Not Twit Enough to Twitter

-Greg updated so I must.
-Took Raquel to OB today, all is well, sonogram in 2 wks, then go to weekly visits.
-Got economic stimulus money last week, bough tank of gas.
-Dogs are sleeping in basement instead of our bed, they're taking it better than I am.
-How cute is Lourdes? "Too cute!"
-Recent headline in The Onion "Charlton Heston's Gun Taken From His Cold, Dead Hands".
-Survivor ending this week, why do I watch?
-Gotten hooked on Ghosthunters some how.
-Signs of the apocalypse??: Thundersnow in February, Earthquake in mid-April, then Snow, hail, rain, and sunshine all within an hour in late April; now gas getting close to $4/gallon and Britney gets visitation rights.
-Picked up sticks from the yard last night and burned them, don't be jealous.
-After this post I will go push my daughter on the swingset, just trying to be a good dad.

EARTHQUAKE!

This morning I woke up because the bed (and the whole house) was shaking. I knew right away that it was an earthquake but I wasn't worried because it was so mild. In fact I went back to sleep and forgot about it until I talked to my friend about 10 AM and he asked if I felt it. It was originally reported as a magnitude 5.4 but was later revised to a 5.2. The epicenter was somewhere in southeastern Illinois and was felt all over the midwest. No injuries or major damage were reported.

Thundersnow and earthquakes! What's next?

The Practical Joker

Yesterday Lourdes found a red Sharpie permanent marker and colored one of her fingers. Then she put on her best sad, concerned, and frightened face and ran to her mom clutching her finger. Of course Raquel thought that Lourdes was bleeding and it scared her to death. Fortunately Lourdes announced that she only joking. I swear I had nothing to do with it. Honestly.

No more THUNDERSNOW!!

Okay Greg, your post prodded me into posting. Well that and the fact that if I comment on Dan's blog, there's a link back to my last post which has been stuck on Thundersnow for a little while. I had many witty and insightful comments to Dan's posts but frankly I was too ashamed because I haven't updated in so long. But now I can comment with pride!

Everything has been going well with Raquel's pregnancy. We have less than three months left to go until our little boy joins us. That's right, we're having a boy! Time has been flying by. We'll have to do a birthing class sooner or later, hopefully not too late. We could probably get by without a class but I want to make sure there haven't been any changes to the basic techniques: the men wait in the waiting room and the women do all the work.

I'm typing this post on my OLPC XO laptop computer. I'll leave it to you to google that if you aren't familiar with the OLPC foundation or the XO laptop. It's small and difficult to type on, but it's also small and pretty cool. I use it a lot to sit on the couch and surf the internet. I'm hoping to learn some cool modifications to make it a little more usable. For example, the built-in browser was slow and didn't have many features, but I put Opera on it and works great.

I'm sure I've got more to say, but it's getting late.

THUNDERSNOW!!!

A snowstorm hit late this afternoon with nearly whiteout conditions. As I was walking to my truck to leave work, there was a flash of light in the sky followed by a loud boom. I can't recall ever seeing lightning and hearing thunder while it was snowing.

Thanks for the Christmas present!

"Ground to a halt" or "Busy as a beaver"

I was impressed by Dan's prolific blogging in November when he took part in something called NaBloPoMo and posted everyday for a month. I was on the opposite end of the spectrum and only posted a few times all year. I wanted to change things around in December and started strong with 4 posts in a row but the world conspired against me. I had a 19-hour shift at work on Wednesday, a supper on Thursday, Rivermen hockey on Friday, and Saturday was packed with gymnastics, paying bills, a little work, and finally another hockey game. I thought I'd squeeze a post in before going in to work a little bit today.

The Pregnancy

As soon as we knew that Raquel was pregnant, we told Lourdes that she was going to be a big sister and that mommy has a "baby belly". She has been quite excited and wants a little sister, but she knows mommy wants a little boy. The day we went in for the sonogram, Lourdes told Raquel that there were two babies: a little girl for Lourdes and a little boy for Raquel. We took Lourdes with us to the appointment for the sonogram and she thought it was really neat to hear the heartbeat despite the strange sound. The two baby theory went out the window with the single beating heart. If anybody asks Lourdes if she wants a brother or a sister, she says there's only one baby and she knows that it is a sister. We'll see what the next sonograms reveal.

