The Accidental Ocelot

Last post

2008-11-29T20:43:00.002-06:00

The blog merge has completed.

Head on over to http://griffin.squeek.com.

Cheers!

Best TV shows ever

2008-07-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

Roughly in order:

The Prisoner
Twin Peaks
FireFly
Veronica Mars
Monty Python
WKRP
Battlestar Galactica (new)
Carnivale
Buffy
Taxi
Battle of the Planets/Gforce
Simpsons
MASH
Star Trek TNG
Star Trek TOS
VR.5
South Park
Battlestar Galactica (original)
Arrested Development
Frontline
Cracker
Twilight Zone
The Muppet Show
Rocky & Bullwinkle
News Radio
Madnum P.I.
Night Gallery
The Wild, Wild West
Rockford Files
X-Files
Kung Fu
Nothern Exposure
Hill Street Blues
Æon Flux
Outer Limits
Space 1999
Red Dwarf
Mechanical Universe
Pink Panther (animated)
Dave Allen at Large
The Monkees
Tales From the Darkside
Buck Rogers
Get Smart
6 Million Dollar Man
Ultraman
Heart of the City
Dukes of Hazzard
Airwolf
Scooby Doo
Bosom Buddies
Top Cat
Flipper
The Addams Family
Batman
Tales From The Crypt
The Hardy Boys
The Hitchhiker
Land of the Lost

Frack!(ture)

2008-07-06T20:11:00.005-05:00

We had a very nice, fairly mellow Fourth of July weekend. We camped outside in a tent on our lawn, and got to hook up with all the cousins at the cabin.

Unfortunately, Gizmo took a somersaulting tumble down some metal stairs leading down to the river, and landed amongst the boulders. He bruised his right temple, right shoulder, left elbow and left hip. But all he complained of was his swollen left thumb. 4 hours later, as we lay down for bed, the thumb still ailed him, and he awoke to pain in it this morning.

So we hit up the doc, and xrays revealed a fracture at the base of the thumb, through his growth plate. It was all in alignment and otherwise looked good, but we'll need to get a cast again this summer to ensure nothing affects it as it heals, as the growth plate is particularly vulnerable.

Both parents' first thought? Waterslides now! Before the cast is put on! But with the splint in place, we wound up thinking the better of it.

South Beach

2008-07-03T07:12:00.007-05:00

Indoor soccer continues to motivate me to get in shape. I'm giving the South Beach diet a whirl, and so far, so good. Down 5lbs in 5 days to 194. My next game is a week from Friday, and if I can get to 190, I'll be pretty psyched (eventual goal is 175). Trying to treadmill every other day again to build up endurance, and am at the bottom rung of 1.5mi. Will try and hit 2.5mi by next game (eventual goal - 5mi).

Things are on an upswing as far as information addiction. I'm not listenting to podcasts of late, and I'm much less obsessed about reading things in my news reader and checking forums. Not that I'm not obsessed online... now it's a football game called Goal Line Blitz. It's really hitting the spot as far as giving me fun football stuff to dwell on and stats to pour over. Much like the football card collecting days of my youth. So far it's a more fulfilling and less disruptive mind occupier than generic info overload.

I let the Rhapsody music subscription lapse. I liked the access to music, but their music discovery methods paled compared to Yahoo! Music, Pandora and Slacker, and it was just too time consuming to get a good mix to listen to. So it's back to radio hopping in the car and Pandora at work.

Processing muerte

2008-06-27T09:12:00.006-05:00

Citrine has a beautiful post on her blog about how empathetic and thoughtful and kind Gizmo's been lately. It's not all butterflies and gentle breezes.

To encourage baths, sometimes we grab a cup full of ice cubes, and I hand them to G to melt under a drizzle of hot water.

Gizmo (holding 2 ice cubes under the hot water): Eieee! Melting. They're melting. ... They're dead. More babies please!

Ocelot: what?

G: They [the ice cubes] are babies, when they go in the water, they die.

O: what???

G: You're the momma. 2 babies, please!

Hostile takeover

2008-06-12T09:55:00.005-05:00

Preliminary talks have begun between Citrine's Gizmo blog and The Accidental Ocelot on a possible merger.

Ocelot employee(s) has/have been apprised that should the deal go through, no layoffs would be planned, and assurances of continued responsibilities would be guaranteed for at least the subsequent 30 days.

FCC approval is not expected to be required, even though there is substantial market overlap and overall competition within the industry segment could potentially be reduced by levels approaching 50 percent. While both parties vigorously claim that the merger would not threaten quality, quantity or overall readership experience, analysts contacted for this story remain skeptical.

"I've never heard of either blog. Half of nothing is still nothing. Are you a spammer? How did you get my number?"

--Popular Blogosphere Analyst contacted for this story

Others see potential benefit, should the merger proceed.

"Cool! Then I'd only have to check one (1) web page a day to see that nothing's been updated!"

--Reader representing combined viewership of both blogs

Even if both sides can arrive at an accord in principal, technical issues could mire progress or even stall the deal altogether.

"That site? That's who's buying us out?!? It's too narrow! How's my content going to fit? My pictures are too big... It's never going to work. Don't they feel cramped over there? Is that some kind of Unix-head running the joint? Hello, this is the 21st century!"

--Ocelot

Negotiations were expected to be ongoing, and could last through the month before a proposal is presented to the board for discussion. A public vote could follow, but may not be acknowleged, and the results would undoubtedly be ignored, if anyone participated to begin with.

Training

2008-06-09T23:51:00.002-05:00

Super Villian Training

(continued demonstration of exceptional devotion to) Super Villian Training

Rock Star Marketing Gimmick Training

Entomology Training

Monster About Town

2008-06-06T22:29:00.007-05:00

View from my office during this morning's storm.

Tenny Park this afternoon.

Monster in the clouds.

Capital upon reflection.

Citrine dropped off our recently minted 4-year-old on her way to the airport. Dodging tornados along the way, she made it safely to NYC.

Meanwhile, Gizmo (depicted in monster paint from his school fair & picnic) and I spent a lofty 6 hours down and about town. The boy is a master meanderer. We didn't have any particular plan, it just basically took us that long to get from work to home with no pressing need to actually arrive home at any given time.

He's also developed my love for running across boulders at water's edge (woo!).

Click below to see the full album.
View as slideshow for best results.

Monster About Town

Robin Egg

2008-05-17T10:22:00.002-05:00

Gizmisms:

"Last one there's a robin egg!"

---

Citrine: "I'm going to eat you! [gobbling munch sounds]"

Gizmo: "NOOOO!!!! Don't eat me!!! ... Eat Dad!"

Citrine: "That's true, he's bigger, he'll last longer."

Gizmo: "We can split him."

