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Archive #10 03/23/05 - 10/31/05

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10/31/05
Happy Halloween!
Thing 1 = "Shadow Ninja"
Thing 2 = "Police Officer Man"

Vikings are 2 and 5, and Culpepper is out for the season. What is it I like about this sport again? Oh yeah, nothing!
2 - 4

I'm going to Disneyland.

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10/27/05

Belt testing went well. Belt graduation is on Saturday the 5th, and we'll be at Disneyland, so I won't get my new belt until Nov. 7th, or 8th.

The hardest part about belt testing is sitting, and waiting while everybody else tests. Being a lowly whitebelt, I had to test on my curriculum early, then go get my sparring gear on, and sit for over an hour sweating my balls off while the higher belts tested. Once everybody was done, we sparred. That went pretty good too. I connected on an Ilbojeonjin nadabam (step forward switching/turning jump round house), a double roundhouse combo, and a nice back kick. I had NO energy though, as I was still really sore from Monday's class. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I passed.

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10/26/05
Wow, I'm lagging. I've been super busy, and don't have much to report. The Walnut Creek skatepark is almost done. It looks pretty dumb except for the bowl, which looks pretty fun.

I belt test tonight for my yellow belt.

Vikings blow this year.
2 - 4

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10/07/05
What does it mean if, when passing the lady's room, women who happen to be entering the lady's room often hold the door open for me? This happens more than I care to admit, and it's starting to trouble me.

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10/04/05

If you're ever feeling down, there's nothing like an unintentional compliment from a 3 year old to lift your spirits.

The other day, I was getting out of the shower, and Thing 2 was playing in the bathroom, waiting for me. I got out, and was drying my hair, and when I removed the towel from over my head, I noticed he was standing up at eye level with my junk, and obviously taking some mental notes. I wrapped the towel around me, which broke his concentration, and he said, "Daddy, why are your tessacoles so big?"

Here's where I should interject that my tessacoles are in fact of normal size, and proportion, however, to a 3 year old sporting a peanut shell, I am quite the mutant.

Now, how to answer his question... I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from blurting out, "So I can make an army of cute babies like you.", or the more obvious, "Because I am the manliest man in all of Mandom!".

In the end, I had to settle for the mundane answer about how when people grow, their parts get bigger, and blah, blah, blah, but what I was really thinking was, "Well, yeah, my tessacoles are big, but did you notice the size of that penis!?!?!" Apparently he did not.

1-3 Stupid football

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9/26/05
We went to our first Tae Kwon Do tournament. Only Thing 1 competed in this one, and for his efforts, he won a silver medal in forms! The medal is really nice, and he was so proud, he wore it ALL day Saturday. Awesome job buddy!
1-2

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9/19/05
0-2
I threw up in my mouth a little bit watching the scores from this game come in.

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9/16/05
I had my first Tae Kwon Do class last night, and it was a sparring class. I used to be fairly good at sparring as me and my friend Shawn used to try and beat each other up using hellacious kicks in his garage on Friday nights. It was always fun, but I think we were probably just taking out our frustrations about being in a garage on a Friday night pretending we were ninjas.

The practice served us well though, as we often worked on counters, and feints. Shawn and I briefly joined a Dojang when we were in college, and one of the 1st classes we had to spar. I got called up with a yellow belt who was pretty cocky. We began, and he threw two roundhouse kicks that I could see coming from a mile away. I told myself, if he does another one, I'm going to nail him (I had honed my counter for this attack in Shawn's garage, using his chin a few times). Sure enough, he threw the roundhouse, so as he was beginning his kick I spun a turn back hook kick, and pounded him right in the jaw with my heel. Knocked him down, in pain, fight over. Master Yu was really excited. When I sat back down next to Shawn, I remember him saying under his breath, without looking at me, "holy fucking shit Dude....holy fucking shit dude...holy fucking shit dude..." It was one of my greatest moments.

Anyway, last night went well. I had no delusions about my skill level, it's been a long time. I just wanted to try and not look like an idiot, and I definitely didn't want to look cocky. I sparred a man who was a yellow belt 1st, and did well. I scored quite a few times, and mixed up my kicks well. I even scored on a back kick counter to a roundhouse, like the story above, but I kept it low (to the chest protector "hogu"). After what I'm guessing was a 1 minute round, I wanted to lay down and sleep. My legs were SO TIRED. I had about a 10 minute rest, then had to spar again. This time against a woman. That was kind of awkward. I couldn't really figure out how hard to kick, and even if I could, I couldn't really control them, because my legs felt like Jell-O. I really need to work on my endurance. It was fun though.

