March 29, 2004
The Summer Place
This weekend we erected our Summer Place:
It all started when Katy asked me if I thought a canopy would look good in the back yard. I thought she was talking about something like this:
I expressed the strong opinion that such a thing had no place in our back yard.
A few days later she showed me some pictures of the canopy we ended up buying. "Oh. That's different." We bought it on Friday and assembled it this weekend.
I think these are going to be hugely popular in my neighborhood. See, the CC&R's are pretty strict as to what kind of patio cover you can build, what it has to look like, etcetera. But since this isn't attached to structure I can pretty much do as I please. And who doesn't like doing what they please?
814
If you are a DirecTV household, you probably know about Music Choice. For those of you who don't feel like clicking the link, it's the music service that DirecTV bundles with their satellite television. We currently get some silly number of channels ranging from rap to gospel to show tunes.
We listen to the Sounds of the Season channel during the holidays when we get tired of our own collection of stuff but otherwise I've stayed away from it.
See, musically speaking, I'm pretty much stuck in the 80's. But the "80's" Music Choice channel is crap. Crap I tell you! I mean, how many times do you really need to hear that Air Supply is All Out Of Love? I was complaining to one of my neighbors about this and he said two words to me:
"New Wave"
The New Wave channel is the music that I spent my high school and college years listening to. It's great! I highly recommend it. You, too, can enjoy it on DirecTV channel 814
Birthday Pictures
While I debate the relative merits of online photo organizing tools, I present you this small collection of photos from the kids' recent birthday:
Enjoy!
March 27, 2004
Silverado
I just finished watching Silverado off the Tivo.
If I weren't so tired I'd watch it again.
For some reason I'm surprised by this, but I think I have to add it to my top ten all-time favorite movies. I'm telling you, it's got everything. Everything! What a great movie.
There are other modern westerns that are grittier, or meaner, or "more realistic" - but Silverado is a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I want Scott Glenn on my side, that's all I'm saying.
March 18, 2004
Down the Rabbit Hole
This week we had a big meeting with a vendor. After our meeting he wanted to take us to a local facility where his equipment is in use.
And so we piled in the car and drove over to the Playboy Entertainment Group's network origination facility.
It was one weird place. They uplink something like fourteen channels of porn, ranging from soft-core to "just how many people are in that room," in addition to doing a couple radio shows for the satellite services. It was a little distracting to be in their master control room, where everything (and I do mean everything) is playing out on a big monitor wall.
The gear they use is not terribly different from the stuff that every other broadcaster uses - but I guarantee that master control rooms with nude posters all over the walls are rare indeed.
Very surreal.
March 15, 2004
Five?
Claire and Cameron turned five on Sunday.
This is hard for me to believe.
They were spoiled rotten - they basically got three days of opening presents. We decided to divide up the guest list and have two smaller parties this year instead of dealing with 20 kids all at once. Friday was the Bowling Party with their "twin friends" and family friends, Saturday was the Pinata and Jumpy Party with school friends and neighborhood friends, and Sunday, the actual Anniversary Of Birth, was Open Presents From Mom and Dad Day (and Other Family Members). Cake was eaten on all three days, and many a toy was assembled and outfitted with batteries, I tell you.
As proof of the spoiling, I offer you this photo of the gifts set out for them to open on Sunday:
These are "only" the gifts from Katy and I. I think we may have gone a little overboard.
March 10, 2004
Eh? What's That, Sonny?
Had I mentioned that Cameron is good and obsessed with Lego these days?
Lately he has taken to poring over the instruction booklet that came with my old Expert Builder Set Auto Chassis (set number 956 for the curious among you). I've made it pretty clear that he can't play with it until he gets a little older but he seems to enjoy going through the book and checking it all out.
The back cover has pictures of all the other Expert Builder sets from the late 70's. He thought these sets were all still available until I explained to him that they all dated back to "when Daddy was a boy."
He spent some more time poring over this page before looking up at me and saying "Dad, I wish I had been alive in the olden days so that I could have all these sets."
"Olden Days?" Come a little closer, kid, so I can hit you with my cane...