The Visitor

This morning as I was taking Little Man his breakfast of champions (Cap’n Crunch with sliced bananas) my cell phone did something odd… it rang. “Who would possibly me at 8:30 in the morning?” I asked myself. I then admonished myself for not just waiting a second and looking at the phone’s caller ID. I am so impatient sometimes. I pick up the phone which, in truth, was not actually ringing, it was doing its weird arcade machine kind of noise. Well, I looked at the phone and saw that it was none other than Capt. McArmypants calling me before I started my day.

To cut to the chase, McArmypants is visiting this weekend. I am sooo excited. Now while I am up stoopid late at night being sleep deprived, I will have company. That’s how it works, isn’t it? Long awaited return of friend = stoopid late nights and simultaneous candle end burning, yes?

Anyhoo…this will be the inaugural meeting between Q and McArmypants. I already know who is going to win this encounter and she is only 9 pounds and some change. I would even give her best 2 falls out of three. It is going to be absolutely wonderful watching this confident man melt before the fire that is Q. The rough PTSD exterior will be flayed from him like something that flays things really well… you know a flayer-thingy. All that will be left is an even rougher emotional interior weeping at the beauty and awe inspiration that we know as Q.

The same thing happened when McArmypants met Little Man. McArmypants was able to build up his shell in time to be deployed in a combat zone. Way to go Capt. I hope this time the shell is a nice candy coating.

To recap:
This melting of rough exterior of course relies upon Q willing to be not held by Wifey
I will post right before going home
I need to go home
I am tired
The US plays Guatemala tonight in a World Cup Qualifier
The US should win, but winning in Guatemala is not as easy as one might think
I need to buy some more Cinnamon Chip bread from Great Harvest
Wifey likes it for breakfast
Little Man likes it for any time ever
Mmmmm bread
Listening to Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys

20 Questions Tuesday: 104 - Two Years of This Crap?!?

So it is 20 Questions Tuesday: 104 which means that this post content crutch that I cling to for dear life has been going on for at least 2 years. In honor of my recent inability to create meaningful and/or entertaining content (this supposes that at some point I did have meaningful and/or entertaining content or it means that you are defining “recent” as within the last 4 years. Both suppositions are acceptable.) I have chosen to not have a topic associated with this 20 Questions and instead rely upon my fine readership’s ability to generate random questions.

Thanks this week go to Belsum, Lord Pithy, JA Coppinger, Amy, and Allrileyedup. On to the questions!

1. Do you suffer from enochlophobia? Or are you just a garden variety misanthropist?
Garden variety Misanthrope.

2. What is your least favorite way to experience a crowd of people?
Amid said crowd. Lording over a crowd of people doesn't seem so bad.

3. “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.” Words of wisdom or trite screenplay dialogue?
I believe both. It is very true and yet from Men in Black.

4. How many is too many?
Depends on the space

5. What if you know everyone? Does that help?
Sometimes that only makes it worse…

6. Could tetherball be a contender as an Olympic sport if it were played with a wrecking ball?
Certainly, but I don’t even think changing the ball would be necessary. Really? If table tennis is an Olympic sport then tetherball definitely could be. Not knocking table tennis players as much as lifting up tetherballers.

7. How would you update Candyland to make it more relevant to today's youth?
It would be called Microwaveland and the food places would be cheap microwave food instead of candy places. The Gumdrop Mountains would become the Burrito Canyon and the Peanut Brittle House would become the Hot Pocket Hut.

8. Purple or orange?
Purple.

9. If a nod is as good as a wink to a blind man, what color is your parachute?
I was not aware that I needed a parachute… not when I am holding these pictures of my boss…

10. I'm going to California, how does that increase the odds of the "big one" happening? ("Big one" as in earthquake you sick bast@rd.)
Touchy touchy. Rest assured though, it does not increase the odds... much.

11. What’s more annoying: people who start every sentence with “Ummm . . .” or people who say, like, the word “like” in like every sentence they like speak.
The combination of the two is really where the test of patience comes in. I think I prefer “ummm” to “like.” With “ummm” the person is likely searching for words, while with “like” the person is relaying a story that never happened.

12. Super Hero, Wizard, Healer, or Psychic. Pick one & explain why.
SuperHero because you did not define what the power was. I feel it gives me more leeway in my character generation. I could be a Super Hero Wizard, a Super Hero Healer, or a Super Hero Psychic.

13. Celestial body you would like to vacation on if it were possible?
I am a simple man of simple pleasures, I think I would merely like to go to the Moon.

14. Abbot & Costello or the Marx Brothers?
Abbot & Costello, less preachy.

15. Is breakfast really an important part of the day? What would be the best breakfast ever? If money and time were endless, what would you pick as your breakfast?
Breakfast is really important for maintaining a healthy metabolism… I should pay more attention to what I just wrote. I love French Toast and really could have that for breakfast at any time. Lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar with maple syrup (the super de-dooper-dee buttery kind that is amazingly fake). Great, now I am hungry.

16. What are the first 5 songs on your iPod if you put it on random? Are there any songs on the 'pod that you're tired of listening to, but are too tired to remove? What are they?
Snap by the Power
Opera Singer by Cake
Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill
Don’t You Evah by Spoon
Velvet by the Toadies

The thing about the songs on my iPod is that there are some days I don’t want to listen to some of them and other days that I really do. It might be time to switch things up a bit though.

17. Who invented the paper clip?
Johan Vaaler, why?

18. Why can't over the counter prescription drugs live up to their promises?
Because for them to be sold OTC they have to be toned down from their prescription strength counterparts, otherwise people would continually OD without realizing it.

19. How do you think dinosaurs became extinct?
They didn’t become extinct… they left

20. What are your top three favorite science fiction movies?
Tron, Star Wars (The OT), and Blade Runner

To recap:
Stoopid Olympics are getting in the way of sleep
Little Man is really into trying new foods at the moment
Like, crazy into it
Tried bringing my lunch to work today
That didn’t work out so well
You see it had been frozen a looooong time
It did not respond to the thawing process well
It looks like Q is allergic to soy as well as not responding well to dairy…
And so it begins
Listening to Satan is my Motor by Cake

Post Holiday part the Second

I find myself with leisure time to be lacking, once again. I feel it necessary to extend the posting holiday until the ‘morrow. It sounds better all poetic and stuff.

To recap:
Posting Holiday part 2
20 Questions Tuesday is tomorrow
Not listening to anything

Post Holiday

Nothing to see here


Move along

To Recap:
Have a great weekend

post topic

I think I might be too tired to come up with a post today. I have started a couple of idea threads only to watch them slowly dissolve into incoherent babble.

