20 Questions Tuesday: 150 - Potpourri

Well, it is Tuesday again and time for my meager offering to the Gods of Blog. I did not make the time this week to come up with a topic, so I made this week a Jeopardy Potpourri. It is a free for all, bitches!

Thanks this week go to Guido, Wifey, Belsum, Lsig, and Nadolny. On to the questions!


1. What is your favorite color, and why?
I am partial to green because it is the color of the woods, and I think I might be a druid at heart.

2. Would you go into space if you had the means and opportunity?
If the track record was significantly safe, I think I would go for that.

3. How much coffee is too much coffee?
I think 1 cup, that stuff sucks. How can it suck so bad when it smeels so divine. It is to hot beverages is what Sbarro is to mall food court eating.

4. How much wood can a woodchuck chuck, on an empty stomach, on a Wednesday?
1 cord, at best, but that is only if the woodchuck has thumbs. without thumbs the woodchuck would just look sullenly at the wood.

5. Would it be possible to build viable buildings with oversided Lego bricks?
Post and lintel construction has been around for a long time.

6. What were other names you considered for your children?
Big Man, Wendigo, The Lizard King, and Captain Sisko

7. Who was your kindergarten teacher?
I think it was Mrs. Hale. Capt McArmypants? You remember who it was, I am a bit foggy on it.

8. What should I be for Halloween this year? My only idea is green hair and that’s just sort of non-specific.
I would say Madam Hydra/Viper from Marvel Comics, or Shego from Kim Possible.

9. Why are the Boy Scouts suddenly selling popcorn? And why am I seriously considering buying some?
Boy Scouts have been selling popcorn since 1990.

10. How does Ardipithecus relate to Bigfoot on the evolutionary scale?
Much smaller and very much earlier on (especially if one subscribes to the gigantapithicus theory surrounding the idea of sasquatch/bigfoot/yeti)

11. What should I do if I can’t get my *ahem* working in time for the Sarah Jane Adventures season premiere on the BBC this week?
DVR it?

12. What is your favorite meal to cook?
Hmmm... mini skillet meat loafs, mainly because I like to eat it.

13. Aside from the steady paycheck, what do you miss most about having a regular job? What do you like most about not having one?
The grown-up non-familial conversation and not having to bathe regularly.

14. Read any good books lately?
A few. The Brent Weeks Night Angel Trilogy were good ones, but I am currently looking for some new fantasy/sci-fi authors, so share em if you got them.

15. On a scale of 1-10, how useful has your undergraduate degree been in your post-college life?
My undergrad? about a 5.

16. Thoughts on whether the proposed rail system would actually be used in Ohio?
Little Man would use it especially if Amtrack made it into a high speed rail system.

17. There is a controvery over the proposed wind farm because it might distrub some ancient Indian burial areas in the Dispatch today. Another on green funerals. Would it be a good idea to stop wasting land by burying dead folk in it and thinking that it will never again be touched?
I am not a huge fan of the idea of burial. I find that the sacred land does kind of get in the way of doing shit.

18. Tax, tax, tax. We are barely out of a recession (maybe) and all the governments want more. How can we possibly afford it and why can't they understannd that that will only retard the recovery?
Heh... You said "retard."

19. Cub Scouts for little man in the future?
Nope, I do not like the BSA's stance on homosexuality.

20. Did you have a pocket knife as a kid?
Yes, I actually had many.


To recap:
Q is not about sleeping
We miss the Q that was about sleeping
Man, she should be asleep by now, but you know what?
She isn't
Little Man's asthma has flaired up just a bit
We seem to think it has something to do with the change in seasons
He has a bit of a flairup every year about this time
When he was 1 through 3 it would require Orapred
So far it has not needed much intervention
That makes us happy
Especially since it looks like we will need to go to individual health care coverage soon
I will actually have something for a Digital Thursday this week
Listening to Wifey rock the little girl with the rocking chair, not The Black Eyed Peas... this time

20 Questions Tuesday: 149 - Tuesday

20 Questions Tuesday time again, and since this is the weekly post I have promised, it is most likely the only post you are gonna get this week. Deal with it, I am a busy man.

This week the topic for today’s 20 Questions Tuesday is, well… Tuesday.

Thanks this week go to ACW, Lsig, Dr Clean, Capt McArmypants, Guido, Some Other Guy, and Wifey. On to the questions!

1. Why the name Tuesday? By our calendar it’s obviously the third day of the week not the second.
It is named after a Norse god.

2. What ever happened to the ‘two for Tuesday’ specials at restaurants and on the radio?
The economy tanked so no more two-fers in retail, but I am not sure about the radio thing.

3. Will Halloween ever be on a Tuesday?
Sure, why not?

4. When was Tuesday invented?
A long long time ago. I was not able to find anything definitive about when the septological week was set up. I think it goes back to moon cycles and then divisions within the moon cycles. So each 28 day moon cycle is divided into 4 weeks or 7 days each with a set of celebratory time set off at the end of the year to get everything back up to 52 weeks and 365 days. The powers that be made the 7 days of the week match up with seven celestial bodies that they felt should be revered. Not sure why Tuesday was assigned the 3rd day of the week.

5. Is the Tuesday after a long weekend (Monday off) just as bad as a normal Monday?
Yes.

6. Why is "Tuesday" the only day of the week to be commonly used as a woman's name?
Let’s run through the days.
Sunday = holy day, bit presumptuous to name you little one after a typically holy day
Monday = no one like Mondays, why would one decide to shackle you kid with that moniker
Wednesday = Addam’s family kind of ruined that one, and I am pretty sure I would not want my little girl associated heavily with “Hump Day”

7. What is your normal Tuesday routine?
Get up, get the boy ready for school and the girl ready for childcare. Have some breakfast and get the boy to school. Search for jobs, get some lunch, do some graphic design stuff, pick the boy up from school, get dinner ready, start bed-time rituals, rinse and repeat. Stunning, no?

8. Monday is the start of the week and has a bad reputation (somebody’s got a case of the Mondays!), Wednesday is hump day and must be endured, Friday is happy hour day, Thursday is the new Friday…what the hell is Tuesday?
Tuesday is innocuous. It is the time of the work week when people actually get stuff done. Tuesday is the day of performance.

9. Is Tuesday’s child really full of grace?
Yes. Well one of them

10. Is Super Tuesday really super or is it just hype?
It is a bit of hype.

11. Do “Voices Carry” better on a Tuesday….shut up!
Hush, hush. Keep it down now
Voices Carry…

Yes, they do

12. Black Tuesday (Stock Market Crash of 1929) and Sept. 11th versus Fat Tuesday…is Tuesday a bad or good day?
It is definitely a good or a bad day, it just depends on what happens that particular Tuesday.

13. Statistically, 40% of workplace absences occur on Monday or Friday, but only 20% occur on Tuesdays, why is that?
That all has to do with adjacency to the weekend.

14. Some people declare Sunday the beginning of the week, Others Monday. I'm in the Monday crowd because Tuesday sounds like 2sday. You?
I am a traditionalist about Tuesday being the 3rd day of the week. The day starts with Sunday in my book.

15. Who or what is Tuesday named after?
Tuesday is named after the Norse god of war, Tyr. Initially it was something like Dei Mars because it was the day celebrating the planet mars or the Roman god of war. When the calendar was translated to English, for some reason the days of the week were translated to the Germanic deities.

16. Any other significance to Tuesday than 20 Questions Tuesday for you?
Yes

17. What TV, if any, intrigues you on Tuesdays?
Nova on PBS is sometimes really good, but nothing every week.

18. What is you favorite thing to do on a Tuesday afternoon?
Nap

19. Tuesday.com was taken by some kind of creative types. That isn’t a question… more of a comment, the fuckers.
I know what you mean. I totally looked for web addresses and Tuesday.com was taken.

20. So what is your favorite part of Tuesday (and yes, I am talking about your Wife here, and you had better answer and answer right if you don’t want to be sleeping on the couch, bub!)?
I love your eyes, babycakes! When you smile they light up.


To recap:
I have a nasty headache here
Not a pine marten headache
But a headache none the less
All the kids are doing well
Faux soy sauce is kind of soy-ish, but a bit more faux-ish than I would like
Man my head is killing me
Chicken and barley soup for dinner
No faux soy sauce, that was last night
Listening to the “It’s Called Football” podcast

20 Questions Tuesday: 148 - Wind

Here it is late Tuesday and Q is still not asleep. If there were a way to make the blog say “grrr” without it being a poorly rendered emoticon, I would.

It is September 29th and I am turning over a new leaf for this here blogarooney. There will be some changes coming in the near future, but the main thing is that I am only making my personal commitment to posting once a week. I will be continuing on with the 20 Questions Tuesday theme because that is the part of blogging that I have enjoyed the most. That is not to say that there will not be an occasional post here or there other than a 20 Questions Tuesday post, but, seeing as how that is the only effort I am willing to commit to, you, my dear fine readers.

Anyhoo... enough about the pending content change. This week has been a blustery week in Central Ohio. There have been some wind advisories and I think I saw Mary Poppins break the sound barrier. So, this week’s topic is “Wind.”

Thanks this week go to: ACW, Popo, Capt McArmypants, Belsum, and Wifey. On to the Questions!


1. Why is it called ‘breaking wind’ when clearly a wind is being created?
Because there is a sacred seal that is broken to let the wind escape.

2. Do you enjoy the howl of the wind past your window while sleeping?
I do really enjoy that. Probably more than I should (unless, of course, you are referring to the wind in the previous question. Then the answer is “Um... No.” With as much sarcastic emphasis as I can muster.)

3. The wind blows but you wind an old school clock – why the differences in pronunciation?
It is due to the cultural hodgepodge that generated the English language. English is an amalgam of Germanic/Nordic languages and Romance languages (specifically French). Since these 2 very different language styles have come together there are echoes from the past of pronunciation from both language systems.

4. What causes wind?
Entropy and enthalpy

5. Do you like the wind?
I do indeed.

6. Is wind power a viable alternative power source?
Not yet, but I think it has some of the strongest potential.... potential energy... he he!

7. How windy is it on Mars?
Very, why do you ask?

8. How will explain the concept of wind to the little ones?
I will say, “God farted.” Then I will have to explain God. That is when parenting will get dicy.

9. 1. So the rain is Tess, the fire is Joe and they call the wind Mariah? uh... why? and feel free to expound upon the other 2 I never got them either?
McArmypants, Doesn’t the US Military have a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy? Shouldn’t you be a bit less... um... telling in you question material?

10. So kite flying? Is that like the precursor to pong? or just a way to ruin someone's sun bathing/picnic and still be able to claim it was an accident?
It is neither, but I like the direction you are going with you usage of kite flying.

11. Ever got wind burn?
Once. As a kid in, whilst visiting Colorado, my face got a little chapped by the howling mountain winds.

12. So how comes when I do the "Luke I am your Father" into a fan it sounds all cool and stuff, but when I do the same thing in a heavy wind it does nothing? What am I doing wrong!?!?!?
The fan sonically modifies your voice by bouncing some of the sound waves off of the rotating fan blades. Wind is just moving fluid gas molecules.

13. Do you ever find a nice chilly motivating any more, or just cold? I find more and more often they are just cold?
“Brisk” is a term being used less and less in the SRH Household.

14. The Association’s “Windy” is clearly the definitive song involving wind. Any other good ones?
Dust in the Wind

15. Does the euphemism “gives me the winds” crack you up as much as it does me?
Only if done with a Monty Python accent.

16. Have you ever ridden the Zephyr?
Nope.

17. I once composed an extemporaneous ode to the wind as I was on a solo walk along a marshland path. Is that weird?
That is a bit odd, but I would not call it full-on weird.

18. “Riding against the wind” or “riding uphill?”
“Pissing in the wind” and “Uphill Battle.”

19. Favorite woodwind instrument?
Oboe.

20. Chicago, truly THE “Windy City,” or merely just A “Windy City?”
I have to go with “A Windy City.” I know there might be some Chicagoans/Chicagites/Chicagonauts that will disagree with that statement, but I hear tales of wind in other parts.

To recap:
What a load of unnecessary expectations off of my back
Still jobless in Columbus
Bean soup seems to give babies gas
Go figure
I am oddly hungry right now
Mid Ohio Comic Con is this weekend
I might try and get there on Saturday for an hour or so
Listening to Wifey rock Q
In the “rocking chair” definition of “rock” not the \m/ definition

20 Questions Tuesday: 147 - Fall/Autumn 2

Here we are again. It being 20 Questions Tuesday again and lo and behold, I find the energy to post something. I love me some 20 Questions Tuesdays. This week is the second and final installment of the Autumn/Fall questions.

Thanks this week go to John P, Sparky, AllRileyedUp, and Some Other Guy. Here we go:


1. Do you have a local farmers market with good produce during this harvest season (you know this used to be the time the pig was slaughtered and the bacon was cured)?
There are some fairly good local producers around here. By local I do mean within 1 to 2 hours. The favorite has to be OMC Farms.

