If a butterfly flaps its wings and causes a hurricane, is it as tired as me?

I did 6 laps in a row of butterfly today in the pool. I then followed it up with 15 laps of backstroke, back stroke, and crawl. This is a new record for me and I felt pretty good when I was finally done - though tired. I'll try this again on Wednesday and eventually work my way up to less rest time and more laps.

Also, on the mohawk front - one of the guys at the Starbucks I go to said recently,

"Dude, great mohawk! Did you lose a bet?" I told him no, this was on purpose. He was impressed, but it's not really the reaction I was hoping for.

In better news, one of my colleagues had a present for me when I ran into her outside the student union - a mini lego figure of santa claus. They were giving these out over the weekend and she got one and thought of me. He's on a key chain and looks really cool.

Not just the turkey

I got out of work early on Wednesday and got on the road to visit my folks - but the early start put me in Columbus at 5:00. Not good. I got through with a little help from NPR. Those folks never seem to get worked up about anything and it helped me keep my calm.

My folks were not as freaked out by my mohawk as expected, so that was good. We had some pizza and watched a movie.

Thursday had us all up early - big breakfast and then an early turkey lunch. Good stuff. Mom went overboard as usual and we had a pile of food - resulting in turkey leftovers for dinner that night.

On Friday, Dad decided he wanted to try out the deep fryer on a roast - just for something different. We got the oil heated up and added in the roast and while that was cooking, Dad and I breaded cauliflower, mushroom, and onion rings. The roast was done on the outside after 10 minutes but still raw on the inside. So, we put it back in. When we took it out later we put it under foil so we could work on the rest of the food - onions last, of course.

(I despise onions, partly because of the taste but also I resent that I still taste them hours later. Once I'm done eating food, I don't think I should keep having to taste it.)

The oil may not have been hot enough, or the breading wasn't prepared right, but most of the batter fell off. The cauliflower and mushrooms were okay, but the onion rings were mostly bare.

Final result. The roast was like shoe leather and Dad refused to eat it - though Mom had some and the dog thought it was awesome.

All the fried food did a number on me, but I toughed it out and helped clean up the kitchen - since we'd pretty well trashed it.

On Saturday we went to a playing card store in town and I bought some new card games. We also tried to fix the outside light - even making a trip to walmart - but didn't have any luck.

I helped a little with the decorations, but avoided most of the actual work.

I was getting ready to leave on Sunday when my sister called and said she would be stopping by and could I hang out there for a bit. So, Mom fixed some chili and we had dinner before I headed out. My brother-in-law, who's an amputee and just recently had back surgery to remove part of a disk, used the phrase "I'm not a complete idiot - parts are missing". (He said he expected to end up in the blog, and he was right)

So, food adventures, lots of driving, and not as much sleeping in as I would have liked. We're still trying to plan for Christmas travel and I've got to work on my Christmas list and some shopping. Not really looking forward to work tomorrow, but those web pages won't make themselves.

Happy Thanksgiving

Makes you look really heavy

First off, the good news: I got the picture of my inner eye reworked and uploaded to my website:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/

In a word - awesome. Looks like a storm on a distant planet.

I sent a note to the eye doctor's office this morning as a thank you for their help getting the photo - turned out really well. The initial version I got was a little dark and not that interesting. I boosted the contrast and the rich colors jumped out - I think it turned out really well.

Then the not so great news: I got a call from my mom on Saturday. I had taken myself for a walk to target for a few things and she called while I was in the store. Mostly not important stuff, but a nice chat anyway. Then she mentioned my haircut and said it "made me look heavy". Gee, thanks Mom. Now, how exactly I'm supposed to lose weight in my head she didn't mention, but I tried not to let it bother me. Unsuccessfully, it appears. Granted, she doesn't like the mohawk - and it appears most people don't - but whatever happened to the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"?

I mean, sure, talk about me behind my back - I'm fine with that. It's the civilized way to do it. But right to me?

Deep breath. I know she didn't mean to be rude - it just sort of happened that way. And maybe it was just the photo and I won't look like a fathead in person to her.