Work, work, work

I've been very busy at work lately. We're in the midst of some projects and also trying to prep for an inspection. One huge project that I've been heavily involved in has been the upgrade of our data network infrastructure. There are so many details to take in to account and a lot of prep work. I got so much help from so many people, I could do one of those endless award thank you speeches where they start playing the music in an effort to wrap it up. There's a lot of work remaining to complete this phase so I'll be busy for a while longer.

Rivermen woes
The Rivermen lost back-to-back home games against a team they have dominated. They really should have won. You hate to blame a loss on a referee who makes a questionable or outright bad call. A team should play with intensity for the whole game so that one call is not the reason for success or failure. However, an endless series of bad calls can easily be blamed for a loss, or back-to-back losses in our case. This particular ref was officiating youth league hockey last year. This year he's in the AHL and we had him Friday and Saturday. He didn't get any better as the games went on. Hopefully, some review process will get him the feedback he needs to be an official at this level or send him packing.


Well I need to get ready to go in to work for a little bit today. Tomorrow we have another appointment and another sonogram. Will try to post tomorrow.

Bun in the oven...

That's right. Raquel is expecting and here's the proof:

There's a 1.45 cm little person growing there. Of course the picture is about 3 weeks old so I'm sure it's much bigger already. We go in again really soon for another sonogram so we'll see how our little person is growing. By the way, the due date is 29 June 2008. And in case you are wondering, this is quite unexpected but very much welcome.

It's kind of funny because I blogged back in July about Lourdes needing a playmate but not a sibling. Look at me now.

Santa Photo as promised

We hope to go see Santa at the mall soon and get some proper pictures taken.

She's such a girl!!

We were shopping for a Christmas outfit for Lourdes the other day. We found her a pretty dress and boots to wear to see Santa. Her shopping genes kicked in and she said she needed a new purse to go with her new outfit. How can I resist a pretty girl?

Later I noticed that on her new boots there are some decorative pendants (I don't know how else to describe them) and they say "I LOVE SHOPPING". Folks, she's only 3 years old. I'm in trouble!!

Her visit with Santa at the base went really well. She was very happy to see him, was not shy, and talked to him a little. Santa rewarded her with some girlie walkie talkies. Thanks to Greg and Dan for the gift idea.

Look for Santa pics soon!!

Cursing like a sailor

We had a bit of an ice storm today. I was at the base this morning when it started and my truck got covered in ice. In the afternoon I went home to pick up Raquel and Lourdes to bring them to the base for a Christmas party. When I got there, Lourdes was looking at all the ice on the truck and said "What the hell is wrong with the window?"

Happy Birthday to Greg!

Today, September 14th, is Greg's birthday. Forty-one years ago, Greg's mom went to the hospital to give birth to a son, but Greg came out instead. He was 4 weeks overdue, weighed 17 pounds, and came out breach. His mom has hated him ever since.

Greg's childhood was far from normal, yet somehow he managed to turn out far from normal. The youngest of 12 sisters, Greg got all the hand-me-down clothing. When he was 8, he realized he wasn't a girl, just a dress-wearing sissy.

His adolescent years were trying times. Greg discovered his body and there was no stopping him. Morning, noon, and night, he had to "get the poison out" as he referred to his continuous cranking. All his teachers had special bathroom passes at the ready so Greg could take care of his urges. Greg's a lefty and his grip can only be described as vise-like. Of course his right hand is as limp as Greg is dandy.

Greg went to a small college in Ohio or West Virginia or was it Washington, I forget, where all the girls were homely. This worked in Greg's favor as his social skills with the opposite sex were less than nonexistent. Slowly but surely Greg let his left hand relax and he became quite the ladyman, I mean ladies' man.

When Greg left college and entered the working world, he didn't let his higher education determine his course. No, Greg rolled up his sleeves and became a copy boy. Or was it a newspaper carrier, I forget and details are sketchy. Eventually Greg worked his way up to...well I'm not sure what he's up to, but he'll tell you it's important.

