Thursday, July 31, 2008

More fun tidbits from the neighborhood

I know you want to hear more, and I have nothing else to talk about right now.

Tonight when I was walking Quincy we went past this car that was, quite literally, full of junk. It wasn't clothes, or anything like that, it looked like papers mostly; files, plain paper, envelopes, you name it. There was only room for a driver, and a skinny one at that. I wanted to take a picture but I only had my cell phone with me. With the darkness, the picture would not have turned out anyway.

Now, those of you who have kids now what a messy car looks like. Sure, you say you aren't going to let your kids eat anything in the car, and the works for a while. Then, one day, you are running late for work and let them have something in the car on the way to school or day care. Just this one time. Yeah, that's what you say the next several times too. Before you know it, you car is full of Cheerios, crackers and Cheese-Its. But, no matter how many crumbs, toys, or stuffed animals are in your car, know one thing: You car is cleaner than this car.

But still, clean it out when you get a chance. Please. For the kids.

Update: I fixed the format of the post. It was a little hard to read. Sorry about that.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Brighter than the sun

Every time I walk Quincy I go past this house in our subdivision with
the brightest lights I've every seen. The first time I noticed them,
it was in one of the bedrooms. (No, I just noticed it from the street.
Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Then, today when I went past the house I noticed all the rooms had
amazingly bright lights. You could get a suntan in there! If I lived
there I would need to wear sunglasses. At night. (Come on, sing it
with me. I know you know the song.)

I don't know what kind of bulbs these people have, but the must be
expensive. Who needs it that bright in there house? Here's the deal,
you don't want it too bright in your house, it just makes the dust
more visible. That's the beauty of having 7 minutes of sunlight during
the winter. There may me dust, buy you don't see it.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, the house was bright. I think they may do
surgery in there, or something.

Hey man. That's some good stuff.

Cheech and Chong are getting back together! Can you believe it? I wonder how much pleading Tommy Chong had to do to get Cheech Marin to go along with it?

They are going to do a live tour; no new movie. Yet. Oh, you know that is going to be the next step if this does well.

I'm not sure how many of their movies I saw, but I remember my brother renting some of them...on Betamax. Yeah, it was a while ago. There was one time when we were watching one of the movies, I think Nice Dreams, and my little cousin was there and started repeating the lines. He was five. He didn't get to watch anymore of the movie. I think his mom wanted to, though.

This could be funny, or sad. Or, a little of both. We'll see.


Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Weekend Assignment #226: Jukebox Brain

We're talking music this week for the Weekend Assignment. I like talking about music, just ask my wife. (I can feel her eyes rolling now.)

Karen asks:

Is there a song that you're
particularly enjoying at the moment, that's on heavy rotation on your
iPod, the CD player in your car, or just in your head? If so, what is
it? If not, what was the last song you were really into?


I go through stages, as I think most people do, with music. If I buy a new CD it can stay in my player in the car for weeks without coming out. Unless I don't like it, then it gets ejected right away and filed away, never to be heard from again.

Sometimes I will get into a groove of listening to a particular band, or CD from a band, that I have had for awhile. At times I might mix it up and have a new CD in heavy rotation in the car, and an older one in the house.

Right now in the car is the new Weezer album (CD, whatever, I'm old!). This is the first album that I have ever bought from Weezer. I have heard many songs of theirs I've liked, so I figured I take the chance. I like it. It is not my normal music, Jenn is surprised I like it, but it's good. My kids like it, too. My daughter likes the single Pork and Beans because they say underwear in it. She will make me play that song a few times in a row once it plays. My son likes Everybody get Dangerous. He thinks he's a badass. I'm in so much trouble when he gets older.

In the house I have been listening to Spock's Beard's, The Kindness of Strangers. I'm not sure which song I like the best, but I think it is The Good Don't Last. I like the line: "We made a land where crap is king/and the good don't last too long." They make many references to bad songs and bad TV shows that were poplular. It's a fun song!

Extra Credit: What song, if any, has been playing in your head today, and you really wish it would stop now?

No specific song, but people at work were talking about Neil Diamond, so he in general has been in my head. I don't know what is worse!

What's in your head? Or CD Player or whatever you danr kids use these days?

Monday, July 28, 2008

Really, Comcast?


mythbusters rating
Originally uploaded by Mike F.
I watch Mythbusters all the time. I love the show! For some reason I hit the menu button and noticed the ratings for the show. Obviously, I must not be watching the show close enough.

