Wonder Bouncer

Happy New Year

We've had a great time off. Check out what's new in my photo gallery. I'll also have a fun video soon.

Vacation!

As the whistle blows tonight, I'm on vacation until the new year. I have a few projects to get done in that time, but hopefully I'll have a chance to get some rest as well. The shingles are pretty much gone, but I still have the nerve pain. Not sure when that will go away, but it's not as bad as it was.

For all you hardcore gamers, check out Warlord's latest production. I remember playing Duke 3D on my "fast" 486 back in the day. That game was so much deeper than Doom. he he

Duke had funny lines and quoted Evil Dead 2 and They Live. Two very campy movie morsels covered in corn syrup in a bowl of awesome. If you haven't seen them, you should.

Don't make me bust out my bubble gum.

A moment in traffic

This morning on our way to day care, I looked over at another car stopped with me at a red light. The passenger of this nice grey Jaguar was a dog. It looked a lot like Sophi. I wanted to reach out and pet its jowl.

I know this is odd, but I miss petting Sophi's jowl. She only had one that drooped under her chin. It wasn't slobbery or nasty. It was soft and fuzzy. She loved it when you tugged on it and gave it a good scrub.

Then, the light turned green.

Feeding time at the corral

Recovery II and random thoughts

This illness is mostly over, I hope. The skin is healed up, but the nerves inside are still sore. So, the knot in my back remains. Sometimes, I don't feel it. Other times, I have to lay down due to pain. I'm still on some meds to fight the virus, but not much else for the pain. I'm going to switch doctors in January, so we'll see.

Also, I'm trying to keep off the 10 pounds I lost since this all began. But, a hefty bowl of queso last night didn't help.

We just started season four of "The Wire". It's a whole new direction, but so far I like it. Hey, it's "The Wire" so of course I'll like it. :)

I have most of my Christmas shopping done and my vacation officially begins a week from today. I'm ready for some time off to catch up on other projects. Freelance, etc.

I delivered the first batch of Neighborhood Watch fliers. I had 33 houses and Walker enjoyed the walk. When I was a kid, I used to deliver fliers for my mom's business. Instead of 33, the number was closer to 1,000. So, this little task was easy. The only issue was my back.

It's cold in Dallas and my work office has no heat. They should be fixing it today. So, I might go back there tomorrow. The office experience has been pretty lame, between absent coworkers (I see them once a week at best), power outages, broken A/C, noise level and other issues it's just not a good work environment. Word on the street is I'll be going back to working from home in March.

Recovery

Well, friends, it turns out it wasn't a rib issue at all, but shingles. Basically, anyone who had the Chicken Pox as a kid has this virus in their spine. And under the right conditions, it sparks. The doctor said last Thursday I'm about half way. And the flu-like symptoms seems to be mostly over. The shoulder pain continues, but I'm on new meds. So things are OK. Stress seems to be the main cause, and guess what? Having a youngun' and getting things done is stressful (holidays stress me out, too). Fortunately, while I was down, Yvonne helped a bunch.

We decorated the house for Christmas today. Zoe seemed to enjoy it. She's in a grabbing stage, which is pretty funny. And she's eating more solid foods, like cereal and peas. Now we're thinking about presents and who should get what.

And finally, I officially joined the neighborhood watch group. New signs were posted all around the area. I'm just waiting for the first tag to hit one of those. But, I'm optimistic. The area is organizing. We have an email list. We have a person in charge. And we have a set of goals (starting with the signs). Maybe 2008 will bring security. I know I'm going to try to make that happen. But, I'll try not to stress about it.

Happy holidays

I've taken the entire week off to get a few things done. I also went to the doctor yesterday (first time in 2.5 years) because of a back pain I've had since last Wednesday. I kept telling myself it would go away like normal back pain, but it didn't. And, it started waking me up at night. Yvonne convinced me to go to a doctor yesterday. Turns out it's costochondritis. Joy. Unfortunately, it's like a sprained ankle and just needs time. That means I probably won't be playing Wii with the family this holiday.

In the meantime, I discovered making dog noises makes Zoe giggle. Enjoy!

Neighbor's new window

It's been pretty busy around here as usual. Clark Kent work is heavy and freelance is steady. I did go to a neighborhood crime watch meeting last week. I'm going to join and try to become a block captain.

In the meantime, last night we noticed about 6 cop cars right out front. Apparently, someone drove a truck into a house. crazy.

Here's the full scoop.

We also had our first sick baby and I caught the bug. it's mostly gone now. mostly.

Sick?

You wouldn't know she was sick until the diaper change ... then you really know. Shortly after this video, her nose got really runny. I think that drainage is making her throat soar so she coughs.

One for the team

After commenting to my mom on Sunday that Zoe hasn't been sick yet (5.5 months old), Zoe promptly became sick that night.

Warning: Subject matter is about poops and puke. Reader discretion is advised.

It started with a fussiness and soon her diaper was making noises. It was her first real series of diarrhea and it was about 2:30am. We were caught off guard. But Yvonne worked with her for a while and changed a couple diapers. Then I took over and changed one myself until about 4:30am, when Zoe was calm enough to sleep. That was Sunday night.

We all woke up sick Monday morning. We knew we couldn't take a sick baby to day care--diarrhea is like the No. 1 thing they want to avoid because other kids could get it. So we all stayed home. I started feeling better by the afternoon and would say I was 100% by around 3pm. I think Yvonne started feeling better around that time as well. For us, the sickness was mainly an intense headache behind the eyes and in the forehead.

Poor little Zoe though. Her diet went to "Pedialyte" (a mix of Gatorade and sugar water from what I can tell) for the day and she added a runny nose to her symptoms. We talked to our doctor and did what we were told. Things seemed to be moving along and not getting worse. That was all we were focused on.

Last night, things got worse. After taking the Pedialyte all day, we moved on to a mix of formula and non flavored Pedialyte. She kept down the formula mix and things were good. She crashed after a long effort by Yvonne to get her to fall asleep.

The whole time, I'm in the kitchen making the baked good for a Halloween Festival at the day care today. Parents in our room all need to bring a baked good because they are doing the cake walk. Sounds easy. I made a lemon delight thing that we left in the fridge all night and this morning, the damn thing was still too gooey to slice into pieces. Like I say, I'm the chef, Yvonne is the baker. She can bake some good things and probably could even do a lemon delight, although she admitted she's never done one. I'm all about making sauces and stuff.

So last night around 1:30am, Zoe wakes up hungry. Yvonne feeds her in bed and she starts this scary choking noise. So Yvonne quickly sits Zoe up and the baby pukes all over the bed. We clean her up, change the sheets and Yvonne takes Zoe into the other room to calm her down. They come back to bed and we all slept until this morning.

Then, Yvonne took one for the team. We fed Zoe again in bed and she made the scary choke noise again. Yvonne sat her up and I said,"She's going to puke again." So, Yvonne picked her up--it was like a scene in a movie where the hero dives for the bullet screaming, "Nooooooooo!"-- and the baby proceeded to vomit all over Yvonne. We didn't have to change that damn sheet again, but poor Yvonne had a second pair of PJs puked on.

So, Yvonne got ready for work at that point and I'm on Daddy Day Care mode with a sick daughter. Runny nose, coughing and sneezing, and of course the diapers. I'm just trying to keep her hydrated and happy--feeding her sitting up. I'm taking a second day off from work and we're pretty sure poor Zoe is going to miss her first Halloween Festival. Yvonne is seeing if we still need to volunteer. And Yvonne's probably going to end up buying a baked good to drop off.

