Monday, November 26, 2007
This couple is breaking up next to me on the plane.
And it's really uncomfortable and awkward. Can't wait to put my iPod on.
Monday, November 19, 2007
I feel full...
Day #2 on the Shangri-La diet. I'll later talk about my motivation, etc., but I had the most unusual feeling today of being "full" and a little "too full" on far less food than normally would create such a feeling. I biked in this morning, then had some cottage cheese, then some water, a break, and a tablespoon of sugar (with water), then more time, then eventually lunch. Lunch consisted of a small cup of soup and salad that looked kind of big, but honestly wasn't really. It's size was a function of the leaves and peppers and other weirdly shaped vegetables creating a structure that was taller than normal.
Afterwards I felt full. Didn't think about food until my meeting (and did the 1-hour no food, then sugar water, then 1-hour no food again) and just recently had a cup of fruit. I feel full. I don't want a big dinner.
Why am I doing this? I feel fat. I look fat. I was on a trip last week and watching the videos I was *unhappy* with how fat my belly looked. I recently hit 200 lbs, which on a 6-foot frame isn't necessarily flattering (even if I have a larger frame than others). I still have too big a belly.
10 years ago, which is not too long ago, I was 165. I've been up to 205. Ugh. Oh, this morning, in my early-morning-weigh-in, I did see the "other" side of the 190 line for the first time in probably years. That would be the 189 side for those keeping track.
So, I'll try to blog more, and read the book tonight. For now I want to catch up on some work stuff...
Afterwards I felt full. Didn't think about food until my meeting (and did the 1-hour no food, then sugar water, then 1-hour no food again) and just recently had a cup of fruit. I feel full. I don't want a big dinner.
Why am I doing this? I feel fat. I look fat. I was on a trip last week and watching the videos I was *unhappy* with how fat my belly looked. I recently hit 200 lbs, which on a 6-foot frame isn't necessarily flattering (even if I have a larger frame than others). I still have too big a belly.
10 years ago, which is not too long ago, I was 165. I've been up to 205. Ugh. Oh, this morning, in my early-morning-weigh-in, I did see the "other" side of the 190 line for the first time in probably years. That would be the 189 side for those keeping track.
So, I'll try to blog more, and read the book tonight. For now I want to catch up on some work stuff...
Monday, November 05, 2007
Mold in my washing machine
I have so many other more interesting and more important things to write about (not the least of which is why I haven't just converted to Dvorak once and for all), but now I must lament about mold in my washing machine.
Maybe in and of itself the mold isn't an issue. What I really take issue with is the fact that the instruction/care model doesn't even mention it. That's *absurd*. I different word came to mind (one that I use at work all the time), but I don't want to offend anybody who might be reading this.
Mold is a fact of life on front-loading washing machines, because if you close the door when not in use, and there is any water left over, you've created a perfect environment for mold. Why then, does the instruction manual not mention this? Why does it not mention how to clean the washing machine?
So I Googled it, specifically "Kenmore washer mold" and WHAM! So many hits you wouldn't even believe it. To make a long story shorter, I ran to Walmart and bought some bleach and Tilex for mold and gave the washer a good scrubbing. Per some other articles on the web, I also poured bleach with Cascade into the machine let it run for a while. I'm in the midst of the first cycle, then will run another cycle. It already smells better.
Oh, I didn't even mention how disgusting the hose was. I need to check it again later, and probably clean it again AND perhaps tilt the machine so I can get to the other hose that is inside and connects directly the drum. we'll see...
That's it for now, I have to get back to work.
Maybe in and of itself the mold isn't an issue. What I really take issue with is the fact that the instruction/care model doesn't even mention it. That's *absurd*. I different word came to mind (one that I use at work all the time), but I don't want to offend anybody who might be reading this.
Mold is a fact of life on front-loading washing machines, because if you close the door when not in use, and there is any water left over, you've created a perfect environment for mold. Why then, does the instruction manual not mention this? Why does it not mention how to clean the washing machine?
