I'm bragging/gloating here.
I just finally got downstairs. Until now I've been curled up in bed with my wife all morning and with my daughter who was in a very happy gurgling, cooing mood. T got up at 7:20, nursed and went back to sleep, as did C&I. We finally roused ourselves enough to look out the window around 9:30 to see a beautiful scene of snow coming down and blanketing the world in white.
Since then we talked, cuddled, teased, tickled, and played in bed until finally I've come down to make breakfast.
I'm heading out to a Warhammer 40K tournament this afternoon with a friend, and then this evening we get to watch their kids as they go out to an office Christmas party.
Life is GOOD!!!!!!
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Friday, December 04, 2009
Post Thanksgiving Blog post
I'm finally getting around to this, mainly because work has taken off like a rocket after Thanksgiving. It was definitely building up beforehand, but since then upper management has taken a sharper interest in the problem. It has been a helpdesk ticket that has been in high gear for four weeks now, and we have all sorts of things that DON'T solve it. At this point, I think we're punting on it - we're reporting it as a defect in the software. But, I've put in a couple 10+ hour days without lunch this week, and the entire days have been as near to frantic as I can get. (which is still relatively laid back)
It might be coming to an end point now though. We have developed a workaround (made a WIDE berth around the problem) that might partially satisfy our customer, and now we have a defect report in, and I am working on an unsupported cheat that can't be used but might pave the way for future adjustments.
At least I have job security, right?
Anyway, Thanksgiving was great, though the drive back took 9 hours all together. Typically it's just a 5 hour drive, but we hit four or five separate traffic jams along the way. Here I thought I had planned for plenty of time planning on seven hours of driving. Ha! But, aside from that we had an absolutely wonderful time!
Bro had his Dance Dance Revolution game out and we played that for hours and hours on end. It was a great way to work off the extra calories we consumed! Jeremiah was getting pretty good at it, especially by Saturday evening. Sister M was good too, and kept me on my toes, though I think I managed to win just barely over half the time. Bro is defintely the best, but if I have an "on" game and he has and "off" one, I occasionally managed to squeak a win by him. For anyone who is familiar with DDR2, I can go up to level 6, and Bro can go up to level 7 or 8.
Sister K was there most days with the kids, and so including Jeremiah and baby T, we had four small kids. Everyone played together very nicely, and even though "Kastrina" is only three, she and Jeremiah have similar enough interests that they played together really well. The biggest hit for them? The mattress we set up on the living room floor in the evenings - instant trampoline!
We had over my Aunt and Uncle D and P and cousins galore for Thanksgiving dinner. Cousin K is engaged and they have bought a house maybe 15 minutes away - a really nice place on 16 acres with a LOT of perks for the same price we paid for our townhouse. Unfortunately there isn't much call for computer programmers up in PA. Sigh. I wouldn't move up anyway, but those housing prices are incredible!
Coming up this weekend we have a clogging performance at the National Christmas Tree!! Always a LOT of fun, and we're going to have some extra challenges this year since our clogger who knows DC the best can't make it this year. I think we're planning on scheduling some extra "lost" time.
Saturday, though is a day for the guys! AP and I are heading out to a Warhammer 40K tournament! The only 40K pieces I have are some Catachan soldiers who aren't even finished being put together, much less painted. But, AP has almost a 1000 points of Space Marines and is looking to join his army with someone else's to make up a full 2000 point side in the battles. It's been close to a year since we sort of faded away from playing Warhammer, and I've had a few urges recently to start it back up again. This is perfect timing!
For baby news - not much to really report since everything is going remarkably smoothly. T is growing really quickly and adding in new abilities almost every day - laughs, more directed reactions, nearly rolling over now, etc. She's even producing dirty diapers a bit more often now; she was at one point going a week in between dirty diapers and now she's up to every other day on average. All good stuff, but not quite earth shattering.
Let's see, what else? The only thing of interest outside of family and friends is the "climategate" hubbub going on.
It turns out the one of the biggest organizations (CRU in the UK) supporting AGW was faking their data. First, they've been resisting for years the request for their raw data and code for verification of their claims. Just last month, a bunch of emails and code was released to the Internet - most likely NOT from hackers, though that is the general news story. (sounds more exciting that way, compared to an inside leak or an accident that put the info into a public location) The emails are of some of the top scientists at the CRU sounding like they were both fudging their data and working VERY hard to keep anyone who disagreed with them from ever being allowed to be published. There has been at least one major resignation, and the defenders are claiming the emails are "misunderstood" or taken out of context. (those emails would be hard pressed to find a context in which they are not supporting out and out fraud and deceit) However, the worst accusation seems to be coming to light in the form of the code released. It turns out that in the code used was artificially forcing a "warming" result! As in "fraud" and "faked". I'm going to be REALLY interested in seeing where this goes. Especially with the Copenhagen climate summit about to occur, the effect of fraud in the data supporting AGW will make for some uneasy meetings, and hopefully some more widespread investigative journalism.
For a site that shows the fraud in the code, go to Watts Up With That's post on Climategate, The Smoking Gun. Granted, we can't tell that this faked data was used in IPCC reports or other government reports, so I'm sure there will be some sort of explanation for it. Maybe not a good one, but at least some sort.
It might be coming to an end point now though. We have developed a workaround (made a WIDE berth around the problem) that might partially satisfy our customer, and now we have a defect report in, and I am working on an unsupported cheat that can't be used but might pave the way for future adjustments.
At least I have job security, right?
Anyway, Thanksgiving was great, though the drive back took 9 hours all together. Typically it's just a 5 hour drive, but we hit four or five separate traffic jams along the way. Here I thought I had planned for plenty of time planning on seven hours of driving. Ha! But, aside from that we had an absolutely wonderful time!
Bro had his Dance Dance Revolution game out and we played that for hours and hours on end. It was a great way to work off the extra calories we consumed! Jeremiah was getting pretty good at it, especially by Saturday evening. Sister M was good too, and kept me on my toes, though I think I managed to win just barely over half the time. Bro is defintely the best, but if I have an "on" game and he has and "off" one, I occasionally managed to squeak a win by him. For anyone who is familiar with DDR2, I can go up to level 6, and Bro can go up to level 7 or 8.
Sister K was there most days with the kids, and so including Jeremiah and baby T, we had four small kids. Everyone played together very nicely, and even though "Kastrina" is only three, she and Jeremiah have similar enough interests that they played together really well. The biggest hit for them? The mattress we set up on the living room floor in the evenings - instant trampoline!
We had over my Aunt and Uncle D and P and cousins galore for Thanksgiving dinner. Cousin K is engaged and they have bought a house maybe 15 minutes away - a really nice place on 16 acres with a LOT of perks for the same price we paid for our townhouse. Unfortunately there isn't much call for computer programmers up in PA. Sigh. I wouldn't move up anyway, but those housing prices are incredible!
Coming up this weekend we have a clogging performance at the National Christmas Tree!! Always a LOT of fun, and we're going to have some extra challenges this year since our clogger who knows DC the best can't make it this year. I think we're planning on scheduling some extra "lost" time.
Saturday, though is a day for the guys! AP and I are heading out to a Warhammer 40K tournament! The only 40K pieces I have are some Catachan soldiers who aren't even finished being put together, much less painted. But, AP has almost a 1000 points of Space Marines and is looking to join his army with someone else's to make up a full 2000 point side in the battles. It's been close to a year since we sort of faded away from playing Warhammer, and I've had a few urges recently to start it back up again. This is perfect timing!
For baby news - not much to really report since everything is going remarkably smoothly. T is growing really quickly and adding in new abilities almost every day - laughs, more directed reactions, nearly rolling over now, etc. She's even producing dirty diapers a bit more often now; she was at one point going a week in between dirty diapers and now she's up to every other day on average. All good stuff, but not quite earth shattering.
Let's see, what else? The only thing of interest outside of family and friends is the "climategate" hubbub going on.
It turns out the one of the biggest organizations (CRU in the UK) supporting AGW was faking their data. First, they've been resisting for years the request for their raw data and code for verification of their claims. Just last month, a bunch of emails and code was released to the Internet - most likely NOT from hackers, though that is the general news story. (sounds more exciting that way, compared to an inside leak or an accident that put the info into a public location) The emails are of some of the top scientists at the CRU sounding like they were both fudging their data and working VERY hard to keep anyone who disagreed with them from ever being allowed to be published. There has been at least one major resignation, and the defenders are claiming the emails are "misunderstood" or taken out of context. (those emails would be hard pressed to find a context in which they are not supporting out and out fraud and deceit) However, the worst accusation seems to be coming to light in the form of the code released. It turns out that in the code used was artificially forcing a "warming" result! As in "fraud" and "faked". I'm going to be REALLY interested in seeing where this goes. Especially with the Copenhagen climate summit about to occur, the effect of fraud in the data supporting AGW will make for some uneasy meetings, and hopefully some more widespread investigative journalism.
For a site that shows the fraud in the code, go to Watts Up With That's post on Climategate, The Smoking Gun. Granted, we can't tell that this faked data was used in IPCC reports or other government reports, so I'm sure there will be some sort of explanation for it. Maybe not a good one, but at least some sort.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Recovery Money
Where did it go?
Well at least some of it went to a lot of non-existent congressional districts!
http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=1715
Thanks to my sister Margaret for pointing this link out to me. The organization that is talking about this has some guys I know, so check them out and link to them too! Evergreen Freedom Foundation
Well at least some of it went to a lot of non-existent congressional districts!
http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=1715
Thanks to my sister Margaret for pointing this link out to me. The organization that is talking about this has some guys I know, so check them out and link to them too! Evergreen Freedom Foundation
They're back!
I'm back from KS, and now C and T are back too! Yay! My mom and Margaret came down for a visit and they're enjoying baby T immensely!
My trips with Jeremiah went just fine - our flight left at an ungodly hour of the morning on Friday, but other than that the trip was fine. Jeremiah drew and drew and drew on both the flights out to KS and the flights back. He went through a dozen sheets of paper drawing stories of Star Wars, dragons, and battles. For me, I got done with 2 1/2 books. I think I'm going to be working on a series now that I've finished the first - Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series, first book being Gardens of the Moon.
The wedding was wonderful and there are far too many pictures floating around to do bother trying to put pictures here - head to Facebook and start searching around. My beautiful C was especially HOT in the bridesmaids dress. It turned out wonderuflly well, and was a wonderful tribute to the hours of effort put into the sewing project by C and friends.
The wedding went very well, as well as the preparations beforehand. D (the bride) didn't seem too crazily stressed out, I couldn't see any significant hitches with anything, and they wound up married so it MUST have been a success! D&G are off on their honeymoon and (very properly) have been absent from Facebook, Blogs, and Email. I think they're going to be coming back up for air just before Thanksgiving.
Jeremiah wasn't particularly interested in the wedding itself (he's a young boy, what do you expect) but thoroughly enjoyed playing with cousins and second cousins. For me, it was VERY good to see C and T again! I had another three days to wait until they came home after I got home, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the week before that I had to do without my ladies.
A fun part about the return - I was latching T in when I picked them up at the airport, and she was fussing a bit, having just woken up. As soon as she saw me, she stopped fussing an smiled and was all happy again! I wasn't even making faces at her or anything!!
Life is good.
My trips with Jeremiah went just fine - our flight left at an ungodly hour of the morning on Friday, but other than that the trip was fine. Jeremiah drew and drew and drew on both the flights out to KS and the flights back. He went through a dozen sheets of paper drawing stories of Star Wars, dragons, and battles. For me, I got done with 2 1/2 books. I think I'm going to be working on a series now that I've finished the first - Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series, first book being Gardens of the Moon.
The wedding was wonderful and there are far too many pictures floating around to do bother trying to put pictures here - head to Facebook and start searching around. My beautiful C was especially HOT in the bridesmaids dress. It turned out wonderuflly well, and was a wonderful tribute to the hours of effort put into the sewing project by C and friends.
The wedding went very well, as well as the preparations beforehand. D (the bride) didn't seem too crazily stressed out, I couldn't see any significant hitches with anything, and they wound up married so it MUST have been a success! D&G are off on their honeymoon and (very properly) have been absent from Facebook, Blogs, and Email. I think they're going to be coming back up for air just before Thanksgiving.
