I'm not sure if I'm unique in this, but I quite frequently find myself laughing out loud in public at some memory or thought in my head.
Last evening, I was listening to the Simpsons in the car. It was the episode where Homer tells of his almost-affair with Mindy, and Lisa tells of her Valentines day with Ralph Wiggum.
Homer read his fortune in a fortune cooking: You will find happiness in a new love (or something like that)
Mindy: What's wrong?
Homer: Oh, yeah, like you don't know. [weeping] We're gonna have sex!
Mindy: Oh...well, we don't have to.
Homer: [sad] Yes we do! The cookie told me so.
Mindy: Well...desserts aren't always right.
Homer: But they're so sweet!
"Desserts aren't always right." God, this killed me. I left the car and just had a goofy smile on all the way to the store.
When I was grabbing dinner, a father and daughter walked in. The daughter must have been in 9th or 10th grade. She had big teeth and braces, and reminded me of the girl from Finding Nemo. She really wanted her dad to buy her something, and was begging for how she needed this thing, and she's always wanted it. He said he wasn't going to buy it for her, and she said threateningly "I'm going to bite my hand until you agree to buy it for me!" He ignored this, and so she actually started biting her hand, saying "Ow, ow, ow!" while her hand was in her mouth. I just stared, completely incredulous. Are you freaking kidding me?! She quickly found this tack wasn't working, and stopped.
I laughed about this one all the way back to the car.
Ahh, good stuff.
Diana and I played some poker last night with workboys. It was pretty fun, but a little trying at times when some of the newer folks frequent reminders of when it was their turn to act or deal the cards or whatever. We left with a combined +$9. It's tough to play poker against newbies. They typically hang on to questionable cards for far too long, and as a result, they can really surprise you by holding junk cards and pulling out some crazy wins. However, they can also pay out: with four of the same suit on the board, me and another guy capped betting on the river, me showing the nut flush and him showing his pocket aces with one ace on the board for trips. He was so excited about the aces that I don't think he ever saw the flush coming. But, as usual, the fun of social poker nights is in the company and the hanging out, and the evening was a good success if smiling is any measure.
2004/05/28
2004/05/24
The ol' weekend roundup.
My cliffhanger ending from last time was that the permanent retainer attatched to my bottom teeth was coming loose. It eventually popped out altogether, which was really weird. For a full day I was just licking the inside of my teeth, feeling how weird it was to not have something there. Tongues are really weird things with their own mind, it seems. Anyhoo, I went to the dentist Friday morning, and we discussed if it was even necessary to put the retainer back in. My dentist wiggled my teeth and thought they were solid and had been for a while, and said it probably wasn't necessary, but can always go in later. So, I'm metal free!
Friday night we met up with some peeps as sort of a sidecar to a blind date between a sister of a friend and a friend of a friend, both of whom I don't know very well or at all. But it was fun to hang out with Iwan and Eryn and observe. We think we saw Junior Seau, but his back somehow was always turned to me, and it was hard to get a good look.
We departed the party early on Friday, because Saturday morning we got up at the crack of snot to take my parents to the airport. It's scary how I can wake up early, drive a car, come home, get in bed and fall back asleep, and then wake up later and barely remember anything from the morning. Anyhoo, that all went well (I assume :).
That day we had a window salesman guy come and talk to us about replacing our windows. I liked what he had to say, and his official estimate was about 2/3rds as much as some other over-the-phone estimates, so we'll see how he stacks up. He did a neat little demo with a heat-lamp, shining it through normal windows and then their double-paned, treated windows. The temperature of our house fluctuates so much, I think that better windows would make a huge difference in keeping heat in or out. We've got a lot of housing upgrades that we want to do (windows, ceilings, carpets, landscaping), but each of those things are expensive, so we've got some picking and choosing to do. Stay tuned on those.
Saturday afternoon I went golfing with Iwan and Miami John. As well as I shot last week, I played crappy this weekend. That's the way the game goes, I guess. Nice to hang out with the boys, though.
Diana started tearing stuff out of the side yard on Saturday while I was golfing. With a foothold established, we went to town on Sunday and continued the process. For the third weekend in a row, we have about a dozen huge trashbags of plants lining the sidewalk. Good stuff, but hard work.
That afternoon we met up with Eryn and Heather and Li'l Mike and saw "Super Size Me". For those who haven't heard, it's a movie about a guy who decides to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days. His rules are that he must eat three meals a day, must try everything on the menu at least once, must NOT eat anything not sold by McDonalds, and the best: if they ask if he wants to upgrade to a super size, he must accept the offer.
