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.