Side by Cycle

Sunday, I visited a friend and he showed me his new two-person bike. He ordered it online and it arrived a few days ago. It was pretty cool (see photo). His was the same colors as this one. They come in all yellow, white and red or blue and white.

We rode it around for a while and it was pretty fun. If your facing the front of the bike, the rider on the right has control of the brakes, gears (six of them) and steering. The rider on the left basically just has handle bars to hold on to. The pedals can be adjusted however you want, but he had them set to sync up. So our left legs would go up and the same time, etc.

It costs less than a normal tandem bike, and it's more social. You can hold a conversation while you're riding. We talked about his neighborhood and features on the bike. He said he's going to add a few items, like lights, horns and possible wind chimes.

Some new videos

Baby and Cat Duet


Talkin'


Bouncy Chair

Full steam ahead

Inspired by Yvonne's post, I thought I'd share my average day as well.

It usually starts around 6am. Zoe's in bed at this time and she starts moving in her sleep. So if the alarm doesn't wake me, a tap tap tap on the shoulder does. I get ready for the day, then go to the kitchen, get Zoe's bottles ready for the day, feed the dog and make some coffee. Sometimes I empty the dishwasher or take out the garbage. Then, Walker and I go for a walk around the block and get back to the house by 6:50am-7am. The sun is not up yet.

Yvonne is up by this point and has Zoe dressed if the baby wakes up at 6:30am. If she doesn't wake up, we let her sleep in until 7:30am. I take over baby detail while Yvonne gets ready for the day. We watch the traffic and weather reports, while Zoe eats more formula and juice. I usually feed the fish at this point if I remember to. Around 7:45am, Zoe and I head to day care. I drop her off and get to work around 8:45am.

I head back to day care around 5:15pm--getting home around 5:45pm. One of us feeds the dog again--whoever gets to it first. We play with Zoe until about 6:30pm, then give her a bath. Yvonne starts to put her to sleep, while I start on dinner. I might empty the dishwasher or take out the garbage at this point as well.

We hang out for a couple hours, watch TV, read or bowl. Sometimes I do freelance work. Then, off to bed. Zoe starts off in the crib, but when she wakes up in the night for food she moves into the bed with us.

Like Yvonne, I'm struggling to find time to do some things like bike riding, yard work and regular freelance work. Usually, freelance is done on the weekend mornings while the girls sleep in. I can also fit a mowing in the weekend, but not much more. Weekends are also when I water the house plants, clean the bathrooms and vacuum where Zoe isn't (she doesn't like the noise). I'm glad it's been rainy because I've had no time to water the yard. We've lost a few potted outdoor plants as a result.

So there you have it.

Haloed

My friend Old Skool came up from Austin over the weekend. We played the Hell out of Halo 3 and I've concluded, it's awesome. What caught me off guard was a play back feature. So after a particularly messy round, we sat back and watched it. We were geeked out if true fashion with two TVs in the living room. After he left, I started over again and still like it a lot. Easily, it's up there with Bioshock, but will surpass it only because you can play it over and over and against other peeps.

Moving right along

A quick note to update things. We've been dealing with a sleep regression that's zonked out most of our extra energy. XBox playing is down very low, as well as Wii. I'm pretty caught up on freelance work, so I have that going for me. Clark Kent work is going fine.

Speaking of, the new "Smallville" season began and so far I'm saying it's good. Not great, but pretty good. The Supergirl actor needs lessons, but so did Tom Welling in the beginning. I hear a spin off revolving around her might happen. They obviously have a lot of money this season, so the special effects look great.

Yesterday, I had the heater reconnected to the gas line. For those who forgot, it was disconnected while Yvonne was in labor. An electrical cord had worn out and started sparking on the gas line whenever the AC kicked on. I killed the AC and mom had it fixed the next day while we were at the hospital. Fast forward 4.5 months and I finally had it fixed. The need for a heater in Dallas during the summer is not a high priority.

I also bought a vacuum cleaner. Next on the list is getting the trees trimmed. then a chimney cap. Then, we might readdress some doors.

The Cowboy game last night was insane. We stayed up too late and watched it.

Thirty four

We just got back from a lovely trip to Midland. We went to a fair where Yvonne went to school (above), ate some really good food and played with the family. It was the first five-hour (one way) drive with Zoe D and she handled it pretty well. Yesterday in Fort Worth (hour 4.5), she began to grow tired of the car, but Yvonne kept her in good spirits so it wasn't too bad.

Four months and more cat attacks

Yesterday, Zoe had her four month check up. Everything checked out. She's:

13 lbs, 15.5 oz. (about double the birth weight)

25 inches long (She was 17 inches when born)

Around the 40 percentile for weight

Around the 80 percentile for length

About to start rolling over

Looks like she'll end up with brown eyes

We think she just had a growth spurt, which is why she's tall and skinny. She also got four shots, which made her tired and a little cranky. I left some baby pain medication at the day care because her legs were sore.

Meanwhile, the cat hunting continues. I cleaned up another rodent body on the back porch this morning. It was pretty light, so I whether wonder it's a new one, or just an old one that began to dry out and bore him.

Cat and Mouse

Yesterday while I was watching the Cowboy game and Yvonne was putting the baby down for a nap, Walker began to freak out at the back door. Below is what I found.

Then, after I uploaded the above gem, I look outside to find he's back at it. I was hoping I spooked him off, so he could do these activities somewhere else. No such luck.

I recently took down some vertical blinds and yes I'm lazy. I just dumped them on the back porch. I'm waiting for bulky trash pickup time.

Feline pros and cons

Lately, I've been struggling with my relationship with our cat, Roscoe.

He's been a tremendous pain lately. Well, he's been a pain since we got him. I've always been a dog person, but Yvonne convinced me a cat would be easier in the city (we got him in Chicago). She was right about that. But right away, he would sneak outside when he was only a few weeks old. All the vets would scold us for it, but we really didn't have a choice. He screamed at the top of his lungs at 4am pretty much on a regular basis, whether he's indoors or outside. He still does that. He doesn't have a soft meow, it's always ear piercing. Like a true Chicagoan, he has no self volume control. And man, that cat sheds.

All these things I've mentioned before. But, now with Zoe around, it's become worse. I wonder if he's protesting the competition. Or, maybe it's his way of mourning for Sophi. She did raise him after all. But, he is constantly chewing up pacifiers and bottle nipples and meowing loudly when the baby is asleep.

This morning, we let him inside around 6:30am (our latest feeling is if he's going to scream at 4am, it's easier on us if he does it outside). After he ate a little, he instantly began parading the house and loudly announcing he wanted back out. He was inside not even five minutes. His parade began in the bedroom where Zoe was sleeping. I heard it on the baby monitor clear as day. I tsk tsked loudly for him (that's the only noise he responds to now because it's the only one that indicates he's not about to get squirt by water). His parade paced down the hall and hesitantly scanned the living room (he assumes he's in trouble, but he doesn't understand it's because he's loud as sh*t). After a bounce over the couch, his fanfare came to a loud climax and ended as soon as I opened the back door.

So those are the negatives.

On the positive side of things, he's affectionate when he wants to be. He's a great mouser. The photo above is the remains of a black bird he caught a few weeks back. All I found was a pile of feathers and what appeared to be a wing (above). I found a mouse on Monday. I found a rat a few weeks ago. Roscoe has an unlimited resource for rodents--the alley. And he's always been a great hunter. The dude caught a rabbit in Chicago. Crazy.

