Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cookie Dough Cookies

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you took a bowl full of "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough" ice cream, ate all the ice cream, saved the supposed cookie dough, and tried to make cookies with it? I'm sure we have all wondered exactly that. As just another community service provided here ye olde blogge, here is the result of such an experiment.

1) First, make yourself a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. (Sorry, no photo available.) Be sure to suck all the ice cream off the cookie dough globules.

2) Form the globules into a cookie shape, and place on a cookie sheet. (In my case, I used a pie tin.) See below:


3) Preheat oven to 350F.

4) Bake the "cookie" for maybe 8 or 9 minutes or so.

5) Volià!


6) Realise that you should have greased the cookie sheet. The cookie was perfectly formed before removal from the cookie sheet.

7) Eat!

Results: I admit that you would have to call the result a cookie. It didn't raise much, probably due to a lack of baking powder or soda or whatever, and it wasn't completely firm when hot. But as it cooled, it firmed up into a slightly chewy, very sweet, not that good, but not horrible little treat.

James Doohan, 1920 - 2005

I just read that James Doohan died earlier today. He is, of course, the actor that played "Scotty" in Star Trek. According to the Wikipedia page, he is survived by several children, the youngest of which was born in 2000 when he was 80. Shawn from work asked, "Can you imagine that?" to which my reply was, "I don't think I want to!"

(I thought he was already dead...)

i see red

Yesterday morning, I went to a funeral instead of going to work. (I could write a lot about that, but I'll add only one item of interest here.) I wore a suit and tie, and allowed my daughter to select the tie, not that I have many to choose from. She went with a mostly red tie with some blue and a swirl design that the kids call the Easter Egg tie due to the shapes of the swirls. Perhaps the Easter Egg tie was quite an appropriate one to wear for the occasion.

When I got to work in my suit and tie, there were the usual questions asking why was I dressed like that, and envious questions asking me if I had a (job) iterview. My response was that there were only two possible reasons why I'd dress like that, and since it wasn't an interview, it was the other reason: a funeral. To that, a coworker from Taiwan gave a surprised, "You can wear red to a funeral?"

So I guess the lesson is, don't wear a partially red tie to a Chinese funeral.

What Does Lightning Smell Like?

My wife just sent me an IM, asking if I needed anything at the store. I responded that my Anti-Deodorant (as I always call it) is running low, and I could use some more. When describing what kind I like, I just noticed (or thought about) the fact that my current supply is of the manly "Lightning" flavour. What exactly does lightning smell like anyway? Scorched earth? Burnt food? An electrical fire? And is it something I want to smell like?

Weird Al is on Yahoo Launch!

Opening Music: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones on Yahoo! Launch

I turned on my Yahoo! Launch station this evening, and it was music to my ears! For whatever legal reasons, I had never heard any songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic on the station, despite my giving him a very high rating. Whatever the reason was, it is now resolved, and the song Traffic Jam was coming through loud and clear.

Now, if only they'll start playing the Beatles.

Here's what my station has played recently, in reverse chronological order. It's kind of an odd playlist, but not too bad. I lowered Elton John's rating. Not that I have anything against him, but I don't think I'll ever really want to listen to more Elton John.

10,000 Maniacs	These Are Days
Maranatha! Singers	Lord, I Lift Your Name On High
They Might Be Giants	Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes	Over the Rainbow
Pink Floyd	Brain Damage
Natalie Merchant	Beloved Wife
The Kingston Trio	Ally Ally Oxen Free
My Morning Jacket	Death Is The Easy Way
Elton John	Shoot Down The Moon
The Rolling Stones	(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Jackson Browne	Stay
Nena	Feuer Und Flamme
Semisonic	Closing Time
Weezer	Say It Ain't So
Cream	Sunshine Of Your Love
Creed	Signs
Supertramp	The Logical Song
Rod Stewart	Lochivnar
Jimmy Fallon	Road Rage
Soundgarden	Black Hole Sun
Rush	The Spirit Of Radio
Weird Al Yankovic	Traffic Jam
The Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos	Traditor Autem - Benedictus Antoifona (Modo I) Cantico
Blind Melon	2x4

Thoughts On Drinks

1. When out at Target with your son, why pay $1 or $1.80 for a soft drink when you can get a gallon of refreshing distilled water for 79c? Nothing hits the spot like water, and there's nothing like chugging from the gallon jug with your son. Plus, it takes a while to drink a gallon, even if there are two of you.
2. When your Rum and Coke consists of diluted rum and caffeine-free Pepsi... well, I don't know. Something just seems wrong about that.
   

Old Photo

I was looking through some stuff, and I found a 5x7 of the following photo:

I must have wanted to frame it or something, but then forgot about it. It's from the 1999 (I think) United States Australian Football Championships. What was I doing there, along with Mike, Tom, and Joe? Frankly, I don't recall. :-) It seems both so recent and so long ago...

P.S. A common question I've heard concerning Austalian football is, "Is that like rugby?" In short, the answer is, "No." I mean, it's a contact sport played on grass with teams and a ball, like rugby. But of rugby, American football, and Australian football, the closest similarities are between rugby and American football, with Aussie rules being distinct from each of the other two.

