XKCD...

Yes, I have much more to post than this. This is funny. What I have to post not so much so. I've been overwhelmed with parenting and work so I'm adjusting and getting to what I can. Hopefully this weekend I'll get some time to talk about it a little more and make some comments. Liz would say something funny like "It's been forty forevers..." and it has.

Any way, today's XKCD goes right along with the bumper sticker I saw that says don't believe everything you think....

The best thing about ....

...accidentally finding yourself up after midnight Tuesday evening / Wednesday morning is you get to be one of the first people anywhere to read XKCD.

If you saw me working through the day and in the evenings you would TOTALLY see me doing this....and mostly the same websites. Maybe I have some strange split personality. No need to comment on that Robin.

half full or half empty

Answers to this age old question:
(thanks to War Games: The Dead Code for getting me thinking about this)

It is obviously an incorrectly sized cup.

Who's been drinking my drink?

Don't let the waitress take it, I'm not done yet.

What size is the cup?

How thirsty am I?

How much is in there and how much did I pay for?

Depends, is it beer? Whiskey?  Tuaca? Red Wine?

Depends on what it is.

I'm dying of thirst, just give me the damn glass!

The longer we discuss this the more that evaporates.  Entropy.  You know this.

Depends, can I have another if I like it?

You take the glass, where's the bottle?

Is it mine or is it yours?

How thirsty am I?

What happens if I shake it?

Pour it into a smaller glass and your cup runneth over.

Pour it into a much larger glass and it is obviously mostly empty.

Oops, I spilled it.

Who is really asking and who is really listening?

Can you further define the question and the parameters? (hey, its an election year)

Hey!  Look over there!!!  (I'll take yours)

Doesn't matter, I'll probably hate it anyway.

Both.

Thank the Universe!  I have another glass!!!!  And what providence, it has sustenance in it!!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!
(assuming the sustenance was a monster M-80)

Ummm, I can't make a decision...wait its....um no...well it looks...no...

Careful scientific study will give us the answer.

In metric or standard units?

I wonder what noise it makes when I tap it with my fork.

Is it combustible?

Is it volatile??? if so it will be gone in a minute either way...AND WHY ARE WE STANDING SO CLOSE?

Did you just ask that liquid if it looks fat in that glass?  I think you did.  How rude.

----Ok torture is over, time to move to next blog------



 

--
"Until you forget what you think you know and what you think is possible, you will never know what is truly attainable."

New school year, same old craziness...

So we had these crabs Sunday a week ago. They were very good!

Monday was spent doing various chores and things, then part of the afternoon at the beach. I should have brought my surfboard as it was just past low tide and the waves really picked up. :-)

Tuesday was the first day of school. A fiasco at best, but fortunately no emergencies. We have a doctor's appointment every Tuesday for Brandon. I should have started it the second week of school, but didn't think about back in May when I made the appointment. So Brandon was late the first day. There were also some mixups with daycare that had he and I both taking tours of Virginia Beach to find one another that first afternoon. :-) All ended well though.

Work was excruciating that week too. We are shorthanded with everyone there. We had one person out for vacation, and another out for training. We survived that though.

At the end of the week there was this tropical storm to deal with. No issues there. Just some wind, rain, and a few branches.

With the storm Saturday, I had a chance to just sit and work on a few computer based projects for a change. :-) I really enjoyed that. I love finding and implementing solutions to problems.

Sunday was beautiful. My son and I headed to a remote beach to see if the storm had washed up anything interesting. It hadn't, but some pictures of the day are below...









I hadn't planned on getting in the water, but Brandon looked like he was having so much fun I jumped in too. I think there were some sea lice out there because we both began to itch after a bit.


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-Hope and Faith-
Both have been on my mind lately. Faith has been cropping up all summer in various forms. Several bloggers have mentioned both. Hope is ever present, but at times it seems to really wane to the point of non-existence, an inaudible whisper amid the din of all around me. There are several things I hope for. Many of those hopes have been in resurgence lately in a very tangible way.

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This song has been on my mind. I feel like this song all the time. There are times I feel like I'm on top of everything, and then there are times I feel like everything has collapsed around me.

Viva la Vida - Coldplay
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
(Ohhh)

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
(Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringings
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh

"Plans are useless, but planning is invaluable"

Dwight D. Eisenhower said that.

I've been winding activities down, getting the house cleaned and reorganized for the return of my son, etc.

I had a plan for Saturday. It was a good one. I got up early and started working on the stacks of things I had moved to the living room (where I space to spread it out). I needed to organize stuff, file stuff, and throw a lot of stuff out. Around midday I went to pick up my son's school supplies. Surprisingly, no issues there. Around 2pm I made it to an end of summer party at a good friend's house (previous co-worker). That is where it all started to change. The plan was to just hang out, have some drinks, and not worry about going anywhere else the rest of the evening. One group of people there had a designated driver and obviously had other plans. Somehow I got roped in with them. We left that party after an hour or so and went to another co-worker's house where they had a band. We didn't really stay long. The band was punk rockish or industrial metal or some harsh combo of the two. Just not our style, so we went back to the first party.

I don't normally carry my phone with me when I'm sitting with friends. I like to "be here now" and not waiting on some other call or text. When I got back to the first party I wandered out to my truck to look at my phone. I had a couple of texts that I answered back and then one of them called me. They asked me if I wanted to go see Billy Idol. He was playing on the beach that night. I said yes, but I couldn't drive so I wasn't going to make it. They said, "We have a limo, we'll come get you." I couldn't refuse this invitation. :-) I said my goodbyes at the party, Jim understood, and was happy I was leaving the rum.

If you haven't been to a concert in a limo, you should do it. At least once. I'm lucky that my friends KNOW people and I've been a couple of times now. Think about no traffic worries, being rowdy with your friends, having a few drinks (though I was done drinking at this point), and being dropped off and picked up at the entrance to the concert. Totally stress free. In this case there were just five of us including me (two couples and then me). I knew three of the people from meetin, but the fourth one I knew from volleyball and somewhere else, but couldn't place her.

The concert was fantastic. All the old favorites. Some new, or newer stuff, but all classic Idol.

After the concert we went back to Jamie's house to hang out for a bit. We were up late talking, and the one girl I couldn't place started talking about one of her first jobs out of college. It turns out that we used to work for the same company. She was in Richmond and I was in Va Beach, but I used to go to Richmond all the time. That is where I knew her from. We reminisced about our friends in Richmond and how we both missed working with them. I talk with them all the time and I let them know who I ran into.

Being the only sober one at 1:30am, and needing to get up early to get more work done, I borrowed someone's vehicle and went home.

Sunday morning I finished up just about everything. I brought the vehicle back to my friends and they took me to mine. I hung out at Jim's (since my truck was at his house for the first party) and just talked for a bit. I hit some softballs, then came back home.

I picked up my son at 3:30 Sunday afternoon. We got some crabs on a whim and steamed them when we got home. Now the house smells like crabs and old bay, but we both like it. :-)

Later in the evening we watched a movie, and that wrapped up his first evening home.

Now it is Monday morning and we have a lot to do. He just got up, so we are off and running.

Happy Labor Day!

-Mike