Sounds like the project budget was cut.

I hear a pair of red longjohns was involved...

My mother died today, and while I am filled with sadness over her loss, I'm also happy that her struggles are over. The past few weeks were some of my darkest in memory, so I'm glad to see them go.

My mom passed surrounded by her family, having a party at her bedside thanks to Lisa bringing down sandwiches, chips cookies, and champagne - we were all having fun and reminiscing.

We finished the day by hoping into a car and going down to Balboa, where my mom used to love to take walks. It was a beautiful day.

I will miss her, but am glad to have had her as part of my life.

^^like

That's a wonderful tribute, Chris.

Chris I'm so glad you got to say goodbye in such a wonderful way!

Can I book now to have you and Lisa manage my end of days?

I know she was glad to have you as part of hers. And so are we. All our love.

Ditto. I'm hoping Theo absorbs some of your awesomeness before my time comes.


Seriously - you've handled everything wonderfully and even her memory will be well tended. Much love.

What She Said. :snap:

In about 2 weeks, I'll have test prints of 3 of my photos as 20x30 gallery prints.

I saved another person's job today!

I hope I can save my own in a few months.

Just landed an awesome permanent job! I'll get to do all the things I love, and the people and environment are beyond awesome! I start Wednesday. :D

Congratulations DP!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congrats! Good luck!

Congratulations!!

Yeah - conga-rats!

Hey, Kevy, we should do lunch sometime. I'll be right near John Wayne. :)

OMG OMG OMG !!! You're working at the Hollywood Wax Museum ?!?!?!?!

Bwahaha, the LoT world is converging on Santa Ana/Costa Mesa.

Kevy, me, nirvanaman, lindyhop, possibly €, now you.

Congratulations DP! Very happy for you.

Today my serious happy thing was really freakin' scary to write. But now it's out there.

Made

My

Morning.

Congrats, DP!

And LSPE, I will have to read it in chunks today, but I want to make sure I say how happy I am for you!!

Yeah for Health, new/saved jobs, being in OC (I can come visit you!) new toys, oh and getting to stay late in bed on a chilly morning and snuggle into the sheets (that was me)! Happy day!

So much for reading it in chunks... I couldn't stop, H!

Congratulations DP!

Heidi and Tom, I am so proud of you! Changing one's life on this magnitude isn't easy and I'm so glad you found Richard to help you along. Reading your story was so inspirational to me and I feel even more connected to the two of you. Good work!!!

Brave and bravely done, LSPE!

Heidi you and Tom are so inspiring!

I could relate to a lot of what you said. Keep up the great work you are doing. :)

Lash, thank you SO much for making me laugh. I'm actually quite nervous today. It's a big change for me, having been my own boss for the last three years. I'm excited and scared. But, the people I'll be working with are really super nice and enthusiastic, so that takes a bit of the edge off. But, still, laughter is much needed. Thank you. :D

LUNCH SWANKING!:snap:

I love this. I'm so proud of you and even awed. You're a source of inspiration and one of the bravest women I know! :cool:

LSPE - Well done to both You & Tom - you are both an inspiration !!!

Can you ask Richard if he can send me one or two of his workouts, because his website won't ship to Australia. :(

Theresa: You know I never let the chance for a corny joke slip by me... :D

Thanks, everybody, for the support. It means so much.

LB, I can send those to you myself if you want. They sell them at the studio. Just tell me which ones you want and we'll work it out! (Literally!)

Awesome visible CM mojo!

Congrats T!

Happy first day of work to you!

Beautifully written by both you and Tom and let me say here, you both look fabulous and fabulously happy! You're inspiring and I'm thrilled for you!

:snap:

Thanks! :)

I rocked it today! Went in nervous as hell, but after lunch, jumped right into a project that they've had shelved for over a year and finished the design in 2 hours. My boss was amazed and congratulated me on a great first day. :)

This is taking much adjusting already. I'm so used to working from home without a set schedule. But, I shall manage.

Thanks! :)

I rocked it today! Went in nervous as hell, but after lunch, jumped right into a project that they've had shelved for over a year and finished the design in 2 hours. My boss was amazed and congratulated me on a great first day. :)

This is taking much adjusting already. I'm so used to working from home without a set schedule. But, I shall manage.

Just bought a new bike!

My craigslist beater has served me well for 1800+ miles, but it's a 30 year old beast, everything is just a little off and, with the amount of riding I do, it requires constant tending to to keep things tight and aligned. It just isn't up to the task of a daily commuter.

So I decided it made sense to invest some money in something that I'm using so often. I ended up spending a little bit more than the pre-set budget I'd had in mind, but I think it was the right call. What I didn't want was the lowest end bike, which is where my budget was seeming to put me. And in the end I got a bike that's two steps up in quality at the price of one step up. It was by far the best bike I test rode today (and I rode a LOT of bikes) Can't wait to get it on the trail!

Just got my review. Every bullet point was "exceeds" expectations. Comments were excellent and I've been told I will bet getting an increase. What or how much I have no idea, that info is coming from our Atlanta office at some point. Since my salary has not increased since 2006 I'm an optimist to think it will be something to make a difference and a realist enough to remember it probably won't. ;)

It was nice to see all the nice comments on paper and get the back pat from my senior supervisor.

:snap:

I scored a groovy new lounge for the sunroom
on sale and just in time for Friday

Awesome, add a compfy chair and you can tell me about your dreams

Ooooooo..... Nice!

Yay - tax refund is good. Now I can pay for better excursions on our Alaska cruise in June.

Captain Larry! You need Captain Larry. His whale watching tour is the best in business matey!

Really. He's as big a character as the whales.

A retail developer's poor business acumen is, at least temporarily, my gain.

There's a shopping center up the street that was built a couple years ago, ostensibly as a place for big-box furniture stores to congregate. Without going into too much detail, it's a stupidly awful location. It's been a revolving door of furniture stores in there since it opened, and I've literally never seen more than a dozen cars parked in its expansive lot.

Why is this my gain? Because they're getting desperate so they've gone hipster. Heavy facebook/twitter presence, a new shopping space that's kind of a hipster swap meet, weekend farmer's market, and (so far my favorite part) twice weekly lunch truck gatherings. Yay! Hipster fuel within biking distance from work!

Short Stop BBQ has some damned tasty sauce!

I just booked our room for our DLR trip in June- we went with the Carousel Inn because of it's proximity to the Park, as well as a really great rate on a Concierge level room. Anyone here ever stayed there?

Thanks for the tip Moonie. We'll check it out. Maddie wants to do the teen only helicopter/glacier hike in Juneau so I need to figure out what I'm doing.

GD - did you have this food truck? :rolleyes:

Katharine Hepburn skateboarding:

My, she was yar.

Sheesh, we've already got our tax refund and blown it all away!

And on that topic (and the topic of the thread!) my new receiver just came in and I am stopping at my friend's place to pick it up!

Is that the shopping area that backs up to the 405 housing Linders, Bassett and La Z Boy (near the other shopping area housing Ashley and some other big box furniture stores?)

If so, there is an awesome mom and pop place in there (next to Ashley) called Home Expressions. It's where I got my couch. LOVE THEM!

Oh and food trucks are awesome too.

That's the one. The stupidity of that place is that by the time you see the ginormous sign from the freeway, the next exit you can get off it is Euclid which is no where NEAR the actual center with no direct way back. And I hadn't even THOUGHT about the fact that, yes, when you do get off at Euclid, you're dumped right into that other cluster of furniture stores. So the odds of someone seeing that sign, exiting the freeway, and ending up at that center...nil. I work practically in direct eyeline of the place and it took some hunting for me to figure out how to get there.

But I bet the developer got it for dirt cheap.

I completely understand. Through all my furniture shopping, visiting big box stores to narrow down what I like/don't like I was never able to find those other stores. In fact, after visiting the first cluster and avoiding Costco I forgot all about the new center.... until I headed home and passed them. So how DO you get there?

They need their own exit like IKEA.

----------
Heidi - I just read your Slimmons post. Thank you so much for sharing it. You and Tom are an inspiration for getting healthy the right way for the right reasons.

Actually that Ikea exit is a good way to get there. But the shortest would be to get off at harbor, turn right, turn left on South Coast, then turn right again just before you'd bet back on the freeway. The center is there on the left.