1. I started a geo-political post about the Georgia/Russia conflict in South Essetia… that one fell apart due to lack of knowledge and a certain level of apathy towards major land conflicts in Eurasia.
2. I started a post about the differences between Q and Little Man, but it came off sounding like I was comparing one to the other unfavorably, when, in fact, it was meant merely to illustrate the inherent differences between the 2 kids. They are different kids, thus giving credence to the nature side of the nature/nurture argument.
3. I started a post about the annoying clicka clicka… clicka associated with someone unable to touch type (namely me). I was going to deftly bang out an op-ed piece about my odd ability to hunt, peck and curse, but I realized that it would take a better typing ability than I seem to possess.
4. I started a post about the Olympics and how Wifey and I are sitting up way too late at night watching athletes push themselves past their levels of endurance, but I got tired of the idea half way through.
5. I started a post about how this milder weather seems to have activated some allergies that have up till now remained dormant for the year. Booring
6. I started a post detailing the trials and tribulations of re-awakening old skills and de-rusting rusty skills, but it felt too self-congratulatory and too self absorbed for my liking so I scrapped it as well.
7. I started a post about my lack of sleep, but it seemed a bit whiney.
8. I started w a post about how tired I was, but again, it seemd to travel very quickly into the whiney category.
9. I thought about writing a post about how itchy my head is, but… ewww.

Each of these posts started out with a mediocre to strong intro paragraph and then died off very quickly without adequate support. I guess I will metapost then.

To recap:
Man, am I tired
Not sure what is on tap for Digital Thursday tomorrow
I might make it a blog holiday
Cause I am lazy
I will try to finish distressing Doom’s armor
I am distressing
Listening to Still Take you Home by the Arctic Monkeys

20 Questions Tuesday: 103 - People/Crowds/Mobs/Throngs

Well, it turns out that on Sunday’s trip to the zoo I remembered another thing about myself that I have been carefully keeping from the surface for years. I hate people. Sweet Jesus Almighty I hate people. Always watching me… judging me… uh, where was I, Oh yes, I hate people. I especially hate people in crowds. Therefore today’s 20 Questions Tuesday will be about People/Crowds/Mobs/Throngs.

Thanks this week go to Lsig, John P., Lord Pithy, Capt McArmypants, and JA Coppinger.

On to the questions:

1. Three's not really a crowd, is it? I mean, it's three people for crying out loud.
Three is not a crowd. Three is an unfortunate circumstance when 2 of the 3 are dating.

2. More obnoxious mob behavior: pitchfork wielding, or the wave?
Well, in terms of frequency? The wave. I am trying to watch a game here, you drunken yokels
In terms of ferocity? Pitchforks, hands down

3. What is the relationship between a mob and The Mob?
Structure

4. Why the hate? It is time to let the healing begin.
I hate so that I know I am alive. That burning fire in my gut is what keeps me focused.

5. Do you hate all people in general or just stupid people or people who do or say stupid things?
These are not mutually exclusive categories.

6. Will this hate of people in large numbers bode poorly for us when you ascend to dictatorial power?
You have no idea.

7. Any particular grouping of people you hate more than others? Grocery store people, movie theater people, work people, concert people…
I really hate the groups of people directly affecting me at any particular time. For example, I have been to the movies once in the past 2 years or so, movie theater people are not receiving much in the way of SRHate, but those fuckers in the grocery store parking lot can go straight to hell!

8. After writing people and looking at it so many times it just strikes me as an odd work P-E-O-P-L-E. Why is this? Am I losing it?
It is an odd word. I cannot think of another word that has the “eo” vowel diphthong going on. But I also want to clarify that the weirdness of the word “people” does not indicate that you are not, in fact, “Losing it.”

9. Why are you so hateful of anyone who is even a little different from you?
Their differences scare me and homogeneity is what I crave not only in my milk products but in the entirety of my surroundings. I long for the wonderful sameness that is found in over milled blandness that is white bread. My consciousness reels at the mere thought of differentness. I wish to be a penguin amid a sea of penguins.

10. Don't you find it true that people should celebrate their differences and revel in the things that set them apart from the "norm"?
I find that what people should do and what they actually do is far separated by a culture that is built on the idea that there is comfort in conformity.

11. Aside from a total intolerance for any deviation from the Rodenberryan Physical Ideal, what other prejudices do you harbor?
Mouth breathers…. And other people who can’t close their damn mouth. I hate them… I Hate them. I HATE THEM SOOO MUCH WITH THEIR LOUD BREATHING AND VAPID LOOKS, URGH! IT IS ALL I CAN DO NOT TO PUNCH THEM IN THEIR MOUTH AGAPE FACES!!!!!

12. So Russia invades Georgia and our big news for that day was that John Edwards has a love child. In order of jerkiness, please rate America's Apathetic and Short-Sighted General Public, Russia, Georgia, John Edwards, his lovechild.
From a scale of non-jerk to maximal jerkitude I would go with
John Edwards’ potential love child
John Edwards
The Republic of Georgia
The Russian Federation
The State of Georgia
America’s Apathetic and Short-Sighted General Public

13. Which is more indicative of the end of civilization: No one waives when you let them over, no one puts up their shopping cart, how trashed moist public bathrooms are?
Did you mean to type “moist” or “most.” If you meant “moist” I think you are going to the wrong bathrooms in general, but to answer your question, I think the lazy bastards that don’t put the shopping cart away are indicative of the end of civilization. I reason it this way. They are both breaching a social contract that one enters into when one uses a grocery store parking lot, and they are actively being inactive thus adding to the societal strain caused by poor health and obesity. That and they are FUCKING MOUTH BREATHERS! SHUT YOUR DAMN PIE HOLE AND BREATH THROUGH YOUR NOSE LIKE GOD ALMIGHTY INTENDED!

14. So is McCain's Obama ad likening him to Brittney Spears really a criticism of Obama or a brilliant (albeit unintentional) criticism of America?
Sadly it is clearly one of the most brilliant un-intentional criticisms of America I have ever seen. I especially love the fact that the Hiltons contributed to the McCain campaign and he makes fun of their daughter. Now, that’s hot!

15. Lately (last 30 years or so) I have noticed that people (Senators, Mayors, Presidents, Democratic Party Leaders, Republican Party Leaders, Minority Activists, Majority Activists, PETA, Greenpeace, the Moral Majority, Evangelists, TV personalities, Union Representatives, CEO's, etc.) regularly and repeatedly say they stand for one thing and then do something contra-indicative to their alleged beliefs? Why do I feel so very alone, when I observe this? I feel like fricken' Roddy Piper in "They Live!" (and if you are reading this and saying to yourself, "Yeh! those damn Republicans!" or "Damn Union!!" You maybe missing what I am going for here, but fully support your wish to damn them both.) Don't get me wrong I realize that everybody could be characterized in such a light. However, with cheating spouses or lying teenage kids there are clearly other factors involved. So my question is: What am I missing? Is this just a matter of "magic" sunglasses? or is there some social contract that I am just not hardwired to receive?
I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum. Hee hee I love that movie. What was the question again? People hate the weaknesses in themselves the most.

16. What makes crowds stupider than individuals?
Volume.

17. Why do people lose all common courtesy when gathered in large numbers?
The “not it” principle as far as responsibility, and the “shit, there sure are a lot of us, I had better look out for myself” principle as far as grabbiness and impatience.

18. What’s the head-count where you start to hate “people” as a group?
Well, I have enough ability to hate people without anyone’s help, but I imagine that if I needed to group up it would need to be me and 3 of my friends hating as a group. That way we could also tackle some instances and kill us some orcs. Orcs, they need to be dying.

19. Do large groups of children get on your nerves or is it strictly adults?
Small groups of children can get on my nerves. They just know how to ramp up the noise better than adults.