Baseball Home Run Thoughts, in no particular order

1. Currently, Sammy Sosa is tied with Mark McGwire for #6 on the all-time home run chart, at 583, and 3 behind Frank Robinson's 586.
2. Sosa's home runs per season since 2001: 64, 49, 40, 35, 9*. (The 9 is in less than half a season.)
3. At the start of the 2005 season, Alex Rodriguez was tied with Albert Belle for 50th place all-time (381). In less than half a season, ARod has passed Andres Galarraga for 39th place and now has 401.
4. Jim Thome has "only" 7 home runs so far this season (which is exactly 7 more than I'll hit in my major league career), giving him 430 for his career, #34 all time. In his years with Cleveland, he had OPS totals over 1.000 four times, and was at .998 once. For the Phillies, he has had very good, but not great, OPS numbers of .958 & .977 (and this season he's down at .712 and on the DL). When he went to the Phillies, I was disappointed, but guessed that his best seasons may have been with the Indians. Whether he'll snap back to his old self or not remains to be seen, but I'll stand by my earlier prediction.
5. In the early 90's, we thought that Juan Gonzalez would put up some nifty career home run totals. After all, he hit 27 at age 21, 43 @ 22, and 46 @ 23, back in the days before McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds were smacking 60+. Now at age 35, he can't make it to first base. (At least he was born on October 20.) Not that his 434 career homers (#32 after 2004) are anything to sneeze at, but it shows the difficulties of projecting young players to have exceedingly high career numbers.
   

What's the Point of Europe?

I don't really pay attention to news the way I did 10, 20, or even 30 (ouch!) years ago, which is strange, since so much more is available now. To get into the reasons for this would be another post. But, some of the limited bit of news that I do get comes from BBC World Service on the radio. In recent weeks, the struggles of the European Union have been discussed, including the rejection of the proposed constitution by France and the Netherlands, and the assumption of the Presidency by the United Kingdom.

One thing that is not really clear to me at my distant vantage point is, what is the point of Europe? By this, I mean, what are people in and for the European Union trying to achieve? How will they know when they get there? Do they know where they are trying to go? I'm not sure, and maybe Europeans feel the same way too.

So, I got to thinking, what they need is a catchy constitutional preamble (which the people could hum and which would make them actually eager to attend this particular play) that can be sold as what they want Europe to be. If they can sum it up in a nice sound bite, I figure that the pro-constitutional forces can convince more people of their views.

By the way, thanks to Schoolhouse Rock, I'm one of the many people my age that can sing the preamble to the US constitution. (Actually, the Schoolhouse Rock version isn't exactly right, but it's close enough.) What Europe should do is to turn their preamble into a catchy tune that schoolchildren can sing -- if I can sing about establishing justice and ensuring domestic tranquility, so can Europeans in any language.

I assume that the proposed European constitution has a preamble, and thanks to the magic of the internet, it's only a click away. It's, well, a bit long for a preamble. Let's take a look at what it says: (My inline comments are in green.)

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF DENMARK, THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA, Blah Blah Blah, let's skip ahead, shall we?,

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom,democracy, equality and the rule of law,

BELIEVING that Europe, reunited after bitter experiences, intends to continue along the path of civilisation, progress and prosperity, for the good of all its inhabitants, including the weakest and most deprived; that it wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning and social progress; and that it wishes to deepen the democratic and transparent nature of its public life, and to strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world,

CONVINCED that, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, the peoples of Europe are determined to transcend their former divisions and, united ever more closely, to forge a common destiny,

CONVINCED that, thus ‘United in diversity’, Europe offers them the best chance of pursuing, with due regard for the rights of each individual and in awareness of their responsibilities towards future generations and the Earth, the great venture which makes of it a special area of human
hope,

DETERMINED to continue the work accomplished within the framework of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and the Treaty on European Union, by ensuring the continuity of the Community acquis, (Cool, a French word. Here's the definition.)

GRATEFUL to the members of the European Convention for having prepared the draft of this Constitution on behalf of the citizens and States of Europe,

HAVE DESIGNATED AS THEIR PLENIPOTENTIARIES:

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS,

Guy VERHOFSTADT
Prime Minister

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah. This goes on forever, listing everyone involved with every single European government.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,

The Rt. Hon Tony BLAIR
Prime Minister

The Rt. Hon Jack STRAW
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

WHO, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

OK, is anyone still with me? I don't want to sound too harsh, but let's face it, that's pathetic! Be aware that I cut out the bulk of it, where all the countries and all the people were listed. I mean, the bits about "DRAWING INSPIRATION", "BELIEVING", "CONVINCED", "CONVICTED", "DETERMINED", and "GRATEFUL" aren't all that good, but by themselves they aren't worth mentioning as examples of badness.

This whole thing is one sentence. That's OK, I suppose, for a preamble. But check out what the main verb phrase is. If you can't find it, it's "HAVE DESIGNATED AS THEIR PLENIPOTENTIARIES". What kind of subject is that? What's a PLENIPOTENTIARY anyway? (Or is the main predicate "have agreed as follows"?)

What they need to do is shorten the middle section, hack out all of the names, and get to the point... a point that a schoolchild can sing.

Taking things a bit further, do you know what the problem is? Who is making the constitution? In some places, it's "We, the people". In Europe, it is only about 25 special people, including "HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SPAIN" who are creating the document. There's something to that, probably, but I won't pursue it here.

Are all preambles like this? I don't know. Let's take a look at another. For all intents and purposes, South Africa is a random country. Let's take a look at its preamble. Bravo, South Africa. Nicely done.