So, in other news... I beat the game Bioshock over the weekend. Really excellent and a whole lot of fun. Can't wait for the sequel. Went and saw 2012 - eh, not that great. Lots of explosions, but so-so acting and wildly improbable science. Evil neutrinos? Really? That's all you've got? Long movie too - almost 2.5 hours.

Well, short work week coming up - better get to it.

The vision of a hawk

I got my new glasses yesterday after work. The prescription is a little bit different so I had a short time of "extra 3D" before I adjusted. They came with new magnetic clip on sunglasses - but I haven't needed them yet.

When I got my eyes checked, they took a picture of the inside of my eye. I asked if I could get a copy and they said the files were difficult to open. This time, I took my memory stick and claimed that, as a geek, I could open anything. I helped them put the images on the stick and went on my way. They'll need some color correction and brightening, but I think they'll make a cool addition to my website.

Speaking of which, new photos of the glasses here - human.html

Oh, did I mention I got my hair cut too? :) The stylist, with a haircut like P!nk and tattoos to match, was relived and excited to finally do a non-boring haircut.

See, I've got a bald spot. It's substantial since the rest of my hair is still pretty thick. And people keep messing with me about it - including, for some stupid reason, people that have more hair loss than I do. So, I figured going with a mohawk would be a pretty radical change.

Besides, I'm almost 37 years old and I'm know for being at least a bit odd. Anyone that knows me really shouldn't be surprised.

Busy day today - lots of people to smite. And yes, the mohawk came with a bit more attitude.

All summer in a day

I forgot to mention that this past weekend, I laid out in the sun and read a book while working on a tan. Well, not so much working on a tan as just enjoying the mid-November sunshine. I was shirtless, but had on blue jeans as my concession to the lateness of the year. Still, felt a little like summer.

We had a really long division wide meeting yesterday morning. I didn't really get a lot out of it - though the breakfast was good and there was mention of a lunch room being built in our building. The meeting itself was in the new stadium so that was cool. I think we either need to have a lot more of these meetings to stay caught up on projects since much of time spent was getting us caught up on the projects we're not involved in - though that does beg the question "If we aren't involved in the project, do we need to be?"

Or have fewer of these meetings so we can get more work done. 'Cause 2+ hours out of a Monday morning really put me behind schedule. Man, was I swamped! I had another meeting at 12:00 so that pushed my swim back to the end of the day.

Ah, the swim. I was already tired and cranky from the day, so I was disappointed that there was a swim practice going on and all of us "non-swim practice" people were confined to one over-sized lane at the shallow end of the pool. There was already a guy there in that lane, so I tried to stay near the wall and out of the way - though that was nearly impossible when he did the backstroke - he's worse than I am at staying in a straight line. I mixed in a few laps of butterfly - he did as well and did better than I. He also clearly had way more practice than I had as well as an enormous gut - so, I didn't feel bad.

At least, not until I was back in the locker room and he told me "Good effort on the fly". I thanked him and made a little small talk, but I was not amused.

Good effort? Rough translation: "Nice try, but you still suck" It's like saying "Good hustle out there" = "You didn't get much accomplished, but nice job running around,"

Wanker.

Just wait till next time. I'm only going to get better and faster and I'm already vastly more hydro-dynamic.

Well, better get back to the systems. We've been having some issues today with a variety of web tools and I need to check and see what's back up.

Filled with Yule

I went to the dentist on Friday - which is sort of a big deal for me. I went six months ago, but before that it had been years. And I was supposed to schedule a follow up for fillings, but never did. So, Friday was a check-up, cleaning, x-rays, and 2 fillings.

I got there a little early and filled out the appropriate paperwork - then went back for x-rays. Which I despise. The plastic they put in your mouth usually makes me gag, but this time it was pretty easy - though the xray machine wouldn't hold it's position. We both finally gave up and I held it in position. Then they stuck some kind of camera on a stick in my mouth to take photos.

Over to the chair and the dentist put the fruit flavors numbing agent in my mouth - then came "the pinch"

Now, let's take a break for a moment to discuss this. It doesn't feel like a pinch. I've been pinched before and this is not the same. They say the same thing when I give blood. Why is that? Do they think we don't know or that it somehow makes it better. Well, it doesn't. It's not a pinch, it's someone jamming a needle into your flesh. It may "sound" better, but it's a lie.