So I Googled it, specifically "Kenmore washer mold" and WHAM! So many hits you wouldn't even believe it. To make a long story shorter, I ran to Walmart and bought some bleach and Tilex for mold and gave the washer a good scrubbing. Per some other articles on the web, I also poured bleach with Cascade into the machine let it run for a while. I'm in the midst of the first cycle, then will run another cycle. It already smells better.
Oh, I didn't even mention how disgusting the hose was. I need to check it again later, and probably clean it again AND perhaps tilt the machine so I can get to the other hose that is inside and connects directly the drum. we'll see...
That's it for now, I have to get back to work.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
A Chapstick Confession
I may have written about this before, and maybe I'm just feeling extra guilty about it now, but I need to confess something.
When my son has chapped lips, I put Chapstick on him when he is sleeping.
He won't put it on himself. I could "force" him to do it, maybe sit on him or something, but why? Who needs the trauma? Or am I missing an opportunity to "teach" him something? The path of least resistance is to put it on him while he is sleeping so his lips heal. Do I tell him later? I know he'd *freak* out at me if I told him that I did it in the morning.
I tried doing this the other night to my youngest son. He woke up *immediately* and then I was toast. He didn't see the Chapstick, but insisted that I pick him up and then we went and slept on the couch together. It was actually very sweet, but he still has chapped lips sort of under his lips. Like when you bite your bottom lip. He might be sucking his bottom lip when he sleeps or something...
When my son has chapped lips, I put Chapstick on him when he is sleeping.
He won't put it on himself. I could "force" him to do it, maybe sit on him or something, but why? Who needs the trauma? Or am I missing an opportunity to "teach" him something? The path of least resistance is to put it on him while he is sleeping so his lips heal. Do I tell him later? I know he'd *freak* out at me if I told him that I did it in the morning.
I tried doing this the other night to my youngest son. He woke up *immediately* and then I was toast. He didn't see the Chapstick, but insisted that I pick him up and then we went and slept on the couch together. It was actually very sweet, but he still has chapped lips sort of under his lips. Like when you bite your bottom lip. He might be sucking his bottom lip when he sleeps or something...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Huge slices of watermelon...
Boys eating watermelon...
Ah the sweetness of summer... swimming, long days, bbq's, and of course the slurping of a fresh piece of watermelon. The seedless still aren't quite as sweet as the good-old-fashioned-pre-genetic-engineering-seeded type, but they've gotten better in recent years, and the convenience sure is worth it...
So after cutting up a watermelon, along the long side, first in half, then quarters, then eigths, Ilan proclaimed that he could eat a whole piece (which was twice the size of his head). So I did what any proud father would. I let him try. As usual, he surprised the heck out of me with his appetite, perseverance, and just all-around coolness. Aaron also did pretty well on his slice, and I devoured mine, but there's nothing unusual about that...
Slurping video below. Photos follow in the next post...
The warriors start the battle...
Ilan at the end, dripping with sweat and watermelon juice;
Aaron barely got started, and asked me to take over (and I obliged).
So after cutting up a watermelon, along the long side, first in half, then quarters, then eigths, Ilan proclaimed that he could eat a whole piece (which was twice the size of his head). So I did what any proud father would. I let him try. As usual, he surprised the heck out of me with his appetite, perseverance, and just all-around coolness. Aaron also did pretty well on his slice, and I devoured mine, but there's nothing unusual about that...
Slurping video below. Photos follow in the next post...
The warriors start the battle...
Ilan at the end, dripping with sweat and watermelon juice;
Aaron barely got started, and asked me to take over (and I obliged).
Thursday, July 19, 2007
When I shake the phone, do you move?
So Aaron is just one of the sweetest children in the world. Yesterday he got a new shirt, which he was *sooooooooooooooo* excited about, but that isn't the funny part. He asked me, which I thought was very clever, if when he shook the phone (that he was talking to me on), if I moved. Well, maybe it isn't that clever because he never saw me move in the house, but he also never saw me when he was on the phone with me... Anyway, at least it was cute.
Then he tried shaking the phone to see if I moved.. :)
Then he tried shaking the phone to see if I moved.. :)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Why babies sleep...