Jeremiah wasn't particularly interested in the wedding itself (he's a young boy, what do you expect) but thoroughly enjoyed playing with cousins and second cousins. For me, it was VERY good to see C and T again! I had another three days to wait until they came home after I got home, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the week before that I had to do without my ladies.
A fun part about the return - I was latching T in when I picked them up at the airport, and she was fussing a bit, having just woken up. As soon as she saw me, she stopped fussing an smiled and was all happy again! I wasn't even making faces at her or anything!!
Life is good.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Three snippets of news
Cash for Clunkers Cost Taxpayers $24,000 Per Car
As a programmer, it somehow just feels right that the first test of the Internet crashed the Internet.
50 Kiloton Meteor Explosion Over Indonesia
Of course, it wasn't REALLY a meteor explosion. It was REALLY a flare-up in the secret battle between alien forces to control the world!
As a programmer, it somehow just feels right that the first test of the Internet crashed the Internet.
50 Kiloton Meteor Explosion Over Indonesia
Of course, it wasn't REALLY a meteor explosion. It was REALLY a flare-up in the secret battle between alien forces to control the world!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Kids update
We'll start out with the youngest, little miss T.
She has decided that she prefers a later schedule recently. To be perfectly honest, C&I were getting spoiled, so I guess we should have expected it. A baby that goes to bed by 10:00 and sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00 - yup, too much to expect.
Friday night, Miss T put us on notice to not get complacent with her. She decided that she didn't want to go to sleep until 2:00 AM, in spite of frequent walks and nursing.
She was suitably penitent about what she felt she had to do to us, because the next day at the Fall Festival, she slept most of the day, leaving C&I free to help out. But still, she had to do it, just to make sure we didn't start taking her for granted.
Of course, since then, she has been good about going to sleep somewhere between 10:00 and 12:00. So, it seems our assurances that we weren't taking her for granted have been mostly accepted.
But, just to keep us on our toes, she has been a bit more fussy than normal - she takes a couple seconds of walking around before she stops fussing instead of quieting down the moment we start to lift her up.
Sigh. What a rough life C&I lead!
Then there is Jeremiah! We've been keeping up our stories, and it is such a pleasure to see him act in the stories. God bless his heart, he doesn't seem to have a duplicitous bone in his body!
I'll give a quick couple examples:
The EVIL COMPANY hired a gang to go kill "Jake" (Jeremiah's character) so they could take his land. Jake and Jack (played by bro D) sent them packing. Jake went into town to poke around a bit to see what was going on, and managed to catch an argument between the gang leader and the EVIL CEO. The gang leader went storming off in a rage when the CEO (Mr. Heinrich) wouldn't pay him because the gang had failed. Jake went running after the gang leader to "calm him down" because "he might hurt somebody while he's angry"!!
Jer isn't worried about the fact that the guy just sent people to kill him, he doesn't want the guy to be upset!
Just shortly before that particular exchange, "Jake" had phoned the gang leader (Jake had taken one of the attacker's wallet and found the number) pretending to be one of the gang. Jake wanted to know who had hired the gang. He wanted to know the gang's secrets.
Makes sense. Here is Jeremiah's conversation. (I was pretending to be the gang leader on the phone.)
Gang Leader (Joe): Hello, this is Joe.
Jake: Hi Joe, this is one of your gang.
Joe: What?! Where are you guys? What's going on?
Jake: I'm ok. Can you tell me all your secrets?
ROTFLOL!!!!
Jeremiah certainly does enjoy the direct approach. He also tracked down the guy (Mr. Heinrich) who had hired the gang and got into the offices by pretending to be a new hire. He sneaked into one of the empty offices and declared that he wanted to type "TOP SECRET" into the computer so it would tell him all the top secrets of the company.
I did a very good job of not laughing, and informed him that the computer had a password.
Oh. That put a crimp in his plans, so he went on to talk with Mr. Heinrich as a new hire. Here's how that went: (again, I was being Mr. Heinrich)
Hein: Welcome to the company, we're glad to have you join us!
Jake: Thank you. What is your password?
Again, ROTFLOL!!
These sessions have far too many hilarious moments like that to enter here, but suffice it to say, this bit of role playing his stories is a LOT of fun. It's WAY better than "Choose Your Own Adventure" books!
It even has some growing opportunities for him. I've set it up that his pack leader doesn't like him (the pack leader took over from Jake's father and is afraid Jake might supplant him) and as I've made it apparent to Jeremiah. Jeremiah has made it a point to be very polite to Erick (the pack leader) even when Erick is rude to him.
Jeremiah even made a point of mentioning it to me after Erick had been upset with him even though it wasn't Jeremiah's fault.
"You see how nice I was to him? He is the boss, so you alway need to be nice to the boss even when he isn't nice to you!"
Bravo Jer!
She has decided that she prefers a later schedule recently. To be perfectly honest, C&I were getting spoiled, so I guess we should have expected it. A baby that goes to bed by 10:00 and sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00 - yup, too much to expect.
Friday night, Miss T put us on notice to not get complacent with her. She decided that she didn't want to go to sleep until 2:00 AM, in spite of frequent walks and nursing.
She was suitably penitent about what she felt she had to do to us, because the next day at the Fall Festival, she slept most of the day, leaving C&I free to help out. But still, she had to do it, just to make sure we didn't start taking her for granted.
Of course, since then, she has been good about going to sleep somewhere between 10:00 and 12:00. So, it seems our assurances that we weren't taking her for granted have been mostly accepted.
But, just to keep us on our toes, she has been a bit more fussy than normal - she takes a couple seconds of walking around before she stops fussing instead of quieting down the moment we start to lift her up.
Sigh. What a rough life C&I lead!
Then there is Jeremiah! We've been keeping up our stories, and it is such a pleasure to see him act in the stories. God bless his heart, he doesn't seem to have a duplicitous bone in his body!
I'll give a quick couple examples:
The EVIL COMPANY hired a gang to go kill "Jake" (Jeremiah's character) so they could take his land. Jake and Jack (played by bro D) sent them packing. Jake went into town to poke around a bit to see what was going on, and managed to catch an argument between the gang leader and the EVIL CEO. The gang leader went storming off in a rage when the CEO (Mr. Heinrich) wouldn't pay him because the gang had failed. Jake went running after the gang leader to "calm him down" because "he might hurt somebody while he's angry"!!
Jer isn't worried about the fact that the guy just sent people to kill him, he doesn't want the guy to be upset!
Just shortly before that particular exchange, "Jake" had phoned the gang leader (Jake had taken one of the attacker's wallet and found the number) pretending to be one of the gang. Jake wanted to know who had hired the gang. He wanted to know the gang's secrets.
Makes sense. Here is Jeremiah's conversation. (I was pretending to be the gang leader on the phone.)
Gang Leader (Joe): Hello, this is Joe.
Jake: Hi Joe, this is one of your gang.
Joe: What?! Where are you guys? What's going on?
Jake: I'm ok. Can you tell me all your secrets?
ROTFLOL!!!!
Jeremiah certainly does enjoy the direct approach. He also tracked down the guy (Mr. Heinrich) who had hired the gang and got into the offices by pretending to be a new hire. He sneaked into one of the empty offices and declared that he wanted to type "TOP SECRET" into the computer so it would tell him all the top secrets of the company.
I did a very good job of not laughing, and informed him that the computer had a password.
Oh. That put a crimp in his plans, so he went on to talk with Mr. Heinrich as a new hire. Here's how that went: (again, I was being Mr. Heinrich)
Hein: Welcome to the company, we're glad to have you join us!
Jake: Thank you. What is your password?
Again, ROTFLOL!!
These sessions have far too many hilarious moments like that to enter here, but suffice it to say, this bit of role playing his stories is a LOT of fun. It's WAY better than "Choose Your Own Adventure" books!
It even has some growing opportunities for him. I've set it up that his pack leader doesn't like him (the pack leader took over from Jake's father and is afraid Jake might supplant him) and as I've made it apparent to Jeremiah. Jeremiah has made it a point to be very polite to Erick (the pack leader) even when Erick is rude to him.
Jeremiah even made a point of mentioning it to me after Erick had been upset with him even though it wasn't Jeremiah's fault.
"You see how nice I was to him? He is the boss, so you alway need to be nice to the boss even when he isn't nice to you!"
Bravo Jer!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The stories continue
Yes, Jeremiah and I (with David's help) have begun a grand storytelling epic of heroism and bravery, starring ... Jeremiah! Or rather starring "Jake", as Jeremiah decided he wanted to name his character in the story.
So far we haven't gotten particularly far in the story, but we're getting things started off with a bang! Jeremiah decided he wanted to be a werewolf. (in spite of my not-so-subtle urgings to be a really cool weretiger, werecheetah, or something like that)
So, I've got "Jake the Werewolf" living in Pennsylvania out in a cabin in the woods. *gasp!* It looks like somebody is wanting to take his land away from him, and they aren't taking "no" for an answer. In fact, they're getting downright nasty about it!
So let the adventure begin!
I have some grand ideas where the story may go, but I'm going to try to let Jeremiah guide it as much as is feasible. He's still a bit young to drive the story on his own, so I figure I'll be pushing it along for a while to come.
I'm quite proud of how Jeremiah is handling the story process so far, and there are a few nuggets of comedy in there too.
For the first part of the story, I asked bro D to play a character in the story - someone who comes along and warns Jake to not sell his land because the people who want to buy it want to use it for an illegal toxic waste dump. Bro D also stuck around, just in case Jake needed help.
No sooner had Jake been warned, but a bunch of redneck thugs drove up and very belligerently demanded to know where Jake was. Jeremiah decided to say he hadn't seen Jake today and was looking for him himself. Well, those redneck thugs aren't the brightest bulbs, and Jake's story convinced them, and they left saying they would be back.
Well, Jake and Jack (D's character was "Jack" - I should have given him a different name because I continually mixed up the characters!) decided to be ready for them when they got back. Jake decided to stay in the house where he would be safe, out of sight, unless they tried to break in.
(if you remember Jeremiah's previous adventure, you may see a common thread of wanting to be "safe" - Jeremiah, since I'm telling the story, you aren't going to be safe for long!)
Jack decided to stay outside with a rifle ready just in case they brought guns along. Well, they came back carrying baseball bats, gasoline, and matches, but no guns. Jeremi ... er, I mean Jake, continued staying inside the house where it was "safe". (I'm gonna need to work on that!)
Jack drove them off with a couple rifle shots through the truck when they pulled out the gasoline.
As the story continued, Jake definitely continued to play it "safe" even after he changed into giant, 9-foot-tall werewolf.
Later. two guys were breaking into his house (once again, Jeremiah was being "safe", but this time I wasn't leaving him alone. *evil chortle*) and Jere ... er, Jake kept backing away until he was in the kitchen.
At this point, I've been stressing to him that he is a fearsome-looking werewolf that scares people spitless just to look at him. But, he kept backing away until they finally cornered him in the kitchen. He wanted to climb out the window, but I decided he was too big to fit through, and they were only a few steps away from coming into the kitchen - no time!
Aha! Jeremiah had an idea! He would crouch down really small in the kitchen! Hmmm, giant werewolf hiding by crouching in the kitchen - ehhh, no. Sorry Jer, think of something else.
He thinks for a second and aha! He wants to hide in the oven!!!!
I almost laughed! Something tells me Jeremiah hasn't quite grasped the fact that he's not a young child in the story, but is rather a giant, fiercesome-looking, powerful werewolf with big claws and teeth!
We're working on it!
(Jer knocked around the attackers and Jack is tracking them back into town at the moment to see who their boss is.)
Next in the ongoing adventure, I think I'm going to have to take drastic measures to get Jeremiah to realize his guy is a powerful werewolf. I think there are a couple monsters coming his way with bad intentions!
(No Jer, you can't hide; they can smell you and find you. You have to face them and drive them off.)
So far we haven't gotten particularly far in the story, but we're getting things started off with a bang! Jeremiah decided he wanted to be a werewolf. (in spite of my not-so-subtle urgings to be a really cool weretiger, werecheetah, or something like that)
So, I've got "Jake the Werewolf" living in Pennsylvania out in a cabin in the woods. *gasp!* It looks like somebody is wanting to take his land away from him, and they aren't taking "no" for an answer. In fact, they're getting downright nasty about it!
So let the adventure begin!
I have some grand ideas where the story may go, but I'm going to try to let Jeremiah guide it as much as is feasible. He's still a bit young to drive the story on his own, so I figure I'll be pushing it along for a while to come.
