Future Poltergeist

Yep, the sickness fairy is visiting me now. The FP Gal is a little bit fearful that she'll feel the power of a fully operational bug too. Relia has been very sympathetic, which is wonderful. Hopeful for a better night...

We've had some trouble over the past couple of days getting Relia a nap at the right time. Some of this has been sickness and some of it family scheduling. In any case, she's been off the right time. That has meant tough bedtimes. We went grocery shopping late this morning and Relia fell asleep during the ten minute car ride. The FP Gal told me that she fell asleep while she was running errands a little bit after that. So we expected that she'd go down easily for a nap this afternoon. Not even a little bit. Screams of bloody murder and pounding on the door. So we decided to let her just stay up and fight with me about watching football. We got the TV viewing figured out but it became clear that she was fighting tiredness. After dinner she bounced back and forth between us in her usual fashion. She wanted graham crackers and medicine (child vitamin). Then she climbed up on me and settled down. She rested her head and a minute later she didn't respond to any of...

Nope, it didn't happen this year. I got to about 13,000 words before giving up. Just had too much trouble finding a rhythm and routine. Or a story that I liked. And a healthy enough patch early in the month. Let's just say that there were too many obstacles. I feel kind of bad about this. I'm now 3 for 4, which isn't too bad. But once you break the string on something like this it's much harder to jump back on the horse and actually finish. I'm sure that next year, with an additional child will be easier somehow. Ha! There are a few other ideas kicking around in my head. Maybe something else to kind of make up for this...

Today we had Thanksgiving dinner with the FP Gal's family. That meant that my lovely wife left our house at around 8a to help prepare the afternoon meal. Relia and I dealt with her absence with aplomb. I tried to get her a late morning nap as dinner was scheduled for the exact time of her usual afternoon one. Limited success. The meal was very good. Due to continued overcoming of colds on Thursday, it was our first actual sit down Thanksgiving style dinner. During the planning process, the FP Gal and I requested extra stuffing. It's our favorite. Relia's favorite (without question) was the cranberries. She had to be bribed with it to eat other foods. Now we're both stuffed. Relia still has room for cheese and crackers, of course. The ladies are sitting drowsily on the couch watching 'Toy Story' and barely staying awake. Life is good.

Years from now when my children are older and stumble upon an episode of cheers, who will they associate with Cliff the mailman?

I'm thankful for (the obvious stuff)... My wonderful wife and child(ren) The rest of my family. I wish I could spend more time with you. My circle of friends. The new technologies that make keeping in touch with all of the above easier. House, job, health and all of the other things that I take for granted on a day by day basis. Also thankful for Cheap second-hand books. Easy access to movies. Football and baseball for nearly the whole calendar year. The patience of my wife who is understanding about the above point. My daughter's sense of humor and growing vocabulary. Bedtime. Yummy cheeseburgers. Two lovely kitties. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Just an update from last night's post. Illness seems to have passed quickly and we're on the way!

Nothing too serious, just some throwing up. Still, it might cause us to cancel our trip to Austin tomorrow. Which would be a huge bummer. There is a particular helplessness to having a sick child. She really can't communicate what's wrong. Just kind of holds her stomach and puts her hand near her mouth. If I remember my childhood, she's probably scared too. Poor thing. We're hoping it's nice and short term. That would be very nice.

Anyone have any idea what Flin Flon is? Is it... the most popular candy in Spain? the next hot wedding dress style? a hero to children everywhere who teaches teamwork and politeness? an obscure Chinese martial art whose time has finally come? Actually no, it's none of those things. Flin Flon is a small Canadian town on the border between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I mention this only because I ticketed some travel to there today. When I first saw the reservation, airport code YFO, I wondered if it was some weird joke destination. (True story, a few years back I ran across an airline created Test City code, FSG. For just a moment it felt like I could see the Matrix.) And who, you may ask, flies to Flin Flon? Who else, Calm Air . Isn't that a peaceful airline name? (Much better than Fiery Plummet Air.) Speaking of airlines, there really is only one good choice for first time fliers. And speaking of small Canadian airlines with fun names, I've been told at work th...

