Insignifica

No Posts, Tourist Stops, Small World, Vegetarian Anniversary, Heather's Birthday

Hello and good day! Happy Birthday to Heather!

Picture of the day!

Heather and Chris as Minnie Mouse and Mario, Halloween 2002.

Happy Anniversary - to me! Today's my 15th anniversary vegetarian - I started back on May 28, 1994. On July 10, 2010 I'll have been a vegetarian more than half my life.

Went to dinner with friends last night, and as we were leaving, I noticed the woman sitting next to me (we were at a booth/table, and they were at the booth/table next to us) was talking to Lindsay, saying that she looked like someone she knew from Santa Cruz. This was weird, because Lindsay was the only one of the four of us at dinner that DIDN'T go to UCSC. She then looks at me and says "I know you - we worked together at Atrenet". Turns out it was Nicole, one of the executive assistants there while I was a director of research. I was sitting next to her for an hour and neither of us realized it. The world is small - this kind of thing probably happens ALL the time - someone in front of you at the grocery store, or in the car next to you, or in the next booth over is someone you know, but you just don't see/recognize them. Weird.

Speaking of such things, I'm leaving tomorrow for Santa Cruz! I'm very excited about the trip, and about seeing everyone. I'm still considering whether to hit any tourist spots on the way up (I have no Santa Cruz plans tomorrow night except for dinner with Adam and Beth, so my day is totally open). I might stop and pay tribute to the Chumash Indians on their tribal lands, but we'll see. Suggestions?

On that note, travel and vacation means there'll likely be no posts until Tuesday. Have a fantastic weekend!

Leave a Comment, Better Rested, Apple, Middle Day, Tori Pictures, Tori's Birthday

Happy Wednesday! Happy Birthday to Tori!

Picture of the day!

Brandon and Katie at this weekend's party.

I would have put a picture of Tori up there, but for the two of us being total shutterbugs, we have very few pictures of each other. We'll fix that this weekend.

Today's the middle day of my three-day week. I decided to go up to Santa Cruz on Friday, so I'll be there all weekend, and returning home Monday. If you'd like to get together, I may have some free time - let me know!

I brought an apple to work today, but before leaving home I accidentally dropped it, and it bounced twice, hard, then rolled across the floor and under the ottoman. I laughed.

Katie decided last night to sleep soundly through the night, as opposed to the night before, where we had a "O hai I'm up at 3am let's play lol" event. I'm feelin' well rested.

What's going on, my friends? Leave a comment and say hello!

What's Up, Bay Area Trip, Weekend, Prop 8 and Bigots, Not Monday, Tuesday

Tuesday!

Picture of the day!

Sign at the Target in Irvine. Interestingly enough, they actually sell propane cylinders in the store. I guess they just don't want you to bring your own, and it was enough of an issue that it warranted a large sign...

It's not Monday.

Stupid courts upheld stupid prop 8. From a legal point of view, I kinda understand it - to rule against a vote by the people would serve to undermine the initiative process we have in California. That said, it SHOULD be undermined, because it's a stupid process. The court, technically, didn't rule on civil rights, they ruled on how Californians can change their constitution. All that said, it's time to protest and boycott the bigots and their businesses - hit them where it hurts.

In other news, we had a nice weekend with friends and plenty of days off. Also, Katie woke up around 3:30am and wanted to play, so I was up for a good two hours in the middle of the night trying to get her back to bed. Sleepy...

My Bay Area trip is this weekend! I'm still not sure if I'm going up there Friday or Saturday, but I've got birthday party plans, and Maker Faire plans, and at least one request for dinner. Good times!

What's up?

Awesome Weekend, Prop 8 Ruling, Hotter, Morning, Stuck Songs, Friday

It's the Friday before a three-day weekend before a three-day week before a four-day weekend. That's pretty awesome right there.

Picture of the day!

Luke and my "cat", Memorial Day 2006. Luke was almost exactly the age Katie is now.

Usually, when I'm very underslept, I get songs stuck viciously in my head (my brain's attempt to keep itself active, I'm sure). I'm totally well-rested right now, but the same thing is happening. Lack of caffeine? Possibly. Weird.

Didn't go my usual way home, so forgot about the gym until I was passed it. Then I thought I should get a haircut, since I need one anyway, and there was already a line when it opened, so I couldn't do that. At least I got a little workout at home last night after everyone else went to bed.

I'm pretty sure my office has gotten hotter in the last 20 minutes. Weird.

The court's ruling on Prop 8 will be released Tuesday, and it seems like the court is likely to rule to uphold it. WTF, courts? This is one of those cases where very strong actions needs to be taken against the bigots who voted for this. Nothing violent, but if their businesses fail and they're called out for their actions, I would be pretty happy. Thoughts?

