Snowmageddon Day 5: the end is in sight

The thaw started today. Not immediately, mind you...woke up to a lovely heavy snowfall that loaded down the trees again as you can see:

But it wasn't to last. A few hours later the rains came, and they came hard, knocking down most of the snow from the trees:

But before the rains came, Paige and the kids went next door to Sonya's to "build her something". And that something was a sleeping snowman:

Logan and Maya working (or, in Maya's case, sitting) on the sleeping snowman


Thanks to some weeds the snowman had a wicked 'do

The rains also brought out the birds, and Logan took over camera duties and shot a few out the window - mostly hummingbirds. So the rest of the photos in this post are his, although I did the processing...

A hummer at our feeder


The same, or possibly a different, hummer resting in the rhodie outside the kitchen


Some other bird...possibly a finch? I don't know birds, clearly.


The neighbors in the penthouse condo behind us clearly serve a higher quality nectar, 'cause they must have had 6 or 7 hummers. We only got the one.

Snowmageddon, Day 4

There's some dispute on what day of Snowmageddon this actually is. Might be day 5. Time is beginning to blur, the days to blend together. Fortunately food is still plentiful and the power is on, so we're not resorting to cooking the young. Yet.

No pictures today, because I didn't want any photographic evidence of the mornitude on the roads. But moronitude there was. Oh yes. And only some of it was mine.

Mine started with the idea that I wanted to go to the mall. Why, you ask? Well, because there were a couple things I wanted to get, and I wanted to browse the no-doubt stupidly low prices thanks to the tanking economy and all. So I hopped in the ol' Legacy and headed out in to the world.

Now, as a reminder, it's been snowy here for several days. Which is more than normal...our usual snow pattern is it snows at night, sticks around for the morning commute, then melts. Or maybe stays a day and then melts. Well, this has done neither. So the roads are seriously fucked up, to use the technical DOT term. For more evidence see the sledding pictures from yesterday's post, 'cause they were taken on the street a block away. So anyhow, I was expecting some slow going, but with the Subaru's AWD I figured there wouldn't be a problem. Oh, and I also figured the main arterials would be plowed and sanded and fairly passable.

All of this was true. But what I forgot to factor in were the other idiots on the road. Well, that and the haphazard plowing / melting of the snow.

The first rough patch was about three blocks from home. Our street runs north/south, and if you head north you come to a fairly major street with a very slight hill to get to it. That's the preferred exit route in snow, 'cause the other streets leading up to our main arterial are steep and nasty. The problem is that everyone and their dog knows this, and some of those dogs have chains. So the last block of our street was effectively a mogul field. Which is to say bumpy.

The second rough patch came when I turned and headed east toward the mall. While Greenwood, the arterial I'd been on, was melted down to the pavement (in one lane, anyway, and really that was all I needed), this other street was not. Well, the left lane had bare patches in the tire tracks - in fact, it was more bare than icy - but the right lane was a nightmare. And as a result, we were basically stop and go for 20 blocks. Then after we crossed Highway 99 we cruised at speed for another 5 or 6 blocks before slowing to a crawl again for the last half mile to the freeway and the mall.

The mall itself was fine. Toys R Us was crowded, but they didn't have what I needed anyway so no harm done. Eddie Bauer was great - 30% off and two people in line at the cashier. Brookstone was a bit more challenging, since the store was packed, I couldn't find what I was looking for, and the line was about 10 people deep. And, naturally, when I was half way to the checkout I finally saw the thing I went there to get, so I had to jump out of line. But still, nothing I wouldn't expect on the 23rd of December.

Then the fun began. I needed to get one more thing, and to get it I needed to go either to Target or Fred Meyer. They're in opposite directions. Target was closer, so I figured I'd head there first. That was mistake number one. No, correct that...mistake number one was not just leaving my car parked at the mall and walking to Target. I was already at the north end of the mall, it was only a few blocks to Target, so there's really no excuse. But I didn't think of that until I was in the car and driving. And by that time it was too late, 'cause the parking lot was full either of cars or snow. So after sitting in a line of cars trying to get out of the lot to the north, I decided to reverse course and head to Fred Meyer instead.