I'm quite proud of how Jeremiah is handling the story process so far, and there are a few nuggets of comedy in there too.
For the first part of the story, I asked bro D to play a character in the story - someone who comes along and warns Jake to not sell his land because the people who want to buy it want to use it for an illegal toxic waste dump. Bro D also stuck around, just in case Jake needed help.
No sooner had Jake been warned, but a bunch of redneck thugs drove up and very belligerently demanded to know where Jake was. Jeremiah decided to say he hadn't seen Jake today and was looking for him himself. Well, those redneck thugs aren't the brightest bulbs, and Jake's story convinced them, and they left saying they would be back.
Well, Jake and Jack (D's character was "Jack" - I should have given him a different name because I continually mixed up the characters!) decided to be ready for them when they got back. Jake decided to stay in the house where he would be safe, out of sight, unless they tried to break in.
(if you remember Jeremiah's previous adventure, you may see a common thread of wanting to be "safe" - Jeremiah, since I'm telling the story, you aren't going to be safe for long!)
Jack decided to stay outside with a rifle ready just in case they brought guns along. Well, they came back carrying baseball bats, gasoline, and matches, but no guns. Jeremi ... er, I mean Jake, continued staying inside the house where it was "safe". (I'm gonna need to work on that!)
Jack drove them off with a couple rifle shots through the truck when they pulled out the gasoline.
As the story continued, Jake definitely continued to play it "safe" even after he changed into giant, 9-foot-tall werewolf.
Later. two guys were breaking into his house (once again, Jeremiah was being "safe", but this time I wasn't leaving him alone. *evil chortle*) and Jere ... er, Jake kept backing away until he was in the kitchen.
At this point, I've been stressing to him that he is a fearsome-looking werewolf that scares people spitless just to look at him. But, he kept backing away until they finally cornered him in the kitchen. He wanted to climb out the window, but I decided he was too big to fit through, and they were only a few steps away from coming into the kitchen - no time!
Aha! Jeremiah had an idea! He would crouch down really small in the kitchen! Hmmm, giant werewolf hiding by crouching in the kitchen - ehhh, no. Sorry Jer, think of something else.
He thinks for a second and aha! He wants to hide in the oven!!!!
I almost laughed! Something tells me Jeremiah hasn't quite grasped the fact that he's not a young child in the story, but is rather a giant, fiercesome-looking, powerful werewolf with big claws and teeth!
We're working on it!
(Jer knocked around the attackers and Jack is tracking them back into town at the moment to see who their boss is.)
Next in the ongoing adventure, I think I'm going to have to take drastic measures to get Jeremiah to realize his guy is a powerful werewolf. I think there are a couple monsters coming his way with bad intentions!
(No Jer, you can't hide; they can smell you and find you. You have to face them and drive them off.)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Werewolves! Holes in the ground!
I've been trying a different track with my stories for Jeremiah lately. He is still a fan of the Police Mouse, and gets one of those stories most nights, but I've decided I want to try some more interactive stories on him. He one time thought were-tigers were pretty cool and so I did a story where he was the were-tiger and he had to defeat a dragon in charge of a gang which was stealing stuff. (deep and involved backstory - NOT!) Anyway, he decided he would climb up on top of the roof and drop some grenades on it to scare it away. He loved it!
A couple weeks later I told a big, long story for Jer where he was a werewolf. (I'm not sure where he heard about werewolves, but he wanted a story about a werewolf.) I decided that his werewolf and my werewolf were walking through the forest when we are attacked by a giant snake. (aren't my backstories absolutely amazing!)
I was just trying to make it suspenseful for Jer when I described a wind-storm coming up and how branches were being knocked off trees. Well ..... he decided that he wanted to dig a hole so he would be safe from anything falling down. Hmmm, it didn't exactly progress the story, but hey, I can roll with the story's twists and turns!
So we both dug holes, but then we started smelling a big snake coming! Well, Jer decided he would keep digging his hole even deeper so he would be safe! My character looked up and saw the snake coming - we've got to do something Jer! The snake is coming!!
Jer's reaction?
"I'm going to dig my hole even deeper so I'll be safe!"
Hmmm, I think I see a trend here.
I let him keep digging his hole, and decided I would attack the snake and hopefully Jer would come help.
Attack!!! Bite! Claw!
Me: "What do you want to do now, Jer?"
Jer: "Keep digging! REALLY deep!"
Huh. More drastic measures are needed to get Jer up and doing something.
Uh oh, the snake bit me! Help Jer!
Aha! Here comes Jeremiah to the rescue!
Attack! Bite! Claw!
Oops, the snake bit Jer just a little scratch.
Oops, there Jeremiah decides to go back to his hole and go back to digging, so he'll be safe!
Hmmmm, this does seem to be a very hole-digging sort of werewolf!
My werewolf does a big bite on the snake and almost kills it. Aha, Jeremiah! The snake is almost dead, come help take care of it!
And so, the mighty Jeremiah Werewolf jumps up out of his hole and attacks the ...
.
.
.
tail of the snake so he won't get bitten again!
Ok .... Good job Jeremiah, you killed the giant snake! Yay! The forest is safe from the giant snake now! Horray!
I suspect that if Jeremiah Werewolf has more adventures, there will be a lot of holes in the ground. He certainly does love digging holes!
A couple weeks later I told a big, long story for Jer where he was a werewolf. (I'm not sure where he heard about werewolves, but he wanted a story about a werewolf.) I decided that his werewolf and my werewolf were walking through the forest when we are attacked by a giant snake. (aren't my backstories absolutely amazing!)
I was just trying to make it suspenseful for Jer when I described a wind-storm coming up and how branches were being knocked off trees. Well ..... he decided that he wanted to dig a hole so he would be safe from anything falling down. Hmmm, it didn't exactly progress the story, but hey, I can roll with the story's twists and turns!
So we both dug holes, but then we started smelling a big snake coming! Well, Jer decided he would keep digging his hole even deeper so he would be safe! My character looked up and saw the snake coming - we've got to do something Jer! The snake is coming!!
Jer's reaction?
"I'm going to dig my hole even deeper so I'll be safe!"
Hmmm, I think I see a trend here.
I let him keep digging his hole, and decided I would attack the snake and hopefully Jer would come help.
Attack!!! Bite! Claw!
Me: "What do you want to do now, Jer?"
Jer: "Keep digging! REALLY deep!"
Huh. More drastic measures are needed to get Jer up and doing something.
Uh oh, the snake bit me! Help Jer!
Aha! Here comes Jeremiah to the rescue!
Attack! Bite! Claw!
Oops, the snake bit Jer just a little scratch.
Oops, there Jeremiah decides to go back to his hole and go back to digging, so he'll be safe!
Hmmmm, this does seem to be a very hole-digging sort of werewolf!
My werewolf does a big bite on the snake and almost kills it. Aha, Jeremiah! The snake is almost dead, come help take care of it!
And so, the mighty Jeremiah Werewolf jumps up out of his hole and attacks the ...
.
.
.
tail of the snake so he won't get bitten again!
Ok .... Good job Jeremiah, you killed the giant snake! Yay! The forest is safe from the giant snake now! Horray!
I suspect that if Jeremiah Werewolf has more adventures, there will be a lot of holes in the ground. He certainly does love digging holes!
Monday, October 12, 2009
J-ology
Of course I am doing this because of my lovely wife's example. She who is fairness and light does draw me along as a moth after flame
Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name
followed by "ology".
***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice?
Ranch, none, Italian, or pretty much anything.
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
In general I have to say Mexican. Variety is good though!
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Fruits, applesauce, maybe yougurt. Tapioca, maybe?
What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Pineapple and ham are probably my favorites, but once again, variety is good. Go with a supreme of some sort and I'm happy. Or cheese. Or, ... Yeah, just about anything.
What do you like to put on your toast?
Applebutter! Tomato and mayo! Just butter! Jam!
***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house?
None that have any reception. 1 that is hooked up to DVD/VHS
What color cell phone do you have?
Black.
***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Do teeth lost as a kid count? That's it.
What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Heavy? Probably a big projector for work. I'm guessing it was around 2 anvils in weight, so somewhere around 200 lbs. Don't tell my work; they'd probably be annoyed.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope, but I keep hoping!
************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Yeah. I could make sure my family got a massive life insurance package.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Charles Griffin? (inside joke) I would probably swap the order of my names, but even that would be iffy.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Heck, I'd do it for free on a dare!
************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
None.
Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
9 months or so? I had a tail light burnt out.
Last person you talked to?
C
Last person you hugged?
C and TGM. Yes, it was at the same time. It's NICE!
**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season?
Early Fall or late Spring.
Holiday?
Thanksgiving, but that's because it's a family gathering time. Christmas is getting bumped up the ranks as is New Year for similar reasons.
Day of the week?
Saturday.
Month?
October
***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone?
Yes
Mood
Relaxed now that I'm taking a break from some annoying problems at work.
What are you listening to?
Background conversations and key typing.
Watching?
My computer screen. What else?
Worrying about?
Nothing really. General worries (more like issues to keep in mind) of various upcoming plans and things I need to take care of.
***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning?
In to TGM's room to get her, and then back into bed to curl up with her and C for another 20 minutes until I had to get up for work. (that's where that most recent hug happened)
What's the last movie you saw?
Whew. It's been a while. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs with Jer, I guess.
Do you smile often?
I think so
Sleeping Alone Tonight?
Nope! Not that I know of, anyway!
***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
Do you always answer your phone?
Whenever I know it's ringing.
It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
Not likely to happen. At best I could maybe list a few people who would be slightly less unlikely to do something like that.
If you could change your eye color what would it be?
Too many options and I can't decide. I guess I'll stick with what I have.
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Strawberry, probably.
Do you own a digital camera?
I borrow my wife's.
Have you ever had a pet fish?
Shared with my siblings. They never seemed to last very long, though.
Favorite Christmas song(s)
I have a few that I'm not particularly fond of, but I can't say I have any great favorites either.
What's on your wish list for your birthday?
:-)
Can you do push ups?
Yup.
Can you do a chin up?
Yup.
Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Mixture. Something look to be a challenge in the future. Other things look to be pure fun.
Do you have any saved texts?
A few, but mainly because I haven't bothered to spend the time to delete them all.
Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes. T-boned by a couple kids. Nailed the tail of a lady who didn't stop at a stop sign. (lost my Camero on that one! waaaaahhh!!) Had a tree fall on my car while driving down the Interstate in a driving storm. That was pretty cool!
Do you have an accent?
A bit of one, but it's not very pronounced and tends to come and go with my most recent conversations affecting it.
What is the last song to make you cry?
Song that made me cry? I don't think so. How on earth could a song make you cry?
Plans tonight?
Church youth group.
Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
Gas. Donuts. Coffee. All for church.
Have you ever been given roses?
Yes, I have three beautiful wooden roses I got from my wife!
Current worry?
Nothing major.
Current hate right now?
Solaris.
Met someone who changed your life?
Yes.
How will you bring in the New Year?
Maybe up with Jer, but if not, then more likely asleep.
What song represents you?
There are lots of songs that represent bits of me. I can't think of any that has a particularly broad representation.
Name three people who might complete this?
C - because she already did it. Other than that ... who knows! That all presupposes I have regular readers here beyond family. I suspect I'm on a couple friends' feeds, but none of them are likely to fill these sorts of things out either.
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
Sure. I'd love to see the dinosaurs. Go back in time to change things? Possibly, but the ramifications would be pretty unknowable, so probably not.
Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
Only my wife.
Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
No. I've considered a tattoo, but they're too expensive for the minor curiosity of mine they would answer.
Would you be a pirate?
Pirate of the swashbuckling, glamorized pirates of books and stories? Sure! I'm sorry to say my morals against theft wouldn't stand up to the chance to have a bunch of fun. Maybe i could assuage my conscience by only pirating things from the "bad guys". Real life pirate? Nope.
What songs do you sing in the shower?
I seldom sing in the shower, unless there is a song really stuck in my head.
Ever had someone sing to you?
Happy birthday!
Who was the last person you took a picture of?
TGM. Who else?!?
Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name
followed by "ology".
***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice?
Ranch, none, Italian, or pretty much anything.
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
In general I have to say Mexican. Variety is good though!
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Fruits, applesauce, maybe yougurt. Tapioca, maybe?
