Ultranormal

  • A “Wow” Moment

    This site had over ten thousand unique visitors in April, up from 9400 in March, and way up from the 758 in June of 2002. Not bad for a site where I don’t say much and there’s no nudity, huh? I never thought anyone but friends and family would read this crap. No, really. I don’t want to be the next DaveZilla or Zeldman. I don’t have the time or commitment to it. And when you think about it, the other site I spend 99% of my time on can get ten thousand hits in an hour (I’m guessing, it might be more, I’m not going to actually do the math), my stats aren’t that impressive.

    But, all of that BS aside – ten thousand!! It’s something to look at and marvel at the zeroes. Mmmm, zeroes. (and for crying out loud, is there a happier song in the world than Phish’s Mango Song?)

  • GW’s Resume

    I’m sure this is making the rounds already with mentions in Boing Boing. Still, it’s stunning to see it all listed in one place isn’t it? GW’s Resume.

    I’m not comparing him to anyone else. The list pretty much speaks for itself. Holding up someone else’s list doesn’t make this any better. How did this happen? How did we get a convicted criminal who brought in a collection of convicted criminals and turned the Constitution on its ear and drove our economy into the toilet? How can anyone still support him? Do they not care? Do they still think he’s better than the alternative? Do they think he’s right? Do they just not know?

    How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again? How do we make sure we know all we need to know about a candidate before we have to vote for him? How do we filter the crap of campaigns and the marketing to get to the meat and make an informed decision? More debates? Take the money out of campaigns?

    I’m tired of politics as marketing. I want a refund. This is not the administration the American people bought. This isn’t even the GW I thought we were getting when he was sworn in. Maybe I was naive, but I thought he was earnest and meant well. I no longer think he’s earnest or means well. I no longer think he’s dumb. I think he’s mean. I think he cares very little for the average American, and only panders to the conservative base as much as he needs to to get his way.

    Are you registered to vote? I am.

    So… I had gelato at lunch. It was yummy.

  • Nagoya

    Because it was someone else’s birthday, I got to pick where we went to lunch today. No, really. Apparently, I picked good places for lunch, so I was given the responsibility of choosing where we are lunch. Because I’d heard good things about it from the little girls at church, I decided to try Nagoya in Ashburn. It’s a sushi/hibachi place and was delightfully uncrowded for 12:30 on a Wednesday. The ten of us sat around a big hibachi table and listened to Coldplay on the house sound system (no really, a Japanese restaurant was playing Coldplay – no lie). Most of us got stuff that was Hibachi-i-fied, and boy were we not disappointed!! The chef was amazing, and the food was delicious. The scallops I had were done perfectly: slightly crunchy on the outside, but still juicy and tender on the inside. The steak was perfectly medium, and the accompanying veggies and fried rice were excellent.

    So, if you’re ever at the corner of Waxpool and Claiborne Parkway and feel the need to watch someone make your food in front of you – go for it.

    And, I hate null pointers in Java. They suck.

  • Hobble, Hobble

    My knee hurts. I know for most people this would be minor annoyance probably caused by banging the joint on a wall, desk, another human being, etc. For me, it’s cause for dread, fear and intense frustration. My right knee is twice surgically repaired. Once when I was ten and tore up my meniscus and a bunch of other cartilage dislocating my knee in the backyard. The second was three years ago this month with a complete ACL reconstruction using the middle third of my patella tendon to replace the completely disintegrated ligament. It was no fun.

    My right knee has been a problem since that first surgery almost twenty years ago. It’s always giving me trouble. Now, I’m trying to get in shape and exercise, and here it is again, misbehaving. I spent the weekend completely hobbled with sore thighs and a swollen knee. Now, my thighs are fine, but my knee is still unpleasantly sore. It’s dauntingly bone-achingly sore. I know I should go to the doctor and have it looked at, but honestly, I really don’t want to know what’s wrong with it.

    So, I’m going to wear my brace when I work out from now on, and pout some more. Don’t mind me.

