"Pretty Girl"

Tonight was a lazy night. We didn't want to mess up the kitchen any more than necessary so we ate out at a fancy burger chain. We were seated near the hostess station that was being staffed by three people, so plenty was going on for DaKids to watch.

At one point while we were eating DaBoy's eyes were wandering and one of the hostesses noticed him and said "Hi" to him as she walked passed.

His face went blank and he just stared at her back.

After a few seconds of staring I said to DaMom "I think we've lost him to the pretty girl." Another 5 or 10 seconds pass while he's still staring at her and he quietly announces "Pretty Girl." DaMom and I burst out laughing and his trance is finally broken.

Later when DaMom and DaGirl are in the restroom, DaBoy is peering at her backside again and says "Pretty girl over there."
DaGoof: Are you going to say goodbye when we leave?
DaBoy: Yep (with a bobble head nod)
DaGoof:: What are you going to say?
DaBoy: *shrugs*
DaGoof: Say "Goodbye Pretty Girl"
DaBoy: Goodbye Pretty Girl

I continued coaching him right up until DM and DG's return and we got up to leave. I carried him over to the station and said " go on say it." Unfortunately she was busy looking over the seating chart with someone.
DaBoy: very quietly "gbye retty grl"
DaGoof: Say it again louder.
DaBoy: Goodbye Pretty Girl.

She didn't notice him with all the noise in the restaurant and I didn't want to press my luck with him flipping out so I just turned and headed for the door, grabbing a balloon on the way by. The Pretty Girl may not have noticed but one of the other hosts did as he was opening the door for us and he asked "What did he say to her?"

I told him and he went back inside while we stopped at the bench outside to tie the balloons to DaKids wrists.

Not a few moments after the balloons are tied off and we were heading for the bookstore does Pretty Girl come outside and say "goodbye little guy."

DaBoy stared right back and said again "Goodbye Pretty Girl." He was so dumbstruck we had to drag him away from the storefront while he had an ear-to-grin repeating "Goodbye Pretty Girl."

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Wheel Drought

Well doesn't this bite?

Nearly 6 weeks and no riding (sans the mini trips with the kids in the trailer).

Is this project over yet?

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This Museum

Tonight at bedtime while DaGirl was lying in bed she made the following proclamation:

DaGirl: This place is like a museum.
DaGoof:: What?

DaGirl: Museum.
DaGoof: Museum? What's like a museum?
DaGirl: This place is like a toy museum.
DaGoof: A toy museum?
DaGirl: Yeah!
DaGoof: You have entirely too many toys, eh?
DaGirl: uh-huh

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So there....

Today while outside in the yard DaGirl and DaBoy were playing with the water table and being their usual selves while DaMom was sitting in a chair in a shady spot on the other side of the yard reading a book.

DaGirl ventured over to the Dogwood trees, placed a chair next to one, and proceeded to try and climb the tree. When she looked up to see if she was going to get into trouble she saw DaMom looking at her and said "You're not supposed to be watching, you're supposed to be watching your book!"

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In the Genes and not in the Manual

Once upon a time when I was a wee lad I did something I shouldn't have and to this day I am reminded of it by my mother. It happened before my memory started kicking in so I must have been 4 or younger. I don't remember why I did it but it must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Much like the lamp incident, when my kids break stuff my mother tells this tale:

I stuck gum in the tape deck of the stereo. It took my father quite a while to clean it out but to his credit he got it to work again.

How does an incident that happened 30 odd years ago relate to something in the present day?

DaBoy stuck some change into the CD player of the car, moments before we left on a two hour drive to Aunty K's. I wasn't sure exactly what (or how much) he put into the slot at first but I did manage to get a dime out of the dust guard. The radio still worked until I tried to place a cd into the player. It made for a long ride out and back. When we got there I went to lock the car with the key fob and.... nothing... huh?

I did what any good engineer would do, I RTFM'd and pulled the radio our to retrieve the remaining change (2 quarters). So the manual says the radio/accessory fuse is #8 under the steering column. The only problem is that fuse wasn't blown and the power door locks wouldn't work with the car off. If the car was running the power door locks would work.

WTF?

Tonight I did some more poking around and checked all of fuses under the dash. None were blown. ???
I also noticed the dome light would not work when the doors were opened but did work when the switch was flipped???

