We got a surprise today. When coming in the side gate, M and my Mom noticed a big green praying Mantis. It was Maria, the mantis M raised all last summer and released 5 weeks ago. She was greener and bigger, but we could still tell it was her because of a funky foot on her middle left leg. We think she's greener because her diet has changed ( ( Read more... )

Friday night: Unwind from the week and help the kids go through the costume box and dream up ideas for this year ( Read more... )

Last weekend the kids and I needed a change of pace in a big way. A former coworker is in the West Valley Jazz Orchestra and encouraged me to bring the boys to last Friday night's concert at West Valley College. The guest performer was Greg Adams, the trumpet player and arranger and sometimes composer for Tower of Power. The sets were good, the ( Read more... )

Last Friday, M decided it was time to set his lone surviving Praying Mantis free. He'd determined she was a female, because they're larger, so he named her "Maria" because that sounded to him like a female who prays. She'd grown wings and was about 5 inches long by the time he released her into our garden. I count it as a success in household ( Read more... )

My head hurts. I'm looking at job prospects and the kinds of jobs I can most readily get are more of the same thing I just got sacked for being burnt out on. I also am angry at my ex for not having gotten gainful employment in the 28 months since finishing the masters degree I paid for. She says she's "making steady progress on her career path," ( Read more... )

...No laterals, no deferrals, no reverses. The job goes away 9/22. I'm in a somewhat specialized field, but if you know of a growing company in security software, security appliances, enterprise applications, or Web conferencing that has Product Marketing or Product Management positions open, please let me know.

Last night, M received his second class rank as a Boy Scout (he'd already earned tenderfoot), and his first 3 merit badges (Archery, Fishing and Fingerprinting) which he earned on his week at Camp Wente 24 days ago. He was pretty thrilled. I was happy he'd found his stride in an organization that is kind of a laboratory for him to learn to get ( Read more... )

Actually, now that you mention it (well, now that *I* mention it), I didn't see one klingon costume at the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention last weekend. Perhaps they're passee. The crowd was definitely a bit older and more hardcore than other scifi conventions I've attended. I attribute that to the cost of getting in the door. Most of ( Read more... )

My job is I-don’t-know-what. My employer is in a mix of growing pains and prioritizing resources away from projects I’ve been working on. I just found this out yesterday. It’s not a good thing for career to be on de-emphasized projects. Meanwhile, I am scheduled to take the kids on vacation and out several days next week. Vacation should be good. ( Read more... )

So, our last two praying mantises were doing just fine, downing a dozen little crickets every 5 days or so. Then, the smaller one started its molt process, and it just sort of seemed to hemorage(sp). That was it. Ichy ichor. Blech.

M took the news in stride, and was more interested that J has a new fish, so at least there's that.