a cold, no big news there. Last night, though, she was running a fever, and after a 3am dose of meds, decided it was time to get up and play. At 5am, I finally called in her mother and we got the beast to sleep. Forgive me if I'm a bit askew today.

Man, I love pizza. I made one last night with too much sauce, and it was heaven. Don't get me wrong - I love cheese. But it's turning out lately that the sauce makes it for me. Who knew?

That's it. It's Springtime and stuff. What's happenin'?

Easter Weekend, Poker, Cake, Better, Friday

Friday!

Picture of the day!

Big Boy. Click the pic for Jesus and my reflection.

Wow, I'm feeling much, much better today - much quicker recovery than past illnesses. Hazzah!

I made a frosted strawberry pound cake last night, entirely from scratch. Perfect, except the strawberries on top leaked delicious strawberry juice onto the white cream cheese-butter cream frosting. It's a little pink, but I bet it's awesome.

Being sick this week has given me the chance to play some online poker. Unfortunately, most of my practice was in how to lose. I'm eager for live games - let's play.

It's Easter weekend, hence the strawberry pound cake. What's up for you?

Birthday Poll, Bicycle Lighting, Illnesses, Springtime, Thursday

Wow, Thursday already!

Picture of the day!

Jesus loves pie.

Happy Springtime, my friends. California's already doing the right thing and warming up.

I forgot to blog yesterday, even though I was feeling better than on Tuesday. I still stayed home and got better, and I'm upwards of 70% today - still not hungry (though I haven't been really nauseous since Tuesday morning) and still easily tired. I'm not a fan of these illnesses.

Randomly running across it yesterday, I was shocked at how large and detailed the Wikipedia page for "Bicycle lighting" is. Seriously - I've seen world leaders with much smaller pages.

Your input needed, friends - in addition to (or during) my party, what should I do for my 30th birthday? I'm trying to think of something awesome, but I'm only coming up with "pretty cool". Thoughts?

In God We Trust, Home Sick, Tuesday

Oh, hello Tuesday.

Picture of the day!

Katie and Jesus, the morning after the party.

So, I'm home sick today. This is the third or forth food poisoning/stomach flu bout I've had in the last year and a half. Sparing all you the details, this came on suddenly about 11pm last night, and has only just now subsided. Bleh.

News of the day - Mission Viejo votes to display “In God We Trust”. Discuss!

Back to bed for me. What up?

What up, Ben and Jerry's, Lawn Bowling, Garlicky, Party, St. Patty's

Hello, friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend, from our party Saturday.

Good times this weekend with our St. Patty's Pi(e) Day party. Many delicious pies and snacks, lots of friends, fun happenings. Next up, first day of spring this week. Then Easter. It's a heck of a week for celebrations.

We had a garlicky weekend. I eat much less than I used to (I'm allergic to it), but man, is it good.

You know what's scary? Seeing 60-80 older folks, all dressed in all white, lawn bowling together.

You know what's awesome? Finding out that Ben and Jerry's ice cream meets my personal standards for animal welfare. Hello more delicious ice cream!

What's up, my friends?

This Weekend, IGWT, Diet Post, 2011 Party, Pi Day

Happy Pi Day!

Picture of the day!

A picture from last year's St. Patty's Pi(e) Day party. Oddly enough, none of that set have any pie in them...

In 2011, We can have "Beware the Ides of St. Patty's Pi(e) Day Mardi Gras Spectacular". I'm already planning it.

In case you missed it, I have an extensive post right below this one about my diet. Chime in, thanks!

Finally, an Orange County board votes against displaying "In God We Trust" - read it at the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian blog. There's a poll there to vote in, too. Cause we're cool like that.

Any big plans this weekend, my friends? I've got a party. What's up with you?

Bonus Post - On the subject of delicious food and personal ethics

In August, I decided to make my life more difficult and stop eating any eggs or dairy products that weren't from humanely-treated animals. When I first set out, this meant only eating free-range eggs (as "cage free" didn't really much much in terms of welfare), and only eat dairy products from cows that were "certified" as humanely treated.

This wasn't easy. Most certified dairy products weren't available around here, and while eggs were easy to come by, you start to miss butter and cheese when you've eaten them all your life. This also meant that going out to eat would now be a largely vegan experience, as very few restaurants make a point of using only specific brands of dairy.

I discovered several months later organic products, including both eggs and dairy, had some humane treatment elements "built in" to the organic standard - to be called organic, food-producing cows and chickens must have some more freedoms than you'd normally find at most farms or production facilities. With a mixture of 90% "the standard is good enough" and 10% "just glad to have more options", I started eating organic dairy as well, and all of a sudden could find almost any product I was looking for, even if going out to eat was still a mostly vegan affair.

While I'm not having second thoughts about my decision, I've started facing some realities that make me wonder if I need to be as strict as I am. For example, I'm having a party this weekend and want to order pizza (as making enough pizza for everyone would be too much work for me). This pizza, of course, won't have organic cheese.