Europe, get with it.

Allium Season

I'm not much of a gardener, but we did plant some allium bulbs a few years ago. One good thing about alliums is that they bloom this time of year, rather than in the Spring like many other types of flowers. Here's a photo from today. It might be a few days before 2005's allium "peak".

Someboody Loves Me

Here's another great thing about having kids. When I went to bed last night, I discovered that someone had left an Atomic Fire Ball under my pillow. That's so sweet.

I waited until this morning to eat it.

Today's Lunch: Bologna on Saltine

I've written about my lunches before (and if I could figure out an easy way to access my own archives, I'd link to one of those articles, but I can't at the moment) so I won't describe how they sometimes come into existence with today's post. But it is worth mentioning that today's lunch was a new experience. It was a baggie filled with saltine crackers and a piece of bologna sliced into small pieces. That is something I wouldn't have made for myself! I thought it wasn't going to be enough food, but it was tasty and satisfying.

Wipe Out!

On the way home from work this evening, I stopped first at the library. On the way home from there, turning north onto Taylor from eastbound Main, I wiped out on my bicycle. (All my journeys today were by bicycle.)

Due to the new grocery/shopping centre (just what we needed) at the intersection of Taylor & Main, the road is under construction and there is a section with a single narrow lane in each direction. I thought I would be nice to the traffic and pop up onto the sidewalk. But I hit the "lip" of the drive into the sidewalk at a bad angle, and there was a lot of loose, fine dirt there. I skidded and scraped up my leg, knee, and shoulder, getting a bit of road rash. I also skidded on my thigh, but my biking shorts seemed to save me from some damage there. The shorts are now worn in that area, with a pinhole on the one leg. Still wearable, in other words.

My Roughriders baseball cap was undamaged. (Or at least not further damaged. It's pretty worn already...)

When something like that happens, there's not much you can do besides hopping back on the bike without even dusting yourself off, and riding home.

No, I won't post photos of my injuries.

On Sunday, I teach bicycle safety to the Cub Scouts. Seriously.

2005 Dad and Me Camp

We had a great time. Click here for more photos.

9 Months, More or Less

How Star Wars Episode III Could Have Been Better

I saw the latest Star Wars movie last weekend, and I must say that I was mostly impressed. I thought it was quite well-done, especially in comparison to episodes I and II. But, with all the death and carnage, I thought of something that would have made it even better.

Warning: Minor Spoilers Follow

They could have had a scene where Senator Jar Jar Binks falls asleep in his little pod in the senate chamber. Unfortunately for J. Binks, during the climactic showdown between Yoda and Palpatine, Jar Jar is still in the chamber. You can use a bit of special effects and a bit of imagination, but suffice it to say that in the end, Jar Jar Binks could have been another casualty of the fall of the Republic.

Imagine the cheers in the movie audiences if that would have happened.

Painting the Bathroom

In something that has become a tradition, here's a photo of the bathroom in the process of being painted. I got to choose the colour, and I admit that I didn't give it a lot of thought. One thing that I considered is that I didn't want one of the lightest shades. But, since the room has no windows, I didn't want anything too dark. I was kind of thinking of a blue, but it looks a little more purple than blue. Oh well, that's not bad.

Should the Hosting Deduction Amount be Raised?

As I have been involved with an international exchange student program in recent months, I have been advised to write to my Congresscritter, in support of the "Youth Exchange Support Act". (See, for example, here.) If you weren't aware of it, if a family (or individual, I suppose) hosts an exchange student for the majority of a calendar month, it qualifies for a $50 deduction on US federal income taxes. This Act is an attempt to raise the monthly deduction to $200.

The main thing I look at when evaluating a proposed tax change is whether it would make the tax code simpler or less simple. It seems to me that such a change would complicate things a bit further, as it would make deductions, and knowing what they are, even more important.

Secondly, who would such a change benefit? Who hosts exchange students? I don't know any statistics, so please supply them if you have them, but I'll guess:

• Middle- and upper- income people
• People with children
• White people
• I am least sure that this applies, but just by going from the above, I am going to go out on a limb and guess Republican people.
  

Now, I am not going to claim that it's the poor need tax cuts at the expense of the rich. The poor pay very little income tax as of now anyway. (**I** pay very little income tax now anyway...) But I'm not sure I'd be in favour of adding another tax deduction primarily for people in my categories above, several of which happen to include myself. If an additional tax deduction is that critical to you, then maybe you aren't prepared financially (or otherwise) to host an exchange student.

I would rather the deduction be completely eliminated, and tax rates reduced ever so slightly so that total government income (or taxpayer outgo) is the same. While I am not going to respond in a group e-mail stating this, I wanted to go on record as being against the proposed tax change.

Wrens Concert Wrapup

Currently Playing: Engaged in Labor by Miranda Sound

Last night, at my brother's invitation, I went to a place called Little Brother's in order to see the band The Wrens play. He is something of a fan of that band, as before last night he said that they were probably his favourite contemporary band that he had not seen play live. But maybe he's seen so many bands play live that they're number 100 on his list, I don't know.

Also on hand were two opening acts: Miranda Sound and Troubled Hubble. Here are a few comments about the experience(s).