Had this drive been a "chose your adventure" book, at several points I would have flipped back and made different choices. One of those was the "left or right" choice out of the mall lot. I went left, thinking that while the road on that side was a little steeper, it was also busier so it would likely be a better surface. True, but what I failed to account for was the heavier traffic and the stuck bus. That added about 5 minutes to the drive, as we all inched around the bus by driving in to oncoming traffic. After that it was pretty smooth (well, except for another mogul field or six) to the next big east-west street, which then bogged down as well. After doing the stop/go thing for 10 blocks or so I got to Highway 99 again and realized the problem: There was only one lane going up the hill on the other side of the intersection. Our two lanes were compressing in to one, and that one was barely moving. So I hopped on 99, headed north 5 blocks, and then headed west again on an unplowed, lightly traveled street. Where, again, the Subaru AWD made life if not easy at least possible.

The next piece of excitement came as I headed down the hill toward Greenwood again. As I waited for a light to change I watched three guys trying to get a pickup some traction - it wasn't going to happen. Then the light changed, the truck in front of me turned, and I was faced with...two cars. Yes, some genius had decided that he should drive in the left lane to get around the guy in the right lane who was waiting for the light. And to top it off, while he had put in the effort to put on chains, he'd apparently lost one 'cause there was only a chain on the right front wheel. The left one was spinning away happy as a clam, with no traction at all. Well, not quite none...between it and the chained one he managed to get back in his lane so I could continue on to Fred Meyer, buy Elf and go home.

So tomorrow's goal is to not leave the house. Or if I do, to only leave on foot. 'cause damn, while it was an adventure, it wasn't that much fun.

Snowmageddon, Day 3

Finally, a break in the weather! After a whopping two straight days of snow we finally saw some blue skies today. And the sun pushed the temp up in to the upper 30s, making for a bit of melting to boot! Not total melt, but enough that when I shoveled the stairs and some of the walkway through the yard the little remaining snow melted away.

The big bonus of the day was that Maya had a friend spend the night, so she had someone to play with other than her brother, who has been obsessed the last few days making a PowerPoint deck. Or, rather, using PowerPoint as his animation program...anyone know where I can get a cheap used copy of a Flash animator?

Anyhow, eventually the sun broke through and I had to head out to take more pictures. Because while snowing snow and cloudy snow are pretty, there's something more prettier about sunny snow.

I started out in the back yard, 'cause I wanted to get a third shot of the island with the flowering plum covered in snow. And the devastation that a full day's play has on the pristine snowfield...

Lots of snow on the tree, lots of trampled snow on the ground

What I noticed first was the huge number of birds. Not on the Hitchcock scale of flocks, but still plenty. Mostly Robins, but there were smaller ones (finches, maybe? Something...), at least one Stellar Jay, and the ubiquitous hummingbirds (we've got about six of them nesting in the trees at the back of the yard). But only this guy was willing to sit still long enough for a decent picture.

A jay in the birch tree. Yeah, it's overexposed, but he was too dim otherwise.

I then moved to the front, where lo and behold we actually had some icicles! The kids had been asking about them last week when it was wicked cold and dry, and I'd told them that with the rain gutters and our relatively good insulation we probably wouldn't see any. But then the freezing rain hit and the snow slid over the gutter, and with today's melt we got these puppies:

And since I posted the photo of this rose all frozen yesterday, I figured I'd take one today after it had thawed out and looked all artistic.

And then I saw these berries, and the contrast of the red, white and blue was nice so I took some shots of them as well:

While I was out taking pictures another of Maya's friends came by to see if she wanted to go sledding. So they bundled up and headed up the street, where they found that three girls on the sled goes a bit faster than when it was just two.

And with that I went back inside, 'cause the wind was picking up, the temperature was dropping, and I wasn't wearing snow pants. Yes, I am that big of a wuss.

Snowmageddon, day 2

We left it yesterday with the question "do I brave the snowy streets to go to the Seahawks game, or do I stay home and watch it on TV?" And the answer was a resounding "stay home and watch it on TV." When I got up it was lightly snowing and there were about 6 or 7 inches on the ground. No, I didn't measure it, and yes, I am a man, so it very well could have been 4. The point is, there was plenty of snow. And it had drifted thanks to the winds. And then at some point in the night the snow had shifted to freezing rain, so the powder had a nice 1/8 to 1/4 inch crust on the top. Very pleasant to crunch through, I must say.

Well, after putting out the hummingbird feeder and taking a few pictures, I went back inside to find Paige ready to head out skiing. So I followed her out the front and took a few more pictures, then shoveled the stairs and the walk - a futile effort given the huge amount of snow that we'd get the rest of the day.