Top movies

2008-05-15T12:42:00.006-05:00

The Best movies of the last 20 years:
City of Lost Children (1995)
Amateur (1994)
Matrix (1999)
True Romance (1993)
La Femme Nikita (1991)
Dark City (1998)
Killing Zoe (1994)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Resevoir Dogs (1992)
Shindler's List (1993)
Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Doom Generation (1995)
Bound (1996)
The Reflecting Skin (1990)
Parents (1989)
American Beauty (1999)
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
May (2002)
Hero (2002)
Lain (1998)
Lone Star (1996)
Spirited Away (2001)
Heart of Midnight (1988)
Mystery Train (1989)
Barton Fink (1991)
Fog of War (2003)
Desperado (1995)
Go (1999)
Serenity (2005)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Love and a .45 (1994)
Traffik (1989)
Fight Club (1999)
Leaving Normal (1992)
The Professional (1994)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Runner Ups:
The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
Gas, Food Lodging (1992)
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Se7en (1995)
Usual Suspects (1995)
Terminator 2 (1991)
Sixth Sense (1999)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Baraka (1992)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Heathers (1989)
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
Ghost World (2001)
Clerks (1994)
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Committed (2000)
Garden State (2004)
L.A. Story (1991)
The Straight Story (1999)
Cracker (1993)
Ma vie en rose (1997)
Secretary (2002)
Cannibal! The Musical (1996)
Central Station (1998)
Simple Men (1992)
Juno (2007)
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Surviving Desire (1991)
Exotica (1994)
What Dreams May Come (1998)
2 Days in the Valley (1996)
Sling BLade (1996)
Memento (2000)
Rumble in the Bronx (1995)
Grand Canyon (1991)
When We Were Kings (1996)
Elvira (1988)
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
Following (1998)
Career Opportunities (1991)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Quills (2000)
Winged Migration (2001)
Pump Up the Volume (1990)
Reality Bites (1994)
Pi (1998)
Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Singles (1992)
The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)
The Last Supper (1995)
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Matchstick Men (2003)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
The Station Agent (2003)
Trust (1990)
The Grifters (1990)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Underworld (2003)
Lost Highway (1997)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Spider-Man (2002)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Buffalo '66 (1998)
Nadja (1994)
Zodiac (2007)
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Hard Candy (2005)
Niagara, Niagara (1997)
28 Days Later... (2002)
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
Say Anything... (1989)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Bleu (1993)
In the Company of Men (1997)
Happiness (1998)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Slacker (1991)
Empire Records (1995)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Wild at Heart (1990)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Kind of a haphazard list... I'm sure there's movies missing, and ones there that shouldn't be. Also, haven't seen too many in the last 4 years. :)

New News Snips News

2008-05-07T11:01:00.003-05:00

I switched to del.icio.us to power the News Snips box at the top of the blog. Much more flexible and configurable. And no more intermediate Digg.com pages to get at the actual story. Now any page I come across that seems interesting, I just click a favorites link in my browser and it shows up in the News Snips box. Click the title of the box to get to the archive. And if you have an RSS reader, you can keep up that way:
http://feeds.delicious.com/rss/accidentalocelot

Sunny Morning @ Tenny Park

2008-05-05T23:02:00.002-05:00

I jumped back into the subscription music game, this time with Rhapsody, which is compatible with my cheap-o player. I preferred Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go's pricing and discovery features, but, well, it doesn't exist anymore. It's still a bargain to have access to 4 million songs for the cost of a CD per month. I stumbled onto this post that explains the allure of subscription music better than I could: DRM and iTunes and Rhapsody Music.

With my newly aquired musical freedom, I grabbed Portishead's new album, Third... their first release in 11 years. Portishead is synonymous with Trip Hop, probably my favorite genre. Well, they are Trip Hop no more. My first reaction was, "They should have stopped at two." A second listen to the more industrial sound they've crafted went over better. I don't favor the direction they've taken, but it's starting to catch on. Leading the way to acceptance is "Machine Gun", which unsurprisingly turned out to be the first single.

Laughing in the face of my new subscription service, Nine Inch Nails released their latest album, The Slip, free of DRM, free of charge and largely free of restrictions. Only part way through my first listen, I'm loving the distorted guitar tones, but so far it doesn't carry the catchiness of my favorite NIN effort, Broken. As Portishead ushered in the age of Trip Hop for me, NIN's Broken and Ministry's Psalm 69 defined my taste for industial metal.

Portishead: Machine Gun (2008)

Portishead: Wandering Star (1994)

Nine Inch Nails: 1,000,000 (2008)

Nine Inch Nails: Wish (1992)

Ministry: Jesus Built My Hot Rod (1991)

Tornado Weather

2008-05-03T01:32:00.005-05:00

State Capital, snapped from my car (waiting to turn right on red)

Heading towards campus on State St. (more specifically, heading for ice cream!)

The Orpheum sign, Capital and Overture Center

Peering up to Fresco (and getting blinded)

The weather before the concert was pretty bizzaro. Citrine's phone buzzed in a tornado watch as folks walked by sharing a befuddled expression at the sunshine in the rain.

Dan Zanes Pajama Party!

2008-05-03T01:02:00.002-05:00

It was a big family outing to the Dan Zanes Pajama Party tonight. Gizmo, Citrine, Ocelot, Cousins E1 and E2 and L, Uncles D and M, Aunts C and C (this anonymous thing really falls apart at family gatherings). Mr. Z rocked the house, whilst G and E rocked the mosh pit.

Depot Days

2008-04-26T15:05:00.001-05:00

Gizmo bypassed the playroom full of toys in favor of setting up an improve choo choo train in the laundry room. Later in the day we hit up Depot Days in nearby Brooklyn.

Tornado Watch

2008-04-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

It's been wonderfully warm this week, even when pouring, leading to plenty of singing in the rain. Last Sunday it was so warm that we all went out to do some gardening. Citrine returned with a sunburn while I threw out my back and we had to flick off 4 ticks over the next 24 hours.

No soccer for a few weeks while I get my back in shape... which is only fair, as I've ignored it for years now.

This evening we have bustling winds, lightning, thunder and a tornado watch.

Tow Truck

2008-04-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

Strep

2008-04-16T10:44:00.002-05:00

Gizmo's been home a few days with strep. He's taking care of himself, though.

Catchup

2008-04-16T10:27:00.001-05:00

March 22: backyard

March 23: world famous art studio

April 7: field across from school

April 12: yummy yummy Brasserie V

Synapses

2008-04-04T12:42:00.003-05:00

...er, rather, synopses.

G I Z M I S M S

During the bedtime routine, we were talking about 911, our home address and names. We asked G if he could say his full name. He started "G. I. M. ... wait, no. G. I. Z. M. O." We had no idea he could spell his own name.

His school had a fundraiser auction last weekend at Cafe Montmartre. I had no idea what we'd bid on (busy getting the wine), but came to class Monday to find a treasure trove of coffee (woo!) and a teddy bear somewhere between the size of G and myself (major triple woo!). The bear had to sit beside G in the back, and transfer to Mom's car after work. It came later that day to swimming lessons, and the next day, when it finally made its home at home, G asked to call in to see how Bear was doing while G and Mom were on the road. His name is "Bear". Bear currently resides in G's room, on a papasan chair, complete with a pillow under his head. After a bath, G had rather cold hands, and we all took turns feeling them. Even Bear, the behemoth who I lifted over to G's bed so he could paw G's cold paws. Upon returning to the papasan chair, G implored "put his head on the pillow!".