On one hand, this doesn't bother me because I'm not eating it. On the other much larger, more prominent hand, I don't have a problem eating dairy, just supporting abusive producers. It's not like meat where I have strong ethical issues with the consumption - it's all about purchasing.

What all this means is that I likely won't buy pizzas for the party - I'll find something else to feed the masses (unless someone knows a pizza parlor that lets you bring in your own cheese). But this line of thinking has opened up another:

Do I eat free food?

Again, I won't eat any meat, for a host of other reasons. But if there's a pie or a pizza that someone else has already bought and paid for, I'm certainly not supporting any abusive producers myself. Unless my eating it forces another to be bought, there's no new harm, as far as I can tell.

I've run into other similar quandaries - if I pay for a buffet dinner, should I not eat the dairy products, since they likely came from non-certified or non-organic producers? Should I not go to any buffets (or restaurants) that serve dairy at all, since I'm supporting the company/purchasers anyway? Or should I just do my best, but when the food is available, eat it anyway?

I'm still conflicted.

I'm the type of person that goes all out when something is important to me - mostly because it's important and I don't want to be a hypocrite, but also partially because I know that if I don't go all out, it's easier for me to slip back. The guilt I'm having about eating free foods (or buffet foods) stems mostly from this - is this step one toward not caring anymore? Is my protest of not eating as effective as actually not being the purchaser? Have I microinvestigated the subject to a point where I don't want to breathe, for fear of killing some microbes?

I hope not.

For now, I'm still not eating any dairy if I don't know where it came from. But when a pie shows up at my party this weekend and it comes down to having a piece made with factory farm dairy or throwing the whole thing away, I don't think my choice will be that hard anymore.

What up, Pi Day, Fry Salt, Breakfast, Road Shots, Walked, Thursday

Happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Jesus in front of the "Terrible's" sign in Primm.

Walked 1.4 miles.

If you like road shots, you'll love the Primm Photo Set. I need a photographer to come with me so I can actually do the driving, but not miss the photo ops.

So yeah, I got up at 6:30 this morning (5:30 as far as my DST-hatin' body is concerned) because I was kinda up anyways, and relished the idea of an uninterrupted breakfast. That was nice, but I might pay for it at 3 PM when I crash.

Holy moly, the season salt the cafeteria upstairs uses on these fries is SO FRIGGING GOOD.

Tomorrow is pi day. Seriously, tomorrow. Pie!

What up?

Entertain Me, DST Sucks, Blogging is Hard, Nice Weather, Mostly Jesus, Good Day

Good day!

Picture of the day!

Katie on a giant butterfly seat.

My Primm pictures are still on the camera. They consist mostly of Jesus.

The weather was really, really nice yesterday - warm in the evening, everything smelled nice, it got nice and sunny by afternoon. Spring rules!

Daily blogging is hard! And to think I might be blogging MORE soon! Details pending.

I'm still hating on DST. Just sayin'.

I really don't have much going today. Please provide me with entertainment. Thanks!

Tuesday, OC Atheists, DST Sucks, Primm Recap

Oh, Hello. I miss Monday! But now it's Tuesday, and it's good.

Picture of the day!

Mini Loaf of Bread.

So, Primm. I lost, but that's OK - it was a pretty good time. Some highlights:

- I learned to play Crazy 4 Poker - it's actually a really fun game, and as far as new casino games go, the odds aren't bad.

- Tim Curry's "I Do the Rock" was playing at one point over the hotel music system. Weird.

- There's a slot machine that has a sound effect that very closely resembles the opening riff of Spacehog's "In The Meantime" - so much so that the song's been in my head all day.

- There are an inordinate number of road distance signs on I15 South (between Vegas and Corona) where the distances in miles are squared numbers. I'm probably seeing patterns where there are none, but still...there's one with 16 and 81 - that's 2^4 and 3^4!

- Buffalo Bill's roller coaster, "Desperado" is fast, high, and as jarring as any I've ever been on. Maybe it was because the car was mostly empty and it didn't have the right weight distribution, but it was pretty violent. Awesome drop, though.

I'm not sure when I'll be back - maybe next year. But Buffalo Bill's is one of the nicer casino-hotels I've stayed in, and you can't beat the price.

I hate the Daylight Saving time change. Seriously.

The next meeting of the Orange County Atheists will be held Tonight, Tuesday, March 11 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!

What's new with you this Tuesday?

Quiet, LAV on OCR, Cleaning, Leaving Tomorrow

Oh hello there. It's Friday, and I'm leaving tomorrow.

Picture of the day!

A crappy picture of where I'm going - Primm, NV. Mmm. Gambling.

One nice thing about traveling is I've gotten other stuff done along the way. I cleaned out both cars this week, I've straighted stuff up at home, done laundry, gone shopping, and made all sorts of arrangements at home (all for my epic 3 day trip). Sometimes it just takes a little fire under ya.