That shoveling, plus watching a couple other cars crunch through the snow up the road and listening to two or three more not make it up the hills nearby had me leaning toward skipping the game. Then my pal Chico e-mailed to say that there was no way he was going to make it around the lake to join me at the game, so I'd be flying solo. And while that's not usually a bad thing, going to the game in severe weather is always more fun when you're with a friend. So I wimped out and stayed home, wrapping Christmas presents while watching the snow fall and the Seahawks manhandle the Jets (if a 13-3 win can be called "manhandling"). And it was the right choice. When I finally ventured out on the roads at about 4:30 (the time I would have been coming home from the game) it was wicked slick and I thought at a couple points that I probably should have put on chains.

But enough of that...to the pictures!

The back yard first thing this morning


Snow drifting under the rhododendron outside the back door


Patio chairs in the back yard


Proof we're lucky to get out of the house alive...the snow had drifted right up to the back door. That drift must have been 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep!


The railing by the front steps


A sweet cornice of snow hanging off the roof, held on mainly by the sheet of ice from the freezing rain


Paige ready to go ski through the 'hood


A rose on ice

Snowmageddon

Well, finally. Finally they warned us about snow and it actually showed up. But, in classic weatherman style, they also warned us about high winds and they didn't show up. And now apparently aren't going to. Or something. In any case, the dreaded power outages haven't hit, the cable is still working, so all is well in the Chicken household. So here's a recap of the day:

Got up late-ish, had some breakfast, read the paper, then hopped in the car and headed off to finally see Quantum of Solace. Missed the first few minutes, thanks to my crappy memory (got 3 or 4 minutes from home and had to go back to get something I'd forgotten, then took extra time at the store buying fire logs), but in spite of that it was a fine movie. Loved the rooftop chase through Sienna, I must say. Although the bad guy kind of gave me the creeps...then again, that's probably the point, eh?

After finally getting out of the Alderwood Mall parking lot I headed back to town, dropping something off at a friend's house before heading to Safeway for some final vital provisions before the great storm arived. And let me tell you, I was not the only person with this idea. I'm pretty certain that's the busiest I've ever seen the store. They weren't running out of supplies, but they were running short on carts. I managed to find one, and 10 minutes later it was loaded with firewood, garlic, a banana, some spices, apples, canned pumpkin, and some canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes. After 15 minutes in line I was checked out and heading home, just as the first flakes fell from the sky.

That was around 3 this afternoon. It hasn't stopped snowing since. We probably have 3 inches of new snow out side, and it's wicked powdery. It's not staying on the car too well, because the wind keeps blowing it off (I think I made it sound like there was no wind...there's wind, it's just not 70 MPH wind. More like gusts in the 20s). But great for walking in - after the kids were done with their showers and in their jammies I had them throw on their snow suits and boots and we went for a walk around the block. Quiet (except for the wind), peaceful (except for the children) and beautiful. Well, except for the bleary eyes from the wind-blown snow...should have worn my ski goggles, I guess.

Tomorrow's challenging question will be do I brave the snowy streets to go to the Seahawks game, or do I stay home and watch it on TV? That, I'm afraid, will be a classic "game day decision".

Snow!

So we got some snow finally. Not Wednesday, the day the big storm was supposed to hit, the first day they canceled school altogether. No, that day thanks to the "doughnut effect" Seattle was spared any snow. In fact, we lost snow that day 'cause it warmed up to 36 or so and drizzled.

But the Thursday it finally hit. Paige said it was snowing when she woke up around 5, with just a bit on the grass and none on the street. By the time I dragged my sorry ass out of bed at 8:30 or 9 the road was covered and it was coming down big time. So we loaded the kids with pancakes and sent 'em out side to play. and I put on the ol' wool pants and followed them with the camera to take the required snow shots. We'll start with a couple pretty scenic shots to set the stage...

The frozen, snow-covered hummingbird feeder. I've since remembered to take it in each night to thaw out.

Snow on the branches of our butterfly bush

No one's home...would have been a great picture if a bird had been looking out, though, wouldn't it?

The back yard

Portrait of a wheelbarrow taking a nap in the snow. Not our wheelbarrow, mind you...it's not that lazy

The kids were busy playing penguins, a game that apparently involved gathering snow in the next-door neighbor's yard and hauling it to our yard in the sled.