2. Any special treats you look forward to this time of year (getting the kids' Halloween candy doesn't count)?
Pumpkin Pie. Luckily we have a place called “Just Pies”around here that make devastatingly good pies.

3. Have you now faithfully put away the white clothing so as no to offend now that we are past Labor Day?
My whites have all turned closer to a light ecru from my summer usage. I shall never put them away!

4. You know the sun is dying and the days are getting shorter, how will we cope?
Wow, you really buried the lead in these questions? The Sun is dying? Well, that is a fine how do you do.

5. What do you like most about the autumn?
The silent “n” like in Damn!

6. Best baking fruit for fall – pumpkin or apple?
Pumpkin for sheer taste, but apple for variety.

7. Why am I always hungrier as the weather turns cooler?
Culturally people of temperate latitudinal descent tend to pack in the food in the fall because, historically the pickings were really slim in the winter months, and the extra weight put on in the Fall was reserves for when the lean winter’s hit. Now we just get tubby.

8. Fall = bonfires. Your marshmallows – burnt char-black and gooey inside or just lightly toasted to a golden brown?
GBD = Golden Brown and Delicious

9. Any must-see-TV for you on the new Fall viewing schedule?
Nothing is coming to mind. I know that everything starts up, pretty much tomorrow night, but that is all I know.

10. Will you watch an OSU football game?
I will catch some plays here and there, but I don’t have it in me to sit down for 18 hours and watch a game where OSU plays East Podunk Technical State University. I mean, Toledo at a NEUTRAL stadium? WTF?

11. On the subject of fall, I fell down at school today from dehydration. How soon will my students forget?
Their life expectancy is into the 80’s, yes? My bet is about 75 years.

12. Autumn means absolutely nothing to people who grew up in the south. Where can I get me some changing colors of the leaves?
Autumn means new fall TV schedule and Football season. I forgot you grew up Sunbelt, not SEC. How sad for you.

13. Why do people bother with "fall" when "autumn" is such a prettier word?
Fall is only 3 different characters and 4 letters total. Autumn is 4 characters with a whopping total of 6 letters. You ask this when people abbreviate June to Jun?

14. I once knew a guy named Autumn. How much do you think he got made fun of during the high school years?
I imagine that went waaaaay past the High School Years.

15. Why would a parent DO that to their son?
Parents are so wrapped up in their own delusions that they don’t seem to see what they are doing to their kids. ALL PARENTS, even this parent.

16. Is it officially fall now?
Yes. Don’t you see the death and dying all around us?

17. So, what exactly does that mean?
Our orbit around the sun has passed the Autumnal Equinox, where the sun is orthogonal to the Equator, (Yes, I busted out Orthogonal!) but has not gotten to the Winter/Northern Solstice, where the Earth’s axis is at its maximal angle away from the sun.

18. Have you fallen?
That is a loaded question. Let’s just say I am chock full of potential energy.

19. Harvest Festival or Halloween?
I would say both. Because harvest festivals make me think of baked good and apple cider, while Halloween makes me think of individually wrapped chocolate treats and caramel, sweet sweet caramel.

20. Slip and….
Fall.

To recap:
Still looking for a job
I am thinking about revamping this blog to just be 20 Questions Tuesday
That is all I mainly post anyway
I can always do additional posts if the mood strikes me, but I won’t have to
Any thoughts?
Hellloooo?
Listening to Dropping Out Of School by Brad Sucks
He doesn’t suck, by the way

20 Questions Tuesdasy: 146 - Autumn/Fall 1

Looks like I picked a topic that resonated with the fine folks who send in questions. The topic for this week and next is “Autumn/Fall” I could not choose which name to call it because that is just how I am. Thanks this week go to Guido ( a new questioner), ACW, Capt McArmypants, The-Man-Formerly-Known-As-Lord-Pithy, and Lsig.

So we will get to the questions in just a second. First of all I would like to mention that I was interviewed for this blog, more specifically, here. Thanks to TheMikeStand for a wonderful interviewing process. Soon I will add a nice little icon showing that I was interviewed.

On to the Questions:

1. Is it called Fall because the leaves can't hang onto the trees?
Yes, Timmy, that is why they colloquially call this season “fall.” However, the converse is not true for Winter which should be referred to colloquially as “Frost” or Summer which should be referred to as “Hot-as-monkey-balls!”

2. Do girls named Autumn lose their hair seasonally? And are they required to be redheads?
I think you maybe implying too much seasonality to the persons named Autumn. Their hair does not “fall” out and if their parents named them Autumn, they should have an Autumnal coloring with reddish/auburn hair and tan overtones on their skin.

3. Would you prefer a gradual dropping of the leaves or have them come down all at once (softly of course)?
I would enjoy seeing all the leaves fall simultaneously. Then there would only be one effort at raking a year. It could be made into a holiday in and of itself.

4. Is Fall the best smelling season of all or what?
I am gonna go with “or what” since I am allergic to leaf mold, and you know what fall smells amazingly like to me? Leaf mold.

5. Allergies worse in the fall? Seems to be the case in my house.
It is like these questions are prescient. My leaf mold kicks in around late September if it was a rainy Fall, otherwise the ragweed in the summer does me in.

6. Do you celebrate when the mighty have fallen?
Considering that I am not mighty… yes.

7. Why will people name their children Summer or Autumn or even
occasionally Winter, but won't name their kid Fall or Spring?
Well, a kid named Fall will have “trip me” and “kick me” signs all over him and Spring is a machine part that creates tension… I am not sure I would want a child to have that label as well.

8. Most people notice when the trees actually change colors and think that is the first sign of fall, but for me it will be when I am walking outside and there will be a breeze that is cooler than it should be considering the temperature of the day. What is your favorite Fall indicator?
My favorite one is that breeze you mention. It is best to have the windows open and napping when you feel that breeze.

9. If you were king, would you change the rule to Spring Back, Fall Back? I know this will eventually result in a reverse of the diurnal, but if I had the power I could not resist the temptation of stealing an extra hour every 6 months. You?
This way people would eventually switch shifts anyway. I really like this idea. Twice a year means that in 6 years the US would be flip-flopped from the rest of the world. It would be like holding onto an archaic measurement system whose units were arbitrary at best.

10. Why is leaf raking an acceptable expected chore? I mean someone TP's your house I think you have an obligation as a good neighbor to clean it up even if it technically isn't your fault. With trees on the other hand, the only tree droppable I think you should be expected to address up is giant dead limbs that block the sidewalk and/or roadway.
Amen. I am allergic to leaf mold, so raking leaves is a chore I do when I want to be out of commission for a full 24 hour period.

11. Be honest, when you hear the word "Fall", there is a voice in the back of your head that sounds oddly kinda like the cartoon ghost of Christmas Future (Black Pete) from the 1980's Disney version of "Christmas Carol" that says "Samhain"?
Your question confuses and befuddles me. Yes, at the same time. What I don’t understand is why you don’t have a spooky voice saying “Samhain” even when it is not the fall.

12. Let’s change the name to Drop, OK?
Done.

13. Jump into the pile of leaves, or worry about what might be hiding in there?
As a kid I used to ride with a bunch of hooligans in their 8 year old used Audi 5000. In the fall these ruffians and I would drive said Audi 5000 into leaf piles left on the curbs of people’s yards who cared about their yard aesthetic. We would hit the leaves, watch the pile billow over the Audi 5000, and we ne’erdowells would cackle with delight. Until one of those industrious leaf pilers decided to mask a few cement blocks with his leaves. That was a noise we didn’t expect. The cackles of laughter changed to the harmonizing cursing that only the male teens of the 1990’s could produce. So, unless I rake the pile, I consider that there are cement blocks hidden within the Autumnal yard harvest.

14. Favorite autumnal odor?
Umm… burnt sienna

15. S’mores, not just for campfires anymore?
Better in the microwave, because then you can see the marshmallows blow up really big.

16. Why do I love apple cider so much?
Because you want to use mulling spices and have nothing to mull.

17. Do you prefer the poetic sounding "autumn" or the sort of deadly accurate "fall"?
I like “Autumn” for the sound of the word, but “Fall” for the ease of use.

18. What is your favorite fall food or beverage?
Pumpkin Pie, like that is a real question.

19. I love cool fall weather but I dread the first time the heat comes on because my allergies nearly kill me. Do you have anything you dread about fall?
Fall is the typical hunting season of the Vampire Bear. The Vampire Bear gorges itself on the blood of it’s victims in the fall so the undead behemoth can lay down for its long cold winter’s nap.

They couldn't do this in the winter, the river would be frozen silly

20. What is the best fall holiday?
Thanksgiving.

To Recap:
Q is not asleep right now
Yes, it is after 11:00 pm
That is 2300 to you military types
Still no solid job prospects
I am starting to get a bit downtrodden about the whole jobless thing
I have some design work going on right now, but not enough to make a career out of
Especially since most of it is gratis and the rest is at wholesale hourly rates
Listening to Q play with toys that should be idle right now

20 Questions Tuesday: 145 - BACON!

This weekend Q decided that she wanted to eat some turkey bacon… as I stated in the recap from yesterday, I feel kind of like a fraud, but she is just a baby and should not be consuming that amount of pork fat as a part if her diet… the fat and the nitrates, God Lord the nitrates! Those things are bad for you.

Thanks this week go to Belsum, Nadolny, Chris Corrigan, and Some Other Guy. On to the questions:


1. I’m currently enjoying a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. Are you jealous?
YES! I had Frosted Mini Wheats... very un-baconny

2. A friend of mine has a saying, “Bacon makes everything better.” I guess there’s no question here. It’s obviously true. Just thought I’d share her wisdom with you.
She is a wise woman

3. A friend of mine knitted a bacon scarf. How cool is that?
That is really pretty darn cool.

4. Why doesn’t bacon come standard on burgers at all fast food joints? Wouldn’t it be easier for the one or two nutjobs that don’t want it to just request “hold the bacon”?
I have often wondered why bacon was not standard, it is almost a vegetable it goes with so much. Here is the key if the food I am buying typically comes with ketchup, ranch, or cheese, the restaurant in question should assume bacon is standard unless otherwise stated.

5. Canadian Bacon/Back Bacon, while delicious, isn’t actually bacon. Is it delicious enough to be allowed to retain the name of “bacon”?
It is versatile enough and tasty enough, so I say, “Yes”

6. Bacon blowtorch article: check it out and comment!
I saw the popular mechanics article about the “Bacon Lance” (a name that any self-respecting porn producer has already tried to patent). Pure oxygen + Bacon = heat, means that almost 21% oxygen + bacon = love.

7. Bac-Os Bits. Are they really bacon or just pieces of salt dyed brown and formed into chunks to look like bacon?
Bac-Os Bits are an abomination and I will not discuss their vileness here.

8. In the wilds, what other animal do you imagine would taste like pig? (Boars are an unacceptable answer as they are just wild feral pigs.)
Umm… I do believe it is the hippo… or so I am told that they taste like bacon…. When cured… and smoked

9. BLT for dinner, lunch or breakfast?
I don’t so much like the lettuce, so anytime is perfect. I mean toast tomatoes and bacon could describe any number of mealtimes.

10. Why does a 10 cent piece of bacon cost $5 for an order of two slices at Bob Evans or the breakfast place of your choosing?
It is all about convenience. How much do they charge for dry toast?

11. Why is back bacon called Canadian bacon? Don't American pigs have backs?
My guess is that it is healthier, much like Canadians. American pigs do have backs, but much like Americans they also have bigger bellies.

12. Is fatback technically bacon? And knowing about it, will it make SRH want to visit Newfoundland, they survive for 8 months out of the year on that stuff?
Fatback is close to bacon, but not quite bacon. It is good for rendering into soups and red beans and rice and such, but one cannot stack it on a sandwich. Fatback is like the kissing cousin to bacon.

13. How long is it safe to keep bacon in the fridge?
If you have to worry about that you are un-American and should be forcibly expatriated … NAY! Exiled, never to return, as soon as possible. Bacon should never “go bad” in the fridge! It should never have the opportunity!

14. What do you do with bacon fat?
We offer it to whatever gods will take it as an offering in exchange for our cholesterol counts being lowered… if we aren’t making soup.

15. Do you like your bacon dry and crisp or still a little floppy?
I like it on the edge of crisp, but not all dried out, but I would rather have the bacon a bit on the floppy side instead of all dried out and stuff.

16. What ever happened to Sizzlean?
I have no idea. That stuff wasn’t too bad… it wasn’t too good, but It wasn’t too bad

17. Sir Francis Bacon died a poor man after holding a large number of titles in England under Elizabeth I and James I, what’s up with that?
He cooked too long and went from floppy to crisp to dry and brittle. I used Inductive reasoning to come to that conclusion

18. Wendy’s “Baconator?” Umm… what does “To Baconate” mean exactly?
Ummm to put lots of bacon on something? I personally feel that you can use “Bacon” as a verb without the “ate” suffix. Contextual clues let the participant in the conversation know that “bacon” is a verb in the instance without hitting someone over the head with a club. For example, the sentence “Baconate that burger” does not flow as nicely as “Bacon that burger.” It is overkill.

