Picture of the day!

My yard, sans fence.

Got to check out Jason's new bar yesterday, Throwbacks, in Anaheim. Great place, lots of TVs, nice and open, and lots of friendly folks. Looking forward to having a place to go where I know some people and watch a game.

Questions of the day: how many sodas do you drink in a day?

Read my Liberal Atheist Vegetarian blog. Leave comments. Connect in other ways.Enjoy your day.

Looks like we're going to Beer Appreciation at BJ's in Brea on June 3. Join us, won't you?

So, I'm 30. I decided months ago that I'd do a bunch of awesome stuff during my birthday year, but it's been a little slow going. Lots of this stuff depends on you, though. First on my list: Having lunch with everyone. Yes, everyone, even you. If we saw each other this week, or haven't seen each other in 10 years, I want to do lunch. If you're around Santa Ana, weekdays work. If not, I'm free just about every Saturday. Seriously, let's do lunch.

Picture of the day!

Jacaranda and a beautiful blue sky. They're blooming all over, as they always do this time of year. How do I know it's this time of year? This photo was taken 4 years ago today.

Sun's already coming out. Whether today will clear up or not is another matter, but awesome.

Do you use Twitter? If so, follow me.

So we brought Roomba upstairs yesterday to take care of our newly clean bedroom. Now I remember why we got wood floors downstairs - carpet hides everything. I don't think I'll get an upstairs-only robot yet, but we'll see...

I was just remarking that Britney Spears is only 26 - she has the life experience and haggard look of someone much older. It's sad - 26 should be a fun and very attractive age.

It's pretty much set - I'm traveling to Fremont May 31, returning June 1. If you're in the general area, we might be able to get together early in the day. Hit me up.

That's all. Keep on keepin' on.

Picture of the day!

Baby in her pajamas and her mommy's shoes.

Things are busy. While I don't advertise it, I have a web hosting/design company. Mostly I host for friends, and when they think of it, they pay me (I never ask - I do it for free). In the last month, I've acquired 4 new clients, just by luck. I'm finding my web design skills aren't top notch. That said, my "finding free templates, graphics and stock photos" ability is great. You wouldn't want to hire me for your high-level design or web application, but for the basic needs of most people on the web, I do just fine.

I love my gmail spam filter, but in the last couple weeks it's letting more and more through. It's also not very good about distinguishing between website notifications that I have a new spam comment, and spam themselves. Any gmail users out there know of a way to force something into the inbox?

Fence update - it's "done", but there are a lot of problems. Some of the slats are off, with exposed nails. The new fence is higher off the ground, and the installers didn't put in a way to get in the back (no handle, no chain-pull through for the latch), so you have to reach way up (I'm almost too short to do it). It looks nice from the outside, but those changes best be made.

Question: I've found religious tracts at a bulletin board at work, near the time clock. I've been removing them and trashing them - should I go to HR? Is this legal, or do the rules depend on the company?

That's that. Say hello!

Picture of the day!

Nearby cave. Actually, some missing dirt under the stonework in my backyard, caused by fence excavation.

The next meeting of the Orange County Atheists will be held Tonight, May 6 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!

I'm in the paper today. Well, I'm in the paper most days, but today I actually have a piece on page 2 of the Life section (excerpts from the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian blog).

Been cleaning. A lot. I mused a while back that if I spent 20 minutes a day doing something productive around the house (in addition to daily duties), I'd have gotten rid of (or at least hidden) all clutter in a matter of weeks. So yesterday we rocked the upstairs (enough for Roomba to take a crack at it) and the bathrooms. I can has clean house? It's more likely than you think.

Considering being a Benevolent Blogger. It's a worthy program. Thoughts?

That's enough for me. Seeya tonight at OC Atheists. Peace out, yo.

Picture of the day!

Laughin' Marek.

It's May, and the June Gloom, as usual, is early and wonderful. Thanks, local topography!

LAV today - In case you missed it.

Game night is coming. Oh yes. I won't accept my recent party failures. There will be game night.

So, fences. They look pretty good until you really start to focus on any one aspect. Some of the slats are upside down (hard to do when one end is shaped, and the other is flat), the boards aren't nailed in correctly everywhere, and the bottom is horribly uneven along the side. We've called to complain, I'm just hoping something gets done. Unfortunately my Association board gets what they pay for. More updates later.

What's happening?

Picture of the day!

Katie and her grandma at Faire. Katie, by this point, had decided that her outfit wasn't doing it for her, and borrowed a shirt from Nathan.

Today is No Pants Day! Celebrate!

The government has entrusted me a tax rebate, hoping I'll help bolster the economy. Since I've pretty much already spent it on home improvement purchases, looks like I'm doing it right.