I concluded today that the reason (most) babies sleep so much is not
because of any cognitive or regenerative need. It's because their
parents need them to. A child who consumed ALL of the waking (let
alone sleeping) time of its caregiver would have killed the caregiver
through exhaustion, or killed itself because the caregiver was too
exhaused/frustrated to help the child. I say this after having spent
the afternoon with my usually-pleasant daughter who we call girl-baby.
I got *nothing* else done, even to the point of having to postpone
going to the bathroom and eating...
because of any cognitive or regenerative need. It's because their
parents need them to. A child who consumed ALL of the waking (let
alone sleeping) time of its caregiver would have killed the caregiver
through exhaustion, or killed itself because the caregiver was too
exhaused/frustrated to help the child. I say this after having spent
the afternoon with my usually-pleasant daughter who we call girl-baby.
I got *nothing* else done, even to the point of having to postpone
going to the bathroom and eating...
Friday, July 06, 2007
Where to place the Mezuzot - Part II
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Mezuzah placement with sliding doors?
So I've been researching where to place Mezuzot if you have sliding glass doors going to an enclosed backyard. I can't find anything that is decipherable and has a diagram illustrating my point... Sooooooooo... Here is my picture, and as soon as I get an answer from a proper halachic authority, I'll post it so Google can index it and the next person asking the same question won't have the same stress I am going through right now...
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Have a blessed day...
A cashier said this to me in the BWI airport. I was really touched...
Seems like something people should say more often to each other...
Seems like something people should say more often to each other...
Where are you from?
I just took an amazingly fun on-line quiz that gives you different pronunciation questions to guess where you are from (or where your accent is from). It NAILED me! Totally cool. Check it out yourself by clicking on the link below...
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Northeastern This could either mean an r-less NYC or Providence accent or one from Jersey which doesn't sound the same. (People in Jersey don't call their state "Joisey" in real life) |
Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I don't know how well the image above actually
appears..It was scaled down from its actual size. I used
www.myheritage.com to upload my photo and have it
figure out who I looked the most like. I'm not unhappy
with the top result, except for the fact it shows the future
of the top of my head.. .and it's shiny!!!
Alas, what's a guy to do?
appears..It was scaled down from its actual size. I used
www.myheritage.com to upload my photo and have it
figure out who I looked the most like. I'm not unhappy
with the top result, except for the fact it shows the future
of the top of my head.. .and it's shiny!!!
Alas, what's a guy to do?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
How much do I love my daughter?
Enough that I used my coveted black Apple Computer t-shirt to wipe her very runny nose this morning.... That is a lot of love!
Whipped cream shots at midnight,,,
I fell asleep on the coach after watching Southpark and was woken by a hungry Aaron at 1:00 AM. He wanted chicken, which I could not find, but then was very happy to have half of a yogurt smoothie. While he was drinking his yogurt, I unashamedly grabbed a whipped cream canister and did a shot in my mouth. He smiled and said he wanted one, so I obliged, and we went back and forth like this a few times. Then it was back to sleep for the both of us... A very nice 'Dad
Moment'.
Moment'.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Programming my Avenir RC3 Bike Computer
This was really frustrating, and unnecessarily so. I think every company today that sells a device that requires some level of programming has an obligation to put its manuals online, and ensure that they are crawled and hence searchable. That does not seem to be the case with this bike computer, so at this point I'm left to my "best guess" as to how to program it.
So here goes. I visited http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cyclecomputer_calibration.html and found an excellent calibration chart for your computer, based on the size of your tire, which is exactly correct. There are six different groups of computers, and hence six different values I can punch in. My tire size is 700x23, so the choices, from Group A - F, are 81.56, 222, 210, 333, 1302, 2097. After futzing around with my bike computer for a long time, I learned that if you hold the right button down while the computer is on the screen showing the time, you can program the time. If you hold it down while it is on the odometer, you can program the wheel size. Since it had four digits, and the first was a 2 (did this mean it was suggested?) Entered the 2097 number. I won't know for sure if this is accurate until I either find my manual (which is unlikely since the computer is many years old), or ride along side somebody with a properly calibrated computer...
OK, enough for now. It would have been less stress to buy a new bike computer, with directions in the box and on-line.