Along the way, Greg found a wife, some kids, and a mortgage. He seems well adjusted, but it's a little known fact that Greg still wears Batman Underoos and pretends his motorcylce is the Batcycle as he dodges traffic on his way to see the commissioner.

So Greg, it's your special day. Always remember that you have family that loves you (because they have to), friends that tolerate you, and coworkers that fear you. Happy 41rst you old fart!!

"Saddle sore" or "Rode hard and put away wet"

I got up fairly early today and went for a long motorcycle ride. I left the house at about 7 and went north for a couple hundred miles. I stopped once along the way to refuel and get a drink. It seemed like I had the road all to myself. I was really into the ride, but I was concerned that it was going to be long day. After all, not only was I going north for a couple hundred miles, but I was going to pretty much turn around and go right back home in the same day (400 miles round trip). Oh, yeah, the temperature was going to be in the 90's.

Fairly early, I saw a large deer meandering across the south bound lane and I saw a carcass on my side of the road up ahead. The live one kept me on my toes even though he was really far away. Deer tend to travel in groups and I didn't want to find any stragglers. I saw several dead raccoons, skunks, opossums, and even a large bird. Anyway, I tried to keep my eyes on the road and not take in too much of the scenery.

I arrived at Greg and Deb's house at about 11:30. I had been thinking about how I wanted to greet them when the answered the door. "Can Greg come out and play?" "May I use your restroom?" "Guess who's moving in?!"

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use those or any other greetings because Greg and Deb weren't home. Oh, I didn't mention that I didn't coordinate with them. I decided it was going to be hit or miss and I missed. I went over to Culvers and had lunch. Then fueled up again the bike and bought a Sobe Pomegranate Cherry Life Water. I went back to Greg and Deb's and waited for them and drank the Sobe. I waited on their porch for about an hour. They didn't show up. I couldn't wait any longer so I left the bottle under their table and the lid on top as a little mystery (should they find it) as to how it got there.

"A grown man shouldn't have to play with dolls" or "Spinning Strawberries Sicken Sluggo"

My Little Pony Hell When I'm sitting on the couch playing with dolls (mostly various princesses) and/or horses (mostly My Little Pony or My Little Pony knockoffs), and the occasional other toy, I really wish Lourdes had a companion to keep her company/occupied. A companion that we aren't responsible for. A companion that does exactly what Lourdes wants/needs done. A companion that's always there for her. A companion that is not a sibling.

Now don't get me wrong, I love spending time with her. I love that she almost exclusively chooses me to play these things with her. In fact, sometimes Raquel is a little jealous that Lourdes wants to play things with me instead of her. The problem is that it is typically the same scenario over and over again: "Hi, what's your name?" (repeat the introduction process several times) followed by someone falling into the "fire" or getting stuck in something, getting rescued and promptly falling or getting stuck again. Oh it's fun for a minute, but the fun wears off fast.

Once, I tried to change up the routine by throwing my pony into the adjacent room. Lourdes retrieved it and I threw it again. She retrieved it again and admonished me. I threw it yet again. She retrieved it yet again and closed the door so that I wouldn't be able to throw it. I was very impressed with her solution to a problem.

This airman doesn't fly well About 10 years ago, I flew on one our C-130 Hercules cargo planes. The flight was kind of an incentive flight for those of us in the Air Force that don't get to fly on the planes very much. It was a warm, strike that, hot summer day in upper lower Michigan (sounds funny but look at Alpena, Michigan on the map and tell me a better way to describe it!). The pilot put the aircraft through the wringer and I was enjoying it until motion sickness set in. The ride was not even close to some of the more thrilling roller coasters I've been on, yet it took its toll on me. I managed not to "lose my lunch" but I felt awful for several hours after. Something about turning 30 that year caused a physiological change in me and I've suffered from motion sickness ever since. I'm fine as a passenger in a car under normal circumstances, but air travel requires medication. Now I just want to make it clear, I don't have a fear of flying, I just suffer from motion sickness.

