Thanks Given

I got a nice stack of thank-you notes from the students in the IT Fundamentals class. The teacher seems to be really on the ball.

Remember

Remember those who have given their lives in service of their country.

More from the Brother - His Complaint to Amazon

I preordered jazz guitar virtuoso Mike Moreno's new album several months ago and was eagerly looking forward to receiving it this weekend after seeing that it was shipped on Tuesday.

My wife, daughter and I excitedly walked to the mailbox as we saw the postal truck pull up. As our friendly postal carrier handed me the Amazon envelope, I began to wonder why it was so narrow and thick, unlike other CD envelopes I have received from Amazon. I am sure that you can imagine my surprise when I discovered, upon tearing open the envelope, that it contained a package of Mimijumi replacement nipples. I struggle to conceive of a stranger or more embarrassing unrequested product you could have sent to me. The Mimijumi pacakge, with it's cheerful, smiling droplet of breastmilk emblazoned on the side brings what I suspect is an inappropriate sadness to my heart. I have been looking forward to Mike Moreno's new CD for several months, and the notion that my enjoyment of his music has been delayed for at least several days by an unsought and unwanted set of artificial nipples sadly degrades my opinion of Amazon's otherwise excellent service.

Please let me know what I need to do to receive my requested CD as soon as possible. I also suggest that you may want to reship order #105-8967681-XXXXXXX to whomever requested it, as there is undoubtedly someone in this great country of ours who is in desperate need of what appear to be some very expensive simulated nipples.

Sincerely,

Brother 1 Lastname

On the Way to the Party

RoBet is celebrating her first birthday today.  Hooray!

Friday Funnies

One of the kids asked "How much do you make before taxes?"

"More than five dollars. Less than a million."

School Visit

Son's IT Fundamentals teacher indicated that she'd be interested in seeing the arcade machine Son and I assembled, so I arranged with her to bring it in for a show and tell. In order to make the trip a little more productive, I also offered to do a career day presentation about my specific experience in IT as well as related careers.

A couple of observations...

1. There was a strong gender divide in response when I would ask, "Who wants to play an old-time video game?"
2. High school sophomores generally, but not universally, do not have an idea what they want to do when they grow up.
3. Some of the more interesting kids (who might be my subjects in my role as king of the nerds) are actually interested in learning how to tie a bow tie.
4. Teachers who stand in front of a class and lecture for six hours a day have WAY more stamina than I do right now. I thought I had bruised my feet and come down with strep, but I suspect a night's sleep will correct the issue.

We had a good time, and some of the students seemed to learn something. Plus, the room was across the hallway from the class that used to be called Home Economics, so there was the smell of baking cupcakes around lunchtime.

The Doctor Visit

I took Son to the doctor to review his ADHD medication's effectiveness. Son is reporting that he's having a little trouble focusing at school sometimes, and he thinks a new medication may be in order.

The doctor's diagnosis (almost verbatim): "You are fine, and your medication is fine. Sometimes school is just boring. Suck it up."

Son's Epiphany

Son told me the other day that he had figured out that it really doesn't make sense to live your life worrying about what other people think about you.

When Did This Happen?

Son: If I get a job at McDonalds, I can make about $7.50 an hour.

GDad: After taxes, you can probably count on about $5 an hour.

Son: So if I work a year, I can make about $15,000.

GDad: Assuming you work 40 hours a week, that's your gross, but you'd bring home about $10,000. Working at McDonald's. Full time. More likely, you'd work about one weekend day and one evening. That would be about 12 hours a week, or about $60.

Son: I need about $3,000 for my project.

GDad: Then it would take you a year, assuming no expenses. But wouldn't it be a wiser use of your money if you saved it for college rather than spending it on an arcade machine?

---

I hate that my father is speaking words through my lips.

Post Rapture Blues

As near as I can tell, we didn't have an earthquake. Nobody I know was probably eligible, but there's a big megachurch down the road, and I should have seen some people flying.

Rapture?

I can hardly wait. The suspense is killing me.

Foto Phriday

I am really intrigued by these signs around work that tell us not to do things and which have some of the words underlined for emphasis. It's pretty amusing, all things considered.

Personalysis Results

Evidently, I need time by myself to recharge, and I like to think about things before I commit to them. And for Virgos, Mercury is moving retrograde through Jupiter, which causes...

Son on the Road to Success

Son passed all the sections of the state-mandated test that must be passed before students are eligible to graduate from high school. That is a relief.

Corporate Team Building

Tomorrow we get to go off site and learn about our Personalysis. This is very distinct from our Strength Finder results, which are very different from our Myers-Briggs results, which are very different from our....

Foto Monday

More signs from work, but this one is just weird. It doesn't exhort us not to do something. It is supposed to indicate that it is a phone-like device, but it instead reminds me of a news anchor's hair.

Dreaming

I dreamt last night that we were on vacation at some large stadium event, and I heard someone accuse Son of being a smuggler. I was quite put out by this and demanded satisfaction from the accuser in the form of a fist fight. Weird.

More Rain

The rain keeps coming. I wish we could send some of it to places that needed it.

Life is a Banquet

Son and I have transformed an old kiosk of some sort with a touch-screen monitor into a MAME device. It's fun.

New Equivalence

Romantic:
Love makes the world go 'round.
Love makes you dizzy.

Scientist:
Angular momentum makes the world go 'round.
Angular momentum makes you dizzy.

GDad:
Angular momentum = Love

The Beatles:
All You Need Is Love

GDad:
I'll stop now.

No Seed for You!

Evidently, we ARE NOT supposed to feed the birds.  I'm sending this via e-mail rather than through the Blogger interface, so I'll suggest clicking to embiggen, but your mileage may vary.

More Thou Shalt Nots

The Plant Lady will eat your soul.

Incon

I am walking outside in business casual and a camouflage fishing hat with sunglasses.  I am both incognito and incongruous.  But not incontinent.

Foto Wednesday - Even More Signs

There were even more signs with words underlined. Click to embiggen.



I think there may be many more examples, and I will start sending minions to find them.

Twisted Tongues

Achthonderd achtentachtig 's-Gravenhaagse gereedschapschuurtjes.

Foto Tuesday - Yet More Signs

Another sign with words underlined.

Photo Monday - More Signs

Here is yet another sign from where I work that has words underlined.

Foto Sunday - Flat People

One of our lovely nieces sent a Flat Stanley cut-out to us so we could take Stanley on adventures. She will get photos of where Flat Stanley was and what he was doing. Here's Stan's adventure by the pond.

Foto Saturday - Corporate Underlining

Another example of Mega Corporation One underlining the important bits.



For our international readers, this does not refer to a woman (or programming language) named Ada, but rather the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.).

Foto Phriday - Niece Reference

Here's the box where we store batteries now.

Everyone Was There

We had the All Employee Extravaganza today. I'm not sure what I got out of it, other than confetti in my hair.

Didn't Pass

I'm thinking about making a web site called SmallTownDoesNotCareAboutEducation.net.

Elections

The school levy is on the ballot today. It's just a renewal, so passage won't affect people's taxes.

Hope

Democracy in the middle east, and ObL gone.

Mayflowers

I'm pretty tired of the April showers. Here's hoping that the May flowers come.