It's amazing what varied ingredients come together to make a truly enjoyable drive from one place to another, reminding us of the old wisdom that it's not the destination that matters but the journey. This morning, for example, I got a later start and didn't get rolling until 9:15 or so. The time of day is the first ingredient. Between 9 and 10 ( Read more... )

For independence day we drove out to my sister's place in Newberg and lit off some fireworks. Well, we also had a really good meal. My brother-in-law cooks a mean brisket. Anyway, I had a packaged mix of pyrotechnics that I bought last year and didn't use, so the original plan was just to use that. Then I noticed I didn't have a punk stick, and ( Read more... )

I haven't got much to say in the way of new events. Things are going along the way they usually do, but I thought it was worth mentioning that "the way they usually do" has changed a little bit. I wrote a couple weeks ago about having the old writing itch again, and I'm happy to say it has not left. I pull out my netbook at least once a day and ( Read more... )

The world is kind of odd when you're driving around at 4:30 in the morning. It's dark outside but getting a little lighter every second. The radio seems just a bit louder than it would otherwise be, and you can hear the words to the songs a little more clearly. If it's catchy, you're more likely to get it (you don't know me, you don't know me at ( Read more... )

I am shocked and disgusted that I forgot to mention the wonderful and generous gifts I got from my wife and kids for Father's Day. I will go and flog myself immediately after I tell you all about them ( Read more... )

I assisted in moving our mom out to my sister's house this weekend. Saturday, constrained by programming work that had to get done, I offered a small amount of help getting things ready. Then Sunday was the big day. My sister did an amazing job coordinating a whole cadre of helpful mover friends, and I was quite stunned when we found ourselves ( Read more... )

So we got a double blast of good news today. First, my mom's claim for Social Security Disability came through and she'll be getting a little help from Uncle Sam to get her through her current troubles. Second, the magic research tests she's having have revealed that the stuff going on in her head is inflammation, not new tumor. This means that ( Read more... )

A homeopathy association in Britain has declared this to be Homeopathy Awareness Week, and some writers well versed in science have decided to embrace that by raising awareness that Homeopathy is pure nonsense. The article linked below is a pretty good examination of the topic ( Read more... )

Last week while I was driving down back roads in Milwaukie, hoping to get my mom to one of her many appointments on time, I got an idea for a story. This happens to me all the time. Sometimes they're just little flickers or flashes. Sometimes, like this time, I get a lot more. I decided to have a go at putting it down, the first real writing I' ( Read more... )

Through threats and coercion, we got enough people for a five player game of Battlestar Galactica tonight. It turned out to be the best round of BSG I've played yet. The play order was President Roslin, Chief Tyrol, Admiral Helo, Baltar (me), and Starbuck ( Read more... )