So here goes. I visited http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cyclecomputer_calibration.html and found an excellent calibration chart for your computer, based on the size of your tire, which is exactly correct. There are six different groups of computers, and hence six different values I can punch in. My tire size is 700x23, so the choices, from Group A - F, are 81.56, 222, 210, 333, 1302, 2097. After futzing around with my bike computer for a long time, I learned that if you hold the right button down while the computer is on the screen showing the time, you can program the time. If you hold it down while it is on the odometer, you can program the wheel size. Since it had four digits, and the first was a 2 (did this mean it was suggested?) Entered the 2097 number. I won't know for sure if this is accurate until I either find my manual (which is unlikely since the computer is many years old), or ride along side somebody with a properly calibrated computer...
OK, enough for now. It would have been less stress to buy a new bike computer, with directions in the box and on-line.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
What's inside of chicken?
So Ilan was eating a chicken nugget the other day and laughed because he finally figured out what's inside of chicken... DEAD CHICKENS! I had long-suspected that kids don't understand that something called chicken might actually in fact be chicken. Otherwise you could call that nugget a "Happy Nugget" and they wouldn't know the difference. I'm pretty sure they don't yet know or understand that "beef" and especially "salami" actually comes from a cow. I'll let them learn that life lesson in due time...
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
It's not mouses, it's mices...
Aaron was telling me a story about a mouse, and then mouses. I said "if you have more than one mouse, it's not mouses, it's mice." So then his story changed to talk about mices. Makes sense to me. Too cute to bother correcting again. We played miniature golf tonight. I was going to take just Aaron out, but his brother wanted to go and I asked Aaron if it was OK, since otherwise it was supposed to be me and him. He said "yes", because frankly he's one of the sweetest children in the world, and maybe was uncomfortable saying no. I'll take him out for something alone another day. Anyway, while playing miniature golf he was completely in his own world. Zoned out worse than I get. I'm waiting one day for the diagnosis of extreme ADD (or whatever it's going to be called then). I actually suspect one day the doctors will recommend putting him on something to help him focus. We're holding him back a year, which every day I'm more and more happy with as a decision.... But alas, on to a different story...
Saturday, March 17, 2007
I don't want to brush my teeth - excuse #101
I remember one particularly traumatizing evening as a child...probably actually a teenager or just about. I was asleep. Long asleep...and exhausted. And my father woke me up screaming at me to brush my teeth. I don't even know if he knew whether or not I had brushed my teeth or not. I remember crying and screaming as I was literally dragged to the bathroom. I don't remember much after that, but I do remember the trauma of being woken up from some deep sleep and then the screaming and crying.
My oldest son doesn't like to brush his teeth. Maybe it's genetic. His excuse tonight was that the cut on his tongue would hurt. I told him that I was going to write that down and make a list of excuses. He didn't like that idea. I've never dragged him out of bed, but I have yelled a few times, mostly because it takes about 100x more time to "discuss" the matter than to just do it.
So do I let him not brush his teeth? And years later get the blame for his cavities? I tried explaining to him tonight (he's 6, by the way, and I think intelligent enough to get all of these conversations) why sometimes parents need to not let their kids do certain things. I asked him if he would let his little brother Isaac play with knives or razor blades. "Of course not". "Why?" "Because he could get hurt." "Even if he wanted to play with the razor blades?" "I still wouldn't let him." Then I asked if he wanted his teeth to fall out. I explained that the sugar from the grapes that he just ate would stay on his teeth and dissolve and form little holes that would work their way down to the nerve and it would hurt very badly and then they'd have to drill his teeth and fill it with something. And if they had to do that too many times his teeth would come out...And he couldn't eat apples or chicken nuggets or anything unless it was being eaten with a straw.
He said "fine" and then walked to the bathroom and began another protest. We eventually agreed on a "quick" brushing. Maybe if I can get a "quick" brushing every night I can eventually lengthen the brushing time. To make matters slightly worse though, when he was rinsing his mouth, he spilled the water on his shirt which became a "catastrophe" and so the episode gets that much more dramatic...Oy.