Oh! Oh! The Liberal Atheist Vegetarian Blog is up on the main page of ocregister.com. I get curious readers today!

That's pretty much all that I've got going today. Leave a comment - it's been quiet out there. Hello!

Not Much, Walking, Pi(e), Eating On Vacation, Bets, Katie, Thursday

Good day, friends! It's Thursday.

Picture of the day!

Mamma and Katie pet a goat.

Katie got up too early yesterday, and apparently didn't nap well at daycare, as she fell asleep on the ride home at 6pm (usually she's asleep around 9 or 9:30, and the last couple weeks it's been closer to 10:30). It was weird and nice having an evening to ourselves.

You're running out of time if you'd like me to make any bets for you this weekend. Gary's down for a few baseball bets. I want to spend your money!

Speaking of my trip, I've pretty much discovered the only way to eat vegan (or organic in terms of dairy) is to bring my own. I can live on a sammiches, a salad bar, and the La Salsa at my hotel for two days.

Pi(e) day a week from tomorrow. While we have party plans the day after, we might want to do something the day of, also. Thoughts?

I walked 1.4 miles today, as I'm still a little stiff from running a few days back (specifically one muscle in my left leg). Walking is always nice, though.

Not much to say today, if you count the above as "not much". Thanks for reading!

Primary Results, Stuff To Do, LAV Announcement, Hump

Happy Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

Delicious cheese rolls.

So, finally with that Liberal Atheist Vegetarian announcement - we've moved from the now-defunct squeezeoc.com to ocregister.com! For the most part the content's gonna remain the same, but the blog should have much more exposure (and links from the Register's site), so I'll have more readers. It also means I'll be doing more reporting to fill the blog with useful news. Thanks to Roxanne for all her help in the transition. I'm very excited!

Got a lot to do before Primm, much of it car-related. I also broke my satellite radio (well, kinda - it makes a high-pitched whine if the antenna isn't in perfectly), so I gotta look into that. We're getting close...

I'm sad that Obama didn't win more states, but overall, he's still got like a 100 delegate lead. That's pretty cool. Someone did make a good point on MSNBC last night - While neither candidate will (or should) give in now, the two of them are gonna spend $80 million battling each other for the next couple months while the Republicans can focus. That kinda sucks.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Say hello!

Weight Loss Update, Gambling Your Money, Below the Coke, Birthday, Tuesday

Hello. It's Tuesday. Four work days to go.

Picture of the day!

What the Girlfriend calls a "weed" in our backyard. It's about 3 feet talk, stalky, and has what appear to be dandilions growing out of it. I think it's awesome, personally.

So my birthday's coming up, and it a big one. I'm planning on doing my traditional charity dinner, but I'm drawing a blank for any special touches to make it more awesomer. Thoughts?

I realized last week that my desk is directly underneith the Coke vending machine upstairs. Just thought I'd share that.

If you want me to make a bet for you on something this weekend, let me know now - table games, slots, sportsbook, whatever. I like spending other people's money.

Jogged/walked two laps around my complex today. I cut way back on the exercise during my three months of on-and-off illness, I'd like to get back into it. I have about 15lbs to before I'm at my goal, and while I've cut back on snacking, I'd rather move more than stop eating the foods I love. We'll see what works - I've been able to slowly lose over the last few years without ever going back up, so something's working.

Update! My archives have reminded me that today's the 5th anniversary of my hire date here at the Orange County Register. Here's to good times and keeping good records!

That's all for today. Enjoy!

Countdown, Atheist Mail, Talking, Good Weekend, Monday

Monday!

Picture of the day!

Katie riding a warthog.

Had a good day yesterday - drove out to the Girlfriend's uncle's house, helped with some computer issues, and they all went to The Living Desert while I went to Casino Morongo. I didn't last long enough in the Hold 'Em tourny to cash, but I kicked three-card poker's ass, did great at craps, and won at blackjack. Everyone had fun, baby was well-behaved and enjoyed herself, and we got everything done that we needed to do. Good times!

Katie's been talking more and more in the last couple weeks - she's picking up a couple new words a day, and she's actually starting to use them. She's a bit behind the curve on talking (while being ahead on everything else), but she's catching up.

So, I run this group, and simply by our name and our associations, we're considered controversial/cutting edge/something. That's cool and all, but as the person who deals with the PO Box and snail mail for the group, it's annoying. A sampling of the last month's mail:

- A home-burned CD with...something. I haven't bothered to run it yet.
- A hand-written, 4 page letter telling me they needed to help save my soul.
- Two Chick Tracts.
- Various requests to speak with my group about metaphysical issues.
- Poorly-written letters (hand written or typed) with detailed explanations of problems I can't do anything about.

It's interesting, at least, and no death threats.

I'm on countdown to vacation - 5 work days to go. What's new with you?