Maybe this is why my son likes it so much?

Sunday, July 27, 2008

My 250th post celebration

I know most people will celebrate an even hundred number post, I wanted to be different. (In other words I totally missed it).


I've been thinking about what I want to talk about in this special post. I didn't want to waste it on something inconsequential. You know, since all my other posts are so deep and meaningful. I figured the best thing to do was talk about how I started here and thank some people I've met through here.


It started right around the end of last year. Jenn said she was thinking about starting a blog about her quest to run the marathon this year after the mess that was Chicago Marathon '07. Now, I had been thinking about it for a while before that, but I was a little apprehensive. I don't know why, but I've always felt weird having people read what I write. I've been that way since high school when we'd have to read book reports to the class. Ugh. Is there a worse audience than high school kids who don't want to be there? No, I think not.


Before I started my own I had been reading others. I'm not sure which one was first, but I'm pretty sure it was Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy. I think I found his reviews of science fiction movies on a search once, and I just kept reading.


Dave Barry's blog was next, I've been a fan of his a long time, I don't know why it took me so long to find his website. I think having dial-up was part of that. I didn't spend a lot of time online; those 500 free hours from AOL didn't last forever you know.


Then one day I stumbled upon the online version of John Scalzi's book, Agent to the Stars, and became hooked on his blog, Whatever. His blog lead me to a few others; Pamie.com being one of my favorites.


This was all about two or three before I started my own blog here. At first I had no clue what I was doing. I just wrote about random stuff, not that much different than now, but I never went to many other people's blogs and commented on them. That was until John Scalzi posted that he was handing the reins of the Weekend Assignments over to Karen Funk Blocher at Outpost Mavarin.


I thought that was a perfect thing to get into, so I went to Karen's site and posted my first assignment and actually commented on other people's blogs. I know, I was out of control! From those weekend assignment posts I met nice people like, Florinda, Carly, Unfocused Me, Sarah, Kiva, and others I may be missing. If I am, I'm sorry.


I now participate on a semi-regular basis to Ten on Tuesday as well. Something I've found by reading Florinda's blog, she always has a lot of good links. It seemed like fun, and it is.


I got over my comment shyness from those activities, now if I find someone's post, or site, to be fun, I let them know. They may never respond, but that is okay. Take author and puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal. I found her site through Scalzi and I go there and comment regularly. So far she hasn't told me to stop. It's probably because I am so witty and clever. (yeah, that's it.)


Some people have come to my site and commented on mine, too. Like DC, of Green Apples and Kool Aid. I now regularly visit her site since she stumbled upon mine.

I've branched out to other things a little as well. I have a Flickr page, and I've been playing around on Twitter (still not sure about that one). Feel free to come by and say hi there. Mostly so I don't feel like a stalker following other people around.

So, I guess I want to say thanks for making this fun. Thanks for coming by, whether you comment or not.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Bye! Have Fun! Vroooooom! Screeeeeech!

I dropped my son off at one of his first birthday parties where the parents don't stay. I say one of the first because Jenn dropped him off at one few months ago. It was the first for me though! Anyway I noticed something kid of funny.

Let's say you are having a party for adults. You invite friends, or family, and you tell them to come at 6:30pm. Does everyone show up at 6:30? No. The first people show up around 6:40pm, or so, with people strolling in at least until 7:15pm. That's what you do. Nobody wants to be the first to show up, and some people just like to make an entrance. It's fine, though. Everyone is getting together to have fun.

Now, let's compare this to a kids party. The party started at 11:30am; we got there at about 11:32am and the house was packed. Everyone was there within minutes of the starting time! Why, because they were dropping their kids off and going out to do whatever they can in those 2 hours that they have to themselves. Is it wrong? No, the kids are going to have fun, right? And some things are easier to get done on your own. Actually pretty much everything is easier to get done on your own. Besides, does your son or daughter want to go grocery shopping, clothes shopping, or to the local bar? (What? No, I went to work!)

I know I'm not the first person to notice this, but I find it funny. We'll see what happens when we have our next birthday party.


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Cookie poll

What do you like better; the cookie dough in the tube, or the dough brick you break pieces off? I find the brick cookies to be too flat and not as tasty. What do you like better? No, from scratch doesn't count. Do I look like Martha Stewart?