20. How do you handle the crowd rage – stay quiet and spout later, or lose it on all of them?
Stay quiet and spout it later. Much later, in a public forum like a post on a blog.


To Recap:
I need some sleep
Q is enamored of Little Man
She just stares at him in the mornings and smiles and smiles
She reaches out to get his attention
It is really special to watch
And Little Man loves him some O--lympics
He would stay up and watch it all night if we would let him
He would also stay up and watch paint dry if that meant he didn’t have to go to sleep
Not a big fan of the falling to sleep
Not sure what we are having for dinner tonight
Listening to Reset by Mute Math
More bands should do instrumentals
And covers… more bands should definitely do covers
I love covers
Typically more than I like the original
Yet, I don’t really like cover bands
Go figure

Facebook is only for Online

Computer social networking is really an interesting animal. So, on Facebook, I have created the most bare bones profile I could imagine whilst still letting people know of my existence. It has been an interesting process. I have found out (much to my 5 year rule’s chagrin) that there are a few people with whom I had lost contact that were not actually deceased. Go them! It is nice to know that Dan is doing well in the Toledo area, and who isn’t surprised that John is living in Cincinnati?

Anyhoo… interesting things have happened since I have dipped my toes in the swirling miasma of “social networking.” The most interesting of which happened yesterday, but more on that later. Let’s get some set-up and back story.

Because I am all that and a bag of chips I get “friend” requests all the time. If it is from someone I actually know, I will accept the friend request regardless of personal leanings for or against the person. Every once and a while I get a friend request that seems to be dubious at best. I don’t know any single 20 year old “women” from Russia who are “Looking for a relationship.” You, Svetlana? You get your friend request denied.

I guess in many ways I am too old for the whole Facebook process. I don’t write on anyone’s “wall.” I don’t understand nor care what the hell “poking” is. I have not added any widgets or other applications to my account. I don’t feel it necessary to compare myself to Courtney Love. Really, I only made an account because somehow some people were being referred to this here bloggarooney via a Facebook link, and I wanted to find out why and how.

Really, for me, a friend request from someone I know and recognize is like acknowledging someone as being. “Yes, I recognize your existence” is basically what I am saying. Honestly, that is the only reason I have more than 5 friends listed on my Facebook account. Befriending someone you know/knew in real life on Facebook is harmless, but it can lead to interesting situations.

This weekend we decided to go to the zoo. The weather was insanely beautiful and everyone was in pretty good spirits. We load up the car and head to the zoo. The zoo was amazing. Because the weather was so mild, animals that typically don’t do anything were up and about, and the animals that there is usually no sign of there existence were at least sleeping within view. The first place we went was to watch the zoo train cross the tracks. Little Man was having no part of riding the train, but he did want us to sit on as bench and wait for the train to lower the gates and such.

Once done with the train, he wanted to go see the penguins. So off across the zoo the family traveled. Here is where the interesting Facebook interaction thing takes place. At the penguin exhibit, I see one of the people that is listed as a “friend” within my Facebook account. Now, this is a person that I have not spoken to since before Little Man was born, and the only “contact” I have had with them is via the third party notification system employed by Facebook itself, but nonetheless in cyber land this person is listed as a “friend.”

I am confident in this person’s identity and I am fairly certain that I was recognized as well. No acknowledgement was made by either of us other than me leaning over toward Wifey and asking “Isn’t that so-and-so?” and her replying “I don’t know.” So I ask you Internet folk especially those who are all Facebooked up, what is the point of having someone listed as your friend, if both people don’t want to talk to each other? I mean what’s the freaking point of social networking if the members of the network don’t want to be social.


To recap:
This didn’t end up being all that interesting
I apologize
It was a better idea before I started writing it
In that way, I completely ruined it
Is there a category on Facebook for your social network for “wishes no ill will toward”
I think “Friend” is pretty presumptuous
Without it being so hot the penguin house was not sooo difficult to be around olfactory-wise
Been working on a preferred alignment alternative for a highway job in Utica, Indiana
I lead a very exciting life
No really
I love me some Olympics
Not as much as Wifey loves the Olympics
I am not sure that Olympians love the Olympics as much as Wifey loves the Olympics
Ummm… Olympics, Olympics, Olympics, Olympics, Olympics, Olympics
Listening to the guy in the Cube next door celebrating the first Indian individual gold medal

Digital Thursday

This is the final installment of the shiny happy Dr Doom. I referenced a whole bunch of palace internal pictures, and it turns out that European palace interiors are kind of boring. I made the trim a stained oak and the walls and ceiling are plaster.

Here is the final progression from the initial pencils/inks from Jason Baroody, to the colors by me.


Overall I am happy with how this one turned out. I am a bit unhappy with how bland the background is for the pic, but not too much of it is visible, so it is not too bad.

To recap:
Q is rather unhappy and not feeling well concerning the innoculations she got yesterday
It was a rough day for the little girl
She is doing better today, but still a bit fevery
Little Man escaped his 5 year shots until after we see his allergist
Then there will be many a shot given
Scissors are under-used tools
So are kneaded rubber erasers
If it weren't for the software issues I am currently experiencing I would not have enough time to post today
I have much yardwork that needs done this weekend
Much
Listening to Cold War Kids (thanks Karen) The Soloist in the Living Room
Have a great weekend everyone

3 Things

Thing the first: we had the first double check up for the kids today. Both Little Man and Q are hale hearty and whole. I imagine, since there are a few of you who actually follow our familial escapades via this blog, you most likely would like vital statistics, well here they are.

Q:

Age: 2 months and some change
Length: 21.5 inches (54.61 cm)
Weight: 8 lbs 15 (4.05 kg or .638 stone)
oz
She is in the 25th percentile for length and 10th percentile for
weight.

She is healthy and the doc is not worried about her size in the least. He did say that if she starts slipping down the percentiles that is when we should start to worry, but as it is, she is just little.

Little Man:

Age: 5 years and some change
Height: 44 inches (111.8 cm)
Weight: 42 lbs (19.05 kg or 3 stone)
He is in
the 75th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight

He is doing well, and the doc was surprised at how well he was looking concerning how severe his allergies and asthma are. We think he looks great as well

Thing the second: Have you ever sent a work related email to someone who responded in such a cryptic manner that it makes you question your own sanity. The only way to make sure that you are the sane one in the exchange is to forward the nonsensical response to as many coworkers as you can while still being certain your incredulity of their cryptic bat-shit crazy response will not make it back to the odd responder?

Uh… me either. But if that had ever happened to me lets just say the response was as understandable as Beep monolith gargantuan orangutan blisters in heat watch fire burn

Thing the third: This is what I need to regularly shove into my week (in no particular order): Cooking, cleaning, drawing, work, exercise, World of Warcraft, sleep, quality time with Little Man, quality time with Q, and quality time with Wifey. How the hell am I supposed to get all that done? No, seriously?