Bear supersedes a previous close friend, a motorized Pirates of the Caribbean skull that G was disarmingly affectionate towards, bringing to bed and gently and considerately sharing his food with.

Last week, G came up with a second name for his requested little sibling (fyi - not gonna happen)... "Celery". This supersedes the initial name, "Astronaut Bunny".

S L E E P I N G

G's been sleeping in his own room for several weeks now. Yes, one of us generally winds up with him, but it's good progress and we want him to be really comfortable in his own room and not freak him out by pushing for to much too soon. We'll start moving towards longer sessions on his own.

His bed's on the floor, but he just asked for it up as a bunkbed again, so we may try that this weekend. The typical routine is Citrine lays with him to sleep (around 8pm), while I go down and exercise. I then fetch Citrine afterwards, we spend and hour or so together and then retire. Then around midnight I come up and lay with him when he awakens.

This arrangement has really helped our bonding and he's been more and more comfortable being around me when Citrine's around, instead of just being plastered to Citrine. Not that he's not still plastered to Citrine most of the time, and it's clear I'm still a distant 2nd, but it's helped. More often than before, I get a shout out when something needs attention... "Day-yad", he yells, in an oddly southern dialect.

O T H E R

Ideally, I'd like to not be outwardly political, especially in this blog.

But I can't help it.

Bronx students discuss Obama's race speech

Obama raised $40MM in March, after a $55MM Feb, bringing his total to $240MM. Clinton's at $175MM, McCain's at $65MM. A big difference is that the people are funding Obama, not the power elite and special interests. Over a million donations, mostly $5 and $25 at a time. I never, ever, would have believed the little people of the country could successfully drive a presidential campaign in this day and age.

But I guess we can.

Day on the Town

2008-03-21T11:11:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, Gizmo and Ocelot hit up Madison. Started at a maple syrup festival, finished up at the zoo. Bus rides, elevator rides and ice cream in between.

mad town hoedown

2008-03-21T02:09:00.003-05:00

The G-man and Citrine are shootin' the slides in Dubuque. Tonight I hit the town and soaked in the musical extravaganza that is Madison nightlife:

Boo Bradley

Whitney Mann & the Boy(s)

Sarah Benck & The Robbers

Sissy Wish

Sarah Benck was the stand out of the evening. Sadly, my friend and I were the only non-performing members at the show. Depressing on the one hand, it reminds me why my job is so awesome, because at some level, I hope to be able to help fantastically talented musicians find a way to the audience they deserve.

How cool are you?

2008-03-19T13:25:00.002-05:00

This test assesses data points on your level of cool in high school and extrapolates to determine your current level of cool.

Yes We Can

2008-03-19T10:04:00.003-05:00

Yes We Can, photo of a frozen Lake Monona in Madison, originally uploaded by beecoterie.

Reactions...

"in love"

2008-03-10T00:53:00.004-05:00

Back in the day, I was dating someone, and a friend of my Mom's asked me if I was "in love". I said, "I think so". She explained that if I "thought so", then I wasn't "in love", because if you were, there's simply no ambiguity. I thought that was pretty cool, but always wondered about how you'd really know, and hoped that one day I'd find out.

Turns out, she was right on the money, and about 10 years ago it all became crystal clear (10 years, 10 months and 29 days if you're being finicky).

Turns out, the same general principals of self-knowledge apply to the flu.

oops!

2008-02-27T14:24:00.001-06:00

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Scenes from a Saturday

2008-02-24T09:15:00.001-06:00

DeerDeerDeerDeer...

2008-02-22T15:17:00.006-06:00

We've got a gaggle of deer in our backyard. Just counted at least 10 wandering through. The other day we snapped some of them sleeping up there too.

Today was a day off and me 'n' G hit up Madison for a play date, followed by a downtown adventure (library, capital, ice cream, bus ride). Tonight he's heading down to the grandparents for an overnight, leaving Citrine and I without anything at all to do for the evening.

!!!

The weather this weekend will be practically spring-like, hitting 30° and clear. With the record setting season of snowfall, the current severe weather alert is packing a surprising sense of humor:

DO NOT PUT THOSE SNOW SHOVELS AWAY JUST YET. ALTHOUGH WE WILL HAVE A QUIET WEEKEND AND TEMPERATURES ABOVE FREEZING SUNDAY...MOTHER NATURE IS LOADING UP.

INDICATIONS ARE 8 INCHES OF SNOW...ENJOY THE QUIET WEATHER THIS WEEKEND BUT KEEP IN TOUCH.

Don't Believe the Hype

2008-02-21T23:36:00.004-06:00

Campaigns are mostly hype. And the hype is that hype is all Obama has to offer.

This blogger bypassed the hype and investigated what the candidates have actually done in the Senate. Pesky facts. Never fret! This publically available information will not be leaked to CNN.

[oops! helps if the link actually goes somewhere.]

Signs you need to get out more

2008-02-21T23:35:00.000-06:00

CNN Headline: "Ferry Sinks to Bottom of Amazon"

.com?

Things you didn't know about me #1

2008-02-21T10:41:00.006-06:00

This is the first in a series of one post(s) detailing revealing aspects of me and my life. I work in an office 44 steps away from a restroom.

I'm almost the kind of person who would count things obsessive-compulsively. In fact, exactly one thing prevents this. I hate counting. It's completely boring. I get to one, and it's all downhill from there (and i'm not one of those hardcore geeks who start at zero). I'm no fan of sequential numbers. I do love statistics though.

Oddly enough (not odd as in numerically odd), the one form of meditation that I find works for me is counting my breaths. Anything else and either my mind just wanders off in thought or else I fall asleep, each rather in contrast to the goal. Count 1 for a breath in, 2 for a breath out. On up to 10. Repeat. If you find yourself past 10, you're mind is wandering. That's ok. Just start back at 1. And don't do that again!!! But if you do, it's ok.

I like to meditate every day. Or at least once a week. I never actually do. "It's good to want things." That's a quote from Winona Ryder in 'Mermaids'. It's funny to attribute a quote to an actor in a movie. They didn't write the line. They aren't saying it as themselves. It'd make more sense to quote the character. Even more to quote the author. No, actually, probably more to quote the character, since the writer isn't writing it coming from himself. You can't say for sure Shakespeare gave a diddly about "To be, or not to be". That's just him framing the mindset of the character he's writing, the story he's telling. Shakespeare isn't his story. Actors aren't the characters they portray. But that's how we experience them.

Actors are the people we see each day. More so than our friends. The characters they play often become surrogates for our friends. And then we misplace that misdirected friendship on the actors themselves. And instead of gossiping about our friends, or the characters we're watching on screen, we gossip about the actual actors. It's odd. But maybe, in a way, it works. It's nice to feel like you have friends... you get a lot of the benefits of friendship, even if they're just characters on TV. And better to gossip about celebs you'll never meet than actual people in your life. Maybe it's even better to gossip about the characters. Maybe that's fan fiction. Insert "I" for "we" up there. I dunno about you.