My backyard is still open to the world. The voyeur in me, however, gets to enjoy looking into the neighbor's yards too. They certainly won't finish today (they haven't put the cement down for the inside part of the fence), but we might have an outer fence - time will tell. Might have to have our Fishbowl Party after all...

Last July I asked a question about what, legally, constitutes running a red light. Tori learned in traffic school that any time you're in the intersection and the light isn't green, you're in violation. I've always assumed you have to clear the intersection before the light turns red. Section 21453 of the vehicle code deals with it, but doesn't give any specifics - my literal reading would have me believe that as long as I don't enter the intersection when the light's red, I'm fine. I've heard conflicting explanations from cops, traffic schools, and the internets. Your thoughts?

Got a busy day ahead, but an exciting one. What's happening with you?

Picture of the day!

Ren Faire pics. We really didn't take many - they whole set is up here, though.

Today's also the National Day of Prayer. Remember that Zeus doesn't want you to have any gods before him, or he'll smite you down. I'm more partial to Eros and Bacchus, myself. But hey, Satan's pretty awesome too - I'm sure when the President asks Americans to pray, he wants you to pray to whoever you think is important. Just remember to pray!

I've been using twitter for a few days now. I didn't like it at first, but I think that's because I didn't fully understand it. Now that I've added some people to follow and figured out the syntax, it does have some promise. I'm surprised something that doesn't allow for embedded pictures or other media took off like it did, but there you go - now people use it, so the service can add features as time goes on. You can see my profile and follow me here. If you use it, let me know.

I'm not sure I remembered to eat enough breakfast this morning. I might have to go the French Fry route around noon.

Workers have started removing the fences in our complex to replace them, and today was our day to have work started, so my back yard is completely exposed to the world. It's very weird, but it'll be nice to have a new fence and get at some areas that are hard to reach.

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

Picture of the day!

Baby, sleeping at an angle. This was taken about 7 months ago, but she still does the same thing.

Yesterday, for no good reason, my teeth stopped hurting. Weirdo teeth.

It makes me cringe when people use computer/technology terms incorrectly. I wonder, however, if I'm doing the same thing, just one tech level up.

Speaking of such things, anyone have good sources/resources for used computer equipment? I've got some funds, but don't want to buy new, both for price and China reasons. I'm looking to put together some stuff in the house.

Roomba is out of warranty, but appears to be working correctly again, albeit without sound. I'm still not sure what that's about, but it's nice to have a clean floor. That said, yesterday the Girlfriend found Roomba in the kitchen, choking on mail (we have a mail slot in the door) that arrived while it was running. Stupid robots, eating our mail...

That's what I've got today. what's on your plate?

Picture of the day!

Trees in Monterey.

Big layoffs here this week, but it looks like I'm safe. I really do like this company most of the time, and I love my job. Unfortunately, this problem is industry wide, so it's hard to escape.

The weather here is finally cooling down. I wasn't keen on running my AC so early in the season - our house can be cool, but after several days, it really starts getting tough to keep it that way. At least we have AC - woe to those that don't.

Read the LAV: Vegin’ Out expands vegan delivery to all southern California.

I may be in/around the bay area May 30 and 31. Nothing confirmed.

Mmm. Free Cone day at Ben & Jerry's. Get in line now.

My cold is finally better - I still wake up gunky, but that's gone early. Allergies, however, are still an issue (it's kinda smokey and very polleny out there), and now a couple teeth are bothering me. All these ailments have turned me into a pill-popper the last couple weeks. Glad to have them, for sure, but I'm looking forward to just being back on my maintaining (for allergies and asthma) meds.

That's all. What's happenin'?

Picture of the day!

Cute baby.

I think I've been de-grimed. Spent yesterday at the Ren Faire, and while we all had a good time, it was very, very hot and very, very dirty. Bought far too many icy cold beverages, but it was well worth it. Thanks again to Linda for the hospitality!

I think I need to take a basics of cake class. I love the idea of awesome looking cakes, and while mine taste good, they look amateur. I'm not sure why it matters - maybe I'm comparing it to my general cooking skills, which I consider to be top notch. You should have seen the pasta sauce yesterday...beautiful stuff.

My Converse All-Stars have pretty much finally died. I'll never buy another pair new (as they're now made by Nike, in China, with non-union labor). Sad. Alas, there's always used, or No Sweat Apparel, which has nice knock-offs made at union shops (still overseas, though). That site's also nice in that it labels all of its vegan shoes.

How's it going?

Picture of the day!

A weed from my backyard. Click for more detaily goodness.

I think I solved half of Roomba's issue - it's side brush was stuck (jammed with hair - robot repair is nasty business) and that was causing it to stop. But because it's not beeping correctly, I didn't know that was the issue. Hopefully I can fix the beeping, and everyone will be happy again. Otherwise, I've got a couple weeks of warranty left.

