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!
Microblog: 2009-04-10
Microblog: 2009-04-09
- I’ve lost another friend: http://tinyurl.com/ck2zkh #
- @PetrosAndMoney Hartman must be pissing blood… in reply to PetrosAndMoney #
Overheard
“Tomorrow is Good Friday, right? Isn’t today something too?”
“I have no idea, Mom.”
“I’m gonna call the church.”
I’ve Lost Another Friend
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 . . .
You Had a Bad Day
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 . . .
Microblog: 2009-04-08
- Just listed myself in the http://localtweeps.com local Twitter directory in ZIP 92620 #
Microblog: 2009-04-06
- 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 #
Pug Photos on Flickr
Originally uploaded by ♥ellie♥
Originally uploaded by Byronasorus
Originally uploaded by lozi_louise
Originally uploaded by lozi_louise
Originally uploaded by wombatarama
Everyone in Irvine Drives the Same Car
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 . . .
Microblog: 2009-04-05
- 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 #
Be Disloyal
”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.”
Emergency Preparedness
Temperatures soared into the 80s in Orange County this weekend. Thank god I stockpiled enough rum, Coke and ice to ride it out . . .
What Did You Learn? What Did You Teach?
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)
IHF Post-Season Awards
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 . . .
Rollo Takes a Walk
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?”
Microblog: 2009-04-04
- 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 #
Microblog: 2009-04-02
- prefuse gallery: http://prefuse.org/gallery/ #
- Processing gallery: http://processing.org/exhibition/index.html #
- Wordscapes: http://www.typotopo.com/wordscapes/ #
- RT @GLHoffman: NYC cabbie turns to passenger, after they both see huge crane fall off a building. “Fricking cranes.” #
- RT @Ben373: “Sh*t happens – when you’re around as*holes. ” Old truism from my dad. #
Moldered City
The story of Glemie Dean Beasley plays like a country song. The son of a sharecropper, Beasley left school at 13 to pick cotton. He came to Detroit in 1958. His woman left him in 1970 for a man he calls Slick Willy.
His baby done left him / The pain won’t abate / Asked where she was going / She said, “To become secretary of state.”
Promises, Promises
WASHINGTON — One of President Barack Obama’s campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama’s promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.
This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.