The Carousel Inn is right across Harbor at the maingate, so I don't think this was the one. I checked out lots of reviews, etc, and the area we are staying in is supposed to be pretty nice. (They've been renovating the hotel). They have a pool on the roof, so we may have to have a swim/fireworks viewing meet. :D

Damn that's convoluted.

I'm just going to say again how frelling happy I am with my couch. Continuing the theme of replacing my old purchased when I was college-broke furniture my new coffee table, TV stand and end table will be here in a couple weeks. If I have room 2 staircase book cases will follow shortly after.

Today I was the big kid pushed too much by the bully.

Legally speaking. :)

:cheers:

I hope someone vid rec'd it :cheers:

Rooftop pool? Cool!

Now that I think about it, I think it was the Candy Cane where we stayed. So I have no idea about the Carousel. I hope they're good!

Awesome. Not the bullying part, but that you got them back.

I'm still unable to find the words to write post my review of Las Vegas and my incredible time i had on the fan club trip and photo op with Jon Bon Jovi (even though it was a group photo op) to me it was more of a personal meet and greet with him at least my experience and everything that happened.

The show itself all i can say is i finally got MY Jon singing part of Bed of Roses to me :) Finally and it is on You Tube to prove it is me. I was lucky enough to be on the circle/rail so when Jon came onto the ramp he was within inches when he moved around during Bed of Roses. I'm still in awe and have this huge grin on my face :) even now so.

Let's just say he is really down to earth, amazing, really in tuned with his fans (i didn't even have to say a word to him and he took a letter RIGHT out of my hands) I managed to give him 2 hugs and he hugged me RIGHT back the second time arms around me holding me close to him. I managed to kiss him on the cheek.

But what amazed me is the way i was the first one in our group of 10 to approach him for our photo op. HE turned towards me before i even started to walk to him and smiled that famous smile of his and those baby blue eyes making eye contact with me and all i could muster out was an "oh my gosh" because it was that type of moment for me and let out a "squeal". I had to compose myself and managed to put my head on his shoulder for a few seconds while everyone in our group gathered around him. Yes my arm was around his neck with my hand resting on his other shoulder. He had his arm around me for the group picture.

:)

Ty so much. Yes it was very awesome and amazing. I get to do well just the next concert only in 55 days in Houston. Then it's over. :( But Vegas really was "magical". I'm walking on a cloud. :) Still haven't even worked tried to work on pictures yet either lol just everything is so surreal.

Ducks tie the game with 5 seconds left and win in OT. WOOHOO!

Richard Simmons wrote to me personally. I LOVE that guy. He really is an inspiration.

We may have to invade one of his classes in 2015. I have 4 years to look good in a leotard. :D

I feel.... better!

Felt like crap all day but now I feel like myself. :)

I think you need to look up the meaning of "restraining order"

No, he hasn't written again since. :p

I'm going on a rollercoaster trip in May!! YAY!!!

Going to Texas for Texas Giant Bash, gonna ride till I puke, then ride some more.

Heidi and I are very happy to announce the arrival of our latest niece, Charlotte. She was born last night to my brother Josh and his fiancee, Jo. Nine pounds, ten ounces.

Yaaaay, Charlotte!

And, yaaaaay, LB! Richard really is one of the kindest, most supportive people I know. Can't wait for you to join us for class.

And... once again... that invitation is open to everybody. No one has joined us for a class yet, and you would all get the biggest kick out of it.

Maddie and I are so in for a class. We just need to find an open weekend.

Welcome, Charlotte! Well done!

What a pretty girl! Congratulations!

It's FRIDAY IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!

Oh shyt. Oh shyt. Oh shyt!

Finally got the Android update for my phone that supports Flash. Heeeeelllooo fully functional we browsing!

The IRS came out with a new rule for 2010 taxes that allows Registered Domestic Partners to each file half of the total community income and half of all credits on our separate returns. We just figured this new rule will increase the amount we get back by over $1000! Yay IRS!

I just installed a new light fixture in the kitchen (6 lights on 3 bars) - filling our kitchen with plenty of beautiful warm light. :D

I had help from my lovely assistant Rose, too.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. The Member Service Representative position at Partners FCU just opened up again. I got a call to interview for this once... JUST after I'd started working at RE/MAX, so I didn't go (many's the time I regretted THAT decision!)

This would be a great job for me, and would be returning to the mouse in a professional capacity, as I would like to do.

HOPEHOPEHOPEHOPEHOPE!

Good luck Morri, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Good luck Morrie, fingers crossed for you!

My review was 110% positive, not a negative thing to be said. Was just notified that I will receive 2.95% raise in salary. So, that's 1% for the 3 years I've been back with the firm or in a more positive light, 2.95% for 4 months in the new firm. As Paulette Goddard said, any ladle is sweet that dishes out some gravy.

It's Ben and Jerry's Free cone day out here on the Bitter East Coast. Your mileage may vary.

OMG, I'm going to Yosemite... TOMORROW!

My brother's on his own for a few weeks while the wife & kids are in Taiwan and I called him up to see if he'd like to do a quickie camping trip at some point. Next thing I knew, we were making plans to leave tomorrow for a 2-night jaunt in Yosemite!

Now I just have to hammer out all the other details like popping on a few days of work at my boss' house early next week (hey, when I'm present I get a lot more hours in, helps pay for the gas!), and crashing at my dad's for that part of the trip. But basically, it's a-happenin'!

Fun, Morrigoon! And good luck on that job. Though I know you'd really hate to ditch your current gig. ;)


As for free cone day - I just now discovered the Ben & Jerry's a block from here has closed. Bah.

Do cell phones work in Yosemite's lodging areas? I presume so (still have to take a conference call Thursday morning). Hell, if they have internet there's probably phone. Or worse comes to worse I could skype in or something.

I know you can call the Valley from the top of Vernal Falls. Made me feel much less wildernessy. I suppose that means there's service down in the Valley (the Valley so low).

YEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Contract is complete!!! :D

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

I got my drains out today!!!!!

First, a zombie voice: "Drains!"

Now me: that's great news!

Are you going to keep them in a jar, or just let the docs have them for free?

Uh oh. Now you'll flood the basement.

I just completed my 2nd full (5 continuous days) workweek of the year, and the first at my new job.

Twenty Five years ago today, Susan and I went on our first date.
Fourteen years ago today, we got married

Congratulations, Kevy and Susan - two excellent people, clearly made for each other! :cheers:

Woohoo!!

Congratulations and hooray for non complicated anniversary math!

Happy anniversary!

Momma didn't raise no dummy

Belated congratulations to the both of you. :cheers: :snap:

There really is just no understanding women.

Damnit; I can't give you mojo for that Moonie.

VMLM! SNORT!

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer
Congratulations and hooray for non complicated anniversary math!
HEY! I resent those remarks!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Happy anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Kevy and Susan! :)

Thanks everyone for the well wishes!

And to Moonie... well, um, have a nice day

Mazel Tov K&S!



We spent the past 4+ days in one of the* smallest cities I've ever spent time in, Alamogordo, NM. Population 35,000 (about 60% of the capacity of Dodger Stadium, to give some perspective), 20 sq. miles. 80 miles from the closest anything.

Fortunately we were there for the sole purpose of spending time with family, CP's brother who is stationed there with the Airforce. And it was a really wonderful few days. Particularly for Theo, who got his first opportunity to spend time playing with older kids that 1) know how to play and 2) were interested in playing with him. We've got a niece, 9, and a newphew, 5. We weren't at their house for more than 30 minutes before Theo had already picked up from them how to play with cars, graduating from picking them up and tossing them to rolling them around on surfaces, crashing them together, rolling them off edges of tables.

The few days of interaction were either incredibly powerful, incredibly well timed, or both, but we've come back from NM with a whole new baby. A short list of Theo upgrades since this time last week:

* touches his head when asked
* can point at exactly what he wants instead of just whining
* a growing set of consistent "words" (not necessarily recognizable to the uninitiated, but consistent repeated sounds for a set of objects like cat, bird, car, head)
* imitation of playing behavior (e.g. cousins stands on bed, then jumps landing on his knees, Theo stands on bed then falls to his knees)
* spontaneously plays hide-and-go-seek (effing ADORABLE!)
* dances to music

Some of these things he was starting to show signs of just before we left, so maybe he would have gotten there without the child interaction. But being there, seeing how rapidly the light turned on for him when he would watch those kids, in a way that he's never done when we've tried playing with him - it was enthralling and exhilarating. This has been a really special week that I won't soon forget.



* I think Big Bear is the only smaller city I've spent time in, which means I can't technically say that Alamogordo is the smallest. But I believe if I expand the concept to county population/density instead of city, Alamogordo's Otero County takes the cake at 64K population, 10 people/sq. mile

Oh my, love hearing about the Theo upgrades. Um, can't you expose him to more kids? Then, a bit later, to speakers of foreign languages and players of musical instruments? The kid's a sponge, after all. Fill him with love and play and talents!

I LOVE hearing about his giant learning steps! I think you just let him hang out with Chris for a day (alone) and he'll come home talking about the categorical imperative and asking "How do you know you're really Dad?". :)

When we hang out with other kids, most of the older kids aren't interested in playing with him. Kids his age don't really play together, they play side by side. These cousins were really excited to see him and made a huge effort to include him in their games.

What a lovely few days. If you know anything about my family, it's that we have plenty of rough patches. This vacation was nothing but enjoyment, which I think my family really needed. Harmony is so much more pleasant!

Lovely Theo update :)

Ignoring the little girl who tried to kick a barely-flying baby bird and the Toy Story Lot bus driver who somehow thought Mike Tyson and Charlie Sheen "impersonations" were an appropriate way to "entertain" us on the way to the lot, we had a simply perfect day at Disneyland today, my 3 year old niece's first visit. She had a ton of fun, and she and Theo got along so well. Plus, Theo for the first time actively enjoyed an attraction, the Tiki Room (no surprise considering his love of music and fascination with birds). Today was a special day.

And this happened.

Attachment 1616

Holy carp!!! Congratulations on the rediculously high score!

That's pretty tricky how you took the gun from Theo's hand right before the picture was taken.

Yeah, 400,000! Can you BELIEVE IT??!!

Grr. I couldn't see the pictures on my old computer, I could see them on my new computer and now I can't anymore. I can see them at work if they're attached and not hosted. WTF.

Love the Theo update. :)

I'm absolutely completely giddy right now - The contract I've been working on since November was ratified tonight, by a nice margin - 205 to 71.

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Congratulations Matt!!

Glad to hear it Matt.

Congrats Matt!!!

And awwwww such a cute update on the Theoverse!

I just came into this thread on a minor note, about how much Groupon rocks. I purchased one a few months ago that I have no use for anymore.... I sent them a note and they refunded my money in full an hour later, no questions asked. Yay for good customer service! :)

And now today, while I was out riding EVERY open rollercoaster at Magic Mountain, I received word that I've been re-elected as Vice President of Local B-192 IATSE! :D :cheers:

Well, in spite of the website thing saying it's sold out (it IS sold out to crafters/resellers), I visited the guy running Long Beach Artwalk today, and he said that he could still squeeze in an artist booth :) So I reserved it! May 14th.

I'm working the Red Carpet at the Pirate's Premiere!

Excellent! But a real hardcore rider would not limit themselves to just the open ones.

Congrats on the re-election as well. :cheers:

Technically I don't think you can use the word "working" in that sentence. It's just too fun/cool/awesome to be called work.

Having been to two of them. It's a CM nightmare.

Yay!!! And what is your new avatar?

Seriously, you should put a bubble on there saying "the royal penis is clean, your highness...." ;)

The difference is that I'm not working crowd control....I'm actually working with the celebrities on the red carpet.

Then congratulations! That's awesome. I took Maddie to two, I won't do it again. It was just a mess and 90 plus degrees. But we did find the photo of Johnny signing her autograph book and she got almost everyone on the red carpets as well. Orlando Bloom touched her hand. She was about 8 or 9 I think.

Cleaned and lubed the bike, going on an adventure tomorrow, plan on riding about twice as far as I've ever ridden in one shot. Whee!

The event at the Hollywood Heritage was sold out, they made more money in selling raffle tickets for the vintage Valentino items that we donated for the cause and their book/gift area had record sales. A great night for the barn. My presentation went really well. I had notes in case I was tongue tied, I wasn't and did the entire thing off the cuff, without blowing any of it. Smooth as silk and I did not come off as an doofus, so I am told. Who knew public speaking could be such fun?

:snap:

Yay for non-doofishness. :snap:

Wow, Snow- I'm tres impressed! I hate public speaking, unless it's about something I'm passionate about. Then, I forget all about anything but the message I want to convey. Of course, the Xanax helps....lol.

I rode the greatest rollercoaster I've ever ridden this weekend.
:D

I've lost 50 pounds.

That is SO awesome and wonderful! Congratulations!

You're amazing!

Yeah!!!

My book is now at the Stanford Library! How cool is that?

Yaayy, LS! Yaaayy, Snow!!!!!:snap:

Snowflake: congrats!

LSPE: awesome, you go girl! Take it as far as it suits you to do!

Wham Bam! 2 pieces of great news from fabulous women make me happy! Congrats to D and H!

LSPE: Congrats! Keep on keepin' on.

Snowflake: Although my degree obligates me to automatically spout nonsense like, "Not as cool as if it was at Berkeley," I'll dare ostracism and say "Way, cool!"

Ha! No worries! Not the same as UC B, I did email the PFA to offer a copy to them, they never replied. So their copy has gone to the British Library instead.

Holy carp - that's awesome!

Wow, I am impressed. What an amazing acomplishment.

:eek: Awesome!

At the beginning of last weeks I gave myself a 2 week deadline to finish a project (i.e., tomorrow's the day). This morning I wasn't positive I'd finish in time. By lunch I was even more convinced I wouldn't since I ran into a roadblock on one of the major features I was developing and couldn't find anyone who could help.

But I figured it out myself and as of 5 minutes ago, the code is done (minus testing).

I'm totally seriously happy on two levels. There is of course the accomplishment of getting it done. Then there's the fact that I was able to look at the work that needed to be done, evaluate what it would entail, and come up with a reasonable and achievable deadline.

Actually, make that three levels. As far as anyone knows, I've still got work to do on it. Sounds like I have myself a free day tomorrow (which, honestly, will probably mostly be spent making minor tweaks, bug fixes, and optimizations).

Crap, and now I just remembered a "not required, but would be nice to have" feature that I was putting aside because I didn't think I had time for it.

There goes my free day.

I just sent $400 worth of jewelry to a store in Bishop who is putting it in the front window for Memorial Day weekend. And, they're still getting snow in Mammoth, so it should be a good weekend. I'm hoping a second order will come in sooner rather than later. (However, she wiped out my stock of earrings and Patchwork Santa Ana in a week away!)

Yaay, Lisa! Tori still treasures (and wears ) the jewelry you made her- you 'got' her jewelry personality spot -on. :)

Even better, it is Mule Days in Bishop Memorial Day Weekend. The town will be packed; not sure if my Mom is going to show her Award Winning Small Hairy Ass.

The Mississippi river has crested at Vicksburg, well above record flood stage and all the levees are holding.

Maybe life can start getting back to normal now.

New Texas Giant by Joe Rollerfan, on Flickr

My friend Joe took this, and there I am, in my element, on the greatest rollercoaster I've ever experienced.

And that's sayin' something, folks! :D

Do you know the guy in the front row?

Moonie - that's what I thought too and....

I got to righteously chew out a driver who cut me off while I was biking today.

I know, this shouldn't be in the happy thread, but it was a tricky area that I KNOW to be on alert (passing a parking lot with an In-N-Out AND a Trader Joe's) so I was well prepared for someone to do exactly what this bitch did). Very much enjoyed the look on her face when I circled around to track her down in the parking lot and yell at her.

Re: Stanford library but not UCB library

Those two schools operate their libraries as a consortium. That's why they need the one copy.

Just secured grandparental baby sitting for next Saturday and purchased tickets to see Paul F. Tompkins' live recording of his podcast.

So.

Excited.

I've tried twice now but haven't yet made it more than 10 minutes into his podcast. Do you feel he starts slow and builds up in one or it is just apparently not for me.

Do you like other stuff he's done? I personally eat his stuff up, but could definitely see how his ramblings might not appeal to others. Have you gotten far enough in to hear the bits (e.g. the Undiscovered Project, or phone calls with Jenn Kirkman)? Those are more standard comedy than just listening to him ramble, so if you like his comedy otherwise you might like those. Whether it's worth it to you to listen through the rest, only you can decide.

I've never even heard of him (so far as I know) outside people recommending his podcast to me.

ETA: Oh, you prompted me to finally look him up. So I do recognize his picture though I had no idea of his name. But I still can't think of HOW I recognize his picture so he hasn't made an impression.

Did you ever watch VH1's Best Week Ever? He was one of the comedians on that, and became the host when they changed format. He was also on Mr. Show. That's the most high profile thing he's done. Other than that he's mostly a standup.

But no, if you aren't already a fan I wouldn't recommend the podcast.

Despite having to occasionally leave the meeting to throw up, last night I was given a 2 year contract with a not unsubstantial raise - but even more importantly, I really felt that the people in the room GOT what I was talking about and appreciate the work I've done so far.

Congratulations Matt!

Congrats!

Cool on everything except the horking

That's great Matt, it's always nice to be validated for your hard work!

Meh - this one's WAY better.

Yay! I've lost 3 lbs! It's a start!:D

Congrats Matt!

And congrats, SF - 3 pounds is great! Let me know if you need any support along the way.

Happy Happy Joy Joy to Matt for winning and Snowflake for losing!

Too cool!:snap: I was worried when I read your post (I think on FB?) that you were feeling ill and had an important meeting the same day. Way to go, Matt!


(And wtg, Snow! I'm finding the older I get, the harder it is to lose weight, so when I discovered I'd lost 4 lbs since last fall I was pretty happy! It's motivated me to actually try to lose weight again- I'd kinda given up).

Yay Matt!

Yay Snowflake!

:) :) :)

I'm going to see RUSH tonight!

With BACKSTAGE PASSES! :D

Wow Matt - backstage passes to see Mr Limbaugh - I'm impressed !!!! :p

lashbear- if you weren't so incredibly cool (and far away) - I'd probably smack you for that remark ;)

I didn't meet the band, but I got to meet Neil Peart's drum tech, and we had better seats than Uncle Joe Benson.

It was an AMAZING show, with much more pyro than I've seen at Gibson before, and a spectacular light rig (yeah, I geeked out about that).

Got 1st trimester blood results back. Baby's looking nice and normal :)

That's great news Morri!

Well, that's worrying, right there!

I got a nice new shiny laptop :)

Yay, Rose ! Pics?

I sent out some query letters to potential publishers about the new project on Dorothy Gish. I just got a response from one of them: "Yes, we want to see your manuscript, we're interested!" :)

Of course, I have to start researching and writing the damn thing first.

I said the hopeful completion date would be 5 years.....and hoping they're still interested and in business by then!

I thought her name was Lillian?

I'm working on a book on Lillian's sister. You will appreciate the tentative title: "In Lillian's Shadow: Dorothy Gish the Forgotten Gish Sister" ;)

Do a little dance
In this climate I was offered a job, in costuming with regular hours that I set, with people I like, near my house (but not too near) . . dance*

Congratulations!

Visible mojo!:snap:

That sounds wonderful Cynthia! Congratulations!

So, after over a year... I *finally* looked up my grade from that Vintage Fashions class I took. Aced it :)

I am very nearly done completely gutting and re-engineering a user interface I wrote for work.

In about three weeks I've made it 10 times more functional, 10 times more user-friendly, 10 times less error prone...all in 10% fewer lines of code.

Feeling pretty damned accomplished (and trying to ignore the fact that it kinda highlights how stupid my first attempt was).

Unless you think the company would have been better off with no interface at all for the last three weeks I think you can cut yourself some slack.

Three weeks? My first stab has been in use for 3 months. It wasn't until 4 weeks ago (I lost a week of development time while conducting some training) that I started coding the upgrade.

Phew. Just had a deadline extend from the end of this week to at least 2 weeks out. I was about to be in for a seriously sh*tty week.

Since I last clocked in, another 4lbs down. I've noticed my clothes are much looser, eek.

Also in happy news, the cc debt is dwindling down, no new card to cut up yet, but close. The credit score has gone up a few points, too. Yay!

thats this month for me in a nutshell...except without the extension.

friggin' state compliance bullshyte

The Rat had a successful phone interview today - just waiting to hear when the in-person interview will be!

I WOKE UP TODAY!!

omg! I just convinced one of the most contrary, self absorbed people Ive ever had to work with in my entire 30+ year career, that Im right and their way isnt in fact the best way to proceed. not to mention, I did so without actually resorting to felony assault

I hope my user departments appreciate the amount of 773H-on-Earth I just saved them from

Dad just got the results of his most recent PET scan back... still cancer free! That's 4 scans in a row, or just over 2 years. Phenomenal for esophageal cancer :)

Happiness, indeed, Goonie! Yay!

My grandson loves his stuffed Winnie the Pooh and takes it everywhere. He has a special name for him though.

You tell him to say "Pooh" and he says "Pooh."
You tell him to say "Bear" and he says "Bear."
You tell him to say "Pooh Bear" and he says "Pee Boo."

He thinks adult frustration at that last answer is hysterical.

Sorry, but we really need some film of this. I wanna see !

I'll see if his parents can arrange it.:)

It's amazing what a difference the right job makes. I'm where I belong. I'm excited to go to work. I *HAVE* work! And as awesome as the LA area is, I am really enjoying being here right now.

This thread is full of such great news and happiness. You guys are great! :)

Shhhh!!! You are going to ruin the "Bitter East Coast" mystique I've carefully crafted over the years.

I got somebody nearly 7 months of missing pay today - for whatever reason, he wasn't getting a bump he'd supposed to have gotten as a forklift operator.

:cool:

Hopefully you still have the same feeling next winter

Winter ? I hope it lasts past a week from monday when everyone gets back from vacation and her commute goes to hell.

Yeah, it might start to suck a little more. And I'm wary of the weather. It'll probably dump snow this year because I'm here and unprepared.

I would just like to say that my job is still awesome. It is the best job in the universe. It was worth the wait, I think. I finished a really well-written draft 2 minutes before quitting time today. I'm super proud of it. It might get ripped to shreds in the review process, but it was a great way to start the weekend.

So glad to hear you are enjoying your career choice!

Holy %#$@! For the first time in memory, I got paid within hours of submitting my hours!

How did your commute go now that "Terrible Tuesday" is upon us?

Not a problem! No trouble finding a seat either end of the commute.

Orion's cousin Dominic is just a month younger than him but he's a lot more mellow. At the 4th of July party Orion never sat still while Dominic was happy sitting with Mom. The two cousins went to Disneyland a week or two ago and Orion, a pro when it comes to the Park, made sure to take care of Dominic (I so wish I had been there). Orion was holding his own water bottle and chattering away (baby gibberish) to Dominic, apparently telling him the importance of keeping the water bottle handy because he went around to the back of the stroller to get Dominic's for him. Then in the Tiki Room Orion and Dominic were sitting together and Orion put his arm around Dom and pointed out all the things in the room he should notice.

Oh my, the cuteness. :cool:

Mmmmm... Dark chocolate...

The Rat started his job today! Two incomes! Bliss!

WOO Pru!

Yay Prudence. What a relief you must be feeling.

Tonight's Halloween Horror Nights employee preview!

Try and make Rose scream. I'm sorry I can't be there to be brave for you...

Are you there yet?

As of Now, I am officially on Holidays !!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Only 24 hours to Singapore !

Have fun

So, I've recently made some regular celebrity acquaintance on a personal level. It's kinda surreal, but so fun too! I keep wanting to pinch myself when messages come though from those folks. LOL! :)

Had a lovely day out with the hubster, having some good, cheap fun. Came home 2 baseball caps and $10 in Starbucks gift cards richer :) Concluded with a Red Robin dinner date.

In other news: OC Car Show was quite fun, and RR's Oktoberfest burger is delicious and cheaper than their standard burgers! :)

Got in a little bit ago from the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Didn't expect to go, very last minute thing. This is the start of our 10th wedding anniversary SPOOKtacular...

McRIBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I wonder what those slabs of ©McMeat are like NOT dredged in bbq sauce (don't want the sugar), WITHOUT the bread (wheat issues), and absent the pickles and onions (just plain hate 'em).

I suspect they need all that camouflage.

Bike is gonna be mine- FRIDAY!

...the other white meat.

McFecal Matter.

I don't care what you all say, I still love them. You can't kill the bliss!

My office is downwind from a McDonald's. At the moment, the McRib smell is almost enough to make this bacon lover a vegetarian.

You could always buy one and give it a good scrub.

So, leaving off the bun, sauce, & "veggies" gets you: which, smell from Jesse's office notwithsanding, ain't all that bad. And don't bother telling me that TBHQ is a form of butane, 'cause it's like saying table salt is a form of chlorine.

I already scrubbed my other white meat this morning. :blush:

I got my bike TODAY! :D

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAY!!!

Non scientific study suggests I can scream louder than the bell on my bike.

I'm pretty sure any scientific study would back that assertion up :) Congrats on the bike!

Yay for the bike. Boo for the mornings without musical selection tweets from the bus. ;)

Doctor visit (first in 5 years, my bad) yielded the following info: BP 125 over 75 and 8 lbs lighter. The downward trend continues. Hooray.

This happiness my be revised once the bloodwork comes back if there's anything lousy to report.

VG2DLM !! :snap:

Successfully pulled off a radical living room rearrangement.

I like it so far. Theo's going to be pretty surprised in the morning.

Dead curious.... do we get a photo at some point?

Starting to get to that "uncomfortable" point... with that said, today marks one month till my due date!

We took half a Ton of stuff from the garage to the waste management centre today. Took two loads and nearly $90 in tip fees, but it was worth it. I feel lighter.

Got on the scale this morning, down 7 lbs! Which means this year down nearly 50lbs! I've dropped at least one size in clothing, I think nearly 2 sizes as the pants are getting more than roomy. This carb watching and exercise is working wonders! BS has been much better, too. Although I can't figure out how it can be 116 when I go to bed and 145 when I get up in the morning.

Your blood sugars rise overnight because you're not doing any activity. During the day even if you're not exercising you're typing or turning the page in a book or whatever and that all burns a certain amount of carbs. At night even though you're not completely stationary you use a lot less carbs than when you're awake. Maddie's insulin rate at night is almost double what it is during the day to compensate for this.

And congratulations on the weight loss!

This makes me doubt my GD diagnosis even more... my BS is ALWAYS fine in the morning, like between 80-90.

VDMV (Your Diabetes May Vary) is the common phrase on T1 boards. Every person has different issues. Not waking up high does not mean you don't have GD.

It does mean you didn't smoke enough.

Also....STOP CALLING IT GD.

My BS is fine all the time!




Oh... you were talking about blood sugar?

Thanks Katie. I'm encouraged.

I really appreciate all your advice and such, it's been really helpful!

Of course, YDMV, but the last couple of days I've had a much better handle on the BS and taking care with what I am eating. After all, what we're aiming for right now is stabilizing it as much as possible.

Only sucky thing is am I am now a recovering bread addict. ;)

Fingers crossed. Dukie has a vet check tomorrow if he passes he'll finally have a new home.

Good luck to Dukie (and the final sale Katie)!

Semester #1 of 5 is complete!

I spent a good chunk of afternoon at Universal with my new camera and rented lens - check out these pics, and lemme know what you think

Beautiful pics - what lens did you rent and why and what does it do (I sensed a bit of widescreen type thingy effect in there...)

I rented a Nikon 10-24mm lens - it is an extra wide angle lens, perfect for landscapes and interiors. I'll only have it for a week, until I can save up for the $900 purchase price. Tomorrow is Disneyland day :)

$900 ?? Eek !

If you're going into DCA, Is it possible to get a couple of panorama pics of WWOC for me?

I didn't get a chance to head to World of Color, bear- but I'm going to save my nickels and dimes (and a quite a few more dollars), and some time next year buy this lens.

I was told today that I'm getting the position I put in for! Not a promotion, but a lateral transfer to a quasi IT/software support position in my building.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Congratulations JW!

I am now doing the Dance of Joy on your behalf.

I got somebody their job back.

Awesome, congrats! :)

Just got an email saying my Kindle has shipped..... can't wait !!!! First thing I'm doing is loading it up with all of Imogen Edwards-Jones' novels ! :cool:

Right on!:snap:

The worst part of this transfer thing is that my unit is not happy. They're all giving me looks as if I had cooked and eaten their grandmothers for lunch.

At least no one is crying.

I think it's because they are going to miss you and the good work you do!

I hope this new position is everything you want it to be! Congrats

You have to load Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on.

Don't forget all the great free books they have for Kindle!

That made me think... Someone out there must have a Kindle cover with "DON'T PANIC" in large friendly letters on the front. (If so, it's mine!)

But only four of them are worth reading. Finding them is the game.

And yes. They have.





(Yeah, technically that's for the iPad but if you can't make it work for you, you don't deserve to carry your own towel)

Actually I made just such a one :)

I love the description for the Don't Panic cover.

Finally stepped on a scale for the first time since Peanut's birth. 25 pounds lighter than I was this time last year! :) (Pregnancy=best diet ever? Who'd have thunk it?)

I'm tempted to ask you what they are... or do I have to suffer the inconsolable depression of having to drudge through the dross to find the gold?

I offer know help. I haven't yet found a free book worth reading. But I'm assured there are four.

(I guess I should caveat that in my mind I am separating "relatively recent and offered for free" from "old enough to be in the public domain.")

Though if you like self published crappy science fiction, crappy romance novels, or religious self help books then it is a treasure trove.

and older books that are out of copyright, such as the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the various works of Jack London, all your Jane Austen favorites...

Those are in the "public domain" category. They've always been free to read regardless of Kindle technology and without Amazon's involvement.

I'm just saying, if it is a book published in the last 70 years and is available for free from Amazon, it is 99.999% likely to be complete crap.

I will test the theory tonight - UPS just called and the Kindle will be delivered today sometime after 1pm.. YAY !!

Probably. But I only really cared about the public domain stuff. I have, however, gotten good deals on decent books by following Amazon Kindle on Facebook. They have a deal of the day, usually 80-90% off regular kindle price (so like $1-$3), and not always on crap. Got "Water For Elephants" super cheap that way.

Water for Elephants is, sorry to say (and obviously just in my opinion) not one of the four.

Thanks for the tip !! :cool:

Never would've imagined that less than 3 weeks after giving birth, I'd be fitting *comfortably* back into my size 18 jeans :)

Woohoo! I remember it made me feel like my old self when I got back into regular clothes.

This is better than my old self... I was firmly in 20's this time last year! I'm back in my old clothes, but they're all floating on me :)

That's really great!

I won't worry as long as you're still eating and staying healthy.

I caught the flu and that was how I shed the pregnancy weight so quickly. I do not recommend that!

Morri- I am so happy that you are doing so well, and that Amelia is finally here! I love seeing your pics on FB- they make me smile.

I came home from a surprise party for our Aunt Audrey today, only to find a surprise for me! (And Tori....) Eric, who had bowed out of attending the party under the pretense (and very predictably) that it was an 'Estrogen Fest', had arranged for the delivery of one 2001 Grand Jeep Cherokee, which we had previously discussed purchasing from my Bro-in-law and sis, but so far as I knew hadn't gone any further.....This was one of the first cars ToriBear has driven, and when Vicki and Dave said they wanted to upgrade to a new version, we threw our names in the hat, but with the tumult of the holidays we (I) hadn't given it much thought. It is in excellent condition, top of the line, low miles, has BUTT WARMERS! and is completely non- Vegan approved. (Leather seats). Awesome rig, and they even bought all new tires for it, knowing that their niece would be eventually driving it once she got her license. We are happy campers, and while I am mystified as to why Eric was so proactive in this purchase, I am choosing to not look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. (That's his dentist's job....) It's supposed to snow tomorrow- bring it on! :snap:

I bet that Jeep is coming in handy with all this snow!


The teenager no longer has braces!! I think he ate himself silly last night with all the treats he could'nt have for the last few years.
It is perfect timing, the winter formal is coming up and he has a date, white tux and a limo! He is one happy teenager, which is rare for a teenager!!

It was ribs, corn on the cob, and popcorn for me.

We are going out for ribs and corn on the cob later in the week, when his favorite place is open. He had popcorn, bit o honey and caramel twix last night. His Ortho Doc gives you a bag with sparkling cider, Tootsie rolls, starburst, bubble gum and popcorn!

Maddie's was gum and laffy taffy. And as much popcorn as she could possibly stuff down.

Sparkling cider?

As a celebration kind of thing, can't exactly give kids champagne. He was stoked because he " finally had his own bottle of sparkling cider!". Kids are strange.

Ah, got it. I thought somehow sparking cider was on his banned foods list and couldn't figure out why.

And then we all grew up to be strange adults.

W2's arrived early, did taxes, filed and awaiting refund(s), in record time. Enough the splurge on something for the apartment and pay off 1 credit card. Squee!

Gotta get started on that. I think almost everything I need is accessible electronically.

I was reminded yesterday that state tax refunds are taxable. That is such utter bullsh*t.

Getting a big tax refund is just you providing an interest free loan to the federal and/or state government. You might want to think about adjusting your withholding's for 2012.

Having been hosed on taxes multiple times for various reasons, I'd rather give them an interest free loan than have to come up with a large amount I didn't plan on.

(Maddie's Dad was notorious for filling out the with-holding wrong and we'd end up screwed. An employer forgot to withhold anything to the state one year. Unexpected unemployment)

Why? It should only be taxed if you claimed local taxes paid as a deduction last year and then got a refund. That refund means you took too large of a deduction and had additional never taxed income this year (the refund). Makes sense that you'd have to correct for that.

If you didn't deduct local taxes last year, your refund won't be taxed this year.

Ah, that makes sense. I don't think I took a deduction, but I'll have to look carefully at last year's and see.

According to FTB you should receive a 1099-G from them if you did claim taxes as a deduction and then received a refund.

(Of course, you should probably not rely on receiving something to know what you owe.)

As opposed to the .25% interest I could be making in a savings account? I would rather have the padding and get a small windfall every year than to have to write a check on April 15.

I hear you, but, I've never been known to be a whiz when it comes to smart finances.

As a single person more often than not, I always seem to get hosed at tax time. I have a little extra taken out through the year, just in case.

Maybe this year I will adjust that, I'm just as happy to break even. I just hate coming up with oodles of extra dough if I screw something up.

Don't forget to add in the finance charges on the credit card balance.

I use smartypig.com to move a small amount each month so I still get the "windfall". In fact (true story) my 2011 balance is paying for my trip to DLR next month.

My second mammogram still showed a spot on my right boob. Had an ultrasound done and they said it is lymph tissue and benign.

Yay!

w00t!

Now you can go about switching your provider around to someone who WOULD have given you what you needed if it hadn't come back benign in a much more relaxed fashion.

That is great news!

Extra double yay with yay sauce!

Yay!!!

Happy Boobs!

Great news, Betty!

ETA mid-June: Orion becomes a big brother and I get a new granddaughter!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Mazel tov!

Today I suddenly remembered that around this time last year, I cashed in some vacation time (which would go to waste anyway as I approach the limit of what I can accrue and we aren't doing any long-duration vacationing right now) and purchased our annual passes.

Which means we can do the same again! Huzzah!

Now you tell me.

Well it's not happening until February, so it's not instant.

I am out of laundry soap. What a shame I can't do laundry today.

I'm so sorry, Betty! Now you're just going to have to grab some bon-bons and spend some quality time couch luge-ing. :D

Dishwashing liquid works just as good.....

Well it only took two trips to Compton, but we have a brand new gigantor TV.

It's puurrdy. 55" LG LED. Perfect size for our room and makes our 40" look like a toy. And it happens to be a 3D tv. We weren't looking for a 3D TV but it was the best deal by far. Passive, so it's not the bulky expensive glasses. And it's go the fakey 2D->3D mode which we just tried with the Kinect Disneyland game...which was surprisingly cool!

The only downside is some glare off the orange wall opposite it. Going to have to consider draping it or painting it a more neutral color.

Enjoy it. Looks like I might be moving up soon. 62" screen doesn't quite fill the space the way it used to ;)

This aspect of Fahrenheit 451 comes ever closer to fruition.

TV size seems to be where I am going to be the old man left behind by the times. We've had it for four years and I still look at our 36" TV from the couch 7 feet away and wonder "Do I really need something that big?"

But when interactive soap operas come along I'm going to splurge for the second wall.

We could have gone 60" for cheaper, but 55" definitely feels like the limit for our room. A 60" wouldn't physically fit well in the room. On top of that, sitting in front of the 55" I can tell that any bigger and I wouldn't be able to watch anything without having to pan-and-scan with my eyes.

So far the biggest benefit can be seen with the xBox. I can actually read all the text from the couch without squinting or scooting forward! I will never understand, however, what manufacturers are thinking with their preset "game" picture modes. Not one TV I've owned that had that setting have video games look any good in it.

I'm off to Fry's today to grab the one extra HDMI cable I need to hook up the new receiver. Nothing fancy, just a 500W Yamaha. Haven't even added any speakers yet, sticking with just our 2 Kenwood floor boxes that do a find job of filling our room. Maybe come birthday time we'll consider adding channels.

I spent a while debating whether I cared whether any of the AV components (TV, blueray, or receiver) was "smart" (i.e., internet connected with streaming apps built in). It felt stupid to get a brand new system that lacked such a forward-looking feature. But with a real computer connected to the TV I just can't see the point in worrying about whether my TV had slow, featureless apps that I can't even use a keyboard to input with. That made shopping much easier since we didn't have to compare any of the connected options between models and in the end we ended up with zero connectivity (actually, I think the BlueRay player can connect for firmware updates).

Which reminds me, can anyone give me some pros and cons of running all my components through the receiver then to the TV vs. running components to the TV and optical audio out from the TV to the receiver? Or a mix (e.g., I've read that some receivers have issues synching game system video, so perhaps I should put the BlueRay, TiVo, and cpu through the receiver but the xbox through the TV)? TOO MANY OPTIONS.

I'm going to stock up on all the cables I need to do any of the possible combinations, just so keep things flexible.

On the "con" side, it means you have to have your receiver powered up and set to the correct input anytime you want to watch TV. At least in my house this has a low WAF. I had to add a learning remote to the mix.



WAF = (Wife Approval Factor)

Oh, we've already got a Harmony. Component power and input switching issues are non-issues.

So I'm gathering it's more about cabling/setup/ease-of-use convenience more than performance/capability concerns?

Alex got the job! The GOOD job!

It depends on, well a lot of things....

How are you connecting the speakers you have?
What type of sound processing capability does your receiver have?
What else (if anything) is connected? Wii, PS3, BluRay, Tivo, etc?

If you have a lot of gear, then routing all it through the receiver is the way to go. Or if the receiver has better sound decoders then again that's what you will want to do.

On the other hand, older receivers may not be able to pass 3D video or the latest sound formats (dolby digital or truHD, etc...).

How loud do you want to play? The receiver should be better at pumping up the jam.

Double Woot! Woot! Toot!!!

Yay Morrigoon!

Speakers will be connected to the receiver's front channel, speaker wire. It's a 5.1 receiver, but like I said we only have the 2 cabinet speakers for the time being. It's 3d-ready and brand new, so i gotta imagine the audio processing is just fine (TrueHD, HD). We've got 4 hdmi devices (BlueRay, TiVo, CPU, and XBOX). That's it.

Congratulations!

Ah. For some reason I thought the receiver was an older model.

If you route the sound via the receiver and send video direct to the TV you are likely to get timing issues between the two where everything sounds like a badly dubbed Japanese film. So I would definitely use the receiver for what's it made for, being the hub of your AV world. Hook everything up to it, program the harmony and enjoy.

Hint:

I don't know about the Yammy, but on my Denon I can re-name the inputs to better match the device. (ie "Xbox" rather than "game")

If younglings can reach the volume knob you might want to see if the receiver has a volume limiter and set it to a reasonable level.

Or do what we do with our current old receiver and remove the knob* :)

Meanwhile

I have never noticed the "INDENT" vb tag

Also meanwhile

Good news 'goon!

* ETA: Aww, it jsut occurred to me T is going to be bummed that we're taking away the old receiver. The volume knob was off, but we let him twiddle the fader/bass/treble knobs and eq sliders. Hmm, I've been looking for a good excuse to buy and arduino and put something with knobs, sliders, and LEDs together...

Good news for Alex and Goonie (and little Amelia) hooray!

One of the things I like about our receiver is that it has a Standby Through mode which allows the HDMI signal to pass through without the receiver being on

Not necessarily true, depending on the TV and receiver- an HDMI 1.4 spec setup with audio return, you don't have to have everything turned on to watch tv. It's called standby bypass on our receiver.

Our 11-disc Blu Ray collection of all eight Harry Potter movies that I ordered from Amazon UK for only $48 just arrived today. Thanks to Coaster Matt for the tip!

And use the tv's built in speakers? No thanks.

Just to add to the fray with all the TV technospeak.....
 

[Ralphie]I turn the dial on my CRT TV and the channel changes !!![/Ralphie]

Oh dear. We just tried a DVD (upscaled, we don't own any BluRay). We started with LotR:FotR.

If there is a divorce, philosophical differences over the motion-smoothing technology, or whatever LG calls it (TruMotion?), will be the most likely culprit.

Now that Alex has a job, and is going to be away a LoT, it was finally time to fix his phone issues (his 6-year old phone was about to DIE), which meant he hopped over to Verizon with me, AND... we both got new iPhones!

Been waiting a looooooong time for that. Sort of a belated Christmas gift to ourselves, since at the time we had other concerns ;)

That was a pretty epic debate.

As it stands, I'm ceding that the TruMotion thing doesn't work too well when the camera moves, and that it's bad enough to make the good part not so good. I really wish that aspect were better, since the feeling of realism is very appealing to me. I'd rather be "in the movie" than watching a movie.

So would I - it's just that to me, the motion picture makes it look like I'm watching actors, not characters.

Ya know, this debate belongs in the First World problems thread :)

My new second favorite* band is Icy Hot Club. They play Gypsy Jazz which means lots of Django Reinhardt but also all sorts of other songs arranged in that style. I love the style because it's the best thing for dancing Balboa but it's great for listening too because their arrangements are so creative. They do "Johnny Be Good" but make it "Django Be Good" and manage to make rhymes out of Alice Cooper and stormtrooper in "Puttin' on the Ritz."

They also do a version of the theme from Aladdin and Saturday night they did a Gypsy Jazz version of "Billie Jean" that was amazing and weird. I love these guys.



*My first favorite band is still Stompy Jones. I can't throw them over after all this time and they play a bigger variety of songs.

Is TruMotion te reason all the BluRay demos at stores have the movies looking like crappy Saturday morning CGI cartoons from 1993?

In Best Buy last week The Kings Soeech managed to look like bad animation.

Yep, that's the one. And that's exactly my feeling about it. It makes it so a movie doesn't read as film, it reads as video. Watching Fellowship felt like I was watching a day time soap.

OMG! Love it!

Sweet! Best Buy apparently dropped the price of our new TV the day after we bought it...and credited us the difference automatically.

So, I got laid off at the old sinking ship and was offered a position elsewhere just 6 days later at a creative marketing company.

The new place rocks. I'm making double of what I did at the old place, the environment is awesome, the people are incredible, and the best part - I'm surrounded by nothing but creative peeps all day long who share my lingo. It's pure heaven. :)

YAY !

A person who's bought a couple of prints of my pictures, sent me an email today asking for a shipping address. He's sending me a Nikon 70-300mm VR lens- it's worth about 600 bucks; as a "thank you and encouragement to further your photographic skills"

:eek: WOW!!!

WOW! That's cool

Obviously someone who recognises talent when he sees it. Congrats, Matt !

WOW!!! is right! Congrats on awesomeness!

Where do you sell your stuff again?

I second that, Wow!.

New center channel arrived today- heavier than our couch. It's in it's new home, and ain't going anywhere.

I've said it on Facebook, where all sorts of people (for better or worse) can read it, but it's so TRUE- especially for the wonderful people here (you too, Kevy); my friends kick all kinds of ass. Thank you.

Wow! Dream come true. I'm excited for you. Send me some of your good mojo.

Nope - one of these. in Cherry.

Hooray for root canals!

Seriously.

I must have a miracle dentist because I am pain-free after my root canal today! Huzzah!

Being a molar it's going to take a little bit more work, but man I expected the worst going in, and it was a breeze.

Maybe it helped that, after the first round of Novocaine she asked, "Are you feeling numb," and I said, "I guess I'm kinda numb," which prompted a couple more shots of Novocaine. Did the trick!

Oooohhh! Ahhhhh!!! Cool.

That's great GD and you can't beat a pain free dental procedure.

We are now the proud owners of....
 

Tickets for

Lady Gaga's
Born This Way Ball

At Sydney on June 23 2012

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

:cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers: :snap: :cheers:

That's awesome! I'm jealous! Love Gaga!

Bump, Bump, Bump! Another one bites the dust!

Don't have a pic, but another credit card has been paid off, cut up and tossed in ye olde trash. :D

Congrats Snowflake!

My kindle quit holding a charge. It's a second gen one and out of warranty but I figured I'd chat with customer service and see if there was a fix. They tried but it won't communicate with the system. So they're sending me out a third gen replacement. Woo hoo! I'll need a new cover but it's cheaper than getting a new one, which would need a cover as well. And they're sending the 3G model which is more expensive than what I would have gotten to replace it. I love Amazon!

Huzzah for paid off credit cards and, I can scarcely believe it, wonderful root canals!! :cheers:

I have successfully added 2 partners to my business and officially become an LLC. My LLC notebook came with an official PreFurred Pet Care embossing stamp. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but it made the three of us very excited.

I assume Thurston is the numbers man and Kimchi is the silent partner?

LOL!

It is frightening enough with me being the numbers person, let alone Thurston!

As long as you don't have to type anything, you should be ok. ;)

1) Renewed our APs today. Yay!

2) While in DCA, spotted a couple of celebrities (two of the stars of the sketch show "Whitest Kids You Know"). I'm not normally one to approach celebrities, but we really like that show and we felt like their level of celebrity is such that they probably aren't constantly inundated with fans and might appreciate someone appreciating them. So we decided to say hi, and they were at least very good at pretending to be genuinely happy to see a couple of fans.

Celebrities are tall in public. They seriously were noticeably big people.

This is contrary to my experience - I'm often surprised at how small celebrities are. I presumed it had something to do with forced perspective.

These guys were giants. GIANTS.

I was shocked by how tiny the stage costumes on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were. Christina Aguilara's looked like something from 'Toddlers in Tiaras', and David Bowie's looked like it might have belonged to an anorexic 6th grader. Thin White Duke, indeed.

Trevor Moore is 6'6" and Sam Brown is 6'3", and man, I swear they bent down to talk to us and had huge hands. GIANTS!!!

Also, gigantically talented performers. :)

This is simply fabulous! Congrats! I wish I lived closer so I could utilize your services!!!

Doing the Happy Dance. I'm headed to Vegas twice once for my birthday week then the following weekend to see Jon Bon Jovi and friends at Tiger Jam. A friend of mie scored me floor center ticket 7th row but technically 6th and seat 6 meaning I am directly in front f that famous white mic stand. I am so excited. I love having frends to help and to include me on this trip lookout Vegas lol

My boy lettered, he is so excited!

Now Mom just has to be able to afford the jacket to put it on. I am so proud of him though!

Congratulations to the Boy!

Awesome! What did he letter in?

Well technically basketball but he doesn't play, he has been the videographer since his freshman year. He is also at the coach's beck and call for any other sport too.

I would have gone to the banquet if I had any idea it was a possibility. I guess the coach can nominate anyone that has done an exceptional job and displayed good sportsmanship etc...


I really need to update my pic, he looks much different now!

Yeah, you do need to update the pic. Anyway, hooray for the boy for being an awesome sportsman and videographer! :snap:

French? Then he could walk around with a French Letter on his jacket.....

Better than a scarlet letter.

Congrats to the boy!

I dunno, in this case I'd find a Scarlet Letter on my jacket MUCH less embarrassing ;)

WTG for the Boy!

Speaking of updated photos Morrigoon... I'm sure someone else has been growing and would like to be shown off round here. :)

You mean this someone? :)

I love that you call her Amy as a nickname (as my daughter is Amy). Her cooing is adorable... and what a cute little smile. :)

I just completed my second 3-mile walk for the day. I'm glowing. (and I've lost more weight.)

Yay Lashie!

Good job, Bear!

Congratulations!

(and, I had to go look up the term "French Letter," so, thanks for THAT new Anglicism!)

Amelia is beautiful!

Maddie's bathroom is now a lovely shade of lilac. And I finally put up the new towel bars so it's all finished. The ones I bought almost 3 years ago before we even moved in.

Awesome, love a good productive home project weekend.

And on that theme, we finally fixed our patio umbrella. The cord had snapped, for the second time. This time we replaced it with a metal cable.

We might also finally fix the wonky light switch in the bathroom later.

Our 2012 KOA Kamping guide arrived in today's mail, and now we're wanting to getaway for a weekend in an Airstream or tepee or cabin. So many places, so little time! :)

Australia has some gorgeous camping spots...... Just sayin'.

Extreme couponing is FUN!

Okay, so I've been taking Peanut to the photo studio inside BabiesRUs, and after your initial print order in the studio, you can order additional prints off this website online. I had received a coupon code via email for a couple print packages for that site, so I start putting packages together. The coupons from the email don't work quite as promised, (programming error?), so it occurred to me to search online for other coupon codes. Found a site called retailmenot that listed a bunch of codes, what they were for, and how recently they'd been successfully used by a user of that site. And users can leave ratings and comments. So I notice from the comments that most of those codes can be piled on top of each other. So I spent all evening working and reworking my cart until I figured out what was working and how. And I ended up with 6 8x10s, 1 10x13, 1 5x7 with 4 wallets - all those of studio-taken photos, plus 1 10x13 print of one of my uploaded photos. Got those all for FREE, and then, because my total "order" (before promotions) was over $49.99, the shipping was also free! Holy sh!t! This is the kind of thing I think of as only happening on TV.

It sounds like you worked the codes perfectly, great job. I have used that website too and it seems very user friendly.

Omnipod customer service is so pleasant to deal with. They seem to have just as many problems as other pumps but they are always nice to speak with, apologetic that there's a problem, quickly walk me through a fix or overnight a replacement. Our local rep even returned an email late at night when I had a problem, and he was on vacation, giving me another rep that I could contact in the morning to help.

I sincerely hope no one here will ever need an insulin pump. But if you do Omnipods are the way to go in my opinion.

I always love hearing about good CS!

I got payrates restored for a dozen people.

I love this job.

Awesome. CoasterMatt = hero to the common man.

CoasterMatt for Congress!!
:snap:

How much did you end up saving? I do love retailmenot but if the code doesn't work immediately I drop it. No time, no time, clean cup, move down...

Snort! I am the same.

There are plenty of sites with various coupon codes. tjoos, couponcabin and probably a hundred others. Useful, I'm all about free shipping when I can get it and a little extra off the price.

I got 9 prints, 2 of which are normally 19.99, and the other 7 normally 9.99, plus shipping - FREE. So I saved what, $110 plus whatever shipping would have been? Well worth the effort.

Somehow I missed the part of your post where you didn't pay anything for the pleasure of ordering their photos! :)

:snap: :cheers: :snap:

Had a really great afternoon at Disnyland yesterday. In retrospect, having checked social media AFTER we got back, we wish we had let people know since it seems a lot of friends were at the park too. As it was, we just barely mustered enough momentum to make it out of the house and carry us to the park.

But so glad we did! We were only there for a couple hours but managed to take in the Tiki Room, Asimo, Small World, Dumbo, and Mr. Toad's. All of which T really enjoyed. It's been so great to see him finally getting beyond the sensory overload of it all.

Yep, I was tempted to Socially Mediacize it at some point, too. It was too good not to share. Beautiful day with local-uncharacteristically puffy clouds in deep blue sky (Montana skies, really), brisk but not freezing, and to my complete surprise - pretty much EMPTY on the second day of a weekend when the first day of that weekend rained on and off throughout - plus geeky WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention center across the street. Recipe for crowded Park, but for some reason ... No.


I also figured there must be other peeps around, and was surprised when we finally left that we'd run into no one.

We went to the Park on a lark when we realized Beaumark had just one day left on his AP. We were having too much fun to even slow down and tweet - and it was a rather romantic day that I would have been happy to share with people we ran into, but did not want to go out of my way to beckon people to join us. Sorry.

Really, one of the most glorious days I've had at the Park in a long time. It's rare that so many sights I've seen a zillion times can stun me with their beauty - when I'm not on psychedelic drugs - but it really was that lovely a day.

And not everything was walk-on, but a tremendous amount of very popular attractions were just that - so we walked around both parks, skipped everything with a line, and walked on everything that was walk-on ... and ended up going on more rides than we usually do in four such visits. And had such a beautiful time. I'm glad at least the Sloan clan were also there to enjoy the day. I hope others were, too. Disneyland Win.

Our aged Primary Dog, Mellie, was really sick last night and earlier today. Called a vet for a home visit, and he sorted her out. Even though he had to perform an *ahem* rather invasive treatment on her, she is not one to hold grudges, and within minutes was trying to entice him into a game of "you toss, I'll fetch, and then not give it to you" with her purple octopus.She is doing much better, and we are all very relieved. We love that big goofy dog!!!!! Biscuit, however, was less than amused. We decided to get their rabies shots- just to keep them current- and she is still a bit peeved.

Another happy dance post!: Tori received her acceptance letter tonight from the Riverpoint Academy, WSU Riverpoint Campus. It's a new school that combines HS and University, and promises to be an outstanding academic opportunity. They only accept 75 students, so entry was very competitive. Tori's adviser, who also happens to be her Principal, told her several weeks ago that she would not be able to apply, as she is a transfer (from another district) student. This didn't set well with me, so I talked it over the next day with several friends who are teachers, and they all encouraged us to have Tori apply anyway. When I got home, I discovered she already had. Within a week, she and her dad were meeting with the new director, and less than an hour after her interview (which she felt went very well) the Mead district had called to say our home district (Spokane District 81) had denied the transfer. One pissed off mama bear.......so I called the district Superintendent the very next day, made it very clear that we could have sued them silly nine years ago when they refused to comply with her IEP, and that this time they were in for a fight. A few hours later, and I get a call that "we would never deny Tori this opportunity.....she is a Mead student, and we would not refuse the transfer....just a misunderstanding..." I phoned the Mead district back, told them what 81 had said, and then we got to wait to see if right triumphed over politics. (81 is very large, but Mead is the best district in the state for academic excellence, so lots of politics there- not the least that the Riverpoint Campus is smack dab in the center of 81- lol). I knew she qualified grades- wise, especially in Science, but I was very worried that forces outside our control would mess this up. When she got the acceptance letter, I was so, so proud- not just because she has overcome so much and that all of her hard work was finally paying off, but that she didn't take no for an answer- she did this, all on her own, and words cannot express how much that means to me. One truly ironic thing in all of this? The WSU campus is also home to the HOPE school, an auditory/verbal school for the Deaf/HOH, and is run by all of her former preschool teachers. Tori can be a role model to the little ones- that they can do anything, if they work hard and set their minds to it. So proud of our girl- and I say 'our', because she is a LoT girl, and you all have have contributed so much to her education, in more ways than you know, and that I probably don't want to know.....lol! ;)

http://riverpointacademy.org/riverpoint/

Congrats Tori!

Congrats do not say the half of what I feel at this moment. Happy dance for you all!

Great job Tori! I am very proud of your accomplishments and especially fighting for what you wanted, way to go girl!

:snap: I loved reading this.

Congratulations Tori!

Great news, congrats, she totally deserves it!

Great news - Sending Tori Big Happy-Snow-Dances from Stoat & me. (Even in Crocs) :)

I couldn't be more proud of "our" girl! She is amazing all around and this is a FINE feather in her cap.

Wow, Tori, Way To GO!

We can already add you to the list of amazing achievers that grew up with this group. DisneyFan25863 now works for NASA and MonorailMan works for Google. You're well on your way to an amazing adulthood!

Thanks so much, everyone! Tori is pretty excited at the prospect of moving from a very cramped, refurbished country schoolhouse to a downtown University campus. She's also hopeful the kids will be a bit more serious about their studies than many of her current classmates are. They tend to be loud, disrespectful to the teachers, and just generally kind of obnoxious- makes doing work in class a real challenge for her sometimes. She's definitely ready to move on!

That is amazing! Love and congratulations, Tori!

Yay Tori!

I gave a training on Office 2010 this morning. No one asked a question that stumped me (my greatest fear when training)! YAY!

Congrats! That's because you have to be an awesome instructor! :snap:

Not even the one about how to clean Crisco off crêpe de Chine ?

No, not even that.

We've lived here almost 3 years and I just put up the final towel rack that I bought before we moved in. And the mirror and clock in Maddie's bath so it's all done post re-paint.

The garage door guy came yesterday and showed me how to do the maintenance so now it's about 85% quieter than before and I know how to keep it that way.

Now onto 8 million other projects.