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Least Favorite Celebrities.

Is it mean to post your least favorite celebrities? Probably. Oh well, on to this week's Ten on Tuesday! (In no particular order)

1. Paris Hilton. I shouldn't have to put her here, but I guess, somehow, she is a celebrity.

2. Madonna. Too many reasons to go into. She needs must never act again. Really.

3. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I know they do good work, but can they do it without being so public about it?

4. Bill  O'Reilly. It's not due to his stance on things. Just his attitude.

5. Heidi Montog and Spence Pratt. (That is for my wife) Same reason as number one.

6.  Oprah. Sorry, I know a lot of people like her.

7. Julia Roberts. I know! I know! Sorry!

8. Russell Crowe

9. Eva Longoria.

10. Charlie Sheen.

Who are your least favorite? It's okay if you don't like my list. It's all subjective.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Weekend Assignment #225 : Rut Breakers

I'm in a groove now, or is it a rut? -- Face Up, Rush

I wasn't sure I could follow along with Karen's assignment this week. And I guess, technically, I'm going to be a little behind.


Weekend Assignment #225: What are you going to do this weekend (or on your next day off) that's different from what you usually do? Make plans to break out of your usual routine, and tell us what they are.


I was not off this weekend, and Jenn works all week, so we are going to break the rut this coming weekend. Next Saturday we are going out to dinner with my friend from grade school and his wife, who happened to go to my high school.

That might not seem very exciting, but for us it is a major rut breaker. With two kids under seven, it is not often that we get to go out to eat, or anything else, on our own. I think out last child-free dinner was about a year ago with the same couple. I think we are due.

Before I wrote this up, I was asking Jenn what the last movie we saw in the theater by ourselves. We are pretty sure it was Star Wars. No, not the last one, Attack of the Clones. Yeah, it's been a while. We never got to see the new Indiana Jones movie, and I don't have high hopes for the new X-Files movie either.

There have been times when we do some things on our own when the other stays home with the kids, but those aren't very common either. And they are not quite the same.

Extra Credit: What else would you do that day, if you had the time and the money?

I don't know, go to a nice hotel, get a nice dinner? Nothing else comes to mind right now.

So that is my exciting rut-breaker. What about you?

My dreams

Why are dreams so weird? I know dreaming is a way for the brain to de-stress, but why the weirdness?

Take the other night for example. I had a dream that some people from the public works department came to our house. They had to work on some problem in the sewers and, for some reason, they had to enter the sewer through a hole in the middle of our living room. I didn't know that was there. That explains a lot of weird odors! (I'm kidding, that's the dog).  These guys pull up the carpet and jam a giant house down the hole and start up a giant vacuum thing. Nothing happens at first, but then, SPLUNK!, they got something in the house. It was a giant rat. I don't mean your everyday giant rat. This thing was the size of a bear cub. One of the guys held it by one leg and wondered what to do with it. I'm pretty sure I yelled at them to kill it, I know I would in real life, instead they took it outside our front door and let it go. Right outside my door! Like that thing wasn't going to dig under my house and come up my toilet someday. Luckily I woke up after that. I think I need to look under the carpet in our living room.

I still remember dreams from when I was a kid. Am I the only one? I remember one dream (I believe this was shortly after see Close Encounters of the Third Kind) where I saw a flying saucer out my window and went to go tell my mom. She was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, this used to take a really long time for some reason, so I started to tell her what I saw. For some reason I stopped telling her and thought to myself that I wasn't dreaming anymore and what I saw was a dream.

But that wasn't the weirdest one I remember. In this dream I was riding home from school with my mom. Everything seemed normal, the same songs were playing on the radio that did everyday (really, you could set your watch by the songs on that station),  and it was a typical gloomy winter day. I don't remember my mom saying anything to me on the way home, but that didn't seem strange. We pulled into the garage, I got out and ran around the car to the door to catch Speed Racer on TV, and as I turned the corner into the kitchen I ran into my mom. The mom I just left in the car behind me! I woke up in a cold sweat after that one. Very Twilight Zone-y, wouldn't you say? I never told my mom about the dream. You never know, she might have a robot clone or something.

I don't know why I decided to write about this. I hope I don't sound too strange. Yeah, like I didn't before this post.

Friday, July 18, 2008

This is why Beaker was my favorite

This video makes me laugh. I need to show it to my kids. I don't think they know who Beaker is.