And, he's also a pretty cat. He has that going for him.

Day care

Today we started day care with Zoe. We both dropped her off this morning along with a blanket, used shirt (for scent), about 7 bottles of milk and formula, pacifier, 3 changes of clothing and diapers. We also dropped off paperwork. There were a lot of details, and in the end I feel like we were too distracted to be sad. Although, there was a lingering moment of not wanting to leave right before we did.

About 2 hours later, we were thinking maybe we should call. Not because we were worried, but I think more because we missed her. Then, my cell phone rings and it's the day care. She called to say all is good. I guess she knows new parents are like that.

I took Walker to the dog park yesterday for the first time since ... in a while. We had a good time and he got to swim a little. There were some beautiful dogs and a couple trouble makers. But, no out and out mean dogs. It was my first time with only one dog. Some out-of-the-blue hidden lingering feelings erupted last night while I was cooking dinner. But, we move on.

Octopus song

This is Zoe's current favorite toy. I even suspect she has a favorite song that it plays too.

Hi aliens

I haven't had time to post much recently. Things are good.

Check out this new trailer for the next Aliens Vs. Predator movie. It looks like a huge improvement.

Day Three

The last few days have been much easier than I expected. The two major concerns were sleep and food. Zoe ate from the bottle just fine and a funny result of her eating so quickly from a bottle (2 ounces in 10-20 minutes vs. 20-40 minutes) is she gets sleepy. I'm able to put her on the bed with a towel under her head and feed her 1-2 ounces as she rolls her eyes and falls asleep.

She's also started using her hands more to reach, tap and grab things. This is a new development.

P.S. Yvonne wrote a very touching entry about my dog Sophie. One day, I'll hope to be able to myself.

Day one

Time of change

I'll be staying home the next few days watching Zoe as Yvonne returns to work. Right now as I type, Zoe is balling her eyes out in the crib. She has 15 more minutes to cry before the hour trial is over this round. We're trying to transition her into the crib from the bed with the heavy effort planned for Friday night (we'll have the weekend to sleep).

Oh, and we're also transitioning her more to the bottle (since mom will be at work all day). She resists the bottle, but eventually accepts it. She even ate some formula the other day. But the bottle doesn't help her fall asleep like mom does, adding to the above transition's weight.

So, I'm a little nervous about the combo change up on her as I take the daily parent reigns. She's not going to be happy with Papa Nate. But, I'll do the best I can. She'll be three months old on Sunday and has changed so much is such a short time. For one, her crying is much louder and frantic when left unchecked (like right now). She smiles a lot too, when we sing or dance for her. This morning Yvonne brought her along for the dog walk and she seemed to enjoy it.

Related to the last post, after running the other morning, I was sore for three days. I'm totally out of shape. Back to walking for now, at least until the triple digit weather lets up.

10 more minutes.

Shaping up

Things here have been good. Today I got up early and tried a morning run (walk, run, walk, run) with Walker, instead of the usual low-key neighborhood stroll we normally have each morning. He seemed to enjoy it and it only took a few minutes for us to figure out he should heel on my left side. He's good on a leash, so it wasn't too hard. The hardest part was continuing to run after a few minutes. I'm not in shape. I haven't been on a bike ride in a while. In fact, my bike needs tuning, but other things are taking priority and time. That's why I tried running this morning. I have a history of sore knees when I run, so I'm just going to ease into it.

This fall, I might get my bike in shape and ride to work.

Four years

We have a special dinner planned tonight to celebrate four years. Pretty neat. :)

Wiiiiiiiii

I just went to lunch and the place had a Wii. Me and a complete stranger played 3 games. He ended up winning the round, but not by much. I blame my lack of practice and my late interest in golf on that console before I handed back to Dallas Brother. And there were no cards...

Completed reads

I just finished the last Harry Potter book last weekend. It's sort of strange to know the series is over, but it's also kind of a relief. I won't talk about it anymore in case someone reading this is just on the part where they figure out Ron's really been a Hufflepuff this entire time. Mind blowing, man.

But seriously, placing the last book on the shelf next to the other six books ... it was like placing Episode three in the middle of the DVD collection. The circle is complete.

Also, I just finished reading "The Walking Dead" first six volumes, thanks to Sweetwater Jay. It's a great series. I even passed it on to my Austin Brother (Crystal Eye) and he liked it too. He's in a series called "Girl's" which I don't know much about. He just sent me the first two volumes.

Yard report

The rain has pretty much stopped here. I was just telling Yvonne it was like having a vacation from watering the lawn because we had so much rain. I know people were injured and property was lost during the course of the wet spring and early summer, but I still enjoyed it for my own selfish reasons.

At this point, the only two areas where there is no grass include this patch of dirt is in the photo to the left (not the dog ...). The other patch is in a very shaded area and may not fill in until we (ever!) get the trees trimmed.

The wildflower seed filled a few bare patches up front. And I didn't mow a patch or two to let the flowers bloom. We're thinking we might try that again in the remaining areas, if we don't sod the back yard spot.

The one strong azalea in a side bed is struggling this year because the city cut some trees and placed it more in the sun. Although the rain has been great, I've had to water that one plant. I'm hoping he'll be OK because I've lost hope for all of the ones up front--about five or six, for those counting. But, other bushes are filling out nicely and taking more space, so I'm not sad about the azaleas. We got those when we didn't know what we were doing. We'll never buy them again.

I'm more interested in focusing on what else to plant. A banana plant in the back has gone ape. he he, sorry I had to. Seriously, it's as tall as I am and the leaves span three feet. We planted that this year, with another one in our "side yard." The second one is barely three feet tall because we think it doesn't get as much sun.

We planted corn and sunflowers, but they were rained out. Our squash seeds have sprouted into a large plant that had a flower last week. We're still waiting on the veggie. A couple sweet potato vines returned from last year, which is unusual. They normally don't survive the winter. But, I imagine they could fill the bed by summer's end. We are thinking we want more canna lillies.

Other than that, everything is going well. I'm not sure anyone is interested, but it just one of the things I deal with, so it's worth posting.

Two months and a range

Today is Zoe's two-month birthday. It seems like it was years ago she was born, but in a good way. I'm happy to report everyone is doing well and getting rest.



I reported a couple weeks ago about how I was waiting on the installer for our new cooktop range. I never followed up on that story.

We went to Best Buy on a Sunday to purchase the range you see to the left. We chose it mainly because it was about $600 cheaper than the other options and we wanted to continue to have a downdraft fan.

So, the delivery dude shows up at 5:59pm (window closed at 6pm) and got to work. He was a talker and got $50 out of me to get a part and make a few adjustments. It was close to dinner time and I just wanted the thing installed so I could start cooking some ground turkey. The clerk at the store didn't mention the downdraft fan needed the "transition" part and our old unit was so old, it had a different shaped vent. Long story short, the delivery guy ran to Home Depot to make it work.

He get the whole unit in and starts to tell me to go flip the breaker. But, he realized he hadn't put the burners in yet. He looked through the boxes, no burners. We call the store and confirm, they are separate.

It turns out, the unit we chose is modular and it's cheaper because it doesn't come with burners. After warranties, delivery and such, we were at an $850 cost with no burners. The clerk that Sunday didn't know. No one at the store, it turned out, had ever sold this cooktop and they had no idea they needed to make a special order. That is until the installer and I called around 8:30pm the following Thursday. There was nothing they could do that night and I was told to call the manager the next day.