To recap:
Baa weep grahna weep ninny bong
10 points to whomever understands that reference
But I think you might lose points because of dorkiness
Yeah, most definitely losing points because of dorkiness
I mean we are talking 1986 dorkiness here
Is this thing online yet?
My desk is in shambles
Sleep was better last night
Pretty weak recap
Listening to War (hooh, Good Gawd, Y'all) by Edwin Starr

20 Questions Tuesday: 102 - Lunch

During my now classic 20 Questions Tuesday: 100 – The Century Club, the question “Could you answer 20 questions on the topic of lunch?” was raised. Since I already had a theme picked out for 20 Questions Tuesday:101, it fall to this week’s 20 Questions Tuesday.

So without further ado I would like to thank Sparky, Karen, John P, Capt McArmypants, and Allrileyedup.

On to the questions:
1. Who are your favorite, non-family lunch companions? These are people you actually lunch with and remember I said non-family! (Remember some of your coworkers are reading this...)
Silly question: My coworkers , of course... Hi, Co-workers!

2. If you could drink alcohol at lunch, what would you drink? What would be the ideal appetizer to accompany said drinks?
Beer would be the poison of choice. I tend to not react well with hard alcohols. The ideal appetizer would be pizza.

3. Brunch - better than lunch?
Yes

4. Best lunch under $5, please.
Hmmm…. Scavenged lunch meeting remains. You didn’t have to survive the meeting, but can partake of the bounteous bbq, sandwich, salad, pizza that was not eaten by the meeting attendees. Other than that I like the dollar menu at Wendy’s and the pizza by the slice at Flying Pizza.

5. What is your favorite lunch to eat? favorite place to eat lunch?
I am partial to toasted sub sandwiches in their many guises and names… hoagies, heroes, grinders, bombers, poor boys, torpedos, subs… All that being said, I do not have a particularly favorite eating haunt for lunches.

6. What is your favorite lunch activity…just eating lunch, finishing a digital Thursday pic, calling the family to check in, etc?
Getting the Hell out of the office… This favorite part of lunch has really made it difficult to bring a lunch and eat it at my desk.

7. What was the worst school lunch your cafeteria ever had?
I never partook of the “salad bar” in high school, but I was renowned for its 3 potential salad dressings. The choices were white, orange, and red. They didn’t so much have a different flavor as different chromaticity.

8. What is Little Man’s favorite lunch?
Burger King Hamburger with ketchup only, onion rings, small root beer. That or “chickies” with ketchup.

9. Lunch meat…please explain?
It is thinly sliced roasted meat that is fully cooked and able to be eaten cold. It comes in a variety of meats and a panoplea of flavors.

10. Do you think it would advance western (and perhaps eastern) civilization if we moved brunch from just a weekend endeavor to a full fledged workweek event?
If brunch is available all the time, it loses its appeal, the specialness that makes it great. Sadly I feel that brunch must be only available on weekends and then only partaken of rarely lest it become commonplace.

For questions 11 to13. While I am not as known for my sophisticated palate as you are. I have come to the conclusion BK and McD's have embraced the "Taco Bell" business plan something that most of the other chains have failed to truly really grasp. (except Taco Bell of course, but they have pigeonholed themselves with Tex Mex too much to capitalize on what was clearly their idea and in all honesty considering what they are selling I bear them not ill will.) Uuuh... where was I? Oh yeah, Their business plan in short: The average American can not discern average food from craptacular food. There was a time when BK-McD food was cheap and tolerable and thus oft consumed by people such as myself. However, since like 1998, I can not help but notice that these titans of lunch now actually cost about as much as your "fancier" lunch places like Qdoda, Panera and Chick-Fil-a. (Please excuse the sophistry.) No, Sophist!

11. What gives how do they do it!?!?
Well, it has taken some time for this process to occur. Rome wasn’t built in a day and the relative suckation of mass market fast food also took time. Initially to drive costs down the heavy hitters in the world of fast food sacrificed quality for price. they noticed that their clientele didn’t reduce with the reduction in quality and then decided to push prices to increase their profit margins. They found what people were willing to pay for their now inferior product and it turned out to be similar to what people are willing to pay for “higher quality” fast food with much tighter profit margins. That is why you will see a Qdoba or Chipotle fail and rarely a BK or McD’s. The profit margins are much different, while the consumer costs are similar. This is of course, just a guess.

12. Why do people still go to these places when they about cost as much and provide so much more suckiness? I mean admittedly most chain lunches are passable at best, but when you compare the 7 dollar meal at Grinders to the 7 dollar mean at McD's why does anyone still go to McD's?
Consistency. If I go to Anchorage Alaska or Edinburgh, Scotland, when I walk into a McDonalds, I know what I am getting.

13. How awesome are McD's fries though huh?
When they are piping hot? They are incredible

14. When you go out to lunch, how do you pay 1.50 for the accompanying drink. How does one embrace paying so much for a wax cup of flat soda? I mean do you have to start your training on this as a child? Have I missed my window? Do you think it would help if I brought my own "glass" glass? (maybe a fancy wine flute)?
Some of us are addicted to caffeine and are too proud to sully ourselves with coffee. $!.50 is a small price to pay to make the headaches go away. Glass, plastic, paper, it doesn’t matter, just make the pounding in my temporal lobe go away. Uh… umm…. What I meant to say is that it is highway robbery.

15. Some people often (every work day) have a large Breakfast, a medium sized Brunch and a medium sized Lunch. (mmmmm I love me some brunch....errrr.... I mean some people do love me some brunch...er.... I mean some people do love themselves some brunch.mmmm brunch) Do you think this brunch should it be more breafasty or lunchy in composition? Do you factor in left overs about to go bad into this decision?
Brunch is a late breakfast to me. It typically consists of more breakfast food items than lunch items, but it has eschewed the juices, coffees, and milk products for carbonated headache reducing elixirs or wine.

16. What is your fantasy lunch (sort of a 'what would eat as your final meal' question, but happier and midday)?
My final meal, lunch or dinner shall always and forever more be all you can eat pop-corn shrimp. There is always room for another popcorn shrimp. The warden would come to ask me if I were ready to go off to my execution, and I would say, “No, I think I will have some more shrimp.” I could honestly do that forever.

17. Did your mom or dad pack your lunch in grade school? What was the worst lunch surprise you ever received?
Occassionally my mom would pack my lunch for me, but typically I ate what the cafeteria was serving. After a while I just stopped eating lunch all together so that I did not have to go into the lunchroom. My junior and senior years in high school were completely lunchroomless for me.

18. What is your opinion on luncheon loaf?
I am not knowledgeable about this… “luncheon loaf,” yet I am afraid of what it might be

19. What is the difference between lunch and luncheon?
Trays

20. If Sony or Nintendo offered your unlimited amounts of money to create a video game, and the only thing was that it had to be called Lunch, how would you go about it?
Well, firstly, I would adopt a Blizzard strategy in game releases and production cycles and milk that unlimited cash cow for as long as I could. Secondly, I think it would end up being a first person tactical horror shooter involving the player being hunted by aliens so they can make him into a lunch item.

To recap:
Little Man got spooked by the lightning and thunder last night
That made this morning rather difficult
He was up for 3 hours between 2:30 am and 4:30am
Then he fell out of bed at 5:30 this morning
It was a rough night
My allergies are all acting a fool and I am all out of allergy medicine
Listening to Fire Woman by the Cult

Dream a Little Dream for Me

It turns out that don’t have the ability to consciously dream. I have a lack in ability when it comes to the word “aspire.” Oddly, I am okay with my deficiency associated with the word “ass-spire.” Who wants a narrow tower of ass?