The Venue:

• I think it was the first time I've seen a band play in a place like Little Brother's. In the past, I've seen acts in concert halls, arenas, etc., where the place was set up to hold spectators for events. And, I suppose I've been to bars or events where the band was kind of a sideshow, and not the main reason why people went to it. This place was basically a run-down looking bar, but it had an area where (no more than a few hundred, I suppose) people could watch a band on a stage. There were some seats and tables, where we sat for the first two bands, but if you wanted to see for the Wrens, you had to stand.
• Judging from the stickers, I think the establishment and many patrons hold more liberal views than does the current administration.
• It was cool to chat with members of the bands before and after the show. I brought my camera along and asked if they had a policy against photography. The guy taking tickets suggested that I ask people associated with the bands. I saw a guy setting up a merchandise table. He looked like a typical attender of such an event -- he kind of had the "grad student" look about him. I asked if he was associated with one of the bands, and did they care about picture-taking. He said that he didn't think the guys from Troubled Hubble would mind. It turned out that this was the drummer from Troubled Hubble. Or, when my brother noticed Charles from the Wrens, and asked him to autograph an old Wrens album. We ended up chatting for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and, if you didn't know any better, it would just look like the guys chatting. From the way he was dressed and spoke, I could have been chatting with a fellow father from my son's Cub Scout troop or something. I guess my point is that nobody gave off the image of the stereotypical rock star.
• We thought it started at 8:00pm. Instead, the doors opened around 8:00pm, the first band started around 9:00, the second around 10:00, and the third around 11:00, and ended a little after 12:00am.
• It was a little loud. Maybe I should be embarrassed to admit this, but I brought ear plugs. And used them. And was glad about it. The did have the effect of reducing the treble more than the bass.
  

Miranda Sound:

• My brother had worked with a few of the guys in this band at the radio station in college, and wanted to see them play. I'm not a music critic, and it's hard for me to describe musical styles. I would call Miranda Sound "rock", perhaps mentioning that it's rock as interpreted by people near 30 years old. I suppose you can call them "alternative", since anything that's not pop is "alternative" these days, isn't it?
• Upon first listen, I really liked them. I suppose that could change after listening a few more times. Also, I couldn't understand any of the words than anyone sang all night.
• After they played, I picked up a copy of their CD for $5. Sounds like a bargain to me. I even had all of the band members sign it. One of the guys (Billy Peake) was impressed by my CFL cap, and mentioned that someone (his uncle?) had been equipment manager for the Arizona Wranglers of the USFL.
• As I was standing around getting my CD autographed, I had an experience that I hadn't had for a while. A young woman started chatting with me, mentioning how much she liked the band and so on. (I certainly don't mean to imply that she was anything other than a friendly and talkative concert-goer.) But it still felt a little odd, so after a short time of that, I suggested that she chat with the band members and excused myself to the restroom.

Troubled Hubble

• Of the three bands, I liked this one the least. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time for them to grow on me, as their singer seemed to be coming down with strep throat, and they left after playing for about 20 minutes.
• Musically, they were a little bit like Miranda Sound, but different in ways that are hard for non-musical me to describe. They seemed somewhat more "silly" or "irreverent" in their approach. Usually, you'd think I'd enjoy that kind of approach, but for some reason I didn't care for it with them.
• What does their name mean? Is it related to the Space Telescope? I don' t know.
  

The Wrens

• The place filled up for the headline act and got their money's worth. My brother had commented how their more recent work was much more mellow than their earlier work, and as they were approaching 40 and beyond, they just didn't rock like youngsters. To me, it sounded like the misimpressions of someone who is still on the younger side of 30, but I was expecting a somewhat more "mature", mellow performance. Boy, were we wrong. They rocked. Charles was looking like anything but a Cub Scout parent. I was told that they played a lot of their older stuff, and very few of their more recent songs. My brother was surprised at what they played, but we later found out that they're planning on re-recording some of their older songs, and so that could be why they focused on the older stuff.
• While they were good, I and I didn't dislike them, I can't say that I loved them either. My lack of musical vocabulary is hurting me again, but it seemed to me that their "sound" included a high-pitched, out-of-tune guitar chords. This probably sounds like a major shot against them, but I don't mean it that way. It's just that there was something in their sound that keeps me from saying they're great. I certainly liked them better than Troubled Hubble.
• Daichi liked the Wrens best of the three bands.

All-in-all, it was a lot of fun. It's not something I'd want to do every week, but once in a while might be good.

Is it rude to take a flash picture at a concert?

Is It Rude To Take A Flash Picture At A Concert?

Outside the venue


Miranda Sound (no flash) -- I had never heard them before, but upon first listen, I liked these guys.


Troubled Hubble (no flash, somewhat stationary and tuning between songs)


The Wrens (no flash, almost artistic)


The Wrens (with flash) I hope nobody minded.

Major League Baseball Memorial Day Holiday

I kind of wonder why 1/3 of Major League Baseball has an off day this Memorial Day holiday. Whether or not it's in-line with the "true meaning" of the holiday, I would think that a holday at the start of the unofficial US summer would be a great day for fans to catch a game at the ballpark or on TV. I'm sure there's a business reason for it, but I can't figure it out.

Chess

Since Daichi has been here, we've been playing chess several times per week. He says that he learned how to play chess after he arrived, so if that's the case, he plays very well for someone who's only played chess for about a month.

I played chess some when I was in high school. I was on the high school chess club, but I hesitate to say that I played chess a lot since I was never very interested in studying the game much beyond just playing it. I always said that rather than plan ahead, I just always made what looked like a good move at the time. Some of my friends played chess in college, but I rarely played then. My casual attitude towards the game meant that they had improved more than I had, and whereas we would play evenly in high school, I would always lose in college. Since then I've occasionally played chess with my wife and others, but not a whole lot. I've also played some on Yahoo! Games, but in recent years, I've been more interested in improving my go, so I am not consistently crushed in that game when I play online. (But I'm still always crushed in go, unless I find someone who has never played before.)

Back to high school chess club: I was probably at least partially in it for its geeky social nature, although I don't think I was heavily involved in the chess piece battles (that is, actually throwing the chess pieces at each other) or anything like that. I do think I was involved in a game of Aerial Bughouse that resulted in Mr Luikart ending his advisorship (and thus the club for a while). I think he called it "Screw Off Club, not Chess Club" or something.

Anyway, back to the present: I think Daichi's chess is improving. But I also think that my chess is improving. Or at least my chess is a little different. I think I'm better at knight play now than when I was in high school, and "seeing" where my (or my opponent's) knights can be in a few moves just seems easier and more natural to me. Also, I seem to be able to better see, put pressure on, and attack critical spaces on the board, and not just my opponent's pieces.

I'm probably a worse chess player in other ways, so at least my chess is a little different.

---

I recently heard an amusing anecdote from a sports radio announcer. I don't know who it was. He was describing a recent interview with former boxing champ Mike Tyson. The announcer mentioned to Tyson that he had just returned from Iceland:
Tyson: Iceland? What were you doing there?
Radio Dude: I was interviewing Bobby Fischer.
Tyson: Bobby Fischer?? That guy's crazy!

---

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster...

Part-Time Work, Back to Bite Me

Do you remember the part-time work I did last fall? Well, neither did I, at least not when I filed my tax return. I've remembered it now, and so I need to go back and file amended tax returns with the relatively small amount of additional money added. It's one thing to render therefore unto Washington the things which are Washington's, but the paperwork is the thing that bugs me!

Pregnant Action Figures

My wife informed me that there's a new pregnant Padmé Star Wars action figure for Episode 3. I'm sure that this isn't a "spoiler" for anyone. As Ashley pointed out in a comment here, the fact that she's pregnant doesn't come as a surprise to anyone marginally familiar with the Star Wars saga.

Anyway, my wife mentioned that she saw one of these in a store, and thought it was really funny. Personally, I think it's kind of neat. Why can't a pregnant woman with a blaster raise some dust every now and then? It may exist, but I've never heard of a pregnant Barbie^® doll. All-in-all, I think we need more pregnant roll models. So, it seems like a good idea to me.

Also, guess who's getting one of the below for her upcoming birthday. (Since she never reads my blog, it's OK to mention it here!)

Star Wars Prediction

I haven't seen it yet, but wouldn't it be a hoot if we discover that Darth Vader is really not Luke Skywalker's father?

Phone Considerations

We're considering getting a second mobile phone to share between my spouse and me. We've had one since 2000, along with the land-line at home. If we do get a second mobile phone, I don't think we'd need the land-line anymore, so I'd strongly consider dropping that -- I probably would. It doesn't seem like it's a good time to be a non-wireless service provider.

I don't use the telephone much anyway. I always say that if someone has something important to tell me, they'll send e-mail.

How To Make a 6-Mile Ride Seem Short

Today, I stopped at a store after work, and noticed that the car's radiator was leaking antifreeze. Since I recently had the cooling system fixed (for major money) I decided that now would be a good time for the shop to take a look at the car and fix it right this time. As I usually do when I need to take a car to the shop, I loaded the bike into it, drove to the mechanic, and bicycled back home. The ride home was about 9 or 10 km. I admit that I didn't set any speed records this evening, but the distance didn't seem long at all.

Maybe that's because yesterday I did the second half of the Tour of (One Half of) the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV). Yes, I'm lazy and I only do the half-tour, which ends up being a little less than 55 miles a day for two days. It was the best of TOSRVs; it was the worst of TOSRVs. This is the third consecutive year that I did the half tour, and I say that because of a few reasons:

• At mile 7, my son telephoned me and asked if he could play on the computer. Not that this was a bad thing, but as I sometimes say, I would have expected that he'd be able to use his own discretion in answering that question.
• At mile 11, my chain broke as I was switching into low gear while pedelling hard for an uphill climb. I got that fixed with the aid of my handy-dandy chain tool and two passing cyclists who offered moral support (and good advice). But, I was the only one who got his hands dirty.
• In Portsmouth, I got a flat tire right at the park at the end of the ride -- an amazingly fortunate place to get a flat. I switched to my spare tube, and used Chris' pump (of Chris' Cycle Works) to inflate my tire, since the most important supply I don't have is a pump. That lasted me until the pickup location for my luggage. As it was within sight (as I was rolling), I heard PSSST, PSSST, Pssst, Pssst, Pssst, pssst, pssst, pssst, and I knew I was in trouble.
• And, for the first 25 miles (or really, miles 10-25) I didn't feel all that good. I probably hadn't ridden enough this year in preparation, and I wasn't enjoying myself at all.