My oldest son doesn't like to brush his teeth. Maybe it's genetic. His excuse tonight was that the cut on his tongue would hurt. I told him that I was going to write that down and make a list of excuses. He didn't like that idea. I've never dragged him out of bed, but I have yelled a few times, mostly because it takes about 100x more time to "discuss" the matter than to just do it.
So do I let him not brush his teeth? And years later get the blame for his cavities? I tried explaining to him tonight (he's 6, by the way, and I think intelligent enough to get all of these conversations) why sometimes parents need to not let their kids do certain things. I asked him if he would let his little brother Isaac play with knives or razor blades. "Of course not". "Why?" "Because he could get hurt." "Even if he wanted to play with the razor blades?" "I still wouldn't let him." Then I asked if he wanted his teeth to fall out. I explained that the sugar from the grapes that he just ate would stay on his teeth and dissolve and form little holes that would work their way down to the nerve and it would hurt very badly and then they'd have to drill his teeth and fill it with something. And if they had to do that too many times his teeth would come out...And he couldn't eat apples or chicken nuggets or anything unless it was being eaten with a straw.
He said "fine" and then walked to the bathroom and began another protest. We eventually agreed on a "quick" brushing. Maybe if I can get a "quick" brushing every night I can eventually lengthen the brushing time. To make matters slightly worse though, when he was rinsing his mouth, he spilled the water on his shirt which became a "catastrophe" and so the episode gets that much more dramatic...Oy.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
How's this shot? I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters with my two oldest sons, and with the benefit of a day's worth of reflection, I want to share some thoughts, but first, what I learned about my camera:
It's really hard to get good photographs of professional basketball players unless you are on the court, under the basket, and take a LOT of shots. Most of my shots didn't come out, even when I was using the fastest speed of my EOS-20D, which is wicked fast. I also used RAW files for the first time and was very impressed with the results. I also got to use (after negotiating with the security guards), my favorite lens in the world, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, which was recommended to me by Clive VanRensburg, one of the best photographers I've ever met. The f/2.8 along with image stabilization lets you get shots like the one at left, (1/125th of a second, f/2.8, 200mm zoom, hand-held indoors), which I'm pretty happy with.
OK, now the fatherhood reflections....I think I messed up on a few fronts; the first was the fact that I bought tickets on the floor. This was bad for too reasons, the first was that they couldn't really see over the people's heads in front of us (we sat directly behind the Globetrotters), and it was selfish.. I wanted close tickets to take pictures, and I should have simply gone for something a few rows up where they would have had an unobstructed view.
The ticket issues was somewhat minor though; the real "downer" was near the end of the night when my older son (actually, he asked me a few times through the night), wanted "stuff". Not food stuff, but "junk", like stuff that they could sign or a flying thing or some more junk that would clutter the house and get thrown away in six months or a year. I wasn't in the mood to waste money on more "stuff", since the house is so cluttered anyway, but it became a big problem. The conversation went back and forth for a while from "No", to "No, you didn't behave well today", to "No, quit asking" to "No, why can't you say 'Thank you for taking me Daddy'". By the end of the night both of us were pissed at each other. Was I right? No doubt we have too much crap/clutter, and the prices for more crap were outrageous ($25 mini-basketballs), and that it would get thrown away, but did I let the cost of one of those things ruin the night/experience/memory? Should I have simply budgeted $20 for each kid for "crap" for the event? Last night I would have said "No", but tonight I'm thinking that is what I should have done. If I could do it again, I'd get slightly worse seats (I don't think my kids really care about the seats), but let them each have some money to do with as they please.
So this took longer to write than I had planned; probably because I was watching YouTube on the other monitor. Still am...
The only question left is "Do I take them to Monster Trucks next week?" I don't know. I'm still torn. I personally want to go myself actually; but do I want to reward the bratty/ungrateful behavior, or do I give everybody another chance, but this time with a budget that they can use for shirts/trinkets/food/whatever. We did buy slurpees and popcorn and water ($20) last night??? I'll have to think about it this week...
