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.

Irony

One of my Facebook "friends" (someone I was an just an acquaintance with in high school), recently had Lasik surgery to fix her eyes. She posted this announcement:



I found it wonderfully ironic. I hope she's thanking her doctor, too.

xkcd.com

You really should read http://xkcd.com every day...

Allie's First Tooth!

Allie hasn't been herself lately. Kind of whiny and cranky. On a bit of a hunger strike. Last night, in fact, she threw up during dinner.

Today has been bit better, but still a little off.

But tonight during her bath, I stuck my finger in her mouth, and felt the rough edge of a lower-left tooth! We're hoping that's the cause of all of the above. (Googling for "vomiting and teething" yield some anecdotal evidence (but little medical evidence) that the two might be related).

I'm so unbelievably proud of her! I even shed a little tear. Let's see: 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days.

Yay Allie! :)

Busy!

Things I should be blogging about, but don't have time.

1) Road trip to Palm Springs. Had a great time visiting my aunt and uncle and cousins. Lots of sitting around and chatting, and introducing Allie to some of her extended family.

2) Thanksgiving at the Schatz's. A good time was had by all.

3) Mike and Gwen are visiting, which is always a lot of fun. Mostly interviews during the week, but some hanging out at night.

4) Today is my birthday! Yay! And, tonight is the annual WCD Holiday Gift Exchange, which I'm really looking forward too. I hope my Secret Santa recipient likes his/her gift!

5) Fantasy Football is over for the Fightin' Birdmen. We were on the bubble, but after a horrible showing, didn't make it (and also scored the second worst score in Micks League of Mick's 10 year history. Ugh).

That's the news!

In cliffhanger like fashion, we left off with Allie throwing up, and Diana and I trying to keep the laundry ahead of the flow. Well, it turns out that cleaning up vomit and caring for a sick baby is a pretty good way to get sick yourself. Allie was really only sick for a day or so, and soon back to her normal happy self. The next night, however, Diana and I both woke up at the same time, and went to separate bathrooms to be sick. It was pretty incredible.

The day the followed was pretty much the worst ever. I’ll spare you the details, but after a night of rotating in and out of the bathroom, we spent the rest of the day as quivering blobs, knowing we had to rehydrate ourselves, but afraid to drink even water for fear of our stomachs continuing to revolt. Thankfully we were able to get Allie to daycare, so we could spend the day recovering. The next day, we felt much better, but still needed a day to get our strength back. Diana made instant mashed potatoes soaked in chicken broth, and I’ll always remember how good it was.

That second day of recovery happened to be Election Day, so we watched news for much of the day and the evening.

I remember seeing Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I remember being more moved by that speech than anything I’d seen by any modern politician. I distinctly remember thinking that if this guy ran for president that I would vote for him. So it was exciting to see that all come to fruition. It’s refreshing to feel like we’ve really reached the end-game of racism and civil rights. It’s also refreshing to see the world’s reaction to his election. After years of having to lie and say you’re a Canadian (the horror!) when traveling, all of a sudden, it’s cool to be an American again.

But as happy as I was to see Obama win, I was disappointed to see Proposition 8 lose (or “win”, I suppose). In most issues, I feel that I can really take the time and see both sides of the story, but with this, I’m really at a loss. Even after perusing Yes on 8 websites, I don’t understand what “protect marriage” means. I don’t understand why it’s bad for children to learn that homosexuality is a real thing, in an age-appropriate context (like how we teach kids about heterosexual relationships and mechanics). I just don’t get it. The websites all sort of take it as read that if you’re there, you’re already on board. So if someone can explain the Yes on 8 viewpoints, I’d appreciate it.

And regardless of the issue, I don’t understand why it only takes 50% of a popular vote to amend the state constitution. That seems way too easy. It seems like you could get 50% of the people to vote on almost anything. (That reminds me of a quote I just saw… “You know how dumb the average person is? By definition, half of people are even dumber than THAT!”)