Anyway… I have come to this conclusion because Wifey keeps asking me what my dreams and goals are. I am verily happy with what I have, so my response is usually, “get back in the kitchen, Papa is still hungry.” We laugh and laugh and laugh, and then she hits me. Anywhoo… Most of my dreams and goals have been met. What does one do when they have climbed their mountain and plumbed the depths of their ocean? Well, most people decide to find a bigger mountain or a deeper ocean. Me? I stagnate and lose the ability to strive. An ability that will take lots of time to re-acquire and re-tool… a tool that needs to be honed again… a metaphor that needs to be reworked like a poorly thrown pot on a wheel (irony, I gets it).

The problem with reacquainting oneself with this lost skill of yore is that once the absence of skill is noticed, it becomes pervasive to one’s consciousness. I wonder what I would like for lunch today… I wouldn’t have to wonder if I knew how to frikken dream. Which shirt should I wear today, there are 3 clean ones? Maybe if I knew how to aspire to something greater there would be 5 clean shirts… The lack of wanted future permeates everything, but still doesn’t resolve itself.

How does one turn on the dream-makers after they have been shut off for so long? You cannot go back all the way to the flights of fancy that enveloped youth. I have met and married the woman of my dreams. We are in a house that we are paying for from our own earnings. We have fornicated and procreated (in that order, thank you very much). We have 2 of the loveliest children ever. The only things I don’t have from my youthful dreams are a flying car, super powers, and a light saber. Those really don’t apply to a more reality based dreams and ambitions. Don’t get me wrong, I would still love a flying car, super-powers and a black light light saber (I would be the only Jedi at the rave), but those are hardly attainable on my own merit.

The thing is, I cannot rely on dreams from my youth as my aspirations for today and I have not been constantly amending my dreams to reflect what I have already attained. Anyone have any insight into how to re-start the dreaming process?

To recap:
The weekend was a nice one
I got some arch supports for my feet
Cause I guess I am like 80 or something
Hopefully this will help the feet to not hurt all the time
The lack of hurting should allow me to exercise without wincing
That would be nice
I need to exercise for healthful reasons
And vainful reasons
Mostly healthful though
Mostly
My feet are on fire right now though
Listening to Pop Music by Devo

Digital Thursday

Well, I did not get as much accomplished on the Dr Doom pic as I would have liked this week. Basically I made the time to work on it Saturday evening and Sunday evening expecting that I could continue down that path the remainder of the week and punch out the rest of the pic to unveil the piece in all its glory for today’s Digital Thursday.

Alas and alack, that was not to be. Sunday evening was the last I touched this. All I have left is some extreme foreground stuff that will look absolutely killer and to do the back ground. For Doom’s armor I decided to go with a brushed nickel/metallic satin kind of finish. I think it works really well in some areas, but only marginally well in others. Take a look.



Overall I am happy with what has been done, but I am un-impressed so far with my effort and speed.

I also have attached a Work in Progress piece to recap the steps I have done. I would say that the stage I am at currently has taken a total of 6 dedicated hours to accomplish. If all goes well, with 2 more hours work it will be done, and then I can start working on the companion piece to this one where I change the aesthetic from a clean and shiny one to a of decrepit surroundings and rusty armor. That’s right folk…. More Doom Digital Thursdays.


It could be worse… I am not sure why, but I know it could be worse.

To recap:
I know I am late on the bandwagon here, but…
You must see Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog
It is what the Internets was meant for
Quite possibly the best thing I have seen online in a long long time
Wifey, don’t worry, I will download it from iTunes so you can watch it
Meatloaf tonight
Not the singer
Oh, God! Not the singer
I am actually looking forward to it
Listening to Pink’s Get this Party Started
Have a great weekend everyone

Just a Recap

Due to stress levels and lack of sleep there will just be a recap today. Hey, it is not like you guys pay to read this.

To recap:
Next WiP for the Doom pic tomorrow
Doom is now shiny
You will have to wait until tomorrow to see the changes
Deal with it
I should drink more water
So should you
Wifey is leaning into the box and taking one for the team today
My brother, mom, and nephew are visiting this afternoon, and I will not be there
I imagine the filters might be removed
That wouldn’t be pretty for anyone involved
Oddly, my brother was more animated than I have ever seen him
If he were this engaging all the time, it would not be too big a deal to see him more often
Usually it is like pulling teeth to get him to interact
Listening to Mahna Mahna by Cake off of Rarities and B-Sides
I love the Muppets
Sleep is an elusive prey
It doesn’t help that my sleep hunting skills seem to erode as I get more stressed
More stress leads to less sleep
Less sleep leads to more stress
More stress leads to less sleep
It is definitely a positive feedback loop
Where the building positive feedback is not positive at all
Unless dealing with a sleep deprived and over stressed SRH is your idea of positive
Listening to Here It Goes Again by OK Go off of Oh No
Little Man loves the game Blockus
G-Ma D and G-Pa R gave him the game for his birthday
When he has noty been asleep, eating, or playing trains he has either been playing Blockus, or complaining that he isn’t playing Blockus
There is definitely something nice about the game
Wifey and I have 7 picture frames that desperately need 7 pictures
It would help our bedroom look so much better
That and putting the clean clothes away
Hey, our house looks amazingly nice considering that we have an 8 week old baby
My feet hurt
They shouldn’t
I need to do something about that
Listening to Sour Girl by Stone Temple Pilots off of No. 4
Luckily my head isn’t hurting like it was last night
I mentioned that we met up with my mom and brother for dinner last night, right?
Causal relationship?
I think so
Even though the dinner went fine
It was still dinner with my mom and brother
Listening to the Peter Gunn Theme from the Blues Brothers Soundtrack

20 Questions Tuesday: 101 - Intro to 20 Questions Tuesday

Since today is the 101st installment of 20 Questions Tuesday, I figured that I would fashion today’s topic after the ubiquitous Intro classes at American Universities. There was English 101, Astronomy 101, Physics 101, Archeology 101, Psychology 101, and (dare I say, Yes. I dare say) Anatomy 101. Anyway… today is 20 Questions Tuesday: 101 – Intro to 20 Questions Tuesday because I believe recursion is underused.

Thanks this week go to Peefer, JA Coppinger, Lord Pithy, Lsig, Dr B-Dawg, and Nadolny. Onto the questions:

1. WTF? Seriously. This is a question. Please answer it.
If I knew the answer to that, do you think I would be wasting my time writing on this second rate blog? Sadly, the world may never know the true answer to that question.

2. How much time do you think you've spent on your 20 questions installment since the beginning?
A good solid work week with some overtime.

3. Has Little Man ever asked, "Why?" twenty times in succession. If so, did you ever cop out and answer, "Because I love you"?
“Because I love you” only seems to confuse him more, since most of his questions seem to revolve around trains and train operation.

4. How many Under Construction fans does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Number 1: I am not sure I have many “Under Construction Fans,” and, Number 2, I am sure that, unless it is an amazingly large light bulb, anyone able to read Under Construction is waaay to big to fornicate in a light bulb singly or with company.