It's really hard to get good photographs of professional basketball players unless you are on the court, under the basket, and take a LOT of shots. Most of my shots didn't come out, even when I was using the fastest speed of my EOS-20D, which is wicked fast. I also used RAW files for the first time and was very impressed with the results. I also got to use (after negotiating with the security guards), my favorite lens in the world, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, which was recommended to me by Clive VanRensburg, one of the best photographers I've ever met. The f/2.8 along with image stabilization lets you get shots like the one at left, (1/125th of a second, f/2.8, 200mm zoom, hand-held indoors), which I'm pretty happy with.
OK, now the fatherhood reflections....I think I messed up on a few fronts; the first was the fact that I bought tickets on the floor. This was bad for too reasons, the first was that they couldn't really see over the people's heads in front of us (we sat directly behind the Globetrotters), and it was selfish.. I wanted close tickets to take pictures, and I should have simply gone for something a few rows up where they would have had an unobstructed view.
The ticket issues was somewhat minor though; the real "downer" was near the end of the night when my older son (actually, he asked me a few times through the night), wanted "stuff". Not food stuff, but "junk", like stuff that they could sign or a flying thing or some more junk that would clutter the house and get thrown away in six months or a year. I wasn't in the mood to waste money on more "stuff", since the house is so cluttered anyway, but it became a big problem. The conversation went back and forth for a while from "No", to "No, you didn't behave well today", to "No, quit asking" to "No, why can't you say 'Thank you for taking me Daddy'". By the end of the night both of us were pissed at each other. Was I right? No doubt we have too much crap/clutter, and the prices for more crap were outrageous ($25 mini-basketballs), and that it would get thrown away, but did I let the cost of one of those things ruin the night/experience/memory? Should I have simply budgeted $20 for each kid for "crap" for the event? Last night I would have said "No", but tonight I'm thinking that is what I should have done. If I could do it again, I'd get slightly worse seats (I don't think my kids really care about the seats), but let them each have some money to do with as they please.
So this took longer to write than I had planned; probably because I was watching YouTube on the other monitor. Still am...
The only question left is "Do I take them to Monster Trucks next week?" I don't know. I'm still torn. I personally want to go myself actually; but do I want to reward the bratty/ungrateful behavior, or do I give everybody another chance, but this time with a budget that they can use for shirts/trinkets/food/whatever. We did buy slurpees and popcorn and water ($20) last night??? I'll have to think about it this week...
Saturday, January 06, 2007
I helped my Mom with her computer tonight. What the heck is wrong with my industry where we can't create something that the *rest* of society can use? My Mom was upset that she couldn't connect to her wireless network at home, and really confused why it kept saying Netgear when she had a D-Link. She was going to return her new MacBook because it couldn't connect to her network. Well, as you might suspect, she wasn't connecting to her network, she was connecting to a neighbor's network. So how do you remote diagnose these problems. Well, you don't. Trying to walk somebody through these kind of issues over the phone is nearly impossible and insanely time-consuming. So, I installed a version of UltraVNC SC (SingleClick) that lets you build a client that your friends/family can download and run as an EXE. As long as you have a static IP (or get the same DHCP assignment from your provider), you can have a viewer running and they can connect to your machine and you get to view their desktop.
Pretty sweet, especially when helping your parents. I then did the quick and obvious things, like connect to her router, change her password on the router, change the name of her wireless network (the idiots at Best Buy thought it would be OK to use her last name as the name of her Wireless network so that any neighbor would have that much more information when hacking in), disable SSID broadcast, and use WEP. A little redundant, but a good practice nonetheless. We then set up her Macintosh using a very helpful USC page here. She's elated, and won't be returning her Mac, nor buying a new wireless router (which was her other suggestion).
I have to wrap this up now as my four-year-old just came in (its midnight), so I need to walk him back to his room...
Pretty sweet, especially when helping your parents. I then did the quick and obvious things, like connect to her router, change her password on the router, change the name of her wireless network (the idiots at Best Buy thought it would be OK to use her last name as the name of her Wireless network so that any neighbor would have that much more information when hacking in), disable SSID broadcast, and use WEP. A little redundant, but a good practice nonetheless. We then set up her Macintosh using a very helpful USC page here. She's elated, and won't be returning her Mac, nor buying a new wireless router (which was her other suggestion).
I have to wrap this up now as my four-year-old just came in (its midnight), so I need to walk him back to his room...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)