I just had a big glass of water, so have to go walk 44 steps again. Ok, bye!

Woo! Yeah!

2008-02-18T09:37:00.004-06:00

[09:16] Citrine: Drop off ok?
[09:16] Ocelot: in the car, a song came on the radio, hip hop... Had these samples that played throughout the song... "Wooo!"... "Yeah!"
[09:16] Ocelot: and a bit into it, i heard this quiet mumbling in the back..."eh"... "um"
[09:17] Citrine: He was singing along?
[09:17] Ocelot: then by half way through the song, G's rocking his head back and forth yelling "Wooo!"... "Yeah!"

Bridge to Terabithiaaaaaah!

2008-02-17T19:45:00.006-06:00

Last week, Gizmo built a bridge from the couch to the coffee table using a pillow. Unsurprisingly, it failed to support his weight when he attempted to cross. He crashed down to the edge of the table, striking it with his full weight right between the eyebrows. He immediately got a goose egg of terrifying proportions, which remained for several days. The swelling's subsided, but it's now a rather morbid shade of yellow, and has drained downwards leaving two black eyes.

Yesterday we had an awesome trip to Mt. Olympus water park. It was the third trip this winter, which Gizmo took note of... "and next time will be FOUR!". He returned with two grazed elbows... adding to his battered and beleaguered appearance. But great fun was had and much sleep.

Today we're having something of an ice storm. I've been at the driveway a few times trying to ensure we have a hope of actually leaving tomorrow (without qualifying for the bobsledding team). We had to bail on a precious date night tonight, being marooned atop a most slippery slope.

Gizmisms:

1) Remotes are referred to as Kah-motes.
"Where's the kamote?"
"I have TWO kamotes."

2) Big Hugs! We occasionally have a family hug with Mommy, Daddy and Gizmo. Sometimes while running around, Gizmo will stop suddenly and announce, "Big hug!"... and who can resist? Everyone drops what they're doing and gathers for the big squeeze.

3) Delightful! The Upside Down Show (one of the best thing to hit kids TV since Sesame Street) recently showed an episode where ice cream was described as "delicious, delectable and.... DEEE LIIIIGHTFULLLLL!", with the last word sung in unison by everyone on the show. And now Gizmo can randomly be heard chiming "DEE LIIIIGHTFULLLL!".

It. Never. Ends.

2008-02-15T14:13:00.005-06:00

Shoveled out again last night. We're at 80" for the season (previous record was 76"). Up to 9" forcast for Sunday, with a chance of more snow on Monday and temps falling to 0°.

On the upside, we may be hitting up the waterslides one day this weekend. On the downside, so is everyone else.

The more the merrier! Bring it on!*

- -

* - non sequitur segue to note that we saw Kirsten Dunst (one of my favorite actors) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when we were out in California. A month later, she entered rehab. I don't think we had anything to do with it.

Do Not Enter

2008-02-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

-7, windchill -32. Not expected to reach 0 today. When will he blog about anything else???

Nighthock

2008-02-08T21:01:00.000-06:00

Sadly, the kids playing hockey refused to stay still long enough to appear in the frame. With a 1 second exposure, they impressively disappeared from the canvas (celluloid? digital palette?) altogether.

Winter About Town

2008-02-07T20:54:00.000-06:00

Gizmo overheard: "Mom! Mom! I broke the ladybug. It was already dead, Mom, it was already dead. Mom? Do you want to see the inside of a ladybug?"

Winter Record Watch

2008-02-07T10:38:00.000-06:00

Madison embraced 11.9" of snow yesterday, topping the previous record for that date (5.3" in 1911). It was the 10th most ever in a single day, and the most in 12 years. The all time record snowfall in a day is 17.3" (Dec 3 1990).

We've had 73.7" of snow this season. The norm at this point is 32.6", and last year we were at 25.1". The all time record for a full season is 76.1" in 1978-79.

Good luck, lrw*!

2008-02-06T23:00:00.000-06:00

* - little red warrior

This blog typically welcomes about 5 visitors a day. Monday saw 150, plus another 50 on both Tuesday and today. All thanks to my generous misappropriation of cumulative snow graphs for Madison, which garnered links from TheDailyPage.com, Dane101.com, Madison.com and a few LiveJournals and sundry blogs. We are fanatical about our weather here. So to make right (or at least lean to the right side of wrong), and to further empower all, here are some handy dandy links:

Wisconsin State Climatology Office: Climate Data Links & Maps
National Weather Service Forecast Office: Milwaukee/Sullivan (& Madison)

The snow finally abated today around 6pm. Even with all the snow, it's been relatively balmy, around 30 degrees the last few days. Of course, snow is forecast again for Friday. And Saturday. And Sunday. And lest we forget the cold, it drops to -6 on Saturday. Take that, silly homo sapiens!

Back to lrw... I seriously don't know what I would've done without the little bugger today. Staring down half a football field in length, 3000 sq. ft. covered in nearly 2 feet of snow. Thank you, lrw. Thank you.

Snow Day!

2008-02-06T12:32:00.000-06:00

Some pics from our day home in the snow.

Plus, our paperwork bin, 1.5 weeks after we went through and filed away 4 years of piled up paperwork. w00t!

Super Bowl catch

2008-02-04T11:22:00.000-06:00

Welp, it was the best Super Bowl ever, and here's the best play in Super Bowl history:

[Better quality available here at NFL.com]

Apologies to Pats fans.

And by apologies, I mean:

Year of the Snow Blower

2008-02-03T23:23:00.000-06:00

Cumulative snowfall in Madison since we've been here:

As of today we're at 60", with 76" being the all time record, and we're only 60% of the way through. At this pace, we'll be pushing 100" before the thaw.

-7

2008-01-30T09:14:00.000-06:00

...-27 wind chill. Schools closed on account of cold for the 2nd time in 14 years. Brrr!

On the upside, it's bring your kids to work day! (though the bossman didn't get the memo)

New Year's Eve: Capitola

2008-01-24T00:19:00.000-06:00

Looking down Capitola Ave. from the defunct Capitola Theater on Monterey Ave. New Year's Eve 2007 in Capitola, CA.

We snapped 650 pics on our trip to California. So i should be able to post about 2 a day until our next annual trek. :)

While in California, I spent exactly 15 minutes on the internet. And survived. Happily. I'm considering steps to address my internet addiction. Although it may more accurately be described as information addiction, as it extends beyond the internet. At home I consume magazines and newspapers over books. While driving I'm listening to podcasts that ensure a constant steam of info snippets. NPR, tech news, football updates.

If, instead of listening to this aural assault on my commute, I instead tune in to, say, Thich Nhat Hanh, I find myself substantially more serene and happy. Commuting is a pretty wound up experience for me in general, as I lack compassion for my fellow commuters and their failure to engage fully in their current activity. So as I soak in the sage advice ("If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace"), I try to beam warmly as I express color commentary on the navigating techniques of my kindred travelers.

Wisconsin libraries offer free downloads of audio books to compatible portable audio devices. With this service I've been able to get The Art of Mindful Living and The Present Moment. w00t!