Last weekend, there was a carnival in town. We took Lourdes to the opening night because they have wristband night so for a flat fee you get to ride as many rides as you want. Lourdes and I did the merry-go-round first. I was fine with it. Then Lourdes went on some smaller go-round-in-circles rides without me. She really wanted to ride the strawberries. This ride has giant strawberries that you sit in and can spin them if you want, while the whole ride spins in a bigger circle. I had hoped we would get our own strawberry so that we wouldn't spin, but that was not the case. The two little girls in our strawberry made it spin. Fortunately they didn't make it spin too fast. Unfortunately they made it spin fast enough to bother me. It was hot in the strawberry, and got hotter by the minute. The little girls kept it spinning steady and complaining that they were going to get sick. They were obviously brain-damaged to not associate their spinning of our strawberry with their onset of nausea. I put it together right away, spinning=nausea. By the time the ride was done, I was done. I was sweating, I was nauseous, I was pale. Lourdes was fine.

We went on to do some "safe" rides (read non-spinning). The giant slide was great, although it reminded me of my suspicion of heights. Okay, fear of heights. Well not so much fear of heights, but a fear of being up more than 15 or 20 feet in the air on a platform that I don't have confidence in, especially one put together by "carnies". We climbed the stairs to the top of the slide, Lourdes had no fear at all. She looked down over all the carnival and enjoyed the view. I looked down and hoped the "carnie" had bolted everything together properly. We each had our burlap bag to sit on and slide down. Lourdes sat next to me, we held hands and slid down with great excitement. All in all, it was quite fun except the last drop was steep (not a problem), with a not at all subtle transition back to horizontal (a problem). If you want to simulate the last part, try this: Stand up on your sofa, jump up and away from the sofa, as you are free falling, put your legs and feet out in front of you while your trunk remains vertical, land on your bottom and see how your lower back deals with the stress. I think the carnies were getting kickbacks from local chiropractors trying to drum up more business.

Eventually Lourdes wanted to ride the ferris wheel. I hadn't fully recovered from the strawberry incident yet, but decided to ride the ferris wheel with my little girl. Remember I said I have a fear of of being up more than 15 or 20 feet in the air on a platform that I don't have confidence in, especially one put together by "carnies". By the time we got the ferris wheel loaded, I was not doing very well. I had one hand "white knuckled" on the bar and one clutching Lourdes tight to my side. It seemed like my mind and body were conspiring against me. Fortunately there was a bit of a cooling breeze that helped me considerably. I was definitely not in good shape and felt like I was on the verge of passing out. I toughed it out, aided by the breeze, knowing that Lourdes was having a good time and that if I passed out, it would be equal parts 1)dangerous to her health and safety (she could have easily slipped out of the carriage if we weren't careful) and 2)extremely embarrassing. Once we reached terra firma, I knew I was done. Lourdes wanted to ride more spinning rides that would require me as her chapperone/copilot but we were able to distract her from those. I managed another ride on the slide, this time more prepared for the backbreaking finish. I was impressed by the sheer fearlessness exhibited by Lourdes. I hope she keeps quality (for the most part), although a little fear keeps some of us from accidentally killing ourselves.

Like you're gonna goad me in to posting!!

Deb "tagged" me to post my favorite toddler books. So here goes:

1. "Which way do you swing Mr. Froggy?"


2. "Don't Tickle Me There!"


3. "Leather Pants, Leather Undies"


4. "Don't Bogart the Jesus Juice!


5. "The Riding Crop Goes Whack, Whack, Whack!!"


6. "My Friend, Mr. Matchbook"


7. "Under the Sink"


8. "Make the Dogs Stop Saying My Name!"


9. "Mommy's In Heaven and Daddy's In Jail"

And for the pre-teen and teen:

1. "The Monster in my Pants"


2. "Altar Boy, Alter Ego"


3. "The Scoutmaster's Wish"


4. "The Magic Weed"


5. "NAMBLA and You"

My favorite fiction/horror: "The Clinton Presidency:The Hillary Years"

Okay, if it isn't obvious, the lists are satirical and I have no intention of taking part in getting tagged. At least not right now, not this topic.

Britcom Saturday Night

I'll be forced to record Keeping Up Appearances and Last of the Summer Wine. We'll be out of town for the day and come back in time to see a Rivermen game tonight. Maybe we'll enjoy them Sunday morning.