19. How do you know when bacon is done?
You just have to watch it like a hawk. It goes from being almost perfect to ruined in a second.

20. Bacon?
Why, thank you, yes.


To recap:
It is late and I am getting ready for bed soon
Little Man loves him some kindergarten
Had the mini meatloaf from the Cooks Illustrated Skillet Cookbook for dinner tonight
Even without bacon, it was awe inspiring
US versus T&T in World Cup Qualifying tomorrow night
Let's get this done, Yanks!
Since tomorrow is a Wednesday, I will most likely not post anything
I just haven’t been posting on Wednesday’s as of late
Listening to Ain’t No Rest of the Wicked by Cage the Elephant

20 Questions Tuesday: 144 - Kindergarten

Little Man is in kindergarten, so I figured it would be a good time to set up the venerable topic that is Kindergarten as the topic for today’s 20 Questions Tuesday. I was right because I get 20 questions rather quickly today.

Thanks this week go to Lsig, John P, Sparky, and Capt McArmypants (you will know his question by the bitter taste they leave in your mouth). On to the questions!...


1. Full day or half day? Which do you think is better for kids?
Orange cream-sicles, but I will expound upon that more later.

2. What is your best memory of kindergarten?
We used to have movie afternoons on Friday afternoon. Sometimes it was those crappy single slide animation crap with the really bad audio, but occasionally it was a film that they broke out the projector for.

3. What is your worst memory of kindergarten? Is it worse than mine of vomiting mac and cheese two inches from Ben, the boy I liked?
Hmm... Worst memory. I have tried mightily to repress those memories, and I am afraid that if I scratch the surface I will... oh, God... the horror! The Horror..... ummm, where was I? Oh, yes. The dropping of the Valentine’s Day cupcakes.

4. Who had a worse time of it on his first day- you or Wifey?
I had a worse day on the day of, but Wifey did her mourning the night before.

5. Where on Earth did the time go?
I have no idea, but I really wish I did.

6. Why is nap time phased out as we get older? I could sure use a scheduled break like that in my day!
I think nap time should not be wasted on those who do not appreciate it.

7. Does Little Man have a lunch box or am I totally out of touch with the new generation? I had a rocking $6 million man box and then a pretty neat KISS one.
He has a Speed Racer lunchbox (actually a soft sided insulated bag, and not a metal box with the potential to rust... Why Star Wars lunch box?!?! Why?!?!? that an 8 year old friend of his gave him... I am not sure it was a practical joke or not.... That movie was horrible.

8. Do Kindergartners still use the fat pencils or am I again dating myself? (maybe they get their own wireless mouse now)
I think you are dating yourself a bit. The school Little Man is at currently is trying to get Smartboards in all of the classrooms.

9. Is back to school shopping going to be a big deal in your household or just a low key "here you go" event?
It was a big event for everyone other than Little Man. He could not give a rat’s ass about what we were doing. It was taking him away from his playtime with his airplanes!

10. Hmmm SRH directing the local PTA our country is doomed!! Anyway if you are in charge is it appropriate to call the parents and their children your minions?
I have no aspirations of PTA dominance, but if I did they would most definitely be considered my minions.

11. What is Little Man’s K schedule – 5 full days, 5 half days, etc.?
He goes Monday through Friday from 8:50 to 3:25.

12. First impression of his teacher….
She seems nice enough. Word on the street is that she is awesome, but I will believe that after I have done my own diagnostics.

13. Who was your first friend in Kindergarten? Tell your devoted blog readers a little bit about Kindergarten SRH and his friend (insert name here).
It is hard to tell, I am sure Capt. McArmypants remembers who my friends were in K, but I do not. I did K through 2 in one school and 3 through 6 in another (of which I remember waaaay more) then I hooked back up with the first school system when I went to 7th grade. I honestly do not remember much from K.

14. Did Little Man get a special after-school treat to celebrate surviving his first day?
Nope, should he have? Wifey and I had vodka straight after we left him there for the cruel cruel world to beat him down...

15. What made the biggest impression on Little Man during his first day? (For Jack, it was all about the bus ride.)
"The cafeteria is also the gym, they just put the tables away when they use it as a gym." That is all we could get out of him after day 1.

16. So how come some kids get orange cream-sicles while everybody else has to eat crappy old fudge popsicles? I mean what up with that?
Let’s be clear there was only one kindergartner that got an orange cream-sicle, and that was me. I was allergic to chocolate and would break out in hives if I ate any. someone seems to hold that grudge against me on fudge popsicle day, yet conveniently forgets that I got some hideous graining red frosting on my birthday celebration cupcakes.

17. What was your favorite kindergarten memory? Most peculiar?
Orange cream-sicles... you can suck it, McArmypants! I got the orange cream-sicles that were orange on the outside with vanilla on the inside! Not even the crappy orange things where the vanilla is mixed in with the orange... as for the second part... Greg T. always throwing up in his lunchbox and then calmly closing it up like nothing had happened. I swear he did that at least 2 times a week.

18. Was it hard to adjust to dealing with all those other kids? Were you properly socialized or was it all pretty scary that first day?
I don’t remember it being all too difficult, but I had seen my big brother in school and just kind of expected that to be my fate as well.

19. So good ole Timmy C! What ever happened to that kid? I mean after the 2nd year of hysterical crying on the first day until his mom came and got him do you really think it is fair to bring him back to the same school? I mean how could he ever get a fair-shake after that?.......... I mean if he was NOT a hysterical nut bar or somehow overcame his hysterical nutbar tendencies.
Wow, the only kid I remember who locked himself in a car and cried hysterically. I remember laughing my ass about the locked in a car incident in the old construction tire play ground they had.

20. So the concept that Ms. Hale was like 10 years younger than you are now is kinda freaky huh?
Ow, that actually hurts a bit. I had not even thought about that. Man, I am old.

To Recap:
Kindergarten was a looong time ago
I am old
Today he drew at least 3 pictures of airplanes
This new obsession is hampered by his lack of understanding concerning enumeration districts and political boundaries
For example:
Little Man: How long would it take to fly from Ohio to Columbus?
Me: Ummm... Columbus is in Ohio
LM: How long a flight would it be?
Me: Dude (I love calling him “dude”), I am telling you, we live in Ohio.
LM: (frustrated and yelling a bit) NO!!! HOW LONG FROM OHIO TO HERE?!?!
Me: 0 minutes.
Listening to the fan in Q’s room

20 Questions Tuesday: 143 - Sleep

Here it is a Tuesday evening again and I have to crank out this whole 20 Questions Tuesday thing before midnight is upon us and my PC turns into a pumpkin. The topic for this week’s 20QTues is near an dear to my heart. The topic is “sleep,” the productive form of procrastination.

Thanks this week go to Formerly Named Lord Pithy, ACW, Sparky, Popo, Lsig, Belsum, and Dr B-Dawg. On to the questions!

1. Do you believe dreams use symbology to provide prophetic hints of the future, or just random firings of synapses that our unconscious tries to weave into a logical story?
I believe that both exist and are used, but I do not necessarily believe that the more prophetic dreams are due to some divine hand so much as ripples and folds in the fourth dimension.

2. If the world is the creation of a sleeping god, and the alarm clock is set to 12-21-12, what do you suppose the chances are of hitting the snooze button?
If it is an alarm clock then indeed a snooze button will be smacked. Which means we have probably about six snooze cycles before the sleeping god absolutely HAS to get up.

3. In a perfect world, would you rather sleep all day and party all night, or own a flying horse?
Flying horse, provided I was able to sleep some.

4. Long pajama bottoms tend to twist around my legs and give me claustrophobic dreams. What gives you nightmares?
Well, you and your pajamas… but not as much as you sans pajamas…

5. I heard tequila was a good sleep aid – if it doesn’t work on the kids and should work on the parents. Thoughts?
Whiskey-dryl is the “medicine” of choice in Chez SRH

6. Do you fall asleep reading, watching TV or listening to music?
Sometimes watching TV.

7. Does Little Man still get a bedtime story? Do you read to Q?
Little Man still gets some stories and we need to add a bedtime story to Q’s routine.

8. Where’s the strangest place you’ve fallen asleep because you’re just so darn tired?
Hmmm… uh… at my keyboard.

9. What thoughts keep you awake at night?
Vampire bears

10. Did anyone accurately convey to you (before you were parents) just how much parenthood would REDACTED FOR VIOLENT PROFANITY with your ability to sleep, whenever, without interruption, for as long as you’d like? People tried to tell me, oh they tried, but I didn’t get it.
There are not words in the human experience that will prepare someone for that level of sleep debt.

11. Equally as frustrating as a baby who doesn’t sleep through the night is a preschooler who won’t stay in bed once I’ve put her to bed…agree/disagree? Discuss?
I disagree because the toddler eventually does embrace the sweet caress of Morpheus (at least ours did, not the Lawrence Fishborne Matrix Morpeus either)

12. Why can’t I sleep for a few nights then pass out for 15-20 hours, then rinse and repeat??? Can one actually “catch-up” on sleep???
One can “catch-up” on sleep, but to my knowledge one can not “store-up” sleep.

13. What time is bedtime at the SRH/Wifey homestead? Do you and Wifey have set sides of the bed or do you have a rotation?
Wifey is usually asleep by 10 pm and I nod off around 1:30 or 2 AM. At the moment we do have assigned places on the bed, but when there are not wee ones ion bed with us, that is not necessarily the case.

14. Which do you prefer- a long sleep at night, or shorter nighttime sleep and then a nap?
I prefer to combine the 2 giving me a long sleep at night (or early morning to late morning) and a nice nap.

15. What are your optimal sleep conditions?
Cool with thunderstorms in the background… a rare occurrence.

16. Of all the people you know, who likes sleeping the most? (I suspect I know the answer or at least someone near the top of your list).
Ksig… I have never met someone else who gets angry at the world for ending his sleep.

17. Do androids dream of electric sheep?
I tried to find a good Bladerunner quote about sleep but none really jumped out at me.

18. Seems like everybody has some sort of sleep disorder these days. What gives? Didn’t it used to just be called “snoring”?
Just because it was not diagnosed does not mean it was not a named condition. Remember people used to die mysteriously from some ailment that later was revealed to be a treatable disease to modern medicine.

19. Why do people say “sleep like a baby” when they mean having a restful full night’s sleep? Babies don’t actually sleep like that.
I have wondered that myself. A bunch as I have to rock my screaming baby to sleep.

20. When the kids sneak into bed, do they announce their arrival or do they sneak in like ninjas?
Little Man is a ninja

To recap:
It is late and I am tired
But I have work that I must get done
I am not sure why so many people that I didn’t really know in Alabama are “friending” in Facebook
Number 1: I don’t really know you
Number 2: I am not of a similar world view because I have moved beyond
Number 3: Yes, I just made a value judgement
Number 4: It was a pot shot at the conservative ethos in Alabama
‘Bout to have to “un-friend” some folk
Still jobless in Columbus
Perseid meteor shower tonight and tomorrow night
Listening to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes

20 Questions Tuesday: 142 - Geography

First off let me apologize about not posting yesterday. The 2 ½ of you who read my blog were probably wondering, “Hey, what up wit dat?” Okay I think you should stop speaking in slang in your head. No good can come of that. Anyway… we had a bad baby last night who did not want to go to sleep. Cut to SRH rocking a baby from 11 to 12:30 after Wifey gave it go earlier. Bad baby.

Secondly, let’s get the ball rolling for this week’s 20 Questions Tuesday topic, Geography. Thanks this week go to Popo, ACW, Belsum, John P, and Some Other Guy.

On to the Questions:
1. Why when I tell people that I graduated with degree in geography do they assume I will be the ultimate trivia team mate and think I know where EVERYTHING is? AND know all the countries/states/capitals/physical features/etc…? It is ANNOYING!
I think people don’t realize that there is more to the study of geography than the memorization of places, because that is what they studied in there intro geography classes. For those of you wondering geography is the study of how memorized places interact with each other.

2. Why do they always give me an almost disgusted face when I tell them that I don’t know any of that? It is kind of like twisting that knife in my back… just to make sure they make me feel even more stupid for getting the degree in it?
I think that face is because they know they wasted a trivia spot on you. Really, it is all because you are letting them down in a crucial moment... You disgust me

3. Should I have majored in business instead?
Probably

4. Why GEO-graphy and not TERRA-graphy?
Terra sounds too much like “terror” and no one wants to study Terrorgraphy… Honestly, I am not sure why geo got the nod over terra except (if I had to hazard a guess) “geo-“ means “earth” as in “landmass” and “terra-“ means “earth” as in “dirt.”

5. Early maps were all honked up – why didn’t they use LANDSAT to get them right?
Good use of the technical term “Honked.” The first of the LANDSAT series of satellites was not launched until 1972. If you know of an egregious map foul committed post 1972, you have a case.

6. Did you ever study the map Long John Silver’s had on their walls when waiting to order? Pretty cool maps BTW
You had to wait in line at Long John Silvers? I have never had to do that in my life.

7. What is your favorite region, one you would go back to first if you had the chance?
I love the Rocky Mountains. Any chance I get to go there is a good thing.

