I'm back.

I flew home overnight, and then came back into work, after "saying hello" to Lovely Wife, of course. ;-)

I'm a bit punchy. I'll have lots of pics to post, and apparently I'll soon be in a commenting rumble with a blogger who will kick my ass. In the meantime, 25 points to whoever can guess what the consequences were of eating Cap'n Crunch Crunchberry cereal every morning for a week.

iPod: "Make Out Kids" by Motion City Soundtrack, "That Car Came Out of Nowhere" and "Circus of the Stars" by Braid.

Short Hawaii Update

Not too much going on here right now. My second day we set up for the convention and I just hung out. Day 3 I checked my manhood at the front desk, rented a scooter with a coworker, and tooled around O'ahu. It was actually very cool, an ideal way to see things you want on your own terms. I'll post pics soon. Until then, here's something I found that I'm sure one blogger I link to will enjoy. And Go Oilers!

Hawaii Day 1 - In Pictures

My hotel room


Weird built-in radio/alarm clock thingy


Views of boats out my window


Beach out my window


Kind of a lame pool


On the right is the park I ran around


Sunset

The CD Game - The Results

Sorry for unceremoniously dumping this on a weekend post, but I didn't want to put it off anymore. The best possible base score was 40 points. Here are the results of players who were able to submit an entry:

- In fifth place: Anonymous Coworker with 7 points (no extra credit points).
- In fourth place: Graculus with 7 points (1 extra credit point).
- In third place: Scarlet with 37 points (14 extra credit points).
- In second place: JustaGirl with 37 points (30 extra credit points).
- and the winner is: Rachel, with 38 points!!!

Congratulations, Rachel! You've won the Utah Gift Package, including the delicious salt water taffy. Under the rules of the Game, you must now make your own CD for others to play. I invite anyone who played or who reads this blog to make a CD for a new Game, however, because it was mucho fun and I loved doing it. Just let us know if you'd like to start a game.

Again, congrats, Rachel!

Friday Kid (and Worm) Blogging

So I'm in Hawaii. I'll be here a week, and I'm looking forward to it, but I don't think I'll be able to do anything really exciting. I'm going to try to hike up to the top of Diamond Head Crater at the end of Waikiki, and I'm fantasizing about finding and raiding the "Lost" set in the hopes of being a walk-on Other extra, but that probably won't happen. Anyway, here's some pics of CBK Jr.









And now, for no good reason other than I don't know how else to post these, here are some gross worms that crawled up on our patio last weekend after it rained all night. Enjoy.

The CD Game - The Answers (FINALLY!)

Well, I've received either a tracklist or confirmation of withdrawal from everyone, so I can now reveal the track names and artists for those of you anxious to find out how you did, or just anxious to know what you've been listening to.

1.
"The Frowning of a Lifetime" by Hey Mercedes.

2.
"Tokyo Storm Warning" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions (Elvis Costello also acceptable).

3.
"We Gotta Be Clean" by Guster (couple other titles also acceptable). Cover of a Sesame Street song originally done by Bert.

4.
"Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?" by .Moneen.

5.
"Some Song" by Elliott Smith.

6.
"The Most Beautiful Things" by Jimmy Eat World.

7.
"Linus & Lucy" arranged for guitar and performed by Andrew York. Composed by Vince Guaraldi and featured in numerous Peanuts cartoon specials.

8.
"Scoliosis" by Pond.

9.
"Baby's Arm" by Belly.

10.
"What a Wonderful Puddle" by Braid.

11.
"Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal" by They Might Be Giants.

12.
"Fearless" by Pink Floyd.

13.
"Drive Me Wild" by Foo Fighters. Cover of a song by Prince (no one got that extra credit bit).

14.
"Velouria" by Weezer. Cover of a song by The Pixies.

15.
"Annihilate Now" by Idlewild.

16.
"Llama" by Phish.

17.
"Hawthorne" by that dog.

18.
"For Holly" by The City on Film. Tracks 1, 10, and 18 are all by bands featuring Bob Nanna. He wrote and sang all of them.

19.
"Scorpio Come" by Thanks to Gravity.

20.
"Reason to Believe" by Michael Penn and Aimee Mann. Cover of a song by Bruce Springsteen.

Results coming soon! Stay tuned.

Operation Meeta Blogger: Vancouver

I know I've been pretty absent lately. I've been traveling, and busy preparing for another, much longer business trip. I'm actually going to Hawaii for a conference, for about a week. Meanwhile, Lovely Wife will be at home, writing a paper and taking a final exam. I'm scum, I know. We wanted to make it a trip for two, but it just wasn't going to work out.