  • Mother’s Day

    Today is Mother’s Day, and I think Jen had a good one. She slept in, spent the day unencumbered by a high-maintenance three year-old, had yummy cinnamon-pecan pancakes and bacon, and then went over to my family’s house, where I grilled peppers and steak.

    I love my wife. She is a great mother and our son proves it. He’s happy, smart, and above average in every way. She takes care of everyone, and has a heart bigger than anyone’s. She’s funny. She wears the funny-pants in our house. Ok, actually, we share them. She hands them over sometimes, but most of the time, she’s in ’em, making me laugh. She has bright eyes and a glowing smile and makes everything better than I have a right to expect it to be.

    Happy Mother’s Day, sweetheart.

  • Overboard?

    I now have 110 subscriptions in NetNewsWire, and am now included in the sites list that ships with the software (as of the latest beta, and hopefully in 1.0.2). 110 subscriptions… is that too many? Am I nuts?

  • Wild Sage Cafe

    Max and I went out today to gather some last-minute Mother’s Day stuff and to get out of the house to give Jen the day off. We went to work to pick up some presents I’d stashed there, and play foosball. Then, we went to lunch at The Wild Sage Cafe. It’s right down the street, and I’ve been meaning to go in since they opened a few months ago. The place wasn’t crowded, and is very nicely decorated. The menu isn’t gigantic, but has enough to variety to please pretty much anyone. Max got the kid’s chicken tenders and fries, and I got the pulled pork sandwich. Let’s talk about the sandwich. It was huge, almost three inches tall before I squashed it down. There was a healthy portion of pork (half a pound, maybe?) with a homemade barbecue sauce, with coleslaw under the meat and crispy onion strips on top, all contained in a lovely soft kaiser roll. On top of that, the fries were perfect: crunchy on the outside without being too crunchy on the inside.

    Even Max’s chicken tenders were breaded there by hand, and were very good. We got gelato for dessert. I’m not sure it was homemade, but the chocolate was very good.

    It’s on Church, two blocks from the corner of 28 and Church/Waxpool. If you’re in Sterling, please check it out.

  • Wow, Your Butt Looks Like It Hurts Today

    Oh my aching ass. I got a new workout from Madam Trainer yesterday. I worked muscles I don’t think existed before yesterday. Today, I’m in pain. I walk like a duck. I grimace every time I take a step. I didn’t sleep well last night because every time I moved in my sleep, I was jerked into wakefulness by my aching ass, hips and legs.

    Why am I doing this to myself? Well, I don’t want to die, first of all. I don’t want to be fat my whole life, and I’d like to be able to coach Max’s tee-ball team in a couple years without having to catch my breath after every pitch. Yeah, that’s it. But why does it have to hurt so much?

    Ass, I command thee to stop hurting!! Thighs, stop being like that! You’re fine, now just stop screaming at me. I took some Exedrin, now shut up and let it work.

  • Oh, ThinkGeek, Stop Tempting Me!!

    I neeeed this t-shirt. I need it worse than their coding ninja monkeys one. No really, I’m not kidding. I’m sitting here looking at it trying not to click Add to Cart.

    UPDATE: I am weak. The shirt has been ordered and is wending its way down the toll road to me (ThinkGeek’s right down the road from us). Shame on me… uncontrollable urges….

  • And The Winner Is…

    I haven’t received anymore nominations, and the non-winners have been notified (they’re not losers because their blogs weren’t ugly or “default template-y” enough to warrant awarding the prize to – get it?). Now, I know you’re all wondering who the big winner is… Is the suspense killing you? I know it’s killing me, so here you go:

    Both Marty and Michelle win!! I only got three entrants. Alisha’s blog is definitely not ugly, so she doesn’t qualify. Both Michelle and Marty’s blogs are both using default MT templates and well, they need help. Not because they’re ugly – but because they’re default, and that’s sad to me. Michelle’s will be done first because she entered first, but they’ll both be getting e-mail from me shortly asking them all sorts of personal designery questions so I can get started. Congratulations to you both! Prepare to get un-default-ified!!!