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Holidays

Happy 4th to One and All

Posted on July 4, 2014

captain-america-4th

Well, to those of you in the United States at least. The rest of you? Happy Friday.

Hey, that’s great too. I love Fridays. The day, not the restaurant. The restaurant kinda sucks, truth be told.

Anyway, that was a bit off topic. We will be celebrating our nation’s independence by doing almost nothing. That’s right, I’m not even going to fire up the barbeque.

Does that make me un-American? I think not. We’re just using today to rest up for the rest of the weekend. I can assure you we will be consuming mass quantities of BBQ, and related, over the next couple days. Plus, there’s probably gonna be some adult beverages in the mix too. It happens.

Enjoy your weekend.

A First Father’s Day

Posted on June 16, 2013

Father's Day

My father passed away several years ago and since that time I haven’t given as much thought to Father’s Day. On the day I do think about my father more than I normally do, but as he isn’t with me, I honor him in ways that don’t involve brunch or unattractive neckwear. I don’t think he would mind.

However, things are a bit different on this particular Father’s Day. What’s different? Well, in a nutshell, this is my first Father’s Day as a father. Yep.

Okay, in truth, my child hasn’t actually been born yet, but I think that’s a technicality. He’s in there cooking away, doing great and is due to arrive in early September. That is, if he stays on schedule.

Since he is my son, I know his sense of timing will be impeccable and I expect he will arrive exactly when he means to and not a second too soon, or too late. Just like his father. He also has my good looks, of course.

So, this Father’s Day is quite a bit more special than it normally would be. That’s not to take anything away from my own father. He was a complex guy who taught me a lot of things, not the least of which was to question everything and always strive to better myself. He was also one of the first people to believe in me, much like my mother, and for that I will always be grateful.

I wish my father and my son could meet, but they never will. All I can do is make sure he knows about his Grandfather and how much his hard work and wisdom meant to me over the years. My son will know. I’ll make sure of it.

But this particular post isn’t about the past. It’s about the future.

It’s about a future where I will, after long last, be a father. A future where I will experience the world through the eyes of someone to whom it’s all brand new.

I know it won’t be easy and I know it’s a huge responsibility. I also know it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

And I can’t wait for it to start.

Google Glass Meets Beer Glass

Posted on March 15, 2013

saint-patricks-day-beer

In honor of St. Patrick’s day (on Sunday, you drunks), some enterprising folks thought about what it would be like to use Google’s Glasses during the holiday. Naturally, they made a video. You can see that below.

In other news, I made another step towards responsible adulthood today. There was a lot of paperwork, phone calls and, unfortunately, some harsh language. But in the end, it all worked out and basically boiled down to writing a big check.

To be honest, it was the biggest one I’ve ever written. And yes, it hurt. . . But only a little.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all. Yes, I think I’ll have a beer. I know I’ve earned it today.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GAd1QDcutc?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

The New ‘Die Hard’ and Some Amusement for President’s Day

Posted on February 18, 2013

Good-Day-to-Die-Hard-Willis

First off, I finally saw the latest Die Hard movie. This one, called A Good Day to Die Hard, was not terrible. It wasn’t great, by any means, but it wasn’t terrible. It just was.

I won’t get into a lengthy review here, mostly because Nat Almirall does a fine job of it over at The Flickcast. However, I will say I mostly agree with him and his review, but I didn’t dislike it as much as he obviously did.

I also didn’t have as much of a problem with following things as he seems to have had. Maybe it’s because I have a background in editing or have just seen so many rough assemblies of films that jump cuts and poor attention to scene geography don’t really bother me.

Perhaps it was all the coffee I had before I saw the movie? Or, maybe seeing the movie with Matt Raub made me stay on my toes and pay better attention in case of potential discussion later? I don’t know.

The movie did spark one thing, though, Matt and I have a terrific idea of what the next Die Hard movie should be. Maybe we’ll share that with the class if we ever do another podcast. Hey, it could happen.

Now this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnM_tcDcZLE?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

Christmas Aftermath

Posted on December 26, 2012

In a nutshell, I’m tired. Christmas has come and gone and it was a long, long day. And we don’t have any kids and didn’t have to fly anywhere.

I can’t imagine how my parents did it or, for that matter, how other parents do it today. it must be exhausting, especially if you have to travel a long way and keep some young ones entertained.

As for us, we had a very nice time with H’s parents, her brother and my Mom. Just the six of us in the comfortable environs of Ventura eating lots of food and opening a metric crapload of gifts.

We may have even had one or two drinks too. Good times all around.

Out of the many, many gifts, we all got some really nice stuff. I will probably even keep the vast majority of my gifts. . . Probably. Nah, they were all great. I’m keeping ’em.

That’s a pic of our tree. Pretty nice, huh? I think so.

20121226-172519.jpg

Hope you all had a very good day. Now, to the nap chamber!

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2012

We are about to hit the road and head to H’s parents’ house to celebrate Christmas. Naturally, we’re taking a few gifts.

And yes, even though I didn’t ask for anything, one or two of these are for me. Have a great Christmas everyone.

20121225-105618.jpg

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 22, 2012

20121222-230611.jpg

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The holidays are upon us. Because I’m a certain type of person, I’m going to go ahead and wish you all a Merry Christmas.

I occasionally use the more PC “Happy Holidays,” (like in the title of this post) but I just don’t feel like it this time. So there we are. That said, if you choose to use it, feel free. I won’t hold it against you.

I hope you have a great couple of days, spend quality time with those you love and get everything you asked for from Santa. If you’re still on the fence about what to get me, or even trying to decide if you’re going to get me anything at all, I’ve already taken the liberty of spelling it all out for you.

I like to make things as simple as possible . . . for all of us.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012

Today is the day women often make men feel bad because they’ve forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day. However, don’t worry because I don’t know any women like that so you don’t have to be concerned for me. My significant other doesn’t have those kinds of issues.

In fact, for me and mine today is just another Tuesday. However, that doesn’t mean that you guys out there with women who love these types of holidays shouldn’t get them something nice and make a big deal about them. It’s the right thing to do, especially if they care a lot about it.

In fact, if you’re with someone you love today and they love you, go with it. Relationships are hard and if you can find someone who will put up with your shit for days, weeks, months and years, that person deserves your respect and, let’s face it, your gratitude.

Besides, a few bucks for some flowers and maybe a box of candy isn’t all that much, is it? Come on, you can do it.

On another note, I’m still waiting for my Moccamaster to arrive from Portland and my new friends at Clive Coffee. According to the tracking info it should arrive tomorrow (that’s Wednesday). Needless to say, I’m quite excited. Still, I found it necessary to say it, didn’t I?

Anyway, I look forward to long sessions getting to know my Moccamaster and all of its workings. I’m also looking forward to some great coffee.

I may even make one for my significant other. She would probably like that. Sadly, I can’t do it today.

I’ll keep you posted.

Christmas 2011

Posted on December 25, 2011

Yes, it’s Christmas. . . at least for those of us who celebrate it. If you don’t, have a great Sunday. For the rest of us: Merry Christmas! I hope you got everything you wanted and only a little bit of what you deserve.

Christmas Birthday 101

Posted on December 21, 2011

The holidays are upon us in earnest and Christmas is coming this Sunday. I’m also having a birthday this week too. In fact, it’s tomorrow (Thursday).

Before you feel too bad for me and express sympathies that my birthday must get forgotten due to its proximity to Christmas, I will make you feel better by telling you that in all the time I’ve been alive, I’ve never felt bad about having a birthday three days before Christmas.

There’s one reason for that (well, two). Harold and Dorothy. My parents.

My parents came into my life sorta late in theirs. They tried for several years to have a kid the old fashioned way, but in the end, for whatever reason, they were unsucessful. So, like countless others who wanted a child, but just couldn’t make it happen, they turned to adoption.

That’s where I came into the picture. My parents adopted me, sealed the deal in late November, I was born on December 22 and they brought me home to live with them on Christmas day.

Since that time, my parents, being the intelligent and thoughtful people they are, went to great effort to distinguish my birthday from Christmas. It was always considered a seperate day and talk of Christmas was put aside until it was over.

Sure, the house usually already had Christmas lights and decorations up (my father was like that), but that was not allowed to detract from my birthday. If my party was at the house, we celebrated in a room away from the tree and as much of the rest of the Christmas-centric decor as we could manage.

They were also really great at making sure I had separate birthday and Christmas gifts each year. My mom still does that to this day.

I have no doubt that when I see her this weekend she will make me open my birthday presents first and then make me wait for the Christmas presents until a respectable amount of time has passed. Somewhat of a traditionalist is Dorothy. If my dad were still alive, I’m sure he’d insist on the same thing.

The purpose of this missive is to say that I’ve been very fortunate to have these two people in my life. Whatever happened, they always put me first and made sure I never needed or wanted for anything.

I could not have asked for better people to show me the whys and wherefores of life. I just hope, if I ever have children of my own, I can do half as good a job as they did.

It’s a tough act to follow.