It was a really fascinating movie, both chronicalling his struggles and health issues mixed with interviews from various food and health experts about the general eating problems and fatness of America. The main guy was also very personable and fun to watch. Good stuff. Go see it.
Watching the movie really made me appreciate both my mom, who always fed me very well growing up, and my wife who has continued the process. My only vice is a soda a day with lunch, but compared to one guy in the movie who would have 3 or 4 HALF-GALLON sodas a day, I think I'll be ok. Immediately after the movie, we coincidentally went over to a Whole Foods market to get some groceries, and it was amazing to see how good all the food looked after watching this guy chow down McDonalds for the last two hours.
Monday morning. Back to work!
My cliffhanger ending from last time was that the permanent retainer attatched to my bottom teeth was coming loose. It eventually popped out altogether, which was really weird. For a full day I was just licking the inside of my teeth, feeling how weird it was to not have something there. Tongues are really weird things with their own mind, it seems. Anyhoo, I went to the dentist Friday morning, and we discussed if it was even necessary to put the retainer back in. My dentist wiggled my teeth and thought they were solid and had been for a while, and said it probably wasn't necessary, but can always go in later. So, I'm metal free!
Friday night we met up with some peeps as sort of a sidecar to a blind date between a sister of a friend and a friend of a friend, both of whom I don't know very well or at all. But it was fun to hang out with Iwan and Eryn and observe. We think we saw Junior Seau, but his back somehow was always turned to me, and it was hard to get a good look.
We departed the party early on Friday, because Saturday morning we got up at the crack of snot to take my parents to the airport. It's scary how I can wake up early, drive a car, come home, get in bed and fall back asleep, and then wake up later and barely remember anything from the morning. Anyhoo, that all went well (I assume :).
That day we had a window salesman guy come and talk to us about replacing our windows. I liked what he had to say, and his official estimate was about 2/3rds as much as some other over-the-phone estimates, so we'll see how he stacks up. He did a neat little demo with a heat-lamp, shining it through normal windows and then their double-paned, treated windows. The temperature of our house fluctuates so much, I think that better windows would make a huge difference in keeping heat in or out. We've got a lot of housing upgrades that we want to do (windows, ceilings, carpets, landscaping), but each of those things are expensive, so we've got some picking and choosing to do. Stay tuned on those.
Saturday afternoon I went golfing with Iwan and Miami John. As well as I shot last week, I played crappy this weekend. That's the way the game goes, I guess. Nice to hang out with the boys, though.
Diana started tearing stuff out of the side yard on Saturday while I was golfing. With a foothold established, we went to town on Sunday and continued the process. For the third weekend in a row, we have about a dozen huge trashbags of plants lining the sidewalk. Good stuff, but hard work.
That afternoon we met up with Eryn and Heather and Li'l Mike and saw "Super Size Me". For those who haven't heard, it's a movie about a guy who decides to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days. His rules are that he must eat three meals a day, must try everything on the menu at least once, must NOT eat anything not sold by McDonalds, and the best: if they ask if he wants to upgrade to a super size, he must accept the offer.
It was a really fascinating movie, both chronicalling his struggles and health issues mixed with interviews from various food and health experts about the general eating problems and fatness of America. The main guy was also very personable and fun to watch. Good stuff. Go see it.
Watching the movie really made me appreciate both my mom, who always fed me very well growing up, and my wife who has continued the process. My only vice is a soda a day with lunch, but compared to one guy in the movie who would have 3 or 4 HALF-GALLON sodas a day, I think I'll be ok. Immediately after the movie, we coincidentally went over to a Whole Foods market to get some groceries, and it was amazing to see how good all the food looked after watching this guy chow down McDonalds for the last two hours.
Monday morning. Back to work!
2004/05/20
Tuesday night was work-boy poker night. Diana met me over there, and was able to put some faces to names, which was fun. In the course of talking about poker with people here at work, I've let on that she's a very solid player: very patient in waiting for hands, and very good at determining losers and laying them down. As a result, she's not in many showdowns, but when she is, she's usually the winner. I think in poker terms, she might be called "a rock". Her stack generally grew upwards with silght variations, and she ended up something like +$24 by the end of the night.
I'm not as patient, and end up playing a little looser and crazier, which can result in some crazy swings. I started out winning a bunch, then losing all my winnings and then some, and then won maybe five out of seven pots near the end to go back up to +$10. My stack grew and shrunk like a rollercoaster, and I was lucky to come out ahead.
A good time was had by all. The guys from work are a lot of fun, and we all get along really well. I was proud to introduce Diana to the boys. She's exceptionally talented at getting along with people that she's just met. I'm also glad that she lived up to my bragging about her, so I didn't have to face any comments like "I thought you said she was good!" So, good times all around.