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9/15/05
New tutorial added. Fake Tattoos in Photoshop.

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9/14/05
I added a new tutorial (How to make camouflage in Photoshop).

I am joining Deniece, Thing 1, and Thing 2's dojang tonight to continue my Tae Kwon Do training that I stopped at age 14...after 21 years, I feel pretty well rested.

0-1

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9/8/05
I suck at sleeping. I'm pretty sure that sleeping is the absolute easiest thing anyone could possibly do...ever, and I am completely bad at it. I seem to be getting worse at it. I just lay there thinking about EVERYTHING. I almost always have those cognizant pre-dreams where you're almost asleep, but you are half imagining, half dreaming, and more often that not, my conscience mind totally blows it. Last night for example, I was dreaming/imagining that I won 250 million dollars in the lottery. My subconscious was having fun thinking about how easy, and fun life would be, and then my idiotic waking mind started thinking about taxes, and how we'd share money, and it even began imaging arguments that theoretically would never happen about how we're not being generous enough. Ridiculous. After that little exercise, my mind was all over the place like a crack addicted Chihuahua, and there was no sleep in my future.

It seems simple:
Be tired
Lay down
sleep

mmmm, not so much.

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9/7/05
Happy Birthday Deniece!!!!

Thing 1's 1st day of 1st grade in public school. He loved it, and was psyched to go back...awesome.

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9/06/05

I got gas today. It wasn't that bad. The nurses were pretty cute, and the pain killers are working well. My stitches itch a bit, but I'll get over that, at least I can drive around a little...I didn't need that kidney anyway.

So apparently Jesse Jackson feels the word "refugee" is not an appropriate way to describe the people fleeing hurricane Katrina's destruction in search of...REFUGE.

What in the hell is wrong with people?

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9/01/05
Thing 1 and Deniece had belt testing last night in Tae Kwon Do, and both did amazing. They had to each break a board with a side kick, and they both did it on the 1st try.

You know what is really scary to me? The fact that it would only take 2 to 3 days without water and electricity to send most of the country into a tailspin towards complete lawlessness, and concern only with self-preservation without worry for our fellow man. I admit, were I in New Orleans right now, my only concern would be keeping my family safe, and fed, and hydrated, and I would do that by any means necessary. Now when you've got many millions of people with that same thought, shit's gonna get real weird, real quick.

I hope the bad guys don't figure out a way to take down our power grid, and contaminate our water on a large scale. I really don't want to have to break out my old football shoulder pads, spray paint them black, and have to go all Thunderdome on all of your asses.

Email Issue:
Apparently not all of my tomledin.com mail is getting through to me. It seems like some of it is, but it is sporadic at best. I have been getting lot's of complaints about not responding to emails. I think it's Dickson's fault, as he was the first to notice it.

So, if you need to get a hold of me, it would be best to send email to my work email address, until I can get this straightened out with my host. Everything looks right, but something odd is happening.

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8/31/05
Man small, nature big.

8/29/05
Skated San Rafael again. Got some more cool pictures. See them here

This is my favorite pic (Shawn). Shot with a fisheye lens, I was actually running up the wall behind him, and am only about 3 feet away from him, but the lens makes it look like he's far away. His shadow, the sky/sun. the coping cutting the photo in half with gray cement on the bottom, and blue skies on top. It may or may not be a good photo technically, but I love it.

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8/24/05
I just drank 40 ounces of water in 8 minutes and 23 seconds.

My wife asked me why I was doing it, and I told her, "for fun", but secretly, I'm hoping it will be like some kind of scientific experiment gone wrong in which I will develop some sort of super power. Crap, in writing that I realized I'm setting myself of for some crappy power like Zan the Wonder Twin who could turn into water.

Zan's twin sister Jayna had a cool power. She could turn into any animal. All Zan could do was turn into water, or ice. What kind of crap is that?! It usually went something like this:

Together: "Wonder Twin powers...ACTIVATE!"

