Can I have more soil milk?
(Should be soy milk.)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Doctor's orders: no spears for the kids
Had lots of follow-ups this week.
Monday: MRI
It's official:
MRIs are boring.
Tuesday: Urologist. Said everything is going reasonably, and I no longer have to manually empty unless I need to (which happens about once in 3 days these days).
Today: Neurosurgeon. Said MRI looks clean, and everything is okay, and he's happy.
I mentioned that it hurts when kids sit on my back. Response: "As it should". I'm concerned about injury to the spinal area with force to the area where I'm missing bones, and he said that there's still enough bone to protect the area against most incoming objects. "Unless you get speared in the back, it's probably fine".
Gotta send back the spears we bought for Christmas.
(Not serious about that last sentence, in case you think I'm demented.)
Monday: MRI
It's official:
MRIs are boring.
Tuesday: Urologist. Said everything is going reasonably, and I no longer have to manually empty unless I need to (which happens about once in 3 days these days).
Today: Neurosurgeon. Said MRI looks clean, and everything is okay, and he's happy.
I mentioned that it hurts when kids sit on my back. Response: "As it should". I'm concerned about injury to the spinal area with force to the area where I'm missing bones, and he said that there's still enough bone to protect the area against most incoming objects. "Unless you get speared in the back, it's probably fine".
Gotta send back the spears we bought for Christmas.
(Not serious about that last sentence, in case you think I'm demented.)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Mozart's Sonata
My wife challenged me to learn a new piano song this year. I normally like to choose songs that are way beyond my level, like the 3rd movement of "Moonlight Sonata", so this time I chose one that I might be able to finish in less than 5 years: Mozart's Sonata in C. I'm making good progress on.
I snapped a vid of me 2 weeks ago on it, and will do one again soon, (on a camera that has a few megapixels but not a lot of quality), and will post them once I figure out how to edit video, so that I don't bore people to death with long segments of uselessness.
I also tried to play the Sonata on the clarinet. That didn't work out so well at all.
I snapped a vid of me 2 weeks ago on it, and will do one again soon, (on a camera that has a few megapixels but not a lot of quality), and will post them once I figure out how to edit video, so that I don't bore people to death with long segments of uselessness.
I also tried to play the Sonata on the clarinet. That didn't work out so well at all.
Book review
So, my wife and I just started reading this book called "Divergent". So far it's about a teenage girl who makes a Hogwarts-sorting-hat-style choice against her family and the results. We haven't hit the central conflict yet.
Recently I also read the first 2 Beyonders books (my wife bought me the sequel thinking I had read the first, so I figured I'd better read them). They were pretty good. Then my sister told me she thought they were kind of slow, and then I kind of agreed.
Before that, I read the "Ghost of Tatooine", a Star Wars novel taking place after "Jedi" and before the Timothy Zahn trilogy. I only sort of like reading books like this, because sometimes they're just filler novels and don't advance the story. I really enjoyed the Timothy Zahn trilogy a long time ago. I imagine if I had read some other Star Wars trilogy I might have enjoyed that and then in the future had no interest to read the Timothy Zahn one. Does that make any sense?
That being said, it was a pretty good book.
Perhaps I'm at the point where I've (finally) read enough books that I'm now recognizing "Hey, this sounds a lot like 'Book X', and I really don't want to get into that again".
Recently I also read the first 2 Beyonders books (my wife bought me the sequel thinking I had read the first, so I figured I'd better read them). They were pretty good. Then my sister told me she thought they were kind of slow, and then I kind of agreed.
Before that, I read the "Ghost of Tatooine", a Star Wars novel taking place after "Jedi" and before the Timothy Zahn trilogy. I only sort of like reading books like this, because sometimes they're just filler novels and don't advance the story. I really enjoyed the Timothy Zahn trilogy a long time ago. I imagine if I had read some other Star Wars trilogy I might have enjoyed that and then in the future had no interest to read the Timothy Zahn one. Does that make any sense?
That being said, it was a pretty good book.
Perhaps I'm at the point where I've (finally) read enough books that I'm now recognizing "Hey, this sounds a lot like 'Book X', and I really don't want to get into that again".