Last night was basketball. Our basketball team isn't really the best, and I certainly am not very helpful. I like getting out and running around, but I just feel pretty lost out there, running into people and stuff. I took a couple shots which missed, but was encouraged that people seemed happy that I at least took the shot. I've heard comments (maybe from Iwan?) that it's better to take an open shot and miss than to have an open shot and be too scared to take it. So, I took open shots and missed. But oh well.
We got digital cable installed yesterday, which is a little overwhelming. We now have seemingly hundreds of channels, only a fraction of which work, which leaves me a littl lost. I need to spend some time with that and get it all figured out. It turns out they have some deal where digital cable is cheaper than standard cable for the first 6 months, and then they jack up the price. So we're trying it out, with all intentions of cancelling after 6 months. We get some movie channels for free with this, too, so mebbe we can grab some flicks worth saving.
Last night, as I was brushing my teeth, I noticed that my lower retainer is broken loose on one side. This is a little metal bar that is glued to the inside of some lower side teeth and runs across the inside of my lower front teeth. So I'm constantly toying with it with my tongue, wondering if I should break it off altogether or not. I have an appointment tomorrow morning for the dentist to see if he can fix it. When I called, the receptionist asked "Well, who put the retainer there?" I told her it was my orthodontist like 13 years ago, and I haven't seen her since. I wouldn't mind getting rid of the thing. I'll bet my teeth would feel so slimy if it were gone!
So, there's the news.
I'm not as patient, and end up playing a little looser and crazier, which can result in some crazy swings. I started out winning a bunch, then losing all my winnings and then some, and then won maybe five out of seven pots near the end to go back up to +$10. My stack grew and shrunk like a rollercoaster, and I was lucky to come out ahead.
A good time was had by all. The guys from work are a lot of fun, and we all get along really well. I was proud to introduce Diana to the boys. She's exceptionally talented at getting along with people that she's just met. I'm also glad that she lived up to my bragging about her, so I didn't have to face any comments like "I thought you said she was good!" So, good times all around.
Last night was basketball. Our basketball team isn't really the best, and I certainly am not very helpful. I like getting out and running around, but I just feel pretty lost out there, running into people and stuff. I took a couple shots which missed, but was encouraged that people seemed happy that I at least took the shot. I've heard comments (maybe from Iwan?) that it's better to take an open shot and miss than to have an open shot and be too scared to take it. So, I took open shots and missed. But oh well.
We got digital cable installed yesterday, which is a little overwhelming. We now have seemingly hundreds of channels, only a fraction of which work, which leaves me a littl lost. I need to spend some time with that and get it all figured out. It turns out they have some deal where digital cable is cheaper than standard cable for the first 6 months, and then they jack up the price. So we're trying it out, with all intentions of cancelling after 6 months. We get some movie channels for free with this, too, so mebbe we can grab some flicks worth saving.
Last night, as I was brushing my teeth, I noticed that my lower retainer is broken loose on one side. This is a little metal bar that is glued to the inside of some lower side teeth and runs across the inside of my lower front teeth. So I'm constantly toying with it with my tongue, wondering if I should break it off altogether or not. I have an appointment tomorrow morning for the dentist to see if he can fix it. When I called, the receptionist asked "Well, who put the retainer there?" I told her it was my orthodontist like 13 years ago, and I haven't seen her since. I wouldn't mind getting rid of the thing. I'll bet my teeth would feel so slimy if it were gone!
So, there's the news.
2004/05/17
Diana is amazing at scheduling appointments and researching and getting stuff done.
Here's the list for the near future. Note that we don't usually have this many strangers visiting our house:
1) We had someone come and do asbestos testing on our popcorn ceilings. This came back negative. This is good. Makes #2 a lot cheaper/easier.
2) So, we're having someone come out and scrape and re-texture the ceilings.
3) We'll soon after have someone come and paint 'em.
4) We have a water filter that needs to be checked out, so a Culligan guy is coming to do that.
5) We're upgrading to Adelphia digital cable because for some wacky reason it turns out to be cheaper than what we have now, but we get more(?) Can someone explain this? So someone is heading out to do that.
6) Because of that, someone from Nielson is coming to check out the cable box install when they're done.
7) We're having someone come out to do an esitmate on replacing our windows.
Crazy, but stuff that we've talked about for a long time. I'm excited!
Here's the list for the near future. Note that we don't usually have this many strangers visiting our house:
1) We had someone come and do asbestos testing on our popcorn ceilings. This came back negative. This is good. Makes #2 a lot cheaper/easier.
2) So, we're having someone come out and scrape and re-texture the ceilings.
