Monday, August 25, 2008

Random Thoughts: Oops

I just realized that I deleted all my comments when I was wiping out some spam. Oops. Oh well, there was only nine of them. Seriously, is it too much to ask for interactive readers? :) Anyway, it is indicative of a problem that I have been having lately with a major increase of spam. I think it's because I had been posting more when I was on vacation. I suppose I am just inviting more of the same by posting twice in one day, huh?

Random Thoughts: A new day dawns

It is official. Today was my first day at my new job. I spent most of the day going through briefings, policies, procedures, and setup details. My eyes are tired from looking down at the laptop screen all day. I gotta spend a few minutes tommorow configuring my office so that it is me-friendly. Other than that, it was fun. Should be interesting.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Random Thoughts: Guest Author

From the brain of Laura, referring to cooked pasta shells:

That one looks like a hat. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Squish. That one looks like a squished hat. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Recreation: Me and running

I was thinking about what running means to me today as I read a Runners World blog post (The End of a Season; The Beginning of a Journey) written by one of the "Marathon Moms." I never used to read that blog because I am neither a marathoner or a mom. Erin would always complain about them becuase they aren't marathoners and not really mothers either, so I felt compelled to start reading.

As it turns out, I have the same issues with this blog/the authors that Erin has. Neiter of the writers are current marathoners. Both have run marathons in the past, but neither one is in training to run one in the future. One is into triatholons and the other is into rowing. I personally would think that a blog with that title would provide advice, stories, experiences, etc. for either marathoners or mothers or both.

In addition to their lack of marathoning, they both have nannies. I don't have a problem with that, per se, but it seems like they use the nannies to deal with the challenges of parenthood while taking only a small portion of the joys. Often the tone of the motherhood-related writing is cold, sometimes spiteful and stoic. At times it seems like they perceive their children as burdens instead of little bundles of joy at all times, even when their screaming, kicking, or running around with poop hanging off their naked butt after they just used the potty.

Getting back on track, this specific post was one of the authors writing about her recent triatholon. She talks about her "weariness" (aka, bordom) with her training. Here is the excerpt of the thing that got me thinking:

To be honest, a serious case of weariness set in around mid-July, and I was just hanging on until yesterday, going through the motions of the workouts. I wished away time, waiting for today when my triathlon schedule would be cleared.

Wishing away? Um, sounds familiar. Parenthood, anyone? As much as I wanted to be the mother that noted every accomplishment and documented them appropriately, I am far from it. I honestly can't remember the first word either of my kids said.

WTF?!? Whishing away moments of life with your child?!? I wouldn't trade eight hours of all the previously stated challenges (or any others for that matter) for anything in the world. I can tell you that I fully appreciate the routine, boring moments just as well. I have read The Lorax about 100 times in the last couple weeks and I am still willing to read it again (and again, and again) just to have her sitting on my lap, the floor, the bed, etc. being entertained by my reading.

I love my baby and every thing she does. I cherrish every moment with her. As I sat thinking about my running, Yes, I like to run fast. Yes, I like to run races. Yes, it is relaxing. All those standard reasons that people run do appeal to me. When all is said and done, though, one thing sticks out that I love about running.

Running will help me live longer and that means that I get to spend one more hour, week, month, year, decade, etc. with my baby. Oh, sure... I know she won't be "a baby" when I am at the end of my life, but she will always be my daughter. More time with her is worth all the tiredness, fatigue, boredom, and pain that I might experience. That's why I run.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Random Thoughts: Just in time

I just finished mowing the lawn in the rain. It was kind of nice. One of the reasons I hate mowing the lawn is because I get all hot, sticky, and covered in dried out grass. Today, as the storm approched, a strong wind kicked up and kept me cool. The light rain that started the storm felt nice and refreshing, even though it matted down the grass a bit.

I finished up with enough time to put the mower away, close the windows and pop open the weather radar before there was an instantaneous flash of lightnight and clap of thunder. The radar shows a big blob of yellow and orange over us. Kind of nice to be inside in the basement rather than the 6'2" guy standing out in the rain/lightning like an idiot right next to a big, open field.

Gardening: CSA (aka, farm share)

This isn't really a gardening post, but I really didn't want to make another category. I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at Simmons Farm. If you have the cash and the opportunity to enroll in one of these programs, I highly recommend it. This is especially true if you love fresh vegetables and don't have the time and/or the ability to grow your own.

If you are unfamiliar with how they work, it's pretty simple. You pay a farm a certain amount before the season begins. The farmers plant vegetables, knowing that they are already sold. You show up on a certain day at a certain time and pick up the farm fresh, locally grown produce, take it home and eat it. The only potential downside is a bad year for the farm means less vegetables for you. This year, for instance, we got no broccoli because the 3000 plants they planted didn't produce. This week, we only got small heads of lettuce because the goats got into the lettuce patch and destroyed it.