Gas pumps want zip code
So, when you pay at the pump, a lot of them ask you for your zip code. At first, I thought this was so they could find high population clumps of customers and build one closer to them. But then I learned (possible rumor mongering) that this was a security feature.
What?
Clearly nobody who steals somebody's credit card could know what their zip code is...
What?
Clearly nobody who steals somebody's credit card could know what their zip code is...
3 runs this week
So I have a race next week, the one I sponsor twice a week at work. I'm still a bit slower than before the surgery. (I can do most everything else I used to could (sorry, I had to say it that way), such as pullups, pushups, situps. I guess I can't reach the first knuckle past my toes either...)
Tuesday I wanted to see if I could do it at a 7mph average. I couldn't - I made it 1.5 miles.
Saturday, I wanted to see if I could do it at 9 min/mile. I made it 2 miles, but I ran out of time and had to go to...
... the finish line to watch my daughter finish a "Girls on the Run" race. She's been running for about 2 months, and this was her first 5K.
(I tried to get her into running a few years ago, but she was (and probably still is) more into short sprints).
They finished sometime between 45 and 55. The timer at the finish line had shut off for some reason.
Later in the afternoon, I decided that part of why I'm still slow(er) is that I haven't done anything to strengthen my legs (since muscle strength contributes to oxygen consumption rate or something like that). So I did a hill session on the treadmill, doing each incline level between 2 and 10, running at 5mph at each one and walking at 3mph between each one at the same level. I did 2,3,4,5,9 at 2 minutes and 6,7,8,10 at 1 minute.
Going up the stairs was hard after that.
Tuesday I wanted to see if I could do it at a 7mph average. I couldn't - I made it 1.5 miles.
Saturday, I wanted to see if I could do it at 9 min/mile. I made it 2 miles, but I ran out of time and had to go to...
... the finish line to watch my daughter finish a "Girls on the Run" race. She's been running for about 2 months, and this was her first 5K.
(I tried to get her into running a few years ago, but she was (and probably still is) more into short sprints).
They finished sometime between 45 and 55. The timer at the finish line had shut off for some reason.
Later in the afternoon, I decided that part of why I'm still slow(er) is that I haven't done anything to strengthen my legs (since muscle strength contributes to oxygen consumption rate or something like that). So I did a hill session on the treadmill, doing each incline level between 2 and 10, running at 5mph at each one and walking at 3mph between each one at the same level. I did 2,3,4,5,9 at 2 minutes and 6,7,8,10 at 1 minute.
Going up the stairs was hard after that.
SWTOR cancellation
Oh, I forgot to mention that I cancelled my Star Wars subscription. I didn't have enough time, my computer is too sucky to play it, and I found that the same thing that was true of WoW was true of it - you just wander around, push 113244231 until something dies, and repeat.
This time I pushed through till about level 28, whereas with WoW I made it to 73.
This time I pushed through till about level 28, whereas with WoW I made it to 73.
LAN party with Diablo 3
So, some friends of mine bought Diablo 3, and one of them invited me to a Diablo 3 LAN party. I didn't want to buy it (yet), so we postulated that I could play with them for a bit with a guest pass. So we and a few other friends tried to find me one for a few days (most of them bought the digital version), until a friend at work had a friend who didn't need one and I borrowed his.
So we're all excited, show up to the LAN party, and then after a few minutes we realize that guest players can only play with other guest players (or random strangers). Cheap. So I spent 4 hours and went as far as I could on the guest mode by myself (with the other guys from the LAN party).
All in all, it's a pretty fun game. The story seemed a lot like the original Diablo I played in 1997 - you had to fight the Skeleton King, and then the Butcher. The story presented itself a little more clearly and the UI was nicer.
However, after the 4 hours, I think that was good enough - I've had my feel and I don't really feel the need to keep going.
So we're all excited, show up to the LAN party, and then after a few minutes we realize that guest players can only play with other guest players (or random strangers). Cheap. So I spent 4 hours and went as far as I could on the guest mode by myself (with the other guys from the LAN party).
All in all, it's a pretty fun game. The story seemed a lot like the original Diablo I played in 1997 - you had to fight the Skeleton King, and then the Butcher. The story presented itself a little more clearly and the UI was nicer.
