November 2003

Michael Jackson

Q: What will Michael Jackson get after he's convicted?

A: His own parish.

What a sicko.

The difference between Andrew and Michael

The boys' wishes while breaking the wishbone this year pretty much sums up their personalities:

Andrew (6): "I wish for a million zillion good days."

Michael (3): "I wish for a sword so I can cut people in half like a hot dog."

Call CPS!

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Loads of yummy food. But of course, that's not what Michael wanted. Pringles and whipped cream. What a combination! At least, he prefers real whipped cream to Cool Whip. There's hope yet.

I knew it

I knew Michelle was wrong. You can be too clean.

All you who think my office is too piggy -- HAH!

Is that a gig in your pocket...

How good is 1.5G of pocketable storage? Check out the new flash drive from MPIO. Thanks to Gizmodo (my favorite gear site) for the pointer.

Of course, it still isn't as cool as the Pretec iDisk Tiny Luxury that I found in Taiwan. It's only 256MB (still super useful) and only USB 1.0, but it's so tiny (the size of the USB plug) and it just swivels out of it's case -- no cap to lose.

I love these little flash drives. I carry one all the time now and use it everywhere. I can't imaging getting by without this. In an age of wireless everything, it's funny how much I prefer sneakernet.

Stepped on his head

Andrew (6) describing what he did to Michael (3), "I just stepped on his head. Gently."

Comparative religion simplified

Like many people, I've struggled to understand the differences between religions. But now, I've found a simple guide based on "shit happens". Some winners:

     Catholicism: Shit happens because you are BAD.
     Judaism: Why does shit always happen to me?
                       - and -
     Jehovah's Witnesses: Knock, knock ... shit happens.

It makes everything perfectly clear.

The Japanese are so weird.

I love Japan. I really do. I've been to Tokyo several times and have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. There is so much to admire about Japanese culture and society. Really.

But -- they're so weird too. How else can you explain this Kikoman ad?

'Nuff said.

Stupid lessons in leaf blowing

Well, I learned what would seem to be fairly obvious lesson this weekend. I got out my brand spanking new Toro leaf blower. Since it's been blowing pretty good here in Seattle lately, we had a lot of leaves and pine needles on the deck, front walk, and roof.

Well, I got that bad boy out and had a grand ole' time blowing the deck and front walk. It was getting dark, but I figured I had time to do the roof -- very important since the gutters were kind of full.

(This is where the audience screams "Don't do it!") So, I climb up on the roof with my trusty blower and do battle the with the roof. I'm loving this. 215 mph of leaf blowing might. The roof is cleared and the gutters look great.

Too bad the deck and walk look like hell.

Of course, Michelle is watching through the windows howling. She knows what a dumb ass I am. Everything is covered in an inch of pine needles.

So, in the dark, I re-clear the deck and walk. Oh well, lesson learned.

Still, it's pretty fun...

Incredible apple dinner

Last week, Michelle and I went to an amazing apple-themed dinner. It was sponsored by the Northwest Cider Society and featured great Northwest hard ciders and the food stylings of Susan Loomis (owner/operator of a cooking school in Normandy and author of the cookbook On Rue Tatin).

The dinner featured apples, naturally, to complement the ciders (Wescott Bay Orchards and Irvings Cider) and apple drinks (e.g. calvados). Susan served up luscious mussels steamed in cider; duck breast with onions, apples, and parsnips (I think); a very nice salad; and a beautiful tart tatin.

The company was also very interesting -- local foodies and restaurateurs (like Sandy Shea, owner of our favorite restaurant, Chez Shea). We also chatted with Jon Rowley, a friend I met at an ethereal oyster and wine dinner he donated and the one who dreamt up the dinner.

All in all, it was a lovely dinner. Check out the pictures here.

Getting started

Ok, trying again after messing around with the site (and getting randomized by that silly work thing). Let's hope it works this time!