8. How did the conversation go when it was first theorized that Appalachia was the same mountain range as he Scottish Highlands?
Look there are Hill-jacks in West Virginia and in Scotland… I think they may be related. You can hear both the hill-jack twang and a Scottish burr saying, “Are you chewing on rocks or fighting with me. Either way you’re losing teeth.”

9. Who named Pangaea and what other names were in the running that didn’t make the cut?
One person did not come up with the term “Pangaea.” That is clearly the result of group think at its finest. Other names in the running were Omniterrus, Geouniversus, and Englebert Humperdink. Let's be clear though, this is more of a geology question than a geography question.

10. Why are “whiteys” called “Caucasians?” I’m not Asian or Russian
Because of the fairer skin of the barbarous tribes found north of the Mediterranean Sea and west of the Caucus Mountains. Personally I am found of Caucazoidal.

11. For that matter, why does Europe get to be a continent when clearly it is part of Asia?
Because Europeans first made the list of continents and if there is one thing the Euros can do it is be self-important. Let's be clear though, we do that better. If the US were around when continents were being named there wouldn't be any of this North America/South America crap, it would be America, and then numbers for the other continents.

12. The Vikings and the Chinese came to North America long before the Spanish and the Italians did. Why didn’t they stay?
The Vikings tried but those damn Screelings pushed them off of Newfoundland. I am not sure what was up with the Chinese. I guess at the time they were not feeling very expansionist.

13. What is the weirdest geographic name/location you have ever visited?
Shortest city name in the US: Op, Alabama.

14. What are your GPS Coordinates right now?
I am only giving details to the minute… I am afraid of missiles. 40° 01’ N, 83° 00’ W

15. What are my GPS Coorinates right now? If you answer correctly I am adding an extra layer of Reynold’s Wrap!!
I am guessing that you are at 45° 47’ N, 108° 30’ at the moment. I could dial it in a bit closer than that, but I am sure you are afraid of missiles as well.

16. Shouldn’t the government run a “cash for clunker” globe program? I have some seriously out-dated orbs collecting dust.
They would run out of money for that program too. And what would the government want to do with all those globes with Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Burma, and Zaire?

17. Can Little Man point out the great state of Ohio on a map? With parents like you, I would imagine he is quite the worldly fellow.
He can usually pick out Ohio.

18. What the hell is geo-caching?
Orienteering without the difficulty.

19. How many states have you been to?
33

20. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
I am going to need some clues, but my bet is Paris, France.


To Recap:
I have been using the word “carapace” a bunch lately
As in: What is that on Q’s chin?
It appears to be half a bug carapace.
Still no job prospects
I am hungry
Little Man named tonight’s dinner “I Like That”
Wifey thinks that name is quite appropriate
Listening to the dulcet tones of me typing on Wifey’s dying laptop while she is typing on her new MacBook and Q is lightly snoring
Ah Tuesday nights…

20 Questions Tuesday: 141 - Vacations

When someone goes on a vacation for more than 4 days it is difficult for that person to not make things about, compare things to, and generally focus on his vacation. Therefore, today’s 20 Questions Tuesday is about vacations.

Thanks this week go to: lsig, Dr Clean, Belsum, John P, Capt McArmypants, Nadolny, and Zinger Zapper. Onto the questions:

1. True or False: The Go-Go's "Vacation" is the best vacation song ever.
True

2. Why is it that work and home maintenance problems always seem to hit critical mass during vacation, so you have even worse problems to deal with when you get back?
It is the way that co-workers and neighbors get back at you for having “fun.” Those 2 groups are a petty lot.

3. Are vacations with young children really vacations? Which is preferable, vacation with kids or without?
Yes, they are really vacations, but they take more effort and planning. I think both vacations with kids and without kids are necessary, so at different times they are both preferable.

4. My husband likes to totally relax during vacations, whereas I see them as opportunities to see and do different things from what is normally available, as much as possible. Where do you fall on the activity/no activity spectrum of vacations?
I lean more towards the “do different things” on the spectrum, but I would say that I am pretty much in the middle of the road for those extremes

5. “Are we there yet?”
Not much further now…

6. What is your definition of a successful vacation?
If fun was had.

7. Should you come back from vacation tanned, rested and ready or worn out from your adventures?
Yes.

8. Where would you go in the world if you had $10k and two weeks?
Hmmm… 10K and 14 days? Can one travel for less than $725 a day?

9. Do you do laundry while you’re on vacation or pack enough to wear something clean each day you’re gone?
This time we planned to do some laundry. It was okay-ish-ly effective, since we were out of country for 8 days laundry seemed the best avenue.

10. Do you prefer to sight-see or try to live like a local?
Since we have recently been traveling with food allergic kids there is a certain amount of living locally that we are forced to do. But we also like to catch the attractions as well.

11. How many days does it take you to recover once you get home?
I will let you know when I have.

12. Staycation: obnoxious or good idea?
Staycations are a good idea if you can truly remove yourself from the typical. If you still answer emails and the like, are you really vacating your everyday life?

13. Are people that bring their pets with them nuts?
Certifiably.

14. Any preference of the Vacation movie series: Vacation, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, or Vegas Vacation?
I am partial to Christmas Vacation.

15. Why do we go on vacation and Europeans go on Holiday? Happy Hols!
I am not sure, but the Canadians still refer to the experience as Holiday as well.

16. Any memorable childhood vacations?
Only three that I can really think of. The first was when I was 10 we went to Colorado. The second was when I was 12 and my soccer team went to the Bobby Charlton School of Soccer Football. The third was when I was 13 and we went to Disney World.

17. What do you do or treat yourself to on vacation that you normally don't otherwise?
Hookers and blow.

18. What is the ideal amount of time for a vacation?
6 days

19. Do you dread going back to work the morning of work, the night before or last day of vacation while returning home?
I think you may have forgotten THAT I AM UNEMPLOYED, YOU INSENITIVE JERK!!!

20. What would be your ideal vacation family spot? What would be your ideal vacation spot when it is just you and Wifey? What would be your ideal get away for a weekend "bachelor" type vacation?
The mountains but within 30 minutes of some civilization for food allergy reasons. The mountains but within 30 minutes of some civilization for amenity reasons. The mountains but within 30 minutes of some civilization for convenience reasons.

+++++++++BONUS 2 QUESTIONS+++++++++

21. Have you ever had so much fun on vacation that you've had to destroy the photographic evidence so your children would never know (for both you and Wifey)?
Until we had a digital camera, we really did not take many pics on vacation… so no. What kind of vacations were you going on?

22. Are you a trip taker (itinerary planned) or vacationer (relaxing and fun by the seat of your pants)?
Wifey and I both tend to be very fluid with our vacations with only loose itineraries that we think about. We have a loose outline that is not binding in any way, shape, or form.

To Recap:
Okay, that is going to be it about the vacation
Here is Little Man on his 6th birthday

At Rissers Beach

Okay, THAT was the last thing about the vacation
Listening to Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners by the Foo Fighters

20 Questions Tuesday: 140 - Vacation 2009

Here it is Tuesday again, so I guess I should come up with some questions. It is an odd process to come up with 20 questions for myself around this vacation.

So, thanks this week to me. That’s right ME! On to the questions...

1. So, how is Canada treating you?
I think I am doing just fine with the hospitality of my international neighbor (or neighbour, as it were) to the North.

2. So what do you miss most about the US?
Ok, there are a few different things. The first is US channels. Not because of anything missing in Canadian TV as much as it is about the familiarity with US TV. The second is the food brands. Grocery shopping here has been a bit of an adventure because of the different brands and more importantly, the missing brands from the US. The third things is the portion size. No wonder Canadians are typically less obese than their American counterparts. he portions sizes here just leave me hungry.

3. What has been the most challenging this so far on this vacation?
So far, I would say it is getting Q alseep without a rocking chair. I will have abs of steel by the end of this trip.

4. Seen any bears?
Do you mean the “gay guy” kind of “bear” or the “I like salmon” kind of “bear?”

5. Hey, I am asking the questions here!
Well, then, you should be more specific.

6. Okay answer both, smart guy!
You aren’t the boss of me, but I will answer both anyway. “Maybe” and “no”

7. How about moose?
How about moose?

8. Yes, have you seen any moose?
Nope, nor any mounties. In fact, I have not seen any kind of law enforcement since I got out of the airport. If it were not for the excursion to Wal-Mart yesterday I would say this is a lawless frontier town populated by really polite people.

9. Even though it was established in 1754, you think of it as a frontier town?
Well, it is kind of a frontier of the East of North America...

10. So, how long have you been an idiot?
Was that even called for?

11. Was that even called for? Yes, it was called for, you dunderhead. Frontier of the East or North America? What kind of crap is that?
I was just trying to answer your insipid question. Couldn’t you have sent an email call for questions?

12. Seriously, who is asking the questions here?
I thought you were. Aren’t you?

13. I thought I was too, but you seem to be asking a bunch as well. So, why didn’t you send a “20 Questions Tuesday Round-Up?”
I was not sure what a good topic would be, or how long I would have to write articulate responses.

14. Why should you start worrying about articulate responses now?
Har dee har har, smart ass. I always try to bring the articulate.

15. So, how is the bed time routine working out?
Horribly. LIttle Man cannot sleep because Q is not ready to sleep just yet. It is a bad situation that seems to be deteriorating.

16. So what are you gonna do with the rest week when Wifey is done with her 3 days of work?
I think we will still stay around on the Southshore area and look for the Oak Island Treasure. Tha treasure, she will be mine.

17. So anything that still needs to be figured out for the fam on this trip?
We just need to figure out a ferry ride for Little Man now that we aren’t going to PEI.

18. How is Little Man’s ear doing, by the way?
It looks like it will be healing up nicely. There will be a bit of scarring, but I don’t think it will be bad at all.

19. Do you need some caffeine as bad as I do?
Do bears poop in the woods?

20. Do you mean the “gay guy” kind of “bear” or the “I like salmon” kind of “bear?”
touche


To recap:
We are trying to figure out some birthday extravagances for Little Man
He will turn 6 on Saturday
We are trying to figure out how to have Q’s 2nd birthday in Nova Scotia and Wifey’s next birthday here as well
It only seems fitting
Listening to the kids finally fall asleep
I get my partner in crime back tomorrow afternoon
I define “crime” as “parenting” in this case

20 Questions Tuesday: 139 - Canada

So, in less than a month I will have been in Canada twice. How is that for weird? Therefore the questions for this installment of the ever popular 20 Questions Tuesday shall center around… I don’t know, maybe… Oh, Canada.

Thanks this week go to Sparky, Capt. McArmypants, John P, Dr Clean, ACW, and AllRileyedUp.. On to the Questions!

1. Curling or ice hockey?
Ice Hockey. Easily Ice Hockey

2. Favorite Canadian musical act?
Hmmm... there are so many good ones. The one with the biggest following is probably Rush, then there is Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen for longevity Bare Naked Ladies for mirth, Arcade Fire for more avant guard… there are too many to decide. For pure WTF? Reasons I will say Nickelback, because they have somehow become popular with the most derivative drivel ever put on the airwaves. Creed has talent compared to those lyrical genii.

3. Molson’s or Moosehead?
Moosehead

4. Will you partake of any poutine?
I will not be up Quebec-way, so, No. I will be again traveling to Nova Scotia with a side trip to Prince Edward Island likely happening. Little Man is excited by the idea of a ferry ride.

5. So would Curling over take Hockey as the most popular sport in Canada if they just instituted full contact rules similar to those in "The Game" as played in the blockbuster hit "Blood of Heroes"? On a side note: When Dog-Boy says "NOO! No one carries Dog-Boy!" Don't you tear up just a little?
Umm… “no” and definitely “no.”

6. So how do those Tauro-tans as they are called keep Toronto so clean eh?
They all do what they can which collectively is a whole bunch. If they could use that power more for good than cleanliness imagine the outcome!

7. So will Canada and the US ever become one giant nation? I read an article in the 90's that stated 70 something percent of Canada assumed one day they would be American citizens. When are they just going to give up and become another one of our states?
After having been to Canada a few times and talking to many a Canuck, I have determined through my colloquial information gathering techniques that they do not, in fact, want to be Americans. They are quite proud of their Canadianness.

8. Do you think they would get more tourism dollars if they dropped O'Canada as the national anthem, changed the name of the country to Can-NAaaY-DEE-YAH and let Bryan Adams take a crack at writing a new one? .....THAT GUYS IS A WORDSMITH I TELLS YA!!! A WORDSMITH!!!!!!!!!!
I am not quite sure how to answer this. We all know that Bryan Adams is quite the wordsmith, but shouldn’t the Canadian National Anthem be penned by Corey Hart?

9. STOP SENDING US YOUR COMEDIANS DAMMIT!!!!......but somehow read that as a question........?
Some of them are funny though... Well, if you are into that kind of thing.

10. Canadian bacon, can it only come from Canadian pigs?
Sadly, yes. That is why it is so rare in the US. We have to live with crappy “ham” when we could be dining on the delectable deliciousness that is Canadian bacon.