All said, we have certainly been getting our money's worth. I plan to do it again next year, and I know Erin's parents are probably going to do it too. We will just have to make sure we sign up early because they cut it off this year, so we want to make sure we get in.

Random Thoughts: M&M's Porno

I just saw a commercial that was what I would call soft core M&M pornography. It was for the new triple chocolate premium M&Ms. I guess it was only a matter of time before cartoon candy started peddling sex.

Recreation: Olympics

I can't believe how much I have gotten sucked up into the Olympics. I didn't watch one single minute of Sydney or Athens, but for some reason, I can't get enough coverage. I even find myself wishing that I had cable or sattelite so I could watch more. The only problem I have been having is that I keep falling asleep around 10 or so. I end up missing 2 hours of primetime. I have actually woken up at 4 and watched the west coast replays. One thing I think would be better is if they scheduled the Olymplics for my convenience. I mean, seriously, how hard would it be to call me up and say, "Hey Bill, what do you want to watch and when?" Other than that, the only problem I have had is that I find water polo and synchronized diving extremely boring. I would rather see some the the other events that are taped instead of the boring events live. Oh well, I guess the coverage is US-centric even if it's not Bill-centric.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Recreation: Procrastination

Any time I have an opportunity to run but decide, "I'll go later today because...", I end up regretting the decision. I could have dragged my butt out of bed at 4:30 when I woke up. I didn't because I figured that I could just run with the stroller since my mom can't watch Laura today. OK, honestly, that isn't true. I didn't because I was tired and didn't feel like running, but I had the thought that I could just run with the stroller later in the day. Turns out, it is supposed to rain for most of the day and it is just starting now.

I know Laura won't melt in contact with water, but I just can't subject her to being rained on for 25 minutes or so just so I can go for a run. At this point, it looks like I will be running after Erin gets home. In theory, the rain is supposed to be much more scattered later today, so that's a plus.

Baby Gallery: Laura in mid-summer

After a brief hiatus, I posted a new gallery. Watch Laura have a fun early/mid summer.

http://www.therhodeislandreview.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9790

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Random Thoughts: Cut off your nose to spite your face

Would you do it? I know I wouldn't. I learned of someone today who almost litterally was doing that. Nothing like a little good old fasioned self-flagellation to get someone to do what you want.

Random Thoughts: Out of movies

I am mostly out of movies that I really want to watch. This happened entirely because of companies like Blockbuster and Netflix. We signed up for Blockbuster and, because of the writers strike, watched almost a movie every night for a couple months. In addition to that, we have been consuming a steady diet of three movies a week, plus a fourth or fifth some weeks. At this point, we are down to barely passable new releases, old movies, and "hidden gems." The hidden gems I refer to are the movies that no one has ever heard of and no one will ever watch, but for some reason I add them to the queue and they turn out to be not so bad. Granted, there have been some really, really bad movies in the mix, but generally, a lot of the out-of-nowhere movies are a welcome suprise of quality no-name acting talent and original stories.

With the rise of internet entertainment, I fully expect that there will be a lot more of this kind of art being produced. In reality, the online shows that I have seen so far have some pretty good acting. The one thing they are currently lacking severely is quality writing. Stories that start randomly and go nowhere slowly are not entertainment in my book. Some things I have seen would probably even be better with worse writing filled with cliche and illogical plot holes. I would love to see some crazy crap like that!

Movie Review: The King of Kong

It has been a long time since I did a review and this one will probably be on the short side. That said, I watched a movie that many (all) of you have never heard of. The full title is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. It is a documentary that is like no other. Its appeal is limited in scope to me, the kid in Blockbuster who said it was great at the checkout line, and possibly Jeremy.

Given the small audience, I am suprised at how good this movie is. At the end, I was left wondering. If this movie is a fully true and real honest-to-goodness documentary, I am amazed at how "human" hard-core retro gamers are. If it was a spoof, I am fully impressed at the acting of the no-name characters. Given the fact that all the actors in the movie are portraying "himself", I have to believe this is real.

The movie tells the story of the fall of the high score record in Donkey Kong set in 1982 by some guy named Billy Mitchell. The movie portreys the subculture that still surrounds classic 80s era video games. It was amazing to see all those images of my past still in full swing in 2008. The haircuts, the t-shirts, and the 4-bit video was all spot-on.

If you want a trip down memory lane, watch this movie. If you are Jeremy's parents and/or wife and want to understand him and others like him, watch this movie. If you have a deep fascination with sociology or anthropology, watch this movie.