5. How do you decide who to ask for questions each week?
I have an email list that I send out weekly. Anyone can get on that list. If anyone wants to be on that list email me using the email provided on my profile. I started out sending out an email to 8 or so people each week. I would cycle through a list of about 25 people but only send to 8 people a week, but I found that I would not be guaranteed 20 questions that way. I started just emailing my entire list. I have been slowly removing people from the list who stopped responding, so I am down to an email list of 17.

6. Why 20 questions . . . wouldn’t 5 have been simpler? Why Tuesdays? I mean, Wednesday’s are kinda nice . . . Was the inspiration for 20 Questions Tuesday divine guidance or just plain laziness? Why didn’t you decide to do 10 Questions Tuesdays? Why 20? You seem to not be a follower of trends. I'm surprised you didn't make it 10. Still a "t" word to go with Tuesday and it is 10 less than 20 and thus a lot less work for the lazy. How often do multiple people provide similar questions? And, does it occur more or less frequently than you would think?
Well, the first 20 Questions post (I have actually done 113 20 Questions posts now) was a 20 Questions meme that was going around. The next few were similar in length questionnaires that I found on the Interwebs. That kind of started me down a path. The concept ties in nicely with the 20 Questions parlor game that everyone knows and loves. I chose Tuesdays because it is my favorite day of the week. Pending on the topic I will get about 3 similar questions usually.

7. Do you normally have topics lined up in advance or do you make them up as you type up the e-mail?
A little of Column A and a little of Column B. Sometimes Tuesdays line up with significant dates. That makes the topic easy enough. The week of major holidays, topic fodder is pretty simple as well. Sometimes I stare at a blank email for a few minutes trying to come up with a topic.

8. What has been your favorite question/answer pairing over past run?
I am not sure that I can think of a “favorite.”

9. 101 Dalmatians is good family fun. What would 101 rabid skunks be?
Well, as long as all 101 were calm cool and collected, they would be no problem, but the second one felt threatened…. The olfactory horror

10. 101 is 5 in binary (according to the internet). What is the significance of that? Why doesn't the binary system get more love?
Well the significance is that it takes computers an awful lot of storage space to encode a concept as simple as 5. The binary system is a bit laborious to compute into and out of since we typically live within a base 10 system, ergo the lack of love.

11. How do you pick which questions to answer (assuming you get more than 20)?
I try to figure out which ones I think will have more entertaining answers. I sometimes get some real howlers as well. Those don’t make it even if I won’t have a full 20 without them. Some questions end up being too personal (either for me and my fam or for people who I know). It is all very un-scientific.

12. Have you ever knowingly lied to us, the reading public, when answering a 20 Question?
Flat out lied to obfuscate the truth? No. Have I altered an answer to hopefully entertain more? Yes.

13. How many questions do you typically garner when you send out the call?
At first I was averaging 15 and I would make Wifey come up with 5 or ask people at work for a question or 2, but lately I have been getting about 25 on average. For today’s I received 29 questions of which 6 or so were extremely similar.

14. Do you honestly think anyone cares about this?
Nope, I do not delude myself into thinking anyone really cares about my 20 Questions or my 20 answers. Well, aside from me.

15. What was your worst intro class in college in terms of the way it was conducted?
Intro to Anthropology. The exams had nothing to do with the lectures in the least. The lectures were very interesting, but they had no utility in regards to the grade associated with the class.

16. Are your answers free-form or are they carefully thought out with multiple drafts?
I will answer the questions and then wash over the answers once or twice trying to tighten them up if I have time. Sometime I end up posting my first pass.

17. Who do you aspire to be when answering the questions: Abigail Van Bueren? Heloise? Marilyn Vos Savant?
I would say that I am unlike all three. All three of these syndicated question answerers is that they honestly and earnestly attempt to answer the questions they are posed. I try to look at the question from a different angle and answer the un-intended question instead.

18. How long does a typical 20 questions take you to put together?
30 minutes to an hour. Very rarely do I get to focus on it, and finish it up in one sitting. Some people take smoke breaks, I write crap for a blog.

19. It feels like your research some of the stuff as you have facts and links that just don't sound like you would know off the top of your head. How much research goes on?
Usually, most looking up I do is to confirm what I was thinking as the answer, I have a lot of useless information in my noggin here. A LOT. The research that I end up doing typically has to do with finding the correct link for my answer. I would say I have to actually research an answer for 1 or 2 questions per post.

20. Do you still feel that the blog is useful for your writing skills?
I feel that this process is helping to keep me mentally sharp. Especially since my job is not that strong at providing me with mental gymnastics.


To recap:
Man, I am tired today
Some of the fam will be here this evening
Yippee?
Wifey had a meeting today
She really doesn’t want to get back into that game
I don’t blame her
Who wants to work for a living?
Not me, that’s who
It is time to switch out some of the music on my iPod
Listening to Spoon’s Don’t you Evah… again

3 Things

Three things to chat about today:

Thing the First: This weekend was a blast. Little Man was out of his mind excited on Friday when the family party happened and the first round of gifts were dolled out. He went out of his Little Man mind when it was time for his kid-attended (young children, not baby goats) birthday party. That kind of enthusiasm and zest for life is nothing if not infectious.

Unfortunately for me, this enthusiasm by proxy has hit the wall called “work.” My blue skies have turned grey, and my bright-eyed wonder and awe at this journey we call “life” has given way to the dull monotony of a bleak existence in a world of grey fabric clad cubes.

Thing the Second: My brother, nephew, and mom will be in town this week. It seems that the younger nephew will be doing something at the State Fair (which is about 2 miles away the hoose) and they will be there to cheer him on. This means that 1, my brother is safely back stateside from his tour in Iraq, and that 2, I really need to clean the house up tonight. Not to mention that I will be interacting with my mom much sooner than I wanted to after last visit. Oh, well. You can’t choose family, and Fate hates me.

Thing the Third: 3 weeks ago the Kidney Foundation called to see if we had any donations (not kidneys, although this would be a much more interesting story if that were the case) for their re-sale shop. We can always find some clothes to send there way, so we said, “Yes.” 2 weeks ago we went through all of Little Man’s clothes and separated the keepsakes from the “mere clothing.” Yesterday we got a reminder call from the Kidney Foundation about placing our donations on the porch (not our kidneys) for pick up this morning starting at 8 a.m. Last night Wifey and I talked about getting the bags of clothes on the porch.

This morning as I was showering ("Cleanliness is next to godliness", I always say) Wifey yells up to me at 8:38 a.m. that we forgot to put the Kidney Foundation donations (not our kidneys) on the porch. This would not be such a bad thing except that the last time the Kidney Foundation was looking for donations (not kidneys) we completely spaced out on putting them on the porch as well. By 8:43 a.m. the seven bags were on the porch and clearly labeled.

There were seven bags of clothes on my porch this morning. Now they are gone.


