Daily meditations

Today's Meditation

Thoughts:

Serious: This is a very good outlook to have. It would be very nice to be able to look at every experience and see the beauty, elegance and things that could be learned from it. It is not always possible, however, to step away from the immediate and not-so-immediate negative impact of these events to see the positive. "We'll look back on this and laugh" is a truism for just that reason. Once a person has the opportunity, the clarity and the distance to examine a situation more objectively, it becomes possible to look for the silver among the clouds. In the immediate, though, it is not realistic to expect someone to lose their job and look at it as a learning experience if they have something invested in the job.

Knee-jerk: This was way too long. Bobby McPherin said it with much more brevity: "Don't worry, be happy."

Fly-off-the-handle: Yeah right! "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. Your mom just died." "AWESOME! Let's go find some positives!"

Questions to ponder:

1. Can you think of something that happened to you that was "just awful," but that turned out to be a positive experience?

Any experience where I had to slog through the discomfort of alienating people because I like knowing the truth rather than being spoon-fed what people think I want to hear. Yeah, it sucks to have people resent me, but if I know it, it's better.

2. What sort of things build most character in us: the positive and easy, or the difficult and sometimes negative?

This is a question that has no value to me. It's not even a question. It's a statement with the comparator removed and a question-mark at the end in place of a period. You know the answer, and I know the answer. Which is better: a kick in the balls, or twenty-five dollars?

3. How would you advise a friend to look at his or her problems?
Do you look at yours in the way that you would advise others to?

In general, I try to stay out of people's problems. They are for them to deal with unless I'm specifically asked for advice. In that case, I suggest they tackle their problems head-on with no compromise. Absolutely, I do.

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On the Horizon

I've decided that I'm going to try doing a daily meditation on here. Just a little space to think about something, write about something and hopefully clear my head.

We'll see how it goes.

I found a daily meditations site: here

They might be cheesy, they might be insightful. They might be real frickin' obvious. But it's something that I have wanted to try for awhile, so I figure I'll give it a shot.

Lemme know what you think.

Until more later on

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This is another test.

This is a list of Firefox's performancing extension.

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edit:I really meant test, not list.

Blooger? Bloogle? Boogle? Booger? Goggle? Gogger? Bolglobber?

I've been forced FORCED, mind you, to join the rest of the world on Google's new Blogger thingie. Fortunately, Cliff invited me into Gmail's exclusive (or not so exclusive, from what I hear now) membership.

Now I see that there's an error on the page and MSIE graciously tells me that RIGHT_KEYCODE is undefined. Fantastic work, Goobler. Make me switch to something that's broken. Thanks.

I just want my old Blogger back.

Just wait til Feb - no, March... um.. maybe May?

So, there hasn't been a whole lot of spare time running through the offices at Intuit.

Aw, poor baby. Has to work at work.

Yeah, whatever. Shut up. The crunch is on and has been since, basically, September. Sprints come and go, and we work overtime, knowing we have to squeeze this release out so that we can actually point to something, look upper management in the face and say, "See? We weren't just surfing the web!"

The problem (or the stress) comes from this: Upper management got very, very interested in the project, decided that it was going to solve a huge hole in the online banking market and decided to invest in this solution - to the tune of 1.53 billion dollars. No pressure. Just get the project out. Early, if possible.

It's fun, running around like this, for a bit. We've been told that March 15 is the pressure-off date. I wish I could believe it. I was also told that post 1.0 (november) would be a chance to regroup (which it wasn't) and that after Jan 31, there would be some time. (Also, no) So we have to have 1.5 released right away (mar 15) and 2.0 comes out in May so that our partners can integrate.

Will May be the time when things slow down to a normal pace? One can hope but there isn't a lot of precedence backing that hope.

First thing I'm going to do when I have some free time:

Clean up my inbox. There are currently 1932 messages floating around in there. I don't know what's pertinent, I don't know what's not. I read them and move on. I'm not mindful enough to store them in their proper places when they come in.

News:

Beaver camp was great. Tobogganing, candle-making, Kub/Beaver Kars, campfire and a whole slew of other things.

I finished the Dragon story, tentatively titled 'Resurrection'. I've written my three critiques and posted them as well.

I have three or four more goals to wipe off my 101 in 1001, despite the fact I've done pretty much nothing intentionally.

Kim started taking care of Hailey (Brad and Jil's daughter) and it seems that's going pretty well.

My book-reading is not on pace for 50 books this year. It's more like on pace for maybe 12. I'm going to stop making that a goal and just enjoy reading. I'm currently reading Black Sun Rising by CS Friedman. It's part 1 of a trilogy. It doesn't seem to be anything special just yet, but I'm barely into it at all. I also bought the next installment of Steven Erikson's Malazan series, Midnight Tides. I'll probably read that when I'm done with Black Sun Rising.

Last week at soccer, I twisted my ankle, so I've been avoiding sports and doing cross-stitch at lunch instead of soccer. Good progress has been made. I'm just about done the first batch of leaves on the Samurai cross-stitch. Someday, I'll post a picture of my progress and you can "ooh" and "ahh" all you want.

Kim's brother, sister-in-law and niece are here for the week.

That is all. You are now caught up. If not, too bad.

More on Sandy Foster

Okay, so I cut my first post short. And after the clamouring of my fans, I’ll post a little bit more. (it’s easier here than in a comment anyway)

Sandy Foster sings jazz. Her music varies from slower and softer jazz to latin-flavoured up-tempo stuff. Her range is quite high and she sings quite a bit of her music with a breathless quality which I suppose some people could consider off-putting, and which I probably would if she used it for everything instead of using it as a tool like she does with the rest of her stuff. She has a very powerful voice which she uncorks at the right times. She doesn’t wail like Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston. I’m sure she could knock the crap out of either one of them doing their songs, if they weren’t so inane. She does all of this effortlessly and it’s very easy to tell that she loves what she does.

She’s a bit older, she’s a wife and mother and she uses her life experiences in the songs she writes. As I said before, she doesn’t experiment with wild new music but her band is tight and they do their jobs very well. Her lyrics speak of a whole bunch of different things. She can slip into silliness a little, like with Cranberry Jazz, where she explores the fun of her relationship with her husband, she can sing a song where it sounds like she’s mourning a decaying relationship in Meet Me Here, and Marooned I can identify with because it explores themes of isolation and not entirely as a negative.

As I’ve said before, there isn’t a bad song on the CD and the more I listen to it, the more I agree with myself.

Damn I’m smart.

Sandy Foster

Click on image to enlarge ( I think)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This book opens with one of the great lines. "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."

It’s also based on a ship, unsurprisingly called The Dawn Treader. I’ve always liked sea-faring books and I think this book has something to do with that. Just like I think The Silver Chair has something to do with my claustrophobia.

At any rate, this is a very good entry in the Narnia Chronicles. Eustace is a complete moron until he learns his lesson. Aslan doesn’t take it easy on Scrubb, just like he doesn’t take it easy on anyone, and in the end, Scrubb is a good character, falling in line the same as Edmund did in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

It’s pretty easy to see the values that Lewis sneaks into his writing. He doesn’t beat you over the head with it, but it’s pretty easy to see he’s a Christian and wants you to act like one too. And that’s fine. If everyone acted the way Christians were supposed to, the world would be a nicer, more patient place. As it is, most Christians I know don’t act like Christians. But that’s a rant for a different time.

Nicholas enjoyed this book, especially the chapters with the Monopods/Dufflepuds/invisible people. I’ve always been a big fan of Reepicheep, so it was kind of sad to see him go, but he’s always there when I read the series over, so it’s not too sad.

We’re onto The Silver Chair now, and it won’t be long until we’re done the entire series. It’s kind of sad, but there’s always Prydain and Taran’s adventures to look forward to.

I’m just over half-finished the fourth book of the year, The Prince of Dreams by Curt Benjamin. I’m also part of the way through Exile’s Return but that’s coming very slowly. I’ll have write-ups on those when I’m finished. Also, I’m going to insert Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman because it’s on a reading list for a forum I’m on.

Finally, on another note, I was accepted late for a short-story workshop in a fantasy forum. I figure that one of my 101/1001 goals is to finish the dragon story, and the theme for the workshop is dragons, so it’s a marriage I can’t skip out on. As of right now, I’m two-thirds of the way finished, with the plot complete and just the writing to finish by Wednesday. That means 2000 words over three days (two-and-a-half, I suppose). Wish me luck and I’ll let you know how it goes. The goal is to get this story published in a magazine, so I won’t post the story here – at least not unless/until I get a rejection letter. If it’s accepted, I’ll also fill you in then.

Until more later on…

Date Night: Wee Book Inn

The potential for a date night with my wife does not come along very often. When it does, we like to live it up to the fullest.

Take this past Friday, for an example. We found ourselves temporarily childless and with the world as our oyster. The itinerary:

-Get Liam fed
-Get Kim cheese
-Go to Wee Book

As you might expect, there was a little more to the 3+ hours we spent on the date than the three lines above. I got a new ring. It spins. (Don't ask – better yet, ask, and I'll show you!) Kim also got a ring. (Does that make up for Christmas?)

Yes, we are truly a live-life-on-the-edge-of-our-seats couple.

Okay, in all seriousness, it was a fairly tame date-night but it was a welcome change to have Kim to myself for a couple of hours. Kim's really like a rock star within the context of our family. If anyone has something to say, something to show, or something to fix, Kim's the first person they go to. I guess it's not too romantic to call her “Lynchpin” but it doesn't mean it isn't true. I'm actually pretty lucky, though, because I'm the only person in the family that she actually CHOSE to be with. Yeah, yeah, she chose to have kids, but who they were going to come out as was out of her control. I was fully formed (okay, mostly) and she decided to marry me. And now she has the adulation of at least three people, and a dog. Don't forget the dog.

Anyway, back on topic: Here's to date-night!

Oh, and I still owe a writeup on Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I'll do that a little later.

Ran-tastic

A rant.

Not entirely language or age appropriate.

Enjoy.

House of Chains

Whenever I read a book by Steven Erickson, I do so with the awareness that he is an anthropologist by training and I always worry that his books are going to contain extremely rich but extremely dry history that I'll have to fight through. I'm always happy to find his world's history and the depth of the cultures to be very full, with mysteries unexplained and a seemingly-never-ending parade of peoples as diverse (and more) as the cultures of our own world. It comes, however, without the history lesson. It comes, in fact, without any lesson whatsoever.

What I perceived as a weakness in Erikson's writing has come to be a bonus, now that I'm not faced with the headlong plunge into confusion that came with the first 150, no 200 pages - well, actually, all of the first book. Like my old Computer Science professor, Stephen Wismath, used to say, "Let's just assume it all works by magic and move on." Not a very satisfying answer for a reader used to having explanations spoon-fed to him, any more than it is to a bright-eyed university student. However, I persevered, and now, I get impatient wading through redundant explanations that are offered in all but a very few fantasy series. Some authors, it seems, use this method to get their word-count to an acceptable level.

Not so with Erikson, whose pages are filled, each and every one of them, with tensions, battles, senseless gore, realistic horror as a reaction to that senseless gore and characters which feel like they not only could fit on the page, but also feel like they could fit in our world. Book 4 deals with the aftermath of book 2, both the Chain of Dogs and Felisin storylines. The pacing is slow, at first, dealing with a new character, but as usual, that character draws you in and soon, you realize you you're 200 pages in and the main story isn't even started. There aren't a lot of surprises in this volume, nothing that will make you gasp and worry that nothing will ever be right again, but things continue to resolve themselves and you begin to understand a little more about the Malazan Empire. I'm looking forward to Midnight Tides but I need a bit of a break from Erikson's epic-ness.

Next up, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

King of Foxes by Raymond E. Feist

One of my favourite series in Fantasy is the Serpentwar saga by Raymond E. Feist. It is set on Midkemia, just like all the other Feist books in this very long line of stories. King of Foxes mentioned some characters from the Serpentwar saga and that may have been its best moment.

I like Feist as an author, and I hope that he continues to write good stories, but if the stuff that he’s going to write is like King of Foxes, I’m tempted to say he should just turn in and call it a career.

Feist’s main character in King of Foxes is Talon of the Silver Hawk (which was the name of the first book in this trilogy). Through some amazing circumstances, he becomes the best swordsman on the planet, a culinary master, a musician, the world’s best hunter, lover, man’s man and all around good guy as he disguises himself as Talwin Hawkins, a squire, so that he can take his revenge on the person responsible for the destruction of his people.

I get annoyed by super-characters who never need to do any growing, outside of the “training” section of the novel. Everything goes right for Talon, all the way through the novel, and the only hardships he ends up having are fixed by magic. I had hoped that the story would go another way, but it didn’t, and while I’m not sorry I read the book, and I’m currently reading the one after it, I’m reading them to get to the next story, which, to hear tell, is built up fairly significantly by this trilogy.

One book on the books, 49 to go!

Next up: House of Chains by Steven Erikson

The 2007 50-book goal

So, I was unsuccessful in completing my goal of 50 books last year.

Big deal, you say. Well, I don’t like failing at things I genuinely try at. Last year’s 50-book goal was something I took very seriously for the first four months. Granted, it became obvious very soon that I would not be able to do it, because of a change in jobs, but it honked me off, even in November, as I still kept track of the books that I read, that I had fallen so short.

With that said, and hopefully soon forgotten, this year is another year where I will attempt the reading of 50 books. Fortunately, I have already finished one.

Without further ado (that’s right, ado, not adieu, not Cadieux, not adios, but ado) I present the candidates for the 2007 “50 books to be read”. Please note that his list is subject to wild fluctuations, depending on the availability of better books, or just books that I get more excited about.

The books:
King of Foxes - Raymond E. Feist
The Grand Design - John Marco
House of Chains - Steven Erickson
Child of the Grove - Tanya Huff
The Last Wizard - Tanya Huff
Exile's Return - Raymond E. Feist
Lord Valentine's Castle - Robert Silverberg
Prince of Shadow - Curt Benjamin
The Darkness that Comes Before - R. Scott Bakker
Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb
Mad Ship - Robin Hobb
Prentice Alvin - Orson Scott Card
Alvin Journeyman - Orson Scott Card
Prince of Dreams - Curt Benjamin
Gates of Heaven - Curt Benjamin
Farewell My Lovely - Raymond Chandler
Newton's Cannon - J. Gregory Keyes
Uther - Jack Whyte
The Darkness and The Dawn - Thomas B. Costain
GeoMancer - Ian Irvine
The Face of Apollo - Fred Saberhagen
A Canticle for liebowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.
The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
Runelords - David Farland
Brotherhood of the Wolf - David Farland
Wizardborn - David Farland
The Wounded Land - Stephen R. Donaldson
The One Tree - Stephen R. Donaldson
White Gold Wielder - Stephen R. Donaldson
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Wandering Fire - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Darkest Road - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Magi'I of Cyador - L. E. Modesitt Jr.
The White Order - L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Wellspring of Chaos - L. E. Modesitt jr.
The Demon Awakens - R. A. Salvatore
The Demon Spirit - R. A. Salvatore
The Thief Taker - T. F. Banks
The Emperor’s Assassin - T. F. Banks
Eye of the Labyrinth - Jennifer Fallon
Lion of Senet - Jennifer Fallon
The Long Orbit - Mick Farren
Battlefield Earth - L. Ron. Hubbard
The Waterborn - J. Gregory Keyes
BlackGod - J. Gregory Keyes
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Heroics for Beginners - John Moore
A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay
Protect and Defend - Richard North Patterson

51, you say? Oh, frickin’ well. It’s my goal, and I’ll do my OWN math, thank you very much.

Later: King of Foxes by Raymond E. Feist

More than halfway

Despite giving up on my books for the year, I made it more than halfway. 26, to be exact, with jPod finishing up 2006's reading.

This year, I plan on doing it again. Stay tuned for a more in-depth post about this very thing.

HEY MORON, SLOW DOWN!

Days like yesterday make me truly question just how much reasoning end decision-making it takes lo survive long enough to get a driver's license.

It's not often that I'll go off on an insanely-angry rant. Granted, there have been some, end from time to time, they've been real doozies. Still, it's far from the norm.

However, the mess that I saw on the roads yesterday needs to be addressed. I mean, honestly, how have they made it this far into winter?

For those uneducated in the ways of writer, it goes like this - it snows, it warms up, melting the snow, then it cools down, freezing the water into ice. Then, snow falls, coating the ice with a skiff of snow. Further driving polishes the ice, making traction
a precious commodity, at best.

You might think that I wouldn't have to explain this but it is the internet and there are people who haven't experienced snowfall before. Also, I feel that I need to be extra-explicit for those drivers who have spent countless winters in Edmonton end JUST DON'T GET IT!
Days like yesterday, where the roads are treacherous and visibility is poor are not the right times to try that cool driving stunt you just saw on Youtube. Conditions like last night are not the right place for impatience, reckless hurrying or
this inane sense of entitlement you get from driving your brand-new Lexus, Just because your car is nicer doesn't mean that your desire for expediency supersedes my right-of-way. Back of the bus, Gus. And SUV-boy, this is reality, not Pole Position. Swervy-swervy doesn't go over so well with those of us whose vehicles weren't designed by the military. Pick the lane you need and stay there. Please.

See? I can be polite.

Monday morning musings

Thank God the Oakland Raiders are a worse team (by several orders) than the Houston Texans No matter what Houston did to try and hand the game to the Raiders, Oakland played the perfect gentleman, handing it right back.

Fumbles on three consecutive offensive snaps tells me one thing about David Carr. He's afraid. At no other point in Texans history have I actually wanted to see Carr replaced but there's a first time for everything. Hearing mention that Carr was not getting the job done in crunch-time, I made a point of paying attention at the times I thought were crucial. He did not complete a single pass when it was important. Van Pelt isn't the answer any more than the Sarge, so I don't see Carr losing his job this year, and I hope he gives me some cause for hope down the stretch because this game just made me sad.

The defense was made of stone today, though, and that was the difference. My boy, Glenn Earl looked good, and this looks like the unit that the Texans will come to rely on in this latest rebuilding stint. DeMeco Ryans won the DROY this week, in my opinion. He's everywhere, he's everything and the defense would be worse than
ordinary without him.

Welcome back, Jerome Mathis. Take away his one average return and he starts us off on our own 4, then the Raiders 3. Can't say he isn't exciting. Wynn was good, too, with the fake trick play. Brown sounded good, except the one miss, but Stanley needs
to be replaced.

It was nice to hear about Ron Dayne doing more than hurting O-Linemen. If I had a game ball for offense, he would definitely get it.

In the end, it was nice to see a win, but this game left me with more questions than answers.

-Who are the Houston Texans? Are they tying the record for consecutive completions, or are they struggling to break zero passing yards on the day?

-Are they giving up a record 22 straight completions or are they forcing 5 turnovers?

-Who is David Carr? Is he the Texans' future or is be the embarrassing past?

-Is the offensive-line improving Or are they still taking baby steps? Or are they backpedaling as quickly as they can?

At this point, your guess is probably as good as Gary Kubiak's.

I'll get you AXLEERRRRRRR!

Thanks a lot, Axler.

Blog my tablet - or - Friday Night Tablet Bloggin'

So.. it's Friday night and I'm writing yet another blog entry. This one, though, is in my handwriting.

That's right, I've got my Tablet back.

So, before you know it, the rest of my software will be installed and I'll be a tabletizing demon.

NOTE: This blog was posted Monday morning because of a delay in setting up my wireless router. It was still written Friday night.

100th Post Spectacular

As I said before, this is likely way too self-centred, but I don't care. It's my blog, my post and your right not to read it.


Blog! The Blogging Blogger's Blogged!
This was my second attempt at a web-presence (therevolution.net/liam) and, in hindsight, this is a much easier one to maintain. In general, I just spout off about the internet.
Three teeth, one low, low price
I do my fair share of post-extraction whining
Milk in the tooth-hole and other horror stories
More whining, but it sure did hurt.
Into the bowels of the bowels of the library
Ah, the library book sale. I'd been to one in Lethbridge before, but it wasn't on the same level. Not even close.
Sean broke his alarm clock
Sean told me how and why he'd broken his alarm clock and I fictionalized it, although, according to the comments I received, it wasn't too far from the truth.
THE EVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
My rant against the proliferation of gratuitous sexuality in the media. Probably nothing original or different from what's been written thousands of times before, but it was genuinely felt.
Father's Day
Is there any holiday (other than Mother's Day) that is as richly-deserved as Father's Day?
Wake-up Call
A pre-natal scare taught me that nothing is as scary as the unknown.
Old Neighbour, New Neighbour
Since we moved in the middle of August, I haven't been Rob's neighbour physically, but we're still Beaver leaders together and he'll always be my neighbour, at heart.
Baptism by... um... God?!
I saw Father Roger this weekend, after a summer where he was in Ontario, doing some scholarly stuff. It was nice to see him again.
Two roads diverged in a wood and I- umm...
I was sick of not having anything new to report on the lack of promotion, so I posted this to get it out. It still didn't make the waiting any better or easier.
Something Else
I like this story. It made me happy to write about pining without actually pining.
100 things? Really? Wow.
This post was a marathon. I now know how hard it is to come up with 100 things about myself. At some point I should review these and find out how many are still true.
My Books
What else? They're my books, although this list is disgustingly out-of-date.
Slowps from the slopes
An updatey-type post. "35 Squat-thrust" penance. Ah, I'm such a card.
The Annual Great Halliburton Summer Picnic
More than just about anything, I miss the Picnic from Halliburton.
The Family Dog
Arr, Jack, you're a rogue and you'll never change. Thank God.
Damn Rights, You're Sorry!
Wow, so much rage. I'm so glad I like my job, now.
Hockey Cancelled Due To Pansy Participants. Next Week Cancelled Due To Pedicure
I never did go back and play with those guys.
How did I get so behind - or Schrodinger's catsup
A long updatey-type post.
Software Development
I could have made that program so much simpler if I'd known what I know now. Still, it works… or did, anyway.
The Johnstone House/A fairly innocuous laundry room, unt…/And this is the tree that we see whe…
Three posts dedicated to a photo-tour of the condo.
Lillian
Good ol' Lillian. A constant joy.
I'm just about even with those bastards
I still haven't replaced the sweats, but I got a backpack (BACKPACK!) for Father's day.
A study in contrast
Now Preston and Lillian look identical when they grin.
Seizure
Just going over this post, I cringe. Thank goodness that part is over.
Back at work
Wow. After all the stewing over whether or not I would get the promotion, my reaction to the positive news was surprisingly underwhelming.
BisonWeb
And Team BisonWeb continues to spread its influence to all the dustiest corners of the World Wide Web.
42-10
This game is easier to read about when I consider it was against the eventual Super Bowl runners-up, but then I remember that it was Loserville and I just feel worse.
Battle of Alberta
I am an MS Paint Wizard.
Phenobaby no more!
Lillian came through that one like a champion.
Super Mario Bros: The End
A time-waster, but I enjoyed writing it.
Nicholas Johnstone: Game Designer
This one still makes me chuckle from time to time.
Required Cognates
Preparation for the next post.
Hank Ilesic
"This is the stupidest f#cking post ever!"‹punt› -Hank Ilesic
Lest We Forget
Remembrance Day is coming up right away, again. This time, I at least have my uniform.
If God were a typist
Few things are nicer than new electronics. I still love my keyboard.
Well, it's official
Last season was, to quote Gregg Easterbrook, "Cover-your-eyes awful." This season is better so far, even if I can't see much better than 6-10 or 7-9.
Boys, We’ve Hit the Jackpot
I wonder how that cream would taste right now…
Blast from the Past
A semi-fictional story about a turning-point in my life.
Another oldie
a.k.a. Liam tries his hand at ensemble-cast mystery/detective story.
Lillian's Baptism
So much to look forward to.
Not exactly on the Christmas list, but...
Ahh, Fingers… I miss your personality, but not your late-night hijinx.
Annual Goal
a.k.a. "Down in Flames, the Liam Johnstone story"
Song of Susannah
A book report.
Yesterday, I learned that one of my co-workers was...
It's still true. I wonder if that guy ever got a clue.
The Magician's Nephew
Another book report.
A Feast for Crows
Another book report.
Minigoal #2
If I'd had time to keep this up, minigoals would have been the way to go. Ah well… maybe next time.
Stupid Sprite!
At least I've replaced the Prydain Chronicles.
The Dark Tower
Another book report.
So, yeah, the car
Mom gave us her car and I blogged about it.
Welcome to "The Fold"
More reading goal postings
Memories of Ice
Another book report.
Three years?!
Sentimental reminiscence of meeting my wife.
Three New Books as Stories Unfold
I didn't want to read sado-pseudo-porn, so I gave up on Kushiel and crew.
Anansi Boys
Another book report.
Shaman's Crossing
Another book report.
Winter Camp as seen by a Leader of Beavers
My synopsis of 2006 Winter Camp.
Valentine's Day
I defend the "Romantic Holiday".
Minigoal update or: As the Slacker Turns
More goal-speak.
Queen of Demons
Another book report.
A New Job: I'll really be "Intuit"
Turning a corner. A big one.
Resigned To It
Quitting sucks.
"I quit." "You're fired."
Firing people is worse.
At Least the Milkshake was Tasty
A car crash outside my home interrupted some sweet frozen treat.
This Time Next Week
The final farewell to Halliburton.
A little family history for you
Auntie Anne and Cousin Mike let me know about some family history.
See? Sharp.
A fairly standard updatey-post with some funny hand-stabbing comments.
WHAT?!
Haiku error messages.
California Dreamin'
Pre-California jitters.
Once more, into the books
Another library book sale, this time with synopses/justification for each book.
Now, was that so hard?
A review of turning 30.
The 2006 Texans Draft
A review of the Texans' draft.
Milestone Number One Reached, Four Days Late
Goal stuff.
With the first pick of the franchise's first draft, the Texans pick...
Review of the Texans' first draft.
But That Was Long Ago
Reminiscences of my University time.
Canceled
50 books was too much for this year.
My Pod, i-Poddius
Gushing over new technology. [since broken]
Innovation meets technology
Gushing over new technology. [since broken]
Distraction by Bat and Jeff
One of the many stories I've concocted to mould my son.
The Eye of the World
Another book report.
Intuit Spotlight Award
Yay me!
Updates, updates, updates
Updatey-type post
Wizard of Earthsea
Another book report.
Keyless entry? Sure..
What happens when brute force wins out over stupidity.
How Can it Only Have Been a Week?
An unpublished post chronicling the shift in perspective over a week of house-hunting.
Weekend Updates -- WITHOUT Dennis Miller
Updates on buying a house.
A Change in the Wind
Philosophical murmurings
Mr. Darwin's Shooter
Another book report.
101 in 1001 -- in the spirit of ripping my wife off
101 goals in 1001 days
The Wizard of Oz
Movie review
Backseat Quarterback
Another book report.
Week 1 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Lamentable loss.
Week 2 vs. the Colts (or – This Sh!t’s Getting Old, Fast)
Disastrous outing.
Week 3 With no Rose-Coloured Glasses
Record-settingly bad.
Broken tablet, broken heart
Alas, my tablet is broken and on its way to repair.