11. What other Canadian delicacies do you know of (maple syrup doesn't count)?
The Cruller. Mmmmmm doughnuts….

12. Will it freak you out to see speeds listed in Km? I liked it not one bit the last time I was there!
Speed in Km is kind of fun. I feel all rebellious going at such a high numerical rate of speed in town.

13. Quebec keeps trying to become independent through referendums voted on by those who live in that providence. If Quebec really wanted to become independent wouldn’t it just be easier to have a referendum in the rest of Canada and ask them to vote them out?
I think you maybe onto something, but that would be a bad precedent to start because I could easily see the states latching onto the idea of “voting out” and forcefully succeeding Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

14. In Canada they have big signs warning that “Fatigue”, “Tailgating” and “Drunk Driving” all KILL! How does anyone have the courage to leave their damn house? Then again is it just me, or are the big signs along the 401 that say “Fatigue Kills!” just cooler in French,,, "La Fatigue Tue!”
“La Fatigue Tue” is oddly both cool and un-cool at the same time.

15. Why didn’t we stop Celine Dion before she crossed over? Can’t we deport her?
Sadly Celine Dion is at least 1% of the United States GDP at the moment with her Vegas show. It is hard economic times indeed.

16. Have you been to the Canadian area of Epcot Center?
I have indeed. I feel sorry for the guys dressed like Mounties in Orlando, Florida in August. Yikes.

17. Any chance of the MLS title going to a team from Canada?
Toronto is a real contender this year. With the addition of Gerba on their front line and the potential signing of Julian DeGuzman to upgrade a midfield that already has Guevara and DeRosario… They could be the real deal.

18. Best Canadian sports team?
The Canadian National Hockey Team

19. I keep spelling Canadian "Candian" -- what do you think Candian should mean?
I am not absolutely sure what Candian should be, but it should definitely have something to do with licorice.

20. Have you ever heard a Canadian myth about bears and if so, what was the name of the bear?
I have not and I am sure the name is not Shecky.


To Recap:
The weirdest thing about Canada is just how eerily similar it is
Little Man is supremely jazzed about the trip
He gets to ride on Air Canada and everything
I am not using my cordless keyboard at the moment because it needs new AAA batteries
Therefore it is not typing so well. I am not sure I like this other keyboard too much though
It is kind of “springy”
I have stuff I need to do, but I need to find my pencils to do them
They are somewhere in the house…
I can’t narrow it down more than that
Oddly, I am still un-employed
Listening to Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger

20 Questions Tuesday: 138 - Assumptions

Here we go with the 20 Questions Tuesday. The idea behind this day’s 20 Questions is all about assumptions. You all (the 3 of you who still read here) have assumptions of what I was doing whilst not posting. The questions today revolve around your assumptions.

Thanks this week go to All Rileyed Up, Wifey, and some other guy.

On to the questions:

1. How many diapers did you change?
I would say on average 2 or 3 diapers a day. So I was off for 28 days that means around
56 to 84 diapers. Some of which were poopy.

2. Were you busy commemorating the death of Michael Jackson? Or Farah Fawcett? Or Ed McMahon? Or had you still not gotten over David Carradine? How many people asked you a question about Michael Jackson?
Sadly, I was not commemorating any of the celeb deaths… I was in Halifax when MJ died so I got to hear the Canadian version of his retrospective. It ended in “eh.”

3. Read any good books?
Reading a good one right now. It is the first in a 3 book series by Brandon Sanderson called “Mistborn.” Some really good writing and character development.

4. Did you see Transformers 2, Up, or Ice Age 3 in 3-D? I'm considering all three and wouldn't mind an opinion from someone who has seen them. I feel T-2 might be worth seeing on the big screen for the FX, Up will be great since it's Pixar, and Ice Age would be enjoyed on the big screen because of the 3-D but all those movies and the cost of tickets these days and my lack of a job... it just doesn't add up for me. So, um, what was my question... oh yes: have you seen any of them?
I have not seen any of the 3 that you referenced, but I have heard many things about 2 of the 3. Transformers 2 is an art house movie of incongruity and the study of FX over story. The reviews I have read about it seem to indicate that if you like Megan Fox and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, there are about 50 seconds of film that will make you happy. Up has had better reviews, but the review from Wifey is that it is brilliant until the inclusion of the villain. Ice Age 3-D has not hit the SRH household’s collective consciousness.

5. Are you concerned about the number of celebrities who died while you were on blog hiatus? I suggest you not try this again.
Suggestion noted.

6. So when you meditated for 6 days straight with over 200 people what were you thinking?
Umm… oh, I mean “ohm.”

7. Why the obsession with breakfast meat?
I don’t quite understand the question. Breakfast meat is glorious.

8. So how many people realized it was your birthday on Sunday June 21st?
The Canadian Customs official noticed the similarity in the date on my customs page and wished me a happy birthday. Other than that I was surrounded by people who knew me, but didn’t really “know” me.

9. So have you noticed the correlation between turning 35 and your ankle dying?
It took 2 weeks for my body to realize that I was 35, but when it did… so I guess that means my reflexes are slowed as well. Great.

10. So why did you do it?
I didn’t do anything. You can’t prove anything. No one saw me… I have said too much…. Did you like what I did?

11. Really? 6 days with the ‘rents?
That is not really about the hiatus. It is still on-going… they leave tomorrow morning. At least I have been getting free meals from them. It is a horrid feeling having your parents buy groceries for you when you are 35, and if it is not a horrid thing, then you aren’t a good person and you are free loading off your parents, you make me sick.

12. After meditating with over 200 Buddhists, do you feel peaceful, happy, and free?
I more felt trapped, fraudulent, and self-conscious. Self-conscious could be considered more self-aware, yes?

13. So while you were internationally gallivanting around North America, who did you miss most, from the Internets?
Hmmm… I assume you understand that my Wife and I actually Skype with each other pretty regularly (and that is not a euphemism, we have 2 kids and 0 euphemisms). So my wife is the cyber prescience I missed the most.

14. How many jobs did you have to turn away?
What a nice and friendly assumption, but I am still jobless. I have broadened my search categories though. I am sure a job is just around the corner.

15. What did you miss most about the US while you were trapped in Canada?
My family... and breakfast meat.

16. What do you miss most of Canada now that you are back in the boring old US of A?
The foggy mists and cool weather.

17. Did you think I would not find out about what you said?
I had hoped.

18. So, why did you almost complete a sketch about a garbage can?
Well, it was the most prevalent thing in the view.


19. Gone for almost a month, I bet you don’t even have anything done for Digital Thursday.
That isn’t even a question. That is a comment. And it is an incorrect comment at that. Boo-YA! You are gonna have to wait ‘til Thursday to see it though.

20. You were gone for 28 days, right? So are you cleaner and soberer?
Quite the opposite. I drank more and bathed less.


To Recap:
I’m back
And I’m ringing the bell
Tomorrow will be something about renewing old themes
They need new blood
And new blood they shall have
It will be like a reunion of sorts
But in a good way
Listening to Veronica by Elvis Costello

20 Questions Tuesday: 137 - Q is Turning 1

Here it is. My second kid’s birthday week. Yikes. She is going to be 1 in 2 days. AAACK

Today’s 20 Questions is about this momentous occasion. Thanks this week go to ACW, Capt. McArmypants, Riley, Dr B-Dawg, and Some Other Guy. On to the questions!


1. The kid’s school year has passed by so quickly – much quicker than usual. Do you think it might have something to do with the other distractions we have in our lives (work, activities, news stories etc)?
I think it has to do with pure percentages. One year to me is only about 2.86% of my life where when I was 10 it was 10% or a whapping 20% when I was 5 or 100% when I was 1. As I get older, the perception of time speeds up.

2. It’s amazing how the kids can get older and you don’t – isn’t it?
It is a pretty interesting phenomenon at that.

3. “What a difference a day makes” – lame slogan or what?
I am intrigued… I will go with the "or what?"

4. NO STRAWBERRIES!!?
’Tis true, she is allergic to strawberries now.

5. What about blackberries?
Haven’t tried them yet. We are avoiding most multi-seeded fruits right now due to the strawberry thing.

6. Talkin yet? Any first words? Likely candidates for first words?
Tonight she said “mama” much to the delight of a certain mama.

7. What would she want as a birthday present if she could talk?
She is into taking things out of one container and putting them in another container. So two wide mouth jars and a collection of something she cannot choke on. But that is what i am getting her, so you are on your own.

8. What is the biggest personality difference between her and Little Man?
She is way more independent. Way. More.

9. Do you get annoyed at how often people say things like “Oh, wow, is she already hitting the big day??? Where does the time go?”
It is a bit annoying, just because it reminds me of the events that are never going to happen again.

10. Biggest difference between her first year and Little Man's first year?
We have another child to deal with as well. When you only have one, you can sleep when they do in the early days.

11. Any expectations of her second year?
I have decided to not expect anything, except to have a job. I will have a job, Damnit!

12. Do you plan on getting a present for Little Man on her birthday so he doesn't feel jealous/left out?
He is super excited for it to be HER birthday. I think he might get a bit flummoxed if we tried to give him anything significant. That being said, I think we are going to try and give him his favorite foods in celebration of her birthday.

13. Did you know June 4th is also Old Maid's Day? What do you make of that?
Well, Q can be pissed at the OB-GYN who scheduled her birth then.

14. How many different of sizes of clothes does a 0 to 1 year-old pass through?
Typical kids will go through 4 to 7 different sizes. Q went through premie, newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, and is in 9-12. Most kids are larger than Q and would also be in the 12-18’s but most likely skip the premie.

15. How disappointed is Q by the fact that she has not seen the advent of the flying car in her lifetime?
She has a lot of lifetime left and is not giving up hope. She is just sooo naive.

16. Are you surprised by Q's aforementioned high expectations of how fast technological innovations should be occurring, despite being only one year old? That is a lot pressure your daughter is putting on society already. I don't want to tell you how to raise your child, but you might want to work on that. Seriously.
If you don’t push society it will only stagnate. You should be happy that she is un-happy with the status quo. If we have taught her anything it is to keep the fork out of her eye, but if we teach her something else, it will be that the status should not be quo.

17. So, why didn't we let the car companies fail?
Because so many ancillary industries depended on their existence.

18. What do you see in the upcoming year for the family?
Lots and lots of poopy diapers.

19. Explain 1 in set theory.
This is from my faulty memory of a class I did not get a stellar grade in. Well, it all goes back to the null set. The set that has no members. 0 is described as the null set and 1 would be the power set of the null set which is the null set and a set containing the null set. Therefore a set that contains the null set and another member ergo 1. QED. It is a bit circular, but much of set theory is.

20. Sheesh! I was kidding. You are a freak. I weep for your children.
I weep for them when they have friends over. So will they...


To recap:
1 on Thursday
Wifey’s Mom gets some surgery tomorrow, so positive thoughts and prayers are appreciated
Nothing scary, but necessary
I have some work to get done before a meeting tomorrow
It might get me some contract work, so’s I got’s to get
Listening to The Beast and the Dragon, Adored by Spoon

20 Questions Tuesday: 136 - Conversation Killers

So, I was out of commission for a week and a half. Big deal. Truth be told I was waiting to get enough questions to glean 20 for today’s post.

Here is the premise… Every phone call with my parents inevitably ends with my dad and I discussing weather. We could be in the middle of a very interesting and engaging discussion about any number of family topics, but I know the conversation is soon to be over when my dad brings up the weather. When weather comes up I know that in 3 minutes I will be off the phone. I have timed it. When I need to get off the phone with him, I ask about the weather and then 3 minutes later, BAM! Conversation is over.

So my topic for this week is "conversation killers."

Thanks this week go to John P, Capt McArmypants, Wifey, and Some Other Guy. Onto the Questions:


1. What, besides the weather, is the best conversation killer in your repertoire?
Bad puns. Usually will end a conversation immediately with a groan.

2. What is the best conversation killer you have heard either directed at you or while involved indirectly?
This one was overheard, “Yeah, I sooo gave her that rash.” That one was said in one of those conversation lulls, it killed many a conversation. The guy went on to explain loudly that it was a "poison ivy rash." Whatever,dude.

3. Does a blank stare and no response for over 2 minutes still qualify as a conversation killer even though it is nonverbal? I haven't implemented yet but feel it may be useful especially at parties but only if you have a drink from which to sip for those 2 minutes!
I think it would be more effective if you did not have a drink and kept checking you wrist for a non-existent watch. Definitely conversation killer.

4. Is it appropriate to be direct and say "I really don't enjoy talking with you, good day!"
More than appropriate, it is now required, but I would add another, “I said, ‘Good day!!’”

5. Is it appropriate to stop a conversation by telling the other person, "I totally disagree with you and can't believe you are that stupid." This works best when someone is discussing the weather and comments on what a beautiful day it is or how they like baby polar bears.
Again, I think you my be a bit too caught up on appropriateness, but that’s a very clever way of stopping the elevator/Wal-Mart conversation.