After a break to have some cocoa and lunch it was back out in the snow to sled down the hill a block to the north. This would have been ideal snow for a flexible flyer-style steel runner sled, but all we've got is the old plastic model. Ah well...maybe Santa will bring one for Christmas.

And finally Logan faked a spectacular wipe-out. Or aftermath of a wipe-out. Something like that.

More cool science

This time in video format! And courtesy of the good people at DViCE from the SciFi channel...have to give credit where credit is due, after all! Anyhoo, the wave motion is all mechanical, not computer-driven. Very cool. Well, cool except for the music, but you can always mute the speakers...

Today's news today

I know, I know, two days without an update. And here it is the end of the year, and my Blog 365 chances are slim. Well, technically they're none, 'cause I've missed days. But maybe I can get the total up...

Anyhow, two things from today's PI. First, the latest in a long list of ways I'd rather not die: head crushed in the door of my car. This was brought to light by a horriffic freak accident over in Port Angeles. Note to self: try to remember to put the car in "park" before I lean out the door to pick anything up.

And second, on a lighter note, a baby hippo!

Sorry it's so tiny...just click the image or this link to see the full size image.

Sore-foot sugar high

Today marked either the 18th or 19th annual Chicken Family Cookie Party. OK, originally it wasn't "Chicken Family" 'cause Paige and I were living in sin, and sure the faces have changed over the years, but the basics remain the same: We provide the dough, the cutters and the oven, and the guests provide the labor and the appetites.

Back when this madness started - I think it was 1990, but I could be wrong - the guest list was about 8 or 10 people and one kid. The kid was maybe 3 or so and spent most of the evening eating cookies, then running around in circles until he fell down. Now he's around 22 and I believe either in jail or rehab. So you can see what an influence our parties can have on the young and impressionable. Anyhow, that first party started some time mid-afternoon and ran until midnight. Possibly longer if someone ended up crashing on the couch.

From that foundation a tradition was born. The first year we probably had 10 cookie cutters, tops. The next year we bought a few more, and people brought some to the party for us. The year after that we moved to a rental house and the guest list grew, as did the number of kids involved. Then a few years later we bought our house and had our own kids and the list grew again. I think we peaked about two years ago, with waves of children and adults passing through and barely room in the house to breathe.

This year things kind of calmed down. Not sure if it was the threat of snow (it's snowing as I type this, although it's not sticking to the road) or the relatively late date (we usually hold it the weekend after Thanksgiving), but a fair number of people didn't show up. And as a result (or as a result of the kids getting older) the quality of the cookies improved quite a bit. Far more even rolling, nicer shape, fewer sprinkles on the floor.

What hasn't changed over the years is the chance to see people we almost never see, from the friends that we used to hang with back in the day but have since grown away from to the friends from the kids' pre-school days who we see two or three times a year. Oh, and the massive sugar crash that hits me at about 9:15...although as I recall that first year I got a second wind from the pizza and beer. Ahhh, to be young again.

Finally getting a grip

On Christmas, anyway. I think the gips are all bought, now. At least the ones we're buying...can't speak for everyone else, and I'll take the boy out on Sunday to get something for his sister. But other than that and maybe two last-minute items I think we're set. Whew.

This morning was filled with errands: Home Depot to get one of those outdoor hose faucet insulator thingies so I'm ready for Winter Blast 2008. Appliance parts store to get a new "Crisper Drawer Cover Frame". Stupid Prices to look for, well, stupidly-priced things. Toys R Us and Game Stop for gips. Hallmark for a gift card holder. Safeway for some gift cards. Then finally home to clean out the fridge for lunch. As I said, Whew!

My original plan for the day was to run the errands and then head up to Lynnwood to finally see Quantum of Solace, but I decided instead to start making a slide show for Logan's old Cub Scout Pack, do some dishes, and put away laundry. Man, how did I ever find time for this crap back when I was working every day? Hopefully I'll win tomorrow's Mega Millions drawing and never have to find out.

I got nothin'

Not that I've got nothin' to post about...I could regale you with being woken up by Paige at the crack of 7 to help talk her off the ledge of a panic attack over potential identity theft. I could outline the steps I took in my job search today (had coffee with a friend at T-Mobile, then had a Sprite with a former co-worker there). Or I could describe the less-than-fulfilling toy shopping experience with Maya this evening (as always, when the goal is to buy something for Logan she focuses only on things she must have RIGHT NOW!!!!).

