Impromptu Take Your Daughter to Work Day
My dad was a science teacher, and I spent many a day going to work with him, on Saturdays or summer days, while he set up his classrooms, rebuilt bulletin boards, and generally did teacher stuff. I have pleasant memories of wandering through empty schools, exploring new corridors, and taking the occasional break to draw epic space battles while my dad put the finishing touches on a display case packed with jars of preserved crittees caught at Sandy Hook.
Nuclear Midnight is now 5 p.m.
I’d settled into a good routine. Get off work at 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., go to the gym, and then get home by 6:00 to 6:30 in time for dinner with the family. Take care of the kids – giving them baths and cleaning up the house – and help herd them into bed by 8:30. Then my wife and I would have the evening to ourselves. That was the theory, and it was also the practice for a good long while.
And then Luke became a toddler.
Jonathan Coulton in the Lehigh Valley?
Geek musician/singer Jonathan Coulton (Skullcrusher Mountain, Re: Your Brains) lives in Brooklyn, New York, which isn't all that far from the Lehigh Valley. Yet to the best of my knowledge, he's never played here, which is something I'd like to change.
There's a Lehigh Valley "demand" for him in Eventful:
CNN: Taxpayers would get checks under economic stimulus plan
So it seems like the federal government's going to go ahead and cut everyone in America a check, which is nice and all except for a) it will likely do little to stop a recession, seeing as how it's a tiny sliver of GNP and b) we'll have to pay for it later since there aren't any spending cuts elsewhere to balance the expenditure. We're basically borrowing (stealing if you're of a more cynical mind) from our future selves to pay our present selves.
Operation Zzz
I look like death warmed over. There are deep bags under my eyes, my neck muscles are vise-tight despite a massage on Saturday, and my face has that hang-dog, puffy look that comes from one too many nights spent sleeping far too little.
This is actually an improvement.
Things were worse in December and January, which were hell on sleep in the Newquist household as the kids forgot how to sleep through the night, family emergencies smashed our piece of mind, and a nasty stomach virus had my wife and the baby fighting to keep food down. And while it feels like we’ve been under siege for the last three days fighting this virus. Not all of my sleep deprivation is family induced though. There was a marathon session of Civilization IV of Saturday night, and more than a few late night DVD forays to watch the two Resident Evil sequels, the first two discs of Doctor Who, Season 3, and the Futurama movie Bender’s Big Heist.
Some days, I’m my own worst enemy.
Get A Head with Futurama Icons
If you're like me, you saw the shelf-based Dock for Mac OS X Leopard and thought ... hey, I could put some heads in a jar on that! And now you can, thanks to the Futurama "Heads in Jarks" icons from Icon Factory. I give you my ... "Al Gore's Head in a Jar" Dock! (which will be even better once 10.5.2 is out, and you can assign icons to Stacks).
Friendly Blogging
My friends (and fellow gamers) are joining the blogosphere in force. Erilar's Day in the Life of a Gamer has returned from hiatus with posts about Mass Effect, holiday gaming goodness, and a test drive of Burnout: Paradise City.
Under the Geek Tree 2007
T'was a very geeky Christmas once again this year, and the Geek Tree's rocket tree skirt is filled with all manner of games and toys for thirtysomething boys.
First up, this year's Hess truck goes off-roading with a huge engine-revving 4x4 with two motorcycles. Very cool, and an instant hit with the kids. My annual Star Trek ornament was the bridge of the Enterprise from Wrath of Khan, with the Reliant depicted on screen. It has dialog from the movie, which just makes me want to pop the DVD in and watch it.
The Advanced Players Guide, by Green Ronin, with new spells, new classes and the big surprise -- a mass combat system compatible with D&D. Another big Green Ronin book is the Ultramodern Weapons Guide, which is a d20 Modern-compatible hardcover detailing hundreds of weapons with descriptions, pictures, specs and game stats. I know, perfect for Christmas, but I've heard nothing but good things about the book from my fellow gamers.
Spawn of the Geek Tree
The Geek Tree has spawned. With my 18-month-old son Luke obsessed with putting almost everything he finds in his mouth, we decided that hanging up my various mini (and easily swallowed) ornaments wasn't a good idea. At the same time, my parents discovered my old Christmas tree from high school, a 18" tree that I used to setup in my room.
A string of white lights later, and the Spawn of the Geek Tree was born.
Like the Geek Tree, the mini-Geek Tree is decorated with a variety of science fiction and comic book ornaments (no fantasy ones though -- I didn't have any small enough for this tree; even the hobbits are out of scale). It's decorated with Hallmark's miniature Star Trek ornaments (the Enterprise-E, Defiant and Voyager) as well as their Star Wars collection (Imperial AT-AT, TIE Fighter and X-Wing).
The Day Before the Night Before Christmas
It's the 23rd of December, which is a date my four-year-old is having a hard time grasping. She's mentally willing for Christmas to be here tomorrow and the whole "Christmas Eve" thing just isn't making sense to her. But she can tolerate Christmas Eve ... it's the Day before the Eve that's really getting to her.