i had to skip jimmy's today *sniff*

It’s much better in person: http://fridaywaster.blogspot.com Work status: busy as F all week long, but it was a short week so I’m feeling fine. I’ve got my laptop (nearly) functional, all data and operations (mostly) converted to the new environment. I did have to watch the guys leave me behind as they all slipped out for the regular trip to Jimmy’s. FamStuff: the holiday weekend was one of the best. 3 straight days of hanging w/ the kids, visiting friends, and eating and drinking WAY too much. There’s just something right about sunshine & good friends. Kid1 got a job last night. He’s serving tables at Logan’s Roadhouse. I haven’t been there in a long while, and I’m not really sure why. I think I always liked the place, and their buttered rolls are just awesome. Kid2 got into some silly fight with her mom, so lost her license til the end of the school year. The fight was ridiculous, too, over cooking eggs in the morning before school. Duh. I couldn’t ever deal with her mom, so I really can’t expect the kids to be able to do it either. I’m waiting for the day when she just moves in full time with us...things will run so much smoother. Kid3 is back from his jaunt to FL. He’s got baseball all day tomorrow, too: 9am game, afternoon team party, and another 7pm game. Kid4 hasn’t made it all the way off my bad list yet. Her teachers have started saying better stuff about her schoolwork, but she’s still not totally focused. I’m worried that I’m going to have to be mad at her all summer if her grades suck again. Bikestuff: I took part of the morning off yesterday to join some friends on an extended bike ride. It was the longest I’ve ever done, too, by a LOT. My daily commute is just under 6 miles each way. By taking an extended detour, I’ve stretched it to 12 once before. Yesterday morning, I hit 20.3 miles, plus another 6 home in the afternoon. I was feeling fiiiiiiiiine, too, until the ride in this morning. This morning I was feeling much less than fine. Weekend: No kids this weekend, so Saturday we’re running around to hang with friends at a few different parties. Sunday morning will be coming down, prolly with a beer for breakfast and dessert. I’m trying to work on Kid2’s car a bit in the afternoon, too. Countdown: 5 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Joe found a way to zap a few minutes at least: http://arcade.itch.com/games/falling-forever/ This one sounds juuuuuust a bit too painful for my tastes; but some of you are into this sort of thing. Like breakout and arkanoid, but without the paddle. http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/break_ball = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Engineers need to avoid the temptation to think they’re funny. Mikey gets chicken props here: http://www.polywater.com/rubberchicken.asp Joe with another winner: http://www.dangerouslyfun.com Max shot me this a few weeks back, and I’d planned to learn them all before sharing with the world. I think I’m untrainable. http://www.madville.com/link.php?id=175759&t=4 Finally, a quick salute to my favorite fashion statement, the lowrise jeans. The whale tail. Here is the lowest of the low, and my biggest smile of the day. I only wish there were more pics. Thanks for the happy ending to a very stressful week, Tom. http://www.collegehumor.com/picture:1704782 (note: this pic is reasonably safe @ the office, but other links on this site are not)

pay once.... scream twice

Disclaimer: I got a new machine at work, and I don’t have it fully set up yet. I’m doing this post simply to keep you from whining about why I didn’t do a post. Countdown: 6 Shameless self promotion: http://fridaywaster.blogspot.com Work stuff: way too much effing work this week. But it’s a 3day weekend, so I’m totally ready to get outta here. Fam stuff: Kid1 is at the beach for the weekend with some chick & her fam. Not sure how I feel about that part. Kid3 is in FL to visit his grandma. Kids2&4 are hanging around here for the weekend. We’ve got lots of time planned with lots of friends and lots of meat on fire. Mmmmmm. Sorry for the brevity, but I’m rolling outta here in a minute. With the sun shining the way it is, I’m really not looking forward to spending the night behind the bar. CP sales pitch: http://www.tickets.cedarpoint.com/shop/shopping_corporate_partners_list.cfm = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Sorry for not dealing out the submissions this week. I’m having issues. I’ve got all the donations saved, though, so you’ll see your name next time, honest. Dinglepop: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/dinglepop Mysterious Balls: http://tinyurl.com/6eszly = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Mikey got really excited ‘til he found out they were talking about fish: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1406423 Mmmmmmm….chocolate balloon knots: http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22323/49670

I can do at least 4 of the 75 (and i don't have to ask afterwards)

(slight return, slight edit) I’m not sure when it became the norm for guys not to have guy-skillz. Guys should be able to do guy-stuff. I’m not going to mention who or what makes this really pertinent to my world this week, but DAMN did this message really hit home. skillz ...(PS for the guys – if you’re wondering whether you're the one on my bad side, it doesn’t matter. If you’re worried, then you need to polish the skillz anyway.) Today is national bike-to-work-day. I rolled a few extra miles down to Reston TownCenter to get my free stuff. Starbucks coffee, Great Harvest bread, and a kinda-nice T-shirt, too. I learned a bit about riding in the rain today. It stings when you go fast. And it’s slippery. And my ‘waterproof’ running pants are not so waterproof. But once my drawers were wet, none of that really mattered too much. I also learned a lot about the fuck-tards that cannot drive in the rain. Around here, if you have your wipers on, the law says you have to have your headlights on too. It’s a secondary offense, though. That means that the cops can’t write a ticket simply for not driving with your headlights on, but you have to eff up something else first. So if you wanna be dangerous, they’ll cite you AFTER you ruin somebody else’s day by wrecking their car. Final lesson – bicyclists don’t wear helmets to protect the melon. Most of them used to ride to school on the short bus, and they still have the helmet. Now that Down Cindy and Ray Tard are out of school, they spend their rainy mornings riding bikes in Reston. Holy jeebus, I walked into the pavilion this morning and could feel my brain pushing against my eardrums b/c of the vacuous space all around me. This planet is effed if the only people trying to save it are the bicyclists. end venting Almost the whole fam went to my sister’s RN graduation this past Tuesday night. She’s the first, something that makes me extra-proud of her. We all have good jobs, and we all have nice material things, but she’s done something that none of my sibs has done before. One of the traditional Friday Guinness pints was raised in her honor today at lunch. Kid1 came home from school last Friday night. He’s home for the summer, so we’re all going thru some adjustment times. I’m sure by next week, I’ll have something to complain about. He’s grown up a lot, though. It’s really neat to see the changes in his attitude and outlook (and haircut) since he left last fall. Kids2 & 3 are looking good in school and everything right now, Kid4 has me stressed. She’s still slacking in school, and I’m ready to lose my patience with her. So totally not cool that I have to fight with her to do her work. It’s really starting to wear me thin. She doesn’t have a cell phone or a driver’s license, so I’m looking for a variety of things to yank as punishment still. She’ll get it though – no way she’s gonna out-stubborn me. Tonight I’ve got tarbending duties at the Hole, followed by a weekend of taking care of business. My little brother, Kid1, and I are heading out to my sister’s house to do some projects for her. We don’t get the chance all that often, but it’s good family stuff to take care of family stuff. I got a special little smile when Kid1 offered to come along and join the labor force. :-) Happy Friday! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = DinoRun: like sonic, only simpler. Just haul your little dino-a55 to keep away from the doom. http://www.pixeljam.com/dinorun/ Another one of those totally simple, totally frustrating games: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/sling_jumper This one sucks, but it scores high on the cutsie “cats with arrows” scale. No, you cannot has cheezburger. http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/sinta = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = My daughter is 15. I try to be a cool dad, but sometimes I get a certain satisfaction by scaring prospective suitors. http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/05/10-rules-for-dating-my-daughter.html Jen on the Japanese subway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwVeORvtkb0 Jen in the Japanese wave pool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inA-36YRV0Y I feel rather inadequate. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24648122/ This is Joe’s dream car. I’m not so sure I’m on the same page. Any beers in the cupholders would be totally watered down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E4q7p6R3Og And finally, for your home shopping pleasures: http://www.liquidation.com/

the backwards |/|

Holy smokes, this has been a day from he||, and I didn’t even get to enjoy the ride. I’ve been locked in a SCIF all day long, from 645 til just about an hour ago. I planned on being really funny today, too. I even missed the grain & barley Friday lunch. :-(

Now I’ve just got to scratch some stuff out quick so I don’t hear all the whining about how I’m slacking on my responsibilities. Like wasting your afternoon is MY job. I’m happy to help, but c’mon, take some ownership of the task, people.

Before I start, though, lemme say Happy Mother's Day to all of you that have spawned. I'm slowly realizing that the swim upstream was worth it...

Weekly info… we ran around MD all last weekend visiting friends and hanging out. Good times & good people all around. Happy birthday, Dave! Congrats to Sandy on the new baby! Sorry for waking you up on Sunday morning, Mike.

I nailed my midterm on Tuesday. 98%A. I’m starting to think I know what I’m doing.

The kids are all doing fine in school, home, and staying out of trouble. They’ve got a lot of yard work to do tomorrow, so we’ll see how long they stay out of trouble.

The oldest has his final exam this evening, and is driving home tonight. Dorms are closed tomorrow at noon, but he’s not waiting that long. I’m guessing the cafeteria is closed too, so he’s prolly planning to hit me up for breakfast tomorrow morning.

My sis graduates RN school this coming Tuesday. She’s all worked up about being promoted from LPN (little play nurse) to RN (real nurse) as soon as the licensing goes thru. We’ve got a big ol’ BBQ for her tomorrow, I’m hoping that the rain goes away. You know who’s playing the party, too: The Pocket Band

Now that I’m like a for-real blogger, I found out that I’m supposed to have blogger friends. Sounds kinna gay to me, but eff it. Couple of links to a diff blog site: Fanta fanta, I used to wanta, but I don’t wanta anymore: http://tinyurl.com/4q9pvh Barbie all growed up (almost NSforW): http://tinyurl.com/5con6a

I’m soooooo done with this day already. I've got the Dropkick Murphys cranked on my desktop, and I'm rolling outta here in a very short while to the satisfaction, simplicity, and security of being behind the bar at the ‘Hole.

Happy Friday!

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A really good game with really cr@ppy graphics. I’ve always like vector graphics (see: Star Wars ) but vector rendered schools of fish attacking my spaceship is a little weird. http://arcade.itch.com/games/vector-wars/

More retro vector gaming; remember qix ? Well, this is qix of a different color: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/colorfill

Mikey sent this in, but I’m not sure what section to put it in. It’s interactive like a game, but it’s really not a game. It’s more like a way to print stickers that will let you buy stuff at HUGE discounts if you do it right. http://www.barcoding.com/upc/

Seca comes in one weekend too late, but I didn’t want to save it til Preakness.(btw - horse racing events are CLASSY): http://horseridingcoach.com/jumporama/

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The latest NIN cd is fully 100% available online for free. Thank you, Trent. http://theslip.nin.com/

These are just silly: http://www.bicflixxx.com/

Eric swears he doesn’t have a ‘thing’ for fat monkeys. Not so sure I believe him. http://tinyurl.com/5h3x4j

Finally, I was gonna give Amanda a shout out for Friday Night Live in Herndon, but the weather has kinna weaked the shout. Rain has cancelled Mr. Greengenes tonight, but Gonzo’s Nose will be back next Friday night. www.herndonrocks.com

bicycle lesson 101

http://fridaywaster.blogspot.com http://feeds.feedburner.com/FridayWaster Subscribe to the RSS and get the updates first! DO IT! You know you wanna be one of the cool kids. I learned something on the ride into work this morning: You ever have one of those nights when you stayed out just a little bit too late, and had maybe just one drink to many? Now it’s the following morning, and there’s not much more than a fog in your head? 24mph on the bicycle down the first neighborhood hill has a magical way of clearing that haze. Quick, too. Insta-focus. Road rash hurts too much to not snap to attention. Today ends a crazy hectic out of control week, but a good one. I’ve been fighting fires in the office every single day, from the early early morning til the time I lock the office door behind me. Nothing was awful, nothing was a real PITA, just a whole lot of tasks required reactionary work rather than organized and planned tasks. Now it’s Friday afternoon, with blue skies and sunshine outside, a little Buffett is playing on Pandora, and I’ve got nearly everything in my inbox (all 10,000 marbles) rescheduled til next week at least. The kids are all off my no-love-from-dad list for the moment. All of em. The oldest has all of his finals next week, then he’s already on summer vacation. I’m more than a bit jealous that he’s already finished his freshman year. Why don’t we get summer vacation from work? The other rats are all on track with their school stuff. Kid2 got her license AND her cell phone back, and Kids3 and 4 are both in focus with their grades, too. They’re still on double secret probation, though. I’m pretty sure that they’ve been smacked into the reality that I’m set and ready to deal with whatever they can dish out. If they’ve got their next screw-ups already planned, I’ve got the next TWO punishments planned. I’ll escalate the situation until they realize that I’m just the guy to do something really stupid and futile. The weekend is looking like a fine time, too. We’re kid-free and easy, so we’re out of town all weekend; making the rounds visiting friends in different towns all across MD. But before I can get to the road trip, I need to make it thru another night behind the bar at the ‘Hole. It’s been a bit of an adventure the past couple of weeks. Every time I show up, the new manna-yer guy has fired another rack of people. Some of them wasted the oxygen in the building, and I’m surprised lasted as long as they did. Others have been a bit of a surprise. I just need to make sure that I get canned, I’m gonna earn it and enjoy every single moment of the process. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = (it’s been a long time since I received ABSOLUTELY NO SUBMISSIONS for an entire week. You’re all worthless and weak! A pledge pin? On your uniform?!? What do you want to do with your life???? Nothing like clean, wholesome family entertainment: http://www.awfulgames.com/games/13_days_in_hell/ Yep. More shooting. Simple game, but interesting: http://backhand.uchicago.edu/Center/ShooterEffect/ Snoopy p|mps his ride to a groovy soundtrack: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/killawatt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Top 10 reasons: “You want easier access. Enough said.” http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353843,00.html Charles Manson is crazy, if you didn’t know: http://tinyurl.com/63bo9r David Blaine is a nutcase, too: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1736830_1583242,00.html Greg, honey, is it supposed to be this soft?