3) We'll soon after have someone come and paint 'em.
4) We have a water filter that needs to be checked out, so a Culligan guy is coming to do that.
5) We're upgrading to Adelphia digital cable because for some wacky reason it turns out to be cheaper than what we have now, but we get more(?) Can someone explain this? So someone is heading out to do that.
6) Because of that, someone from Nielson is coming to check out the cable box install when they're done.
7) We're having someone come out to do an esitmate on replacing our windows.
Crazy, but stuff that we've talked about for a long time. I'm excited!
2004/05/16
Friday night, in spite of an invite to go out and whoop it up, Diana and I decide to stay in. We made a great dinner of rainbow trout on the BBQ, and crab cakes (that came out "crap cakes" at first... whoops!) and salad. Quite delish. We watched a certain pirated copy of a certain, quite long blockbuster movie, and both fell asleep on the couch watching it. Very nice.
Saturday morning, Diana took her parents to the airport. When she returned, we headed out in the yard for some more ripping out of plants. We're making palpable progress, which is good. Iwan called up later, and we headed out to golf.
We golfed at Lake San Marcos exec, and I shot my best round of golf ever. A 62, which is 4 over par. 0 doubles, 5 bogeys, 1 birdie. What's sort of surprising is that my tee shots weren't all that great, but I had some good chips and some really nice putts. Lots of one-putts. It was a good time, not only because of the score, but golfing with Iwan is always a lot of fun.
After golf, Iwan came over and Sara met us and we BBQ'd some dinner. A lot of fun. There was an opportunity to go see "Troy" at 9:30pm, but at the most budget theater ever. I figure true enjoyment of a movie like Troy might totally hinge on being seen in an appropriate theater. Anyhoo, the movie was long enough that seeing it at 10pm wasn't really an option. So we watched the Spurs game (boo Lakers) and chilled, and that was a lot of fun.
This morning, I finished my book (Clash of Kings), and my parents are heading over for lunch and my dad is going to help investigate a blown power socket. Then, perhaps some yardwork, mebbe a movie? Some computie gaming? We'll see.
Saturday morning, Diana took her parents to the airport. When she returned, we headed out in the yard for some more ripping out of plants. We're making palpable progress, which is good. Iwan called up later, and we headed out to golf.
We golfed at Lake San Marcos exec, and I shot my best round of golf ever. A 62, which is 4 over par. 0 doubles, 5 bogeys, 1 birdie. What's sort of surprising is that my tee shots weren't all that great, but I had some good chips and some really nice putts. Lots of one-putts. It was a good time, not only because of the score, but golfing with Iwan is always a lot of fun.
After golf, Iwan came over and Sara met us and we BBQ'd some dinner. A lot of fun. There was an opportunity to go see "Troy" at 9:30pm, but at the most budget theater ever. I figure true enjoyment of a movie like Troy might totally hinge on being seen in an appropriate theater. Anyhoo, the movie was long enough that seeing it at 10pm wasn't really an option. So we watched the Spurs game (boo Lakers) and chilled, and that was a lot of fun.
This morning, I finished my book (Clash of Kings), and my parents are heading over for lunch and my dad is going to help investigate a blown power socket. Then, perhaps some yardwork, mebbe a movie? Some computie gaming? We'll see.
2004/05/14
So, I went running last evening.
That was pretty weird. I got all dressed up in my running costume. Did some stretching, and ran down the driveway and down the street. Before I left I told Diana I'd be back in 18 minutes.
For my whole life, I've only run with a specific purpose. Either, I'm in a game or sports event, or I'm being chased by someone, or someone is chasing me. The idea of just jogging around felt really, really weird at first.
I felt like everyone was staring at me. Who's *this* guy? Why's he running? Is someone chasing him? What the hell is going on here?
The cross street to the street that we live on is about a .9 mile hill from top to bottom. We live about 1/3rd of the way up the hill. The slope of the hill itself is pretty significant. My plan was to run to the bottom, run to the top, and then back home. I made it to the bottom ok (gravity), and turned around and started heading back. I probably got about 300 yards back up the hill before completely dying. The rest of the hill was spent walking, then jogging, then walking, then jogging until made it to the top. I really contemplated cutting it short, but somehow didn't.
In spite of some walking, was home in 15 minutes. My chest was burning, and I was pretty beat, but I made it.
The Mud Run is a 10k, which I guess is around 6 miles. I've got some work to do. I told myself that the first time out would be the hardest. I hope this is true.
Oh yeah... Last night watching the Survivor thing, they showed a bit that I misquoted in an earlier post. This is regarding people using numbers greater than 100% to describe something.