Relia: "Triangle, triangle, little star. I . . . wonder what you are. Triangle, triangle, little star."

Back in September, I didn't know what to expect from the Vikings. I thought that Favre's bad karma would probably sink the team. Shows what I know, right? They have been very good, at times a great team. The improvement has been mainly from the offense, especially the quarterbacking. This is a team that is very good at both running and throwing the ball. If they have a weakness, it's in run blocking. But they also have the best 1-2 running combo in the league with Peterson and Taylor. Neither back needs a gaping hole to run through. In fact, their biggest plays have been on cutbacks after what would have been a short loss. The defense hasn't been as stout as it was the past couple of years. This year's team has an incredible pass rush and (without Winfield at least) average pass defense. The run stopping hasn't been quite as reliable but it's still good. Of note, this year's special teams is wildly better than last years. They've enjoyed o...

Back in the 60's the British government did not play rock and roll on the radio. The state controlled BBC didn't want it, so it didn't happen. This was, of course, a high moment in British rock with the Beatles, Stones, Who and many others making new music. Pirate radio stations sprang up, broadcasting from off the coast. The movie suggests that half of the British populace tuned in on a regular basis. All of this is based on true history. The movie focuses on one particular station called simply enough Radio Rock. On it we meet a crazy group of DJs and radio folk. This is a fun ensemble and the movie does well by them. We get to know their quirks and personalities as they face challenges from the state and fend off boredom. In many ways, this is a pitch perfect movie. The cast is great, the music is well done and the story is very good. The FP Gal told me that she already wants the soundtrack. In fact, I only had one problem with it: An open letter to Kenneth Br...

Should probably put a post up for my birthday too. Last night, the FP Gal gave me an Ipod and I've been trying to get up to speed with it today. I've wanted one for a few years at least so it's much appreciated! Today we dropped Relia off at my Mom's place (thanks Mom!). The rest of the day was spent buying U2 tickets, picking up bed stuff and (believe it or not) yard work. Oh, and some naps. Now we're getting ready to go out for a movie. The last year was a good one and I'm looking forward to the next. More adventures with Relia. New adventures with her new brother or sister. And of course, new adventures with the lovely FP Gal. Should be great!

To the FP Gal, who adds another calendar and still looks as beautiful as ever. Here is to another wonderful year!

This morning we enjoyed a light rain and temps in the mid 40's. The rain tapered off so I decided that we'd go to the zoo. Como zoo , of course. And we picked a good time and day to do so. The weather chased a bunch of folks off. We got there about a half hour after opening and there were only about a dozen cars in the lot. We just about had the place to ourselves. First off is the primate house. The way it's set-up, you go from smaller monkeys to bigger monkeys. orangutans and then gorillas. She wasn't impressed until we got to the gorillas. She thought they were big. I said they were even bigger than daddy. She told me bigger than two daddies. Next up was the big cats. The tiger was very regally sitting outside, just staring off into space, perhaps thinking about lifeboats . The cougar was pacing very visibly, which was nice. And a female lion was sitting inside. We continued outside and saw the male lion. The walkway is elevated by a good 20 feet so ...

Not sure why, but I've had this one bouncing around in my head for the past couple of days.

(Via Big Hollywood) Interesting post here regarding the top grossing films of the decade and their origin. Wikipedia has a list of the highest grossing films of this decade so far, and kottke noticed that of the top 20 films at the box office, only one movie was not based on a past film or tv show (remake/sequel), or an adaptation of an established property (be it a comic, book, play, toy…etc). That movie? 'Finding Nemo'. In fact, there are only two of the top 30 that are new works, the other being 'Kung Fu Panda' at #30. At the link they list the top 50 of the decade and only nine aren't based on some previous something. Seven of the nine are animated, five of those being Pixar. Any guesses on the other two? Is that unusual? For comparison I decided to look at the Wikipedia list for the 90's . My quick count suggests that nearly half of them, 22, are new stories. Four of those are in the top 10, including the #1 overall grosser, Titanic. Yep, the i...