Author Archive: Paul Epps

The MIT Guy

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After shooting some hoops, we stop at Extra Mile for hot dogs and sodas. Something catches my eye about the clerk’s name tag — underneath his name, it says “MIT.” “Did you go to school at MIT?” I ask him. “No,” he says. “That means ‘Manager In Training.’” “Oh, that makes sense.” Convenience store clerk seemed like kind of a low-level job for a MIT grad. Read more →

Basketball Diary

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I was shooting some hoops at the park this afternoon with my boy, sort of guarding him so he could try out some moves. I suggested that when he drives past a defender, he should cut back into him to keep him from reaching out and making a play on the ball. He tried it again but still didn’t cut back into me with enough gusto. The third time, he overcompensated. Before he even got past me, he drove his shoulder into my solar plexus and knocked me off the end of the court. Did I mention he’s the same size as me and a lot younger? Ouch . . . I’m still feeling it right now. Read more →

Microblog: 2009-04-11

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Great video of Mississauga’s mayor, an 88-year-old former professional women’s hockey player: http://tinyurl.com/as2ca4 # RT @diablocody: “Mashing the star button” sounds inherently masturbatory. # I know someone like this – RT @NoReinsGirl: Next door home improvement project day 1,329. Finish already. # Read more →

Welcome to Mississauga

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My son’s roller hockey team is traveling to Mississauga this summer. One of the hockey moms found this video featuring the mayor, Hazel McCallion, an 88-year-old former professional women’s hockey player. I loved it! Read more →

I’ve Lost Another Friend

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I’m waiting for Jeff to get me the server uptime numbers for March when I see this Facebook update: Oh he loves those Facebook name applications. He’s got a Clown Name, a Smurf Name . . . I add a comment: Hey Buttons! I need those server numbers. Hop to it… He deletes my comment and deletes me from his friend list. His sidekick — the Barney to his Fred — also deletes me from his friend list. He does send me the server numbers though, so it’s OK. I’m results-oriented . . . Read more →

You Had a Bad Day

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Nick Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings for the Angels last night but took a no-decision as the bullpen came in and blew the lead. A few hours later, Adenhart was killed in a car smash in Fullerton by some drunken idiot who ran a red light. He was 22 years old . . . P.S. My son says Adenhart’s dad had flown out from Baltimore and saw his son pitch a great game, that Adenhart was “buzzing” in the locker room after the game, despite the loss, so maybe it wasn’t a bad day. Except for the dying part. P.P.S. The Angels postponed their game the following night, April 9. The local Angels TV station instead replayed the April 8 game — the Adenhart game. It was sad watching him walk off the field, not knowing it was the last time . . . Read more →

Microblog: 2009-04-06

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Everyone in Irvine drives the same car: http://tinyurl.com/cad86w # Most valuable and underused social media strategy: http://blog.foghound.com/474/ # 5 Ways ‘Common Sense’ Lies to You Everyday: http://tinyurl.com/cdmhxa # Read more →

Everyone in Irvine Drives the Same Car

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It’s a white Lexus SUV. This leads to hilarious mixups like my son approaching a line of cars after school and getting into the wrong one by mistake, and my wife and I standing in the Trader Joe’s parking lot trying to figure out why we can’t unlock “our” vehicle . . . Read more →

Microblog: 2009-04-05

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RT @Ben373: Being responsible is below my pay grade. 🙂 (The New Yorker) # Temperatures soared into the 80s in Orange County this weekend. Thank god I stockpiled enough rum, Coke and ice to ride it out… # @Ben373 My wife is Asian. Your post gave her the idea of putting birthday candles in wonton soup. I can’t see how that’s going to work… in reply to Ben373 # Read more →

Be Disloyal

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”Be disloyal. It’s your duty to the human race. The human race needs to survive and it’s the loyal man who dies first from anxiety or a bullet or overwork. If you have to earn a living, boy, and the price they make you pay is loyalty, be a double agent — and never let either of the two sides know your real name. The same applies to women and God. They both respect a man they don’t own, and they’ll go on raising the price they are willing to offer.” — Graham Greene, “Under the Garden” Read more →

What Did You Learn? What Did You Teach?

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What could the world be like if each day we asked ourselves, “What did you learn?” & “What did you teach?” (Disclaimer for learning purists: until there is a shorter phrase for “create a context for someone to learn”, I’ll use “teach” as shortcut) — Kathy Sierra Read more →

IHF Post-Season Awards

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The IHF post-season honors have been announced. My kid was selected to play in the all-star game on April 18, and to receive a Special Achievement Award, sponsored by the Anaheim Ducks and bestowed by the IHF on kids who’ve distinguished themselves off the rink, via academics, community service and extracurricular endeavors. It would be nice if modesty prevented me from mentioning this stuff, but I’m happy to see the boy coming into his own as a well-rounded young man.   Northwood High School dominated the Special Achievement Awards. The IHF has 30 high schools participating, 53 teams and almost 600 kids, of whom 11 were selected for this award. Four of the 11 were from Northwood, showing once again why Northwood owns all other high schools in Orange County and probably the nation . . . Read more →

Rollo Takes a Walk

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The Northwood Wind Ensemble went deep into the repertoire at last week’s Irvine Band Festival for some avant-garde pieces, including one called “Rollo Takes a Walk.” “It’s the quirkiest, gayest piece I’ve ever played,” my son said. “Rollo” didn’t have any good percussion parts, just oddball instrumentation with rimshots, slide whistles, etc. “And in measure 126,” he said, “everybody stops playing and says, ‘Rollo…takes…a walk.’” “Hmmmm.” “Except it’s not written into my part so I don’t say it . . . and I play one note on the chimes.” “What note is it?” “An F.” “I’m thinking the Rollo composer could follow up with an entire Rollo suite,” I said. “‘Rollo Takes a Shower,’ ‘Rollo Takes a Test,’ ‘Rollo Takes a Vacation,’ you see where I’m going with this?” “Stop being stupid,” he said. “Why is it stupid? Because you didn’t think of it?” Read more →

Microblog: 2009-04-04

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On weekends, I’m the king of the sofa — the Sofa King. There’s lazy, and then there’s Sofa King lazy. # Another thing I like about Saturdays: 5-star Sudoku puzzles – http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20044245/?cat=sudoc # Read more →

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