Shipwreck: The Palo Alto

2008-01-17T23:20:00.000-06:00

The Palo Alto, docked indefinitely at the pier at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, CA.

In 1910 a Norwegian civil engineer named Fougner thought of using concrete to build ships. It wasn't until 1917, when wartime steel shortages required the use of cement for construction that Fougner's idea was used. Three concrete ships were built at the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. These ships were the Faith, the Peralta, and the Palo Alto. The Peralta and the Palo Alto were built for wartime use as tankers, however World WarOne ended before ship construction was finished -- so they were never used.

The Palo Alto remained docked in Oakland until 1929, when the Cal-Nevada Company bought the ship with the idea of making her into an amusement and fishing ship. Her maiden voyage was made under tow to Seacliff State Beach. Once positioned at the beach, the sea cocks were opened and the Palo Alto settled to the ocean bottom. By the summer of 1930 a pier had been built leading to the ship, the ship was remodeled. A dance floor on the main deck was added, also a cafe in the superstructure was built, as was a fifty-four foot heated swimming pool, and a series of carnival type concessions were placed on the afterdeck. The Cal-Nevada Company went broke after two seasons -- then the Palo Alto was stripped, leaving the ship and the pier used only for fishing.

Reference links:

Concrete Ships.org

S.S. Palo Alto

California Coastal Records Project

zero

2008-01-17T10:08:00.001-06:00

Must. Migrate. Before. Saturday.

I don't wear suits

2007-12-20T15:27:00.001-06:00

AND! More fun with Diet Coke + Mentos:

Market - M6

2007-12-10T14:10:00.000-06:00

The best band you never heard:

Market M6 video

Add to My Profile | More Videos

I downloaded a bunch of Market songs off MP3.com in 1998. All their tunes are awesome. They won Musician Magazine's 1997 Best Unsigned Band Competition and proceeded to sign to Interscope whereupon they vanished with nary a trace.

Ray of Light

2007-10-23T23:41:00.000-05:00

There's been little progress in the efforts to oust the G-man into his own room. A survey of parents revealed many lingering in co-sleeping land. And while we'd like our room back, we also like co-sleeping in a lot of ways.

Citrine recently consulted with Gizmo on the matter. He explained that it would be lonely and scary in his room alone. Indisputable. He said he'd go for it if we made his bed a bunk bed. Unacceptable. We wouldn't sleep again. Citrine explained we could try this when he was 14. Okay, 4.

What about bringing his bed into our room? That would go a long way to meeting our goals of reclaiming our bed (and each other), while not being scary or lonely for G. He approved. We moved. He slept. We slept.

Actually, he slept fantastically. Probably the best night in quite some time. Tonight is night #2. So far, so good.

Climbing Gym

2007-10-16T22:32:00.001-05:00

Gizmo hit up the climbing gym for the first time this evening. He's a natural...

Full Album

Yo! Gabba Gabba

2007-10-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

There's a new show in town, and if you haven't heard of it yet, you will soon. It's got groovy tunes for pre-schoolers and retro sensibilities aimed at Gen X parents. It is, without a doubt, Yo! Gabba Gabba:

And here's an engaged Gizmo checking it out:

Mentos

2007-10-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

Plus the original for reference:

Monsters, Inc.

2007-10-05T09:25:00.001-05:00

The three of us go to bed together each night, read a few books and turn off the lights. And that's when things can get interesting.

Gizmo: The monsters are here.
Citrine: What, honey?
Gizmo (quite calm and collected): They got in through the basement door.
Gizmo: They came up the stairs into the kitchen.
Gizmo: They walked through the living room and into the bedroom.
Gizmo: And now the monsters are here.
Gizmo: ...
Gizmo: They took daddy.
Gizmo: ...
Gizmo: ...
Gizmo: Oh, it's ok, they put daddy back.
Gizmo: Daddy's back.
Gizmo: ...
Ocelot: ...but different.
Citrine: Shut up, Ocelot.
Gizmo: Shut up, Ocelot.

Smart Studios

2007-09-24T23:34:00.000-05:00

I drive by this building almost every day on the way to work. I admired it for its worn-out-eye-sore-of-an-abandoned-building-ness and often wondered what was behind its blacked out and bricked up windows. It was years before someone finally explained to me that this was the legendary Smart Studios, the brainchild of Butch Vig and Steve Marker, founding members of Garbage. This little hovel is where Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins' breakthrough albums were recorded.

First image is a processed HDR composite of 3 exposures... Second image is the unprocessed middle exposure for curiousity's sake.

Weigh In
Sep 25: 190 lbs
Sep 17: 190 lbs
Sep 10: 189 lbs
Sep 04: 193 lbs
Aug 27: 190 lbs
Aug 20: 190 lbs
Aug 13: 192 lbs
Aug 06: 194 lbs
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Middleton Festival

2007-09-09T23:33:00.000-05:00

Gizmo and cousin E at a festival in Middleton last month:

Planes

2007-09-08T01:40:00.001-05:00

Random plane shots...

August 8th on the way to work/school:

July 21st at the cabin:

Badger Ridge

2007-09-07T02:13:00.000-05:00

Shots from Aug 25th at Badger Ridge Middle School in Verona:

Willy Street Vader

2007-09-05T09:11:00.001-05:00

I just found out that the internet phenom, Chad Vader, was filmed here at the Willy Street Co-op:

Gummy Bears

2007-09-04T12:47:00.001-05:00

Gizmo loves gummy bears! I'll be sure and video his reaction when I get home and share this clip:

Weigh In
Sep 04: 193 lbs
Aug 27: 190 lbs
Aug 20: 190 lbs
Aug 13: 192 lbs
Aug 06: 194 lbs
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Breakfast @ Panera

2007-08-25T17:05:00.001-05:00

Going Under

2007-08-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

2007 Precipitation (inches)

Month : Avg / Actual

JAN : 1.3 / 0.8
FEB : 1.3 / 1.3
MAR : 2.3 / 3.4
APR : 3.4 / 4.7
MAY : 3.3 / 1.4
JUN : 4.1 / 4.8
JUL : 3.9 / 2.7
AUG : 2.9 / 13.9   (avg/actual to 8/23)

A record rainfall of 3.2 inches was set at Madison yesterday. This breaks the old record of 1.4 set in 1892.

The previous wettest August on record was in 1980 with 9.5 inches.

The previous wettest month ever was July 1950 with 10.9 inches.

The sun's poking through right now, but we're under flash flood watch until Saturday morning.

Forgot to mention, it turns out Gizmo's cast will be on for 4 weeks. It comes off Fri Aug 31.

And then it's off to Washington Island!

More than just party schools

2007-08-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

The Princeton Review came out with their annual list of college rankings. The most quoted ranking is the list of party schools:

#1 West Virginia University
#2 University of Mississippi
#3 The University of Texas at Austin
#4 University of Florida
#5 University of Georgia
#6 Penn State--University Park
#7 University of New Hampshire
#8 Indiana University at Bloomington
#9 Ohio University-Athens
#10 University of California-Santa Barbara

Here's some broader category rankings for schools of interest-

UW Madison:
#1 Lots of Beer
#16 Best College Newspaper
#18 Students Pack the Stadiums

UC Santa Cruz (my alma mater):
#4 Reefer Madness
#8 Most Beautiful Campus
#17 Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians

MIT (Citrine's alma mater):
#3 The Toughest to Get Into
#8 Their Students Never Stop Studying
#13 Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly, or Both

Weigh In
Aug 20: 190 lbs
Aug 13: 192 lbs
Aug 06: 194 lbs
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Farmers Market

2007-08-15T10:59:00.001-05:00

The weekend before last we had a blast at the Farmers' Market:

Soccer Dates

2007-08-13T23:46:00.000-05:00

When playing early games, Gizmo and Citrine join me at soccer to cheer me on from the stands. The kiddo really gets into the games, asking questions about the players and rules, and providing running commentary on my play or lack thereof. Though nothing beats half time when he gets to take the field for a few minutes and score goals like Pele (except maybe the 4 foot long liquorice from the concession stand). Here's a clip from 2 weeks back:

Tonight we had a date! We checked out the new Sundance Cinemas and saw Waitress. The theater was cool, but not worth the crazy premium they charge ($10.75). The movie was very enjoyable... a great slice of life with rich, quirky characters and some spot on observations regarding the journey into parenthood to boot.

Weigh In
Aug 13: 192 lbs
Aug 06: 194 lbs
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Car Wash

2007-08-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since posting. Citrine's computer blew a fuse, so we ordered all the parts (go NewEgg!) and spent last weekend assembling. Over the last week everything's been getting installed and tweaked, with new backup strategy hammered out and implemented. The result is a sleek, pretty quiet and speedy machine... the first new desktop we've had in 5 years. We also added a UPS, not so much for power during blackouts as much as protecting the hardware from all the flickers in electricity we get in that area of the house. It's doing its job already, kicking into battery power several times a day due to excessive electrical noise.

And... now I can transcode my digicam movies much faster (thanks Citrine!). Here's Gizmo going through a car wash on our way to Little Amerricka yesterday:

In other news, we're now carbon balanced on the road.

Weigh In
Aug 06: 194 lbs
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Of Casts & Marbles

2007-08-04T00:08:00.000-05:00

Buckle Fracture

2007-08-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

Last night, Gizmo was riding his bike about on the deck after dinner and toppled over at slow speed. He broke the fall with his left hand (he's left handed) and was crying out of proportion to the inconsequential scratch on the palm of his hand. I still can't get used to how much it hurts to have your kiddo hurt. After calming down a bit, he started to point to his wrist, so we knew something was amiss. No noticeable swelling, but the back of his hand appeared mildly distressed. Perhaps overreacting, we called in and hit up the hospital.

In the waiting room, Gizmo said it only medium hurt now, whereas before it super-hurt. The 1st doctor evaluated things and said it didn't appear anything was broken, and we sighed in relief. Then the ol' pro came in and methodically felt his right arm from the elbow down to the hand. "Um, that's not the one he hurt..."

"I know," she said gently, as she moved on to the left arm. When she reached an inch up from his wrist, Gizmo winced. Xray. Buckle fracture. Splint.

It's a very mild and crazy common compression fracture amongst the young jet set. Last night at midnight he woke up screaming, but it was likely just the splint too tightly wrapped. We shed the splint, sucked down some Tylenol and within a few minutes he was back to sleep. Today an orthopedic surgeon set him up with a fiberglass cast. He got to choose the color, and went with radical red. He hasn't slowed a beat and just uses his right hand for everything. He was leaping off couches before we even left the house this morning.

As we left the hospital with the cast (hopefully just a 2 week stint), Gizmo volunteered one of his new limitations as directed by the doc: "No hanging from my hands".

Here's a downtown train I snapped from my car this week, submitted for analysis by my best bud, Schmuck. :)

Fog of War

2007-08-02T12:20:00.000-05:00

The other night I was channel surfing and stumbled upon Fog of War, a brilliant 2003 documentary interview with Robert S. McNamara. The movie begins with him talking relaxed and matter-of-factly:

Any military commander who's honest with himself will admit that he has made mistakes in the application of military power... he's killed people unnecessarily - his own troops or other troops - through mistakes, through errors in judgement. A hundred or thousands or tens of thousands, maybe even a hundred thousand. The conventional wisdom is learn from your mistakes. There'll be no learning period with nuclear weapons.

A nugget of a quote, though the "hundred thousand" hyperbole seemed a bit of a stretch.

Ominously, we soon find that it is not, and that we are listening to one such individual to whom it applies.

I half expected the director to ask, "Do you think you're going to hell?" and McNamara to answer with a humble knowing laugh, "Well of course."

"All rational people do."

Sons of the Never Wrong

2007-07-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to Art in the Barn to see Sons of the Never Wrong.

We really enjoyed the show, and picked up a CD during the intermission. Gizmo was a bit too loopy to last late into the evening for the 2nd set, but he had a blast checking out the horses in the animal barn up the path.

Music - 1995

2007-07-31T13:30:00.000-05:00

It was a sunny day in San Rafael, 1995. I walked into a Wherehouse to pick up a copy of Tool's Undertow.

Tool - Sober (my fav vid of all time)

While there, I decided it was about time to throw caution to the wind and discover some new bands by willy-nilly picking up CDs whose album covers I liked (not terribly reckless consumerism, given the Wherehouse's generous return policy). So I picked some strange item by a new band across the pond known as The Prodigy:

Prodigy - Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)

And I couldn't pass up the wicked album art on the cover of an EP by some unknown outfit, God Lives Underwater:

God Lives Underwater - All Wrong

That jaunt became the epoch of my music purchasing days.

Weigh In
Jul 30: 197 lbs
Jul 23: 200 lbs
Jul 16: 203 lbs

Tenney Pond

2007-07-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Thief!

2007-07-27T11:18:00.001-05:00

Racoon stealing someone's carpet.

Mad City at Night

2007-07-25T23:34:00.000-05:00

Trains Along the River

2007-07-23T19:52:00.001-05:00

This weekend we hit up the cabin, joined by Gizmo's grandparents, aunt K and cousin E. Great fun was had on the pontoon boat, yummy grilled food was plentiful and once the sun set, everyone crashed in their pajamas to watch movies.

Sunday afternoon, me 'n' G hit up the pool & waterslide.

WeightWatchers: 3 pounds down for this week's weigh-in (200lbs, aiming for 175).

Mallards

2007-07-23T10:43:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this pic of us at the Mallards game last Thursday.

Tenney Park Bridge

2007-07-20T02:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight we hit up a Mallards game. Gizmo was into it for about 1 inning. With 13 runs scored, it was quite an inning! More important was stalking the Duck and Puppy mascots in search of hugs and high fives.

School is paying off:

Twinkle twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in your butt

Lock the door

2007-07-19T02:18:00.000-05:00

Picture of Tenney Locks on a gray day.

Tonight I had a meditation class. I fell asleep. The instructor indicated that this was not the goal of meditation. At all.

On the way home I stopped to fill up with gas. It was a warm evening, and had just begun to sprinkle. I pulled up to one of four pumps... somewhere in here I need to set this up with the fact that I have arachnophobia... I swiped the card and went to press "No, I do not need a record of how much liquid gold I'm about to guzzle from my bank account", when I realized there was a rather large spider suspended over the keypad. Holy Jeeeee...pers! Lucky I saw that before inadvertently pressing it. Oh, but wait, there's more. The pump is absolutely covered in these spiders, who are milling about, dropping from webs, speeding inside and out of the attached empty plexiglass holder for important "Gas Facts!" pamphlets that have already been duely distributed.

I look around, and sure enough, pumps 1, 3 and 4 are all completely devoid of arachnifestation. Yes, this is my own personalized Ocelot End of Days.

Gothic House

2007-07-16T23:57:00.001-05:00

Citrine & I went on a date to Barriques tonight. We may have finally scored a regular local babysitter! Gizmo had a blast while we were out.

Today at school Gizmo palled around with a new friend for much of the day. Unfortunately he also got a bit bullied at one point by an older kid who pulled his hair. The thrills, spills and chills of his new life on the playground. It's all coming back to me.

Shedding

2007-07-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

A couple of HDR shots from our porch today... plus a non-HDR version to compare what the heck this HDR stuff does for the pic.

We had a pretty mellow weekend. Today we all went out to a parking lot and worked on bike-riding skills... Gizmo did a stint on his InStep and then a few laps around with his own bike w/ training wheels. Although he's a terror on wheels around the house, he's rather trepidacious out in the open where he feels more vulnerable.

Today I (re)joined Weight Watchers. Just a few hours in, I was already keenly aware of the pizza some folks on TV were noshing. That pizza. That luscious, scrumptious pizza. The pizza I'll never again savor. We'll see how this goes.

And, in unrelated news, I partook of my 3rd annual molt.

HDR Trees

2007-07-14T00:59:00.000-05:00

With the awesome camera Citrine gave me for father's day [Panasonic FZ8], I'm trying out shooting in RAW mode at different exposures and then combining in what's called High Dynamic Range photography.

Oh No They Didn't!

2007-07-11T11:12:00.000-05:00

Will it Blend... iPhone edition:

Club Med 2007

2007-07-08T22:58:00.000-05:00

Here's the scene at Club Med 2007 on Saturday. A bigger pool than last year, and we're cutting down on the refills by lightly chlorinating it and covering when not in use, which is working out very well. No more slimy bottomed dead insect habitat after 2 days this time. And a glimpse of our rustic new patio furniture that we finally (but very happily) settled on.

In all fairness, it turns out Brightcove doesn't have to be such an unfriendly experience if you don't inadvertently seek to make it a much more involved ordeal than necessary. On the motion-free front, I'm bailing on Picasa/Blogger photo uploading in favor of Flickr, so I can actually get the size photo I'm looking for. Still using Picasa to import/manage/edit pics, and obviously Blogger to host the blog.

For today's 95° scorcher we hit up the beach at Lake Wingra in the morning, followed by a stint at the zoo. In the post nap afternoon, Gizmo and I hit up an indoor swim pool to escape the sun.

Getting to sleep for naps and at night has been increasingly hard the last few weeks. But the struggles are not without their comic relief. Overheard on last night's failed attempt to drive Gizmo to sleep:

Gizmo: I want a robot.
Citrine: Robots are nice.
Gizmo: I want to get a robot.
Citrine: You have some neat robots at home.
Gizmo: I want to get a robot at Target®.

In shocking news, I jogged 3 miles around the neighborhood tonight. The nice thing about playing indoor soccer is the weekly reminder that if I got in shape, I could last more than 90 seconds on the pitch before subbing (passing) out.

Hippity Hop

2007-07-07T12:16:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, Mr. G and I were hitting up the restroom at Noodles when a hip hop song started in over the speakers. Gizmo quickly began grooving to the tune... so a few weeks ago I figured I'd try adding a couple of hip hop CD's to our collection and see what he thought. After hitting play, this is what he thought:

I spent a bunch of time researching the best tool for sharing video, and settled on Brightcove for its high quality. But the two hours it took to encode the 3 minute video and miserable user interface experience means this will probably be the beginning and end of the Brightcove experiment.

4th of July finished off with a carnival and beautiful fireworks show in Stoughton. I'd complain about the heat we're getting hit with this weekend (91°/95°), except it's peanuts compared to what's hitting out west (117 in Las Vegas, 106 Sacramento).

We tried to see Ratatouille this morning, but even just being in the theater was a bit too intimidating still. So we've got a date with Cindarella now, and might hit up the kiddie pool on the deck this afternoon.

Swim Fan

2007-07-04T16:48:00.000-05:00

I got to duck out of work early Tuesday and join Mr. G for his swim lesson. He's come a long way since the days I used to climb in with him for the lessons and catch him as he leaped perilously into 4 feet of water with passion and glee and without warning or any apparent lust for breathable air.

Today we hit up Lake Wingra by canoe again, this time along with cousin, aunt & uncle. Might try to hit up some fireworks this evening, and Citrine is hot to make use of the grill for the holiday.

Greedeep!

2007-07-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

This morning we encountered YAF (yet another froggy) on our wading pool on the porch. "It looks like a leaf", Gizmo proclaimed, differentiating it from the brown one we saw last week.

We wound up not boxing it up for show and tell on Friday.

Looking back, I realized there's a few things I've left out... Gizmo's move to his own room last month lasted a week before we wound up reverting to co-sleeping again.

I neglected a few details about G's 1st day at school last week... he had run his hand through a treadmill the day before. We had it xrayed to determine it was only a sprain with some swelling and abrading. So that's the bandage in pictures. We worried about him favoring his hand while adapting to all the new things that school brings, but he handled it in stride. Also, as we were tooling around downtown during his first day, we received a call that he had a bloody nose. Egads! But after a few minutes holding a tissue to it, the teacher asked if he wanted to go back in, and he calmly nodded. He's not fazed by bloody noses, and gets them from time to time (self inflicted... trying to be informative yet discrete).

After a week and a day, school continues to go well. He's not playing with other kids in the playground yet, but he's obviously becoming more and more comfortable in the environment each day.

Over the weekend we hit up the cabin for an overnight with some family. It was fun for all, and Citrine and I even stole away in the evening to catch a movie (Knocked Up - not bad, but nowhere near as good as we'd heard). Gizmo was super eager to get out on the pontoon boat and gave fishing a try (no hook), but came away a bit overly concerned about the lack of yellowness of his bobber.

School!

2007-06-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

Gizmo started school this week! Citrine and I both took the day off so we could be there for the first drop off and pick up. He's been a trooper! His parents, not so much. We spent the day stressed out and panicky, waiting for the moment we could come scoop him away. He's taken to it very well. After 3 days, he's still shy and cuddly and a bit nervous when I drop him off. But he's obviously happy, and smiling, and he loves his teacher. Each day Citrine picks him up after lunch, and he's been increasingly comfortable about the environment by then.