6. My favorite conversation killer is TMI. Which form of TMI do you think is the biggest show stopper? Sex life? Mental Disorders? Sharing your personality quirks in a vain attempt to validate them? (I met a lady who within 10 minutes of meeting her for the first and last time told me that she thought dogs were so gross that though she had
one that she allegedly loved dearly that she could only touch it with her foot as opposed to petting it with her hand. How did I meet her you ask? She was a receptionist. so Good hire there guys!!!) Venereal Disease? Family issues?
Mental disorders for the win!

7. Which form of TMI SHOULD be the biggest show stopper?
Sex life, but some people are REALLY into hearing about that.

8. Have you ever intentionally pulled a conversation killer to stop a conversation?
Of course I have.

9. While far from the greatest offender, should quoting tv shows be a conversation killer? I am torn on this.
It depends on what TV show and where. The TV show would have to be easily recognizable and It would need to be woefully incongruous with the place where the conversation was taking place. Those two criteria are necessary to make sure that it s a true conversation killer and not just a complete non sequitor.

10. For a man with kids, you seldom pulled the “You don’t have kids, so you just would not understand”. Kudos to that. So many are quick to pull out the: you are not a woman, you are not a man, you are not a Catholic, you are not married, you are not old enough, you are too old….. so you can’t understand. I consider this a total conversation killer, because if person A can’t now or ever understand the complexities of the issue and person B will discount all clearly ludicrous non-experienced based comments from person A, why did person B bring it up? And yes person B always brings it up. Agree or
disagree? I should warn you that if your answer does not coincide with my own view of the issue I will of course attribute your inability to understand the question and the obvious answer to some identifier you are lacking.
You have never blogged, so you wouldn’t understand this answer.

11. To further hypocrisy, I just realized as I typed that last question that on occasion I discount the words of young people because they are just too young to understand. I will endeavor to stop telling them that I am discounting their words as naïve gibberish with no practical application, but I don’t think I can actually NOT discount their words. What do you think? Discount them or not?
Young people are morons meant for the discount racks.

12. Sooo… you gonna marry the black chick? Converstion starter or conversation killer, you decide…
Well… I would go with killer, since it effectively ended my relationship with my grandma.

13. Why is starting a question with the word “why” a conversation killer? Why?
It automatically sets people on the defensive. Try using the more bumpkin-ish phrase of “hows come.” Then people will be put at ease by your unassuming speech pattern.

14. Has your wife, mother, youth minister, or best-friend killed conversation with you?
Mom the day before my wedding: I am still the most important woman in your life, right?
Me: Noooo… you are the most important woman in this car right now though.
Conversation = over

15. Was it intentional to get out of talking with you?
Oh, I don’t think it was intentional. Effective but unintentional.

16. …. Ummm… what were we talking about again?
Conversation killers… oh, I get it. Not funny.

17. Huh? No speaka dee english. Effective or non-effective as a conversation killer?
Effective if and only if you hop from one foot to the other while saying it in a horribly non-locatable yet offensive accent.

18. Have you ever pushed through an obvious conversation kill-shot and had a good conversation?
If I recognize that a kill shot has been made, I will gladly end a conversation. I don’t like people enough to slog through an unwanted conversation.

19. Is there a more technical name for “conversation killer?” I mean, that is a bit blasé.
Dialogic Homicide.

20. Sooo… how’ the weather in your neck of the woods?
And this post will be over in less than 3 minutes.


To Recap:
It is difficult top post when I have no real schedule
My keyboard is acting really funny
I will leave the next line of the recap uncorrected
Tequickredfjumped over thelz brow dg
It is supposed to read:
The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dog
I am hitting the keyboard like I am typing on one of those VAX machine terminals from the early 90’s
I will not be surprised if I get a noise complaint from the neighbors
Allergies are better
Listening to the baby monitor

20 Questions Tuesday: 135 - Mother's Day

In honor of the impending Mother’s Day (even though the day started out as a protest by mothers concerning sending their sons to war) today’s 20 question topic is Mother’s Day.

Thanks this week go to Lsig, Nadolny, Capt McArmypants, ACW, The MikeStand, and Riley.

On to the Questions:
1. Do you believe in maternal instincts? Some women with children seem to lack them entirely.
I do believe in maternal instinct insofar as generally when one has a child one wants to keep the little one safe and nurture the little one as best they can. There are 2 caveats to that last statement the “generally” and the “as best as they can” pieces. That leaves a whole bunch of room for bad things to happen.

2. Do you think there is any advantage to overcoming a bad mother rather than having had a good one?
I think both scenarios prepare you for life differently. I cannot say which is better and which is worse. Plus, if a “bad mother” prepares you better doesn’t that indicate good parenting, and if a “good mother” doesn’t prepare you, doesn’t that mean they were ultimately bad at mothering?

3. Do you get Wifey Mother's Day gifts? Are they from you, or "from" the kids?
I get Wifey Mother’s Day gifts and they come from all of us. This is not/will not always be the case, but whilst I am not gainfully employed, group gifts it is.

4. I would argue that in our present culture, being a mother is far harder than being a father. Agree or disagree?
I think the onus is primarily on the mother because if she is a “stay-at-home” mom, the majority of the parenting is her job. This allows the father to not be as present (not saying that there aren’t very present fathers with stay-at-home moms, just that the opportunity presents itself). If she is working, there is the dichotomy of not feeling like she is giving either her family or her career the attention she feels they deserve. Whereas if a working father pays any attention to his kids, he is considered going above and beyond. So, in short, I agree.

5. Do we owe our mothers (and father for that matter) for bringing us into the world and raising us, or was it their decision to do so and thus they owe us?
I think each individual needs to determine how much they “owe” their parents.

6. When they get old and feeble, is it only proper that we take care of them like they did for us as babes, or should that depend on what kind of people they were raising us?
Again, I think each individual needs to determine how much they “owe” their parents.

7. Best mom memory.
My mom made cakes as a side business for all of my childhood. I used to love baking and decorating cakes with her. I also got to eat shit tons of frosting. It has kind of dulled my sweet receptors.

8. Why is the M-Fer (PG13 compliance noted) term offensive? From a literal standpint, it isn’t really an insult. How did this term come about?
I think the insult is to insinuate that one F’s one’s own M, and therefore has kind of a Freudian connotation to it as well as the stigma associated with incestuous relationships.

9. Don't you think that whole Wisdom of Solomon thing is totally over
played. I mean do you actually have to be the mother of a child not
to want it cut in half?
I guess back then, if it wasn’t yours biologically, half would do.

10. Which personality trait inherited from your mother annoys you the most?
Sometimes, I tap my steering wheel just like her…. //shudder.

11. Which personality trait inherited from your mother are you grateful for?
I think I am grateful that I have inherited her sense of righteous indignation even when I have no reason to be righteously indignant.

12. Do you use Mother’s for your car care products?
I use no car care products.

13. Do they ever get over the fact you’re not 6 years old anymore? Should they?
I have a hard time thinking of Little Man as being almost 6, I would imagine it will be difficult to think of our kids as anything but our babies.

14. Why do we always have a person we consider ‘our mom away from home’ even though she never gave birth to us?
Because good parents are good parents whether you are their kid or not.

15. Who's the best TV mother of all time and why? Any TV mom you wished was your mom when you were growing up?
Hmmm... I found/find most TV mothers annoying because most TV mothers only have to deal with contrived situations, so to not answer your question, no one particular TV Mom jumps out at me as the "best" or that I would rather have parented me.

16. Have you, now that your wife is a mom, tapered off in giving things to your OWN mother for Mothers Day?
My family has been notoriously cheap from the start, so Mother’s Day never really amounted to much loot for either of my parents on their respective holidays.

17. How come Mothers Day is all about sending Moms off to do things without their children around, and Fathers day is all about Dads spending time with their kids? Doesn't that result in mostly the same activities, only with more neckties in attendance?
See answer to question 4.

18. What is the best (or worst) mother's day gift you ever made when you were in grade school?
I would have to say they were all crap. Especially with the dearth of supplies available when I was in elementary school.

19. Best song that makes use of the word mother?
Mother, Mother by Tracy Bohnam.

20. Best halloween costume for a mother-to-be?
Kane from Alien


To recap:
This was one of those days where I had motivation yet nothing was accomplished
I HATE those days
They seem sooo wasteful
I never had any real bloc of time to be able to accomplish anything
C’est la vie
It is super late and I am hungry…. Again
Wifey says it is because I have grown accustomed to eating at this time
She’s prolly right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am hungry
Maybe some applesauce can do the trick
Listening to Super Rad by the Aquabats!
Beyond here there be dragons

20 Questions Tuesday: 134 - Scheduling Conflicts

As I said yesterday I am re-applying myself to more of a routine. In that regard I have decided that today’s topic would be “Schedule,” because I need to get one.

Thanks this week go to a whole bunch of folk who sent on questions. Lsig, The-Person-Formally-Known-As-Lord-Pithy, Sparky, Capt McArmypants, John P, Dr Clean, Nadolny, and Riley. There were so many questions that I glommed some together where I felt it appropriate. On to the questions:

1. Is it better to have a schedule and get hopelessly behind, or not to have a schedule at all and be utterly aimless?
I think it is better to have some kind of framework. It helps to focus energy at least in a general direction. When you become a slave top the schedule is when things go bad really quickly.

2. Are the kids on strict schedules for eating and/or sleeping? So what do you make of that whole Babywise scheduling thing?
The kids are on a pretty routine schedule, but I would not say that it is a strict schedule by any means. Little Man was on a pretty strict schedule for a bit, but that did not seem to work well with 2 working parents (I guess that is not an issue right now, but I digress). As far as the whole Babywise thing, I think it helps young kids to have some kind of routine, but feeding on demand is still a necessity to teach kids not to “clean their plates” at a scheduled meal-time, but to respond to their own internal mechanisms.

3. Scheduling classes was such a big deal in college. Any success or horror stories about your schedule? What was your preferred college class schedule – more classes on fewer days so you had bigger chunks of free time or sprinkle classes over all 5 days?
I never understood what the dogmatic adherence to early morning classes was about. Most profs did not like them, and few students really wanted to be doing upper level math at 7:45 am. I tended to try and load up on 2 or three days and give myself some free-time on the remaining days.

4. Do you schedule "dates" with the lovely Wifey? Do you schedule date nights with Wifey?
I told Wifey about this questions and she said you should answer “Fuck Off!” I will defer to her.

5. Allowing for at least 8 hours in the office, what would your ideal work schedule be? If it was yours to choose and you still had to work approximately 8 hours/day, what would be your dream work schedule start and end time? Most "schedules" run on an 8am-5pm basis for work things. What would your ideal schedule layout be?
Hours 1 through 4: aimlessly looking at webcomics, getting caught up on news sites and blogs
Hours 4 through 5: lunch meeting
Hours 5 though 7: Griping with co-workers about clients and tasks from the meeting
Hours 7 through 7.5: doing work
Hours 7.5 through 8: Griping with co-workers about amount of work that needs to get done tomorrow
Hmmm… maybe there is a reason I was let go?
Workwise I was very good at a 9 to 5 schedule, with my strongest productivity in the mid-afternoon, but my ideal would be from 11 am to 7 pm.

6. If you had a magic calendar that would bring true any appointment you wrote in, what would be your first appointment? What has been your favorite calendar you’ve ever owned?
Lottery commission. 1997 is my favorite, so far.

7. Do you write appointments in ink or pencil? Assuming your answer is pencil, what color “lead”?
At best it is in pencil, if in pencil it is a mechanical pencil with HB lead.

8. Now that you don’t have to show up at an office, are you staying up later, sleeping in? Are you now a morning, night or mid-afternoon person now?
I am staying up a little later than when I was working now, but I am typically still getting up when Little Man makes me (at latest 8 am). Again, my best productivity is mid-afternoon, but my most creative time is between 10 pm and 2 am.

9. What is currently on your required TV viewing schedule?
Life, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Secrets of the Dead, Monsterquest, and I will watch a TimeWarp or 2 when they are on.

10. When you plan appropriately, prepare in advance and try to keep to a schedule, you feel like you are betraying a younger, more carefree you, don't you? How do you measure time for your schedule…atomic clock, watch, sundial, height of the sun?
I am definitely betraying a younger carefree version of myself, but that self had less to accomplish in more time. I measure my time in an arbitrary time construct I call chronats.

11. What is your goal routine-wise? You want the wake up, proper breakfast, exercise, clean kitchen, take break, search internet for jobs or man bites dog articles, shower, shave, make list of chores for tomorrow..... or a must do this sometime tomorrow list?
More likely a must do this sometime before tomorrow list. See? I took what you gave me and twisted it slightly.

12. I find it easier to have a plan, than a schedule. Do you know what I mean?
I sure do.

13. Say you bought a Blackberry (mainly to check the train schedules and the interweb and the electronic mail) and then one day you actually did not have a pen and paper so you write yourself a reminder on the Blackberry calendar function and it works surprisingly well. It makes a beep and reminds you what you were supposed to do. So you file that away as "Well that worked well, but I am just not a Blackberry type of guy and then about 2 months later you realize you will be on vacation on a day when you have to give some one a call and you know you will forget because you know that you will be drunk/busy/asleep and that if you do not make this call you will forever have your name etched in the Big Eldritch Tome of the Terrible Persons, so you once again you use the calendar function. It goes off without a hitch, and you are like all man "that really is kinda handy!" So you use it more and more until it serves as about 30 % of your non-work related memory. In fact, if you include the fact that I don't know anyone's phone number anymore and I don't even know where the hell I live I …I mean…. you use the GPS function, it goes up to about 60% of once memorized personal use data. Anyway, would you be more concerned about the loss of your soul all cyber-hollow-man-esque
(see T.S. Elliot) or the loss of your functional memory? Also, how cool would it be if you could have one of these installed in your head with Tetris on it?
I would say the functional memory thing would be the thing I worry about most. Tetris would definitely be cool.

14. I have a schedule my office sets for me every day. Rarely does it work out as planned and these are professionals putting the thing together. My advice, just go with the flow my friend. Agree/disagree?
Agree.

15. What things will be included in you newly regimented regime? (art, gaming, The View)
Everyday I am devoting one hour to cleaning, one hour to sketching, one hour to computer art (so I can have something for Digital Thursday again), one hour to job searching, one hour to writing, and one hour to exercise of some kind. The rest of the day will be filled as the day occurs.

16. How long before you will begin to despise the new schedule? How long before you will abandon the new schedule?
Probably a week for both answers.

17. a)Does pronouncing it make the task seem more legitimate? b)How can Brits saying come out as pompous? c)You can say almost anything with a Brit aristocrat accent and sound pompous, why is that? d) I hate schedules. And even more the British pronunciation. Is this an indication of why I am not a success?
a) Yes
b) They are pompous, damnable empire
c) See above
d) Yes, yes it is.

18. You talked about needing a little more “discipline” in your life…what is the safety word? Why isn’t the safety word always “ouch”?
Not that kind of discipline. I haven’t been a bad boy, I do not need to be spanked. I always thought the safe word should be, “Stop, no seriously, Stop.”

19. Speaking of which, isn’t it horrible that people think the French surrender at the drop of a hat. It exasperates me. I can't stand it, I give up!
I know the French are from a proud nation, err, umm of France, that has a long and illustrious history of military might and conquest. Only the Germans skirting the Maginot Line by beating the ever living shit out of the Belgians created the climate where France had to surrender without much of a fight. Had Germany gone for a full frontal assault on France, WWII would have been a much different war. We should make fun of the French for being the unimaginative boobs that they are. A fence can't keep the neighbors dog out when it only protects the front yard.

20. Is Little Man doing any sports of post school activities yet? Those things seriously mess with the schedule
Not yet.

::FIVE BONUS QUESTIONS::
21. Do you prioritize the stuff you want to do, stuff you have to do, or do you reach a happy medium in your schedule?
I try for the happy medium… I try.

22. This is a boring topic, who thought it up?
I did, Jackass.

23. What is your favorite organizational tool?
The roulette wheel. If it lands on red nine I have to do a load of laundry. itis like a crappy drinking game, where instead of drinks I have to sort socks and stuff.

24. At what time in the morning will you wake up with your new schedule?
Same time Little Man gets me up every day. Most likely around 8 am (9 am on the weekends when I change his clock in the middle of the night).

25. Do you have any job interviews scheduled at this time?
Not a one, and I have applied at approximately 20 places.


To recap:
I still need to sketch tonight
I still need to do some digital work tonight
There is always laundry to do
Not enough time in the day
Ironic thing overheard recently: I had to fire my Zen Master
There are so many different levels of irony in that one
I count at least 6
Listening to Queens of the Stone Age doing No One Knows

20 Questions Tuesday: 133 - Riley Interviewing Me (the revenge)

Sure it has been a while since I posted, but this unemployment thing is really getting in the way of having a schedule. That is something I will be attempting to take care of when I get back home from Sunny San Jose, California. There needs to be a bit of the regimen to my life, if I am ever going to get anything done.

Anyhoo… This week’s installment of 20 Questions Tuesday is the second part in the home and away series of interviews with Riley from

All Rileyed Up

.

The first installment

saw me giving her the 3rd degree with my blistering questions concerning Highlnder: The Series.

This time around Riley has given me the “old what for,” and turned the tables. It seems the hunter has become the hunted.

On to the questions!

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started as a way to get back into something that took creativity. My job at the time had just beaten me down again for wanting to attempt something that was innovative. I needed to re-awaken the creative side of me and create an outlet for that creativity

2. Did it work?

I think that it did work pretty well. It was not the creative outlet that I think I was looking for, but it did springboard me into a few online communities that have allowed me to stretch and grow creatively. So blogging has been my gateway drug to creativity.

3. What kinds of online communities? Writing ones? Graphic art ones? Something else?

Primarily artistic communities. The main one was

"The Drawing Board"

which brought me into a move appropriate for me artistic community at

"Ten Ton Studios."

The issue with The Drawing Board was that it could not handle sarcasm terribly well and Ten Ton seems to be made from it.

4. Ah, sarcasm. Also known as the lowest form

of wit. Would you agree or disagree?

pfft! Sarcasm is one of the highest forms of wit, if done correctly. The problem is all the talentless hacks out there using sarcasm like a formulaic shotgun. I blame this on the whole "not" phenomenon.

5. Who do you think is to blame for starting the "not" phenomenon?

Wayne's World

?

More specifically Mike Meyers

6. So do you dislike Mike Myers in general or just hold the "not" thing against him?

I don't think I had anything specifically against Mike Meyers until he recently started making the same movie over and over and over and over and over... If he were able to create some new humor instead of dragging out the same set of jokes and pratfalls I think I would hold considerably less against him.

7. Did you see

Love Guru

?

I think I saw

"enough"

from the previews.

8. I imagine you made the right choice by avo

iding it. I watched about the first 20 minutes before throwing in the towel. My husband thought it was funny though. But enough about Mike Myers. Are there any other SNL cast members/alum who you harbor ill will towards for impacting American pop culture in a negative way? (Personally, I'm not fond of those MacGruber commercials. And though it's not a cool thing to say right now, I've had enough of Tina Fey too.)

I have never quite understood the mass appeal of Adam Sandler

9. Personally, I'm part of the mass appeal. Adam

Sandler is funny (or at any rate, used to be). He also appears to be a generally nice guy. I think if I was famous like him, I would totally put my circle of friends in all my movies. If you were going to make a movie, which of your friends and/or celebrities would be in it?

I do not want to suggest that Adam Sandler doesn't do some funny stuff, but the overwhelming adulation for him is a bit confusing. Hmmmm... If I were in a movie who would accompany me... it would have to be an epic movie with an ensemble cast of thousands

Friends: Wifey, Capt McArmypants, Dr B Dawg, Lord Pithy,

Celebs: Andy Richter, Most of the Muppets, Jack Black, Jim Gaffigan, Bruce Campbell, Nancy Travis, Lucy Liu

(Little Man has a cute l

ittle crush on her because she was Viper in

Kung Fu Panda

)

, and throw in a swimsuit model.

10. I'm going to overlook the fact that I have not been inlcuded (don't give me that "but I said cast of thousands" argument) in favor of this question: Um, why

Nancy Travis

?

ummm... ah... Next question please

11. Wow. Now I'm fully intrigued. You should have just lied and said something like "I really loved

Three Men and a Little Lady

.

" Speaking of which, what did you ever make of that rumor that there was a ghost in

Three Men and a Baby

?

Sadly, my crush on Ms Travis started with, oddly enough,

"So I married an Ax Murderer,"

which is the funniest Mike Meyers movie because it is all new material in that one. As for the ghost in Three Men and a Baby? I have seen the stills and the frame by frame stuff and honestly I find that it is inconclusive. I have not heard what anyone thinks of that since HD and digital came to the forefront. I would love to see what shows up with better scrutiny now.

12. Best line in

"So I Married an Axe Murderer?"

Now, that was offside now, wasnnit? He'll be cryin' himself to sleep tonight on his huge pilla.

13. Excellent choice. On to other questions, did you celebrate Easter?

We had a nice meal with family and the kids each got a basket, but that was about it.

14. What would you say is the best use for leftover hard-boiled eggs?

Cobb Salad?

15. I just finished my second egg salad sandwich of the day and may have filled my egg quota for the day. So perhaps cobb salad tomorrow. Do you know why they call it Cobb salad?

I am only guessing here, but I suppose the first person to create the salad had the last name of Cobb.

It seems that Wikipedia agrees with this guess.

16. What a boring origin. I was hoping for something wild and exciting, perhaps involving a train wreck or underground elves, dare I hope both? That sounds like the kind of question I would send you for your 20 questions. Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever asked you -- how did you come up with the idea of a 20 Questions Tuesday?

It started with not being able to come up with topics for posts, so I would scour the internets looking for questionnaires and such. Most of the early ones ended up being 20 questions long. Much like the game 20 Questions. I started doing it more often and then I started asking people I knew for 5 random questions a piece. Then I came up with topics for the questions because the people complained loudly about how hard it was to come up with 5 random questions. Then I made it a regular feature and thus 20 Questions Tuesday was born.

So it shall be written, so it shall be done.

17. Are there any particular 20 Question Tuesday posts you are especially fond/proud of?

Hmmm... I honestly do not have a great gauge on what works with the 20QTues and what doesn't. I have really been enjoying the interviews. Those are fun. Either me interviewing or being interviewed. The ones about the family are fine ones as well, but if I were pressed to think of a particular one of the 132 20QTues's that I have done, am not sure I could come up with anything concrete.

18. Wow, that was a very roundabout way of saying no. I guess that's how it feels when people ask me to pick a favorite something or other. Have you ever considered interviewing a yeti hunter, and if so, what would you ask such a person?

I

have tried to stay away from any actual cryptozoologists, mainly because I do not want to seem belittle the work that is being done by the actual scientist cryptozoologists and I do not want to interact with the crackpot bat-shit crazy cryptozoologists, what would I ask?

So have you bagged a yeti... you know what I mean, *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

19. Imho, I think that would be an excellent question to ask an actual scientist. Scientists have senses of humor too, you know

(not to mention an appreciation for Monty Python references)

. On to your other enemy, The Hippo -- I was at the library today and saw they had put out stacks of poem-in-your-pocket cards

(likely to celebrate National Poetry Month)

. One of the poems was "The Hippo," and went like this:

"A Head or Tail -- which does he lack?

I think his Forward's coming back!

He lives on Carrots, Leeks and Hay;

He starts to yawn -- it takes All Day --

Some time I think I'll live that way."

--Theodore Roethke, "I am! Said the Lamb"

Any thoughts on this?

It burns

20. We are at question 20. For all my interviews, the last question is the same: anything else you'd like to say?

(if you don't like that question, the alternate option is this: who is Wifey's Nancy Travis and how do you feel you measure in comparison?)

I think the burning fire of all consuming hate that I have towards the hippo is a good note to end on.

To recap:

Schedule will equal good

The 10 lbs I lost after losing my job have found their way back

And not in a good way

I am in San Jose until Friday

So if you are in San Jose, drop me a line via the email thingy

Maybe we could sit at a café or something and my un-employed self could watch you spend money on something as discretionary as a latte

Typing this while the kids are sleeping

Therefore I am not listening to anything

It may only be 11pm on Monday evening in San Jose, but it is Tuesday in Columbus!

20 Questions Tuesday: 132 - Interview with Riley (Interviews)

For this installment of 20 Questions Tuesday I am interviewing the much sought after Riley from

All Rileyed Up

. I started reading her blog about 3 years ago and have watched it transform a few times. Her irreverence knows few bounds, and her posts and comments smell distinctly of sarcasm. Riley is one of the few denizens of the net that I would really like to get to know more. She and I have never met, yet I think our paths have crossed rather closely a few times. I have always loved her questions that she has for me, and now I am looking forward to her answers. For the topic of this interview

(I decided to make it a recursive loop the kind of which only Star Trek excells)

I have chosen

"Interviews."

On to the questions:

1. How many interviews have you given since you started blo

gging?

In my incredibly busy 3-year blogging span, I've managed to get one other blogger interested in interviewing me. And now you. I'

m tak

ing the internet by storm, I tell you.

2. Two interviews in 3 years is not bad. So far, with 1 gigantic interview under your belt, what would you say is the best part about being interviewed?

Can I say that the comments to the interview were very exciting? I hate to sound like the kind of person who just REALLY wants other people to lik

e her, but I gotta be me.

3. Who would be your ultimate interviewee/interviewer?

Are we talking anyone anywhere, time period and lan

guage barriers notwithstanding? Genghis Kahn. Preferably over a meal of turkey legs, you know those big kinds that you can buy at carnivals and festivals that look like you can use them as a weapon once you're done eating them?

4. Is that choice because of Genghis or because of the turkey legs?

Genghis, of course. I just threw in the turkey legs for his benefit. I think if he visited the twenty-first century, he would really like this food option at fairs (a close second being the deep-fried Twinkie).

5. Why hasn't fried-food-on-a-stick become more of an American cul

tural mainstay beyond at fairs and carnivals?

Fairs and carnivals usually only come to an area once or twice a year, and that's really all a human body should sustain of fried food on a stick. Could yo

u imagine the obesity problem in this country if we had the fried food on a stick option ALL the time? I shudder to think. Or jiggle, as the case may be.

6. Speaking of the obesity problem in the US, what is your favorite decadent food? Mine is, as most faithful readers know (hello to the both

of you), Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.

I'm not much of a cheesecake person. That's the one decadent treat I could alway

s easily pass in. But pinpointing my favorite decadent food is really a difficult

thing to do. You may as well ask me what is the worst outift Tori Spelling ever wore in the entire span of 90210 -- TOO MANY CHOICES. Or, since you probably didn't watch 90210, asking me who was the best bad immortal to ever fight Duncan MacLeod. I just don't know if I could choose. I could definitely choose the most irritating immortal, though: Richie. I can't stand him! Although the episode with Joan Jett hitting on him was funny. Um, where we

r

e we? Decadent treats? Maybe Girl Scout Thin Mints.

7. and you are in the thick of the Girl Scout Season as well... Ac

kI hated the villain played by the lead singer from the

Fine Young Cannibals

. Anyhoo... what is your tv distraction du jour, since Highlander the series has been off the air for years now?

Thanks to the wonders of Netflix,

Highlander the Series

lives on. In fact, it is also through the wonders of Netflix that I can watch any TV

because I stopped getting TV service in 2005. I'm a season behind, but I currently wa

tch

Smallville,

Entourage

,

Lost

, and

Flight of the Conchords.

(editors note: You can Google these your damn selves)

8. What made you decide to stop "getting TV service in 2005?" Next to Mt Dew, TV is my opiate.

It seemed like a lot of extra money to watch things I can eventuall

y rent on DVD. The only thing I miss is the occasional football game, Saturday Night Live, and the Oscars, so I invite myself to other people's houses and watch

it on their TV.

9. Back to the subject matter. When giving interviews do you try to answer as truthfully as possible and damn the personal consequences or

do you hedge a bit to protect the feelings and thoughts of others?

I try to do a little of both, depending on the question, but really, how else am I to answer the question? "As truthfully as possible" is so subjective.

My feelings on truth could best be summed up by this excerpt from Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar:

Dimitri: So, Tasso, you seem to be one of those guys who thinks there is no absolute truth, that all truth is relative.

Tasso: Right.

Dimitri: Are you sure of that?

Tasso: Absolutely.

10. So do you think I am Hot? I am pretty sure I will have a better answer to the previous question by how you answer this one.

As I understand it, the temperature in Columbus is in th

e 40s today

(Friday the 20th -the editor)

, which is my idea of freezing, so I think you're cold.

Interesting answer. 11. So sometimes in an interview, you feel that obfuscation and avoidance are necessary?

I don't know what obfuscation means. Please use smaller words.

12. Well-played, Riley, well-played indeed.

Thank you.

13. I know from my experience that I get a great deal of satisfaction answering 20 Questions Tuesday questions in the most obtuse yet technically correct manner. What gives you the most satisfaction when answering a question?

I derive a lot of satisfaction from referencing movie quotes as part of my answer. I don't appear to have done that in this interview thus far, which leaves me no choice but to say I demand satisfaction! I love that lin

e. It's from Barry Lyndon.

14. In that case...

Do you feel lucky, punk? Do ya?

I was trying to think up some cheeky answer. but much like the villains being faced down by Clint Eastwood, my mind has gone blank.

15. I am sure you would have been super intimidated if you saw

my steely gaze as well. Favorite movie quote?

Didn't my answer to the favorite decadent food question make it obvious that I am incapable of pinpointing ultimate favorite things? I cannot choose. In a

ddition to every line in The Princess Bride, I'm rather fond of the way Mr. T growls out "Prediction? Pain." and I often say "I dig that about you!" a la Cuba Gooding Jr in Jerry Maguire and "It's a sweater!" from Three Amigos. I could go on (and on and on) but for the sake of post length and keeping things swear-free, I'll limit myself to these.

I was fairly sure that you would not be able to boil it down to one favorit

e quote, which leads me to... 16. Do you have a problem with decisiveness, such that you can not reduce a universe of options to one finite answer?

Um, I don't know... let me get back to you on that once I've had some time to think about it...

17. List 5 bloggers you would like to interview.

Again with the specifics!!!! Let's see, I just asked Edj at Planet Nomad if I could interview her, and I'm stoked she said yes. I think I could also have fun with Our Little Tonginnator, Steph at Red Clay Diaries, This Eclectic Life, and Whee! All the Way Home. I believe you can find them all on my sidebar.

(editors note: So visit her blog, already!)

18. What subjects (without going into the whys and hows and whos and such) are strictly off-limits in an interview... maybe this should have been my first question?

You could always lie and put this question first and pretend like you asked me that as question number one. I won't tell. As for the answer, n

o subject is always off limits (see my answer on absolutes), although I don't like having to defend my dislike of yogurt. Or Highlander.

19. Your love of Highlander, or dislike of Highlander? as a follow up: Duncan or Connor?

Sorry, I should have said "Or my love of Highlander." Duncan all the w

ay. Not to say that I don't like Connor, and was sad to see him die, but Duncan was by far more entertaining and ridiculous.

20. Will you be posting this on your blog as well and is there anything emblazoned in your memory from this interview?

I will be a posting a link to this on my blog so that people have to visit yours to read it, and hopefully enjoy other posts by you as well, such as your threats to the

yeti

and

hippo

. Emblazoned in my memory are the following things: 1) I like Highlander 2) Obfuscate and 3) I'm indecisive.

Thanks!

To Recap:

Thanks so much, Riley!

I have much to do tonight since I have been fighting off a nasty headache all day

Hello, Fluffy. Been a while, hasn’t it?

Listening to Joss Stone sing

Some Kind of Wonderful

Reading the

The Shepard Kings

by Judith Tarr

20 Questions Tuesday: 131 - Food (Irish Food)

Eventhough today is St Patrick’s Day and should be revered above most other holidays, I decided to eschew tradition concerning the theme of my 20 Questions Tuesday and have the questions not be about the holiday at hand. Yet, in the spirit of the holiday I shall answer the questions as they pertain to the holiday (as best as possible).

Thanks this week go to IC Yellow, Sparky, Capt McArmypants, John P, All Rileyed Up, and Nadolny. On to the questions:


1. Most interesting food you've ever eaten, where you've eaten it, and what they hell were you thinking at the time?
Most Irish food that I know of is not so much “interesting” as it is hearty. “Meat and root vegetables” pretty much sums up the basic fare of Irish foods. Not terribly “interesting.” The most “interesting” Irish food I have ever had is boxty, but that is just a potato pancake, so “interesting” is all relative.

2. What's the most disgusting food on the face of the planet?
I am not sure what the most “disgusting IRISH food” is, but I bet it has something to do with mutton and root vegetables.

3. What would be the point of beets?
The very bottom of them.

4. Why on earth would anyone ever want to actually eat liver?!?!?
I have no idea... maybe that is where the power is stored

5. What famous female celeb chef could eat crackers in your bed? (wink, wink) What crackers would you like her to eat?
I have had some trouble finding and Irish female chef that is also a celebrity to have an answer this question. As to the eating crackers in my bed, I think if that is your fantasy, you might just be “doing it wrong.” Celeb chef, hot or not, has to work in the kitchen. Period.

As to what crackers an Irish celeb chef would eat in bed? They would be:

IRISH CRACKERS
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c. whole milk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Flour and salt, sift together. Heat butter and milk together until butter is melted. Pour this mixture into the flour and salt and mix quickly to make a smooth dough.
While dough is still warm from hot milk and butter, roll it out on a floured board to no more than 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares. Put on greased baking sheets. Prick with a fork so that you have 2 rows of little holes. Bake for 10 minutes. Makes about 1 dozen.

6. Do you watch Top Chef on Bravo?
Nope

7. Is there a Food Network show that you and Wifey enjoy?
Since Wifey is staying away from Dairy, Egg and Soy because of Q’s emergent allergies, it is best not to have food programs on TV, at the moment.

8. What is your favorite insta-snack and why? Follow-up: As a result of this being your favorite, do you make sure it is always in stock at Casa-SRH or do you make sure you do not keep it in the house?
I like baked goods, specifically butter crumb topped coffee cakes. Zap that in the microwave and off to blissful food heaven for a few seconds. I do not keep that in the house or I would be big as a house.

9. How has your life-meal-plan changed with the addition of two food allergy cursed chillins and do you hope to go back to eating certain things when they get older or are you satisfied with sticking with what is available to all for convenience?
Well, we have found a petty good amount of recipes of food that we like that are non-allergic for our kids. Little Man has grown out of all his allergies except tree nuts and peanuts, so that has opened a bunch of food avenues for us. Q is showing some reaction to dairy, egg, and soy. That being said, her reactions have tended to be less virulent than Little Man’s, so we hope that soy and dairy will disappear relatively quickly.

10. What makes the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake soooo magical? Is it the density or that goes with everything or the raw nigh obscene flood of sugar and fat combined?
I can only think that Vanilla Bean Cheesecake is so good because of some kind of culinary magic.

11. Were you forced to eat food that you did not like as a kid? and Why? Personally, I never quite understood that "hazing" ritual. I mean sure "waste not want not" and all that, but if I don't like brussel sprouts and you have been informed that I don't like brussel sprouts from past dining experience: 1. Why did you go and make brussel sprouts for me again? 2. How you going to act like this is my fault!? Personally, I never really experienced this as a kid, but this always seemed so absurd. Don't get me wrong kids got to eat, but isn't this is pretty much the same thing as when some big bully makes a little kid eat a bug?
Oftentimes the foods that kids don’t want to eat are the foods that are nutritive in their make-up. As a parent, one should strive to find nutritive foods that the kids enjoy. However, this is not always possible and sometimes it is necessary to make kids eat foods they do not want to in order to get them to vary their palette as well as get a well-rounded nutritive diet. Sometimes it is necessary for the kid to “suck it up, buttercup.”

12. Why aren't we all just eating in pill form as was so popular in late 50's sci-fi predictions?
You can’t put Shepard’s pie in a pill.

13. Agree or disagree: If you are eating nutritionally poor food you had better eat alot of it to get the nutrients you need. Calories be damned.
Agree.

14. Beer is a very good source of B complex vitamins does this make it an appropriate substitute for my enriched bread and grains?
Now this is an Irish question. I think if you head to the stout beers, you get more of a meal.

15. If you were starving, and had to choose between eating dog food or cat food, which would you go with (choose any brand if you care to be specific)?
I would go with Dog food, because some of the canned stuff has pieces parts that almost seem identifiable… then again, I could just treat cat food as pâté… Nope dog food, at least when you add water you get gravy.

16. Do you splurge for the hormone free/cage free/grass fed chicken and meat options, or buy whatever's cheapest?
If the free range/organic/grass fed/spa raised meats are not SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than the hormonized/caged/corn-bloated meats, then yes, we prefer the “more healthy” varieties.

17. What's with the green eggs and ham story? Why with a fox or in a box? What kinds of options are those? Ever heard of Tabasco?
Green eggs and ham was a challenge thrown down to Ted Geisel concerning a certain number of words and a certain number of pages. Other than “try new foods,” I am not sure if it has any other higher meaning. His choices of withs and wheres were more about community building instead of flavoring…

18. So on Survivor, there is this one part where they send some people who are indigenous to wherever the folks are from who show them a dozen things to eat right where they are camped and have been starving for 3 weeks. Why in the world would you go on survivor and not practice fire-making beforehand and food gathering skills?
It has got to chap those poor natives hides that these foreign bastards are coming to their village to win more money than they would earn collectively in their lifetime. It is an amazing primitive wasteland for “Survivor” and Americans, but it is their home. That shit galls me.

19. In an apocalyptic Columbus 100 years from now, what landmarks will still exist that the food gatherers will use to guide them about on the hunt.
There would be the Mighty Olentangy River to deal with as well as the Scioto River. Those would be present for a while longer, especially as the small dams and other impoundment areas deteriorated. I think the remnants of the Shoe will still be there, as well as some pieces parts of the downtown area. They will all be in a terrific state of ruin, and not fit for human habitation, but they will be there. Most of the road beds and railroad lines will still be on embankment and serviceable as hiking trails, but the housing and retail araes will be “back to nature,” so to speak.

20. Same apocalyptic scene, what can the gatherers forage and hunt?
Well, the Dublin area would easily revert to corn… al those dormant seeds. And C-bus has always been a cow town, maybe they could hunt the feral cow.


To recap:
Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone
Job hunt is still hunty
One of the issues I am having with this job hunt is that I know the job I can most likely get is not necessarily what I want to do
Hard to get enthused about that
The idea of a job that I want is formulating
It is a swirling miasma of thought that is orbiting a singularity of doubt
I have to either coalesce the idea into something substantive before it gets to the doubt filled event horizon
Or ride the idea through the doubt to the other side of the black hole of doubt and fear
Not sure which it is going to be just yet
Listening to Cannonball by the Breeders