Ok, enough of that - it's time for good times. Have an awesome weekend!

That's All, Tofufighting, Bay Area Trip, D&D Game? Fast Week, Thursday

Happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Public restroom seat cover dispenser. I saw no bacon, thankfully.

For my only 5-day work week in a long time, it's sure passing quickly. Thursday, already?

So, I play in a play-by-post D&D 4e game (you can see one of our recent campaigns here). I'm somewhat interested in starting another. Typically we post each once or twice a day (depending on everyone else), and it keeps the action moving. If you're interested in such a thing, let me know.

Debating going up to the Bay Area a day early (Friday next week instead of Saturday) to see more people. Downside: Leaving The Girlfriend with the baby for an additional half-day (and night), and the hotel costs. Upside: Seeing friends, having a more relaxed trip. Thoughts?

Wow, a new Tofufighting post - Damn you, El Pollo Loco.

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

Happy Wednesday, Bay Area Plans, Veggie Grill, Joz Picture, Hot, Hump

Hump Day!

Picture of the day!

The Grand Canyon. We went two years ago, and we're going again next year.

It's not really hot out there, but after a good workout at the gym, it's not cooling to come into my east-facing office that doesn't have the AC turned on until 10. At least the workout was good this morning.

Have you seen this picture floating around the internet? That's my friend Joz, getting all popular. It's weird how these things take off.

I follow @veggiegrill on twitter, and their posts are making me hungry. I'm sure that's the point, but it's just a little too far to go on my lunch hour. Maybe. We'll see. Hungry.

Still going to the bay area in a week and a half. Still not sure where I'm staying the second night I'm up there. I'm in Santa Cruz on Saturday night, but Sunday I'll be in San Mateo during the day, so I don't want to go all the way back to Santa Cruz, then have to drive back out the next morning to the 101. I might stay on the other side of the bay at the Hilton in Newark, because I remember having a great stay there last year. But there may be a better hotel (or a decent Choice Hotel, where I get points) nearby. Thoughts?

Have a happy Wednesday, friends!

Vote and Stuff, Weekend BBQ? Meh, Sparkling Smoothie, Working From Home, Tuesday

Good day, it's Tuesday.

Picture of the day!

Three-Chocolate cookies with cashews. This is the construction phase. Click through for detailed goodness.

I'm working from home this morning, mostly because I was part dumb and part father, so only got 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Alas, I've been pretty well caught up lately, so I'll be fine.

I made myself a smoothie with Martinelli's sparkling apple cider because I didn't have any other juice in the house. It's actually pretty good. I was surprised (and happy) to see that Martinelli's is 100% juice.

Election day! Meh.

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, and I feel like I should be BBQing. Would you come to one if I hosted?

That's all for today. Go vote and stuff!

Monday, Cakes, Fridge Capacity, Donuts, Election, Short Weeks

Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

I don't know what's happening over there, but she's grinnin' about it.

Good day, friends and readers. Back to work: This is my only 5-day work week in May, and the last until the week of June 15. Thanks, unpaid furlough days!

Tomorrow's election day, and while I've said this before, I don't know if I could care less about an election. No good choices, and yes or no, the state's budget is fucked. Any recommendations? I realize they likely won't matter since all the initiatives are likely to fail, but humor me.

The Girlfriend brought some donuts home this morning. While I'm usually very good about tempting items in the house, donuts are hard for me. But man, they're delicious.

I found out this morning that my office mini fridge could probably hold 30 cans of soda easily. Good to know.

Speaking of tempting, I have 2 8-inch chocolate cakes that I need to do something with (stacking and frosting them is likely). Do you want some cake?

Have a great Monday!

Weekending, Workout and D&D, Power of Twitter, Smoothie Wisdom, May, Friday

I love Friday.

Picture of the day!

Another one of little Katie, this time with me.

Good day to all of you, my friends. We're halfway through May. I'm feelin' fine.

Even if you put the thermos in the fridge, it won't keep your smoothie cold and icy for 2 days. Just sayin'. Also: Icy smoothies are awesome. Warm (or even cool) mashed up fruit and juice? Not so much.

Ah, the power of Twitter - a story's been going around saying that the CA Supreme Court has lifted the ban on gay marriage. It's spread very, very fast, as things tend to do online. Only problem is that the article is a year old, from when the courts initially decided. Whoops.

Worked out this morning, but I've got a sniff neck that I'm pretty sure is related to sleeping. And after a week or so of no problems, I'm again dreaming of D&D after reading my player's guide before bed. Also: I've never seen anyone play a Halfling. But they're pretty stealthy.

Anyway, that's all. Birthday celebrations (and cupcake baking) to do this weekend. What's the haps?

Busy Day, OC Atheists, Smart Child, Too Late, Thursday

Hello, friends of Thursday.