What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Pineapple and ham are probably my favorites, but once again, variety is good. Go with a supreme of some sort and I'm happy. Or cheese. Or, ... Yeah, just about anything.
What do you like to put on your toast?
Applebutter! Tomato and mayo! Just butter! Jam!
***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house?
None that have any reception. 1 that is hooked up to DVD/VHS
What color cell phone do you have?
Black.
***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Do teeth lost as a kid count? That's it.
What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Heavy? Probably a big projector for work. I'm guessing it was around 2 anvils in weight, so somewhere around 200 lbs. Don't tell my work; they'd probably be annoyed.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope, but I keep hoping!
************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Yeah. I could make sure my family got a massive life insurance package.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Charles Griffin? (inside joke) I would probably swap the order of my names, but even that would be iffy.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Heck, I'd do it for free on a dare!
************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
None.
Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
9 months or so? I had a tail light burnt out.
Last person you talked to?
C
Last person you hugged?
C and TGM. Yes, it was at the same time. It's NICE!
**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season?
Early Fall or late Spring.
Holiday?
Thanksgiving, but that's because it's a family gathering time. Christmas is getting bumped up the ranks as is New Year for similar reasons.
Day of the week?
Saturday.
Month?
October
***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone?
Yes
Mood
Relaxed now that I'm taking a break from some annoying problems at work.
What are you listening to?
Background conversations and key typing.
Watching?
My computer screen. What else?
Worrying about?
Nothing really. General worries (more like issues to keep in mind) of various upcoming plans and things I need to take care of.
***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning?
In to TGM's room to get her, and then back into bed to curl up with her and C for another 20 minutes until I had to get up for work. (that's where that most recent hug happened)
What's the last movie you saw?
Whew. It's been a while. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs with Jer, I guess.
Do you smile often?
I think so
Sleeping Alone Tonight?
Nope! Not that I know of, anyway!
***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
Do you always answer your phone?
Whenever I know it's ringing.
It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
Not likely to happen. At best I could maybe list a few people who would be slightly less unlikely to do something like that.
If you could change your eye color what would it be?
Too many options and I can't decide. I guess I'll stick with what I have.
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Strawberry, probably.
Do you own a digital camera?
I borrow my wife's.
Have you ever had a pet fish?
Shared with my siblings. They never seemed to last very long, though.
Favorite Christmas song(s)
I have a few that I'm not particularly fond of, but I can't say I have any great favorites either.
What's on your wish list for your birthday?
:-)
Can you do push ups?
Yup.
Can you do a chin up?
Yup.
Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Mixture. Something look to be a challenge in the future. Other things look to be pure fun.
Do you have any saved texts?
A few, but mainly because I haven't bothered to spend the time to delete them all.
Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes. T-boned by a couple kids. Nailed the tail of a lady who didn't stop at a stop sign. (lost my Camero on that one! waaaaahhh!!) Had a tree fall on my car while driving down the Interstate in a driving storm. That was pretty cool!
Do you have an accent?
A bit of one, but it's not very pronounced and tends to come and go with my most recent conversations affecting it.
What is the last song to make you cry?
Song that made me cry? I don't think so. How on earth could a song make you cry?
Plans tonight?
Church youth group.
Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
Gas. Donuts. Coffee. All for church.
Have you ever been given roses?
Yes, I have three beautiful wooden roses I got from my wife!
Current worry?
Nothing major.
Current hate right now?
Solaris.
Met someone who changed your life?
Yes.
How will you bring in the New Year?
Maybe up with Jer, but if not, then more likely asleep.
What song represents you?
There are lots of songs that represent bits of me. I can't think of any that has a particularly broad representation.
Name three people who might complete this?
C - because she already did it. Other than that ... who knows! That all presupposes I have regular readers here beyond family. I suspect I'm on a couple friends' feeds, but none of them are likely to fill these sorts of things out either.
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
Sure. I'd love to see the dinosaurs. Go back in time to change things? Possibly, but the ramifications would be pretty unknowable, so probably not.
Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
Only my wife.
Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
No. I've considered a tattoo, but they're too expensive for the minor curiosity of mine they would answer.
Would you be a pirate?
Pirate of the swashbuckling, glamorized pirates of books and stories? Sure! I'm sorry to say my morals against theft wouldn't stand up to the chance to have a bunch of fun. Maybe i could assuage my conscience by only pirating things from the "bad guys". Real life pirate? Nope.
What songs do you sing in the shower?
I seldom sing in the shower, unless there is a song really stuck in my head.
Ever had someone sing to you?
Happy birthday!
Who was the last person you took a picture of?
TGM. Who else?!?
Labels:
meme
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Farmer's daughter disarms terrorist and shoots him dead with AK47
Farmer's daughter disarms terrorist and shoots him dead with AK47
Now C, what did I tell you about guns? Just make sure you don't miss the second guy next time. Remember, center of mass and short bursts.
Now C, what did I tell you about guns? Just make sure you don't miss the second guy next time. Remember, center of mass and short bursts.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Bye Bye library?
No, not the PHC library. Bye bye to the library of a prep school that is getting rid of its entire collection of books in favor of digital access points and electronic readers like the Kindle.
Welcome To the Library, Say Goodbye To the Books
Two items of concern beyond the basic Can-Electronic-Media-Replace-Paper-Media discussion.
One: They're only spending $500,000 on this! CHEAPO!! Sorry, but if you want a system that will sufficiently replace a library, no matter what you're doing, you're going to have to spend more than $500,000. It's just not possible to provide tools and information anywhere near sufficient to replace an entire library of books for just $500,000.
Two: How much actual information are they planning on providing to the students on their Kindles and Sony Readers? They are getting only 18 electronic readers for how many students? MAYBE I could see 18 readers be enough for 100 students, at best. Even then, I would guarantee there would be some moments when there won't be anywhere near enough readers to satisfy the students.
And then there's this quote:
Welcome To the Library, Say Goodbye To the Books
Two items of concern beyond the basic Can-Electronic-Media-Replace-Paper-Media discussion.
One: They're only spending $500,000 on this! CHEAPO!! Sorry, but if you want a system that will sufficiently replace a library, no matter what you're doing, you're going to have to spend more than $500,000. It's just not possible to provide tools and information anywhere near sufficient to replace an entire library of books for just $500,000.
Two: How much actual information are they planning on providing to the students on their Kindles and Sony Readers? They are getting only 18 electronic readers for how many students? MAYBE I could see 18 readers be enough for 100 students, at best. Even then, I would guarantee there would be some moments when there won't be anywhere near enough readers to satisfy the students.
And then there's this quote:
“Instead of a traditional library with 20,000 books, we’re building a virtual library where students will have access to millions of books,’’ said Tracy, whose office shelves remain lined with books. “We see this as a model for the 21st-century school.’’Obviously there's the irony of a guy with a office full of books advocating for the removal of his school's library. Then there's the statement which talks about "20,000" books. There are two options here: they have a truly atrociously small library, or he has absolutely no clue how many books the library has. If that picture is of the library's space (or part of it) then they had WAY more than 20,000 books. That the headmaster is so clueless about the details of the school's library suggests he is pretty uninformed about what a library actually accomplishes.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Todd Wood is da' bomb
Well, in a geneticist sort of way. I'm just very much enjoying the information he posts on his blog - good papers and a fair number of them are open to the public to read! Here is Todd's blog and here is one of his more recent posts dealing with Neanderthals and other ancient fossil humans.
He actually doesn't "deal with" them so much as he discusses the questions surrounding them. He's a hundred times more knowledgeable than me on the topic, but he doesn't start pontificating since it's technically not in his field. I would be more than happy to read his pontifications, but I very much admire the restraint of not making detailed statements beyond one's area of knowledge. Still, I'd love to know how some of the questions are answered!!!!
He actually doesn't "deal with" them so much as he discusses the questions surrounding them. He's a hundred times more knowledgeable than me on the topic, but he doesn't start pontificating since it's technically not in his field. I would be more than happy to read his pontifications, but I very much admire the restraint of not making detailed statements beyond one's area of knowledge. Still, I'd love to know how some of the questions are answered!!!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Renn Fest 09
Yes, we have once again ventured out to the Maryland Rennaisance Festival for a time of fun and costumes with friends! Three families from church this time!
Little Miss T was wonderful the entire time, and was even so considerate to hold off on her dirty diapers all through Friday and Saturday until we got home on Saturday evening! Very considerate, that girl!
We went "camping" Friday night and shared a cabin with the B family. We had a discussion as to whether or not we could truly call it "camping" with a good conscience, but we decided that because there was a camp fire and the bathrooms/showers were in a different building that we could say we went camping with a perfectly clear conscience. So there!
I've posted some pictures here, and be warned if you click through to them, they are large. I haven't bothered to sample them down to a smaller size. (about 2MB each)
Here is Sir Knight of the Blazing Sword playing chess. He knew the rules backwards and forwards and even had a pretty good eye for looking for pieces he could take and where I could take his pieces. Relatively few statements of "Wait, wait. Look at your pieces again before you move."
Once in the festival, we had a picture with Robin Hood! He later asked if Robin Hood was a real (in the historic sense) person.
Here we thread the Maypole. They didn't do a real wrapping of the Maypole this years, but all the kids had fun anyway. (Yes, that is C in the background in her gypsy outfit.)
And here I am doing a bit of axe throwing! I hit the target's heart four out of five times, but the axes weren't sticking for me. In spite of the picture's appearance, I wasn't heaving the axes very hard. I should have put a bit more force on them, in retrospect. Sir AP next to me, and Sir DB (hidden behind AP) both got one to stick in the target's heart! Huzzah!
Little Miss T was wonderful the entire time, and was even so considerate to hold off on her dirty diapers all through Friday and Saturday until we got home on Saturday evening! Very considerate, that girl!
We went "camping" Friday night and shared a cabin with the B family. We had a discussion as to whether or not we could truly call it "camping" with a good conscience, but we decided that because there was a camp fire and the bathrooms/showers were in a different building that we could say we went camping with a perfectly clear conscience. So there!
I've posted some pictures here, and be warned if you click through to them, they are large. I haven't bothered to sample them down to a smaller size. (about 2MB each)
Here is Sir Knight of the Blazing Sword playing chess. He knew the rules backwards and forwards and even had a pretty good eye for looking for pieces he could take and where I could take his pieces. Relatively few statements of "Wait, wait. Look at your pieces again before you move."
Once in the festival, we had a picture with Robin Hood! He later asked if Robin Hood was a real (in the historic sense) person.
Here we thread the Maypole. They didn't do a real wrapping of the Maypole this years, but all the kids had fun anyway. (Yes, that is C in the background in her gypsy outfit.)
And here I am doing a bit of axe throwing! I hit the target's heart four out of five times, but the axes weren't sticking for me. In spite of the picture's appearance, I wasn't heaving the axes very hard. I should have put a bit more force on them, in retrospect. Sir AP next to me, and Sir DB (hidden behind AP) both got one to stick in the target's heart! Huzzah!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Meetings are the devil incarnate!
9:00 meeting. Still going on. It was supposed to be an hour. I stepped out for a "bathroom break". We still haven't gotten to my area of the meeting topics, and I'm nowhere near the end. I really did need the bathroom break after three cups of tea, but I'm in no hurry to go back. Besides, that tea bag was getting pretty weak.
Sigh. Once more unto the breach!
Sigh. Once more unto the breach!
Monday, September 14, 2009
We have the best baby EVER!
Why? Well, on Saturday we took a trip up to PA for my Sensei's surprise birthday party and graduation party. It's a good-sized drive up there and we were worried about how TGM would handle it. It may have helped that she was up until 2:00 the night (technically morning, I guess) before we took off. All together we had ten hours of driving to do, and she slept the ENTIRE way, both ways!
She was very good at the party, and was there with three other baby girls, all within 2.5 weeks of her. But, by the time we got her home, we were starting to worry how she would sleep through the night. It was 10:00 PM when we got home, and she had just slept for 4.5 hours, solid. We hadn't even stopped for a nursing since she was sleeping so solidly. Now, it was time to wake her up for a nursing and a bath, and then hopefully try to get her back to sleep.
The bath went well until I dripped a bit of soap off my hand into her eye. It was baby soap, but she still didn't like it. She started crying, and my hopes of a night's sleep seemed to be vanishing. We got her bundled up, dried up, changed, and then C just sat down in the rocking chair to snuggle.
