My blog has a new name. I think this one will stick. It's a play on my favorite word, and 100% original. Archi-blog-o or any variation of that spelling (archi-blogo, archiblogo, etc.) does not show up on MSN Search or Google.
Archi-blog-o is a scattering of thoughts, observations and pictures, much like an archipelago, a scattering of islands in the ocean.
Which of my blog names do you like best?
Current: Archi-blog-o
Older: 12 0 13
Original: Hearsay
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Ptrety Naet
THE PHAOMNANEAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in
waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae
the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe.
(lifted from Life Cubed blog you can find to the right)
And, ran across this picture of the worst broken nose I've ever seen. Australian Rules Football, baby!
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in
waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae
the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe.
(lifted from Life Cubed blog you can find to the right)
And, ran across this picture of the worst broken nose I've ever seen. Australian Rules Football, baby!
Monday, September 27, 2004
He was a litter boi
As part of Grady's birthday weekend, I took him to Blockbuster to pick out a movie (he got Toy Story 2 and pronounced at the end, "this movie is great"). We parked and when getting out of the car, a guy with a skateboard tucked under his arm put his large Pepsi cup on the curb and walked past us to the neighboring gas station.
I was curious whether he placed it there to retrieve it later, so I went and nudged it with my foot. It was empty. So, Grady and I waited by the car for him to exit the gas station/convenience store. He didn't walk back our way to pick up the cup, so I knew he had indeed littered.
He was talking with two friends, and I brought Grady over and approached the guy. He was probably 16 or 17. Me:
Me:
I gave him a return vacant stare to say you're wrong, dude.
We went into Blockbuster and when we came out the cup was still there, yet the group of kids were gone. Hmmph. I saw a car drive by and the littering, Sk8er Boi was in the back seat. I yelled, "Hey, hey, come back here!" The driver threw it into reverse and drove back quickly. I prepared to get into a confrontation.
The driver, though, seemed to be the kid's older brother. I told Sk8er Boi:
So, I know I taught Grady a lesson, and, though I doubt it, I hope I taught Sk8er Boi a lesson.
I was curious whether he placed it there to retrieve it later, so I went and nudged it with my foot. It was empty. So, Grady and I waited by the car for him to exit the gas station/convenience store. He didn't walk back our way to pick up the cup, so I knew he had indeed littered.
He was talking with two friends, and I brought Grady over and approached the guy. He was probably 16 or 17. Me:
"Hi. My son and I saw you place your cup on the curb and he asked why you had littered. I told him I didn't know, so that's why we're talking to you. Why did you leave your cup on the curb when you literally walked two feet from a trash can on your way into the gas station?"Sk8er Boi:
"Oh, I'll go get it."Me:
"OK, but I'm still curious, why would you do that and who did you expect to pick it up?"Sk8er Boi just shrugged and gave me a vacant look.
Me:
"I'm just teaching my son a lesson about what's right and what's wrong."
I gave him a return vacant stare to say you're wrong, dude.
We went into Blockbuster and when we came out the cup was still there, yet the group of kids were gone. Hmmph. I saw a car drive by and the littering, Sk8er Boi was in the back seat. I yelled, "Hey, hey, come back here!" The driver threw it into reverse and drove back quickly. I prepared to get into a confrontation.
The driver, though, seemed to be the kid's older brother. I told Sk8er Boi:
"You told me you'd pick up this cup. Please do it."The driver said to Sk8er Boi, "You didn't do it already?! Go pick that up." Sk8er Boi opened the door and sulked over and picked up his cup. The driver, as he pulled away said, "Thanks, and I'm sorry."
So, I know I taught Grady a lesson, and, though I doubt it, I hope I taught Sk8er Boi a lesson.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Tears
I am wiping tears off my face after reading a hilarious blog.
This guy is so darn funny. What got me crying laughing was his post about his open-mouthed smile on the roller coaster.
I'm also wiping tears off my face from gagging after reading this other hilarious but disturbing blog. Actually, it's a saved collection of "Steve Don't Eat It!" postings and pictures from The Sneeze blog. The pig skin puzzle is alarming.
Check them out.
This guy is so darn funny. What got me crying laughing was his post about his open-mouthed smile on the roller coaster.
I'm also wiping tears off my face from gagging after reading this other hilarious but disturbing blog. Actually, it's a saved collection of "Steve Don't Eat It!" postings and pictures from The Sneeze blog. The pig skin puzzle is alarming.
Check them out.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
New Pictures
I posted new pictures.
We've been very busy at work, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for blog stories.
We've been very busy at work, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for blog stories.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Rastaman Vibration, yeah-ah, Positive Vibration
Liam's language skills are coming on like gangbusters. It's fun.
He loves singing. His favorite for a few weeks has been the "doo dah, doo dah" if you sing, "I KNOW someTHING you DON'T know." "Doo dah, doo dah."
And, "E-I-E-I-O" at the right time during Old McDonald.
But, he REALLY surprised us two nights ago when we were singing some reggae with Grady. Liam joined in at the right time with "No woman, no cry!" He even ends with a warbling "cry-y-y-y!"
Here he is trying to say "Bob Marley"
Grady has almost the whole No Woman, No Cry song down. ...cornmeal porridge of which I'll share with you, government yards in Trenchtown, my feet is my only carriage, hey little darling don't shed no tears, etc...
MSL, you'd be proud.
He loves singing. His favorite for a few weeks has been the "doo dah, doo dah" if you sing, "I KNOW someTHING you DON'T know." "Doo dah, doo dah."
And, "E-I-E-I-O" at the right time during Old McDonald.
But, he REALLY surprised us two nights ago when we were singing some reggae with Grady. Liam joined in at the right time with "No woman, no cry!" He even ends with a warbling "cry-y-y-y!"
Here he is trying to say "Bob Marley"
Grady has almost the whole No Woman, No Cry song down. ...cornmeal porridge of which I'll share with you, government yards in Trenchtown, my feet is my only carriage, hey little darling don't shed no tears, etc...
MSL, you'd be proud.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Turtle starts with 'C'
Grady is into asking what letter words starts with. "What does dog start with?" "D."
I was giving him a bath last night and he was asking about all the tub toys. We started doing shorthand. "Cup?" "C, cup."
He has a turtle tub toy. "Turtle?" "T, turtle." Grady looked at me then the turtle and said, "No, Dad, it's a sea turtle."
I was giving him a bath last night and he was asking about all the tub toys. We started doing shorthand. "Cup?" "C, cup."
He has a turtle tub toy. "Turtle?" "T, turtle." Grady looked at me then the turtle and said, "No, Dad, it's a sea turtle."
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Dog Daze
Yesterday I took Grady, Liam and Coltrane to the Clackamas Aquatic Park. Each year, the day before the park drains the pools for 3 weeks of intense cleaning, they invite dogs in. We went to the first of 3 two-hour sessions. We all had a blast.
This is about half the pool. There is a wave pool, a kiddie pool with slides, adult slides, a six-lane lap pool, and a high dive/deep water pool.
We spent most of the time in the lap pool. They had drained the pool a couple of feet, so Coltrane LOVED getting a running start and doing a layout dive. I tried to capture it, but Grady didn't throw the frisbee out far enough, so Coltrane just kind of hopped in.
Three amigos. Can you guess what I used to get their attention? See small yellow circular object in above picture.
This is about half the pool. There is a wave pool, a kiddie pool with slides, adult slides, a six-lane lap pool, and a high dive/deep water pool.
We spent most of the time in the lap pool. They had drained the pool a couple of feet, so Coltrane LOVED getting a running start and doing a layout dive. I tried to capture it, but Grady didn't throw the frisbee out far enough, so Coltrane just kind of hopped in.
Three amigos. Can you guess what I used to get their attention? See small yellow circular object in above picture.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Let's go RED SOX, ch..ch..ch-ch-ch
We had a great weekened in Seattle. We anchored our trip around the Red Sox/Mariners game.
We arrived around 11:30 and had lunch with my cousin, Brian. Liam was horribly behaved, so it wasn't a relaxing time, but it was nice to see Brian.
We had arranged for a babysitter to stay with Liam back at the hotel while we took Grady to the evening Red Sox game. It was a great time. Grady kept asking after every half inning if the game was over. Each time I was afraid he was asking because he wanted to go. Turns out he was worried it was over. We left after the 8th inning with the Red Sox up 7-0. They ended up winning 9-0. I kept my eye out for the Webbs or Erik, but wasn't so lucky to be able to meet them in person.
This morning before we headed home, we went to the very enjoyable Seattle Aquarium. Fun, kid-friendly exhibits. The highlight for me was the "leafy." It was a giant sea horse, called a sea dragon. They come in "weedy" and "leafy" varieties. The highlight for Colleen was the octopus stuck to the glass. Diving puffins, playful otters, and the brilliant starfish rounded out the top 5.
We always grow to love Seattle a bit more each visit there.
The drive between Seattle and Portland has to be one of the most boring stretches of 170 miles there is. It takes real concentration. The only upside is the speed limit is 70 mph most of the way.
We arrived around 11:30 and had lunch with my cousin, Brian. Liam was horribly behaved, so it wasn't a relaxing time, but it was nice to see Brian.
We had arranged for a babysitter to stay with Liam back at the hotel while we took Grady to the evening Red Sox game. It was a great time. Grady kept asking after every half inning if the game was over. Each time I was afraid he was asking because he wanted to go. Turns out he was worried it was over. We left after the 8th inning with the Red Sox up 7-0. They ended up winning 9-0. I kept my eye out for the Webbs or Erik, but wasn't so lucky to be able to meet them in person.
This morning before we headed home, we went to the very enjoyable Seattle Aquarium. Fun, kid-friendly exhibits. The highlight for me was the "leafy." It was a giant sea horse, called a sea dragon. They come in "weedy" and "leafy" varieties. The highlight for Colleen was the octopus stuck to the glass. Diving puffins, playful otters, and the brilliant starfish rounded out the top 5.
We always grow to love Seattle a bit more each visit there.
The drive between Seattle and Portland has to be one of the most boring stretches of 170 miles there is. It takes real concentration. The only upside is the speed limit is 70 mph most of the way.
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Walkers, Spider, NFL, Collage, RS, MSL
We had a relaxing Labor Day weekend. The only official activity we had was having the Walkers over on Sunday night. We had a great time, as usual. We fed the spider some ants.
Today was busy, busy. Lots of official work, then lots of 2004 NFL Death Pool work. The pot is going to eclipse $5,000. For just a $10 entry fee you could walk away with $5,000 later this winter. Any blog readers interested? Wednesday is the last day to enter.
Grady is collage crazy these days. I sit with him and he dictates what he wants me to draw and then cut out and glue to a piece of construction paper. The first collage had Nemo, Marlin, a plane, a dog and some other things I forget right now. For the second collage he wanted "an old, old church," two goldfish, a salmon, the sun, a crow, a man, and a lion in it. The crow and lion didn't fit, so we saved those for future collages. I'll snap some photos of them. I like doing collages with him, and he rewarded me on Sunday morning by saying, "You do nice things for me, Dad."
My new favorite magazine is Rolling Stone. Can't believe I've never read that treasure before. The profiles of the celebrities and bands are riveting. From Gary Trudeau, to Bill Clinton to Jenna Jameson to Tom Cruise. Good, good stuff. And, the beauty of it is I'm reading it for work!
Got a fun, drunk call from MSL last night. He's on vacation in N.C. and he called to rub it in and chat. I'm glad I was on his mind during one of his drunken vacation moments.
Today was busy, busy. Lots of official work, then lots of 2004 NFL Death Pool work. The pot is going to eclipse $5,000. For just a $10 entry fee you could walk away with $5,000 later this winter. Any blog readers interested? Wednesday is the last day to enter.
Grady is collage crazy these days. I sit with him and he dictates what he wants me to draw and then cut out and glue to a piece of construction paper. The first collage had Nemo, Marlin, a plane, a dog and some other things I forget right now. For the second collage he wanted "an old, old church," two goldfish, a salmon, the sun, a crow, a man, and a lion in it. The crow and lion didn't fit, so we saved those for future collages. I'll snap some photos of them. I like doing collages with him, and he rewarded me on Sunday morning by saying, "You do nice things for me, Dad."
My new favorite magazine is Rolling Stone. Can't believe I've never read that treasure before. The profiles of the celebrities and bands are riveting. From Gary Trudeau, to Bill Clinton to Jenna Jameson to Tom Cruise. Good, good stuff. And, the beauty of it is I'm reading it for work!
Got a fun, drunk call from MSL last night. He's on vacation in N.C. and he called to rub it in and chat. I'm glad I was on his mind during one of his drunken vacation moments.
Friday, September 3, 2004
Just jokin'
A man walks into a psychiatrist's office wrapped only in Saran Wrap. The psychiatrist says, "I can clearly see your nuts!"
An exhibitionist was contemplating retirement, but he decided to stick it out for another year.
What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Well, you can roast beef.
And now for some late breaking news:
I just saw my shoelaces come untied. I was standing in the elevator, and with nothing better to look at, I looked down at my shoe and caught my laces unraveling. It struck me that I've never seen that happen.
An exhibitionist was contemplating retirement, but he decided to stick it out for another year.
What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Well, you can roast beef.
And now for some late breaking news:
I just saw my shoelaces come untied. I was standing in the elevator, and with nothing better to look at, I looked down at my shoe and caught my laces unraveling. It struck me that I've never seen that happen.
Thursday, September 2, 2004
List mania!
With no better topic on my mind, I present listings of some banal things, in rough chronological order. though it was fun for me to think back on these topics, you have my permission to skip today's post.
Concerts:
Michael Jackson’s Thriller
U2’s Joshua Tree
Boston
Afghan Whigs
Pink Floyd
INXS
Ziggy Marley
DMB (bunch of times at UVA and once in the Gorge)
The Connells
Peter Gabriel
Lemonheads
G-Love
Clifton Chenier
James Taylor
Cherry Popping Daddies
Chris Isaak (2 times)
Buddy Guy
Jude (3 times)
Semisonic
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Ensemble holiday show with Jewel, BNL, Dido
Sting
Simon & Garfunkel
Mark Knopfler
Cars:
Mercury Marquis Brougham
1977 Toyota Corolla
1986 Toyota Corolla LE
1992 Volvo 240 sedan
1995 Volvo 960 sedan
Vacation spots:
East Northport, NY
Winston Salem, NC
Sea Isle City, NJ
Kitty Hawk, NC
Ocean City, MD
Lake Winnipesauke, NH
Avalon, NJ
Duck, NC
Jamaica (Negril)
Osterville, MA
Stowe, VT
St. Maarten
Falmouth, MA
Cancun, Mexico
Myrtle Beach, SC
Germany (Munich)
Amsterdam
Ireland
Wells, ME
Berkshire Mountains, MA
Seattle, WA
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Maui
Kaui
Tofino, BC
Ashland, OR
Crater Lake, OR
Dallas, TX
Manzanita, OR
Italy (Rome, Tuscany, Bellagio, Venice)
Traffic tickets:
70 in a 55 zone in Charlottesville, VA
35 in a 25 zone in Lake Oswego, OR (via photo radar)
43 in a 35 zone in Lake Oswego, OR (via photo radar)
Pets:
Horn, the goldfish
Hoppy, the rabbit
Maggie, the Irish Setter
Mandu, the cat
She Don’t, the cat
Ollie, the chicken
Sophie, the German Short-Haired Pointer
Anna, the GSHP
Emma, the GSHP
Betty, the Tri-Colored Nun Finch
Miles, the Tri-Colored Nun Finch
Utah, the Weimaraner
Kool-Aid (shared pet), the Blue and Gold Macaw
Coltrane, the Weimaraner
Places of residence:
Boston, MA
Arlington, VA
Alexandria, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Falmouth, MA
Milton, MA
Lake Oswego, OR
Portland, OR
Clackamas, OR
Concerts:
Michael Jackson’s Thriller
U2’s Joshua Tree
Boston
Afghan Whigs
Pink Floyd
INXS
Ziggy Marley
DMB (bunch of times at UVA and once in the Gorge)
The Connells
Peter Gabriel
Lemonheads
G-Love
Clifton Chenier
James Taylor
Cherry Popping Daddies
Chris Isaak (2 times)
Buddy Guy
Jude (3 times)
Semisonic
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Ensemble holiday show with Jewel, BNL, Dido
Sting
Simon & Garfunkel
Mark Knopfler
Cars:
Mercury Marquis Brougham
1977 Toyota Corolla
1986 Toyota Corolla LE
1992 Volvo 240 sedan
1995 Volvo 960 sedan
Vacation spots:
East Northport, NY
Winston Salem, NC
Sea Isle City, NJ
Kitty Hawk, NC
Ocean City, MD
Lake Winnipesauke, NH
Avalon, NJ
Duck, NC
Jamaica (Negril)
Osterville, MA
Stowe, VT
St. Maarten
Falmouth, MA
Cancun, Mexico
Myrtle Beach, SC
Germany (Munich)
Amsterdam
Ireland
Wells, ME
Berkshire Mountains, MA
Seattle, WA
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Maui
Kaui
Tofino, BC
Ashland, OR
Crater Lake, OR
Dallas, TX
Manzanita, OR
Italy (Rome, Tuscany, Bellagio, Venice)
Traffic tickets:
70 in a 55 zone in Charlottesville, VA
35 in a 25 zone in Lake Oswego, OR (via photo radar)
43 in a 35 zone in Lake Oswego, OR (via photo radar)
Pets:
Horn, the goldfish
Hoppy, the rabbit
Maggie, the Irish Setter
Mandu, the cat
She Don’t, the cat
Ollie, the chicken
Sophie, the German Short-Haired Pointer
Anna, the GSHP
Emma, the GSHP
Betty, the Tri-Colored Nun Finch
Miles, the Tri-Colored Nun Finch
Utah, the Weimaraner
Kool-Aid (shared pet), the Blue and Gold Macaw
Coltrane, the Weimaraner
Places of residence:
Boston, MA
Arlington, VA
Alexandria, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Falmouth, MA
Milton, MA
Lake Oswego, OR
Portland, OR
Clackamas, OR
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Good Samaritan
Fun, crazy day at work today. We launched a significant product that you can read about in Walt Mossberg's column tomorrow. Most of our team stayed at the office late, so I volunteered to go out and get beer and pizza.
While I was in the checkout line of the grocery store with 4 six packs, a mom and her two kids were in front of me. The daughter was about five and the baby boy in the cart seat was about a year old. She had just finished paying when her son started crying like many babies do in grocery stores. She started to hustle them out of the line to make way for me.
It was then I noticed the baby's foot and ankle were stuck in a section of the cart not meant for little legs to go. He was crying out of pain, not boredom. I said to the mother, "I think your son's leg is stuck." In a very pleasant english accent, she thanked me, blushed with embarrassment and attempted to get her son's leg & foot unstuck. She couldn't.
The checker kind of panicked and called over a bag boy to "get some pliers!" and that's when I made a decision to take over. I told the bag boy to grab the bar on one side of the boy's leg and I'd pull the other bar. We were able to bend those bars JUST enough for the boy's foot to pop free.
The mother thanked me again, and I told her I had two young ones and probably would have mistaken that kind of cry for a "grocery store meltdown." She was appreciative of that support.
I saw her get into a brand new Volvo XC90 SUV. I knew I liked that family for some reason!
While I was in the checkout line of the grocery store with 4 six packs, a mom and her two kids were in front of me. The daughter was about five and the baby boy in the cart seat was about a year old. She had just finished paying when her son started crying like many babies do in grocery stores. She started to hustle them out of the line to make way for me.
It was then I noticed the baby's foot and ankle were stuck in a section of the cart not meant for little legs to go. He was crying out of pain, not boredom. I said to the mother, "I think your son's leg is stuck." In a very pleasant english accent, she thanked me, blushed with embarrassment and attempted to get her son's leg & foot unstuck. She couldn't.
The checker kind of panicked and called over a bag boy to "get some pliers!" and that's when I made a decision to take over. I told the bag boy to grab the bar on one side of the boy's leg and I'd pull the other bar. We were able to bend those bars JUST enough for the boy's foot to pop free.
The mother thanked me again, and I told her I had two young ones and probably would have mistaken that kind of cry for a "grocery store meltdown." She was appreciative of that support.
I saw her get into a brand new Volvo XC90 SUV. I knew I liked that family for some reason!
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