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.

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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!

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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.

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Big money goes around the world...