Ren Faire this weekend! We're going Sunday. I gotta wash the clothes that are supposed to look dirty, and will get filthy, so I don't actually smell, I just look like I do.

I can tell I'm not getting enough sleep when songs won't leave my head. Yesterday it was "Tranquilize" by the Killers, but today it's Billy Joel's "Allentown". It's a fine song, but I'm not particularly pleased with it taking up residence in my cranium.

That's all I've got. What's new, my friends?

Picture of the day!

One of my very first flickr uploads - my courtyard.

Roomba is sick. Starting last week, I'd find it in the living room, undocked, when I'd get home at lunch - typically it'll finish cleaning and find its way back to base. I also noticed around this time that it wasn't singing anymore, and wasn't beeping when it'd back out of its base to clean. It could still make noises for some things, but it just wasn't working properly. Now it's only cleaning for a few minutes at a time, then it stops, but still full powered (power button solid green). I can push "clean" or "max" and get it up again, and it cleans normally for a few minutes before stopping again. I don't think it's a battery or power issue, but something ain't right. Send your prayers.

While we're on the subject, how about a bathroom cleaning robot?

I'm generally feeling better during the day, but I'm still headachy and very congested/sore throaty in the morning. I'm wondering if the cold's done, but allergies are being hard core? This feels different, but colds usually don't last this long. Stupid illnesses.

I'm soon going out to dinner in Brea or possibly up in the Claremont area (and I use term "area" broadly). Any suggestions for good, interesting eats?

For a while, I thought my spam issues were over. But I'm getting 3-5 a day in my inbox even using Gmail, and my blog's being hit like an abused donkey. Bastards. Oh well. What's new with you?

Picture of the day!

My cute baby.

I went to my first city council meeting yesterday (in Villa Park), to report on their effort to display "In God we Trust" in the council chambers - full write-up is available here. Sometimes I think councils just do things like this to beat the monotony of boring council business.

Ren Faire this Sunday. I'm still deciding whether or not to wear my sword. It absolutely completes the costume, and looks great. However, it's annoying as hell to wear, gets in the way, and weighs me down. Thoughts?

Just installed this. Pictures coming soon (though I don't think they'll do it justice). It's pretty friggin' awesome. Come to my bathroom and see for yourself.

I need a new belt, but I need one that's both non-leather and not made in China. Also, it should be plain black, like you'd wear with slacks. Can you help?

Thanks for reading. That's all for today!

Picture of the day!

Grand Canyon, last May. Nature!

Dos Equis beer has an ad campaign with a burly old man who's "The most interesting man in the world". The spots have always made me chuckle, but the new one has me laughing out loud every time I hear it: "He's a lover, not a fighter. But he's a fighter too, so don't get any ideas". I dunno what it is, but it's brilliant.

Orange County Atheists and several other local groups are up to something tonight. Click for more.

Every day, I pass by the corner of 4th Street and Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, and just about every morning, there's a crossing guard on the north east corner (where I turn right from 4th onto Grand). Why he's there, I don't know - the nearby elementary school never has students out when I get to work at 10am, but this guy is still there working. I'm not sure if this is the law, or common to crossing guards, but he's not very good at directing traffic. Here's the problem: When someone wants to cross the street, the guard hits the button, and no matter where the crosser is, the guard won't let anyone turn right until the street is totally clear. Even if the guard is in the middle of the street, and the crosser is on the other side of the street heading away from right turning drivers, the guard won't let anyone turn until he's back to his spot. Thoughts?

It's election day in Pennsylvania. I don't think Hillary is going away, but I kinda wish she would. Alas, we'll be doing this until the summer. Oh well.

What's up?

Picture of the day!

Katie, mid-dance. Click to enbiggen.

Sometimes I worry that since I use so many exclamation points that y'all will think something's wrong if I don't use them. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Great story about Hillary's chances here. Basically it says Obama has to have sex with a gay prostitute at a pre-school while pissing on the American flag to lose. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

So, being the very healthy person I am, I'm on Zyrtec (an anti-allergy drug) and it works very well - I've been on it about two years. Until a few months ago, Zyrtec was only available by prescription, and had prescription no-generic-available prices of almost $0.90/pill - quite a bit for a daily. So I was quite excited to learn the non-prescription price was about half that, and even less at Costco - about $0.45/pill. But imagine my surprise when I found that next to the real Zyrtec at Costco was "Aller-Tec" - same drug, same dose - for $0.06/pill - 1/7th the price of the regular stuff and 1/15 the price I used to pay. Thank you, drug companies!

On that topic, I still have a cold or something, but I'm feeling better today. I really should learn to sleep on the weekends, though.

What's happening, friends?