Why do I like Last of the Summer Wine? Well, mostly because it's funny. It's similar to Seinfeld in that it is a show about nothing, yet a lot happens. I like the recurring gags and the subtle humor. Then there's the physical humor. I know they use stunt doubles but it's still funny to think of an old man losing control of his bike and crashing into a hay bale.

Also because it's a nice show to watch on a night that broadcast TV offers nothing.

So I look forward to the eventual receipt of whatever tat Dan can manage to throw across the pond, whenever he can manage it.

I have to shower now so we can hit the road. GO RIVERMEN!!

Where's my tat?

Well the brits have come and gone and failed to deliver the "tat" they promised me!!

Sorry Dan, I had to say that because it made for a good post title!! Don't worry, I'm not upset. Unless you really bought the tat and Greg kept it for himself! And if that's the case, I'm not upset with you. Greg, you better 'fess up!

It sounds like the visit was a great time for all. I honestly thought Greg and Deb had visited you when they went to Europe, but they set the record straight. When they do come to your house, perhaps they can be of some assistance with your garden project? Maybe a deck on the house? Painting? You can always tell them it's a tradition in the countryside to leave the host's home better than you found it. They wouldn't know any better (I don't know if you realized that they aren't very well educated, but they fake it rather well).

Pancho We bred our boy Pancho with a beautiful black and tan dachshund in late February. If it took, the litter will be due at the end of this month. This particular female delivered 7 pups in a previous litter (not with our Pancho), so I hope she does the same with Pancho.

Lourdes is in gymnastics and is having a good time. She's quite strong on the rings. I should post a video of her on You Tube.

Gotta go.

Paragon Harrow Wiper allows safe recycling of difficult disks.

I did a Google search for something today and ended up looking at the page of a software company. I glanced through some of the descriptions of some of the software and one said Paragon Harrow Wiper allows safe recycling of difficult disks. I thought about it for a second and realized that difficult is another word for hard. It made me chuckle.

Dan and Kerry
Welcome to the US! I hope you enjoy your stay. Your hosts are terrific people despite their tendency to swing! Dan, if Greg invites you to go to the "store" with him, DON'T GO!! And Kerry, watch out if Deb invites you "downstairs". Be sure to ask Greg about the "ether bunny".

It's Official: We're crazy!!

I've mentioned before that my coworker Greg (not Greg of Greg and Deb on the Web) and I are trying to get/stay in shape by walking/running a nearly 3-mile trail as often as we can. It snowed a little last week, well a few inches, nothing compared to the several feet of snow in other parts of the country. Greg and I opted not to go the day it was snowing as he was not feeling well and it coming down fast. The next three days I went by myself as Greg was still sick. The trail was a little treacherous because the snow was quite powdery and there were several icy patches hidden underneath. It was like putting sawdust on a shuffleboard table. The snow was just deep enough and my mukluks were just heavy enough to make the trek quite a workout. Oh yeah, it was cold too. The wind chill was below zero, sometimes way below zero. I went again this past Monday and then Tuesday the area got hit with another 6-10 inches of snow with high winds. Again I didn't want to go in the blizzard. I didn't work on Wednesday.
Thursday I anticipated going to the gym and using a treadmill because of all the snowfall and snowdrifts. I asked Greg if he was feeling better and if he planned on exercising. He said yes and yes. Then I asked, with much hesitation and afraid of the answer, if he thought he wanted to walk the trail. My fear was substantiated with his reply of "I was thinking about it". Oh no. I tried to reason with him, but not too aggressively because I think I secretly wanted to try as well. I said that it was very difficult last week, like walking on a three-mile stretch of beach only with many long, steep hills. So I guess it would be closer to walking sand dunes and not the beach. Plus it was cold instead of hot. So maybe not like sand dunes at all. More like walking a three-mile, hill-infested, snow-covered trail in the cold. And now it was going to be even worse.
Well we're crazy. We went ahead and did it. The snow was just deep enough in most places (at least half way up the shins) but there were stretches of snow that went up to mid-thigh. We hadn't even gone one-half mile and I was thinking we were in trouble. It was slow going and much further to go without knowing if conditions would improve or deteriorate. My calves were burning, my feet were cramping, but other than that I was okay. Greg was in the same boat. Neither one of us mentioned turning around or taking a route that would avoid the toughest hills. The only thing we kept saying as we trudged along was that we're crazy. In the end, we concluded that it was very challenging, we were glad we did it and that, once again, we're crazy.
Rivermen - one of our enforcers was called up to parent NHL club St. Louis and got in fight. D.J. King held his own against a veteran, and may have actually gotten the upper hand (or fist). We'll probably go to a game this Sunday, maybe D.J. will be back with us then.
Movies - We used to go to movies all the time, but it's been a while since Raquel and I have gone without Lourdes. Finally, this afternoon we will leave Lourdes with our friend Anita and we will go see a movie intended for grown ups, an adult film if you will, but not an adult film. Actually it will be Eddy Murphy's Norbit which looks pretty funny.
Dan reviewed Hot Fuzz which I've seen previews for. Unfortunately it will probably have to be a DVD rental someday. We've rented a lot of movies since Lourdes got too big to be quiet at big people movies. Kids sure do change our lives!
Joke - Two buddies, Bob and Larry, are getting very drunk at a bar
when suddenly Larry throws up all over himself. "Oh, no...Now my wife
will kill me!"

