There are new Max pics up that Uncle Steve was kind enough to take: Playing in the backyard at Grandma’s. There are some really nice shots of my little boy. Good job, Steve!
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Making Time
Yes, this was the big top-secret project. It went off without a hitch and should bring in moola for all involved. They’re great to work with too, which is a bonus. It’s been an exciting month or two, but I’m ready for a break. Too bad I won’t get one.
The new job is very cool. I’ve never had such a supportive group to work with. They covered for me when I took Monday and Tuesday off, and kept the wolves at bay admirably. I did have to come in at 11:30 pm on Tuesday to help launch this thing, but that was kind of exciting. Will it work? Will it die a horrible flaming death? It worked, and well too.
I’ll try to sum up this week since the concert later… I need to get to work now.
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Oh yeah, I have today
Oh yeah, I have today and tomorrow off, so don’t expect much posting on Tuesday either. I love my new job. They are actually encouraging me to take the day off and haven’t called me to come in and save them from anything. They’re great, and I couldn’t be happier.
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The Big Roundup – Part
The Big Roundup – Part One
Friday Night
Jen and I went to see No Doubt at the Charles E. Smith Center on the GW campus. We took a bus from the Park and Ride in Herndon, and then the Metro to Foggy Bottom. It was a surprisingly easy trip, and we got in and found our seats at 8 sharp (like I had planned it that way or something – of course I hadn’t). The people watching was amazing. We were three rows up from the main thoroughfare to the floor seats and we got a good look at pretty much everyone in attendance. They all filed past at one point or another. The audience broke down like so:
- 65% MTV TRL Pre-teen – 25 year-old girls, all with Destiny’s Child single strap tops or variations on the belly shirt. After a while, it became crystal clear that there are people in this world who were meant to wear these shirts, and those who weren’t. 90% of the people wearing them shouldn’t have been.
- 20% Frat Boys of various clothing schemes, mostly checking out the 65% listed above
- 5% Parents of the pre-teen audience
- 10% Old-School No Doubt fans aging from mid-20’s up to mid-fifites (maybe older). This was the group we were in.
The opening act, The Fate, was horrible. They want so much to be Rock Stars and fail completely. They have every rock band cliche. They have the Jim Morrison / Robert Smith wannabe frontman saying stupid things in ridiculous poses trying to make everyone think he’s sexy. You have the guitar playing flinging his floppy hair like one of the Ramone’s third cousins, and the keyboardist dry humping his instruments every time is has to play one of his three chords. They were not well received. Jen summed it up best, “Why didn’t they get a good old school ska band to open for them?”
Thankfully, No Doubt came out later and took care of the rocking. They were amazing. I’d never seen them before, and was never a really big fan before this. They put on an amazing show. Gwen Stefani is a god. She has the whole “I’m sexy, but can rock” thing to the next level. She has bravado and power and testosterone and blew everyone away. She and the rest of the band really know how to get an audience moving. It was great to watch.
I had a great time at the show, and am looking for other concerts we can go to this summer. I forgot how much fun live music is (duh, I know).
The trip home was… eventful. We missed the last bus back to the park and ride and ended up waiting at the bus stop for over an hour (putting us a about 12:30am on a Friday in downtown DC) for a bus going the wrong way. We ended up paying \$40 for a cab ride back to our car. Next time, we drive in.
I’ll update the rest of the weekend and this week later… I’m starting to fall asleep.
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Third Time’s a Charm
This is the third time I’ve delete and restarted this post. I think it means it’s either time to stop or I have nothing to say. It’s a combination. I’m fried from three weeks of non-stop change and combustion. It’s turning my inner censor into Lenny Bruce’s inner demons. He’s telling me to say whatever comes to mind, and some of it’s making its way up my throat and out for public consumption. Case in point. Jen and Max were over at Mom’s tonight for dinner. I got there late because I went in for my CAT scan after work. The missionaries from Church were there, because mom feeds them it seems several times a week. So, I was sitting there recounting a meeting today at work and the word dumbass bubbled up and out it came. And I said it loudly. And in front of my wife, mother, little sister, God’s servants on this earth and my son. I need a vacation, dammit.
Oh yeah, I mentioned the CAT scan. It went a lot faster than I thought it would. The position was unbearable, but thankfully I only had to suffer for two minutes and boom it was all over. Now I’ll know whether the boogers have invaded my brain or not.
I also move on Tuesday. I get a door in a lovely little interior poffical on the fourth floor of CC2. So, since I’m leaving early tomorrow and will be out Monday and Tuesday, I started packing today. I have a lot of crap in my little pod, and it’s all going with me, I think. I have to be packed up tomorrow by 2, which should be fun.
Ok, that’s enough. I’ll hopefully be back tomorrow or Saturday with tales of my Teeny Bopper Concert Experience, my travels in the land of cryptography (old school, baby) and various other sundry things I’ve done since we last talked.
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Usually, Salon leaves the depressing
Usually, Salon leaves the depressing comics to Carol Lay. But, today, Keith gets in on the action.
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If I ever start a
If I ever start a punk ska band, it’s going to be called Cryptosporidium Toothpaste. I should never blog while ill. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but my head feels like a bowling ball. My eyes don’t want to focus. My stomach hurts and I can’t seem to wake up. I will never ever ever let the optometrist dilate my eyes. Nor will I ever not eat for twelve hours. Thus endeth the stupidest post ever.
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I wish this was a
I wish this was a joke. Apparently, it’s not. To save you the trouble of actually reading the article, “Doctor” Paley asserts that Macintosh OS X is of the devil because the codename for the software was Darwin, which is based on FreeBSD.
He also asserts that Open Source is the same as Communism. What Mr. Uninformed probably didn’t realize is that the webserver running to serve out his rant is Apache, an Open Source project. I keep forgetting that people like this exist in the world. They give Christianity a bad name, and make me ill.
If I didn’t feel so crappy, I’d go on. But, I feel crappy (which I know I just said), so I’m going to try to do my work, not think about “Doctor” Paley and his lunacy, and keep using my Godless Communist software.
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Why Do I Love Thee, Tardy?
The hits just keep on coming for Tardy queries. So, I thought I’d share my favorite things about the dim little turtle from Greg the Bunny. Like Barney on The Simpsons, Tardy gets the throw-away one liners. They’re usually brilliant non-sequiters or add that perfect touch of lunacy to a scene. After four episodes I can honestly say he’s my favorite character on the show, and that’s saying something. The show is great. It’s this generation’s puppet show (my generation had Alf, and the one before it had all those Sid & Marty shows and The Muppet Show). The idea that puppets are real people, like with the Muppets, is a great one, and they’ve really pulled it off. But, Tardy stands out. With his quiet song and “I’m dead, Gil.” from the paintball episode, the “I am strong now!” from the blackmail one and “People aren’t allowed to touch me where my bathing suit covers” in the first one, he has captured my heart. I will forever be a Tardy fan. Well, at least until he sells out and goes Hollywood.
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It looks like the archive
It looks like the archive is messed up… hopefully you don’t want to look at it… cuz you can’t at the moment.