Picture of the day!

Katie and her mommy, Thanksgiving 2006.

I stay up too late. Just thought I'd share that.

My daughter is very smart. Yesterday she asked for her "mapt" - not sure what she meant, I asked her to show me. She went over to her Magna Doodle, grabbed the pen, and said "like this - my mapt". I could tell she didn't mean the Magna Doodle, but the pen was important. I realized that she was comparing its pen to the pen of her Aqua Doodle drawing mat (hence "mapt"), because they're both toys with unique pens. She then said "I have three like this", likely referring to her Leapfrog game that also has a special pen. Kid thinks like I do, in weird organizational bunches.

OC Atheists meet Tonight in Irvine. More info available here. Come join us!

Busy day, so that's all I've got. What's happening?

Beautiful Day, Bay Area Trip, AIM Accounts, Jacarandas, Gym, Brandon's Birthday

Happy Wednesday! Happy birthday to Brandon today!

Picture of the day!

Chris and Brandon. It's very difficult to find pictures of Brandon that haven't already been Pictures of the Day.

Short set at the gym this morning, plus some work last night at home. I'm realizing that I don't use the machines that work out my core, so I'm trying to do more of that in the evenings at home. Feelin' pretty good.

It's mid-May, but I only see one Jacaranda tree blooming in full purple out my office window so far. There should be a row of them by now.

Meebo, my awesome web-based chat client, allows you to see an AIM user's sign-up date in their user info (there are probably other ways to do this too). I apparently signed up for the mikebdoss name on October 29, 1997 - I thought it was a little earlier than that, but I can't remember for sure. Either way, I thought it was the earliest of anyone else on my list, but Tori beat me by 3 months (and may have been a contributing reason for me getting an AIM account). Interestingly enough, I signed up for my ICQ account two months earlier than my AIM account.

I'm going to be up in the Bay Area at the end of the month - staying in Santa Cruz on Saturday the 30th, and some point north on the 31st. I'm going to Maker Faire that day, and need a hotel near San Mateo. But I don't know the area well, so any recommendations are welcome. Also, I may have some free time in the evening on the 31st, and for breakfast on June 1 - if you're up there, let's get together.

It's a beautiful day out there, friends and readers - go enjoy it!

What's Happening, Gym, iTunes hack, Back at Work, Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

Picture of the day!

Marek and I trying our best Guido puckers with Jenn on my birthday.

Back at work, and I didn't have a huge pile of stuff waiting for me. I'm a little surprised by that.

I plugged in my old laptop (the one with the screen that doesn't work well), and it booted up and displayed with no problems. I'm working out a way to transfer my purchased iTunes songs to my new computer, and since Ubuntu and iTunes don't get along, it's going to have to involve an annoying "burn to CD then re-rip" hack. Alas, it's better than not having them.

Got back to the gym today, which I can never find time for on the weekends. It's interesting how many "regulars" are there every morning with me. I guess I'm becoming one of them.

That's all for today. what's happening, my friends?

That's All, Movies, Interviews, Reading Pleasure, Monday

Monday!

Picture of the day!

Auto Sprink.

Not really here to post today, just filling in the time for your reading pleasure.

Got my first interview request as CA Director for American Atheists today. Can't make it (it's short notice, and very early tomorrow), but it's great to be considered for such things. I've been doing lots of small school interviews, etc. in this position. It's interesting.

Saw Wolverine today, and Star Trek yesterday. Enjoyed both, and I'm sure it's the first time I've seen movies on consecutive days in at least 7 years.

That's all. Have a great Monday, and we're back to work tomorrow.

No Posts, Manny, Gym, National Day of Prayer, Days Off, Thursday

Happy Thursday!

Picture of the day!

Katie with her pink bear, pink jacket, pink shirt, pink shorts, and pink cart cozy.

With as busy as this week's been, I've totally forgotten that I have tomorrow off as a furlough day, and I'm taking Monday as a vacation day. I can't remember why I decided to take Monday off, but there it is, on my list. I'm not one to say no to a good idea.

Today's the National Day of Prayer. And while it's still shitty that it's officially recognized by the government (well, presidential proclamation, at least), it's considerably smaller in scope than it was under Bush. Still, it's shitty. Pray on your own damn time, don't make the president "enforce it".

Kicked my ass (well, my arms and shoulders, really) at the gym this morning. Feelin' fine.

At the gym, I was shocked to see the news of Manny Ramirez's 50 game suspension. I thought ESPN was joking at first. No matter if what he was doing was "performance enhancing" or not, he wasn't up front about it, and that was his downfall. Seeya in July, Manny...

No work means I may not post tomorrow or Monday, so this could be it for a while. Have a great day!

Busy Days, Warming Up, Maine, Gym, Seis De Mayo, Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

Picture of the day!

