fried

So I have this situation where I'm going out to dinner with someone and they've recommended a really crappy restaurant. Without going into details, I'm not in a position to say, "Why would you pick a corporate soulless crappy restaurant next to the freeway in big-box retail hell?"

I'm just thinking that wouldn't go over very well. So here I am in Portland, a city brimming with fantastic local restaurants, all with energy and soul and really good beers and I'll be sitting in deep fried mysery listening to the muffled rush of freeway traffic. And I'll probably be drinking, at best, a Michelob.

And given its proximity, I'll end up driving there.
Grim.

i am *not* insane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

I always thought it was really dumb that the winter solstice is the first day of winter. In my view, the shortest day of the year should be precisely the midpoint of winter. all of the shortest days should be grouped together as winter. Instead, the first day of winter is, in essence, the beginning of the march towards more and more daylight.

My way is better. The rest of the world seems to agree.

btw, happy solstice!

up down up down

Ben said he wanted to draw "a up down up down."

He draws them all the time now and will usually cry when he wants to draw one but we don't let him because it's bedtime or dinnertime or whatever.

So, any guesses what he's drawing?

straight lines

{rant} So I'm cutting drywall and a piece is off a bit. I cut another and that one is off as well. I measure several points along the surface but each segment drawn with my level has a slight curve. I'm creating subtle scalloped lines. The level is not slipping and if I flip it over, thus expecting now a convex arc, is still concave with another identical scallop. I work out that the plastic level is flexing as I cut. On the one hand, I'm angry that someone would sell such a hunk of crap. On the other, I'm happy to have found the source of my inability to get it right.

I now own two additional high-end pieces of equipment. A drywall specific aluminum straight-edge and a bomber aluminum level with a rotating bubble. I hate crappy equipment. Of course now, if I'm off for any reason, I have nobody to blame.{/rant}

brakes

one of Benjamin's favorite pastimes is to get his tricycle (ahem cross tricycle) up to full speed, and... head down, blaze straight into a wall. BANG!!! He finds this terribly funny. He will then say, to no one in particular, "A...gain" and repeat, giggling all the while. We insist he wears his helmet.

why

ben "I'm spilling my yogurt"
ben "why am i spilling my yogurt"

and later

"I want THIS KIND of yogurt [cry]" ben
"OK, Ben, here's the yogurt you want." dad
"Why did you get me that yogurt?" ben

Over and over and over again.

Why? I don't know.