Wednesday
New Website
(Days: 15 Pounds Lost: 11) (crazy weekend;)
Good lord, this website thing is turning out to be just a shade more time consuming than you might expect.
Hell, It might even stop raining before I get everything in place. Nah, who am I kidding.
But hey, if you live anywhere in the northeast you A: know that with the exception of a few weeks here and there it's been raining since February, and B: are running out of things to do with the kids. So, why not have a look at some of the family links I've got.
Go on, have some fun already. There'll be more soon. And more political ranting here. Really.
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(Days: 15 Pounds Lost: 11) (crazy weekend;)
Good lord, this website thing is turning out to be just a shade more time consuming than you might expect.
Hell, It might even stop raining before I get everything in place. Nah, who am I kidding.
But hey, if you live anywhere in the northeast you A: know that with the exception of a few weeks here and there it's been raining since February, and B: are running out of things to do with the kids. So, why not have a look at some of the family links I've got.
Go on, have some fun already. There'll be more soon. And more political ranting here. Really.
Pirates of the Caribbean
(Days: 8 Pounds Lost: 10)
Say, why couldn't the ten-year-old kid get into the pirate movie? Because it was rated arrrrrrr!
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(Days: 8 Pounds Lost: 10)
Say, why couldn't the ten-year-old kid get into the pirate movie? Because it was rated arrrrrrr!
Anyone who enjoys even a bit of nautical nonsense knows to thank Spongebob for that little gem. Or Squidward really, but anyhow, the point is my lovely bride and I got out and saw Pirates of the Caribbean.
It's actually pretty rare that we make it out to see movies; don't know why exactly, except that perhaps I'm afraid of commitment. Really. When we go out and about I hate the idea of being tied to a time and place. I like being able to head out for dinner and not know exactly where we're going. If it takes a while I'm happy to relax and have a drink at the bar, and if it goes quickly I'm happy to relax afterwards with a drink and dessert. Then maybe Barnes & Nobel for some coffee and a browse. Or whatever.
So, despite my fear of committing to a long stretch of sitting in the dark at a set time, we saw some pirating. And fine swashbuckling it was: 1- Johnny Depp's pirate was completely over the top and really very funny. (Let's not forget that there's a sad lack of talented character actors out there today; I'm really getting tired of Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson playing Mel Gibson.) 2- Although Orlando Bloom is a little geeky, his naive-but-earnest-young-man-in-love character worked fine as a foil for Depp's. 3- The special effects were sharp and effective without being overwhelming. (Like James Bond surfing an ice tsunami on a car hood or whatever? I about snorted Pepsi out of my nose, earning a sharp poke from my lovely bride.) 3- The chick... easy on the eyes and smart without being totally distracting. And finally, 4- Movie's got a great score. I'm a total sucker for a big, lush, orchestral boomity boomity while the swords are swinging and glinting in the moonlight.
Actually, it's just this sort of experience that makes me think, "Why don't we ever go to the movies more often? Hmm."
Tuesday
Ignore the Knuckleheads!
Day: 7 ----- Pounds Lost: 9
So it turns out that baseball was just the ticket for a pretty good birthday party. We did my son’s eighth birthday at a NJ Jackals game on Sunday, and it turned out to be relatively stress-free. I, of course, was the stick in the mud who was feeling a little grumpy about the whole idea (see Fri. July 11), but as usual, my wife completely ignored me and everything worked out just fine, as it always does.
Then again, half the time I ignore her and everything works out fine too. Well there you go… today’s little life lesson for a happy marriage: Don’t marry anyone who’s going to be upset about being ignored when they’re being a knucklehead.
Oh yeah, doing the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome thing soon; what a great family day. But, more about that tomorrow… As I type this I hear the sound of trouble brewing right here in River City. It's time for showers and the natives are staging a revolt… gotta go…
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Day: 7 ----- Pounds Lost: 9
So it turns out that baseball was just the ticket for a pretty good birthday party. We did my son’s eighth birthday at a NJ Jackals game on Sunday, and it turned out to be relatively stress-free. I, of course, was the stick in the mud who was feeling a little grumpy about the whole idea (see Fri. July 11), but as usual, my wife completely ignored me and everything worked out just fine, as it always does.
Then again, half the time I ignore her and everything works out fine too. Well there you go… today’s little life lesson for a happy marriage: Don’t marry anyone who’s going to be upset about being ignored when they’re being a knucklehead.