But I'm tired (see item 1 above) and would rather go to bed and read. So I'll do that.

Meet Lettuce

Lettuce is the newest member of the Chicken family. Freed from his life as a victim of 6th grade science projects, Lettuce now lives in an empty RainBlo bubblegum tub. Although these pictures were taken while he was on a plastic cutting board eating the meal that got him his name...

Anyhow, Logan's last science section was studying snails, running snails through obstacle courses (Knex and cardboard tubing, mainly), figuring out what they liked to eat (lettuce and apples? Sure! Soapy sponge? No thank you!), and otherwise entertaining themselves at the snail's expense. Well, toward the end of the section the teacher sent home a note saying anyone who wanted a snail had to call her and send in a signed permission slip. Oh, and bring in a jar or something to take the snail home in.

So we did, and now he's here. And now I know what snail poop looks like (sorry, no photographs of that).

And before you ask, no, we're not going to be bringing home the current science victim, the hissing cockroach. Why? Because they hiss, and they're fast. Lettuce is quiet and slow, which is just what we like in a pet!

Science is cool!

So one of the Radio KYA faithful has put me on his e-mail list, and today this came through. And since I’m lazy and the pictures and science are both cool, I’m posting ‘em to the ol’ blog.

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Lichtenberg Figures

Lichtenberg Figures are branching electric discharges (or electrical trees) that are sometimes preserved on the surface or the interior of a solid dielectric. They are named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who originally discovered and studied them.

The negatively electrified sulfur is seen to attach itself to the positively electrified parts of the plate, and the positively electrified red lead to the negatively electrified parts. In addition to the distribution of color thereby produced, there is a marked difference in the form of the figure, according to the polarity of the electrical charge that was applied to the plate. If the charge was positive, a widely extending patch is seen on the plate, consisting of a dense nucleus, from which branches radiate in all directions; if negative, the patch is much smaller and has a sharp circular boundary entirely devoid of branches.

Home!

Not nearly as nice a drive home today as it was down yesterday. For one thing, it was raining. Sure, that's pretty normal in the northwest, but for the first 40 or 50 miles it was serious rain. With cloud sections that reminded both Paige and me of skies we saw on our big road trip this past summer. Totally expected lightning to start striking around us, but it never came. Instead, big rain came. Probably heaviest between Skamania Lodge and Vancouver, and decreasing as we went north. Still, it was enough to slow us down a bit.

Fortunately it didn't slow us down so much that we got caught up in Seahawks traffic. Also good was that the game was tight right up to the end so the majority of those in attendance didn't leave early. Unfortunately the wrong team won, but that seems to be par for the course this season...Sigh.

Skamaniac

You know what's nice? Driving with no traffic, that's what. And there isn't really any traffic between Seattle and Vancouver if you leave at 7:15 in the morning and it's a sunny dry day. So today's drive to Skamania Lodge in the Gorge took just about 4 hours, where last week's drive to Salem (roughly the same distance) took more like 5 or 5 1/2 hours.

In fact, the only problem with the drive was that a) it was early and I slept like crap last night, and b) it was sunny as hell and at a low enough angle that the visor only just blocked it. I know, such huge problems to have.

Now, why are we here? Because it's Paige's mom's 70th birthday. And back when she turned 60 the father-in-law threw a surprise party for her here. So now we're back for the 70th, and with a few exceptions it's going quite nicely. Got here wicked early - like 10:45 or so - but they had a room ready for us so we could check in. After lunch in the bar (a reasonable hamburger, although as always overcooked) the father-in-law, brother-in-law and I played 9 holes of golf (I played as poorly as always, but ended the day two balls up thanks to other people not looking closely enough). While we were off golfing the ladies and the kids went to the pool, soaked in the hot tub and went for a walk.