(Found though John Scalzi's site)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Some interesting things from the last week or so

Great title, huh? I think I'm trying to say that this is going to be a random sort of post, but you knew that I'm sure.

Yesterday after my daughter ate dinner she showed me how big her tummy was. Based on how much she ate I don't see how that could be the case. Anyway, she kept showing me it and said, "It's getting big because I have a baby in there." Yeah, she's four. And after that comment she is never going to leave the house again. At least not with out me, or a bodyguard. And I mean "body"guard. I had her talk to Jenn on the phone and tell her, Jenn found it funny. I figured I'd let her explain some things to her. Have I said that my daughter always says she wishes we had a real baby? I guess this is her way of making it happen. Ugh.

My sister called me the other day. Well not really. See, the phone rang and I saw it was her on the caller ID, but when we picked up the phone (Jenn and I picked up at the same time) nobody was there. Well, that's not right either. We could hear talking, but none of it was directed at us. After listening harder we could hear my brother and sister-in-law talking to my sister. I kept yelling in the phone trying to get her to hear me, but it was no use. I tried hanging up, but since she initiated the call I couldn't disconnect. Finally I called my brother from my cell phone and told him that we could hear all them talking. It took me a minute to explain to him what I was talking about, then I heard them all laugh and the phone disconnected.

My sister has a small problem with her cell phones. I get many text messages not meant for me; so far nothing weird thank goodness. I've received calls from her that she meant to call someone else, too. Part of the problem is her new phone. She got a Balckberry Pearl and she hates it. The buttons are too small to e-mail, not to mention using the phone normally. My wife has one too and hates it as well. So there is a tip for you, don't get the Pearl, get the regular Blackberry; unless you have tiny fingers.

Oh, the best used to be when my sister would call the house, leave a message, and then you would hear her drive around town for 15 minutes. Good thing we had voice mail through AT&T and not a tape machine. We'd only have one message a day!

(How's that Lori?)

The last thing. Go check out Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. It's a really fun story from Joss Whedon and company. I'm not sure where I heard about it first, it was either through Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog, or Mary Robinette Kowal's blog. Either way, I'm glad I did. It's fun! Really go see for yourself.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Cleaning tip

I have a cleaning tip for you that I thought of while vacuuming the other day.

Have you heard the tip of using a two-by-four and making lines instead of vacuuming? Don't do that. It's stupid and probably more work than actually vacuuming. Instead vacuum, trust me you need it, but then walk all over the place. Make foot prints, try to cover most of the vacuum tracks. Also, leave a couple of crumbs and maybe one dust bunny floating in a corner.

Now, when company comes over, make sure you point out the crumbs and dust bunny and apologize for not having time to clean up. See, they will think this is how your house always looks. They will think you are neat and clean even if you are a total slob. Try it, and let me know how it works.

For the bachelor, this can work well too. Leave a dish or two in the sink. Maybe one pair of pants folded over a chair neatly. Not too neatly though; no need to keep the pleats. Now, when your special lady comes to visit for the first time she can see that, while you have a few things out, you will be easy to fix.

However, if you go too clean you look like a neat freak. Women don't want their men to be neater than them. Usually this is not a problem for guys but, for you super neat guys, you need to relax it a little bit. It's OK to leave a dish in the sink for longer than 30 seconds. Also, there is nothing wrong with putting your clothes on the floor when you go to bed. They are not going to cause your world to collapse around you. Trust me, I know.

So next time you clean remember; there is no need to be spotless.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Ten on Tuesday: Memorable Vacation Moments

Time for Ten on Tuesday's Memorable Vacation Moments. I hope I have ten. In no particular order:

1. Climbing and exploring in the lava tubes on Maui. It was dark and humid, but it was a lot of fun.

2. Going to my grandparent's cabins in Michigan. We went there many times, I don't recall any bad moments.

3. First, and so far only, cruise on the Caribbean. It rained a lot (don't go in early October) but we still had fun. Though one day I was a little sea-sick. Again, avoid October if you can. It was our honeymoon so we didn't have a choice.

4. Huntington Beach California. We went there for the Easter Seals telethon thing with the company my wife worked for at the time. Some of it was boring, but the hotel was great. I doubt we'll ever get to stay in a Ritz-Carlton hotel again! Oh, and we met Pat Boone!