Oh yeah, doing the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome thing soon; what a great family day. But, more about that tomorrow… As I type this I hear the sound of trouble brewing right here in River City. It's time for showers and the natives are staging a revolt… gotta go…
Friday
Baseball and Serenity
Day: 3 ---- Pounds Lost: 8
Hey! Day three and eight pounds! Not to shabby. Ok, I know it’s mostly just water and not to expect another three days like this again… but what a great shot in the arm!
Drinking just water, not all that junk, eating salad and fruit instead of all that junk, having some plain yoghurt mixed with granola cereal instead of a fistful of cookies…
Anyhow, I was going on about what a good time the N.J. Jackals game was; (Jackals) and it seems my wife has made a game the birthday party activity for our oldest (Gonna be eight) son’s party. Mixed feelings. Baseball good. Sometimes taking a couple of their friends good. Going with a dozen friends and half dozen other parents… remains to be seen.
Baseball, it seems to me, should be a supremely relaxing experience. If I wanted excitement I would go to a hockey game. Or arena football. Or a demolition derby. Or a cockfight. Certainly, the serenity of a ballgame is particularly fragile. One moment our guy on the mound is behind 3, 1 and 1, next thing you know there’s a giant ice cream emergency. Doesn’t matter whether the emergency involves getting ice cream or cleaning up the dropped ice cream we’ve already gotten, but next thing you know the inning’s over and you have no idea why.
Anyway, assuming I don’t get invited to any demolition derbys, I’ll let you all know how it works out.
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Day: 3 ---- Pounds Lost: 8
Hey! Day three and eight pounds! Not to shabby. Ok, I know it’s mostly just water and not to expect another three days like this again… but what a great shot in the arm!
Drinking just water, not all that junk, eating salad and fruit instead of all that junk, having some plain yoghurt mixed with granola cereal instead of a fistful of cookies…
Anyhow, I was going on about what a good time the N.J. Jackals game was; (Jackals) and it seems my wife has made a game the birthday party activity for our oldest (Gonna be eight) son’s party. Mixed feelings. Baseball good. Sometimes taking a couple of their friends good. Going with a dozen friends and half dozen other parents… remains to be seen.
Baseball, it seems to me, should be a supremely relaxing experience. If I wanted excitement I would go to a hockey game. Or arena football. Or a demolition derby. Or a cockfight. Certainly, the serenity of a ballgame is particularly fragile. One moment our guy on the mound is behind 3, 1 and 1, next thing you know there’s a giant ice cream emergency. Doesn’t matter whether the emergency involves getting ice cream or cleaning up the dropped ice cream we’ve already gotten, but next thing you know the inning’s over and you have no idea why.
Anyway, assuming I don’t get invited to any demolition derbys, I’ll let you all know how it works out.
Wednesday
Go Jackals!
Day: 1 -------- Pounds Lost: 0
(I should probably get an electronic
scale just to be sure that 0 is right)
Hey, the family watched the New Jersey Jackals win last night. Now there’s a Mr. Mom / family activity that should never be missed: minor league ball. We live pretty close to Montclair University, home of the Northern League Jackals at Yogi Berra Stadium. N.J. Jackals Baseball It’s a great little park that’s both new and comfortable, unlike a couple of the older, sadder parks around. (We’ve been to a few Adirondack Lumberjack games just south of Lake George, which was clearly the place where careers went to die. They’ve since moved to Bangor… I guess $1.00 Coors Light night just wasn’t enough for them.)
In fact Yogi Berra Stadium is what baseball should be all about: $2.00 parking all of a hundred yards from your seat; and in case you’re feeling more fancy than the $6.00 bench seats, the comfy reserved seats right on the line are all of $8.00. The stadium only seats 7,000 so every seat is right on top of the game… in fact the whole thing is the opposite of the big, crazy expensive hassle that seeing the Yanks is. (Or the Mets, I suppose, although I can’t think why anyone would actually go to a Met’s game. ;-) )
And as if that weren’t enough for your fun-baseball-buck, the place is full of young, energetic staff running all the mid-inning contests sponsored by local businesses. There are toilet plunger tosses, water balloon hitting contests, baby races and chasing the mascot around the bases chases, if you will.
Oh, and it’s pretty good baseball too; the level of play is really very high. Actualy makes me a little sad about most of the kid's little league games I sat through... oh well, I've long since stopped mourning all those lost afternoons.
Anyway, all in all a sure bet for a pretty simple, cheap outing for both the family and real fans too. Wherever you live, go find some baseball. Go Jackals!