Within ten minutes she was asleep again, and stayed that way until 7:30 the next morning.
I'm still in awe.
What did we ever do to get such an easy baby? Hopefully she'll stay that way and grow up to be as good as her big brother!
She was very good at the party, and was there with three other baby girls, all within 2.5 weeks of her. But, by the time we got her home, we were starting to worry how she would sleep through the night. It was 10:00 PM when we got home, and she had just slept for 4.5 hours, solid. We hadn't even stopped for a nursing since she was sleeping so solidly. Now, it was time to wake her up for a nursing and a bath, and then hopefully try to get her back to sleep.
The bath went well until I dripped a bit of soap off my hand into her eye. It was baby soap, but she still didn't like it. She started crying, and my hopes of a night's sleep seemed to be vanishing. We got her bundled up, dried up, changed, and then C just sat down in the rocking chair to snuggle.
Within ten minutes she was asleep again, and stayed that way until 7:30 the next morning.
I'm still in awe.
What did we ever do to get such an easy baby? Hopefully she'll stay that way and grow up to be as good as her big brother!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Oh, they grow up so quickly
Little T had her "one month" checkup today when she is five weeks old. Eh, close enough.
She was born 7 lbs 5 ozs, and dropped to a fraction of an ounce under 7 lbs before she started gaining weight again. Now, she's 10 lbs even!
She was born 20 in long, and is up to 22 in.
She was in the 48th percentile for weight, and 72nd percentile for height. Perfectly normal, slightly on the tall, thin side.
Now she is in the 70th percentile for weight and 81st percentile for height. If her current growth were indicative of future height, she's going to be a tall one!
She was born 7 lbs 5 ozs, and dropped to a fraction of an ounce under 7 lbs before she started gaining weight again. Now, she's 10 lbs even!
She was born 20 in long, and is up to 22 in.
She was in the 48th percentile for weight, and 72nd percentile for height. Perfectly normal, slightly on the tall, thin side.
Now she is in the 70th percentile for weight and 81st percentile for height. If her current growth were indicative of future height, she's going to be a tall one!
Well, I got an answer
If you remember a question I had posed earlier - Looking for geology help - hoping a geologist might run across it. Well, I did manage to track down a guy who does geology work for ICR (he's not a geologist, but close enough), and eventually got a straight answer, and the answer was ......
drum roll
We're working on it.
That's certainly better than offering a flawed answer, but it's not particularly helpful. It is also a bit discouraging to find out I hadn't made some elementary error and overlooked something. The Coconino layer is described as being laid down in the middle of the Flood, with hundreds of feet of dirt above and below it, also laid down by the Flood. Having animals walking around in the middle of it to leave tracks sounds so ridiculous that I had hoped I misunderstood something.
But, since its being worked on, someday it may be answered. In the mean time, it would be nice if AiG took the claim off their website and admitted that it's an area of active research instead of putting forward what the guy acknowledges are claims that seem to contradict according to what we know.
I don't mind people saying "I don't know, but it's a problem we're investigating," but putting up something silly just so something is put up ..... *grumble grumble grumble*
drum roll
We're working on it.
That's certainly better than offering a flawed answer, but it's not particularly helpful. It is also a bit discouraging to find out I hadn't made some elementary error and overlooked something. The Coconino layer is described as being laid down in the middle of the Flood, with hundreds of feet of dirt above and below it, also laid down by the Flood. Having animals walking around in the middle of it to leave tracks sounds so ridiculous that I had hoped I misunderstood something.
But, since its being worked on, someday it may be answered. In the mean time, it would be nice if AiG took the claim off their website and admitted that it's an area of active research instead of putting forward what the guy acknowledges are claims that seem to contradict according to what we know.
I don't mind people saying "I don't know, but it's a problem we're investigating," but putting up something silly just so something is put up ..... *grumble grumble grumble*
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Great bit of history of Teddy Roosevelt
Here's the story of Theodore Roosevelt's expedition down what is now known as the Rio Theodoro.
It'll knock your socks off. You just don't think of ex-Presidents taking on this sort of an expedition. Definitely worth a read, even if you're not a history buff. This would make a really great topic for a paper on a president if any students need something. It's a dramatic piece of history about a famous President, and I hadn't heard it before - chances are pretty good no other student will have heard it and even the teacher may get caught by surprise.
It'll knock your socks off. You just don't think of ex-Presidents taking on this sort of an expedition. Definitely worth a read, even if you're not a history buff. This would make a really great topic for a paper on a president if any students need something. It's a dramatic piece of history about a famous President, and I hadn't heard it before - chances are pretty good no other student will have heard it and even the teacher may get caught by surprise.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Happy Birthday Son!
Yesterday was Jeremiah's birthday - seven years old now!
There was a great party, first at Silver Diner for milkshakes and cake, then to Build-A-Bear where everyone went home with a self-designed bear. Good times had by all!
For a bit of insight into how Jeremiah views his advanced age, a quick example will suffice quite well. This was Sunday afternoon:
Me: You're going to be old tomorrow! Your hair is going to go grey, you'll have lots of wrinkles, and your teeth will start falling out!
J: No! Seven years old isn't old!
Me: Well, you're right. You won't be that old until you're eight years old.
J: No, eight isn't old either. I won't be that old until I'm ten years old!
(He gave suitable stress to the word "ten" that it certainly sounded like he expected to be almost ready for the grave by the time he turned ten.)
Sigh. They grow up so quickly!
Happy birthday Jeremiah! You're the best!
There was a great party, first at Silver Diner for milkshakes and cake, then to Build-A-Bear where everyone went home with a self-designed bear. Good times had by all!
For a bit of insight into how Jeremiah views his advanced age, a quick example will suffice quite well. This was Sunday afternoon:
Me: You're going to be old tomorrow! Your hair is going to go grey, you'll have lots of wrinkles, and your teeth will start falling out!
J: No! Seven years old isn't old!
Me: Well, you're right. You won't be that old until you're eight years old.
J: No, eight isn't old either. I won't be that old until I'm ten years old!
(He gave suitable stress to the word "ten" that it certainly sounded like he expected to be almost ready for the grave by the time he turned ten.)
Sigh. They grow up so quickly!
Happy birthday Jeremiah! You're the best!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Looking for geology help
Just on the VERY outside chance that there's a geologist who runs across this....
I have a question about the Coconino formation and the description of its formation that I recently read on an Answers in Genesis website. The page is Startling Evidence for Noah's Flood. The Coconino formation is a massive layer of sandstone that is generally believed to be laid down in a generally desert-like condition - it's made of sand that is preserved in sand dunes, the footprints are of terrestrial creatures, the sand grains look weathered just like sand-dune sand of today, there are burrow tracks, etc. The "problem" that AiG is talking about is that this is a layer that was layed down during the Flood, neatly sandwiched between a couple layers of sediment.
So the question is, how was a hot and dry desert laid down in the middle of a global flood? Go read the page for the full article. I ran across a question (well a couple, but I'll hold myself to just one for you potential geologist reading this). I'm not as interested in the validity of the explanations put forward in the article, but I do hav a question about a part that seems to be self-contradictory. I can't write AiG, so I'm hoping some keywords in here will attract a wandering geologist!
Here are the two issues the article deals with: footprints and sand-dune formation.
The discussion of the footprints is based on a study by Dr Leonard Brand of Loma Linda University in California (note my keyword loading!). In it he studied tracks from the Coconino layer and the tracks made by modern lizards and amphibians in sand. The sand tracks were made underwater, in moist sand, and in dry sand, all laid at an angle like sand dunes. To makea long story short, Dr. Brand thinks the tracks were made underwater, most likely moving against the flow of water.
The discussion of the sand-dune formation is based on known formation of dune-like sand formations caused by sand at the bottom of the ocean. The height of the dunes is related to water depth, and it takes a certain velocity of water to form underwater sand waves. Based on the height of the Coconino dunes/sand waves, they would have been formed by water about 300 feet deep and moving for a prolonged stretch at 3-5 MPH.
All that leads to this: which is it? Was the Coconino formed in slow-moving shallow water which allowed dinosaurs from newt sized to multi-tonne sized to leave footprints? Or, was the Coconino formed under 300 feet of water rushing along at 3-5 MPH?
I'm not knowledgeable enough on the subject of recreating footprints to discuss the validity of the underwater footprint explanation compared to the desert sand track explanation. But, ignoring my ignorance on that topic, does the article contradict itself? It seems that the explanations rule each other out. If one has the tracks, then one can't have the dunes. If one has the dunes, one can't have the tracks.
People don't go around contradicting themselves (at least not just a couple paragraphs apart), but I don't know what the explanation is that could remove the self-contradiction. Any help would be much appreciated. If not, I'm used to not having everything answered.
I have a question about the Coconino formation and the description of its formation that I recently read on an Answers in Genesis website. The page is Startling Evidence for Noah's Flood. The Coconino formation is a massive layer of sandstone that is generally believed to be laid down in a generally desert-like condition - it's made of sand that is preserved in sand dunes, the footprints are of terrestrial creatures, the sand grains look weathered just like sand-dune sand of today, there are burrow tracks, etc. The "problem" that AiG is talking about is that this is a layer that was layed down during the Flood, neatly sandwiched between a couple layers of sediment.
So the question is, how was a hot and dry desert laid down in the middle of a global flood? Go read the page for the full article. I ran across a question (well a couple, but I'll hold myself to just one for you potential geologist reading this). I'm not as interested in the validity of the explanations put forward in the article, but I do hav a question about a part that seems to be self-contradictory. I can't write AiG, so I'm hoping some keywords in here will attract a wandering geologist!
Here are the two issues the article deals with: footprints and sand-dune formation.
The discussion of the footprints is based on a study by Dr Leonard Brand of Loma Linda University in California (note my keyword loading!). In it he studied tracks from the Coconino layer and the tracks made by modern lizards and amphibians in sand. The sand tracks were made underwater, in moist sand, and in dry sand, all laid at an angle like sand dunes. To makea long story short, Dr. Brand thinks the tracks were made underwater, most likely moving against the flow of water.
The discussion of the sand-dune formation is based on known formation of dune-like sand formations caused by sand at the bottom of the ocean. The height of the dunes is related to water depth, and it takes a certain velocity of water to form underwater sand waves. Based on the height of the Coconino dunes/sand waves, they would have been formed by water about 300 feet deep and moving for a prolonged stretch at 3-5 MPH.
All that leads to this: which is it? Was the Coconino formed in slow-moving shallow water which allowed dinosaurs from newt sized to multi-tonne sized to leave footprints? Or, was the Coconino formed under 300 feet of water rushing along at 3-5 MPH?
I'm not knowledgeable enough on the subject of recreating footprints to discuss the validity of the underwater footprint explanation compared to the desert sand track explanation. But, ignoring my ignorance on that topic, does the article contradict itself? It seems that the explanations rule each other out. If one has the tracks, then one can't have the dunes. If one has the dunes, one can't have the tracks.
People don't go around contradicting themselves (at least not just a couple paragraphs apart), but I don't know what the explanation is that could remove the self-contradiction. Any help would be much appreciated. If not, I'm used to not having everything answered.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
National Debt
Frankly, I don't think McCain would have been any less profligate (which is yet another reason why I didn't vote for either McCain or Obama), but still, the incredible spending and debt that is being projected is pretty impressive: in the next ten years an additional $9,000,000,000,000 of debt added onto the $11,700,000,000,000 of debt the country currently has. (all those zeros come out to mean trillions of dollars)
But, that's not really all that bad. Yup, I'm being serious. That's only a 5.8% yearly rise, on average. Historically, our economy has grown at an average rate of 5.4% since 1990.
However, that 5.4% is not a very likely prospect over the next ten years since 2009 will be a negative growth year, and 2010 is projected to be a low growth year. We might make it back up if we get an economic boom, but we'll probably be looking at an average of 3% growth or something like that. Definitely not a good thing, but not the end of the world either.
What is going to cause economic troubles is that I am pretty sure that the budget estimates are pretty whacked out. I know they include assumptions that cap-and-trade will bring in a bunch of revenues (if it gets passed in a revenue-generating form), and that there will be some very significant tax rate increases in a couple years. They are most likely low-balling the costs of the health care/insurance reform, and as always, they aren't taking into account the massive Social Security and Medicaid liabilities that are coming closer and closer to due. Those things are the truly scary parts. Obama's budget, as stated - meh, bad but not horrible.