But it was also a good TOSRV:

• After the Lake White rest stop, I started to feel better. By the time I got to Portsmouth, I didn't feel bad at all.
• As always, I spent the night at the home of the parents of a former college roommate, and had a pleasant evening, a delicious dinner, and a nice bed.
• While there, I patched the tube and filled the tire, and it gave me no problems on Sunday.
• The Sunday ride was very nice. I was never in a hurry, and I didn't feel too tired or in any sort of hurry to get it over with. I just enjoyed the ride. It was probably the most pleasant day of my 6 TOSRV days, coming after the worst half-day (at least) of the riding of a TOSRV.

Here are a few photos. First, here I am as I am about to leave the Lake White rest stop on Saturday. I am starting to feel better -- when I arrived I didn't even bother to ask anyone to take my picture -- I only asked someone as I was leaving. I cropped all but a few pixels of my very non-professional biker-looking socks.

Here's my bike on the Portsmouth Flood Wall:


Here's the fog when leaving Portsmouth on Sunday morning. It soon lifted into a beautiful day.


And to prove I felt good when it was all done, I finally stopped in Circleville for a photo of the Pickaway County Courthouse. Someday, I'll have to redo my web page of county courthouse photos.

My First External Blog Entry

Due to being on vacation, the proprietor of the djl zone was unable to post the message he wanted to today, and asked me to do it. I was excited and honoured to be given authority to post to someone else's blog, instead of just my own. Actually, he just said that he wanted a photo posted, and gave me the freedom to add any words I felt appropriate. Actually, I had difficulties with the Greymatter interface. It seemed to only allow lines of a certain length, and then would add [BR] tags at the end of each line. All-in-all, it was a little annoying, but I hope the result treats the subject with the appropriate respect.

Here's the post: Remember May 4, 1970

I had wanted to add the following Wikipedia link, but wasn't able to get the HTML to work out: Kent State shootings.

Big-Time Big-Money College Football

I just passed up the opportunity to buy two tickets to see my favorite big-time college football team play a home game against a conference opponent. At a face value of $61 per ticket, they're finally "too rich for my blood". What else could I do with $122? I could:

• Feed some homeless people for a long time.
• Feed my family for a long time.
• Invest it in my retirement account and have lots of money when I retire.
• Probably a lot of other good stuff. If you have any ideas, leave a comment.
  

So, I'll just watch the game on TV.

---

Big money goes around the world...

Seven Months, A Day Late

Hopefully not a dollar short.

H. H. Benedict XVI

It's interesting reading the Wikipedia page about Pope Benedict XVI. It's also interesting to see the speed at which the page is being updated (should I make a change?), but that might get old after a while.

A Day For Legends

This is probably really too many photos for a blog entry. Really, this day should get its own web page, but here it is in the blog anyway. Today, we went to the first ever game of the Canton Legends in the Atlantic Indoor Football League. Canton lost to Raleigh 50-28, as especially in the first half, the Legends' QB couldn't get it together.

On the way, we stopped to see the amazin' Y-Bridge and another county courthouse.


And here is at Mom's House. Yes, that's an old Canton Invaders jersey. I saw one or two others at the game.


The beautiful Civic Center:


I really should figure out how to quickly normalize photos so that they look better. Maybe someday soon, I will. The announced attendance was about 1,700. More people were sitting on our side than the other one.

Below is the soon-to-be world-famous Slappy.

Freaky Nickels

I got my first 2005 nickel today. It's cool that they brought back the buffalo. But as for the obverse of Jefferson, I have one word: Freaky.

I'd consider myself a moderate when it comes to things like coins. I don't think coins should never change. I guess you can say that I advocate small changes to small change. But I don't like major change change. This changing change two or more times per year is too much.

Today's Bike Ride

Here are a few photos from today's bike ride. It looks like we're just starting to get a bit of green out there.

Note the slanting trees. I assume this is damage from the ice storm we had.


I though this one was interesting. The sign says "Danger Hard Hat Area". It's like a walk in the woods is through a major construction site. I'm not quite sure what the deal is. They might be extending the trail or something, I guess.

Whatever Happened to the Thorn (þ)?

Opening Music: Found Out About You by Gin Blossoms

(This is what I think a blog is for. When I find an interesting fact that nobody else probably cares about, I can just make a blog entry, and not send a boring e-mail to all of my friends.)

Did you ever wonder what happened to the thorn (þ)? Did you ever wish that /th/ was one letter, and not two? Here's what happened, according to the usage note for "ye" at Dictionary.com:

Usage Note: In an attempt to seem quaint or old-fashioned, many store signs such as “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” use spellings that are no longer current. The word ye in such signs looks identical to the archaic second plural pronoun ye, but it is in fact not the same word. Ye in “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” is just an older spelling of the definite article the. The y in this ye was never pronounced (y) but was rather the result of improvisation by early printers. In Old English and early Middle English, the sound (th) was represented by the letter thorn (þ). When printing presses were first set up in England in the 1470s, the type and the typesetters all came from Continental Europe, where this letter was not in use. The letter y was used instead because in the handwriting of the day the thorn was very similar to y. Thus we see such spellings as y^e for the, y^t or y^at for that, and so on well into the 19th century. However, the modern revival of the archaic spelling of the has not been accompanied by a revival of the knowledge of how it was pronounced, with the result that (y) is the usual pronunciation today.

I guess it doesn't say why /y/ became /th/, but that wasn't the question, was it? (Tune in tomorrow...)