A guy in one season was accused of being too snuggly with a woman when he slept next to her. In his adamant defense, he claimed: "I am... a hunnert-and-fifty... to TWO HUNDRED per cent faithful to my wife!"
Ahh, the stitches. The fact that he gave a range of how faithful he is just kills me.
That was pretty weird. I got all dressed up in my running costume. Did some stretching, and ran down the driveway and down the street. Before I left I told Diana I'd be back in 18 minutes.
For my whole life, I've only run with a specific purpose. Either, I'm in a game or sports event, or I'm being chased by someone, or someone is chasing me. The idea of just jogging around felt really, really weird at first.
I felt like everyone was staring at me. Who's *this* guy? Why's he running? Is someone chasing him? What the hell is going on here?
The cross street to the street that we live on is about a .9 mile hill from top to bottom. We live about 1/3rd of the way up the hill. The slope of the hill itself is pretty significant. My plan was to run to the bottom, run to the top, and then back home. I made it to the bottom ok (gravity), and turned around and started heading back. I probably got about 300 yards back up the hill before completely dying. The rest of the hill was spent walking, then jogging, then walking, then jogging until made it to the top. I really contemplated cutting it short, but somehow didn't.
In spite of some walking, was home in 15 minutes. My chest was burning, and I was pretty beat, but I made it.
The Mud Run is a 10k, which I guess is around 6 miles. I've got some work to do. I told myself that the first time out would be the hardest. I hope this is true.
Oh yeah... Last night watching the Survivor thing, they showed a bit that I misquoted in an earlier post. This is regarding people using numbers greater than 100% to describe something.
A guy in one season was accused of being too snuggly with a woman when he slept next to her. In his adamant defense, he claimed: "I am... a hunnert-and-fifty... to TWO HUNDRED per cent faithful to my wife!"
Ahh, the stitches. The fact that he gave a range of how faithful he is just kills me.
2004/05/12
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they're not.
I just signed up with some boys to run in the annual Mud Run. Should be a good time. I'm doing it as a team event with some other not-in-top-shape computer geeks. I figure I'm going to use this as a motivating force and start training by running a couple times a week. In other sporting news, softball is going ok. Our team isn't so good, but we try hard. Basketball is getting better. It's certainly a good workout. Even after just a few games I can feel my stamina improving. I played an entire game two weeks ago, with energy to spare afterwards, which was good. And last week I scored my first basket! I'm an animal.
That's about all the news for now. Diana's still working hard and late, which is no fun. A good Nethack game continues to elude me. Battlefield Vietname is still fun as ever. WPT poker on tv tonight, and Survivor's final finale on tomorrow ("America's Tribal Council"... lame!). Did anyone else vote for a winner? We voted for Rupert, who I think is going to completely dominate. On the CBS website, they have a really neat popularity poll, and he was the most popular throughout the entire show by a longshot.
Adman, out!
I just signed up with some boys to run in the annual Mud Run. Should be a good time. I'm doing it as a team event with some other not-in-top-shape computer geeks. I figure I'm going to use this as a motivating force and start training by running a couple times a week. In other sporting news, softball is going ok. Our team isn't so good, but we try hard. Basketball is getting better. It's certainly a good workout. Even after just a few games I can feel my stamina improving. I played an entire game two weeks ago, with energy to spare afterwards, which was good. And last week I scored my first basket! I'm an animal.
That's about all the news for now. Diana's still working hard and late, which is no fun. A good Nethack game continues to elude me. Battlefield Vietname is still fun as ever. WPT poker on tv tonight, and Survivor's final finale on tomorrow ("America's Tribal Council"... lame!). Did anyone else vote for a winner? We voted for Rupert, who I think is going to completely dominate. On the CBS website, they have a really neat popularity poll, and he was the most popular throughout the entire show by a longshot.
Adman, out!
2004/05/10
Weekend roundup...
Well, letsee here.
Friday, Diana and I had our visit from the Nielson folks. Four tech guys came out to install all their monitoring equipment. It was explained to me over the phone that it was just a couple little boxes that plug into the TVs and phone lines. What I didn't realize was that they actually opened the cases of our appliances (TV, DVD player, VCR, surround sound) and SOLDER their connections directly to the motherboard. Kind of sketchy, but they reassured me that anything that was damaged would be repaired or replaced at their expense. Anyways, they were supposed to only be there for a few hours, but it turned into a lot longer than that, as well as having someone come back the next morning to finish up. Kind of a pain, but it's all pretty transparent now. We get a tiny bit of compensation for our troubles, and we have the satisfaction that the Survivor Finale had slightly higher ratings, thanks to us.
Saturday, after the Nielson guy left, we headed over to my parents house for some lunch and hanging out in an early Mother's Day celebration. It was a nice afternoon, and good to see the 'rents. Afterward, we headed over to H-bomb's house to celebrate my boy Baditude's 29th birthday. We BBQ'd it up, and had a good time hanging around and chatting. As requested, Diana and I brought some games and poker materials, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the ladies leading the charge to play. We played for a while, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, winners and losers alike. Still reeling from my latest losing session, I buckled down and played a more solid game, and ended up winning $8 (cashing in for $5). Heathers sister Sharon was new to the game, so I ended up doing a lot of teaching and explaining, which I always have a hard time with. I'm not a good teacher, and find it hard to explain a new concept to someone without sounding patronizing. But she picked it up well and looked like she was having fun, so huzzah.
Yesterday, I met up with my dad in the morning to ressurect the infamous fish project. We've bought most of the parts already, and spent some time figuring out how to move forward. I think we laid some good groundwork, but we need to stick with it if we really want to make any further progress. Fun stuff to read and think about, though.
I met up with Diana at her parents house after that for lunch and Mothers Day part II, which was good. It was a beautiful day, and we ate lunch out in the back yard. On the way home, we did a little furniture shopping (we're in the market for a bed and dining set, at some point), and put in a little time into some yardwork when we got home. Then dinner, and the Survivor finale (best Survivor season ever!), and to bed.
I got an email from an old college friend Mattie, which was a nice surprise. She announced she was engaged, and sounded thrilled about it. I'm happy for her!
This week... the thing I was working on has been postponed, so I'm going to sort of scrounge around and see how I can be helpful (after writing this long blog entry, a'course). Softball on Monday. Basketball on Wednesday (I scored my first two-points last week! I rock!). Diana and I are going to try to get some substantial clearing done in the front yard. A second successful Nethack game continues to elude me after multiple false starts. Battlefield Vietnam is still keeping my attention. Norm gave me a copy of the latest hobbit movie on DVD (I shan't mention it's name), so I'd like to watch that again. We also recorded a two-hour History channel presentation of the story of "Bringing Down the House", the MIT blackjack card-counting ring. So I've got a lot on my plate!
Smell ya later.
Well, letsee here.
Friday, Diana and I had our visit from the Nielson folks. Four tech guys came out to install all their monitoring equipment. It was explained to me over the phone that it was just a couple little boxes that plug into the TVs and phone lines. What I didn't realize was that they actually opened the cases of our appliances (TV, DVD player, VCR, surround sound) and SOLDER their connections directly to the motherboard. Kind of sketchy, but they reassured me that anything that was damaged would be repaired or replaced at their expense. Anyways, they were supposed to only be there for a few hours, but it turned into a lot longer than that, as well as having someone come back the next morning to finish up. Kind of a pain, but it's all pretty transparent now. We get a tiny bit of compensation for our troubles, and we have the satisfaction that the Survivor Finale had slightly higher ratings, thanks to us.
Saturday, after the Nielson guy left, we headed over to my parents house for some lunch and hanging out in an early Mother's Day celebration. It was a nice afternoon, and good to see the 'rents. Afterward, we headed over to H-bomb's house to celebrate my boy Baditude's 29th birthday. We BBQ'd it up, and had a good time hanging around and chatting. As requested, Diana and I brought some games and poker materials, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the ladies leading the charge to play. We played for a while, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, winners and losers alike. Still reeling from my latest losing session, I buckled down and played a more solid game, and ended up winning $8 (cashing in for $5). Heathers sister Sharon was new to the game, so I ended up doing a lot of teaching and explaining, which I always have a hard time with. I'm not a good teacher, and find it hard to explain a new concept to someone without sounding patronizing. But she picked it up well and looked like she was having fun, so huzzah.
Yesterday, I met up with my dad in the morning to ressurect the infamous fish project. We've bought most of the parts already, and spent some time figuring out how to move forward. I think we laid some good groundwork, but we need to stick with it if we really want to make any further progress. Fun stuff to read and think about, though.
I met up with Diana at her parents house after that for lunch and Mothers Day part II, which was good. It was a beautiful day, and we ate lunch out in the back yard. On the way home, we did a little furniture shopping (we're in the market for a bed and dining set, at some point), and put in a little time into some yardwork when we got home. Then dinner, and the Survivor finale (best Survivor season ever!), and to bed.
I got an email from an old college friend Mattie, which was a nice surprise. She announced she was engaged, and sounded thrilled about it. I'm happy for her!