But, that's not really all that bad. Yup, I'm being serious. That's only a 5.8% yearly rise, on average. Historically, our economy has grown at an average rate of 5.4% since 1990.
However, that 5.4% is not a very likely prospect over the next ten years since 2009 will be a negative growth year, and 2010 is projected to be a low growth year. We might make it back up if we get an economic boom, but we'll probably be looking at an average of 3% growth or something like that. Definitely not a good thing, but not the end of the world either.
What is going to cause economic troubles is that I am pretty sure that the budget estimates are pretty whacked out. I know they include assumptions that cap-and-trade will bring in a bunch of revenues (if it gets passed in a revenue-generating form), and that there will be some very significant tax rate increases in a couple years. They are most likely low-balling the costs of the health care/insurance reform, and as always, they aren't taking into account the massive Social Security and Medicaid liabilities that are coming closer and closer to due. Those things are the truly scary parts. Obama's budget, as stated - meh, bad but not horrible.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Back from Vacation
Well, back to work from vacation - we didn't actually go anywhere. It was WONDERFUL!!!
Baby T is doing really, really well, as are C&I. In fact, T just slept through the night last night!!!! W00T! She's not even three weeks old yet! Of course, who knows if it will keep up or if it was a one-time event, but it was very, very nice. The night before she slept for almost five hours straight, so I am vaguely hopeful.
C had some interesting dreams that night since we aren't used to sleeping for quite so long at a stretch. She kept dreaming that I had brought T in and C needed to feed T. Then she would wake up, looking for T. One time - ok. But it happened four or five times in a row. On the bright side, she was all prepared to feed T when I finally did bring her in. Maybe a bit on the extra-groggy side, but definitely ready to feed her!
J was here last week and we got a lot of time together. We played computer games together a lot (Runescape is beginning to wear on me), went swimming several times, told stories, read books, went on walks, played in the park, and in general we loafed around together. Coming back off such a relaxing vacation is interesting. I am doing some crazy levels of productivity (my computer is tied up copying over a 21GB VM right now), but boy do I ever want to be back home!
C's parents and youngest sister, came out for a week while I was at work, and her sister D with her fiance were out here too. Last week was my vacation time, and my mom and dad were finally able to make it out for a couple days, Wednesday and Thursday. The house has been much improved by the families staying here. C's father fixed several plumbing problems I had been putting off. My dad helped me paint the back of my house - something the HOA had asked us to do earlier in the spring. I probably ought to get back to them about that.
Now though - I'm buried with helpdesk tickets (though I think they are almost wrapped up) and I have an OpenMap project to complete (not even close to being completed). Back to work!
Baby T is doing really, really well, as are C&I. In fact, T just slept through the night last night!!!! W00T! She's not even three weeks old yet! Of course, who knows if it will keep up or if it was a one-time event, but it was very, very nice. The night before she slept for almost five hours straight, so I am vaguely hopeful.
C had some interesting dreams that night since we aren't used to sleeping for quite so long at a stretch. She kept dreaming that I had brought T in and C needed to feed T. Then she would wake up, looking for T. One time - ok. But it happened four or five times in a row. On the bright side, she was all prepared to feed T when I finally did bring her in. Maybe a bit on the extra-groggy side, but definitely ready to feed her!
J was here last week and we got a lot of time together. We played computer games together a lot (Runescape is beginning to wear on me), went swimming several times, told stories, read books, went on walks, played in the park, and in general we loafed around together. Coming back off such a relaxing vacation is interesting. I am doing some crazy levels of productivity (my computer is tied up copying over a 21GB VM right now), but boy do I ever want to be back home!
C's parents and youngest sister, came out for a week while I was at work, and her sister D with her fiance were out here too. Last week was my vacation time, and my mom and dad were finally able to make it out for a couple days, Wednesday and Thursday. The house has been much improved by the families staying here. C's father fixed several plumbing problems I had been putting off. My dad helped me paint the back of my house - something the HOA had asked us to do earlier in the spring. I probably ought to get back to them about that.
Now though - I'm buried with helpdesk tickets (though I think they are almost wrapped up) and I have an OpenMap project to complete (not even close to being completed). Back to work!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Just a bit of tomato-y goodness
Dr. Veith ran an experiment with tomato plants as a competition between "crunchy conservatism" and "free market conservatism". He bought a heritage tomato plant, natural and uncontaminated, and then he bought a hyrbid, agri-corp-produced tomato plant. He planted them side by side, watered them equally, as well as other attentions, and tested the results.
Read all about it here: The Great Tomato Ideological Experiment
Read all about it here: The Great Tomato Ideological Experiment
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Those first couple nights
I've developed a pretty standard response for when people ask me how it's going with the new baby, I reply with something like this:
In that thing called reality which I occasionally visit, TG is a very wonderful and normal baby doing all the standard newborn stuff. She doesn't cry except for when she's hungry or has a wet/dirty diaper, and then she is quick to calm back down. She is nursing well, and doing really well with the common concerns - jaundice, eating, health, etc.
And .... just to play with my head, she almost slept through the whole night last night, only one wake-up. She made up for it by spurting out a bit extra when I was changing her diaper, but otherwise she slept from 10-ish to 2:something and then was up again at 6:45. I could get used to this!
Of course, now that I've taunted the great and powerful Murphey, she'll probably have a dozen wake-ups tonight. But hey, that's life with a newborn baby, and it's still cool to me. (Yeah, I know I'm only a few days into it.)
Oh, it's going really well! We're home now and things are wonderful. Little TG is sleeping through the night already, and that's wonderful! She is a great baby, and never really cries, just fusses for a second when she's hungry or when her diaper needs changed. She seems to be on a feeding and diaper-filling pattern of every 2 hours and 45 minutes, except for night-time when she sleeps all the way through. And just a bit earlier today, she told me that we were the best parents in the world.I've gotten smacked a couple times. I can't figure out why. Experienced parents seem to have the biggest reaction.
I then wake up to the sound of a baby crying with a dirty diaper, and probably hungry too.
In that thing called reality which I occasionally visit, TG is a very wonderful and normal baby doing all the standard newborn stuff. She doesn't cry except for when she's hungry or has a wet/dirty diaper, and then she is quick to calm back down. She is nursing well, and doing really well with the common concerns - jaundice, eating, health, etc.
And .... just to play with my head, she almost slept through the whole night last night, only one wake-up. She made up for it by spurting out a bit extra when I was changing her diaper, but otherwise she slept from 10-ish to 2:something and then was up again at 6:45. I could get used to this!
Of course, now that I've taunted the great and powerful Murphey, she'll probably have a dozen wake-ups tonight. But hey, that's life with a newborn baby, and it's still cool to me. (Yeah, I know I'm only a few days into it.)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Big Brother
Not in the Orwellian, 1984 sense, but in the older sibling sense.
Jer is an older brother now, and he enjoys it (so far). He wanted to hold TG as soon as he got home, and we got some nice pictures of them. And then on Sunday during lunch he wanted to hold her the whole time, even though it got in the way of eating. Then, we he was heading off with his mom he didn't want to leave without holding her again. She is sweet and soft, and he loves rubbing her soft skin. He decided that he likes the name "Belle" for her instead - "Not like the bell ding dong, but like the pretty belle," he explains.
Some of his other names for her were Hannah Montana and Uniqua (from the TV show The Backyardigans). His boys names were just as fun - Aniken Skywalker, Jeremiah Jack, and Luke. (you can tell he is on a Star Wars kick, Clone Wars to be precise)
Of course, this doesn't begin to compare to his reaction to LJ! She is his current favoritest person in the whole wide world and he loves her and wants to marry her and wants to go live with her and wants to be with her all the time and wants to play with her FOREVER and and and! Whew! LJ, along with C's parents arrived Saturday evening, much to J's delight. LJ was very good and patient to play with him, but I'll bet she welcomes the break.
J even made a baby blanket for TG (and he really did help with it!) that came out very nicely. He also got her a puppy from Build-a-Bear, some socks, a bib that says "I Love My Sister", a teething toy, and several other items. It was very, very nice.
He had been hoping for a boy, and when we found out she was a she, I let J know that she will need a big brother to protect her from all sorts of things like robbers, and bad guys, and dark Jedi. (tying in Star Wars) Whoah! I got a 10 minute lecture on how Jedi weren't real and that they were only pretend on TV and that TV isn't real and that there aren't really things like Jedi and and and. Got it! We don't need to protect her from dark Jedi!
I think he's going to enjoy this!
Jer is an older brother now, and he enjoys it (so far). He wanted to hold TG as soon as he got home, and we got some nice pictures of them. And then on Sunday during lunch he wanted to hold her the whole time, even though it got in the way of eating. Then, we he was heading off with his mom he didn't want to leave without holding her again. She is sweet and soft, and he loves rubbing her soft skin. He decided that he likes the name "Belle" for her instead - "Not like the bell ding dong, but like the pretty belle," he explains.
Some of his other names for her were Hannah Montana and Uniqua (from the TV show The Backyardigans). His boys names were just as fun - Aniken Skywalker, Jeremiah Jack, and Luke. (you can tell he is on a Star Wars kick, Clone Wars to be precise)
Of course, this doesn't begin to compare to his reaction to LJ! She is his current favoritest person in the whole wide world and he loves her and wants to marry her and wants to go live with her and wants to be with her all the time and wants to play with her FOREVER and and and! Whew! LJ, along with C's parents arrived Saturday evening, much to J's delight. LJ was very good and patient to play with him, but I'll bet she welcomes the break.
J even made a baby blanket for TG (and he really did help with it!) that came out very nicely. He also got her a puppy from Build-a-Bear, some socks, a bib that says "I Love My Sister", a teething toy, and several other items. It was very, very nice.
He had been hoping for a boy, and when we found out she was a she, I let J know that she will need a big brother to protect her from all sorts of things like robbers, and bad guys, and dark Jedi. (tying in Star Wars) Whoah! I got a 10 minute lecture on how Jedi weren't real and that they were only pretend on TV and that TV isn't real and that there aren't really things like Jedi and and and. Got it! We don't need to protect her from dark Jedi!
I think he's going to enjoy this!
Friday, August 07, 2009
Update on post-delivery status
I have a reader! I even have more than one apparently!! Whoa!!!
Anyway, C is doing really well as far as recovery goes. One stitch for a small tear. Soreness from the delivery and also sore muscles from the extreme workout she did during the delivery.
Right after the delivery she felt a bit woozy, and we think that was most likely caused by the blood loss. It was similar to how she sometimes feels after giving blood, and it went away fairly quickly after eating breakfast.
The oddest persistent thing is that her left leg is all tingly throughout her calf and shin. Not the thigh or foot - just the calf and shin area.
The hospital seems to be very happy that the bathroom (or diaper) is in active use by both ladies.
We're heading home Saturday morning.
All done with emails! Adios all! Thank you very much for your well wishes. Darren, you can let your wife know the baby name book was MUCH appreciated and used. We'll get it back to you very soon.
Anyway, C is doing really well as far as recovery goes. One stitch for a small tear. Soreness from the delivery and also sore muscles from the extreme workout she did during the delivery.
Right after the delivery she felt a bit woozy, and we think that was most likely caused by the blood loss. It was similar to how she sometimes feels after giving blood, and it went away fairly quickly after eating breakfast.
The oddest persistent thing is that her left leg is all tingly throughout her calf and shin. Not the thigh or foot - just the calf and shin area.
The hospital seems to be very happy that the bathroom (or diaper) is in active use by both ladies.
We're heading home Saturday morning.
All done with emails! Adios all! Thank you very much for your well wishes. Darren, you can let your wife know the baby name book was MUCH appreciated and used. We'll get it back to you very soon.
Update on pregnancy
I am at work for a little bit even though my dear wife is still at the birthing inn (bad husband!) but I only came in for a little bit to tamp down a couple fires before the weekend. I am heading right back, I promise!
When I left work Wednesday, there was still not a sign that C was about to go into labor. Everything was pretty much on the previously established schedule of "nothing yet." C's appointment on Monday had her at 1 cm of dilation and effacement around 50%. That showed progress, but nothing showing imminence. As I drove from work to the midwife appointment, I got a call from C - some bleeding had happened, but it wasn't continuing. Not alarming considering that she had an exam on Monday that might have caused a bit of bleeding.