After a brief adjournment we met in the lobby to go to dinner. Since we didn't have a reservation at the fancy restaurant at the Lodge, we decided to head over to the Oregon side of the river and go to somewhere called "Charburger" in Cascade Locks. Holy shit. I don't know the history of this restaurant, but it smacked of old-school roadside attraction, so probably 40s or 50s. It was filled with faux Western kitch, complete with disintigrating buffalo hide on the wall and fake Indians (meaning plastic or carved out of wood, not white dudes in costumes) sitting in a booth. But best of all, it was cafeteria style. Last time Paige and I ate in a cafeteria restaurant was on our first anniversary (long story short, jet lag plus massive hangover plus fried chicken breakfast equals bad day for all) and this one, while not in the South, wasn't any better. Maybe a slice of the pie might have saved it, but I doubt it. Grand total for two orders of chicken strips, one order of fish and chips, and a medium diet coke: $32. Oh, the dinners came with fries or a baked potato and a small salad bar plate, but still. It was a $20 meal tops. I'm guessing we were paying for the skin and fake Indians.

Anyhow, after that gourmet feast we headed back to the lodge for a variety of Trader Joe's cookies and a few rounds of Bannagrams it was back to the room to blorg and watch Adult Swim. At 9:00 at night. Must be an East Coast feed...

What's up with the every-other-day thing?

Man, you'd think I was super busy or something. But clearly I'm not, and maybe that's the problem.

Meant to post something meaningful on Wednesday night, then got caught up in back-to-back episodes of "Ultimate Fighter" and didn't write anything (should have, though, 'cause that punk-ass Junie finally got his ass kicked).

Meant to write something meaningful yesterday, 'cause I went to see "The Wizard of Oz" at the Seattle Children's Theater with the daughter's class, but got distracted by something else and didn't (in a word, it was good. Much like the movie, only as a play instead of a movie. Which means no popcorn, and no Burt Lahr.)

Probably won't write anything meaningful tomorrow either, 'cause we'll be out of town. Although the place we're going does have WiFi, so there's a chance...slim, but a chance.

This is news?

So I'm reading "Best of the Web Today" from the Wall Street Journal and I see this headline: "Boys Caught Snickering at Bathroom Graffiti". And I thought, "this is news?"

The rainbow umbrella

Went to the office today to pick up my severance package, and this was the photo in the elevator. I'm assuming that the guy whose job it is to post cute photos in the elevator also got notice today (although he or she is probably "transitional" and so gets to hang out longer...that or a contractor), but I'm not exactly sure what the message is. Is it "it's raining and your rainbow parachute is really just an umbrella"? Or "it's raining, and while you don't have a full roof over your head we're giving you a golf umbrella"? Or is it "it's raining, but look! Pretty rainbow umbrella!"

What? WHAT???

Oh my God. I think my ears will still be ringing on Thursday. Possibly Friday. Why, you ask? And why is the Sunday post coming in at 12:48 on Monday morning? Because, thanks to some friends from High School, I can now say I've seen AC/DC live. And goddamn those boys are loud.

Not sure if the volume was because they're deaf after all these years, or if they were covering up for aging voices and slowing guitar fingers, but hoo...even through my fancy-pants ear plugs that I wear when I play drums it was mind-numbingly loud. Good, and entertaining, but loud.

So a few impressions:

1. The AC/DC audience spans all generations. Well, all generations between ages, oh, 55 and 7. Didn't see any 80-year-olds there, but there were definitely some people who have clearly been fans since the early '70s.
2. While there were some hot girls in the audience, when the cameras panned the audience and put pictures of chicks singing up on the jumbo-trons, it was almost always women of a certain age, shall we say. I wondered at this, and then realized that they were showing women down by the stage, where the ticket prices were highest. And let's face it, 21-year-old Hottie McHott probably can't afford $350 for a concert.
3. When everyone in the audience knows the words to most of your songs, it doesn't matter how much the vocal track is drowned out by everything else, 'cause they'll just sing it in their heads.
4. No matter how old you are, if you're a rock star and have been doing it for 35 years people will scream when you take off your shirt.
   
5. When you sit on the side of the arena the speaker stack hung from the ceiling blocks out much of the 50' inflatable woman.
6. If you've got a song called "For Those About To Rock..." you probably shouldn't play it as the last song of the encore. Because by that point we've already been rocked, and are in fact about to go home. Thanks for the salutes, though!
7. People you went to High School with but didn't generally hang out with are a lot funnier when they're shitfaced drunk and you're not. Then again, most people are.
   

Weird November weather

Got home from Oregon to find it colder inside the house than outside. What's up with that?

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Ah, the bloat

So as I mentioned yesterday, the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner was delayed a day so the brother-in-law could deep-fry the sucker. And deep-fry it he did. So fine...if you've never sampled the fried turkey thing, you should. Tender, moist, not at all greasy, just plain delicious. Add to that the standard trimmings (squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, rolls, stuffing, and some Godawful Brussels Sprout dish that, in my mind, was a waste of perfectly good bacon) and now I'm 5 pounds heavier and nursing a turkey baby. So basically a day behind the rest of you.