The installer left with my $50 check and I rushed to Boston Market to feed the family.

The next day, the manager told me I needed two burner modules, $300 each. Do the math, that's as much as the other units that we were more interested in. But, the manager put an offer on the table because she knew (and admitted) they messed up. They bought one burner out and out and gave us the second one at cost. The other glitch, it'll take two weeks for them to arrive.

So, on Tuesday we got the burners. I made breakfast tacos at midnight, determined to cook something. The fan was great with the bacon and overall I think we're set. We had a sort of late night that night because Yvonne was playing poker on the 360 and I downloaded Full Tilt Poker. Yeah, we're nerds. Poor Zoe.

Animal Moment

This is funny to me because Walker is always very careful when he plays with Roscoe. But, he's a big loaf and tends to have a clumsy side, which comes out around second 40 in this clip.

More photos

I'm waiting for the delivery guy to arrive with our new cooktop. So far, he has 20 minutes. While I waited, I'm downloaded the flickr uploader tool. It's very easy and I added quite a few images. Enjoy!

Also, we bought a game table for $45 off craigslist.


And here is a patch of wildflowers in our front yard.

Hello

Popular request

Many folks have asked to see the most recent clip of me on TV. Here it is. The first minute is during a commercial break, and there's an audio glitch at the end. But here it is in all its glory. My only request is don't laugh too hard.

Around the house

Sorry for a lack of posting. Household things have been busy, including a new cooktop purchase, new cowboy boots for Yvonne and a brand new xbox 360 to replace my old one.

Fish and sleep

Things here have been going well. Sleep is still the big challenge. Yvonne is getting less than me, but she gets to sleep in during the mornings. Sometimes all is good and Zoe sleeps most of the night. Sometimes, like last night, she stays up from midnight to 4am.

But, overall, things are improving. We were talking about even a couple weeks ago, we couldn't put her down as much, even to sleep. Now, she's slept in her crib a few times, as well as the swing chair.

We took her to the Dallas Farmers Market on Saturday. She snoozed in the stroller as Yvonne bought fresh veggies and fruit (I hit two people with the stroller, hehe, but they were OK. Next time we're using the sling). We also bought some organic meat and fresh coffee. Sunday, we took her out for brunch at Garden Cafe. It was a nice time on the back patio, with butterflies chasing each other and not too much heat. In fact, the sun didn't really pop out until about the time we were leaving.

After brunch, we bought fish for Zoe's aquarium, as well as a couple bottom feeders for mine. Zoe has two guppies, a red-tail shark and one-two-three hatchet tetras, ah ah ahhhhhh

Bellytime with Zoe D

Wiikend fun

Over the weekend, my little bro lended me his Wii. It's pretty fun. I've played a few games. Although the bowling is awesome, I'm already to the point of wanting more games. And Frogboy has all the released Wii games, from what I can tell. About 6 of them. I did try the golf out, but I'm having trouble getting the Wiimote to respond. It might be a battery issue.

Yvonne and I bowled a little yesterday. I'm learning how to roll a strike with a baby in one arm. :)

Skywalker Texas husky

7FLD 3DQ

In an effort to move on and let go of Sophi, I'm considering a memorial tattoo. I don't know where, or exactly what. But I think it's in order. I'm struggling advancing beyond mourning and my intent is to just pound it down, so to speak.

Not everyone knows, but Sophie had a tattoo on her belly (we made it one of her tricks or commands: "Show me your tattoo" and she'd roll over and show it). The tattoo was letters and numbers found in the title of this post. I registered the tat and if someone found her lost, they could call a 1 (800) number (I'm not making this up) and find her owner. It's like a primitive chip in the ear. Of course, it faded over time and some letters began to disappear.

More info here.

I have one tattoo already on my right shoulder. I got it when I was 19 and in Miami. It was an Ankh I designed. I did it on a whim--basically frantic to bookmark that place in my life--a low point if you will. But a point I felt important enough to always remember no matter where I was; a booster shot for the appreciation of life.

When I was 28 and in Austin, I had the tat improved. We added color and changed it to an Egyptian Eye of Horus theme (not exact). In a weird way, it empowers me to think I can see things, but I know it's my imagination.

As far as the Sophie tattoo, I'm not the first to do it. My college roommate already got the above letters and numbers on his right elbow. I guess he had to mourn her sooner than I did.

So chime in folks. Where should I get it? What should it contain (the title of this post is required)? And who should do it?

Spreading the word

Interesting Argument About Global Warming - Watch more free videos

And off we go

Part three in my series on feline domestication. It doesn't stop him from catching lizards and mice outside. And he still screams at 4am, whether he's inside or out, to get the other. That's my justification for doing this series. That and to capture the soul of it.

Also, I'm checking out blog feeds from various services. This is the first use of that, rather than me pulling the code. I'm not sure I'm down with the border. And the size is a tad small, but they have a few options. Overall, from a layout stand point, it's eh.

Oh, one more thing about this photo: Roscoe was purring the whole time.

See your car in a crash

Now for something totally random. I thought this article was pretty interesting. I'm glad I have the optional side airbags in the Element. As for the Neon ... we might need to expedite our plan on selling that car.Thanks to Consumer Reports for providing the info.



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Thinking outside the (x)box

My adorable xbox had a hardware failure yesterday. I'd been playing a lot of Texas Hold 'Em poker on XBL and was starting to get the hang of it. I even could hold Zoe, and play through a tournament or two.

We've also been using the console as a DVD playa in the living room and it's worked out nicely. Plus, I've been using the console to show baby photos on the TV (all connected on the Wi-Fi). I can even play music from my PC while a slide show rolls on the TV, which is nice because it's all hooked up to the stereo.

But, about a week or so ago, the machine started locking up. Then yesterday it had no video, or when it did, it was wacky. So I called the number and they concluded it was a hardware issue and still under warranty. They are sending me a box to mail it to them in. Then, they will either fix or replace, no charge to me. I thought at least that aspect was pretty cool.

So, I'm reading more now, lol. And posting more blog entries.

Zoe was up late last night. We watched a movie until about 1:30 or 2, but she was awake a few hours until 3 or so. She ate pretty much the whole time, and we wondered if she had a stomach ache. But, after one last feed, she totally crashed. They are both sleeping now (almost 11am), which is good.

New camera

We have the new camera. Here's our first video. It's Zoe's first ride in the swing chair. I want to thank the Six Pack for a generous gift certificate that allowed us to buy this chair. Zoe seems to love it.

Baby report

It's been a busy week since I last posted. In addition to saying goodbye to my dog, we also said goodbye to Yvonne's mom, who stayed with us for two weeks following Zoe's arrival. Well, not the same kind of goodbye. Yvonne's dad and grandmother drove from Midland and picked her up last weekend. It was simply fantastic having her with us in the house. I highly recommend it for anyone having a baby. For one, it opened up time for me to handle things like the plumbing emergency and Sophi's choice. It also opened up time for Yvonne to sleep when she needed to. We also learned a thing or two about keeping the baby happy having her around. In a way, it kept us sane for the toughest two weeks in baby time (so I'm told).