From there we went straight to a decision by the midwives that they wanted to induce labor the very next morning, Thursday! Ack! We told them that we would go in for another check up on Thursday, and if that checkup came up with concerns then we would consider an induction on Friday.
Well, obviously Wednesday night got things started and by Thursday morning things were done! And oh yeah, there are a bunch of emails that need to get sent off to customers before the weekend. So, I'm in for a couple hours to send off some emails. And, as it turns out, do some meeting scheduling, and fixing of time cards, some project arrangements with co-workers, questions for management, etc. And, of course, start answering all the questions everyone is having about how things went.
Best advice has been from HH - women are especially emotional during this time, so make sure your wife knows you love her and are thinking about her and that you still think she's beautiful and that she is being a great mother. She had several stories of her own and friends of poor husbands who suffered for some relatively minor things.
So, honey, I love you very much, and even in an unflattering hospital gown you're still the hottest woman I know. You did a wonderful job with the delivery and you are doing an absolutely amazing job as a mom now.
What? Do I hear my reader(s) saying something? You say I need to say stuff like that in person, so what the *beep* am I doing at work typing up a blog posting when I should be heading back to her!
Good point. I'm in the middle of an email conversation with a couple people, including a manager, and I'm waiting for them to reply. As soon as I get that back, I can respond to a customer, and then I will obey my reader's astute advice!
When I left work Wednesday, there was still not a sign that C was about to go into labor. Everything was pretty much on the previously established schedule of "nothing yet." C's appointment on Monday had her at 1 cm of dilation and effacement around 50%. That showed progress, but nothing showing imminence. As I drove from work to the midwife appointment, I got a call from C - some bleeding had happened, but it wasn't continuing. Not alarming considering that she had an exam on Monday that might have caused a bit of bleeding.
From there we went straight to a decision by the midwives that they wanted to induce labor the very next morning, Thursday! Ack! We told them that we would go in for another check up on Thursday, and if that checkup came up with concerns then we would consider an induction on Friday.
Well, obviously Wednesday night got things started and by Thursday morning things were done! And oh yeah, there are a bunch of emails that need to get sent off to customers before the weekend. So, I'm in for a couple hours to send off some emails. And, as it turns out, do some meeting scheduling, and fixing of time cards, some project arrangements with co-workers, questions for management, etc. And, of course, start answering all the questions everyone is having about how things went.
Best advice has been from HH - women are especially emotional during this time, so make sure your wife knows you love her and are thinking about her and that you still think she's beautiful and that she is being a great mother. She had several stories of her own and friends of poor husbands who suffered for some relatively minor things.
So, honey, I love you very much, and even in an unflattering hospital gown you're still the hottest woman I know. You did a wonderful job with the delivery and you are doing an absolutely amazing job as a mom now.
What? Do I hear my reader(s) saying something? You say I need to say stuff like that in person, so what the *beep* am I doing at work typing up a blog posting when I should be heading back to her!
Good point. I'm in the middle of an email conversation with a couple people, including a manager, and I'm waiting for them to reply. As soon as I get that back, I can respond to a customer, and then I will obey my reader's astute advice!
A new baby!
Yup, yesterday morning saw the entrance of a new little girl into the world. It probably saw the entrance of lots of little girls, but the one in particular I am referring to is my little girl.
C had about 7.5 hours of labor, the first couple hours of contractions weren't too strong, then we had a fairly brief stretch of stronger contractions, and then it was time to push. That was the long part, but she did well (both shes) for the whole three hours.
Ahhhh, my little girl just came back into the room, and the hearing test came back with results that are just fine.
My joke is that Baby Beta moved into the final release status just like all proper software development efforts go - a sudden, last minute, all-night effort right before the deadline! The only things missing were massive infusions of caffeine and sugar!
We're doing well, and C is recovering well. There weren't any problems worthy of the term "complication" - the standard aches and pains of childbirth that has C walking and moving a bit slowly, and that's it.
After coming through the three hours of pushing, little TM (formerly known as Beta) came out with the most impressive conehead I've ever seen, but she has rounded out nicely and could be the poster baby for cute newborns. Itsy, bitsy tiny fingers, toes, and nose. Cute little face wrinkles when she sneezes, and adorable yawns showing off her pink gums.
Things have gone wonderfully well. Praises and thanks to God!
C had about 7.5 hours of labor, the first couple hours of contractions weren't too strong, then we had a fairly brief stretch of stronger contractions, and then it was time to push. That was the long part, but she did well (both shes) for the whole three hours.
Ahhhh, my little girl just came back into the room, and the hearing test came back with results that are just fine.
My joke is that Baby Beta moved into the final release status just like all proper software development efforts go - a sudden, last minute, all-night effort right before the deadline! The only things missing were massive infusions of caffeine and sugar!
We're doing well, and C is recovering well. There weren't any problems worthy of the term "complication" - the standard aches and pains of childbirth that has C walking and moving a bit slowly, and that's it.
After coming through the three hours of pushing, little TM (formerly known as Beta) came out with the most impressive conehead I've ever seen, but she has rounded out nicely and could be the poster baby for cute newborns. Itsy, bitsy tiny fingers, toes, and nose. Cute little face wrinkles when she sneezes, and adorable yawns showing off her pink gums.
Things have gone wonderfully well. Praises and thanks to God!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Clunkers Not So Stimulating
Just an article about the impact of the Cash for Clunkers program.
Clunkers Not So Stimulating
One thing that this article doesn't include is the problems the C4C program causes other areas of the economy, and the absolute failure it is as any sort of "green" promotion.
(three posts in one day! whew!)
Clunkers Not So Stimulating
One thing that this article doesn't include is the problems the C4C program causes other areas of the economy, and the absolute failure it is as any sort of "green" promotion.
(three posts in one day! whew!)
Ooooo! Good question!
I think I've pointed over to GeoChristian's blog before, but allow me to do so again. It's a place I fairly regularly visit - it's "science-y stuff!"
Occasionally it gets into more than science - it gets into philosophy and theology on occasion. He has even caught a couple atheists who are regular posters and are very decent in their conversations. That's not an amazing fact because they are atheists, but rather because they are posting on the Internet and are remaining decent!! That's a miracle for anyone, Christian, Buddhist, or Atheist.
Recently a thread caught some comments, More Atheist Quotes on Dawkins And The New Atheists, and there are some good discussions going on. One of the posters, "lightsmith" (Atheist), had a really interesting view that had never occurred to me before. The general discussion is a variation of "Why did God make a universe that is so messed up?" Standard sorts of responses back and forth - free will, choice, etc.
Then, in response to a couple free will posts, lightsmith wrote the following:
Is heaven an equivalent of that? Is the free will of people, which includes the ability to reject God, modified or removed upon being brought to heaven? I hadn't ever thought of it that way. In heaven we won't be subject to sinful desires, so isn't that just taking away free will? Why give it in the first place if it gets taken away for all of eternity?
I do have an answer which (to me, at least) doesn't violate the gift of free will which God gives us and yet still has a perfect new heaven and earth. It's not particularly complicated and I think it's a straightforward answer that satisfies things well and properly, but then of course I would think so!
But, I would love to hear other people's thoughts and/or insights on the question. Actually, my blog isn't nearly as good as his blog, and it would probably be a lot better to head over to his blog if you want to provide your insights.
Occasionally it gets into more than science - it gets into philosophy and theology on occasion. He has even caught a couple atheists who are regular posters and are very decent in their conversations. That's not an amazing fact because they are atheists, but rather because they are posting on the Internet and are remaining decent!! That's a miracle for anyone, Christian, Buddhist, or Atheist.
Recently a thread caught some comments, More Atheist Quotes on Dawkins And The New Atheists, and there are some good discussions going on. One of the posters, "lightsmith" (Atheist), had a really interesting view that had never occurred to me before. The general discussion is a variation of "Why did God make a universe that is so messed up?" Standard sorts of responses back and forth - free will, choice, etc.
Then, in response to a couple free will posts, lightsmith wrote the following:
Now my question is this: do such people [perfected, saved people in heaven] still have free will once they enter heaven? Are they going to be coveting each others’ harps, resenting the guy whose stories and jokes make Jesus laugh more boisterously, trying to sneak off with that pretty little thing that looks so seductive in her new halo? Or are their newly purified hearts going to be immune from such temptations?If I understand this correctly, he is asking if free will is still going to exist in the new creation. The preceding conversation has more or less said that giving people free will, but then guiding them up so they have no option but to do a certain thing, is not really free will. As an example, if Adam and Eve could only disobey God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but God put the tree in another solar system, Adam and Eve wouldn't really have free will.Because it seems to me that if it’s the former, then God must have tolerance for a smidgen of sinful nature. If it’s the latter, if people are going to be transformed and perfected, then what’s the point of this shadow play here on earth?
Is everyone going to be perfect in heaven? If so, and if a hundred years of “flawed clay” is to be followed by a hundred billion trillion centuries of sinless spirituality, what possible objection could a divine author have to writing in perfection from the beginning?
Is heaven an equivalent of that? Is the free will of people, which includes the ability to reject God, modified or removed upon being brought to heaven? I hadn't ever thought of it that way. In heaven we won't be subject to sinful desires, so isn't that just taking away free will? Why give it in the first place if it gets taken away for all of eternity?
I do have an answer which (to me, at least) doesn't violate the gift of free will which God gives us and yet still has a perfect new heaven and earth. It's not particularly complicated and I think it's a straightforward answer that satisfies things well and properly, but then of course I would think so!
But, I would love to hear other people's thoughts and/or insights on the question. Actually, my blog isn't nearly as good as his blog, and it would probably be a lot better to head over to his blog if you want to provide your insights.
VBS and Bible Studies
A couple weeks ago we had our church's VBS at a local park, and the whole thing turned out quite well - only one evening of rain which came near the end, and 20-30 kids per night. I was in charge of the games (what else?) and we had three age groups. For the most part everything went pretty smoothly, with Tuesday being the roughest night when we jumped from 20 kids on Monday to 30 on Tuesday. The curriculum was from Answers In Genesis and was pretty good - a basic presentation of the message of the free gift of salvation. It's theme was space, and the only time it focused on the Creation and the age of the earth it was brief and didn't try to put forward evidentiary argumentations (for the most part - they had brief mentions of the number of comets and the receding moon "problem", but not in depth).
When I first heard that the curriculum was going to be from AiG, I was a bit worried that it was going to be a Creationism class rather than a class about Christ, but it all turned out quite well. (except for a particularly attrocious song that no one was able to sing, including me even with the printed words and after 5 days of practicing!)
Anyway, that's the background. Oh, a bit more. Our church has been having Bible studies with Angel (yup, that's his real name) for teens and older teens. We also have started having Bible studies in a low-income housing complex (the MSC), and have had an incredible response from both the kids and the adults there. We've now rolled the older teen study in with the study at the MSC.
So, all that as background for ... now what was I going to say about it again? I came back to this saved note a week after I started it, and I have no idea what my original goal was. I'll post it anyway as a random bit of trivia as to what our church is doing.
To wrap up the MSC info, we have had around 20 to 30 new kids and youth coming weekly to the Bible study. About a dozen come to church as well. We have started borrowing a van from our parent church that planted us just to carry them all to and from the apartment complex. Every single youth I've talked with, which is most, come from single family homes, either from divorces or never married, and live at or below the poverty level. Our church provides groceries and clothes to families in the general area who ask, and a lot of the people who ask are from the MSC.
Lot's of prayer would be appreciated. Maybe that's all I was going with this thought. Maybe not, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
When I first heard that the curriculum was going to be from AiG, I was a bit worried that it was going to be a Creationism class rather than a class about Christ, but it all turned out quite well. (except for a particularly attrocious song that no one was able to sing, including me even with the printed words and after 5 days of practicing!)
Anyway, that's the background. Oh, a bit more. Our church has been having Bible studies with Angel (yup, that's his real name) for teens and older teens. We also have started having Bible studies in a low-income housing complex (the MSC), and have had an incredible response from both the kids and the adults there. We've now rolled the older teen study in with the study at the MSC.
So, all that as background for ... now what was I going to say about it again? I came back to this saved note a week after I started it, and I have no idea what my original goal was. I'll post it anyway as a random bit of trivia as to what our church is doing.