Hmm...I'm feeling slightly less distended, so it must be time for some pie!

Happy porky day!

'cause Pork is what we had for dinner. Sure, sounds un-American and all, but that's how we Chickens roll. At least that's how we roll this year...

See, it's like this: like most married couples, every year we try to figure out where to spend each big-name holiday. Originally it was Thanksgiving with the in-laws and Christmas with my folks, then we started fudging that a bit, and a couple years we decided we didn't want to deal at all and just holed up at home and pretended we weren't there. Anyhow, this year Christmas is up in the air, but Thanksgiving was at the in-laws in Oregon.

Now, this opens up two cans of worms. Can #1 is titled "traffic". Which, as you likely know, blows goat. Especially on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. So we traditionally drive down on Thanksgiving morning, figuring most people will already be where they're going. Well, apparently other people are figuring out this little trick, 'cause the roads were anything but empty.

That said, things were moving along just fine until we hit Tumwater (or maybe a bit south of there), where we dropped from a nice round 70 mph to about 20. And we kept it in the 10 to 20 range for a good 10 miles or more, which seriously ate in to our schedule. See, we'd planned to be at the in-laws house in time for the kickoff of the Seahawks game, so we could watch them being the sacrificial Thanksgiving Turkeys for the Cowboys. Oh, and we were going to eat lunch there too. Well, we missed kickoff by about 20 minutes, and missed lunch by an hour or so. And if you've ever traveled in a car with two hungry kids and two hungry parents you know what fun THAT can be!

Anyhow, let's get back to the menu. Why no turkey, you ask? That brings us to part 2 of the equation: the brother-in-law. His family are far more holiday-oriented than either mine or Paige's, so they win. Which means they get Thanksgiving. And since we still want to see him, Val and the niece, we just put off our big turkey fest until Friday so everyone can be together. Which also works nicely since he's the guy cooking the thing now that he's got the fancy-pants deep-fat fryer (or is that deep oil? Whatever). So tonight, in lieu of turkey, we had pork. Which was delightful, but not quite the same. Then again, the fried bird tomorrow will no doubt be well worth the wait, and will be a fine reward for braving the Black Friday crowds!

A not completely unproductive day

Actually managed to get some stuff done today. Retouched more pictures from the WFTDA National Championship tournament...Man, I need to make a huge note that says "don't push to 400 ASA on the camera, 'cause it looks like ass". Then I need to read that note and remember it every time I think "hey, if I boost to 400 ASA then I'll get more light..." The shots at 200 ASA and 1/200 of a second look way better than those at 400 ASA and 1/250th.

Then I need to write another note that says "learn how to use the freaking camera". And stick that with the first note. And then add a third note that says "maybe if you had the right flash these things would all look better..."

Anyhow, once I'm done with the retouch I'll post links. In the mean time, if you want far better shots, just search Flickr for "2008 roller derby nationals" and you'll find plenty.

Man, these hours are killing me!

Another tough day at work today. First, I got up at like 5:15. Jesus that's hard when you're out of practice. Then it was off downtown to meet my new dentist and find out if I could milk some of the excess funds in my healthcare FSA replacing fillings. Turns out they don't need replacing, so I'm out of luck there, but on the positive side I got to see the inside of the Seattle Building, a great example of Art Deco architecture featuring wicked cool elevators (and steam heat!).

After that I headed over to the office, sat around shooting the breeze and surfing the Internets for a few hours, then took off at noon so I could pick Maya up from school.

Grueling, I tell you!

What the hell am I doing wrong?

OK, so thanks to Frogma I found these little rating widget thingies. And I'm OK with the reading level one...Junior High is probably about right, 'cause I don't use big words. They take too much time to type.

But what's up with this?

G? Damn! I've got to start dropping more f-bombs in here, apparently. Or at least use "shit" once in a while to get this up to a PG-13 or my junior high readers won't be interested. Tween pop culture references would probably help too...sentences like "Holy shit, it's Miley Cyrus and the motherfucking Jonas Brothers!"

