Bike odometer: 2523
Van odometer: 154411
Aches & pains: sciatica, tiny frostbite on elbow, lower back
Current reading: My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Cross-platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets
Recent listening: Bucketheadland by Buckethead, The Complete Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould, Across A Crowded Room by Richard Thompson, Weird Al Yankovic
Recent viewing: The Illusionist, Hancock, Brainman, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Stay, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Ravens at Steelers, Eagles at Cardinals, Fantastic Four, Battlestar Galactica, Monkey Shines, The Dark Knight, Mars Attacks
Recent playing: Chain Factor, Galcon
Recently accomplished: Cancelled Costco TV order, activated “new” Tivo, purchased new TV (again), Pinewood derby car for Graham, shopping, taking care of Tina
Imperative To Do:Â Freecycle, get rid of MacRenewal Macs, recover network functionality on old Tivo
I read the news today, oh boy
Monday, January 26, 2009
- 0600:
- iPhone alarm wakes me with “Sonar”. I get out of bed, put on yesterday’s clothes and check Thomas’ room. His alarm clock is rumbling but he is not in his room. I wander around the house looking for him until I find him in bed with his Grandma. I wake him. I take my iPhone into the Big TV Room where I check mail, Twitter and Facebook.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
Last weekend Thomas and Graham competed in the district pinewood derby races. Graham didn’t place, but Thomas came in 3rd in his division. He was actually disappointed at not doing better. There were also a number of other activities that we did in between races, including CO2 rockets. What fun those are!
Graham continues to get seriously into listening to music. Mostly he listens to They Might Be Giants and The Bobs, but he still asks me for a Song of the Day every few days. He’s proud that he has learned the words to many TMBG songs.
Thomas is still very interesting in learning how to program computers. He found a bug in one of the examples in the Logo book I got for him and has decided that fixing the bug will be his first test. He spends a lot of time in his room playing Runescape, an online role-playing game, with his friends. Occasionally, he’ll move over and play his bass for awhile. I love that he does it for enjoyment.
Tina and I have gone back to Phase I of the South Beach diet and have started losing weight again. Last week I lost 4 lbs. and feel confident that I’ll be up to 60 lbs. lost soon. Tina’s already there. We’ve decided we’re not celebrating until we get to 75 lbs.
This weekend Thomas and I were supposed to go camping with his Boy Scout troop, but somebody messed up on the reservations. Instead, they are having three consecutive day camps at a nearby park. The next weekend, Thomas and I are biking out to adjustable dumbbells Oxbow Park with the troop for another weekend of camping. It’s about a 14 mile ride, so it will be interesting to see how all the boys handle it. They’re young so they should be fine.
In a few weeks, Critical Path is moving offices. The new office is just across the street from us.
Pinewood Derby Pictures and Movies
Pictures and short movie clips are now available here. The movies there require QuickTime.
If you don’t have QuickTime, I also put the movies on YouTube:
Pinewood Derby Results
| Class | Result |
|
|
|
| Webelos Den | Thomas 1st |
| Wolf Den | Graham 1st |
| Pack 606 | Thomas 1st |
| Â | Graham 2nd |
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 505 miles
Weight lost: 48 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed this week: 8
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke
Recent listening: Sings Some Ol’ Songs by Victoria Williams, Broken Boy Soldiers by The Raconteurs, Welcome to Woody Creek by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Recent viewing: My Name Is Earl, The Office, CSI: Miami, Heat at Suns, AFC Division Playoffs, NFC Division Playoffs, 24
Recent playing: Wii Sports, ExciteTruck, Elebits
Recently accomplished: Re-partitioned Thomas’ hard drive, completed Super Excite Platinum cup, Pinewood Derby cutouts & shaping
Imperative To Do: Pinewood Derby sanding, Pinewood Derby weights, Pinewood Derby paint, Pinewood Derby axels & wheels, call mechanic, RMA old Tivo drive, vacuum van carpet, ride more/snack less, Super Excite Diamond Cup
Cool Link: Top Ten Myths About Iraq by Juan Cole
Snow Day
Last night it snowed about an inch. Thomas and Graham went outside for about an hour before bedtime to have a snowball fight and then build a snowman with their friend Ziad. The temperature was about 35° which made the snow perfect – sticky but still soft.
As I watched them cavort in the snow, I remembered the first time my hands got really, really cold. It was probably the first winter on my paper route and my gloves (or mittens) were horribly inadequate. I came home with very cold fingers and my mom had me put them under running water to thaw them out. I remember screaming that the water was too hot and my mom telling me that it was cold water. After that I always wore a pair of snowmobile mittens over another pair of gloves.
Much to our surprise the snow was still on the ground this morning and school as first delayed and then cancelled altogether. Thomas and Graham were outside for quite awhile before their play devolved into a fight. Graham had to come in and stay in his room and Thomas wasn’t far behind.
I decided to stay home, too. I’m going to try to divert attention away from the Wii this afternoon and toward Pinewood Derby cars. The race is on the 21st and we have not even started!
Vital Statistics
Bike odometer: 483 miles
Weight lost: 49 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 9
Hours billed last week: 20
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke
Recent listening: Recent Tracks from last.fm
Recent viewing: Chiefs at Colts, Spartans at Hawkeyes, Kingdom Hospital, Man vs. Wild
Recent playing: Wii Sports, ExciteTruck
Recently accomplished: Best of 2006, cleaned and lubed bike, re-installed applications on Graham’s computer, added memory to Tina’s computer, a little garage cleaning, dried most of the van carpet
Imperative To Do: Pinewood derby cars, call mechanic, RMA old Tivo drive, re-partition Thomas’ hard drive, finish drying van carpet, vacuum van carpet
Cool Link: History of Religion (in 90 seconds)
Vital Statistics
We had a good weekend. Thomas got 2nd in the Regional Pinewood Derby Championship and tied the track record for a short time before the 1st place winner smashed it. The weather was beautiful and we spent some time outside both days. The 2006 NBA Playoffs are also underway which is one of the highlights of my year.
Bike odometer: 6041 miles
Current reading: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
Recent listening: Dreamboat Annie, Copperhead Road, Rainy Day Music, Throw Down Your Arms
Recent viewing: Paycheck, Bulls at Heat, Nuggets at Clippers, Pacers at Nets, Lakers at Suns, Bucks at Pistons, Memphis at Dallas, Wizards at Cavaliers
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Fixed Graham’s Pinewood Derby car (glued front axle), mowed lawn, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed
Vital Statistics
I haven’t had much of a chance to truck shop this week, but I do have a few questions for you, readers:
- If I’m looking for an early 90s vintage small truck, which makes/models are typically low maintenance?
- What questions should I ask sellers when I call them?
Bike odometer: 6032 miles
Current reading: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
Recent listening: Buddy Holly, Grace, Has Been
Recent viewing: Countdown, The Colbert Report, Sportscenter, The Office
Recent playing: n/a
Recently Accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Fix Graham’s Pinewood Derby car (a little glue), mow lawn (front and back)
Cool link: Pimp My Snack