This week... the thing I was working on has been postponed, so I'm going to sort of scrounge around and see how I can be helpful (after writing this long blog entry, a'course). Softball on Monday. Basketball on Wednesday (I scored my first two-points last week! I rock!). Diana and I are going to try to get some substantial clearing done in the front yard. A second successful Nethack game continues to elude me after multiple false starts. Battlefield Vietnam is still keeping my attention. Norm gave me a copy of the latest hobbit movie on DVD (I shan't mention it's name), so I'd like to watch that again. We also recorded a two-hour History channel presentation of the story of "Bringing Down the House", the MIT blackjack card-counting ring. So I've got a lot on my plate!
Smell ya later.
2004/05/06
Did you know that if you google for "gelflings humping" this page is the second one that appears?
Now you know.
(By the way, this was discovered by my checking access logs, NOT doing the search myself... just to clear that up).
Now you know.
(By the way, this was discovered by my checking access logs, NOT doing the search myself... just to clear that up).
2004/05/05
Just saw this on my ride back from basketball: A bumper sticker on the back of a big F150 truck that said "If size doesn't matter... how come I'm so popular?!"
*shakes head sadly*
*shakes head sadly*
The following is a copy of a teensy note I sent tied to the leg of a friendly ant under a flag of parley:
Dear Ant Queen,
We surrender. All that we have is yours, if you'll please call off your brutes squad. Have mercy and leave the heavy electronics.
Adman
Dear Ant Queen,
We surrender. All that we have is yours, if you'll please call off your brutes squad. Have mercy and leave the heavy electronics.
Adman
2004/05/04
About 5 minutes after Diana falls asleep, she more often then not makes a little sound. I can't quite describe it. Grunt sounds too gutteral. Moan has sexual overtones. Just a little "uhmmmmmmpf!" that ends as quickly as it begins. Last night this happened, and I rubbed her back a little and reassured her everything was ok (in case it was a bad dream). She woke up, and said that she dreamed that some people from Nethack had heard that I'd won the game and sent me a medal in the mail, and she was so excited and proud of me! Yay! \o/
Best dream ever.
Best dream ever.
2004/05/03
Weekend roundup.
Busy weekend these past few days. Let's get it started.
Friday evening, I went to a happy hour after work for one of my workboys. This is a guy I've sat 10 feet away from for the past couple years, and played on various rec sports teams with, and it's going to be strange and sad when he's gone. Diana and Iwan both showed up as well, which was nice. It was a good time.
That night we were going to go the movies, but kind of pooped out on that.
Saturday morning, Diana and I met Iwan and M.Kyle at Iwan's pad and headed down to Sycuan for a $13 no-limit tournament. This is the first tournament I've played in with re-buys and add-ons, and I don't think I like 'em. I went out pretty quick. On one hand, I had a pair of 5's in last position. There were a couple callers who just limped in (just called the blind without raising) when it came to me. I figured they were all just trying to see a cheap flop, and I probably had them beat, so I went all-in. They all folded (as I hoped), until the last guy, sitting on my right. He mentioned previously that he wasn't a strong player, was just there for fun, etc. He thought for a while, and called. We flipped our cards and he showed me a 6-9 of hearts. For non poker players, this is NOT typically what you'd call a "good call" against an all-in bet. But, with an underpair vs. two overcards, the odds are about a coinflip, and he managed to catch a 9 somewhere along the line. I busted, and re-bought for another $10 (mistake). I was a little steamed, and on a hand soon after, I went all-in with my A-K after the flop came up queen high. Not a good play... someone called with their queen and I was out. Oh well.
Iwan followed a bit later, and Kyle soon after him. Diana was the star of the day, lasting to the final 3 tables before eventually bleeding to death. She hung on for a long time with a pretty short stack, which is admirable. I'm proud of her.
We came home and worked out in the yard that afternoon for a while. It was sunny and hot and hard work, but we got a lot done. My mom came by for a nice chat. That evening we had all the usual couples over for a poker night (two pokers playings in one day! Unprecedented!) It was Norm and Teri, Iwan and Sara, Eryn and Heather, and Adam and Diana. The game was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I was pretty tired from being out in the sun, and played pretty crazily, going up and then spiralling down, losing $8 of $10. Oh well. Diana won enough to cover my losses, plus a few extra, so we remained in the black. It was particularly nice to see Norm and Teri out and about. Norm made a stunning comeback from being almost out, and Teri also either came out a winner or very slight loser, which was nice to see. Good times were had by all, I hope.
Sunday, Diana had her calculus ladies over for some AP prep. I came out and made an appearance as The Husband, which was fun. I mostly locked myself in the computer room, and then went golfing with Iwan and Miami John at Lomas. We had a good time. I played pretty well (for my standards). It was another hot day in the sun, though, and by the time I got home, I was in the mood to do nothing. Which we did, which was nice.