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Day: 1 -------- Pounds Lost: 0
(I should probably get an electronic
scale just to be sure that 0 is right)
Hey, the family watched the New Jersey Jackals win last night. Now there’s a Mr. Mom / family activity that should never be missed: minor league ball. We live pretty close to Montclair University, home of the Northern League Jackals at Yogi Berra Stadium. N.J. Jackals Baseball It’s a great little park that’s both new and comfortable, unlike a couple of the older, sadder parks around. (We’ve been to a few Adirondack Lumberjack games just south of Lake George, which was clearly the place where careers went to die. They’ve since moved to Bangor… I guess $1.00 Coors Light night just wasn’t enough for them.)
In fact Yogi Berra Stadium is what baseball should be all about: $2.00 parking all of a hundred yards from your seat; and in case you’re feeling more fancy than the $6.00 bench seats, the comfy reserved seats right on the line are all of $8.00. The stadium only seats 7,000 so every seat is right on top of the game… in fact the whole thing is the opposite of the big, crazy expensive hassle that seeing the Yanks is. (Or the Mets, I suppose, although I can’t think why anyone would actually go to a Met’s game. ;-) )
And as if that weren’t enough for your fun-baseball-buck, the place is full of young, energetic staff running all the mid-inning contests sponsored by local businesses. There are toilet plunger tosses, water balloon hitting contests, baby races and chasing the mascot around the bases chases, if you will.
Oh, and it’s pretty good baseball too; the level of play is really very high. Actualy makes me a little sad about most of the kid's little league games I sat through... oh well, I've long since stopped mourning all those lost afternoons.
Anyway, all in all a sure bet for a pretty simple, cheap outing for both the family and real fans too. Wherever you live, go find some baseball. Go Jackals!
Tuesday
Dr. Roy and the Enlightenment ------- Days: 0 / Lbs. Lost: 0
Well, I’ve spouted on about enough politics to tide me over for a little while; after all, my heart can’t take it all the time… Speaking of which, I did my six-month-thing with the doctor yesterday. Blood pressure still good, everything still “feels and sounds” normal, even did an EKG, now we’re just waiting on the blood work to come back. (I’m of course ignoring all the medication that seems to have crept into my life)
The shock, though, was getting on the scale and seeing a number to which I thought I was immune. “Yikes!” I said, and apparently it was out loud as the nurse looked up at me and gave me the blank stare of a woman who’s seen it all.
So, assuming that my blood work comes back all happy (although with the paces I put my liver through, all bets are off), the ongoing project is to lose pounds. A lot of them. As I think about it, I realize that this is the first Summer I haven’t been able to run around with the lawn mower, cut and haul brush, or move pretty much anything without huffing and puffing and wheezing. Actually, at 38 I’m way to young to feel like this any of the time. Doctors visits have an unpleasant way of making you look different in the mirror when you get home.
So here it is: although I swear I don’t look like a circus freak or anything, the doctor’s scale said 250. Mine says 242… so there. Anyway, I’m shooting for 192. Either way it’s 50 off. How long do these things take? Dunno, I know the obvious: Eat less, eat healthy and exercise. September 15 target. Why? Just like the number.
All right, I’ll be counting them pounds down here and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to lose a lot of medication co-pays and see my grandkids to boot.
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Well, I’ve spouted on about enough politics to tide me over for a little while; after all, my heart can’t take it all the time… Speaking of which, I did my six-month-thing with the doctor yesterday. Blood pressure still good, everything still “feels and sounds” normal, even did an EKG, now we’re just waiting on the blood work to come back. (I’m of course ignoring all the medication that seems to have crept into my life)
The shock, though, was getting on the scale and seeing a number to which I thought I was immune. “Yikes!” I said, and apparently it was out loud as the nurse looked up at me and gave me the blank stare of a woman who’s seen it all.
So, assuming that my blood work comes back all happy (although with the paces I put my liver through, all bets are off), the ongoing project is to lose pounds. A lot of them. As I think about it, I realize that this is the first Summer I haven’t been able to run around with the lawn mower, cut and haul brush, or move pretty much anything without huffing and puffing and wheezing. Actually, at 38 I’m way to young to feel like this any of the time. Doctors visits have an unpleasant way of making you look different in the mirror when you get home.
So here it is: although I swear I don’t look like a circus freak or anything, the doctor’s scale said 250. Mine says 242… so there. Anyway, I’m shooting for 192. Either way it’s 50 off. How long do these things take? Dunno, I know the obvious: Eat less, eat healthy and exercise. September 15 target. Why? Just like the number.
All right, I’ll be counting them pounds down here and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to lose a lot of medication co-pays and see my grandkids to boot.
