Rock Band at work...

The weirdest thing just happened at work.

 

My workboy Scott got a call at his desk.  I wasn't really listening, but my ears pricked up when he started saying things like "Oh, you should probably ask Adam about that.  He knows a lot about it.  Can I put you on speakerphone?"  He motions for me to come over.

 

I'm wondering what I'm such an expert at.

 

I come over and look at the name on the phone.  It's a relatively important mid-level manager named Josh.  My mind races about what he could be asking about, and cross referencing that with things that I know about that Scott doesn't know.

 

Josh:  "Hey Adam…  I hear you know a bit about the game Rock Band?"

Adam: "I do…  wait, are you serious?"

 

He continues asking lots of questions about the game.  How many people can play, can you play competitively and cooperatively, can you play online, how many songs, etc…

 

I'm at once "in the zone", answering all his questions at once, but at the same time wondering in the back of my mind why he's asking.  His questions are kind of leading, as if he has some motive, so I'm trying to guess at that.

 

He finally reveals that he's part of planning a 35th anniversary party for our company, and wondered how Rock Band could fit into that.  He invited me to be on the planning committee, and I jumped at that. 

 

At our most recent holiday party, they had (among other things) a "Dance Dance Revolution" video game set up.  I commented that I thought Rock Band would have been a fun thing to have as a side activity, as well.

 

It was pretty much the most exciting business call I've had in a long time.

Allie's Words

Allie's words so far, off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Mom -- mah-mah
Dad -- Da-da or da-DEE!
Grampa -- bum-pa
Gramma -- maybe the same thing? Or something very close.
I want that -- da-da-da-da-da-da-DA-DA-DA! (pointing)
Unhappy -- nah-nah-nah-NAH-NAH (shoves things away from her face or struggles to get down)
Yes -- uhhuh-huh-huh-huh (almost like a chuckle or guttural grunt)
Banana -- na-nah
Ball -- baw
Bus -- buh
Bra -- bra
Clock -- c'ock (sounds like she's gagging a little)
Up -- hup
Help -- hep
Where -- daaah? (with hands up by her shoulders, palms up)
Elmo -- ellll-mah
Elbow -- elll-ba
Obama -- obmamammm (mumbles various syllables)
Barbapapa -- ha-ba-ba-ba









She whispered for the first time the other day. We were in the bath, and she was happy and loud. I whispered "Allie, can you whisper? Can you say 'dada'?" and she whispered back "Da-da" very softly.

SO cute.

Mnemonics

Whenever Diana wants to remember something, particularly if it's at night and she needs to remember something in the morning, she'll lay out some weird object in a place where it doesn't belong. "This is going to remind me to write a check for Dorrie." (Dorrie is our daycare lady).

I thought this was a good one.

Test post from Windows 7 Writer…

I downloaded the new beta version of Windows 7, and am running it in a Virtual PC.  Which rocks.  Virtual PC is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Anyhoo, it comes with Windows 7 Writers, which is basically a desktop blogging tool.  So I’m testing it out.  :P

I see some of myself in this...

Spam is funny

More women with a bigger rocket

Beyond question, any woman will be 100 stunned by your mega.

Imagine the satisfaction. It's goin' to be so simple!

Pursue the website!

2009

Happy New Year!

Christmas was spent with Diana's family, and that was a lot of fun. New Years was spent with almost all of my friends in the world, which was really special. I'm a lucky guy to have such wonderful family and friends.

Read: Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up", which chronicles the evolution of his standup career. I think you either love or hate Steve Martin's standup act. Either way, it's really interesting to learn where it all came from.

Currently reading: "Conned Again, Watson!" A book about interesting math and statistics problems told as Sherlock Holmes stories. A version of the Monty Hall problem was just discussed, as well as lots of other fun little foibles. Lots of good geeky stuff.

Recently listened to: Michael Palin's "Around the World in 80 Days", recounting his travels following in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg. I really enjoyed it. Michael Palin reads his own book, and I love his soothing voice. Lots of laugh-out-loud funny parts, but mostly just interesting travel stories. Books on CD are a really fun way to spend commute time.

Watched: "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Dark Knight". The former has been recommended by everyone I know, and I agree, I really enjoyed it. Diana too. It's pretty intense, and not something I think I'd want to watch again, but definitely worth seeing. "The Dark Knight" was my second viewing (Diana's first), and we both really enjoyed it. I'm sad that Heath Ledger died.

Currently watching: Diana and I have completely copied Mike and Gwen in their annual "Lord of the Rings" viewing. I'm not sure if we'll do it annually (I hope so!), but we're halfway through "The Two Towers". I've never watched all the extended editions, so I'm not ever sure which is new stuff and what isn't. I remember TTT as having a lot of stupid humor in it, but we're both really loving them. It totally makes me want to dive into Tolkien, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to give The Silmarillion another go yet. It's already defeated me 3 or 4 times. (I came pretty close to finishing it last time, though!)

Work has been slow, and I've been able to take some time off, which has been great, but it's back to the grindstone soon.