Sprinkled throughout the weekends were some emails with Mick's (girl)friend about Nethack. Mike recently asked me about Nethack (pronounced "net-hack", NOT "knee-thack"!), and he passed it on the info to Gwen. Since then I've inundated the poor thing with tips, questions and comments, but she seems to be having fun with the game.
Now, back to work. Things are pretty relaxed around here recently, which is a nice break from some recent pushes. Time to post this up and see what the day holds in store for me. Since my boy is leaving today, we were going to play our last official North Side vs. South Side (me and him are "South Side" (South Side rules!)) match, but one of the North Sider's (boo!) is sick. Bummer.
Oh! The best part! When Diana and I were driving down to Iwan's for the poker tourney, we passed a car in the slow lane. The license plate was "IM JIM". There was the oldest guy ever driving his little white car like 60 mph. For some reason, I found this absolutely hilarious. I mean, hey, he's Jim. Best ever.
Busy weekend these past few days. Let's get it started.
Friday evening, I went to a happy hour after work for one of my workboys. This is a guy I've sat 10 feet away from for the past couple years, and played on various rec sports teams with, and it's going to be strange and sad when he's gone. Diana and Iwan both showed up as well, which was nice. It was a good time.
That night we were going to go the movies, but kind of pooped out on that.
Saturday morning, Diana and I met Iwan and M.Kyle at Iwan's pad and headed down to Sycuan for a $13 no-limit tournament. This is the first tournament I've played in with re-buys and add-ons, and I don't think I like 'em. I went out pretty quick. On one hand, I had a pair of 5's in last position. There were a couple callers who just limped in (just called the blind without raising) when it came to me. I figured they were all just trying to see a cheap flop, and I probably had them beat, so I went all-in. They all folded (as I hoped), until the last guy, sitting on my right. He mentioned previously that he wasn't a strong player, was just there for fun, etc. He thought for a while, and called. We flipped our cards and he showed me a 6-9 of hearts. For non poker players, this is NOT typically what you'd call a "good call" against an all-in bet. But, with an underpair vs. two overcards, the odds are about a coinflip, and he managed to catch a 9 somewhere along the line. I busted, and re-bought for another $10 (mistake). I was a little steamed, and on a hand soon after, I went all-in with my A-K after the flop came up queen high. Not a good play... someone called with their queen and I was out. Oh well.
Iwan followed a bit later, and Kyle soon after him. Diana was the star of the day, lasting to the final 3 tables before eventually bleeding to death. She hung on for a long time with a pretty short stack, which is admirable. I'm proud of her.
We came home and worked out in the yard that afternoon for a while. It was sunny and hot and hard work, but we got a lot done. My mom came by for a nice chat. That evening we had all the usual couples over for a poker night (two pokers playings in one day! Unprecedented!) It was Norm and Teri, Iwan and Sara, Eryn and Heather, and Adam and Diana. The game was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I was pretty tired from being out in the sun, and played pretty crazily, going up and then spiralling down, losing $8 of $10. Oh well. Diana won enough to cover my losses, plus a few extra, so we remained in the black. It was particularly nice to see Norm and Teri out and about. Norm made a stunning comeback from being almost out, and Teri also either came out a winner or very slight loser, which was nice to see. Good times were had by all, I hope.
Sunday, Diana had her calculus ladies over for some AP prep. I came out and made an appearance as The Husband, which was fun. I mostly locked myself in the computer room, and then went golfing with Iwan and Miami John at Lomas. We had a good time. I played pretty well (for my standards). It was another hot day in the sun, though, and by the time I got home, I was in the mood to do nothing. Which we did, which was nice.
Sprinkled throughout the weekends were some emails with Mick's (girl)friend about Nethack. Mike recently asked me about Nethack (pronounced "net-hack", NOT "knee-thack"!), and he passed it on the info to Gwen. Since then I've inundated the poor thing with tips, questions and comments, but she seems to be having fun with the game.
Now, back to work. Things are pretty relaxed around here recently, which is a nice break from some recent pushes. Time to post this up and see what the day holds in store for me. Since my boy is leaving today, we were going to play our last official North Side vs. South Side (me and him are "South Side" (South Side rules!)) match, but one of the North Sider's (boo!) is sick. Bummer.
Oh! The best part! When Diana and I were driving down to Iwan's for the poker tourney, we passed a car in the slow lane. The license plate was "IM JIM". There was the oldest guy ever driving his little white car like 60 mph. For some reason, I found this absolutely hilarious. I mean, hey, he's Jim. Best ever.
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