Big rock on a truck.

Seis de Mayo is somehow less interesting than its more famous neighbor.

Got back to the gym today for the first time since being sick. Did 20 minutes of some hard cardio then a few reps on some machines. Feelin' fine.

Congrats to Maine for getting on the Gay Marriage wagon. All aboard! 45 states to go.

It's warming up out there - I'm not a huge fan of the heat, but I like the sunny days.

Busy couple of days at work, and couple more busy ones before taking Friday off to see Star Trek with my mom. What's happening with you?

Cupcakes, Costco Storage Boxes, D&D, DeLuise, Cinco de Mayo

It's Tuesday, y Cinco de Mayo!

Picture of the day!

Cinco de Mayo 2007.

RIP funny man Dom DeLuise, August 1, 1933 - May 4, 2009. It's pretty awesome when a fat dude lives to be 75.

I'm getting really into my D&D game, and it's kinda weird. Advice: don't read a bunch of D&D materials right before going to bed, unless you want strange yet interesting turn-based dreams.

Every time I go to Costco, I buy a clear storage box for about $6 (Made in the USA, opaque, sturdy). I've amassed a collection of about 15 of them, and it hasn't felt like I spent that much money on boxes (which is an annoying thing to spend money on). Anyway, I use them for storage, generally replacing a cardboard box that's falling apart. Some time in the next couple weeks, I'm going to go through all of my electronics, computer leftovers, cords and cables, and related stuff and organize it in those boxes. I just thought I'd share this monumental task with all of you, and if you need a 12 year old floppy disk drive or internal 14.4 modem, let me know soon...

I have cupcakes. Do you want one? Come find me. Happy Tuesday!

Great Week, New Project, Ren Faire Recap, Monday

Happy Monday!

Picture of the day!

Fairy Hunter and captured prey. Click through for added goodness. You can see the whole Faire set here.

Ren Faire this weekend was awesome. Katie was cute as can be as a fairy, and my fairy hunter costume got me more attention than I ever could have expected - I've never been asked to have my picture taken so often. Everywhere I went in the crowd, people were saying "look at that" - I thought it was awesome. The only thing I'd change is that people kept saying "Oh, look, barbies in bondage" (the fairy tied to the staff looks like a barbie doll), For next year, I'll work on killing some more "realistic" looking fairies (and getting a larger one - they look so tiny to me now, looking at the pictures). Other highlights:

- The weather was a LITTLE warm, but fantastic overall. You expect to sweat, but last year it was up near 100F, and it killed us. We had a nice cloud cover early, and it never got too warm. Also, having comfortable pants and a short-sleeve shirt (both custom made, both new this year) made a huge difference.

- My cold decided to be totally better starting Saturday, so Sunday I was up near 100%. I've also never lasted as long without fatiguing as I did yesterday - usually I'm ready to go home by 2pm. This year, I was still going while everyone was filing out. If not for the super-tired baby and the layer of dust in our lungs, we could have stuck around til it closed.

- Food seemed a bit cheaper to me - maybe it's because I'm a rich old man or something. But we filled up, and it wasn't worse than any fair or amusement park (or eating out twice in a day at restaurants, really). I capped the day with a huge butter pecan ice cream sundae for $4. Seriously awesome.

- Katie danced the day away, so much so that the pro photographers there were taking her picture. She got a considerable amount of attention, too, for her fairy costume. I would have expected to see more of them there.

- We arrived at the gate to see four full-costume Storm Troopers milling around. We saw them several other times, flanked by a semi-professional looking camera crew. They were fighting Faire guys. It was pretty awesome.

We had a fantastic time, even though we didn't get to do as much browsing of the booths as I would have liked (it's tough with an almost-3-year-old in tow). We'll definitely do it again next year.

In other news, I need a new project now that the fairy hunter is done. Halloween's still 5 months away, but it's never too early to start planning...

That was my weekend. I hope everyone has a great week!

Awesome, Postcard, Soda, Better, Friday

Friday! The prince of weekdays. Happy May Day and Beltane!

Picture of the day!

The Girlfriend and Katie at Faire, 2007.

Feeling somewhat better, again, though I'm still more blah in the morning than the afternoon and evening. Hopefully Faire this weekend won't totally take it out of me. The weather should be mild, which is awesome - it was HOT last year.

Still drinking too much soda. Still unlikely to give it up. That said, I could probably give up the caffeine pretty easily, and carbonated bottled water is much cheaper than soda...hmm...have to think on that. What's worse for the earth: 6 aluminum cans, or one plastic bottle?

Got a postcard today from Jesus and Tori in Paris. They both beat it back here by a week plus, but it's still a very nice little surprise.

That's the week for ya. I hope your weekends are awesome!