Jayna:    "Form of a Saber-toothed Tiger!"

Zan:     "Form of a ...uh, well, uh, I did puddle
           last time... and, I don't have a bucket
           with me, so how about...shit I don't know
           ...what about an icicle for fuck's sake?!"

Worst power EVER!

It's been about 45 minutes, and I don't feel much in the way of super powers, but I pee'd for almost 2 minutes straight! I'm not entirely pleased with that as a super power, but it's better than being able to turn into water!

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08/23/05
Skated San Rafael again. I'm not getting any better there, but I'm still having fun.
Here's a few pics from the session:

So apparently Russia, and China are participating in some military training activities together. That is pretty scary, and could cause me to lose some sleep but if tomorrow we hear that North Korea has joined them, I will crap my pants on the spot.

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08/19/05

You know how some people seem to really enjoy the company of others. I'm talking about people who don't feel the least bit weird walking into a party where they don't know anyone, in fact they thrive on it; the kind of person who will make it a point to try and meet as many new people as they can, and truly relish the opportunity to meet, and possibly learn from them. You know these people. In talking to them, they always seem terribly interested in what you're saying even if you yourself know it's a boring topic. They look you directly in the eye, and nod, and respond to things you've said without trying to turn the conversation back onto themselves like most people. They are always so friendly, and usually have truly interesting lives, yet they are content to meet as many nobodies as possible, and hear about their nobody lives, and they usually make everyone feel really good about themselves. They are always kind, and charismatic, and are always saying something positive and uplifting.
I fucking hate those people.

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08/16/05

I skated San Rafael with Dickson and Joey on Saturday morning. We had the bowl to ourselves, it wasn't to hot, and nobody got hurt...to my knowledge, I left first...hey, are you guys ok? It was a fun session. I'm still scared of that bowl, but I'm enjoying it more and more.

Thing 1's name came up on the list to get into one of the two Magnet schools (Monte Gardens) in our area. Monte Gardens wasn't our 1st choice, only because it will make our commute more difficult, but it is just as good a school as our first choice (Sequoia). I'm really psyched. One of the highest rated schools in the area, and NO TUITION!!!!!! Oh Yeah!!!

If you don't know what a magnet school is, let me explain it. It's a public school that draws kids from the school district if they are on the waiting list. If you live right next door, and don't get on the list when you're 3, you're out of luck. We got Thing 1 on the list when he was almost 4, so he didn't get in for Kindergarten. His name didn't even come up on the list for Sequoia (the one by our work), so he won't get in there until 2nd grade. We'll probably just end up staying at Monte Gardens though, as it's pretty close to our house.

Thing 2 will go to Palmer for Junior Kindergarten (palmer is the private school Thing 1 has been going to), so we get one year without tuition, then have to pay a boatload for JK. Then, Thing 2 will go to whatever school Thing 1 is going to for kindergarten, and we can begin saving for college. Hooray!!!

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08/11/05
Next time you see a tough guy on a motorcycle (I'm not talking about your average motorcycle rider, I'm talking about the guys who think they're badass...ok, yeah, I guess I'm talking about all motorcycle riders). Anyway, really check them out, and notice how hard they are trying to be cool. They've got their cool black t-shirts, and their little skull cap helmets, because they're too tough for a real helmet, and some even have cool leather jackets with tough biker gang/club logos on them. When you're done realizing just how cool they are, check out their little license plates! Ha ha ha!!!! What a burn! After all that work looking tough, and spending all that money on tough clothes, and a big ass motorcycle, and the DMV makes you put a little itty bitty Toys R Us license plate on your hog. I had one of those on my Schwinn when I was seven. It said, "Tommy". It made me feel like a pussy, so I tore it off, and put it on my door. Whose the tough guy now?

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08/09/05
We finally got our pavers done in the backyard, and they look awesome. We have been eating outside a lot the last week or so. It's nice to have a backyard again.

Deniece and I went to see Wedding Crashers this weekend, and I'd give it a resounding:

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08/01/05
Happy birthday Dad!!!

Skated San Rafael with Dickson, and I enjoyed the park a lot more this time. Actually all I enjoyed was the bowl, but that's all that's worth skating there anyway.