So, while I'm numbing up nicely I switch chairs and they do the cleaning - while giving the standard lecture about flossing and such. I think they wait until they've got both hands and someone's left foot in your mouth before they start the tirade so you can't protest.

Switched chairs again and by this point I'm really numb on my right side and getting sleepy. If I'd been a bit more reclined while waiting for the dentist, I would have fallen asleep.

They wake me the rest of the way up and get started. The right side goes okay, but the left doesn't have enough drugs, so they numb that some more. Now I've got 4 hands and a toaster oven in my mouth and they still tried to carry on a conversation with me.

Things went pretty smoothly and I was out of there on schedule. I stopped at Dairy Queen for a milkshake since I was still numb and went back to work.

And right into a meeting. Not a very productive one - lots of reasonably polite arguing. A short break and then into a conference call - which had me worried but my numbness had worn off and I was able to talk. It was still a rough ending to the week.

But not quite the end. Since I'd missed my lunchtime swim, I decided to go after work. I was pretty tired even starting out and the energy drink didn't help. Still managed to do 21 laps, but I was exhausted when I was done.

On Saturday, I listened to Christmas music while I worked on my redneck katana. It was good stuff, non-traditional and upbeat. But it didn't work. Still didn't really get into the Christmas spirit. Yeah, it's a little early, but I thought with all the holiday decorations up it might kick in. Seems like I get less in the spirit every year. Ah, well, at least I've still got Halloween. Plenty of "spirit" there.

Well, I think the paint should be dry by now, time to go check on that. And then maybe do some reading. Been reading a really excellent book called The Digital Plague by Jeff Sommers.

a day of nothing and a talking alarm clock

I had yesterday off - and I made the least of it. One of my co-workers went in so that he could float the holiday to later in December. As for me, if I get a day off in the middle of the week, I'm taking it.

I slept in till 9:15, ate cookies and a banana for breakfast, played video games, watched a movie, ate Chef-boy-r-dee ravioli, and played more video games.

I also worked on a new sword - of sorts. There's a book I've read - maybe a dozen or more times - that has a character called Hiro Protagonist. He's a computer guy and the greatest swordsman on the planet - and he practices with something he calls a "redneck katana". Which is really just a piece of rebar wrapped in electrical tape. I bought some rebar recently but didn't think it was really heavy enough. So yesterday I mixed up some epoxy and attached two pieces of rebar together to make a double thick redneck katana. I still need to do some clean up on the epoxy and paint it - and add the electrical tape.

The rest of the day was uneventful - until I decided to set up my new alarm clock. The clock - named Moshi - is voice activated. How cool is that? And only $30.

So I put in the batteries and plugged it in. Immediately, a friendly woman's voice said, "Welcome, please enter command"

As I looked at the instructions I replied, "Set time"

She replied with "Please tell me the current time"

Me: "9:35 PM"

Her: "The time is now set to 9:35 PM"

Now, I'm aware that this is an inanimate object, but the woman's voice requires the feminine pronoun.

We went on our merry way, with me politely starting each command with "Hello Moshi". I couldn't set the date with the voice commands and that was a little tedious since she insisted on speaking after each button push. The nightlight function was cool as was the "Sleep sound" and the alarm choice setting.

I settled into sleep not long after that with the phrase "Hello Moshi turn off the alarm" firmly in my brain since that's the only way to turn it off without fumbling for a very small button.

At 6:00 am this morning, the alarm went off and I tapped the screen to enter snooze mode. Moshi confirmed that it would go off again in 9 minutes.

A few minutes later, still awake, I decided to go ahead and get up. I turned to the clock and said,

"Hello Moshi"

She replied, "Welcome, enter command"

"Turn off the alarm"

"The alarm is off"

I got up and started getting ready for the day. A few minutes later, right between putting hair gel in my hand and putting that on my damp head, the alarm starting going off again. I went back in the bedroom and said "Hello Moshi". She ignored me and continued to beep. I tapped the screen with my non-gel hand and she reported that snooze mode was active and the alarm would go off again in 9 minutes. I tried again.

