More January Photos

Photo dump from January

Oh yeah, Phoenix arrived, love it

Here's the deal:

Solid State Drive = boot time is 9 seconds.

Windows 8 =  I don't like the Metro Interface so instead I use "Rainmeter" to make my desktop look cool.

Shortly after getting the desktop I set my laptop in a place where a sippy cup of water could overturn and leave a puddle under it and soak the harddrive for at least a whole day.  Ruined the hard drive.  Currently the laptop is a brick.  Not so happy about that but no appreciable data loss, so there's that.

First world problem to be sure.

Phoenix still not rising

Okay, so Mr FedEx man tries to deliver my computer this morning but no one was there to sign for it.  I tried to head them off at the pass but FedEx says for them to leave it at their place for pickup will need to wait for Tuesday.  Tuesday?

And i just read the fine print that says FedEx Ground doesn't even deliver on weekends.  Are you out of your FedEx'n mind?  I'm going to have to wait at my house all Monday for it to arrive? 

FedEx, you are keeling me.

Phoenix is almost here...

Okay, so by Phoenix I mean the HP Envy Phoenix I bought from Costco.com.  And by here I mean the FedEx site says it’s in my town.

It was bad enough having to order a big purchase online and wait.  I remember being a kid and ordering something from a catalog or a comic book and it taking 6-8 weeks for delivery.  Six to eight weeks?  Holy crap, I ordered this computer on February 21^st, and the two weeks since has been maddening.  

Maddening!   Cuckoo, cuckoo. 

So I’m looking at the FedEx site, as I have several times a day since they sent me the link when they picked it up on the 1^st in Chihuahua, Mexico, and I see a notation that the package in “on a truck for delivery.”   Really?  Tonight?   It's nearly 7pm.  Surely not. Tonight would be good.   

Online people report getting packages delivered as late as 8pm or 830pm to residences.  Is that too much to hope for? Should I start moving stuff around to accommodate a new machine?  If it comes now then I’ll have a couple hours to fiddle with it.  If it comes in a half hour then I’ll have maybe two hours until I’ll need to really get to bed.  If it comes in an hour then it’s only 90 minutes. If it comes in an hour and 47 minutes then I’ll just get to look at it before needing to get to bed. 

But it should be coming tomorrow, which means I should load a book on my iPod and just get to getting to bed.  But it’s only 7 pm.  That’s like trying to go to sleep early on Christmas eve.  How can you turn off your head to just go to bed, does anyone do that?  I’ve got a complicated workday ahead of me tomorrow, I have plenty of things to obsess about that doesn’t involve a computer. 

That car door slamming outside the house, is that the FedEx man?  Or lady?  No, this time it’s a delivery driver bringing Chinese food to the strippers/bouncers that live on the house kitty-corner to us.   That rumble?  Is that a FedEx truck?  Nope, it’s Alaska, it’s an earthquake.  

But I don’t want to be among mad people!   

What time is it now?  There’s still time left… 

Dear Lord, that next truck that drives up could equally be coming to drop off a package or coming to take me away, ha ha, hee hee, ho ho. 

Phoenix update

Phoenix Update

Tracking the Phoenix

Chef Journey

Grandma and the girls

Lizzie, Grandma, and Journey

Music is the Best

Before Journey was born I made some silly comment at work about how I wasn’t going to change the type of music I listened to in the car to accommodate the child.  After all, I fondly remember my parent’s music in the car and wouldn’t want to deprive my daughter of all that goodness.  A coworker who has been a mother for 20+ years openly laughed at my naïveté.  “You’ll play whatever music keeps your child the most occupied, but good luck with that plan of yours.”

 She, of course, was right.  Journey isn’t shy about telling us when she doesn’t like the TV program or music we are playing and often it’s not worth the fight, especially since she’s almost 3 (three going on “always right.”). 

Yet there are schemes and trickery that works to get the child’s education on (or attempt to brainwash them into your way of thinking.)

One is to take advantage of what she already likes.  

Jack’s Big Music Show and the interstitials between Nick Jr programs provide the best kids music out there.   The Roots “Lovely, Love My Family,” Andrew Bird’s “Dr Strings,” and any of Laurie Berkner’s or David Winestone’s songs are great. 

There are a handful of Sesame Street songs she likes:  The Count’s “Lambaabaa,” Grover’s “Monster in the Mirror,” and Elmo’s “Happy Tappin’,” and “Elmo’s Song,” are in heavy rotation.  Incidentally we don’t watch a lot of Sesame Street in favor of the Nick Jr lineup (Olivia is her favorite with Pocoyo a close second and Wow Wow Wubbzy,  Wonderpets, and Bubble Guppies rounding out the top five).

 Journey absolutely loves the music from the movie “ Rio ,” and there’s nothing wrong with a good samba mixed by Will.I.Am.  Plus it’s a good movie.

What you say?! She also loves Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” and I’m working on the Blues Brothers soundtrack for a little soul.   

She’s just a little young yet for “ Alice ’s Restaurant,” but we’re moving in that direction.  

PeBloProMo

CASE:  I haven’t written prose on my blog regularly in a very long time.

FACTORS: 

Fear.   I cannot write about directly work-related items any longer due to company policy.  The company also has a fairly strict policy about “do not shame your company.”  I like my job and don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.   As long as I work in the coal mine, any story I tell will be from the viewpoint of a coalminer but I have to be much more careful about discussing the mine itself. Also – I often get quite cheeky and irreverent in my writing.  I have to be careful not to say something so outrageous that it attracts the attention of the mine operators.  Practically speaking, this shouldn’t be much of a problem but I have to be willing to take this risk every time I put ideas out into the public domain.  

Time.  Time is always a factor, more mentally than anything.  I don’t get a lot of “me” time and I am almost never all by myself    I write best late at night while listening to music on headphones but then again, a dad’s gotta sleep when he can.

ACTION PLAN: 

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) to encourage folks to write the novel they’ve always wanted to write. My youngest brother did NaNoWriMo last year and I considered it this year but I certainly can’t commit to that kind of output.  What I can do is make November my Personal Blog Prose Month PeBloProMo. 

Keep an eye on this blog for continual updates this month and we’ll see if it becomes a habit again. 

Pretty much sums it up

Eric Anderson

34 minutes ago ·

Strange to be happy my candidate won but worried that it means that it's going to just be more of the same gridlock. Would the grownups please show up to their JOBS in Congress? and Dems I'm talking to you too.

Okay, more choice tweets

Todd Glass ‏@ToddGlass

"I knew this country wasn't ready for a white president." -@aintfacebook 

George Takei

This just in: Apple Maps projects Obama to win Chile.

 

Kumail Nanjiani ‏@kumailn

And a special congratulations to women, minorities and the future. 

The Denver Post ‏@denverpost

FLASH: Denver Post projecting win for Amendment 64, making Colorado first state in US to legalize marijuana #COvote: http://dpo.st/SZ3b6h

Brad Wollack ‏@BradWollack

Too bad Romney can't even drink this off. 

Matt Mira ‏@MattMira

Watching Fox News right now is like watching me when I first saw "The Phantom Menace"... So much denial.

 

Journey and Mitt Romney just threw up

poor little girl.

poor extremely rich man.

and it's over

Congratulations Barack Obama, and congratulations America.

 

Daily Show Election Coverage Starts

and Eric smiles

Good Point Douglas Hulick

Douglas Hulick ‏@DougHulick

Not be a downer, folks, but I remember going to bed on Bush v Gore night thinking Gore had it in the bag. Patience. 

Albert Brooks ‏@AlbertBrooks

The coolest scenario: Romney wins popular vote Obama wins electoral. Gore and Romney become best friends. 

More notable tweets

Elizabeth Bear ‏@matociquala

RT @benschwartzy: America decides rapists are responsible for rape, not God. Big win for God. #akin #mourdock 

Russell Simmons ‏@UncleRUSH

:don’t fuck with women, minorities, youth, gays and veterans.  Lesson of tonight.  No triumph just telling the truth about a new America 

davidfrum ‏@davidfrum

Tonight's message: scaring old people to death is a great way to sell gold coins, bad way to build a winning electoral coalition 

Patton Oswalt ‏@pattonoswalt

Obama just took Minnesota. Michele Bachmann just spat 1,000 nettles out of her back pores.

Rice Update

Cilatro rice tastes of slightly salty butter, but not cilantro.  Big win for Cilantro Rice.

Journey thinks every ailment can be fixed with an icepack.  Cross off medical school but add chiropractic school.

Notabe Tweets

Patton Oswalt ‏@pattonoswalt

Seeing Sarah Palin on FOX News is like seeing MC Skat Kat on BET. 

Jen Kirkman ‏@JenKirkman

It's officially legitimate! Todd Akin has been aborted! Don't let my uterus hit ya on the way out! 

Kumail Nanjiani ‏@kumailn

The fact that every marginalized group votes for Obama really says something. 

Wil Wheaton ‏@wilw

"Why aren't you tolerant of my intolerance?! YOU HATE EVERYTHING YOU HATEFUL HATER WHO HATES! WARGARBLE!" -Way too many people in my replies

Getting closer

Still haven't been able to watch TV commentators.  I still think Obama's gonna walk away with the election but we never know.  Florida and Ohio can still mess everything up. 

Turns out Taco Bell doesn't serve Mexican Rice any longer.  It's Cilantro Rice or nothing.  Dish Soup Rice?  That's a change that President Romney will put a stop to, most definitely.

Early On...

I love Presidential Election Night.  The pace is a little slow at first but as the correspondents for the "news" stations get more tired it gets more interesting.  Oh and our future is at stake ...

as of this moment, it's way too early to call but it seems like Florida is going to be a big deal. 

As far as my viewing pleasure, the girl is sick and Kelli's not a fan of election coverage so I can't hog a TV all to myself until much later (plus we have an errand to run in a bit).   Nothing dramatic will happen until about 8pm Alaska time anyway, right?

Halloween 2012

she's more proficient than I am

hee

At Gumby and Koko's

Happy to be in Momma's bed

Pretending to paint on the deck

Summer in Alaska can still be chilly

Skating Away

cheese

Frogs need love too