The family went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I'd give it a solid:

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07/29/05
This site gets a lot of visitors, from all over the world, and I thought it'd be cool to hear what some of you have to say, so I set up a message board. Click Here, and register.

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07/28/05

I bought a high tech fly swatter at Bevmo last week. It looks like a tennis racket, but has metal wires instead of string, and it electrocutes bugs on contact. Awesome. However, I can't kill shit with this thing. I even camped out over a pile of my dog's poo that was crawling with flies, and I couldn't get one. I am convinced that had I lived 10,000 years ago, I would have been placed into a 'gatherer' position by HR, and when they realized I sucked at that too, they just would have kicked me out of the tribe. If I can't kill a fly with an electrified high tech flyswatter, how am I going to fare against a 6 ton wooly mammoth armed only with a pointy stick...not very well I'm sure.

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07/27/05

The hair projects have come to an end. Thing 2 got tired of all the attention he was getting about his mohawk after about 6 days, and had me buzz it off. I gave myself a haircut right after him, so we have the same do. Thing 1 got most of his hair cut off, but he wanted, "some style", and didn't want the jarhead look Thing 2 and I have, so he's sporting a cool spiky hairstyle.

Thing 1 and Deniece had tip testing in Tae Kwon Do yesterday, and both did very well. Now they are white belts with two black tips. Next month they have their first belt test, for yellow belt. It drives me crazy watching, and not participating, as I practiced Tae Kwon Do for quite a long time as a kid (until we moved to CA), and then again in college, and have always wanted to get back into it, and finally earn a black belt. Maybe some day, but for now, it's fun watching Deniece, and Thing 1 advance. Thing 2 is still a "Tiny Tiger", so he only has class on Fridays, and does not get to tip test, or belt test yet. Thing 1 was a "Little dragon for almost a year, and earned six colored tips on his white belt, then he got a "Little Dragon yellow belt", before he joined juniors and got a new official white belt.

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07/18/05
Our 3 year old has been sporting a fauxhawk for a few months, and thinking he was pretty cool, but Saturday we were at Home Depot, and Thing 2 spotted a kid with a real mohawk, and said instantly, "I WANT DAT HAIR!". I asked, "Are you sure?", and he was emphatic. So, after his nap on Saturday, we gave him a real mohawk, and he is stoked on it.

Deniece and I realized we might be in trouble with these two. The 6 year old recently proclaimed, "I'm not cutting my hair until high school.", and now my 3 year old has a mohawk. I don't think I even knew I had hair until I was about 10.

Here's a pic of their current 'hair projects'

Skated with Joey at the San Rafael park. Lot's of concrete, and not much of it very skateable. I'm frightened by the waterfall in the big bowl, and actually got speed wobbles before even hitting the face wall. I also tried to go shoulder and wrist first through a big wall of concrete, and am paying the price today.

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07/13/05
The family and I went to Lake Shasta to practice for the inevitability of our eventual homelessness. It was fun, but camping with little guys is a whole lot of work.

We, saw The Fantastic 4, and I'd give it a solid:

About 5 years ago, I decided I would try tightie whiteys again (hadn't) worn them since childhood. I had a 3 pack in my hand, but Deniece found a 10 pack for the same price. In my head I knew I didn't need 10, but what the hell, it was a good deal. Anyway...I hated them, and never wore them after the 1st try. I decided to finally throw them away, and make some room in my underwear drawer. So, what do we do with old but unworn tightie whiteys in our house?
We make Space Suits. This was good for an hour of fun.

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06/24/05
Thing 2's 3rd birthday today!!!!!
Happy birthday Thing 2!!!!!

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06/23/05

You know what makes me crazy? Celebrity endorsements. No, not all endorsements. I don't mind if Shaq is endorsing a pair of $80 shoes, or if PeeWee Herman endorses a pocket size lotion dispenser. What I do mind is when semi-retarded actors are trying to sell me religion, specifically, an expensive religion, more specifically, an expensive religion that is not really a religion, more specifically even still, an expensive religion that is not really a religion, and believes aliens live in our bodies. Yes, I am talking about the cult that is $cientology.

Scientology is a complete joke. I don't know how they finagled their way into a tax exempt status, but it sucks. I'm sure you all know the story. L. Ron Hubbard, a marginally successful sci-fi writer decided the best way to get rich was to start a religion...he was right.

In scientology you have to go through auditing sessions which are like a series of confessions. If you want to go undercover, and do some auditing, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY. Tom Cruse got audited years ago, and admitted that he was gay...(I'm guessing), and that's how they get you. Now he's a celebrity shill for a pretend religion because they've got a file on him. I wonder what they have on that fool Travolta.

If you got here by searching on Scientology thinking it might be a cool thing to try, check this out:

75 Million years ago, an alien ruler named Xenu ruled all the planets in this part of the galaxy, including Earth (it was called Teegeack back then). To combat overpopulation, Xenu with the help of psychiatrists called all the people in for tax audits, but when they got there, they were given injections of glycol, and alcohol to paralyze them. All the paralyzed people were put into space planes, and flown to earth, where they were stacked around the base of volcanoes. Then Xenu placed H-bombs in the volcanoes, and detonated them killing everybody. Then he captured all the souls in electric beams, and made them watch movies in a cinema where they were told they were God, the Devil, and Jesus. The Souls (called Thetans) then grouped together, and apparently they live in all humans to this day and The 'technology' of scientology is the only way to get rid of them.

It's not even good science fiction!!!! Apparently the information above you only get when you reach a high enough level in the church, but by then, they know all your secrets, so you're screwed.

The Church of $cientology loves suing people, so I'm going to say this. Scientology Rules! (if you're a fucking retard) Scientology lawyers, please ignore that last part. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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06/22/05
Bumper stickers tend to confuse me. I understand that it's difficult to express meaning using big letters in a small space, but when readability tends to trump understandability, bumper stickers become little more than stupid car decorations.

Today at a stoplight the woman in front of me had 3 bumper stickers on her car, 2 of which I understood, and one that completely vexes me.

1) More trees less Bush
- Ok, I get that one, she's obviously anti female, and
     "trees" is a clever euphemism for 'penis'.

2) Send Kids to school, not Iraq
   - I agree with this. If the school bus took a left,
     and went to Iraq instead of school, I'd be pissed.

3) If animals could speak, we'd all be vegetarians
   (this is the one I don't really get)
   - So, I guess this one is saying it's ok to eat animals
     because they can't speak...right? I think however it
     may have a deeper meaning. I could be wrong, but I
     think this sticker is saying that it's ok to eat
     people that can't speak, like mutes, and babies.

People put weird shit on their cars.

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06/20/05
Everybody was crabby in my house on father's day, so I'm calling a 'do over'

Deniece and I went to see 'Batman Begins'. I give it a solid:

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06/16/05
There was a death in the family. We're all pretty shaken up over it.

Thing 1's imaginary friend Invisible has gone on to greener pastures. We'll miss you Invisible.

Invisible came into our lives when Thing 1 was about two and a half. He wasn't around too much, but when he was, I often sat on him, which usually sent Thing 1 into hysterics. It was fun to hear about invisible's life on Saton, the Invisible planet. Of course I couldn't hear invisible tell his stories, but Thing 1 was gracious enough to pass them on to us. On Saton, they had cars that were giant bugs that they rode on. Each bug was different. I asked if they were invisible too. This annoyed Thing 1, but he cleared it up for me. "Everything on Saton is invisible, but only to us. Invisible, and his people can see everything there."

Needless to say I was shocked to hear of Invisible's untimely demise. Thing 1 and I were driving home last week, and he blurted out, "Invisible is dead!"

"What!" I asked, "Wha..why, what happened to him?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Well," Thing 1 started very matter-of-factly "Invisible was killed."

"Killed?! By who?" I asked.

"He was eaten."

"Eaten!?" I was barely able to contain my grief.

"Yes, he was eaten by my new imaginary friend, Uncle Raptor."

Thing 1 didn't seem the least bit traumatized by Invisible's horrible death, perhaps comforted by his new friend Uncle Raptor. I have yet to learn anything about this Uncle Raptor, and honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be able to accept him....the bastard ate Invisible!

Rest In Peace Invisible. You will be missed.

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06/15/96
9 Years ago today I married my wonderful wife Deniece. They say the first 18 years is the hardest, so we're halfway there!!!!

