How to fail a breathalyzer test..

too funny....

kids say the darndest..

while Tobias is playfully teasing his sister...

Natalie
Tobias! Don't do that. It puts a crack in my heart.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

while Tobias is being put to bed ...

Tobias
Is tomorrow 'no school day'?

Dad
No. Tomorrow is Wednesday.

Tobias
How about after tomorrow?

Dad
No. Then it's Thursday.

Tobias
How about after?

Dad
That's Friday.

Tobias
How about after?

Dad
Then it's Saturday! No school day.

In one quick coordinated move Tobias does a big underhand fist pump while lowering his head and loudly whispering 'yesss!'

waky waky...

if this doesn't wake you up in the morning... i don't know what will.

am i the only one who can't stop from laughing when listening to this?

father and son event: shoveling.

there have been a few big dumps of snow recently. today was the latest.

i was out shoveling when my son came out. all smiles as usual. but instead of immediately jumping in the biggest snow bank to play on he was eager to help out ol'dad. he picked up the extra shovel and started trying to move the heavy wet snow. which he did.. a bit.

after a while his shoveling turned into a small snowball fight with dad and then some fooling around in the snow but it really warmed my heart to see him come out wanting to help me do some work. as i stood there, shovel in hand watching my boy smiling while playing in the white snow my eyes started welling up.. thinking about the next few years.. when my boy is a bit older.. all the things i can make him do.

shoveling, mowing the lawn,.. raking leaves,.. picking up groceries... ...designated driver ... ,.. excuse me.. i think i need to go blow my nose....

father and son

absolutely unbelievable.. knievel would be proud..

if you've seen this already, it's worth another look.
if you haven't...
watch the whole thing 'cause the end is just as crazy as the beginning...

wow.

farts from the other end...

Early.. ..too early,.. one sunny morning Dad is laying on the couch trying to get some shut-eye while Natalie sits in front of him watching cartoons when he smells something pungent in the air....

Dad
(while positioning himself up, his face is now very close to natalie' s face)
Natalie, did you fart?

Natalie
(eyes never leaving the television)
no.

Dad
Really?

Natalie
Yes.

Dad
Oh... I smell fart.

Natalie
(pauses a moment. daddy thinks he's caught her but in actuality natalie is earnestly trying to figure out what dad is smelling. then eureka! eyes still not leaving the television. matter of factly.)
You're breath smells like fart, that's why.

I love Natalie.

"This is (my) CNN"

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a seriously funny show. Sadly.. it is my only source of political news (Well,.. almost. I have been known, on occasion to actually watch the 'real' news or even a debate or two). Why it's so great is that it's all true. That plus throw in a bit of tricky editing and satirical commentary and you have a very humorous 1/2 hour of television.

The October 14th, 2008 episode was particularly funny. (I'm referring to the first part of the four that make up the entire episode)

McCain's not so subtle facial reaction to the crowd's comments is classic.

It's gonna start all over again...

The final countdown has started as I barrel towards another bout of unemployment. My current project will be over by November so stay tuned for more regular posts. 'till then,.. go read this (some of my favorite print magazines):

Road and Track
Evo
Motorcyclist
Sport Rider
Roadracing World
Home Theater
Computer Arts

like all things google.. this looks promising..

let's see... take the established stuff, include the current cooler ideas, then tweak all that to make it better... and,.. what the heck, throw in some new thinking productivity features just to stir it up a bit and voila!

introducting a new face to an anemic web app enviornment: google CHROME


perhaps not entirely re-made but worth a mention since it really is a good browser when you start utilizing the plug-in system: Firefox 3

of course, if you really like micro$oft .. they of course are working on their killer app killer with Windows Explorer 8

and even though i personally don't like it.. 8% of the web population can't be wrong (or can they?). One thing i can tell you is the last time i was infected with some sort of malware the only browser that actually worked uneffected was Apple's Safari, now in 3.1.2 guise

and finally, .. might as well give a shout out to the last of the 'mainstream' browsers (i actually use the Opera browser on my wii from time to time): Opera 9.5



brought to you by the self-professed google cheeleader (men can be cheerleaders too you know)

a study on the 'hallway' and social behavior

So, like a lot of work environments we have a bunch of hallways at our office. But there's this one particular hallway that is special. It's special because it's very wide (~15ft) and very long (~150ft).

The interesting thing about hallways, especially in office settings, you inevitably pass people.. and it's people you typically know but not very well,.. and a lot of times people you probably last saw within the past hour.

Here is where innate human behavior kicks in. We as a group have 3 different ways of acknowledging that person in the hall walking in the opposite direction about to pass you. This is emphasized by the giant hallway at my work where you can see the other person approaching from what seems like a mile away.

1) You ignore them completely. You either keep your eyes down.. or gaze past the person.. or if you're really not in any kind of social mood you look obviously away.

2) You give them the polite pursed-lipped head nod. I believe the pursed-lips are meant to be some sort of smile. (note: you don't have to actually be looking at the person to give this type of signal)

3) This is in my opinion the weirdest one: the look- right- at- the- other- person- then- widen- eyes- and- raised- eyebrows. What is this? A relic of our ancestors that is ingrained in our DNA? A way of saying 'I see you!' as if that was some sort of greeting? ... a warning perhaps from the time of cavemen? i dunno why.. but i do it too.

Of course if you feel really enthusiastic on a particular day many of us combine 2) and 3). And like a lot of social behavior if you remove this out of context you would look like some sort of crazy person that had skipped their last round of meds.

And as with all rules there are exceptions. Like just now, while finishing a very humorous conversation with a co-worker I began to genuinely laugh at what he just said. He turned the corner as I kept walked down our giant hallway with the biggest,.. dumbest,.. open-mouth grin that anyone could possibly have. And then there she was, out of nowhere, that young lady you really don't know at all coming the opposite way assuredly thinking 'that guy is waaay too happy.' Obviously i did the most natural thing,.. i toned down the laughing-face-with-no-sound down, diverted my eyes to the floor and picked number 1).