Moving on, things are good. Allie had a rough couple days recently, beginning with a fever. She was pretty unhappy, waking up crying and so forth, but I think she’s really turned the corner on whatever it was. Sleeping through the night and happy in the days. She’s really a lot of fun as she gets to be more interactive. She definitely understands a lot of what we say, and it’s fun to prompt her to show us her shoes, put the basketball in the hoop, blink her eyes, stomp her feet, etc. But for some reason, whenever I say “Allie, can you say ‘Daddy’?” she responds with: “Maw-maw!” We need to work on that. She’s just a real kick, though. We love her. :)

Work has been busy, but it’s slowed down a lot lately as I’m rolling off one project and waiting for the next. It’s nice to have some time for a little education and research and development.

It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks coming up. We’re going on our first road trip this weekend to Palm Springs to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins who are vacationing there. Then Thanksgiving, which we’re spending with the Schatz’s. Then Mike and Gwen are going to be staying with us as they job-hunt in San Diego. My birthday is around that time, so my parents will want to make a fuss, especially since they’ll be leaving to Montana soon afterwards. Then various friends and company holiday parties after that. It’s going to be a fun couple weeks!

Allie's First Time Throwing Up...

... and second, and third, and fourth, and...

She apparently has a stomach flu. It's heartbreaking. My poor baby. :(

Proposition 8

I'm really having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that there is even a POSSIBILITY that I'll live in a state that would amend its CONSTITUTION to DENY the right to marry to a certain class of people.

I mean, seriously... what year is this?

BizTalk, LittleBigPlanet, Facebook, etc

Hello everyone!

This past week I was up in Irvine at a training class for work. The class was on Microsoft BizTalk, a business application used to pass data between systems. It's something I've been using at work for a while now, but with no formal training, so while lots of the class was review, it was good to get baselined.

It wasn't totally awful being gone, but it kind of sucked. I missed my family. The classes were long, and by the end of every class, my thoughts of going out and finding some fun had vanished, and all I wanted to do was get takeout and sit in the hotel room. The first or second night I was there, I went out and bought dinner. Then stopped by the store for some beer. At that point, I realized that I didn't have access to my mini-bar (it was locked and I didn't get a key), so I bought a single 22 oz bottle of Corona. When I got back to the hotel, I realized I didn't have a bottle opener. I was hungry, thirsty, and a little desperate, so I used my key to pry off the top, slicing my knuckle pretty good in the process. It all felt a little white-trashy.

I had the forethought to borrow my parents webcam for my trip. Every night, I talked with Diana and Allison via Skype, and it was great to see their shining (if squirmy) faces.

The weekend before I left, I spent some time with my boy Baditude, who introduced me to a quirky game called LittleBigPlanet. On the surface, it's a quirky physics based platformer with a fun atmosphere. But it comes with tools to create your own levels. Under the surface, though, there is a huge amount of potential for creating FUN. With a few switches, buttons, motors, pistons, and virtual foam, rubber, metal, stone, and other materials, there is a lot of room for creativity. I pretty much read all I could and watched every video on YouTube during my week away. Baditude pointed me at a place where I could get access to the open beta, and I got that up and running when I got back (it ended on Sunday). I haven't been this geeked for a game in a long time, and that's including Rock Band 2. Wow.

Work is pretty hectic. We're in a little bit of a perfect storm with the market tanking and lots of accounts closing right during quarter end tax season, and there is something that's causing the database to fall over. Bad news. So it's been kind of busy as we try to monitor and figure out the problem, and come up with a solution. I think we're on the right track. It's kind of funny that on Monday, we had major database problems. Monday night, we set up all kinds of logging and tracing and diagnostic tools. Tuesday (today) had no issues. Ha.

Little Lovely is doing great. Daycare continues to go well, and she's a full-fledged walker now. She'll still crawl and bear walk sometimes, depending on what surface she's traversing, but in the house, she's all over the place. No English yet, but lots of sounds, and a comprehension vocabulary that grows every day. Still no teeth yet either. I remember seeing my friends kids go from toothless to toothy, and am always shocked at how much it changes their look.

Changing the subject: at some point recently, I decided I was going to accept any Facebook friend request that came my way. My previous strategy was to limit my friends to, you know, actual friends. I even denied a friend request or two (which at least one person found absolutely hilarious). Now that I've added some people, the requests keep coming in! I find it all totally fake and lame, but also fun to see what old friends are up to. My love-hate relationship with social networking continues.

Bedtime. G'night.

Sick

Diana was sick last week. I've been sick the last couple days. Allie is just getting it now.

It's a big party over here.

Allie Turns One

Astute readers may remember that Allison turned one whole year old on September 21st, and what a year it’s been!

I can remember her actual birth like it was yesterday. I remember Diana feeling new and different contractions while we were watching Survivor the night before, and the subsequent craziness of the next day, followed by pure adrenaline of the next few weeks as we figured out how everything worked. Watching her grow from a tiny little sprout into a toddler (almost) has been incredible. From one year to the next, adults are pretty much the same, but she’s gone through such an amazing transformation in this past year, it’s just miraculous. We always look at pictures and videos from this past year, and marvel at her various stages of development.

On Saturday, we had an informal get-together in the park to celebrate, and I was talking with an old friend from high school. He asked about fatherhood, and I told him what’s been going through my mind over the past few weeks. When other people look at Allie, they see a baby. When I look at her, in very literal, no hyperbole terms, I see the most perfect thing ever created.

This next year is going to be a big one. She’s just taking a few steps, so full-on walking is right around the corner. No teeth yet, so I’m assuming they’re in there somewhere. Lots of talking, but no English yet. Over the past few weeks, she’s been getting a little more free-willed, so we’ll see how that develops. It’s going to be an exciting year, for sure.

Hey Chargers...

Seriously, my old heart can't take much more of this...

Ugh.

Hello, Blog

Hello blog!

I haven’t forgotten about you. I just haven’t had the energy to pay you the attention you deserve.

Best Weekend Ever ‘08 is in the books. Mike and Gwen stayed with us for two whole weeks, which was a real treat. Not only to spend time with them, but the whole gang hung out almost every day. Flag football was played, and no one got hurt. We drafted our Fantasy Football teams, and so far I’m not disappointed. We BBQ’d and swam in various pools in various mansions. Lots of games were played, both video and board. Really good times all the way around.

Our kitchen is done! It took about two or three times as long we were told, but I padded my expectations by about double, so it worked out ok. We’re really, REALLY happy with the results. Here are some before and after pictures (please indulge me showing off a little)

The slides match up, so press each Play button at watch the slides side by side!

Before:


After:



Allie is turning one year old in a week or so. Amazing. She’s doing really great. She’s on the cusp of walking, but hasn’t quite taken steps on her own yet. No teeth yet, but we’re assuming they’re in there somewhere. She says “Duh-DAH!” and points at almost everything. She’s just perfect.

I’m beginning to see Halloween signs at various shops. I wonder what Allie wants to be? I’m sure I can’t wait to find out!

Work is busy. Diana is teaching it up, schoolin’ kids something wicked, and that seems to be going well. With the newness of school starting and daycare, as well as the awesomeness of BWE ‘08, we’re ready to get back to a more stable routine. So far, so good.

Elk Ridge Quilts

My mom, an avid quilter, was recently persuaded to think seriously about selling her quilts. She proposed the idea of a website, and I jumped on board, eager to help out. After some research, I got Mom set up with a basic merchant PayPal account, and signed up with Yahoo webhosting. I expected that it would take a bit of effort to get a website up and running, but was pretty blown away at how easy the whole process was.

When I signed up with Yahoo, I used their pre-canned site-builder tool. They asked what kind of site I was creating, and basically pre-made a website which we then customized with our own text and images, and played around with the layouts. The coolest part is how easily it integrated in with PayPal automatically. Basically, in about 10 minutes of pointing and clicking, I had a fully functional online store up and running. Awesome.

The pre-canned solution stuff is good for probably 80% of anything anyone needs to get a basic site up and running. They also have a more hands-on SiteBuilder tool which has a bunch more templates which are more customizable. The geek in me wants to redo the site using the more in depth tool, but it might also be more trouble than it’s worth.

For now, check it out: http://www.ElkRidgeQuilts.com

I’ve always been impressed by Yahoo, and this experience only adds to that. I’m always fired up with things Just Work the way they are supposed to. I’m also proud of my mom for starting up her new business. Very exciting for her.

Who’d have thought baby quilts could be so much fun?