5. Muir woods outside San Francisco. This time we were out there for my job, but my wife and I spent the day with a friend here. I thought it was really cool. We don't have anything like that in the Chicago area.

6. Seeing Harrison Ford while walking on Rodeo Drive. Kind of geeky, but it was neat too. We bought something at Niketown since that was the only place we could afford. Who needs a $600 dollar belt? Really?!

7. Learning to water ski in Wisconsin. Yesterday I wrote about another memorable moment from the same location, different year.

8. Downtown Chicago. We didn't go far, but it was our anniversary and we were able to get away for a couple of days.

9. Las Vegas. I went with some guys for a bachelor party. We were due to come home on 9/11/01. Enough said.

10. Florida and Sea World. My brother and I were able to see the ocean for the first time. We caught a baby shark. Good thing it's mom didn't find out.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Weekend Assignment #224: Bad Ideas

I had a some trouble thinking of something to write about for Karen's Weekend Assignment this week, but I thought of one while I was jogging yesterday and thought I was going to pass out. So you know it is going to be a good story.

Weekend Assignment #224: What's the worst idea you ever had? Amuse us with a story of a cunning plan that produced less than stellar results. (If your worst idea was positively traumatic, you can tell of your unamusing disaster, or downgrade to a more benign bad idea you had.)

Technically this wasn't my bad idea, it was my brother's, but I thought it was a good idea at the time. I think that counts.

When we were kids we used to go to stay at a house on Lake Delavan in Wisconsin for a week in the summer. I don't remember why, but one year my brother came up a day or two later than I did. I think it was due to some sports tournament he was playing in, I'm not sure. All I remember is that when he came up there he brought his mini-bike. Somehow he talked my dad into letting him take it up, and I thought it was a great idea. This was at a time when most of the other kids in the family were older and either in college, working, or had better things to do, so it was just me and my brother up there this time. Bringing the mini-bike up was a fantastic idea.

Everything was fine, my brother actually shared the bike with me; he didn't even make me pay for gas. The road around our part of the lake was very hilly, especially leading up to the house that we stayed. Let me put it this way, when we walked down to the lake in the morning, it would take some kind of emergency to get you to want to walk back up to the house. I swear sometimes the house was shrouded by the clouds. This will be an important point.

So, after a couple of days of watching the kids have all the fun on the mini-bike, my dad decides he should give it a whirl. And give it a whirl he did. He was fine leaving the house and heading away from the house, the problem came on the return trip as he tried to negotiate the curve and the hill. He never had a chance, the bike was under-powered for his size. He started to wobble as he came up the hill, then bam, he was down. My brother ran to get my step-mom who was in the house, and I headed toward my dad who was still at the base of the hill. He was staggering up the hill, in obvious pain, then he went down again.

I was about halfway to him, but decided I should run and make sure my step-mom was coming. She was. I told her dad passed out and she picked up the pace and we met up with him about halfway up. After a trip to the hospital, dad was back to normal, except for the special sling he had to wear for the rest of the vacation. Fun!

I guess it wasn't a total disaster, but we did dislocate our dad's shoulder. It could have been worse.

Extra Credit: Have you a mad scheme that's still in the planning stages?

I could tell you, but that wouldn't be smart.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Please Apple.

Hey Apple, can you please get the iTunes store working properly? See,
I'm trying to update my iPod Touch so I can upload some of the new
applications you have. I'm trying to give you money but you aren't
making it easy. Don't you want my money?

Okay, I'm going to the grocery store now, can you fix things by the
time I'm back? Please?

Thanks!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Missing something?

On Thursdays my son's summer school goes to the local pool after lunch. For the kids in his age group you send the kids in there swim suits and they change to regular clothes after they get back to the school.

So today I packed up all his clothes and sent him off. When I picked him up they were watching a movie and he walked up to me a little sheepishly. He didn't look like he was crying exactly, but he looked a little upset.

"You forgot my underwear, dad," was all he said.

Yeah, I made my son go commando at school today. Only for an hour or so, though. I don't think I scarred him for life or anything.

Got sucked in

You may have noticed a new link off to the right. No? That's okay, I don't know how many people look at blogrolls on other people's blogs. Anyway, I joined the Virtual Run Club. Jenn joined a while back, and after much thought and prodding, I did too. I'm signed up to run a 9.5 mile race in September, so I need to keep my butt moving. With the club I have to post when I run and if I don't make the goal of four runs a week I don't get a virtual pat on the back. That will make me feel guilty and make me get moving next week. I hope.