But possibly more interesting is the "Typealizer" review, where the site as a whole apparently pans out to ESFP, presumably on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scale. Which is weird, 'cause the last time I took the MBTI I tested out as an ENTP, with a heavy leaning toward introversion. Then again, that was 10 years ago, so maybe I've changed. Or I just write differently than I test. Or something. Anyhow, at least I get a cool graphic and description out of the deal:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Awwwwww yeahhhh....chick with a big fizzy drink and boots leaning on a bar. That's totally me!

It's not supposed to be this way

Since time immemorial (or at least the late '70s) the Seattle football scene has been one of balance: In years when the Huskies were bad the Seahawks were good, and vice versa. Many years they were both OK, but there were periods (the early '90s, for example) where the Huskies reveled in glory while the 'Hawks stunk up the town. And there were periods (the mid-2000s, for example) where the Huskies blew while the 'Hawks flew.

But apparently the football Gods are angry. Or the financial / credit / housing crisis threw things out of whack. Or the pumpkin crop was bad. Whatever the reason, we are in a huge Football shithole. On Saturday the Huskies lost the Apple Cup in the second overtime on a field goal, all because their kicker couldn't hit a relatively short kick from the hash mark. That took them to 0 and 11, one loss away from a perfect season. Today the Seahawks lost to the Redskins in a game they darn well could have won, all because Matt Hasselbeck couldn't hit his receivers and threw two key interceptions. That takes the 'Hawks to 2 and 9 and just about mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

The only light in the tunnel for the 'Hawks is that if they go 0-fer the rest of the season they'll get a nice high draft pick. The only light in the tunnel for the Huskies is that they'll...um...hmm. Not sure what the light is there. They'll have a new coach, sure, but they'll have the same players. I guess this will let us learn just how much influence the head coach actually has on college football, and that could be good. The Seahawks will have a new coach next year too, as well as (we can only hope) a bunch of new players, and hopefully they'll start winning again.

But in the mean time, it's going to be a long December.

Behold the power of yoga!

My Mom's been doing yoga since the 70s, if not earlier. As far as I know she's not a yoga master, or a tantric whatever, but it has helped keep her active and flexible in her later years. I personally haven't done yoga, mainly because I'm lazy. But now I have another reason to avoid it: "It is inappropriate. It can destroy the faith of a Muslim." So says Abdul Shukor Husin, chairman of the The National Fatwa Council of Malasia in this story from CNN. Which I guess explains why Mom never converted. That and her latent Unitarianism, feminism, and general liberalism...

Boy, I'm getting lazy!

It's clearly my hyper-strenuous work schedule of getting up at 8, walking the kids to school, sitting on the couch doing e-mail, walking the kids home from school, then sitting on the couch some more that's kept me from blogging the last few days. Something about not having a firm wake-up call makes me more lazy in the evening, so I stay up later and, apparently, forget to blog.

So here's a recap of the last few days: Oh, wait, I already did that above! Well, a few more details...

Monday was Maya's parent-teacher conference, which went well. Apparently our daughter, who loves nothing more than yelling at us, is a delight in the classroom and gets the other kids to cooperate.

Tuesday I went in to work, where I did basically what I'm now doing at home, only without Facebook or Twitter.

Wednesday I got up, did NOT walk the kids to school (Paige had to take drive and get coffee for staff appreciation day), watched some DVR'd TV, walked the kids home from school, and that was pretty much it.

Yesterday I got up, didn't walk to school (it was pouring and I was feeling lazy), watched some DVR'd TV, did some e-mails, put the ski rack on the car, picked up the boy from school, drove over to a friend's house where the girl was having a playdate, then headed to Joe's Outdoor to pick up a pair of rental skis for the girl and to drop off my skis and the boy's for waxing and (in his case) binding adjustments.

And today it was more walking: walked them to school, then walked over to the store to get some half and half, then to Loewe's to get some light bulbs, then home. The afternoon I drove, though, 'cause we needed stuff from Costco. And while I could walk to Costco, it would take all day to get there and back and I don't really feel like carrying 72 cans of diet coke on my back.

OK, so now I'm back on track. Whew!

Pointless web site of the day

I give you Generatus: A Social Networking Status Generator for Facebook, Twitter, etc. For those times when you can't come up with "Scott Chicken's feet hurt and he wishes he had softer shoes", or "I wonder what crap I'm going to spew on the blog tonight." Now you can go to generatus.com and click "generate" and you too can have a machine generated status that is both lame AND artificial!