Bob says, "Don't worry, pal. Just tuck a twenty in your breast pocket
and tell your wife that someone threw up on you and gave you twenty
dollars for the dry cleaning bill."

So they stay for another couple of
hours and get even drunker.
Eventually Larry stumbles home and his wife starts to give him a bad
time "You reek of alcohol and you've puked all over yourself!
My God, you're disgusting!"


Speaking very carefully so as not to slur his words, Larry says,
"Nowainaminit, I can e'splain everythin. Itsh snot wha jew think. I only
had a cupla drrrinks. But thiss other guy got ssick on me...he had one
too many! and he juss koudin hold hizz liquor. He said he was verrry
sorry an' gave me twennie bucks for the cleaning bill!"

His wife looks in the breast pocket and says, "But this is forty bucks.."

"Oh, yeah.. I almos' fergot, he shhhit in my pants, too."

Seems like a nice enough bloke

Greg and Deb have become friends with Dan after he stumbled upon Greg's blog/webpage a while back. Dan started his own blog and quickly climbed Greg's Links page settling in at number 3 behind Greg's wife and Greg's brother. Somehow, I have managed to climb to and stay at number 4 despite the fact that I only post sporadically at best.
Please don't think I'm jealous of Dan. On the contrary, I've recently started following Dan's blog on a regular basis and have grown to appreciate his sense of humor (or is it humour?). Well, actually I guess I am jealous of the fact that he blogs so much more than I, but I do enjoy checking his blog. Anyway, good on ya, mate. Or is that Australian? I'm not too good with the words and making them come out correctly.
Deb has become a prolific poster. It seems that not a day goes by without something from her. Thanks Deb for keeping us updated on the family.
I've wanted to become a regular blogger but I just can't seem to muster the determination or the topics. By the time I get done reading all the regulars, I don't feel like writing anything. Or if I do feel like writing, it takes me forever to write a single paragraph. How long does it take you (whoever you are) to do your posts?
Weather - a pretty good winter storm hit last night and all day today. At work, they implemented liberal leave and finally early dismissal. The roads weren't too bad but far from pristine. I had no problems with my big 4X4 and I didn't see anyone stuck anywhere. While at work, it was hard to keep up with the falling and drifting snow. My coworkers ran the plows on our little utility vehicles and were running out of room to push the snow. I'm taking tomorrow off so hopefully everything will be clear when I go back on Thursday.
Rivermen - They haven't done very well recently. After losing several games, they won last Wednesday and Saturday, then lost in sudden death on Sunday. They still have lots of games left and have the potential to turn things around for a playoff run. Seems like if I post something positive about them, they lose, so if I post a lukewarm blurb, maybe they'll do better.
Fitness - Greg, my coworker, fell a little ill last week and I went on the trail by myself three times last week and once this week. It snowed last week and it felt like I was walking on a three-mile stretch of sand. I was wiped out at the end of the week. I'm not sure I will feel like walking in even deeper snow this Thursday. By the way the temperatures had been really low with negative wind chill but it didn't stop me.