To wrap up the MSC info, we have had around 20 to 30 new kids and youth coming weekly to the Bible study. About a dozen come to church as well. We have started borrowing a van from our parent church that planted us just to carry them all to and from the apartment complex. Every single youth I've talked with, which is most, come from single family homes, either from divorces or never married, and live at or below the poverty level. Our church provides groceries and clothes to families in the general area who ask, and a lot of the people who ask are from the MSC.
Lot's of prayer would be appreciated. Maybe that's all I was going with this thought. Maybe not, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Teaching Perfect Pitch
In the Washington Post a few days ago there was an article about how to develop perfect pitch in children. Perfect pitch has been considered something one is born with and not really able to be developed. Well, it looks like a Japanese music teacher has figured out a way to develop perfect pitch in children. His name is Kazuki Eguchi and here is the article.
Neither C or I have anything close to perfect pitch. I took a couple years of singing lessons, but I felt so odd practicing singing scales and songs at home that I didn't put in as much effort as I should have. I was on a choir for their special performances for a number of years, but that's about all my experience with singing outside of singing at church.
C has had less experience in lessons, though with the continual practice of singing in church, she sings very well. With neither of us being particularly musically gifted, it would be cool to be able to encourage and possibly train our kids to be a bit stronger in this area than we are.
Has anyone heard of this before or tried it?
Neither C or I have anything close to perfect pitch. I took a couple years of singing lessons, but I felt so odd practicing singing scales and songs at home that I didn't put in as much effort as I should have. I was on a choir for their special performances for a number of years, but that's about all my experience with singing outside of singing at church.
C has had less experience in lessons, though with the continual practice of singing in church, she sings very well. With neither of us being particularly musically gifted, it would be cool to be able to encourage and possibly train our kids to be a bit stronger in this area than we are.
Has anyone heard of this before or tried it?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Do Animals Have Souls?
It's not something that has ever kept me up at night, or crossed my mind in anything more than an All-Dogs-Go-To-Heaven sort of thought. However, if I had been asked, probably would have responded with something like "It depends on what you mean by a soul," since I've heard more than a few varieties.
Well, I read a post that deals with it in a bit more serious and thoughtful manner. (not hard, I realize)
The Wonder of Creation - Do Animals Have Souls? by Dean Ohlman
Anyone have some thoughts on his post?
Well, I read a post that deals with it in a bit more serious and thoughtful manner. (not hard, I realize)
The Wonder of Creation - Do Animals Have Souls? by Dean Ohlman
Anyone have some thoughts on his post?
Friday, July 24, 2009
Superman, Snow White, and Pinocchio walk into ...
Superman, Snow White, and Pinocchio walk into a carnival and wind up over on the freak-show side. As they're walking along, they see a sign that says "World's Strongest Man!"
Superman says, "Hold up a second, I'll be right back!" Five minutes later he comes out chuckling. "What happened?" the other two ask. "Well, let's just say he's in there crying his eyes out after he saw who is really the strongest," Superman replied.
They kept walking along until they saw a sign saying "World's Most Beautiful Woman!" Snow White says "I'll be right back boys," and goes into the tent. Ten minutes goes by and she comes back out with a sashay and a smile. "What happened," the other two asked. "Well, let's just say she's crying her eyes out and knows who is really the most beautiful woman," Snow White replied.
They continue on and they see a tent that says "World's Greatest Liar!" Pinocchio says "Hey, hold up for a second. This one's all mine! This won't take but a minute!"
Ten minutes goes by. Thirty minutes. A whole hour passes before Pinocchio finally shuffles back out of the tent, crying and sniffling. "What happened," Superman and Snow White exclaimed.
"Well I went in and I lied and I lied, but ... but..." Pinocchio started sobbing again.
He finally wailed, "Who is Nancy Pelosi anyway?!?!"
Superman says, "Hold up a second, I'll be right back!" Five minutes later he comes out chuckling. "What happened?" the other two ask. "Well, let's just say he's in there crying his eyes out after he saw who is really the strongest," Superman replied.
They kept walking along until they saw a sign saying "World's Most Beautiful Woman!" Snow White says "I'll be right back boys," and goes into the tent. Ten minutes goes by and she comes back out with a sashay and a smile. "What happened," the other two asked. "Well, let's just say she's crying her eyes out and knows who is really the most beautiful woman," Snow White replied.
They continue on and they see a tent that says "World's Greatest Liar!" Pinocchio says "Hey, hold up for a second. This one's all mine! This won't take but a minute!"
Ten minutes goes by. Thirty minutes. A whole hour passes before Pinocchio finally shuffles back out of the tent, crying and sniffling. "What happened," Superman and Snow White exclaimed.
"Well I went in and I lied and I lied, but ... but..." Pinocchio started sobbing again.
He finally wailed, "Who is Nancy Pelosi anyway?!?!"
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I Love Lutherans
I've got to keep remembering that. That, and not all Lutherans are the same.
I ran across a guy (Lutheran, I'm not sure which splinter, but I think LCMS) who is absolutely and vehemently positive that Baptists (and all other denominations) are borderline apostate. The LCMS (or whichever splinter he belongs to) has all the doctrines in Scripture exactly right, and the only way that anyone could disagree is that they reject what the Scriptures say.
Not all Lutherans are like this, and it's not just Lutherans - Calvinist debates can get like this a lot too, though they tend to get more personally rancorous, not generally declaring all others to be apostate.
I'm not doing an opposite extreme from this guy and saying "can't we all just get along and ignore differences". Everyone disagrees on things which we believe to be significant enough to break fellowship to some extent - hence the different denominations - and this is a necessary thing. Not necessarily a good thing, but as people who understand things imperfectly, we will necessarily disagree on some things enough to form separate groups. While I think there ought to be a lot more in the way of community and fellowship, I don't think it's a good idea to toss all differences aside as irrelevant.
Ok. I got the disclaimer out of the way. Now for the "BUT!"
But! (see, there it is) But, can people at least admit that disagreements don't necessarily mean that the "other side" are idiots who reject all standards and values, and are just making up their own rules, and ignoring what the Bible says?!?!?!?
Of course not. This is the Internet. That would be asking too much.
I ran across a guy (Lutheran, I'm not sure which splinter, but I think LCMS) who is absolutely and vehemently positive that Baptists (and all other denominations) are borderline apostate. The LCMS (or whichever splinter he belongs to) has all the doctrines in Scripture exactly right, and the only way that anyone could disagree is that they reject what the Scriptures say.
"I’m disagreeing that Scripture is open to multiple reasonable interpretations."
"I think LCMSers would generally agree with me that no disagreement concerning the meaning of Christ’s promises can be “petty”"
"Jesus said that he taught some things in a purposely cryptic manner, but he promised that the Holy Spirit would make his teachings clear. Jesus emphasizes that only those who hear the Word and understand produce fruit, and those that do not understand are snatched by the evil one."The excerpts here are right in line with what he was saying in his larger points. I'm a bit torn between pointing to where he made these statements, and hiding his identity for him even though he wouldn't care. I guess I'll be good and leave him anonymous.
Not all Lutherans are like this, and it's not just Lutherans - Calvinist debates can get like this a lot too, though they tend to get more personally rancorous, not generally declaring all others to be apostate.
I'm not doing an opposite extreme from this guy and saying "can't we all just get along and ignore differences". Everyone disagrees on things which we believe to be significant enough to break fellowship to some extent - hence the different denominations - and this is a necessary thing. Not necessarily a good thing, but as people who understand things imperfectly, we will necessarily disagree on some things enough to form separate groups. While I think there ought to be a lot more in the way of community and fellowship, I don't think it's a good idea to toss all differences aside as irrelevant.
Ok. I got the disclaimer out of the way. Now for the "BUT!"
But! (see, there it is) But, can people at least admit that disagreements don't necessarily mean that the "other side" are idiots who reject all standards and values, and are just making up their own rules, and ignoring what the Bible says?!?!?!?
Of course not. This is the Internet. That would be asking too much.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Would the real Hans Christian Andersen please stand up
Whew, I'm on a roll - more than one post in a day!
I've read some of Andersen's stories, but I don't think I've ever read The Little Mermaid, though I knew she didn't marry the prince. I did read The Red Shoes though, and some of his other, more popular stories. I would be interested in knowing how much they were changed from the original, though.
Here's a bit of a review of a new book that is more faithful to the original stories: The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Check out the review if you want to read how The Little Mermaid REALLY ended.
I've read some of Andersen's stories, but I don't think I've ever read The Little Mermaid, though I knew she didn't marry the prince. I did read The Red Shoes though, and some of his other, more popular stories. I would be interested in knowing how much they were changed from the original, though.
Here's a bit of a review of a new book that is more faithful to the original stories: The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Check out the review if you want to read how The Little Mermaid REALLY ended.
Evolution and Racism - Straight from the Creationist's mouth
If anyone is silly enough to start hanging around those shady parts of the Internet where Creation vs. Evolution get debated, you ought to have your head examined. I know I ought to. Anyway, one of the oft-repeated statements is how Evolution is responsible for racism and abortion and slavery and and and. Supporting this are statements of how Darwin was a horrible racist and how Hitler was started off by evolutionary thoughts on survival of the fittest.
Well, here is Dr. Todd Wood, the preeminent biologist (at least IMHO) at Answers in Genesis. In the June issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, he is reviewing a book by Desmond and Moore, Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution.
Here's part of his last paragraph (and the link to his post):
Anyway, I'm not really jazzed about the review as much as I am looking for an excuse to provide more links to his blog site, which I thoroughly enjoy. I suspect that his blog is a pretty narrowly known secret, but it deserves to be more widely known. I'll do my tiny, little bit.
Well, here is Dr. Todd Wood, the preeminent biologist (at least IMHO) at Answers in Genesis. In the June issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, he is reviewing a book by Desmond and Moore, Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution.
Here's part of his last paragraph (and the link to his post):
If the authors are wrong about this motivation, was Darwin a racist after all? I think such a charge is hard to justify without stooping to anachronistic and triumphalist standards of judgment. Whatever else he was, Darwin was a product of his time. By our twenty-first century standards, almost all people of European descent in the nineteenth century were racist. Saying that Darwin was a racist is little more informative than saying he lived in the nineteenth century. Far more important, I think, is Darwin's attitude about the treatment of other races. Here, Desmond and Moore do us a great service by illuminating the real passion of Darwin's anti-slavery and anti-cruelty. By making Darwin's evolution primarily ideological, however, they miss an important point: that science can be used to serve different ideologies. Common ancestry and natural selection can be interpreted to serve slavery and cruelty just as easily as to oppose them.....Maybe this will put a bit of a slow-down on the .... oh, who am I kidding. Not a chance.
Anyway, I'm not really jazzed about the review as much as I am looking for an excuse to provide more links to his blog site, which I thoroughly enjoy. I suspect that his blog is a pretty narrowly known secret, but it deserves to be more widely known. I'll do my tiny, little bit.
Want to sue yourself?
Sound silly? Well, apparently Wells Fargo Bank has sued itself.
It holds the first and second mortgage on the property, and the owner of the first mortgage (Wells Fargo) is suing all other lien holders (Wells Fargo, the holder of the second mortgage). Apparently the court documents have Wells Fargo as the plaintiff and the defendant. The two different law firms which are prosecuting/defending Wells Fargo against itself are having fun with this, I'm sure. The article has a great line where Wells Fargo lawyers are saying to the other Wells Fargo lawyers "All other allegations of the complaint are denied".
I realize that in large companies, there are sometimes circular situations (my company has occasionally been a subcontractor to a subcontractor to itself), but a company suing itself??? Whew! No wonder they needed bailout money!
Wells Fargo Bank Sues Itself
It holds the first and second mortgage on the property, and the owner of the first mortgage (Wells Fargo) is suing all other lien holders (Wells Fargo, the holder of the second mortgage). Apparently the court documents have Wells Fargo as the plaintiff and the defendant. The two different law firms which are prosecuting/defending Wells Fargo against itself are having fun with this, I'm sure. The article has a great line where Wells Fargo lawyers are saying to the other Wells Fargo lawyers "All other allegations of the complaint are denied".
I realize that in large companies, there are sometimes circular situations (my company has occasionally been a subcontractor to a subcontractor to itself), but a company suing itself??? Whew! No wonder they needed bailout money!
Wells Fargo Bank Sues Itself
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