To recap: The radio doesn't work at all, the power door locks work if the car is on but not off, and the dome light only works if the switch if set to ON, not when the doors open.

I then checked the logical fuses under the hood and.....nothing. So I checked the remaining fuses under the hood and found #9 was blown. A 10 amp fuse labeled "Backup" ??? Replace that one and all is well.

The moral of this story? My son is definitely my son and wiring in the Honda is not as it labeled.

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The Long Weekend - Part 2

Friday's oddities

These lug nuts can't be legal

The worst looking, Charlie Brown tree on the Pike

LFD's Fire Ducks

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The LONG Weekend - Part 1

Friday

In the never ending quest to entertain and wear out DaKids, I took the day off and we all went to the Boston Children's Museum. The day was filled with it's own adversity's.

First, on the way out there a semi loaded with flour overturned on the pike, delaying us for over an hour.

This delay meant that we were going to cut the time very close to the last train out of the commuter rail station for a while. So we beat feat and nearly made the train had the directions not sent us to the wrong side of the station! OK fine, we head over to a red line T stop sort of nearby.

Have I mentioned they love trains?

Once we finally got to South Station we had a quick bite to eat then wandered over to the Museum. DaKids loved the sights and sounds of the city but DaBoy has this fear of people and insisted to be carried all the way there. (ouch)

When we got there the sensory overload began. There was so much going on between the kids and activities, DaGirl bounced from room to room faster than a high bounce ball. They had a blast:

Knocking over the life-sized chess pieces.

Broadcast on TV!

Flying the "airplane"

Riding in the rocket

Driving the float

Driving the Bobcat

There was a ton more they did that I could not get pictures of since there was so many people and rude little kids getting in the way. Not to mention trying to keep up with our kids. There were three adults and two kids and we still managed to lose track of each child at least once. Exhausting!

Once we deemed the fun was over, we headed toward The Barking Crab for a proper lunch (more like early dinner) but not before a little peaceful view of the city.

Or not

Once at the restaurant DaBoy promptly fell asleep in Aunty K's lap.

And DaGirl was just an "angel" with an umbrella in her hair

Next stop, the Lexington Fire Department to visit Uncle A. for our own personalized tour of the station.
DaBoy was so excited he couldn't contain himself and DaGirl was a bit cranky when we got there (we had to wake her up when we got there) but she eventually warmed up and was just as excited to be there.

DaBoy thrilled behind the wheel of the ladder truck

DaBoy trying on Uncle A.'s "hat"

DaMom sporting the oversize bunker coat and hat

Boots nearly as large as DaBoy

Norman Rockwell moment

DaGirl eventually woke/warmed up

They loved the ambulance (yes that's his tongue hanging out)

DaGirl with the "hat"

And what could be a better way to end a private tour of a fire station?  All the trucks to leave on a call of course.

Out goes the Chief

Uncle A.'s drives the ladder truck away

All in all it was a blast of a day!
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Best retort of the day

My Boss: I forgot to tell you what orientation we need the output to be.
DaGoof: Ugh, really?
MB: Let's look at the model.
*Opening files*
 (after much discussion)
MB: Damn, it's V not H. Does that make you hate me?
DaGoof: It's a good thing Christmas is a long way off, you've got a lot of reparations to make if you want to get a card from me.

Sim City meets plumbers nightmare - and it needs to change, again.

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Don't Mess....Part 2

In response to Don't Mess with OUR 'Hood I found this in the town paper:

10:25 p.m. – Police received a call
about mailbox vandalism on F____ St.
Through an investigation, police learned
four youths were horsing around near
the box, causing it to collapse. The damage
to the box was unintentional. The
youth who caused the box to fall
obtained a new mailbox for the resident
and no charges were filed.

A couple of things bother me about this; 1.) that mail box had been up all winter long. On this street a "snow deflector" is required or you have to pick your mailbox up after every storm (think large highway plows on rural streets @ 40mph) and a little nudge knocked it off?. 2.) "Horsing around", "unintentional" ...and left the mailbox in the middle of the road? Not cool. 3.) "No charges were filed"..... I hope they got the stuff scared out of them because we are far to lenient on our kids. Sure, no one wants to see "their" kid in shackles but if there are not proper consequences for actions what is to keep them from vandalizing again and again?
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"That Was My Idea....."

Now that I have received this message on the worst work week known to mankind, I'll re-post it.

Honest message, eh?
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How to Spend a Sunday Evening

DaMom has been "requesting" some new raised beds for the garden after the old ones imploded shortly after DaGirl was born. The old ones were cedar and worked well until we stopped keeping up with the garden and the weeds in and around the boxes held moisture close to the boards and "enhanced" the rotting process......and maybe, just maybe I may have run into a few with the lawn mower while trying to clear said weeds.

DaMom had been requesting new plastic raised beds as a Mother's Day gift. I had made two 4 x 12 foot boxes from plastic decking several years ago to supplement the 8 older wooden ones (did I mention it's a big garden?). She had been struggling all day to find a relative that would watch DaKids so we could go and get the plastic decking material.

As it turned out DaGirl and I ended up taking the Element and the trailer to a couple home centers to acquire the appropriate material. The first only had a back relieved, dark brown plank that wouldn't match the existing gray plastic boxes and might not work well turned on it's side. The next stop had the right stuff and $220 later we had the stuff for two 6 x 6 and two 4 x 12 boxes.

We got the napless children into bed and asleep by 7:45 so then I finally got out to start cutting. An hour and fifteen minutes later I had all the long lengths cut, the Upright/Corner Blocks cut & split, and the half of the uprights installed. I would have continued but the cordless drill battery had had enough.

Yup it's Dark at 9pm

Material Cut to Length

Upright/Corner Block Installation

Hopefully I can get the remainder attached before the weekend.
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Broken Spoke is at it again...

Last April I wrote about how my road bike earned it's name Broken Spoke. After nearly 3000 miles the bike claimed another spoke yesterday.

No one seems to have a non-race replacement wheel around this place. grrr

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Storm Front

This was the scene yesterday at work @ 4:00

The wind picked up, dust from nearby fields made the sky brown, then the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the power went out. Debris kicked up from everywhere and the clouds above started swirling.

The storm broke trees like twigs and only lasted a few minutes.

Where's a tornado chaser when you need one? Oh yeah, it's in Oklahoma "chasing" tornadoes. Too bad, all we needed to do was roll it outside and we would had some neat data.:-)
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Out of the mouth of DaGirl

Tonight at dinner she had these little gems.
"This salad is just like popcorn."
"These strawberries are just like pizza."
"Strawberries come from big trees."

She needs to work on her metaphors a little bit ;-)
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Don't Mess with OUR 'Hood

In my neighborhood, we all have a fair amount land and the houses are rather spaced apart but I know most, if not all, of my surrounding neighbors and many heading up to the end of the street. And if I don't know them, I'm 99% positive they know who I am (walking a dog twice a day, every day for 8 years has that effect).

I had just finished watching a movie on Saturday night and I hear my neighbor (S1) yelling. Usually if he goes on a bender it's an all night affair but he had been quiet until then (10pm). I get up and watch to see what he's doing from the side door. He's walking back to his truck from the end of the driveway. WTF??? He walks back up the driveway and shines a light down the side walk. ??? I walk to the other side of the house and look out another window and see someone laying down in my other neighbors (S&L's) yard. S1's light hits him and he runs up S&L's driveway heading for the woods.

I throw my shoes on, grab a light, and head out the door. I can hear him crashing through the brush but it's too dark to see him or which way he went. I scan the area for a bit until I hear S1 talking to someone. I head over the other side of the yard and discover him talking with another neighbor (of the same name), S2. S2 is a state trooper. S2 says his wife saw four kids heading up the road with bats and bash a mailbox near their house.

I stick around long enough to get the story and that S1 was just getting home when he saw these characters hiding in the lawns. As I am heading back down the sidewalk in front of my house I see someone walking  towards me. It's K, from 3 doors down. She and her husband were just getting home when they saw someone lingering around their yard. K's husband stopped the kid and started questioning him, while K was trying to figure out if something was going on in the neighborhood.

By the time we were heading back to the house the police show up and start looking around and head off to the side street that runs behind us.

I don't know if they caught the little buggers but the knuckleheads were some stupid:

• Our street sees a lot of speeders so it's patrolled regularly by the police. 
• The college at the end of the street just finished their multimillion dollar boat house and public safety goes by at least twice an hour to check on it. 
• Plus these bozos were doing this at 10:00, let me guess, they had to get in their malice before their 11:00 curfew? If that's the case then they missed it. "Junior, where in the hell were you?" "umm, hiding from the police and a lynch mob in the woods...."

I can't believe just how stupid the youth are in my town. You'd like to think that they just might put 2 and 2 together and figure out that they are under a microscope given the national media they have received for the last 4 months. But alas, apparently our schools don't teach consequences well enough.

Don't mess our 'hood!
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The commute starts here...

...sort of

Catching a lift @ MHC

Umm, no Officer.....

As Relayed from DaMom....

The following event took place at 8:40am, on April 27th 2010:
As DaMom was trying to get the kids to the car so DaGirl may go to school, a police car pulls down the driveway. And he pulls all the way down the driveway, not just a little bit to turn around. DaKids were standing on the deck dumbstruck by the sight of a cruiser so close.
Police Officer: Did you place a 911 call?
DaMom: um no?
PO: Were either of them playing with a phone?
DaMom: He was (pointing at DaBoy), I just hung it up.
PO: *stern look*
DaMom: He's not even 2 yet, he doesn't understand the phone.

Great now were going to be on the SHPD's most watched list....

Will our kids ever be easy?
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Pneumatic Gods: 3 , DaGoof: 0

Last night's ride home wasn't so much fun. Technically, it wasn't even a ride. I left the building, walked over to the bike and didn't notice anything wrong. I attached my bag to the bike and pulled the bike off the rack. Still nothing seems strange until I mount it and the bike sinks. Huh? I get off the bike and sure enough it's flat as a pancake. The tires are stiff enough that it held the bike up.


I go inside and use the air compressor to pump the tire up to see how bad the leak is. The tubes are already filled with slime and I figure a little air and the problem may resolve itself. Not so much. In less than 15 seconds all the air I put in comes out. The tire shows no massive holes but there is obviously a hole in the tube. OK, time to dismount the tire. When I separate the tube from the tire a leg of a massive staple falls out.

Note the staple on the right

"Wow that's a big chunk of ugly" I think to myself.

Pneumatic Gods: 1 , DaGoof: 0

Next I try to patch the hole. Um, yeah, that doesn't work, the patch won't stick to the slime covered tube (since it all leaked out the monstrous hole).

Pneumatic Gods: 2 , DaGoof: 0

"OK no biggie I'll just put the spare tube in." *sigh* It has an even bigger hole in it. "I give up! Sandy, can I get a ride home with you?".......

Pneumatic Gods: 3 , DaGoof: 0


When I get home I discover that I must have been riding it this way for at least a little bit as evidenced by the spray under the rack

Boy does that need to be cleaned.....
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3 year old H-bomb

On Sunday night DaGirl got a "new" house.

Yesterday DaGirl was outside in her "new" playhouse at 6:45am.
She played in the yard all morning.
Then they went to the park for two hours.
After lunch she refused to nap.

When I got home the fuse had long been set.

She was standing near the playhouse and DaMom left to get something for dinner. DaGirl saw the car moving and the cork popped.
She screamed "I WANNA GO WITH MOMMY!"
She punched the playhouse screaming "I WANNA GO WITH MOMMY!"
She flicked her hand in pain screaming "OUUUCH, I WANNA GO WITH MOMMY!"
I was in the driveway and moved toward her, staying on the other side of the fence, telling her pitching a fit isn't going to get her anywhere. Then I witness her little eyes fill with tears, her head (not just face) turn bright red, and guttural screams build from who knows where.

DaBoy was stood in the driveway, confused by the whole matter. It's not like he hasn't thrown a tantrum or two lately, but she came totally unhinged. I took them both inside and cleaned them up for dinner.

20 minutes later she's still going strong when DaMom pulls down the driveway. DaGirl plops down in her seat at the table and stops crying immediately. By the time DaMom enters she's fine and appears nothing was ever wrong.

I found the incident humorous and disturbing at the same time. It's funny since I knew she was overtired but she's obviously got some of the anger management issues I used to have.

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Food Revolution

We don't have cable.
Too much $.

We don't have a dish.
Too much hassle.

We get our TV the old fashioned way, we Netflix it!
...or for up-to-date stuff it comes through the airwaves, Yes people still do that!

The only thing I miss is not being able to see the Sox games. However, the benefit to having only a few channels is that the kids don't watch much TV and sometimes when you want to veg out and your Netflix queue is in transit, you are held to the mercy of the programming of the over the air channels.

So we were watching TV a couple of Sundays back and advertisements for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution came on. We were both horrified and riveted by the subject. Over the last 10 years of our marriage we have made great strides in eating healthier and reducing the overall quantity we consume. So naturally what appeared to be such a reality TV train wreck had to be watched.

The footage has definitely been edited to increase the "drama" that TV execs think create ratings but overall I think it is truthful. I can see some of the people I know fitting right into the mindset of the town he has descended upon. I live/work in a area that has a large number of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share programs, farm stands, and farmers markets. The people I'm thinking of regard all of these fresh food advocates as nutcases.

The first two episodes focus on the negatives. Things like; what the people don't know, how much junk food they eat, and how it will all kill them. I'm sure the way it is presented is mainly because it has to survive and gain viewers, but it does make one think. In fact, I wondered aloud to DaMom what our elementary school lunch menu looked like. DaGirl is in her first year of morning preschool there and doesn't eat lunch there.  DaMom found a menu and brought it home:

School Lunch - April 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				Apr 1 1 ASSORTED SANDWICHES TOMATO SOUP CHILLED FRUIT OTIS SPUNKMEYER COOKIES	Apr 2 2 GOOD FRIDAY NO SCHOOL	Apr 3
Apr 4	Apr 5 5 CHICKEN PATTIE SANDWICH SHREDDED LETTUCE RICE PILAF MIXED FRUIT	Apr 6 6 STEAMED HOT DOGS RED. FAT “CAPE COD” CHIPS FRESH VEGGIES BLUEBERRIES W/ TOPPING	Apr 7 7 PIZZA POCKETS HERBED NOODLES GREEN BEANS CINNAMON APPLESAUCE	Apr 8 8 WHOLE GRAIN SPAGHETTI W/ MEAT SAUCE STEAMED PEAS BREAD & BUTTER SLICED PEACHES	Apr 9 9 ASSORTED SANDWICHES TURKEY NOODLE SOUP CHILLED FRUIT OTIS SPUNKMEYER COOKIES	Apr 10
Apr 11	Apr 12 12 BUILD YOU OWN BURGERS POTATO PUFFS SHREDDED LETTUCE SLICED PEARS	Apr 13 13 POP CORN CHICKEN MASHED POTATOES CORN NIBBLETS STRAWBERRY CUPS	Apr 14 14 STEAMED HOT DOGS BAKED BEANS “ROLD GOLD” PRETZELS CHILLED FRUIT	Apr 15 15 ½ DAY PARENT CONFERENCES	Apr 16 16 ½ DAY PARENT CONFERENCES	Apr 17
Apr 18	Apr 19 SPRING RECESS	Apr 20 SPRING RECESS	Apr 21 SPRING RECESS	Apr 22 SPRING RECESS	Apr 23 SPRING RECESS	Apr 24
Apr 25	Apr 26 26 GILARDI’S “WHOLE GRAIN” DOUBLE STUFF CRUST PIZZA TOSSED SALAD CHILLED FRUIT	Apr 27 27 SLOPPY JOE SANDWICHES FRENCH FRIES CORN NIBBLETS PEAR HALVES	Apr 28 28 FRENCH TOAST STICKS W/ SYRUP OVEN BAKED SAUSAGE ORANGE JUICE DICED PEACHES	Apr 29 29 TURKEY FRICASSE MASHED POTATOES STEAMED VEGGIES DINNER ROLL CINNAMON APPLE SLICES	Apr 30 30 ASSORTED SANDWICHES MINESTRONE SOUP CHILLED FRUIT OTIS SPUNKMEYER COOKIES

We were stunned by it. It's nearly as bad what's on the show!
I've seen the "kitchen" there. None of this stuff can be prepared fresh there, it all has to be prepackaged. There is one household sized stove and some warmers on a line.

And there in lies the problem; preserved, prepackaged, foods designed to meet bizarre guidelines established by a nationwide program. How can a french fry be considered a vegetable? 

There is an obvious problem here.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

"You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."'--Mahatma Gandhi

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