To recap:
It is time for me to start making time to exercise
And digitally paint
And draw more
Wait, I am now running out of time
A new TRON in 2010?
But why are they calling it TR2N?
Oh, God, if you are listening, please to make the new TRON not ruin the old TRON
Not like what you did with Highlander 2, Highlander 3, Highlander 4, and Highlander 5
Who am I kidding? It’s gonna suck
And not suck in that good way either
They call me the bus, cause I am taking you to school
20 Questions Tuesday: 101 – Intro to 20 Questions tomorrow
Listening to Super Rad by the Aquabats!

Digital Thursday

A bit of a different theme for Digital Thursday this week. A friend of the family recently offered to do a photo shoot for Q. It was his gift to the family to celebrate her birth and he also said "he needed more photoshoot practice with babies." I am not too sure how much he really needed more photo practice, but that is a different story indeed.

Anyway, we got the pics yesterday and they are digital, therefore.... DIGITAL THURSDAY!

We were looking through these amazing images he had captured for us and wanted to know how much it would have set us back had we been paying customers. We went to his web-site and were appalled by the lack of expense (you kind of have to dig to get to the pricing). So, if you are in the Columbus area and want some really high quality portraits taken, Wifey and I heartily suggest using our friend.

Little Man doing the 5 year old toothy smile squint.

Wifey and Q in a chair. (I am quite effective at titles)

MamaQ!

Q on green

To recap
My shiny version of Dr Doom will be ready for next week's Digital Thursday
Little Man's 5th birthday is tomorrow
Where has the time gone
I am very happy that the Muppets are making their web presence felt
There are a couple of puns in that last sentence
They may have been intentional
They may have been happenstance
Intentional = Comedic Genius
Happenstance = Lucky
You decide if they were intentional or not
Listening to Firestarter by Prodigy
Have a great weekend everyone

Uh... Um... the point is...

Last night I went to a movie with some people from work. I went to see Batman The Dark Knight and was very pleased with the cinematic experience. In fact, this is the first movie I have been to in a theater for a VERY long time. No, I have not seen Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk. I haven’t even seen 300, and I consider myself a fan of the whole comic book genre. Granted I understand that 300 was not that great other than the visuals but that is not what this post is about. I got home from the movie at around 9:50 pm, unfortunately after all of Little Man’s nightly routine were accomplished by the lone Wifey.

Upon entering the house I went up and kissed Little Man, who had been waiting up for me, good night. He seemed to be no worse for wear, but awake nonetheless. I kissed him goodnight and within 10 minutes he was drifting sweetly into slumberland. When downstairs I relieved Wifey of her Q-ish “burden” so she could get some emailing accomplished. We were both very happy with this arrangement. I got to interact with a surprisingly conscious Q and Wifey got to tie up some loose ends both professionally and personally via the amazing tool we call e-mail.

Q is not happy with lack of propagation when being cared for by anyone other than Mama. When she is with Mama, sometimes she will allow Mama to just sit and hold her on her lap. I define “sometimes” as “extremely rarely” in this instance, but of the people that Q actually allows to hold her, Mama is the only one I know of that is allowed to remain motionless for any significant amount of time, but that is not what this post is about. So I am roaming all over the downstairs portion of the house with Q neatly and happily in my arms. She is happy with me roving and pacing, so I rove and pace. After about an hour of movement, I ask Wifey how the emails are going… silence. I wander aimlessly about the first floor of the house a bit more with this precious bundle in my arms, and ask again, “Hey, How’s the email going?” The most I receive for this inquiry is a grunt and a sigh.

Now, I feel it necessary in the sense of full disclosure that I mention that this behavior seems more like the behavior of me at the computer than Wifey. You see, I get lost in the cyber-world waaay easier than Wifey. Books are her form of distraction, whereas icons and radiating pixels are more my speed. Anywho… Wifey is staring blankly at her 1 line response to a 1 line email.

I am not sure if my response is enthusiastic enough, but I don’t want to seem overbearing or over-friendly. The issue with this is that I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but my schedule is a bit up in the air right now, and I don’t know which one of these people I should CC on this email since it is just a scheduling response….

Uhhh….

I mean, can I really be too enthusiastic? It is only a one-line email response, that should be enough, shouldn’t it?

Ummm… What’s it for?

A playdate for Little Man


The point is… Wifey needs some sleep.

To recap:
Little Man’s 5th birthday is Friday
It can’t have been 5 years already
I won’t believe it
Q is 7 weeks old today
Time flies when you parent
Actual quote from Little Man today, “Look out World! Here I come”
After which he promptly ate a turkey sandwich
The funny thing about gnomes is their gnomishness
Check out Wifey’s new template
Listening to Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil off their release, Diesel and Dust

20 Questions Tuesday: 100 - The Century Club

Who would have thought that this crack-pot idea of having people ask me questions would last for 100 weeks? Not me, that’s who. I have so many people to thank so I just won’t because I am incredibly lazy.

Thanks this week go to Sparky, ACW, Peefer, Dr B-Dawg, and Nadolny (do you wanna be called “Sassyfrass?”).

100 weeks in and the questions are only getting better. The answers? That is a different story...

On to the questions:
1. Is it hard for you to answer personal/serious questions?
Well… since I will not answer too personal of questions the answer is “no.” But I tend to answer things rather obtusely, and that takes more effort so the answer is “yes.” I should hope that no one is coming to this blog for much seriousness.

2. Could you answer 20 questions on the topic of lunch? Or perhaps you have...
I could have sworn that I had done a “lunch” 20 Questions, but it seems that I have not. 20 Questions 102 will be concerning lunch.

3. Would you want to have 100 of anything? (Other than items of currency, of course.)
Definitely not Dalmatians. Those are some angry dogs. Very bitey dogs. Hmmm… I would love to have 100 happy repeatr customers and clients. Then I could work for myself and loose the shackles of this corporate veil.

4. Finish this sentence..."But I would walk 500 miles..." I know it's not ONE hundred, but deal with it.
And I would walk 500 more just to be the man who walked 100 miles to fall down at your door.

5. What club would you REALLY like to be a member of?
The Justice League! Sure it is exclusive, but I can’t be any more useless than the Atom!

6. What are your thoughts on the Century Series of American jet fighters?
Who doesn’t like a plane named the Thunderchief?

7. What was up with the Hundred Years war - what are the 5 W's?
The French and the English really didn’t like each other.
Who: England and France
What: Medieval warfare
When: 1337 to 1431
Why: Sovereignty claims and Duchy tax issues
Where: European mainland

8. Do you think the US of A has a hundred years left?
I am honestly not sure. I think the US might need to create a more formal alliance and governmental union with our continental neighbors to create a more cohesive trade partnership. It could possibly strengthen the economy (in the long run) and make the continent a more robust player compared to the EU and China, India, Brazil.

9. Any fond memories of the Bicentennial in 1976? Any memories at all....?
My first memory that I can clearly recall is from when I was 3, 1 year after the Bicentennial in 1976. It is of a kid biting my nose on a playground slide. Thanks for reminding me.

10. Why do we need pennies? For example, the Dutch don't use the 1/100th of a Euro - they just use a 'rounding' item on their receipts to remove those pesky cents.
I have no real affinity for the penny, but one has to think of what the unit for currency is. There needs to be some level of indivisible currency. In a base ten currency that level is usually worth 1 something or other. If you change that level to being worth 5 something or others, that level is still technically divisible.