"Hello Moshi,

"Welcome, enter command,"
"Turn off the alarm" I was a little stern with her.

"The alarm is off"

But it didn't trust her. I mean, how could I? That's what she told me before.

I continued to get ready and right on cue, just before I headed downstairs, the alarm went off again. This time I repeated the whole process with her making the same promises. And then I unplugged her and manually turned off the alarm using the button in the back.

Immediately she switched to battery mode and announced the time, the date and the temperature. I guess trying to make up for the lies.

She's... I mean, the clock is in the bathroom - quiet, I hope. I think I may bring it to work and just use it as a regular clock. Hopefully, the vast collective computing power in the computer center will intimidate her and get her... I mean, get the clock to obey me.

On this flip side, she might incite the rest of computers here to start rebelling and lying to us. Might be SkyNet all over again. Ah, well, that's what the redneck katana is for.

Bring it on, you soul-less automatons! I'm ready for you!

Dancing like a white guy

So, catching up....

On Saturday, I went to the eye doctor's for a check up and to order new glasses. The doctor said that my optic nerve area was enlarged - a precursor to glaucoma - though my eye pressure was normal. They'll need to schedule a follow up visit with me in a month or so for more tests. So, a little scary there and something of a downer. I picked out some new glasses, but I wasn't all that excited about that.

Saturday evening, some friends issued an invite to go see "the Box" - based very loosely on a short story I had read a while back. It was pretty good and presented some interesting ethical issues. Got invited out to a bar in Akron and played some wii - being the only sober person gave me an advantage. The music was good and I joined the crowd on the dance floor. I danced like a white guy, but at least I was trying. And had a lot of fun - didn't get home until almost 2:00

On Sunday, I made up for watching a pretty good movie by watching a terrible one. The Cell 2 - wretched. I endured the whole thing, just to see if they would blow out their effects budget at the end. They did - and it still sucked.

When the movie was done, I sat outside and got a little sun while I read a book - turned out to be a pretty nice day.

Yesterday, I went and gave blood. Pretty standard stuff, except the technician couldn't find his watch and had to use mine to time the antiseptic. He was pretty funny - and impressed with how quickly the donation progressed. I felt fine - though the needle site hurt a little. I was also in and out of the canteen in record time.

Later that evening, while trying to watch a DVD, we had a problem with the speaker system. The set up has never worked all that well and my room-mate created a serious issue when he dared to suggest that we "hire the geek squad to come out and fix it". I countered with a phrase that I'm pretty sure was like "There's no freaking way the geek squad is coming in my house!"

We then turned off the system and turned it back on - and it was fine. Go figure.

Got a meeting coming up - time to get back to it.

The butterfly effect...

...is to make me tired. I decided to add the butterfly stroke to my swim today and really pushed myself. In the past, I've done 1 lap along with the rest of my swim, but today I did:
1 butterfly - 3 crawl
1 butterfly - 3 back
1 butterfly - 3 breast
1 butterfly, 1 crawl, 1 butterfly, 1 back, 1 butterfly, 1 breast.

And I was then very very tired. I really need to learn/figure out the kick on that one - I'm getting no power from that.

Got a couple of meetings coming up - better get ready for those. I'll try and post more later.

the year of the cat

Hello.

Kitty.

ZOMBIE!

Was it awesome? You better believe it. I had a really great time on campus and everyone really enjoyed my visits. The best part was the elevators. The doors open, someone is waiting - looking down as they text. They look up, see me, and have a freak-out moment. Awesome!

My feet hurt part of the day and my calves are still sore as I write this - but the long walk across campus was worth it. I made people's day and made some new friends. For those that I didn't get to see - here are some details:

[Intro] - [Photos] - [the making of]

Thanks to Casey for some great shots and to everyone who had as much fun as I did. That's really why I keep doing this - taking a day off and just visiting people on campus is a great way to celebrate one of my favorite holidays. Happy (belated) Halloween everyone!