Anyway, if you want to stop over, or join, feel free. I post under "Mike" oddly enough.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A visit from the tooth fairy


first lost tooth
Originally uploaded by Mike F.
My son lost his first tooth over the 4th of July weekend. He's pretty excited about it; now every picture he takes he makes sure the gap is visible. He thinks he's so old now.

The tooth had been loose for a while, actually when he first told us it was loose (he said wiggly) Jenn and I thought he was making it up. There were a few kids who lost teeth in his class, so we thought he was just pretending it was loose so he'd be like his friends. He wasn't making it up. Aren't we great parents?

On Thursday I had him show me who loose it was, he was able to bring it down 90 degrees to his gum line. It seemed like only a small part of the tooth was connected to the front of his mouth. So I had him try a few things to get it to come out; bend it backwards, twist it, bend and twist. Nothing worked. I asked him if he wanted me to tie it to a doorknob, he laughed and said no way. We let it go that night.

The next day I was at work and he called me to tell me it came out. He was so excited his voice was two octaves higher. From what I can tell it basically fell out when he got up to go to the bathroom. The tooth fairy gave him some money and Jenn hid the tooth in her jewelry box. How long do you have to keep a child's first lost tooth? Do you give it to them on their wedding night? You know, something old?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Ten on Tuesday: Favorite Movie Charaters

OK, can I think of ten favorite movie characters for this week's Ten on Tuesday? Let's find out.

1. Buck Russel -- Uncle Buck, John Candy. Sure he was a doofus, but he cared about the kids and even made his brother's daughter realize she was a pain in the butt. And he was funny!

2. John Winger -- Stripes, Bill Murray. He was a slob and kind of a bum, but he was fun and helped rescue his friends. Sure, it was partly his fault his friends were in trouble; all water under the bridge.

3. Elliott -- ET, Henry Thomas. I was a couple of years older than Elliott, but I really thought it would have been cool to have ET come visit my house. Heck, he could come now and help out our plants.

4. Darth Vader, (Do I really have to say which movie?). Yes, he was the bad guy, but who wouldn't want his control over people. Besides he helped his estranged son out at the end. I knew there was good in him. (sniff)

5. Indiana Jones. I think you know from where, Harrison Ford . I liked that he used a whip and his fists to take out people. Plus, he was smart, and had cool adventures. Too bad archeology isn't that fun in real life.

6. Vincent Gambini & Mona Lisa Vito -- My Cousin Vinny, Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. I can watch this movie any time it is on. I'm not sure which character I like best so I put both down.

7. Chet Donnely -- Weird Science, John Paxton. He didn't have a huge part, but every line was perfect. "You're stewed buttwad!" Classic.

8. Clark Griswold -- Vacation, Chevy Chase. Probably Chevy's best role.

9. Irwin Fletcher -- Fletch, Chevy Chase. Yes, I know what I said above. I forgot about this movie. This is his best role. Really!

10. Roy Neary -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Richard Dreyfuss. He was going to get to that mountain, and see the aliens, no matter what. Hopefully he eventually came back to find his family.

There you go, I was stretching a bit to get to ten. Who are your favorites?

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Six (more) things about me

I was tagged by Jenn to do the six things about me meme a week or so ago, I know I'm a slacker, but it is a holiday week! Anyway, I did this a couple months ago when Unfocused Me tagged me, but since Jenn is my wife, I think I should do it again. Jenn also told me I have to do six different things. I tried to be a slacker and copy my old one, but no, I have to think of six new things. Six! I'm really not all that interesting to begin with, but I'll give it the old college try. I think that means I have to drink a lot of beer before I do it, right? To bad I only have two in the fridge.

Enough stalling; on to the meme! (Now that I went to Jenn's blog to copy and paste I see that she tagged me on July 3rd. It's seems so long ago.)

The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules.
3. Write six things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their sites.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up

On to the list (it is really taking a long time to get to it; I'm building tension).

1. I often relate things that are happening in real life to old, or not so old TV shows. Did you ever see Dream On when it was on HBO? I swear that main character was modeled after me. I don't do it quite as much as I used to, but Brady Bunch was often the go to reference.