Monday
Guerrillas and Lying Monkeys
It is well into July and our troops continue to die in Iraq. In what has clearly become an organized guerrilla insurgency, there are well planned attacks by lone gunmen, drive by attacks by cars with rocket launchers, and whole groups engaging U.S. forces in full blown firefights. Yet in the face of this seemingly irrefutable evidence that the Iraqi people are less than joyous at our presence, Donald Rumsfeld looks us in the eye and poo-poos the notion that there's-a-trouble brewing in River City.
Rumsfeld, known for his love of and need for verbal precision, was read a dictionary definition of guerrilla warfare by a reporter last Friday. The definition ended with "an organized, armed insurgency by an indigenous people against an occupying force." Rumsfeld scoffed at the notion that any such thing were happening in Iraq, and said that clearly the reporter misunderstood the situation there.
I only mention this because as I sit here reading page 3a of the July 7 Journal News (my local Gannett rag), I find an ongoing Roll of Honor, today paying homage to four brave servicemen killed since Memorial Day. And not more than two inches to the left is a sidebar that notes:
RESPONSIBILITY CLAIMED "A group calling itself Wakefulness and Holy War claims responsibility for attacks on U.S. troop in Falluja. "We are carrying out operations against the American occupation here in Falluja and other Iraqi cities," said the statement, released on Iran financed al-Alam TV in Baghdad."
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting damn tired of this administration looking me in the eye and lying to me. What we are trying to do in Iraq is no less misguided than the British, French and American efforts to impose a Western style of order in the Middle East throughout much of the Twentieth century. Learn from history? Nah, guess not. And so the Journal News tells me that today it was Army Pvt. Shawn Pahnke, Army Spc. Jose Amancio, Army Military Police Staff Sgt. Brett Petriken and Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorny that paid the price for our foolishness.
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It is well into July and our troops continue to die in Iraq. In what has clearly become an organized guerrilla insurgency, there are well planned attacks by lone gunmen, drive by attacks by cars with rocket launchers, and whole groups engaging U.S. forces in full blown firefights. Yet in the face of this seemingly irrefutable evidence that the Iraqi people are less than joyous at our presence, Donald Rumsfeld looks us in the eye and poo-poos the notion that there's-a-trouble brewing in River City.
Rumsfeld, known for his love of and need for verbal precision, was read a dictionary definition of guerrilla warfare by a reporter last Friday. The definition ended with "an organized, armed insurgency by an indigenous people against an occupying force." Rumsfeld scoffed at the notion that any such thing were happening in Iraq, and said that clearly the reporter misunderstood the situation there.
I only mention this because as I sit here reading page 3a of the July 7 Journal News (my local Gannett rag), I find an ongoing Roll of Honor, today paying homage to four brave servicemen killed since Memorial Day. And not more than two inches to the left is a sidebar that notes:
RESPONSIBILITY CLAIMED "A group calling itself Wakefulness and Holy War claims responsibility for attacks on U.S. troop in Falluja. "We are carrying out operations against the American occupation here in Falluja and other Iraqi cities," said the statement, released on Iran financed al-Alam TV in Baghdad."
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting damn tired of this administration looking me in the eye and lying to me. What we are trying to do in Iraq is no less misguided than the British, French and American efforts to impose a Western style of order in the Middle East throughout much of the Twentieth century. Learn from history? Nah, guess not. And so the Journal News tells me that today it was Army Pvt. Shawn Pahnke, Army Spc. Jose Amancio, Army Military Police Staff Sgt. Brett Petriken and Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorny that paid the price for our foolishness.
Sunday
The Morning After
Mpph. Stretch. Blink a few times. Noon? Can’t be. Well, It was just yesterday that I was advising everyone to enjoy the holiday weekend: Drink beer, eat a cow and light off fireworks. Didn’t have any fireworks so I made up for it with beer. Mpph. "How’s your weekend now, smart guy?" you ask.
According to my mother in law the kids (who were troopers and stayed up late with the big people playing the Xbox James Bond run-around-and-shoot-each-other game) didn’t even get up until after nine… Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I have the best mother-in-law ever. Truly. She stays with us three days a week and totally spoils all of us. In fact that leads us to today’s stay-at-home-dad tip: Don’t get married and have kids unless you’re cool with the Mom-in-law.
So, practically speaking, that tip means that I can lie in bed until noon musing that not only was yesterday’s BBQ a hoot, but now I’ve even got help cleaning up. Just about makes the hangover worth it.