Zoe is doing great. She's entering a fussy time after being basically the most calm, quiet baby we've ever seen for 2.5 weeks. The doctor predicted the fussiness and was right. Speaking of the doctor, we took Zoe on Monday. She weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. That's about 8 oz. more than predicted for a two week check up. We call her our little piggy because she is an active eater. And with that, is the product. We already have a few "diaper stories" we can share for those interested. I think I'll spare the everyday reader from those stories though...

Zoe's also focusing her eyes on people and objects more. She'll stare at you kind of like a baby owl. Also, I noticed last night she likes the aquarium bubble sound, which is good because I set up a 10 gallon tank in her room. It bubbles nicely.

Zoe's hair is growing as well. Overall, she looks different now in general (that just continues, I'm sure).

We bought a new digital camera so we can shoot video with sound. I'm hoping to catch a chirp noise she makes when she's feeding or just trying to sleep. That's when you will see more photos here. I'll try not to be the typical dad and just talk about my baby, but let's be honest: that's the biggest thing I have going on in my life right now.

I'm returning to work on Monday. I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty with the work and starting more of a regular schedule. I'll probably take Yvonne's car and leave her the Element with baby seat installed. I should burn some CDs.

Finally, thanks to everyone for your warm comments about Sophi. I miss her a lot. I think about her when the doorbell rings and no one barks (Walker isn't a great guard dog--he chases the garbage truck, the cat and that's about it). I think about her when I think I hear her licking her leg. I think about her every time I feed the dog. I think about her when I make the word dogs singular.

She grew up with me ever since I left college and we had a good time together. Maybe after she met Zoe, she knew I was in a different stage in my life. I would like to think she did, and that she understood how much I loved her. Now, I'm focusing on looking forward in my new stage.

Sophi Stull 1995-2007

Today, the situation with Sophi became worse. She stopped eating and peeing. She refused chicken meat and water. I knew it was bad. I took her to the vet and he concluded she had a tumor inside her bladder. She was diagnosed with days left in her life.

So, I was concerned about how those final days would be for her. Specifically the pain. We began to give her a catheter to empty her bladder, which was incredibly large due to no relief. But, that would only fill back up again and she'd be back in the pain. So, instead of keeping her here for my sake, I decided to let her go for hers. It was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made. I stayed with her to the end, told I loved her, she's a good girl, we had a good time, and finally, good bye.

It went fast.

We already miss her very much. I've had her for 11.5 years, from college days, to my first career job, to getting married and having a baby. She supported me the whole time. She was a fantastic dog and I was lucky I was watching TV that day she happened to be featured as pet of the week on the local news. From the moment I saw her then, I've enjoyed her personality, charm and wisdom.

What's up with Sophi

Warning: this might be too much for the squeamish.

About three weeks ago, Sophi (my 11.5-year-old dog), was having trouble peeing and pooping. I took her to the vet to discover she had a severe urinary track infection that was so bad, she was clinching everything. Her bowels were backed up pretty bad. We took X rays, she got two enimas and a couple prescriptions. It was obvious she wasn't comfortable.

So, after a day or so, she returned to normal. Kind of. The infection cleared and she peed just fine now, but it took her about 3 times the effort to produce something solid. But, she was in good spirits and we were patient.

The baby came and the day we came home, Sophi seemed weak. She stumbled at the door and was lethargic. I took her to the vet (after getting the plumbing unclogged---first day back home from the hospital mind you). The vet said I could use fish oil and gloucosimine for her bad leg. She favors a hind leg and it's losing muscle mass.

Then, this weekend, I noticed she struggled again for number two. I took her to the vet on Monday to find out she has colitis. He gave her a shot and three more prescriptions and said she should improve by dinner. She did improve a little, even produced a small amount, but she wasn't normal. She stopped coming into the house and just stayed in the yard trying. Then, she'd lay down for a spell, wake up and try in vain again.

I called the vet yesterday with my concern and he said give her until Friday. I gave her her pills last night and she ate grass and threw them up. She spent the night outside last night, but came in around 9am this morning and I gave her six pills (the sixth is a vet recommended Tylonal with codeine. I'm keeping watch on her to make sure she keeps the pills down. I was afraid this morning I was going to find a stiff dog outside. In addition to all this, another symptom (understandably) is a lack of appetite. Sophi hasn't eaten in at least a day or so.

So, there we are. I'm keeping up with meds and making sure she rests. I don't think she slept well yesterday or last night.

Meanwhile, Zoe is awesome. Her existence is helping me cope with the facts and the inevitable. The above photo is Sophi in Miami at 9 weeks old.

Things on my cat

I know this is odd. But, I have a new photo hobby inspired by a web site we've known about for a few years.

I have a couple photos so far, and I doubt they will ever get as complicated as some of the pics I've seen above.

Sophi is still having issues. Hopefully, she will be ok.

Quick update

Everyone seems to be settling in nicely. Having Yvonne's mom here is a huge help. We all share shifts and Yvonne can sneak in naps. Yvonne gives a pretty solid account of the delivery on her site.

So far, Zoe is pretty mellow. She already ignores the barking dogs. Right now, she's more nocturnal, opening her eyes for long periods of time to check things out. I shot this photo last night during one of those times.

Flowers for Zoe

We are home now. Things are starting to settle. During all this, we've had a few challenges, including the AC breaking down Friday night (12 hours before baby) and coming home to clogged drains throughout the house (plumber should be here in the next 1-4 hours, time to hold it! no flushing!)

But, the baby is sleeping and so is Yvonne. Everyone is healthy and good, except my nerves.

Update: Plumbing is fixed and I added two more pics. I agree, I'm glad she looks more like her mommy, instead of my ugly mug.

:)

Baby X is here

At 8:22am this morning, our daughter was born. I'm too tired to say more, but rest assured photos and more details will follow.

Can you read my mind?

I'm telling you, Bollywood might be on to something with this one... Of course they are mixing DC and Marvel, but who cares. Down geek boy!

Getting close

As you can imagine, it's getting close to baby time. I've been busy and haven't had time to write much. So here's a gem to hold you over.

Rockin' steady

Things have been pretty busy and I haven't had too much time to post. But, a lot has been accomplished:

• We finished our baby classes, took breast feeding tonight and have general child care next week. Then we are done. haha, right. It just begins :)
• We planted corn and sunflowers by the house.
• We planted 2 small junipers in the wall's bed.
• We planted yellow and green squash.
• Several ugly storms have rolled through, so the city is actively trimming trees near powers lines. A few of our trees were cut in the process, saving me hundreds on car insurance.
• Last night around 10pm, we randomly decided to reorganize a shelf in the kitchen, which led to us rearrange the furniture and mop the floor, of course. [P.S. It looks awesome, so there.]
• I submitted Walker to a dog talent agent, hoping they might have a roll for Wolf #4 out there somewhere that could pay for dog food and meds [One can dream].
• We bought a rug for the nursery. It really ties the room together.
  

Interesting perspective

Four years after this photo was shot, I think this article is worth linking. How many lies does it take? Stop being fooled.

Progression

Since the big ride last weekend, we've been busy catching up. The house is in pretty good order and we're figuring out new things for the upcoming baby. For example, I learned how to install the baby seat yesterday. Yvonne got a breast pump (TMI?). Things like that.

I came home from work on Friday to find a neighbor edging my lawn. I walked down and had a chat with him. Basically, he's bored and he's testing his new gas-powered edger. I asked if I should take the hint (I've been blowing off edging all season) and he said, "No, I'm just looking for things to do." He misses his wife.

So what could I do? I couldn't just leave him out there to tend to my yard. Instead, I plugged in my edger and joined him--meeting him in the middle like he suggested. It took less than 30 minutes. If I did it alone, it would have been an hour. His gas-powered edger dug about an inch deeper than my electric one.

Otherwise outside, our yard is going nicely. We don't have many new plants to baby. And the only new plants we really need to worry about are tough banana trees.

Our bean stalks are rising. Our Carolina jasmine is climbing. Our roses are blooming. Our cat is hunting.

Yesterday while working out there, I came across the above spider. The sunlight was pretty on his web, so I shot the photo.

Great PSA

I wish they made one for drivers on cell phones.

Tomorrow, we ride

I have people coming up from Austin today and tonight for the big Boneshaker & WNBC ride. We'll have 8 riders for the ride tomorrow. Combat and the boom boom bike will be there, complete with lighting effects. I'm looking forward to the good time.

Hopefully, my Wii bowling game will be up to snuff. I've dropped in average a little. I really want to play Texas Hold 'Em poker. I've been down-playing it with the group, especially the Austinites, in hopes to catch everyone off guard. I've been talking up Wii bowling, even though that's not my top game to exploit. I want their money! lol

I've been practicing poker on XBox Live (XBL) and I think I'm pretty average. I'm learning a lot about blinds and the dealer chip, but there's a lot more to learn. It's hard to learn on that game though because a lot of people don't know how to play and go all in a lot. That throws the game, especially when you can't look them in the eye and see they are full of shit.

I also played in Midland, but it wasn't Texas Hold 'Em. It was more a mix of traditional 5 card draw with some house rules and side bets. I held my own, but probably ended up losing some change. We only play with nickels, dimes and quarters there, which really takes the edge off. I'm hoping for a similar buy-in this weekend.

I'm also hoping that they guys down south are too busy today to read this entry. ;)

Need a rug

The nursery is finished and all we need now is a rug. Enjoy the photos.

Another bloom

Here's an azalea in our front yard. There are two that appear to be doing really well. And then there are about five that aren't doing so well.

They need lots of water and we planted them when we moved in, as well as the following year. We were and remain in a drought situation in North Texas, so we didn't really know what we were getting into. If we lose any more, we will replace them with something tougher.

Some of you have noticed the list of names has grown. I'm pretty sure this is the final list of names, but you never know. This list was narrowed down from an original list of about 150 names. list.

Wednesday Night Bike Club

This past week has been hectic. We went to Midland for the weekend, where of all places, we saw three inches of snow. Then, we got back Sunday and had our second Lamaze class last night. The class went well and afterwards we felt a nice strong bond with each other.

Meanwhile, back at the League of Justice, we are planning the second WNBC & Boneshaker collaborative ride on April 21. We plan to ride our bikes, drink beer, play Wii bowling, lose money at poker and enjoy the friendship. We did it last year with a much larger group. And, I don't know if I can do it next year with a one-year-old. This year, it sounds like three riders will travel north from their safety bubble and brave the crazy jungle that is Dallas.

Speaking of crazy jungle, picture me walking the dogs this morning and dialing 9-1-1.

It happened.

Someone left a stolen truck in front of our house last night. We noticed it when we got home around 10pm, but thought it was a neighbor's guest. This morning while I was walking the mutters, I noticed the broken driver side window and broken steering column. I've been around the block a few times to know what that means. Whatever THAT means, heh

So, right then and there, I pulled out the celly and called in the coppers. Yvonne said when she left a cop was checking out the truck and when I got home, it was gone.

Overall, the truck looked pretty in tact, so the owners will be pleased it wasn't damaged more. I doubt they'll get their Creedence tapes back though.

Finally, despite the snow storms of Texas (what?), our yard is blooming nicely. I'll try to feature some photos. Above is one of two Mountain Laurels we have in the back yard. We call this bed St. Francis' bed. Go fig.

First Lamaze class complete

It's been a rough day. It's late and I'm low at the moment.

So why not post a photo of Walker? He wieghed in on Friday at 83.6 pounds. He now knows how to sit and shake, and yearns eagerly to understand the command, "Roll Over." Darth Vader impersonations make him bark while any indication of food tends to make him silently attentive.

Yet, in the photo here, notice the ball is next to the cat. The tabby makes the rules.

Everybody online ... let's see what we can see

We are wireless, baby. It's sweet! It pretty much took me 8 hours from the beginnig of moving the modem, router, computer and stuff, to being able to relax and say, we are good. Yvonne and I spent an accumulative of about 2-3 hours with Time Warner Cable because apparently they need to flip a switch for three components on one account. They have great customer service .... NAWT!

But we also had a tech come out and install a second cable box (hence, three components), and that guy was cool. We was a contractor, which might explain it?

I still need to work out the incognato domain kinks, but weekend timing doesn't help. The worst part is my email is offline, unless someone happens to remember my yahoo email address (in Chicago).

This is how I feel now that I have a W-Fi network secured (thanks Warlord!), my computer moved, Yvonne's NEW computer online and looking good and a cable box in the gym.

Hosed by my host, upgrades all around

The last year or so, I've noticed my server not being that great. Emails would not send, the site would go down a lot, etc. I've submitted tickets to the tech support and get an auto response 3 days later. I call the number and no one answers. I do an Ask.com search and find many customer service complaints and accusations of fraud.

A while back, my domain needed renewal and they never told me. It just went offline. I had to figure out. Easy to do, but a reminder would be nice.

So, I was just waiting for their reminder to renew the hosting, then I'd switch. I thought since this reminder meant they wanted money, I would get it. I never got that reminder either. Instead, I found my site offline this morning, my email account inactive and I'm locked out of the server's control panel unless I pay $95 for another year. Fat f*cking chance Infinology. You suck.

I've had this server since I started the site back in 2004, so I think it's time for an upgrade.

This morning I went about finding a way to switch servers, which I think I've done. I am going to switch to an Austin company suggested by my buddy Old Skool. He gave me a preview of the services and the control panel and it looks great. At this point, I've made the order and I'm just waiting on a confirmation. Then, I'll migrate stuff to the new host. I think I'll also take this opportunity to change my email addy to reduce spam.

I'm pretty happy about the change, I'm just impatient. I know this will take a few days.

On a cooler note, Yvonne bought herself a new computer. I'm going to set up the house on Wi-Fi this weekend and move my computer into the living room (family computer). Then the Xbox will most likely move in there too, freeing up this bedroom to begin it's new life as the guest bedroom, workout room and alternate TV room. Her new laptop will be able to work online anywhere in the house, including the back patio. This is key, since our only current method at home is this desktop I own (5 years old, but still kicking ass). Not great for freelancing.

I'm considering turning her old comp into an digital jukebox of sorts, instead of moth balling it. But, the truth of the matter is it can't handle anything beyond Windows 98, so it's very limited in regards to software. That thing is fricking 7 years old. Good for her making it last so long.

Quick update

Things have been pretty busy around here. Yvonne just recovered (mostly) from a week and a half cold. I've been busy at work and it seems things just keep popping up that we have to do.

But, I think it's OK. We start our new baby parent class on Monday. This weekend, we might finish the bedroom, but Mom's John has the same head cold mentioned above, so he might need more time.

A lightning storm is coming, so I'm signing off and shutting down.

I guess it's true about being green

I just found this funny as a NIN, Johnny Cash and old skool muppet fan. It's a little on the graphic side--but with puppets. Consider yourself warned.