Thing 1 was doing the math today to see how long we had been married when he was born (3), then how long we were married before Thing 2 was born (6), then Daisy the Greyhound(1), then Belle the Whippet.....well, it turns out that Belle is illegitimate. We were living in sin when Belle came into our lives. So, for those of you who may be keeping track, Belle is an illegitimate, epileptic, drug addicted whippet...who likes to occasionally snack on cat poo.

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06/13/05

So John Kerry's GPA from Yale was finally released, and just as anyone with an ounce of sense figured, he is a pseudo-intellectual phony. His contrived blue-blooded persona went miles in convincing the democrats that he was a far superior candidate because he is so smart, and Bush is so stupid.

Kerry graduated with a cumulative 76 (C) average, and Bush graduated with a cumulative 77(C). Kerry got 4 D's his freshman year, and went on to improve over the next 3 years. His highest grade was an 89 (B+). Bush got one D in Astronomy, and his highest grade was an 88(B+).

So basically, they were both fairly shitty students. What I find amusing is that Kerry and his supporters have always played up his intellect, and conversely played up Bush's wild partying college days. So my question is, who is smarter? The intellectual who (they wanted us to believe) spent his time studying, or the booze hound who spent most of his time drunk...and still did better in school. One could argue that Bush just coasted through school, and got average grades, and Kerry worked his ass off for those very same grades.

Personally I find them both to be semi-retarded, but those tend to be the choices we get.

C'mon, let's admit it...Our political systems is messed up. Our presidential candidates should be frighteningly smarter than the average schmoe. I'm talking about fluency in multiple languages, a near all encompassing knowledge of history, and an almost omniscient understanding of economic theory. Those things are NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK! Our candidates should be put through the most rigorous intellectual scrutiny ever. Pop quizzes at every campaign stop!!!

I find our acceptance of mediocrity in the most powerful elected position on Earth terrifying. I'm pretty sure even I could pull a C average at Yale, and I are not much smart.

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06/11/05

We went to Thing 1's graduation, and got the best seats in the house. Deniece's mom got there early and was the 1st in line. I can't believe I'm the father of a 1st grader. Thing 1 was a stud. He didn't fall, or pick his nose on stage, I was so proud.

The place where the graduation was is the same place that my dad and I went to see Jane Goodall speak about 8 years ago. My dad had donated money to the Lindsey Museum through his company, and the museum was sponsoring the speaking engagement, so we were honored guests. That means, without warning were were hustled backstage after the speech, and put in a little room with Jane for a private audience. We were completely unprepared, and totally uncomfortable. We mustered a few questions that made us sound even more oblivious than ever. I don't recall all the details, but I'm betting it went something like this:

Jane: It's a pleasure to meet you.
Me:   Hi
Dad: It's nice to meet you too.
Me:   Monkeys are funny, do they really throw poo?
Dad: [laughing]
Jane: Well, most of my studies were on Chimpanzees.
Dad: I like chips, I mean chimps.
Me:   Did you ever dress them up like a race car driver, or a butler?
Jane: No, not really.
Dad: A monkey butler is not a bad idea.
Me:   Do chimps wear diapers naturally in the wild?
Jane: No.....can I sign your books?

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06/07/05

My eldest son is graduating from kindergarten on Friday. The school he goes to makes a really big deal out of graduation for both kindergarteners, and 8th graders. It takes place at the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Center (a big nice place that seats a billion). We were told by a few different people to get there 2 hours early to make sure to get a seat near the front. AT first I was bit skeptical about the whole deal, thinking, 'C'mon, it's kindergarten, why all the fuss?'. Then after thinking about it, I realized that he learned to read, write, add, and subtract this year, and he does them all perfectly. WHAT A YEAR!!!! He may never learn that much in a school year again. So, I think I'm going to buy him a Porsche for a graduation gift.

Things were different when I was a kid. I have no memory of actually graduating kindergarten, but there is a photograph of me and a friend standing in front of his house wearing only OP shorts, our poorly made construction paper graduation hats, and holding our rolled up diplomas. We both look pretty haggard, and he apparently had recently pee'd his pants, as they are soaked right in the pee pee zone in the picture...that kid knew how to party, but he couldn't really handle his liquor.

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06/03/05
I got two decks I designed in the mail yesterday from two different companies.

Sacrifice Paul Smith Pro Model.
Ashland Skateboards Team board

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06/01/05

I am convinced that young developing brains are similar to adult brains when they are on drugs, and or alcohol.

This morning while Thing 2 (2) was taking a poop (he asks if I will sit on the floor and talk with him while he poops), he said, "Daddy, you're eyes are green (he knows they are blue)....let me smell them." So, I leaned forward to let him smell my right eye, and then he followed up with, "Your eyes are greenish, but they smell like purple!"

I'm pretty sure that being two is kind of like being on LSD.

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05/17/05

"Ok"....that's how you spell it. Let's get this right people! It's a two letter word and should NOT be spelled wrong.

It's not 'okay'. It doesn't necessarily bug me when the average person spells it wrong, however, what does bug me is the people who consider themselves grammar/spelling experts who spell it wrong. It also bugs the crap out of me when it is written in books that way.

OK is an abbreviation of "Oll Korrect", which was the bright idea of some doofus trying to be funny by spelling 'All Correct' wrong, (purposeful misspellings, and their accompanying abbreviations and acronyms were apparently a fad in the late 1800's...whatever, they didn't have Tivo, so give them a break).

So, c'mon people!!!! Stop making extra work for yourself, and leave off the 'ay', it doesn't belong there, and it kind of makes you look like an idiot when you do it. It's as bad as if you were writing:

Ayesap - ASAP

Efwhyeye - FYI
Ayedee - A.D.

Beecee - B.C.

Naytoe - NATO

Ceeaye - CA

Skoobuh - Scuba

Tioem - T.O.M

In summary, no more "okay". Every time you see it written that way, take comfort in the fact you are like a mental Yao Ming (7' 6"), and the writer is like a mental MiniMe (2' 7").

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05/16/05
Stayed home with sick babies today. Thing 1(6) was actually sick, and Thing 2(2) was just faking it.

I went skating with Joey at Berkeley on Sunday. I was lazy, and wasn't feeling it until about 10 minutes before I had to leave...and I got a sunburn.

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05/05/05
Cool date!

Wow, I'm lagging on the updates. I've been really lazy lately.
I think I may have narcolepsy, but I'm gjkhfggggggggggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggg not sure how you tell if you
have it. I guess I could go seehjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

aw screw it.

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04/22/05
It bothers me when people wear watches upside down, so the face is on the underneath part of their wrist.

Sometimes I try it to see if it makes me feel sophisticated, but I usually just end up in the emergency room with a fractured ulna. I usually opt for a hot pink, or day-glow colored cast...sophisticated indeed.

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04/15/05

I hate taxes. I did my taxes the other night with Turbo Tax. I got a nice refund from Federal, and owed a chunk to state (less than what I was getting back from the Feds though). Well after paying a penalty for owing money to California, and paying for the privilege to submit my taxes online, and then paying a fee to have the refund direct deposited, my refund dwindled until I was out of pocket for $.045

Thank you very much California. As if I don't suffer enough living here.
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04/14/05

Why do courts give out multiple life sentences? Is that supposed to send a message, and perhaps be a deterrent for others thinking about violent crime?

I don't get it. After you die in prison the first time while serving multiple life sentences, do they just leave your body in the cell, or have they figured out someway to imprison your soul?

Maybe the government/judicial system knows something we don't. Is it possible that there are people walking around who can die, and come back to life multiple times? Or maybe there are 'extra lives' hidden around the world like in video games?

Could it be that humans are actually ruled by an alien race of cat people who think we have nine lives too?

Gas cost me $2.80 for the medium grade yesterday. $44.02 to fill my truck. Screw you Cat People!

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04/08/05
I designed a print ad for Sacrifice Skateboards that is running in the current Concussion magazine.

You can see it here

Mid-grade gas is $2.76 where I live now. I think it may be time to invade Saudi Arabia ;-)

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04/06/05
Somebody needs to open a cell phone etiquette school. Some people are good at cell phones, some people just plain suck at them. I like to think I'm good. If I get a call, I remove my self from the area if others are present.

03/24/05
Click this picture to catch glimpse of the kind of thing you might see on any given day at the Ledin house.

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03/23/05
Another board graphic. This one is a longboard for Ashland Longboards. The graphic is on top covered with clear grip tape.

Ashland Longboards