Slideshow above is from day 2.

Little Amerricka

2007-06-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today was the duckiest of days. We started the morning with a family canoe on Lake Wingra, which was dreamy calm and naturiffic. We followed that up with an early lunch at Bluephies, the site where we decided 6 years ago to make the move to Madison. Gizmo 86'd our plan to hit up Target and instead had us go back to play in the park by the canoe rentals.

We then dropped off Citrine and hit up near by Little Amerricka, where Gizmo's godfather had clued us in on the existence of a 1/3 scale steam train. It was a hit, as was the accompanying amusement park.

Ichne-wuh?

2007-06-11T00:17:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Gizmo and I saw the most amazing insect I've ever seen. There's been a few around the house in the past, but none anywhere near this big or pristine in color. It's vaguely like a mud-wasp, but much bigger, and had a tail (stinger?!?!)extending 5 inches(!!!).

Just scoped it out on the net, and am happy to report to myself that it, in fact, doesn't sting. These pictures of the Megarhyssa atrata species of the Giant Ichneumon actually don't do the specimen we spied justice... they look like glossy armoured insects, whereas what we spied had an appearance more akin to plush pitch black velvet with a sleek gloss yellow paint job on the antennae, head and front 2 legs.

Reference sites:
Bug Guide
What's That Bug?

If you want the best strawberries...

2007-06-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

We picked strawberries from Carandale Farms this morning, and they are utterly scrumptious. We plan to sample the yield every weekend for the few weeks they're in season... one week can be much more flavorful than the next.

We converted Gizmo's bunk into a trundle this weekend, as we found we'd never sleep at ease with him slumbering in the sky unattended. He hasn't tried the earth-dwelling set up yet, so we'll see what he thinks tonight.

I hope to hit up the city pool with Gizmo this afternoon to wear him out and get him back on sleep schedule (i.e. NOT 11pm).

Hyperactive

2007-06-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's been bustling this week, capped off by a crazy Saturday. Gizmo had an allergy doc appt, a regular doc checkup, we took bCat in for a tooth extraction (she's doing well) and Friday night was indoor soccer.

Saturday began with the (lesser) Farmer's Market, some Bucky Badger goodies from the University book store, followed by the Parade of Homes and a nice 2 hour nap for G and dad. Since we'd been on a carnival roll, we decided to poke around and found yet another carnival in Verona... hit that up for dinner and rides and finished the evening with a front row seat for Gizmo's first fireworks show. We tried a scarier ride now that he's "older", but it was still a bit much (Tilt-a-Whirl). But he lined up twice for the creaky, rusty purple ferris wheel with fading brakes that scared mom & dad.

Sunshine in the Rain

2007-06-03T10:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we kicked the day off with Dozer Days. Riding mega-dump trucks into quarries, bulldozing and twirling around in a giant back hoe is pretty much a guarantee of an epically toddlerific grand time.

Later, while Citrine picked up a gas grill and stocked up @ Trader Joes, Gizmo and I hit up our 3rd carnival in 3 weeks. Festa Italia! was more or less deserted, but we hit up all the rides with glee.

Today we've got sunshine and rain simultaneously. I'm hoping we can swing by the Alternative Parade of Homes (a tour of historic old homes in downtown madison), while a Mahi Mahi delicacy via the new grill is waiting in the wings (gills?).

On the sleep front, we're potentially in the midst of an epic change. On Friday night, we decided to try that Citrine would head out when we switched the lights off, and only I would stay with Gizmo until he fell asleep. This would free up one of us, and in particular, give Citrine (and us as a couple) some time in the evening, as ordinarily she would fall aslumber during the nighttime routine.

Gizmo was pretty restless, and while he sat upsidedown with his feet up the bedframe and tapping against the wall, I asked "Do you like sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed with us?" "No." "Do you want to sleep in Gizmo's bed?" "Yeah!"

And so, the last two nights, I've slept with Gizmo in his own room! Citrine and I have actually had some evening time together. Hopefully a trend we can continue. And then eventually we can work on edging me back into our bed.

Today's blog entry is brought to you by (Gizmo's first full viewing of) Toy Story.

Carnies

2007-06-02T21:14:00.000-05:00

Busin' it

2007-05-28T16:35:00.000-05:00

Gizmo and I often cruise into town on weekends to cruise downtown buses. We generally hop on at State Street, head to whatever transfer point the bus happens to be heading to, and transfer onto a bus heading back. We've been to the North transfer station, East, West and South. Many of the buses sport ads featuring Bucky Badger, which alone makes the adventure worthwhile. Through no effort of our own, Gizmo has become our local mascot's biggest fan.

Today we made it to the West Transfer station before hitting up Menards for tree house supplies (12' 2"x8"'s and 8" lag bolts) and sand for the sandbox.

Fair

2007-05-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

We hit up Brat Fest this evening, capping off an eventful day. It was Gizmo's second soiree on carnival rides in as many weeks. He was as over-the-top hyper excited as last time, but even more daring. Alas, Citrine pointed out, he was only 2 back then.

Earlier we had returned from 2 nights at the cabin with Grandpa and Grandma. Again, Gizmo was heart broken at the thought of leaving, but at least we had the prospect of a ferris wheel ahead of us this time. There may come a time (next time?) where we find we cannot ever leave the rustic hut beside the mighty Sipp.

"Do you like the cabin?"

"(sob) yes."

"Do you like the trains?"

"(sob) yes."

"Do you like Grandma & Grandpa?"

"(sob) yes."

"Do you like Mom & Dad?"

"(sob) no."

Capitola Redux

2007-05-18T11:12:00.001-05:00

Last September's trip to Capitola...

Cat with Bow Golf

2007-05-17T23:55:00.000-05:00

An addictive Flash gravity game from the makers of BiZaRRo WoRLD™*.

* not really on the 2nd part

OCD?

2007-05-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

...check.

Browser Saftey Goggles?

...check.

Dragon Slayer Battle Cry?

...check.

On the Rocks

2007-05-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

One of my fav photos, fairly photoshopped.

The Lion That Squeeked

2007-03-02T10:57:00.000-06:00

Swiss accidentally invade Liechtenstein

AP - Fri Mar 2, 8:51 AM ET

ZURICH, Switzerland - What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.

According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back.

A spokesman for the Swiss army confirmed the story but said that there were unlikely to be any serious repercussions for the mistaken invasion.

"We've spoken to the authorities in Liechtenstein and it's not a problem," Daniel Reist told The Associated Press.

Officials in Liechtenstein also played down the incident.

Interior ministry spokesman Markus Amman said nobody in Liechtenstein had even noticed the soldiers, who were carrying assault rifles but no ammunition. "It's not like they stormed over here with attack helicopters or something," he said.

Liechtenstein, which has about 34,000 inhabitants and is slightly smaller than Washington DC, doesn't have an army.

It wasn't like this when i was a kid

2007-02-23T14:04:00.000-06:00

Stabbing at Leia's 22nd Birthday (video)