Closing Music: Life's Gonna Suck by Denis Leary

My Movie Idea

I've never had an idea for a movie before, but here is one:

Opening shot: Everyman (Steve Martin? Someone younger?) is minding his business, reading the morning paper in his hotel lobby. Samuel the waiter (Jim Carey? Mike Myers? Someone who can act?) is having a slow day in the restaurant, and suggests Everyman try some breakfast, focusing on one particular item. Everyman leaves, but is followed by Samuel, still suggesting breakfast.

The movie turns into a chase, as Everyman is pursued through house, hiding place, and countryside, with farm animals getting involved as well. First they're in an automobile, but soon, they're on a locomotive.

The "big scene" involves a huge collision between the locomotive and a ship. All along, Samuel is advocating breakfast and Everyman is declining it.

While floating and facing certain death, Everyman breaks down and tries some of Samuel's breakfast. To his great surprise, he loves it. The whole chase was an unnecessary waste.

Miraculously (and strengthened by breakfast), they reach shore. Everyman's joy is now complete.

---

In case you couldn't figure it out, this would be a live action version of "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. I think it can be made into a cool movie. Or at least it can't be any worse than "The Cat in the Hat". Surprisingly, IMDB doesn't have a movie version of this story. The closest is "Green Eggs and Hamlet".

Hey, it could work.

House Hunting

Opening Music: Late in the Evening by Simon & Garfunkel

Last year, I said that this year, I might "think about thinking about" moving to a larger house. So, sure enough, this year I'm thinking about thinking about it. To me, this means that I am just trying to gather information, and I may or may not make a decision sometime soon. Or, I might decide to stay where I am for another year.

In my research, I've found one local new home builder that specialises in making large homes for not much money. I understand that if you buy the biggest house for the least amount of money, there will be other hidden costs. But, believe me, we'll be wanting as much space as we can get. A lot of new homes have these fancy cathedral ceilings in downstairs rooms. On the one hand, it looks nice, but on the other, I can't help but think, "What a waste of space!".

Anyway, today we went to our third model home for this builder. Maybe a month ago, I biked to one not far from here and talked to the lady there. I told her that I wasn't interested in a house, but I like to know what's going on with new homes in the area, since people tend to ask me sometimes. About a week or two later, T and I drove out to a model of one of their largest homes and checked it out. I also told the salesman that we were in no hurry to make a decision.

Today, we took the whole family for a ride through an April blizzard to see another model of the design that we think we like the best. There, I guess I wasn't vocal enough about the fact that I was in no hurry (or maybe it was because of the snow that he had no other customers) but it reminded me of the one and only time I went to a new car dealer. The guy seemed to want me to make a decision right away. I guess it must work on the average customer, or salescritters wouldn't do it, but I can't stand high-pressure sales jobs: I freeze and end up not making a decision for a long time.

So, right now, I'm thinking that our current house is really nice, and there are strong financial reasons to stay where we are. Why take on additional debt?

I'd post an image, but I'm on the laptop now, I don't have the right software installed, and I'd have to find the USB port. Sorry...

Closing Music:Distant Early Warning by Rush

First Daffodil of Spring

I've always liked daffodils, probably because they're some of the earliest flowers to appear in the Spring. Today, I noticed our first daffodil blooms; I may have missed then earlier, but I'm usually kind of observant about my daffodils.

It seems that the flowers are late this year. We had the shoots coming out of the ground in February, I think, but it seemed to take a long time for them to flower. Actually, I'm not sure when is the normal "first bloom" date around here. Now that I have a blog, I'll have to compare next year's date to today's.

Here's a poor photo:

It's All About the Information, Baby!

I'm taking this Good Friday (Jesus is the reason for this season) off work as one of my Floating Holidays or as Management Personal time or something. We were planning on visiting the in-laws this weekend, but those plans have been scrapped, and we'll be spending the day and weekend at home or at least in town.

The day off gives me some time to get things done around the house. I am finding that the things that "need to be done" are more and more information-related. Sure, I just helped the (usually) diligent T sweep the kitchen floor, but I also have the following tasks planned:

• I finally decided that 256 MB just wasn't enough RAM for the computer, so I broke down and bought 512 MB more. But, the last time I added memory (probably the wrong kind) to my old computer, it really messed things up. It wouldn't boot and the disk got corrupted somehow. So, I'm burning CDs of the last 5 years of family photos, which is probably a good idea anyway. The amount of disk space needed took a big jump after last year's purchase of a 5 MP camera capable of taking video.
• I need to finish up my taxes, or at least make a large dent on the remaining work. As I render therefore unto Washington the things which are Washington's (Matt. 22:21), this is also all about information. Since big ol' chunks o' gold aren't being passed back and forth, modern finances are all about keeping track of the information of who owes and owns what.
• I need to clean up our little home office/computer room area. As I look around, in addition to the kids' toys, there are a lot of papers strewn about: more information in need of management.
• Our bookshelves are a mess. What do books contain?
• OK, I think you get my point!

I also need to do some good old-fashioned car repair work of replacing an EGR valve. This is really beyond my car repair abilities, so I'm not sure how far I'll get. At some point, it may be better to junk the old car.