2. I like music, but I need it to be perfect. By that I mean no static, no skipping, nothing that is going to distract me from enjoying it. Take today for example, I was listening to my iPod in the car and the cord that attaches to the headphone jack is getting lose. You know what I'm talking about, the headphone jack starts making crackling noises and you keep playing with the cord to find the perfect position then you put it back down and it starts again then you try to hold in on your lap and that only works until the first turn and your only option at that point is to drive off a cliff. Phew. Deep breaths. Oooom. Find your center. I'm okay now, really.

3. I'm afraid of heights. If I tried and stand near a ledge or railing that overlooks something over 15 feet high I get dizzy and think I'm going to fall. I mean I can actually see myself falling. It's weird. I'm okay in a plane though. Explain that one.

4. I was an extra in a movie once. The movie was Lucas with Corey Haim, Charlie sheen, and a few other notables, all of whom were unknown then. If you watch one of the shower scenes closely you can see me wearing a towel. It was an interesting, but long, two days spent on the set in a high school around here.

5. I am a nice guy, but I did break up with a girl on a day that just happened to be her birthday -- and Thanksgiving Day. Yeah, it wasn't pretty. But, in my defense, I did try to get out of going to her house that night since we had company at our house. Unfortunately, my mom was nice enough to let me go. The good part of the story is that I started going out with Jenn shortly after; she was basically the reason why I was breaking up with the other girl. See how good that worked out? Really I am a nice person. Most people don't believe I would do something like that. To be honest, I don't either.

6. When I was in college I use to write fiction in my free time. Mostly stuff like I was reading at the time; kind of horror, Twilight Zone-ish type stuff. Not that I don't read the same stuff now. I actually sent one story out to a contest once. I didn't win. The story was a mess really, I thought I was doing something different style-wise, but it was too hard to follow I think. Jenn liked some of it at the time, though maybe she was only being nice. I like writing here, maybe I'll do more fiction stuff. I don't know.

So there you go. I'm not really going to tag people, but if some people that come here want to do it (I'm looking at you Florinda and DC) you can. I just don't want anyone to feel obligated, especially if you've done it before. See, I'm nice and considerate no matter what #5 says!

Oh, my other "six things" meme can be found here.

Friday, July 4, 2008

This is what the Fourth of July is about!

Sure, this song is 20 years old, but this is the type of thing our forefathers were talking about back in 1776. Okay, maybe not quite, but it's fun and patriotic!




Enjoy some of my favorite music from my high school days!

Happy 4th of July!

Have a great time at your BBQ, fireworks show, carnival, or whatever else you do today! Be smart, and be safe. Remember, fireworks are best when they explode in the air, not your hand.

I'm working all weekend so try and keep it down after 10pm; I get cranky if I don't get enough sleep.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

M&Mmmmmms


M&Mmmmmms
Originally uploaded by Mike F.
My wife found these new Premium M&M's at the store the other day, and was nice enough to buy them for me. Yes, she knows how much I love M&M's. (Yes, she knows she comes first, too).

These are the triple chocolate variety; white chocolate, surrounded by milk chocolate, with a dark chocolate core. Sound good? Yes, they are, but not as good as I had hoped. I think it has something to do with the candy shell. It's so thin that there is no crunch, or flavor, from it. Do I sound like an M&M snob? I guess I am.

Jenn said there were other flavors, so I'll try those before I write them off completely.

Has anyone else tried them? Let me know!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Ten on Tuesday: games people play and watch.

I haven't done a Ten on Tuesday post lately, mostly due to work, but I'm doing it today. This week is "Ten Favorite Sports to Play or Watch." I'm not a huge sports guy, let's see how this goes.

To play:

Golf: Yes, I know some people say this isn't a real sport, but it is.
Soccer: It's been a while, but I started playing when I was about 7 or 8.
Basketball: I don't know if you can call what I do playing, but I try.
Running: I run in some 5K's, and I'm planning on doing a few longer races this year. I'm slow though

To watch:
Football: But I only watch the Chicago Bears, and sometimes the Superbowl
Golf: Trust me, if you play it is less boring to watch on TV.
Curling: OK, it's not really on TV much, but I watched it when I was up in the middle of the night feeding my son when he was a baby, it has some meaning. I have no idea what anyone is doing, or how to play.

What is that? Seven? Close enough. I don't watch many sports. I can tell you one I find really boring -- Baseball. They should get three pitches, then the next batter is up. The games would go so much faster. I know, I have no room to talk since I watch golf.

What do you watch or play?