I like the spiders in the vomit---Great detail.

I'm a Pagan, who knew?

I wasn't raised in a strict religious atmosphere. We dabbled at a Unitarian church for a while, but that was about it.

Bankston sent this out. According to this test, I'm:

1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (92%)
3. New Age (91%)
4. Mahayana Buddhism (86%)
5. Theravada Buddhism (84%)
6. Liberal Quakers (79%)
7. Secular Humanism (69%)
8. Taoism (63%)
9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (61%)
10. Sikhism (60%)
11. Scientology (58%)
12. Hinduism (55%)
13. New Thought (54%)
14. Jainism (52%)
15. Reform Judaism (52%)
16. Orthodox Quaker (50%)
17. Bahá'í Faith (44%)
18. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (43%)
19. Nontheist (38%)
20. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (25%)
21. Orthodox Judaism (25%)
22. Seventh Day Adventist (20%)
23. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (16%)
25. Islam (16%)
26. Roman Catholic (16%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (12%)

I like that Buddhism is in the top 5. I think I lean mostly in that direction in my mind.

Knocked down already

It's official. The Bard bowled a 237 (no asterisk). He beat my (no asterisk) score by 3 points. My new goal is to reach 250. But it's all up to the spirits in the wind, since it's not a matter of practice.

Meanwhile, I just cracked 1,000 achievement points on my XBox Live account. And I am still thinking Guitar Hero, bebe.

On the bebe front, we recently had a nice baby shower and were given more presents than I expected. I was a little surprised, but in a good way. I'm very grateful. My current favorite is a talking octopus that says colors and plays music. The bebe's room is on hold while we host some family this week. But, I'm thinking one or two more sessions ought to do it.

Name discussion seems to linger, circle, think about landing, then decide on another branch. I added Deanna to the list (at right) because it was the only sci-fi female name that I liked. Deanna Dutchover Stull. Eh.

It's also time to mow the yard this weekend for the first time. The yard is less important to me, but I also don't want to let it go bad.

Let's go bowling dude

So my little brother and the Warlord have Wiis. I've played a few times and right now, bowling tops my list. I like it so much, I almost want a Wii in addition to the Xbox 360.

Why do you ask?

Because last night I bowled a 242. An all-time record for everyone I know who plays it. It beats the highest score of everyone who OWNS a Wii I know. But, the Boneshakers call it a 242* and say it doesn't count. So, for them, I lean back on my second highest score 234 (no asterisk). That one still tops the charts.

Bowling. Who knew? Meanwhile, Guitar Hero comes out in April and that's going to RAWK!


*I was sober.

What do you think the message in the bottle says?

Mom and John came over yesterday and made a lot of progress. I had some furniture moving projects, so it was mostly them.

They are coming back today and I'll help out a lot more. Enjoy the photos.

Eye lashes

"By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she'll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb."

Trying to understand

I am trying to understand a few things right now. Wrap my head around them. For example, how can I have a 103 temperature one day, and back to almost normal today. And Yvonne came home with an angel food cake and ate half of it before dinner. Pregnancy does wacky things. :)

Put your toys away

My mom gave me my old toy chest. This was also my older brother's toy chest. I'm guessing it's at least 35 years old (holy moly) or so. But, from the photo you can see it's actually not that bad. At first I considered painting it like the room, but Yvonne and I agree it should just remain as it is. In the end, we're thinking this chest will be in the den, but who knows.

Inside the chest were some old toys I had as a kid, including some good Star Wars stuff.

It also has some of my older brothers' toys, which I'm handing over to him, like the Hoth Whompa and Boba Fett. The two pieces I kept both have 1979 printed on the bottom, which is cool.

Overall, it's been a great week. Good weather until tonight. Good work week in a big way. And tomorrow we continue the paint jeaoooorrrrrb.

Got the 'itis'

Spring-itis. As I type this, it's 70 degrees outside and not a cloud to be seen. I miss Chicago from time to time, but not in February. And not when I'm on a patio watching traffic roll by while sipping a margarita. Officially, the last freeze date in Dallas is March 15, but it looks like that might be early.

One bummer: It's time to start watering again.

What's new? I added a list of potential baby names to the right there.------->

Now, I'm going to try to find a way to link to my original archives, since I only have a year of entries right now on the ol' blogger. I think i found the link. This site dates back to March 2004. Shit, I guess we're coming up on three years on incognato.

Now that I've separated the blog aspect from the site, I might experiment more like I did with the grids. FYI, if you want a grid created, all you have to do is ask. I have a few ideas, but nothing is calling me at the moment.

Editor's Note: OK, I found the archive and will add it to the side. In the meantime, here's the second or third entry I ever, um, entered.


######

Weekend Planner
04.03.04
It's another calm morning in casa de Stullover. We are just relaxing and drinking Texas Pecan coffee. We have been drinking this coffee for many years, even though it's not available in Chicago. We have to get our family in Texas to mail it to us. We rotate the families and family members so we don't dry up any one well. I think we started with my mom, then switched to her mom. My brother has sent some twice, the second completely voluntarily. We don't make it everyday. We buy normal coffee for the weekdays and save this Texas Pecan coffee in the fridge for mornings such as this one.

We are going to the grocery store for a much needed trip. Name it and we're out. Except for the TX Pecan coffee. So, that's our breakfast today. We're going to a friend's opening at the school this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'm helping my friend move and that evening going to Hell. It might be three geeks, instead of two. How delightful.

I rode four days last week, taking Tuesday off. That day I rode the bus and train, reading the book in my books section. I read a little on Wednesday during lunch, but that's one thing I need to do more. That's my goal for April, no joke.

Our yard is green now and various plants are sprouting from the ground. I just scooped after Sophi and soaked in the sun. The sun is back, Winter is over. I always fear saying that. Of course, Spring here ranges from 28 to 60 degrees, so it's all relative.

I didn't mention this, but I fell off the bike a couple weeks ago. It was nothing major, it was all my fault and involved no one else. I wasn't on my regular commute; it was sort of a recreation ride. I got a scab on my knee that's healing up fine and it's nothing to worry about--or so I thought.

Last night, I dreamt I fell off the bike again. But, in my dream, I just picked up the bike and kept riding--no pain. I remember feeling embarrassed because someone witnessed it in my dream, even though I didn't know the guy. So maybe that's the lesson here. Maybe it's not something to fear, rather something to face and plan around.

Disclaimer: I'm not a complete klutz on the bike. And the more I ride, the better I feel my environment; the cars, the bad drivers, the dumb pedestrians that walk out not looking, the car doors, the taxis, the buses, the "let's play chicken with a bike rider in my BMW SUV" drivers, the traffic lights, the red light runners, the rush hour anger. I also try to avoid joining the masses in that nature.

I plan to do a little work this weekend on the site. Not sure what. But I want to at least create the graphics for the gallery. We'll see how the next couple days go.

Also, I now have an Archive. In making it, I accidentally lost all my previous entries. What a bummer. I even had a nifty photo of Sophi, which will now reside in the gallery once that's created.

Peace to all my homies on the runny kind.

########

Flash back over. now returning to real time. Hit save now or all your work will be lost.

########

I can't end an entry much better than that, hehe. Hard to believe the changes one can go through in life. I should keep a journal or something. Funny, I mention archiving, weather and site redesign just like I did in this entry at the top. While some things change, they really do not.

Update on painting

Aside from the web site's new look, one of our rooms is also under going a redesign. I spent most of the day painting the sand on the bottom. All the plants, fish, etc. were painted yesterday. This theme is going on all four walls. It includes a submarine, message in a bottle, lighthouse, whale, jelly fish and more.

So far, I think it looks good and it's going much faster than I had planned. I'll probably finish the sky along the top (other walls just need a second coat) during the week. Then, mom and john return Saturday for another round on the detail stuff.

New look

I'm working out the kinks, but what do you all think of the new look so far?

Painting

We've started painting the nursery this weekend and it looks good. I have progress photos, but I think I'll wait until the final product. There are lots of fun surprises already in the mix and it's going to turn out great. We had a great time figuring it out and starting the project.

I have the day off today, so I'm in my paint clothes, ready to fill in and finish a few things from yesterday. Basically, I want to get it to the next stage by next Saturday, when my moms and her man show up to work their magic. Let me just say, when painting a four-wall mural, it helps to have a couple artists in the mix. I can paint and draw, but these two have a true talent. You will see what I'm talking about. I sort of see me as the producer: I make sure all the materials are there, everyone is fed and everything matches up. Then I work when there's work to be done.

Sign of the times?

Is it a sign of the times when you discover a forged charge on your credit card and you don't freak out--you know exactly what to do thanks to an experience two months ago?

Mini vacation

We took a four day weekend and headed down to San Marcos for a spell. While there, we checked out the natural springs, the local coffee houses and the town in general. Then on Saturday, we attended a panel at the university about a new book.

On the way home, we filled my car to the brim with baby furniture. It was insane, but also a major score. The room is pretty much furnished now.

Mini vacation. mini update.

Something fishy around here

Aquarium: I realized I haven't given an aquarium update in a while, so why not now? My 20 gallon is still fully operational, with about six fish inside. Five tetras of two designs; diamond and red tip. One bottom feeder. There were various small snails from time to time, but I vacuumed a portion of the aquarium floor and I think that did major damage to their reproduction and population.

Aquarium Dos: My dad gave me his 10 gallon. In his words, he was just done with it. I think that happens: tank burnout. I had it for a while, hence the small number in my tank. I was just going to let them fade out and put the whole thing away, but I've recently enjoyed watching them again. I think I'm going to repopulate soon. Then, we are putting the 10 gallon in the nursery. I will make it a pure guppy tank with a few bottom feeders for balance. No tetras! No Merlot!

Nursery: Ediemom and John came over on Sunday for our first meeting about painting the walls into an ocean (I will take before photos and all that jazz). Lobsters, angel fish and coral reefs were all welcome. I was a little surprised by a whale reluctance, but I think it's all about keeping things to scale. John volunteered to paint a submarine, and I think his locomotive and automobile painting experience will do well in that arena. Ediemom is doing a fan coral and a sand floor. I'm doing fish and shrimp and where ever else I can fill in. I'd like to have a sail boat (yes, a waterline is going around the top). I think Yvonne is doing bubbles. Another cool thing is I want some glow in the dark highlights. For example, the sub's lights can light up, bubbles can glow and maybe a jellyfish. But, the first step is me painting the ceiling, which I plan to do this weekend.

Aside: I just thought of a vacation in North Carolina when we walked the shores at night. Each step we took causes a glow in the sand to appear. Later we found out tiny insects with phosphorescence were being crushed by the weight of our feet and causing the glow. So, maybe some glow in the dark paint in the sand bottom as well.

Jabs: We've had a good round of jokes about true bottom abyss dwellers. You know, the ones with fanged teeth and bulging scary eyes. Crystal Eye and I had a good laugh about that. Maybe add a Great White or something. In truth though, I think this paint project will be more of a "cartoon"-ish look and less "scare the shit out of my daughter" look. I will have enough to clean up.

Espanol: I had my second Spanish class last night. The books were a little late coming into the store, but we seem to be catching up. I'm enjoying it very much and can already say certain key sentences.

Me llamo Nate.

Mi cerveza es Tecate, Foster's y Shiner Light.

Becoming a dad

Top 10 things I look forward to doing as a dad:

1. Teaching her to ride a bike.
2. Rocking in the rocking chair with a warm person falling asleep on my chest.
3. Explaining the difference between Anakin and Luke.
4. Reading adventure books before bed.
5. Tooth inspections after the nightly Brush.
6. Pretending.
7. Learning what her favorite foods and flavors are.
8. Watching cartoons, hopefully something with Batman and the Superfriends or Justice League or TNMT, but it very well could be something more girly, which is OK, I guess.
   
9. Playing.
   
10. Sleeping. I don't feel this way now, but I know I will.
    

Sigh

Can anyone name one?



And a link: Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose 3,281% last year, senator finds

Appointed week

This week has been full of various appointments and odd occurrences. We had a nice day off on Monday to honor Dr. Luther King, Jr., which was nice. Tuesday, I had an important interview with a "celebrity." This is when I found out the heater at work was broken and the heat was off. This wouldn't be a big deal, except we were hit with a wintry Blast End of the World Sleat and Oh My God I'm cold Panic.

Actually, the cold wasn't that bad. There was some stuff on the ground (see photo, more on the link), but it didn't stick too long.

Thursday, I went to a new dentist. No preaching dentist this time. For some who may have missed it, my last dentist asked me this question before starting a new drilling project in my mouth: "If the world ends tomorrow, are you ready to go to Heaven?" And followed it up with an astute "The only way to get into Heaven is to repent." New dentist=good.

Also on Thursday, we had a big meeting and my seven year anniversary at the job was mentioned. Then, Thursday night was a Boneshaker ride. We didn't ride, so it was a "non-ride" of bones, music and friendship.

Last night we went to an art gallery opening, then followed it up with a very nice dinner.

Now, I'm about to take the Element in for the first oil change. They better vacuum or I'm raising Hell. Hehe, just kidding.

Call me lazy

Not much to report here other than cold weather and ice on the ground. Here's some video goodness: South Park creators love Battlestar Galactica at the Peabody Awards, bookended with a John Stewart zinger.

Hail to the king, baby

And under the wtf file:

Sunday morning babble

So, I took it easy yesterday because I've been sick since Wednesday (Side note: I even skipped the Boneshaker Ride in order to heal) and thought I was over it on Friday. But sadly, late in the evening, I was sick again. So I took it easy yesterday, shot photos of the mutts and played Xbox. We watched all our Netflix, so we were left to cable and the Cowboys game.

I officially owe my colleague in Seattle a beer for that game. I made the bet, and I should have known better. Can you ship Shiner Bock? That would be my first pick in repaying a bet because it's my Texas favorite.

This morning, my left eye is sore like it moved more than the right one during R.E.M. last night. Strange. It must be a latent mutant ability about to reveal itself.

Speaking of R.E.M., the zombie dreams have returned! I had them Friday night and last night. Instead of being stressful chase dreams, it's more like "Life with Zombies". Like, lock the doors because they open them and listen for moans before walking into dark hallways. And, ALWAYS carry a shovel. Nothing pops a head better.

Finally, I want to share a hilarious movie trailer. It is YET ANOTHER movie my brother worked. This time, Crystal Eye held his highest title ever: Art Director. Sure, Asst. Art Director on "Sin City" is impressive, but check this out. Special mad props to you, sir.

Muttronomics

While enjoying the 50-degree weather here and recuperating from a sickness, I took the dogs to the park with the camera.