Pinewood Derby Results

The actual Pinewood Derby was today. It turned out that the Brownie car didn't win a design award, and came in third in each of its heats. The Wolf Cub Scout truck did win the award for "Best Workmanship" in its age group. It must have been the stylish writing and drawing that did the trick. The truck ended up winning one of its three heats, and came in second (of three) in the other two heats.

Here are a few more photos of the Pinewood Derby. First, here's an idea of what some of the other cars look like:


And here's the happy winner of the Craftsmanship award:


And the happy competitor:

2005 Pinewood Derby Cars

In case you're not familiar with it, the Pinewood Derby is an annual Cub Scout event, where the boys' fathers all make a car out of a block of wood. Then, there is a big event where everyone pretends that the boys made the cars, and they are raced by rolling them down a track. Below are our two cars for this year, along with last year's Tiger Cub car for reference. The Tiger car won the "Most Creative Design" award for its age group, so it's a tough act to follow.

Why do we have two cars? Well, in addition to a division for each of the ages of boys, there is an "Open" division for fathers, friends, and relatives who want to make their own cars. Last year, my daughter noticed that one of the cars in the Open division was a pink Disney-Princess themed one, and she decided that she wanted to enter a car this year. It should be obvious which is hers. If we were into that kind of thing, we could probably get "Girl Scout competes in Boy Scout Pinewood Derby" as a human interest story in the newspaper or somewhere, but we don't plan on attempting that.

So, who made what? Well,...

• The designs are solely by the kids.
• The wood-cutting is by my brother-in-law.
• The base painting was mostly by my wife in 2004 and by me in 2005.
• The trim work was by me in 2004 (for the face) and by the kids in 2005.

So, it's a family affair. Last year, we noticed that they didn't seem to care very much who actually won the races, so I don't think we're all that concerned about the cars being under-weight. Last year's car was maybe 10g under the weight limit (which most people thought was very light), but this year's cars are currently even lighter.

2005 Father-Daughter Dance

Here's a photo of people from my church, taken at Friday night's Father-Daughter Dance at Heritage Christian Church. Can you find me? :-)



And, since it's been a while since I've posted a photo of her, here's T:

The End Result

Here's the end result of our recent painting endevours. The photo give an idea of what it looks like, but I'm not sure that it totally does it justice. I'm sure that once we put some photos and posters back on the walls (and put the rest of the furniture in the room) it will be toned down a little more.

I Almost Feel Like I'm Stealing

I'm one of those people that have no idea how gasoline prices are determined. I find it interesting that all the gas stations sell it for the same price (within a few pennies) per gallon. If one place will raise prices 20c per gallon, so will the place across the street.

When I worked in a gas station, our price was always 1c more per gallon that the place across the street. The prices were set by telephone, where a mystery voice would call us and tell us what our prices should be. But I digress.

Today was one of those days where everyone raises their prices. They had been $1.99⁹ per gallon everywhere, and today all the stations raised their prices to $2.15⁹ per gallon. Except one place. As I was leaving, I noticed that they were at $1.99⁹. Throughout my daily travels, I noticed that every place else was at $2.15⁹. I didn't buy it at one of those higher-priced places, hoping to get it for $1.99⁹ on the way home. Sure enough, the place that didn't get the call was still 16c cheaper than all the other places. I ended up saving a whole $1.84.

But as I said, I am so trained to expect that unrelated gas stations (owned by unrelated companies) will all raise and lower their prices simultaneously. The fact that one place didn't stay in step makes me wonder and assume that it was only a mistake that caused them to not raise their prices. If they really meant to sell gasoline for $2.15⁹, then am I stealing from them?

The Mad Greek

Last night on the way home from work, I was going to pick up some Indian food for dinner. But, when I was phoning in my order, I found that the number of the closest Indian restaurant to my house had been disconnected. Further inquiries confirmed that the place had shut down. So, instead I picked up dinner from a place called "The Mad Greek". It's too bad that there aren't more restaurants like this one in the "Fast Food Capital of the Midwest".

This was the second time I was at the Greek, and the second time I ordered carry-out. One of the dinners came with soup, so the guy asked me what kind of soup I wanted. Maybe this was because I had taken a while to look at the menu, and perhaps it was because I wasn't a regular customer. But when I asked for the fish soup, the guy behind the counter suggested that I try each of the soups, said a few words (partially in Greek) to an employee, and soon I had three bowls, each with a small amount of soup in the bottom. They were

• Fish Something
• Lemon Chicken (Which was described as the "most popular"), and
  
• Lentil

They were all very good, but I went with my first urge of the fish.

Otherwise, all of the food is excellent. My usually picky daughter loves the pastitsio. Plus, they have delicious baklava ("Nature's most perfect food^TM"). It's all good, but I was most impressed by the personal service I received.

It's too bad there aren't more restaurants like The Mad Greek.

Note to Self on Odometer Readings

At the start of the year,

• Motorcycle, 22834.0
• Bicycle, 2725.2*
  

* - Sure, I could reset the bicycle odometer at the start of the year,
but what's the fun in that?

Speech Meet at The Tree

Our friends over at The djl Zone are big fans of the Tree of Life Christian School, or at least its athletic teams. Today, I had the opportunity to visit The Tree for the first time, as my daughter was entered in a speech competition there. She did a very good job reciting the poem The Three Little Kittens from memory. Given her skills at oration, it was almost too easy for her this year.

(Interestingly, a web search shows that there are a number of different versions of this poem.)

Here are some photos from today: