Hazy Shade of Winter

The temperature has finally dropped out here and winter is making itself known - a bit of snow still on the ground and the occasional slick step. Yep, definitely winter. Winter is actually my favorite time of year. I love watching snow fall and seeing the art it creates from trees and everything else it touches. The air always takes on this magical quality during a snow storm - a hushed, entrancing quality that, if you can stop long enough, reminds you that there is true beauty in the austere season that is winter.

Last year between Christmas and New Year's, we went up to Yellowstone. It was an amazing trip. Yellowstone is really beautiful during winter. It's also a complete nightmare to get into. I may try and put up a couple photos from the trip and talk about it some over the next few weeks.

Now switching topics completely, I must take a moment to praise Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. What a great game. It offers some amazing visuals centered around the "paper" theme - from puzzles where you turn yourself sideways to enter a narrow crack or folding yourself into a paper plane, to a world design that feels like a giant pop-up book. It just fun to look at. And the battle system offers some nice strategy options while remaining terribly easy to understand. Plus it's quite funny. Definitely one of the Gamecube's must have titles.

Welcome back to reality

Actually, we're going to have to give it a couple days before reality truly sets in. But my folks left today to head back home so the house is starting to return to what passes for normal. It'll take a bit for the new routine to assert itself, but hopefully in the meantime we can catch some sleep and enjoy the slightly more sedate pace.

It was great having the folks around though. It's always interesting to see how different sorts of occasions enable your houseguest limits to stretch. Having a newborn enables you to handle just about anything. They cease to be houseguests and instead become a buffer between sanity and a complete meltdown of epic proportions.

At any rate, now that things will start settling down again (well for a brief interlude before the Christmas holiday rush) perhaps I can regain some semblance of focus. I wouldn't count on it though...

Incredible

Saw The Incredibles this morning. Absolutely wonderful movie. If you haven't seen it, go. Go now. Go see it right this very instant. And then go see it again. I already want to see it again. When I was in college I had a friend that went and saw The Fisher King two showings in a row (also a great movie), I could have done that with this movie. Could have just stayed in my seat and watched it all over again. Part Watchmen, part superhero movie, part coming of age tale, this movie just fires on all cylinders all the way through. Some people will tell you it takes a bit to get going. They're wrong. Just enough time is spent on exposition to get you into the lives of the main characters. You need that build up to get to the point where the movie really takes off. And boy does it take off.

It's to be expected really. Brad Bird helmed the also wonderful (and horribly under-appreciated) Iron Giant. And Pixar has probably entered some unspeakable pact with Satan to have the track record they've got. (Although we're placing bets now on Cars. The trailer, I must admit, doesn't inspire tons of confidence, but I'm hoping it wasn't really a trailer showing what the movie is about so much as a feel for what the movie will be like - not that that's too much of an improvement...) Anyway, I will now stop raving and just tell you to go see the movie one last time. Go!

Black and blue Friday

Well, I don't have what it takes to be a diehard Black Friday shopper. I was hoping to snag a digital camera from Best Buy this morning, but no joy. It's at least partially my fault for deciding to go to the brand new store that was a little closer to a couple other places we wanted to hit. They had no clue what they were doing. Handing out vouchers to half the line but not the other half. Starting multiple "camera" lines over in the digital camera section. Suddenly deciding that you did have to have a voucher in order to snag the camera. Talk about your comedy of errors. So I got fed up and left empty handed. Skipped the backup camera at Ultimate due to common sense prevailing. Instead went to Media Play and picked up some movies and whatnot. Then came home and let my folks take a stab at the places they needed to run. We're actually just about done with the Christmas shopping. One or two more items ought to do it.

Then we tried to go see The Incredibles only to realize it was sold out. But we picked up tickets for tomorrow so it wasn't a complete wash.

At any rate the artificial spike in the economy is pretty much over and we can go back to what passes for normality. I suspect we should all band together and smack the retail industry on the nose with the rolled up economy and teach them that they really can't get away with this crap.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, I hope you can be near those you care about this holiday. If not, I hope the ones you care about are safe.

This morning was spent perusing the Black Friday ads in search of the places we absolutely have to be tomorrow morning. For a change it seems we might avoid WalMart. Instead I think we'll hit Best Buy in search of a digital camera and a few other places. Then we had quite the enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner and we watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's easily my favorite of the three movies thus far.

Well, again, a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you take a few moments and ponder all that you have in your life to be thankful for. In spite of the media and their often skewed perspective, we live in a great country, have lots of freedoms to be thankful for and it's in our power to keep them there.

Partial success

Well, we have a new pipe that does not leak, and furnace ducts that are back where they belong. Now we just need a general contractor to replace some sheet rock and paint. So close and yet so far... But at least everything is working like it's supposed to.

Black Friday is coming up. I suspect I'll get dragged around by Mom to see what oddments have been marked down to oblivion. Seems like I saw some progressive scan Apex DVD player going for $20 at Best Buy. That's way too tempting.

Well, my brain is tapioca due to lack of sleep and, well, lack of sleep. So that's all you get.

One small step

So, the plumber arrives and finds the leak (several holes in our house later) only to discover that we need to bring in a furnace contractor to remove part of the ductwork so he can get to it. And then he can come back to fix it (he did manage to plug it temporarily). And then we need to get the furnace guy back to replace the ductwork. And then we need a contractor to fix the walls...

Shoot me now.

Hopefully insurance will cover a lot of this (after our deductible), but we will have to pay for the time the plumber spends actually fixing the leak. Home ownership is definitely one of those love/hate sorts of things. It's nice to have a place of your own, but keeping it up is murder.

Anyway.

Not much to point you lot towards as I've been caught up in other things. It's just about Thanksgiving. And I thoroughly enjoy that holiday so hopefully we can all take a moment and ponder the things we've got to be thankful for.

Go see The Incredibles or National Treasure. Just don't tell me you've seen them as I haven't yet and I'm a little bitter...

drip, drip, drip

Well, we're still living in a slowly leaking house. Although the leaking isn't quite as slow as it once was...

Have been playing around with Donkey Konga. It's great. The girls (while not technically playing the game) are having a blast playing with the bongos. And once they start to get the idea of which drum to hit and when I expect the enjoyment value to continue to climb.

Paper Mario 2 also looks promising. The art style is great and the story seems to be up there with Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga which was one of the funniest games I've played. (The Bard's Tale just out on the PS2 also looks to be terribly funny, but alas, it will be relegated to a rental...)

So, other things are going fine, it's just the whole slowly flooding domicile that's really putting a damper on things. Ha Ha! <sigh>

Pouring, not raining

So. We have some sort of hidden water leak currently causing a small stream in our storage space. Spent part of the morning clearing that out. Fortunately my Dad was able to handle the bulk of that as I'm still recovering from having tweaked my back... Absolutely no idea where the leak is originating. And we suspect it's getting worse. At least for now things are mostly under control and the water is temporarily being held at bay.

So, I guess tomorrow will involve plumbers and large amounts of cash siphoning out of the bank account. Just great. I just hope they don't have to start poking holes in walls to sort it out. I don't know that our insurance would cover anything at the moment.

Such a wonderful way to start the week. Especially Thanksgiving. At least the folks are here and can continue to help out.

Parent swap

My in-laws have relocated to my sister-in-law's house and my folks have arrived. So roughly another week of house guests and then the reality of life with three kids will start to set in. It's been great though. Aside from all the help it's just nice to see family. My wife's folks are from Virginia, so getting to see them is always a little nicer as it's not as likley as seeing my folks (who are currently in Texas, which is in the realm of practical driving distance if I have the time off). I actually get along pretty well with my in-laws which is nice.

It's good to see my folks again. They got in earlier this morning and have been soaking up some quality grandkid time.

And I have done something to my back. I threw it out several years ago shoveling snow and it's never been right since. So this is a short entry as the pain level is steadily rising the longer I sit here...

Meh

Sleeeeep. Doesn't have quite the same compelling nature as fooood, but at the moment it's much higher on the wish list.

Not really much to pass along. The new PS2 demo disc includes a "bug" that will wipe all the save files off your memory card. That's pretty exciting. They've long speculated on the possibility of viruses for game consoles (especially now that a couple of them off hard drives and internet connections) and this is arguably a specimen.

Sounds like they're going to remake Evil Dead. Not sure how I feel about that. Can't claim to have seen the first one, but I have seen the two sequels. Arguably (from what I've heard) they have remade Evil Dead. It was called Evil Dead 2...

And finally, there are bongos in my future. Oh yes. Donkey Konga will be mine.

Slow boil

A couple weeks ago we picked up 101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker. Great recipe book. We had the shredded beef with root beer sandwiches last night and they were delicious. I suspect we'll be sampling several other recipes over the coming weeks. The chicken with creamy black bean sauce sounds pretty tempting too. I love using our crock pot. I make a pretty mean chili (red and white actually) and we've taken to making roast and beef stew in it as well. It's nice to have some new options. So if you like crock pot cooking, I recommend the recipe book whole heartedly. It's got a pretty good variety and the recipes aren't terribly difficult.

Actually cookbooks rank among some of my favorites. It's next to impossible to have too many and they're such fun to look through. Sure, you probably won't make every recipe in there, but it's fun to drool and dream. Well, assuming you like food to any degree. And I do. I find cooking to be a strange mix of fun and tedium. There are certain aspects of cooking that I don't always enjoy (just about anything involving raw chicken) but it's very easy to get in a cooking zen state of mind that can be a nice counterpoint to an otherwise hectic day.

And we're just getting ready to enter the winter months, quite arguably my favorite cooking time of the year. I must admit a certain predilection for Thanksgiving and the turkey dinner that goes with it...

A couple more Bone volumes have been consumed. There's just one left. And a couple prequel volumes. I really can't say enough Good Things about this series. You really should experience it for yourselves if you at all enjoy the comic form and even if you don't, it's worth picking up and giving a chance.

Monday redux

Yesterday was a busy day. Doctors appointments. Lunch. Shopping. Returns. More shopping. A movie. You get the idea. And then today was back to normal for me - work, some laundry when I got home, that sort of thing.

Watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night. It was much better than I expected. Mostly because I only have vague knowledge of the comic book it was based on. I knew enough to be able to spot some of the inconsistencies that would drive a fan of the comic nuts, but not enough to let it ruin it for me. Admittedly there are some flaws, but it's still an enjoyable action piece that at least nods in the direction of the comic. Which means you get some of the ideas from the comic (the cast and some of the setting) thrown through the Hollywood action blender. So they stuck in the obligatory car chase and toned down some of the nastier characters. I still got a kick out of it. And you could do worse...

Ah, rest

Managed to catch up on some of my missing sleep. Now I just need to sleep for about a week straight instead of a fortnight.

And the Omega Pirate in Metroid Prime on Hard Difficulty is impossible. Feel free to mock my gaming abilities, but this guy is driving me crazy...

Now just to enjoy having tomorrow off. Sounds like we'll be running around again some and who knows what else.

A cautionary tale

Well, ok, maybe not. But this is certainly a tale nonetheless. And it's funny, so that's all that really matters. To me anyway. At this moment in time.

Plowed through the next volume of Bone. Such a great story. Such pretty pictures.

We've got the house to ourselves at the moment. Well if you count the kids that is. The in-laws are up checking out a couple different shows at the convention center with my sister-in-law and her family. Gun show. Christmas show. Same convention center. What could go wrong? ^_^

Now I just have to make it through this next week and I'll have a week off. And that will be a very good thing. It will be bad when the new year starts and I have to go back to full weeks again. I do so enjoy my short weeks at the end of the year...

Well. That's enough. Back to your own lives!

It really is

Monster Party - The most quotable game in history!

Dancing Zombies!

It's Friday

And that's about all she wrote.

This has been a long week. Work has been a hassle and then home has included a newborn. So, yeah, stress level has certainly been a bit higher than normal, but it's just one of those things. Graeme is slowly adjusting to us and we to him. He's a great little kid. He seems to smile a lot more than I remember the girls smiling at this point and that's pretty cool. He also babbles a bit more. I think he's just trying to make sure we notice him... Not that that's really a problem.

I've been trying to read The Bourne Ultimatum, but it's slow going. I just don't have the focus to derive any sort of story or meaning. It seems like it will actually be interesting, but I may have to try again once life settles back down.

And oddly enough, the final moments of Joan of Arcadia were nice. I'm not a fan of that show. I don't like the way it portrays God and I find it to be a little too contrived. And overbearing. But the final moments tonight dealing with death and emotion were actually nice. In some ways it reminded me of the scene in Phenomenon where John Travolta is trying to convey a similar sentiment. Besides, juggling with glow-in-the-dark juggling balls is cool.

One step forward two steps back

So, sleep deprivation continues.

Not really much to comment on at the moment. Between work and a newborn life just sort of blurs past. You're aware that things are happening - daughters lose teeth, etc. - but you only sort of take it in. It's much like a constant state of insomnia. Admittedly more of a self inflicted variety. Well, ok, when it's two in the morning and your son decides anything is more interesting than sleeping or eating, it's not terribly self inflicted, but the concept is still valid.

So, alas, you're all on your own for entertainment. I'm sure you can come across something interesting without too much effort. Just make sure you point me towards it in the comments section... Slackers.

Oor wee little mannie

Graeme and Grandma
Originally uploaded by dkun.

Well, here he is. Graeme reporting for duty. Came home a week ago today.

Here's a set of photos of wee Graeme.

Covers

A Perfect Circle have re-imagined Lennon's utopian hymn, Imagine as a dirge. Bad pun, I know. It's interesting, certainly, but I'm not sure I like it. If nothing else you can't claim they simply threw something together. I suspect a fair amount of thought went into this version. It's a unique take on Lennon's song that, because of the disparity, causes you to think about what you're hearing. Of course, if you've never heard the original (shame on you!) you'll have no idea what's going on...

Got to hear a bit of the Dresden Dolls on the way home. They're in concert locally tonight and they were down at the radio station playing a bit. Oddly enough they performed a guitar piece despite being a piano and drums band. I suspect it'll be a fun show. If I were more of a concert-goer I'd check them out.

And I managed to survive a full day at work. Curse my lack of financial independence...

See the pretty colors

Well, despite Graeme actually making it through a night without waking us regularly, sleep deprivation begins...

Happy Birthday to my Father-in-Law. Hope it was great Phil. Glad we could share it with you.

And work starts back up tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm ready for a full day...

Down time

The grandparents have carted the kids off so my wife and I can get some much needed rest. Graeme and sleeping at night are still mutually exclusive. It's going to make for an interesting week when I start work again on Tuesday. It's a good thing my wife's folks are here. They're providing a much needed buffer for us. Babies can be cute (Graeme is) but they're also a handfull...

I made the (fortunate) mistake of picking up the first three volumes of Jeff Smith's Bone from the library the other day. What a great series. I think I may have to track down that complete paperback edition that's running around. Truly a great piece of work. The art is wonderful and the story flows perfectly. It's in turns humorous and sweet, with building seriousness. And I can finally place the "Stupid stupid rat things" reference. Heh heh... Stupid, stupid rat things... And if you need higher praise than that, my wife's been reading them as well. Truly a ringing endorsement.

And now to rest, perchance to sleep...

Shaun of the Dead

Easily one of the best films I've seen in the theater this year. Clever direction, excellent story, lots of humor, I could go on and on... Easily my favorite zombie movie now. It edges out 28 Days Later due to the humor. It's hard to be funny and yet serious at the same time, but Shaun pulls it off. If you're looking for a straight spooky zombie movie, then stick with 28 Days Later, but if you want one with humor and heart that still manages to be an effective zombie flick, go see Shaun of the Dead.

Zombies!!!

Off to see Shaun of the Dead, Will report back later...

Running on (nearly) empty

Managed to put in a half day at work today. Of course as far as productivity is concerned... ^_^ Actually it wasn't that bad. The worst thing was the headache that starting pounding away not too long after I got there.

Graeme decided sleeping through the night was over rated. So he opted not to. That was pleasant. He's been pretty awake today so hopefully tonight won't be so bleak. Insomnia is one thing, forced consciousness is outlawed in several countries for good reason. (And if it isn't, it should be...)

My friend An acquaintance has been sending me old Calvin and Hobbes strips. Today's was terribly appropriate and dealt with Calvin's Dad escaping to work in order to avoid the little terror. I have no idea why that's funny. None at all... <whistles innocently> I really hope they come out with that complete collection.

And finally the comic store called today to let me know that Daisy Kutter #3 is in. Never mind the fact that somehow he neglected to get #2 for us... <sigh>

Baby comes home

Graeme J. Eoff decided it was time to check out his home today. Mom and baby are back and doing well. Grandparents have arrived. Hopefully sanity levels will return to normal.

The election has been decided. I'm glad Kerry opted not to put the country through a repeat of last time. We'll see what the next four years hold.

Other than that, not much to say. I'm tired. I've been re-reading the Elenium by Eddings and have just about finished it off. In some ways that series has replaced Dune for the you must re-read me every so often award. It's a nice if somewhat formulaic fantasy series. But the formula is, in a lot of ways, what makes it enjoyable.

I really should make some comments about Heroscape, but that's still going to have to wait.

Instead I present you with Angry Alien. This link is for you Kit. Really great flash animation depicting famous films re-enacted in 30 seconds by bunnies. Truly top notch.

And the tiredness sets in

I will never. NEVER. be a Mr. Mom. There will most likely be a trail of bodies should that unlikely event ever occur. Which has no bearing on how much I love my kids, but rather my complete and utter lack of patience. Which is surprising considering the fact that we already have two kids and they've been around a while. You'd think I'd have been able to work on that some... And anybody that doesn't think being a stay at home Mom is a full time job is a moron. (Actually this is mostly a nice back handed compliment to my wife - she does an amazing job and I'm more than ready to let an expert take over.)

I suppose I should make some comment on the election... Is that enough of one? This country is in dire need of a real third party. That's about all I have to say.

It's Alive!

And we have a baby boy now! ^_^

7 lbs., 14 oz. 19.5". Graced us with his presence at 4:30. And won't tell us his name. We'll have to get to know him a little better before we figure that out.

Mom and baby are doing well. Girls are doing their best to drive me insane. Actually they're doing great also. If I had a digital camera I'd be annoying you with a picture at the moment. So you're in luck... For now...

And I'm tired so that's it.