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Mpph. Stretch. Blink a few times. Noon? Can’t be. Well, It was just yesterday that I was advising everyone to enjoy the holiday weekend: Drink beer, eat a cow and light off fireworks. Didn’t have any fireworks so I made up for it with beer. Mpph. "How’s your weekend now, smart guy?" you ask.
According to my mother in law the kids (who were troopers and stayed up late with the big people playing the Xbox James Bond run-around-and-shoot-each-other game) didn’t even get up until after nine… Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I have the best mother-in-law ever. Truly. She stays with us three days a week and totally spoils all of us. In fact that leads us to today’s stay-at-home-dad tip: Don’t get married and have kids unless you’re cool with the Mom-in-law.
So, practically speaking, that tip means that I can lie in bed until noon musing that not only was yesterday’s BBQ a hoot, but now I’ve even got help cleaning up. Just about makes the hangover worth it.
Friday
Outdoors, and simplicity
Hey, it’s the 4th! Whatcha doing inside? Turn off your computer. Go outside. Drink some beer, eat a cow and light off some fireworks. Visit people you haven’t seen in while. Call your mom.
I’m just in the middle of packing up the kids for a BBQ at the town pool, and doing it the simple way. Complete BBQ in a tray. Comes with charcoal, plates-cups-napkins-forks-knives-all-in-one. No fuss, no muss.
Guess those are the two key words for the day: Outdoors, and simplicity. Now go.
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Hey, it’s the 4th! Whatcha doing inside? Turn off your computer. Go outside. Drink some beer, eat a cow and light off some fireworks. Visit people you haven’t seen in while. Call your mom.
I’m just in the middle of packing up the kids for a BBQ at the town pool, and doing it the simple way. Complete BBQ in a tray. Comes with charcoal, plates-cups-napkins-forks-knives-all-in-one. No fuss, no muss.
Guess those are the two key words for the day: Outdoors, and simplicity. Now go.
Thursday
Political Rant: Troops and Support
All right, back from a vacation that I didn't expect, and recovered from a landscape project I didn't expect. Got some glitchy type things worked out with this page and, now we’re ready to roll.
I awoke today to find in the news that George Bush has been making himself useful by insuring that Iraq is as dangerous as possible for our troops. It seems that Bush, the first semi-retarded man to ever run the U.S., was responding to questions yesterday about the fact that our troops continue to die daily in Iraq:
(From Reuters news wire Thursday…yes, it's a real quote)
''There are some who feel like conditions are such that they can attack us there,'' Bush told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. ''My answer is: Bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation ... We're not going to get nervous.''
Now there's a man too mind-numbingly stupid to realize how much blood he has on his hands. In fact, it boggles my mind that that I and those who share my political views were accused of, wait for it… “duhh, not supporting our troops” because we opposed not just the war, but the policy of preemption that made it possible. Of course the huge, glaring irony is that I have far more respect for our troops than our commander-in-chief who is acting like a drunken fool waving a broken bottle around a barroom looking for a fight.
Yes, thanks George, thanks for calling out Iraq’s guerilla forces to battle our troops while you sit in the air-conditioned comfort of the White House. “Support our troops!”… yeah, right.
Good heavens, that’s better. Hey! Enjoy your 4th… Drink some beer, eat a cow, and light off some fireworks. That’s what being American is all about.
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All right, back from a vacation that I didn't expect, and recovered from a landscape project I didn't expect. Got some glitchy type things worked out with this page and, now we’re ready to roll.
I awoke today to find in the news that George Bush has been making himself useful by insuring that Iraq is as dangerous as possible for our troops. It seems that Bush, the first semi-retarded man to ever run the U.S., was responding to questions yesterday about the fact that our troops continue to die daily in Iraq:
(From Reuters news wire Thursday…yes, it's a real quote)
''There are some who feel like conditions are such that they can attack us there,'' Bush told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. ''My answer is: Bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation ... We're not going to get nervous.''
Now there's a man too mind-numbingly stupid to realize how much blood he has on his hands. In fact, it boggles my mind that that I and those who share my political views were accused of, wait for it… “duhh, not supporting our troops” because we opposed not just the war, but the policy of preemption that made it possible. Of course the huge, glaring irony is that I have far more respect for our troops than our commander-in-chief who is acting like a drunken fool waving a broken bottle around a barroom looking for a fight.
Yes, thanks George, thanks for calling out Iraq’s guerilla forces to battle our troops while you sit in the air-conditioned comfort of the White House. “Support our troops!”… yeah, right.
Good heavens, that’s better. Hey! Enjoy your 4th… Drink some beer, eat a cow, and light off some fireworks. That’s what being American is all about.
