Zen and the Art of...

I rode my motorcycle to work yesterday, and the front wheel started to make a little stutter when I was going under 40 mph.  If I were in Canada, that would be 64.36 kmph.  I also noticed that the speedometer needle has the shakes.

Speedometer...

I think it would be cool to have an analog velocitometer.  The technology I would envision would only work near a planet.

Well, I guess the bad news is that my bike will be out of commission for a few days while the guys at the shop at the end of the street diagnose and take care of the problem.  I suspect a bad bearing, but that's just me being an armchair mechanic.  But like I tell people, I have a PhD in Armchair Psychology from Imaginary University.

Spam-Lite of the Day

I sign up for a lot of political e-mailing lists, which I generally throw away without reading.  Today's gem comes from Emily's List, which has the charter of getting pro-choice women Democrats elected to office.  The content isn't that important, but the subject line is "This message can't wait!"

Schedule has never stopped any of these people from sending anything ever before.

More life in song

We sang for folks in a retirement home about a mile from our accompanist's home.  She was thrilled not to have to drive 30 miles one way to our traditional gigs.

Memorial Day

Please reflect for a moment on those who have given their lives in service of their country.

TV

Son near some deceased Grimms.

More Than You Need

These gummy bears are about the size of a baseball.

IMs of the Weird - Brother 1 Edition

GDad: Will check on availability of us for Niece's dance recital.

Brother 1: OK. I won't be offended if you don't go. Last year, it was three hours long.  It was at the high school. I was commiserating with OldFriend Teacher about the length of the event (his daughters take lessons at the same studio), and he suggested that I go to his office and take a nap next time.

GDad: Do they have defibrillators to restart people when they expire?

Brother 1: If you don't snore loudly, you could probably get away with sleeping.  Probably. Can you die from boredom?

GDad: I believe it's a slow death from ennuitis.  Although it would be hilarious for "death by boredom" to be sudden and violent.

Brother 1: ennuitis: Inflammation of the boredom.

More Corporate Rules for the Slacker

When there is a huge meeting that could potentially be soul-crushingly boring, be sure to ask a question or get noticed early so there are a lot of witnesses that you were there.  Do not wear anything outrageous or even memorable.  Then, when you leave at the first break, people will remember you being there.

Catching a Rye-ful

Son is writing a short essay about The Catcher in the Rye.  I recall having to read that book in high school.  Please remember that in high school that I read about one novel every four days, on average.  I know Holden Caulfield is an unreliable and unsympathetic narrator, but I remember having a visceral hatred of him that made me really reluctant to read the book.

After skimming the book last night, I am not sure that my thoughts have changed much.  This is kind of ironic, since that's sort of the point of the book.  Curse you, meta-humor!

George Tierney, Jr., of Greenville, South Carolina

This is George Tierney, Jr., of Greenville, South Carolina.  Click if you want - strong language.

Curses for the Modern Day

If I were a sorcerer who cursed people, these would be interesting modern curses.

1. Adult onset allergy to pizza.
2. Catch every traffic light red.
3. Market goes up right before your 401(k) deposit.
4. Person in front of you at the store always has coupons and writes a check.

Old Pictures from Son's Camera 5

Old Pictures from Son's Camera 4

Old Pictures from Son's Camera 3

Old Pictures from Son's Camera 2

Old Pictures from Son's Camera

Some things Son thought he should photograph...

IMs of the Weird

Brother 1: I think i forgot to shave directly below my lower lip. Either that, or the hairs in that area are suddenly more actively growing than the rest of my facial hair. For some reason, this really disturbs me.  I don't want to grow a soul patch. That implies that I have soul, and I do not want to deceive people.  My beard makes me a liar!

GDad: Ah, yes. The lying beard.  Perhaps you could grow an Amish-style beard for even more deception.  Probably less deception per square inch, though.  Since that's a valid measurement.

Brother 1: What kind of lie would I be telling if I were to dress like the Amish? And why?  Why would I lie about being Amish?

GDad: I don't know. You're the one with the misleading facial hair.

New Live Action Movie

I would love to someone try to make a live action Captain Caveman movie.

Rules for the Day

The day hasn't started until someone swears at Lotus Notes.  I have yet to see a workday not start by 9:00am.

Happy Mothers Day

Mom came down to see Son's choir concert and to have dinner with us.  Another great day.

Great Day

We had a great day.  We went to see Les Misérables with Marcot Ravenswatch, and we just generally had a fine time.  This is the third time I've seen the show, and I hope it isn't the last.  I'm always struck how intense the show can be.

Marcot pointed out that this tour seems to focus more on the dramatic presentation than on vocal technique, and I agree.  For the most part, it worked really well, but I didn't think Monsieur Thenardier was top notch this time.

Javert's suicide in the new staging was impressive.  Son liked that scene the best, too.

Foto Phriday - Sad Message

Common sense isn't.

Discovery

I found that the post office across the street from where I work doesn't open until 9:30am.  I had hoped to mail Mothers Day cards.  Try again later.

Happy Birthday

Neighbor Kath!

Neighbor Rusty called us to arrange a surprise party.  We brought over ingredients for a robust salad, and Rusty provided dessert, plates, and sides.  Kath was very pleasantly surprised, and the weather was perfect.

Interestingly, their anniversary is on September 5, so Rusty only has to remember 5/9 and 9/5.

Upsot

Had some upsettedness in the stomachular region today.  Slept a lot.

Baby Games Again

And another decorated Onesie.

After drawing the Dalek, I realized that I was missing the vertical slats between the head and the main body.  Oh well.

Baby Shower Games 1

We went to Mandy and Mr. Mandy's baby shower.  Since this is Baby 2.0, we were advised that any shower gifts should be focused on the diaper area, not the general purpose baby accouterments area.  One of the games to play was decorating blank baby body suits.  Also, I learned that "Onesie" is a registered trademark of Gerber Childrenswear.  Just so you know; knowledge being power and all that.


Here is one of the decorated onesies.  Recall that this will be their second child.

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the Fourth (be with you).

And Another Lizard

Jin Long is eating a leaf of lettuce.  Forced perspective makes the lizard look much larger than it is.

We were worried that this new lizard wasn't doing too well, but we discovered that (s)he is really just kind of a lazy jerk compared to Beardie.

Probably Not What They Meant

When I read this sign, which is in our corporate training area....

...I think of about age 32, when you have that soul-crushing realization that this is your life, and your talent has gotten you about as far as you are going to go.  The rest is just hard work.

Mayday!

Happy May Day!