Anyway, earlier this week I went to Beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia for work and met up with Just a Girl, the fifth Canadian Blogging Woman I've met so far. The meeting went very well, with lots of conversation about music, Canada, hockey, family, etc. It got off to a bit of a weird start, thanks to me. I was supposed to meet her in the lobby of my hotel, but as my colleague who was joining me on the trip was on his way to the hotel from the airport, and I didn't want to run into him and explain that I was meeting someone I met through blogging. This guy is one of the partner owners of my company, and just thought that I didn't want to confess my blogging habit to him, so I hid upstairs in the lounge where I could keep a lookout for both the partner and Just a Girl. Luckily, I saw her first from the balcony overhead and asked her to come upstairs. We hung out there for a while until the coast was clear, and then went looking for dinner. It was a very nice night in Van City (as some people call it, apparently) and we had a nice walk until we found a pasta restaurant for dinner. I, of course, ran my mouth of with lots of personal questions and self-aggrandizing comments. She graciously answered my questions and mercifully laughed at my jokes. So it was a very good time, and even though she doesn't actually live IN Vancouver, I'll definitely try to meet up with her when I travel there again.

One of the best parts of meeting her, though, is that she can verify who we saw strolling the streets of Vancouver. I was able to snap a picture of him with my phone after he walked by us.



It's Emmanuel Lewis, TV's Webster! I swear to God! I have no idea what he's doing in Vancouver, but it was definitely him

Friday Kid Blogging

The Bear is a soccer superstar. Here's the photographic proof:

Carrying the ball upfield.


Corner kick.


Breaking away from the pack.


Another corner.


Scoring on a breakaway!


On that play, he actually chased down a player on the other team who was breaking away, stopped the shot in front of his own goal, and then brought the ball down the field by himself and scored.

Of course, he's a good sport


On top of all that, he's also a kick-ass big brother!


UPDATE: I almost forgot! The Bear is going to be in a play at his school, and he was given the role of King of Seasons, with three times more lines than all the kids in his class. Total Rockstar!

iPod: "Broken Box" by Queens of the Stone Age, "Aftermath" by Phish, "Pink Triangle" by Weezer, "No One Knows' by Queens of the Stone Age,"Homeward Bound (live)" by Simon and Garfunkel, and "The Mayor of Simpleton" by The City on Film.

Sometimes stupid email forwards are a blessing

Because if I hadn't received the one quoted below, I wouldn't have had anything to say today.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO
THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if I don't. It is said
that86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time
understanding why there is such a problem in having "In God! We Trust" on our
money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the
14% to Shut Up and BE QUIET!!!

If you agree, pass this on, if not delete.

I AGREE !!!!

1. If you agree that the dipshit who started this email is a retard, leave a comment.

2. If you agree that the fuckwad who started this email didn't realize that the 86% includes Jews and Muslims, leave a comment.

3. If you agree that the scrotal tool that started this email, upon being informed of #2, would rather use a lower percentage number that represents only Christians, leave a comment.

4. If you agree that the anus-licking douche bag who started this email, and all those who agree with it, are incapable of understanding the distinction between having the words in the pledge, and a school requiring students to say them, leave a comment.

And finally,
5. If you agree that Lost was only "pretty good" last night, leave a comment.

I AGREE!!!!!

Duty Calls

I'm listening to the new .Moneen. album that comes out today on AOL music, and so far it's much more indulgent and self-serious than anything else they've done. And that's not a good thing. Of course, indie critics are stroking themselves over it.

Sigh, I'm still going to go buy the CD, though. Gotta remain loyal and give it a fair chance. Plus it gets me out of the office.

Guest Blogger Today

I've got nothin', so I'm calling in reinforcements. Take it away, CBK Jr.!

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Thanks, my boy! Great job. Now, for your reward, I'll let Grandma spoil you.



iPod: "Episode IV" by Jimmy Eat World, "Save a Life" by Hey Mercedes, "I Remember California" by R.E.M., and "Grinned" by Pond.

P.S.1 - His hair is tenting in the first two pictures. He's not a Conehead.

P.S.2 - I actually bothered to run Spell Check on this post.

Announcing a new blog link!

Some of you regulars may know that I enjoy the rare luxury of a good, friendly relationship with an ex-girlfriend. It's a long-distance friendship, so thankfully I can't do too much to ruin it. We've been keeping in touch for several years, and this blog has brought us even closer (because she plays the Brain Squeeze every day). She now has her own fledgling blog that you should all check out. She's a librarian by trade, but a writer by nature, and living happily in Maine after some pretty trying years. Here's the link:

Hyperbolic Hermitage

Enjoy!

iPod: "Blister" and "Pain" by Jimmy Eat World, "I'm Afraid of Everything" by Braid, and "Wrath of the Donkey Remix" by .Moneen.

Friday Kid Blogging

I don't have any stories this week, but me and the boys were playing with the new FujiFilm FinePix F10 digital camera last night. Here are the results: