Last night, pushing my cart along in an HEB at MoPac and Hwy 183, I looked up to see something flutter overhead. I didn't get a good look but whatever it was circled back and flew right over me again. This time I had no doubt, it was a bat. I watched it's random flying for a minute or so, and then saw one of the male employees there chasing after it with a large plastic milk carton. I warned him that he might want to be careful not to harm or kill that bat or HEB would probably get in a bunch of trouble. He ran off and I suspect was successful in catching the bat as I heard loud proud exclamations later. Something you don't normally see on a grocery run.
I wasn't really too worried about that bat flying into my hair and getting all tangled up in there.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Google street maps
I received an email from my brother John late today telling me that the old car we recently sold is shown in front of our house on Austin street maps. My response - what are Austin street maps. After he replied telling me it is part of google maps, I looked up my address, and holy cow, there is my house. Two cars in front. Christmas lights are still up. So this was done over Christmas. The view can be maneuvered with the mouse. Wow. Its really good.
I have to wonder if this is a good thing tho. There have got to be a lot of creeps out there that could use these views for nefarious deeds. I don't really know what could happen to us personally but it bothers me in the back of my mind.
PS The basketball goal is gone - it fell on the Honda during a heavy storm over the Christmas holidays.
I have to wonder if this is a good thing tho. There have got to be a lot of creeps out there that could use these views for nefarious deeds. I don't really know what could happen to us personally but it bothers me in the back of my mind.
PS The basketball goal is gone - it fell on the Honda during a heavy storm over the Christmas holidays.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Unplugged
I was listening to Laura Ingraham's radio show yesterday as I took the end of the week off for Spring Break. She was talking about "unplugging" from the electronic connected world, if not for a short a period of time to cleanse and rejuvenate the brain. She also spoke with Jon Mattleman (link from Technorati) about programs he uses with middle schoolers and why unplugging is a good thing.
This topic is constantly lurking about our house. As our kids use the internet more for email, chatting, and stuff, we are battling to limit the time spent online. But our kids don't come close to the hundreds of minutes a day online either - but on occaission they can come close.
How difficult is it for us to unplug? In my opinion we're not in too deep. Only one computer in the house, well except for Evan's and nobody wants to go into his room and he doesn't want to come out, and as a result demand far outstrips supply as far as online time goes. Only one family cell phone with no text messaging and I have a business cell phone - no texting. Cable TV is only the basic of basics. We get 12 channels maybe and several are the community access stations which are jokes. Everyone now has a personal mp3 player too, except Evan recently had his stolen and is using Sam's. Beyond that we're relatively free of technology, and yet we feel its tidal pull. Email must be checked, Facebook page maintained, mp3 players managed, research for school (something actually productive!), and checking the blog reader. Homework on the computer is accompanied by Instant Messages, and other chatter and distractions.
Unplugging is a conscious effort, hard work most of the time met with resistence. We took a trip last October to Big Bend National Park as part of unplugging, but an mp3 player or 2 went along, and all the pre-trip planning happened online. It was successful but we were swept back into the tech current as we returned home.
I can't argue against a regular respite from the information superhighway, on a family basis too, but its a planned, announced event.
This topic is constantly lurking about our house. As our kids use the internet more for email, chatting, and stuff, we are battling to limit the time spent online. But our kids don't come close to the hundreds of minutes a day online either - but on occaission they can come close.
How difficult is it for us to unplug? In my opinion we're not in too deep. Only one computer in the house, well except for Evan's and nobody wants to go into his room and he doesn't want to come out, and as a result demand far outstrips supply as far as online time goes. Only one family cell phone with no text messaging and I have a business cell phone - no texting. Cable TV is only the basic of basics. We get 12 channels maybe and several are the community access stations which are jokes. Everyone now has a personal mp3 player too, except Evan recently had his stolen and is using Sam's. Beyond that we're relatively free of technology, and yet we feel its tidal pull. Email must be checked, Facebook page maintained, mp3 players managed, research for school (something actually productive!), and checking the blog reader. Homework on the computer is accompanied by Instant Messages, and other chatter and distractions.
Unplugging is a conscious effort, hard work most of the time met with resistence. We took a trip last October to Big Bend National Park as part of unplugging, but an mp3 player or 2 went along, and all the pre-trip planning happened online. It was successful but we were swept back into the tech current as we returned home.
I can't argue against a regular respite from the information superhighway, on a family basis too, but its a planned, announced event.
Happy Pi Day (3.14)
Happy Pi Day. Here's to hoping that last decimal place will never be calculated.
Pi are not squared, pi are round.
Monday, March 03, 2008
For Once Please Keep Talking
At work one morning I was a bit hungry and remembered there was some good thick French bread leftover from the previous day's lunch of BBQ. I heated it up and piled some peanut butter on it nice and thick, then headed back to my desk. I sat down, took a big bite, started to chew, and the phone rang. Without thinking I picked up the phone and discovered I couldn't open my mouth due to the peanut butter. I think I mumbled something and feverishly began chewing. Luckily for me, it was a sales call from a temp/staffing agency and she was telling me how great her company was. All I could think of was - Please Keep Talking - and she did.
It was Jerry Lewis all over again.
It was Jerry Lewis all over again.
High Speed Wheelie
On the way home from work as I am driving on interstate 35 I glance over to my right to the access road and see a motorcycle. At that moment the motorcyclist lifts the front wheel off the pavement and rides a wheelie. He keeps that front wheel up for quite a while. I look quickly at my speedometer and I am at 65 mph - the motorcycle is even with me and holds that speed, even passing a car or two in other lanes while on one wheel. It looks crazy to me to risk falling but he maintains it for about 15 seconds, over a quarter mile, before setting down to slow due to an approaching red light.
Not good for anyone's blood pressure.
Not good for anyone's blood pressure.
Wisdom teeth
Evan had his wisdom teeth pulled this past Leap Day. All four came out. I took off the morning from work to take him in and he was in for the procedure a little after 8:30 a.m. Sean showed up from her office about an hour later before Evan was put in recovery. When we first saw him he was in a recliner and looked to be completely out. But he came to briefly and asked us if his teeth had been pulled yet. After we indicated yes his teeth were out, he went back to sleep for about 20 minutes. I brought him home and he promptly took some meds and hit the sack.
I remembered two things from the past from this. First was a doctor's visit I took Evan to when he was about a year old. It was to have his ears drained. He was crying and miserable from the pain, and I was there only as a substitute because the more qualified pediatric nurse mom was working. The doctor explained briefly what was to happen with me and started to take Evan to the back rooms to work on him. I was told to stay in the waiting room. As I handed Evan over he began to reach back to me and ratcheted up the crying a few notches. He looked horrified. I don't like that memory much. But he was put in a "papoose board", they drained his ears and he was happy on the way home and that night.
My own wisdom teeth came out in 1979 during the summer. I was working as unskilled labor in an oil refinery in Sulphur, LA and developed a blue ribbon toothache in my right lower jaw. I couldn't work and I had the feeling our supervisor thought I was faking. X-rays were taken - and the doctor tells me I have a serious bacterial abscess under my wisdom tooth on the right, but he can't understand why the left side does not hurt because it is worse. The surgery was scheduled, but the night before the pain was so bad that my mother took me to an ER for the pain. I got my first shot of demerol, but being in the ER with a toothache is little embarrassing. I remember seeing a fellow that had rammed a screwdriver into his hand, and one or two other real looking ER victims so that I felt silly with my toothache. Surgery was routine - for the doctor anyway - all 4 wisdom teeth were removed and I went home to spend the next few days having the abscesses cured. A good friend of mine came over while I was recovering and wanted to play gin rummy - penny a point.
I remembered two things from the past from this. First was a doctor's visit I took Evan to when he was about a year old. It was to have his ears drained. He was crying and miserable from the pain, and I was there only as a substitute because the more qualified pediatric nurse mom was working. The doctor explained briefly what was to happen with me and started to take Evan to the back rooms to work on him. I was told to stay in the waiting room. As I handed Evan over he began to reach back to me and ratcheted up the crying a few notches. He looked horrified. I don't like that memory much. But he was put in a "papoose board", they drained his ears and he was happy on the way home and that night.
My own wisdom teeth came out in 1979 during the summer. I was working as unskilled labor in an oil refinery in Sulphur, LA and developed a blue ribbon toothache in my right lower jaw. I couldn't work and I had the feeling our supervisor thought I was faking. X-rays were taken - and the doctor tells me I have a serious bacterial abscess under my wisdom tooth on the right, but he can't understand why the left side does not hurt because it is worse. The surgery was scheduled, but the night before the pain was so bad that my mother took me to an ER for the pain. I got my first shot of demerol, but being in the ER with a toothache is little embarrassing. I remember seeing a fellow that had rammed a screwdriver into his hand, and one or two other real looking ER victims so that I felt silly with my toothache. Surgery was routine - for the doctor anyway - all 4 wisdom teeth were removed and I went home to spend the next few days having the abscesses cured. A good friend of mine came over while I was recovering and wanted to play gin rummy - penny a point.
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