11. In the Dewey Decimal System, what is categorized under the 100's. Why?Philosophy and psychology. Because

12. What kind of person would sing "A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall" all the way to the end?
An annoying one. Most likely 5 years old.

13. How great is living to 100?
It seems to be getting better. I can remember seeing pictures of near skeletons with dead eyes and feebly “smiling” their missing toothed skull grins at cameras clearly wishing for death since their mind had partially lived longer than their now useless body. But now the people in the 100 years club pics seem to be happier and more vibrant, so by the time I get near the century mark I will be hale and hearty.

14. A googol is greater (much greater) than the number of atoms in the visible universe. So what is even the POINT of defining a googolplex?
Because dark matter exists, Peefer and it must be made to account for!

15. How have you changed in the last 100 weeks?
I am older, hopefully wiser, and definitely more tired.

16. What are your preferred bills for $100? 1 Benjamin, a two Grants, 5 Andrews...
10 Hamiltons. There is a symmetry with the 10 tens and Alexander Hamilton is dreamy.

17. Is it just assumed that a person would have an STI after reaching the century club?
I think it is assumed that will have had at least one STI. They may have something recurring or continuous, but they most likely have had at least one bit of something or other.

18. Look into the future and predict what the world (yours or in general) will be like when Tuesday's 20 questions turns 1000.
Hmmm… 17+ years away… Little Man will be 23. Q will be rounding on 18 years old. I will be a venerable 51. Hmmm… jet packs and flying cars, baby!

19. Why does the centi- get so much respect and the milli-, so little?
What about poor little hectic- and deci-?

20. What would a hand look like with 100 fingers on it?
Silly

Bonus 4 questions!

21. What do you think of the mile high club? Does membership have it's advantages?
Seeing as how I am not a member, I have not seen the enrollment packages and benefit entry plans. Sorry, I can’t really help with this question.

22. Did you own a Members Only jacket in the last century?
I owned a knock-off Member’s Only jacket… I was just that cool, I also had some high-top Star Runners as well

23. When you are old, will you sit on the front porch telling stories about how "back in my century, we had global cooling rather than this sissy global warming crap" and "back in my century, they wrapped the burgers in paper and threw it in the trash and we liked it that way!"
Most definitely. I will also threaten to keep that ball if it comes in my yard one more time

24. Methuselah, discuss amongst yerselves.
Yes, please do.


To recap:
Thanks everyone for making this such a fun thing to do
We think that Little Man is a bit afeared of the Tooth Fairy
He did not want to put anything under his pillow for some magical fairy ninja tart to secretly come into his room while he was sleeping and collect his discarded body part for some trivial amount of money
He didn’t like that concept at all
It was a pretty significant display of lightning last night
Lightning Storm and a Tooth Fiary could be a really “good” b-horror movie
Too bad I was sleeping
Listening to Ghost Riders in the Sky by Johnny Cash, hmmmmmmmmm

Get out of my head

You ever have one of those conversations about conversations where someone mentions that someone else mentioned a song that they can’t get out of their head and all the sudden you have a song playing on repeat in your head that wasn’t even the song they were referring to? Yeah, well that just happened.

So my remaining monkey came back from lunch and mentioned that he “Can’t get a song out of his head” because of a conversation he had at lunch about some dance song. The second he said the phrase “Can’t get a song out of his head” I was instantly listening to Kylie Minogue serenade me because she has the same affliction, only with an un-named “you” and, of course, it is her head and not mine. The fact that the “you” in question is not me and the “my” in question is, in fact, Kylie’s “my” did not seem to dissipate the recurrence of the song in my head in the least. In fact, that frame of questioning concerning the song seemed only to embed it more within my brain’s meager ability to function.

Typically I can save myself from this kind of affliction by reciting 3 times Mary Had a Little Lamb as if Casey Kasim were reading a dedication letter in my head, but this time Casey seemed to match his cadence with the intoxicating dance rhythms. It was difficult, but he seemed to match “I can’t get chu outta my head” with “Mary had a li-ih-ih-i-tle lamb,” which was much preferable to shortening “little” to a mere 4 syllable word and adding a grunt on the end of the phrase. That would have just been wrong. I really didn’t want to think of Casey Kasim grunting for any reason.

The reason that the "Mary/Lamb Method" is my preferred method deals with the fact that Mary Had a Little Lamb will leave my conscious and subconscious brain alone after it has been used to reset the continuous song filter in my head to the “off”. It is usually fool proof, but when it does not work I have a different, more detrimental to my mental health, method of making the offending song stop. This method makes the offending song go away and be replaced with something I have come to accept as the baseline of my brain function.

You know when someone says, “Clear your mind of all thought.” Whether it is for meditative purposes or for word associative reasons, my “Blank State” is the Police’s De Do Do Do De Da Da Da from Zenyatta Mondatta. I imagine if I needed to I could push those thoughts aside to “truly” clear my mind, but really, come on, that is clearer of thought than most people and I am not striving to be perfect with word association, sheesh! Anyway… it was time to call out the big guns. I cued up my Police sorbet on the mp3 player and waited for the sweet oblivion of my Blank State.

No more Minogue… and it only took about an hour of Sting’s nonsensical monosyllabic drivel to stop rattling around my skull.

To recap:
The remaining monkey’s song in question was ATC’s It Goes around the World

Like, Scoob, Mary had a Little Lamb
A rittle ram?
A little Lamb
Roose freece ras rite as snow?

Entertrainment Junction was a great trip for Little Man
Q is doing well as well
She really likes the whole bath-time thing
Bath-time is one of the few rituals that makes her smile
Little Man is motivated by tangible rewards
His behavior is remarkably better when the reward of root-beer is offered
Listening to Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head off of her release Fever
… but only in my head

Digital Thursday

Here we go again with the update to last week's Dr Doom pic. So far I have done most of Doom himself, except his armor. I did make some changes in the color scheme because the original artist, Jason Baroody, pointed me towards some ref pics of the Latverian (the small country where Doom rules) flag. That flag is decidedly non-European in its construction. Anyway... I went with a velvet cloak and a linen tunic with satin stripes for the textures associated with this pic so far.

I am trying to figure out the finish that I want the armor to have on it. I do not want it to be chromed up and super reflective. That changes too much for lighting and reflections, but I also want the armor to look neat and tidy. Maybe brushed steel as a texture? Who knows. Anyway, here is the work in progress that is Dr Doom.




So far I have invested about 7 hours into this guy. I imagine that I will have about 4 to 5 more to go. Some of the time is due to expirementing with techniques, but most of it is because of brute force painting at an insane level of detail. Feel free to click on Doom for embiggination.

To recap:
If you are interested in Jason Baroody's other work, or Dr Doom, please follow the myriad of links embedded in last week's Digital Thursday post
Pretty soon today I will be getting back into the SketchUp tutorials
I might need to get a version of this program for home
It is a pretty intuitive 3-d program
It would be good for rendering backgrounds like the one you see above in the Doom pic
Tomorrow we are heading to Entertrainment Junction for the enjoyment of Little Man
Exercise needs to be part of my life again
For I am getting tubby
Listening to Rainy Day by Guster off of Lost and Gone Forever
Have a great weekend everyone