However, after the 4 hours, I think that was good enough - I've had my feel and I don't really feel the need to keep going.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Runs of the week
I tried some speed work this week.
Tuesday I wanted to run a 7 minute mile, made it halfway and then did 2 more half miles somewhere around 7 or 7.5.
Saturday I wanted to run a 24:45 5K (7.5 mph), did a half mile (see a pattern?), and then 8 mph for .5 miles, .3 miles, and .25 miles.
Tuesday I wanted to run a 7 minute mile, made it halfway and then did 2 more half miles somewhere around 7 or 7.5.
Saturday I wanted to run a 24:45 5K (7.5 mph), did a half mile (see a pattern?), and then 8 mph for .5 miles, .3 miles, and .25 miles.
Voiding status
So I posted earlier that my graph is like this:
Except that the period of the wave seems to get larger over time. Right now, I'm on the upswing where last week was down. I accidentally went of the drugs (Can't remember if I said that), and it seems to be okay. I manually empty about once a day when I'm at the peak, or twice in a valley, and in those cases it's about half a cup.
Except that the period of the wave seems to get larger over time. Right now, I'm on the upswing where last week was down. I accidentally went of the drugs (Can't remember if I said that), and it seems to be okay. I manually empty about once a day when I'm at the peak, or twice in a valley, and in those cases it's about half a cup.
Work pranks
So, I was working with somebody in his officemate, and his officemate (we, on average, have 2 to each office) had left his shoes on the floor. So, I decide it would be funny to just hide them for a minute, and put them in a box in the office.
The next morning, I run into him in the break room, and he says, "Thanks for hiding my shoes; it took me 15 minutes to find them and I missed my kid's soccer game."
I was like "oops".
Then he was like "just kidding".
Whew!
The next morning, I run into him in the break room, and he says, "Thanks for hiding my shoes; it took me 15 minutes to find them and I missed my kid's soccer game."
I was like "oops".
Then he was like "just kidding".
Whew!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hooray for mouse pointers!
So, I run Fedora 15 Linux with Gnome 3 at work. I'd rather run
windows, because I think its desktop environment actually works (I
respect your differing opinion in this regard - I think Linux is a
better server environment), but the environments we develop server apps
that run on Linux, so we develop on Linux.
Anyway, about 1/3 of the time, after unlocking my screen, the mouse pointer disappears. The mouse still works; you just can't see the pointer.
The funny part is that sometimes it takes me about 20 minutes to notice - I can run my command line and editor without it, but Email with Lotus Notes is difficult without a mouse. At least it implements mouseovers in decent places, so I can get close to my desired click and go trial and error from there.
Surfing the web is also hard - it took me about 3 minutes to click the 30 pixel "sign your timecard" button.
But then, on the next lock and unlock, it comes back, and there is much rejoicing.
Anyway, about 1/3 of the time, after unlocking my screen, the mouse pointer disappears. The mouse still works; you just can't see the pointer.
The funny part is that sometimes it takes me about 20 minutes to notice - I can run my command line and editor without it, but Email with Lotus Notes is difficult without a mouse. At least it implements mouseovers in decent places, so I can get close to my desired click and go trial and error from there.
Surfing the web is also hard - it took me about 3 minutes to click the 30 pixel "sign your timecard" button.
But then, on the next lock and unlock, it comes back, and there is much rejoicing.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Camping Curse
My back passed one of the ultimate tests: camping.
This was a father-son campout, and I brought my 7yo and a neighbor kid whose dad couldn't come.
However, I have a camping curse. Seems whenever I go camping, I attract the heavy winds that keep me awake all night. I also brought the wrong tent (or don't know how to use it), and this tent does not survive heavy windstorms. I.e., we end up with the top of the tent in our face, and I remember looking at the clock at least once an hour from 12:30 to 6:30.
Lamentably, we had to be somewhere in the morning, so we were gone by 7:15, when the rest of them started to prepare breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and pancakes. We had cereal at home.
This was a father-son campout, and I brought my 7yo and a neighbor kid whose dad couldn't come.
However, I have a camping curse. Seems whenever I go camping, I attract the heavy winds that keep me awake all night. I also brought the wrong tent (or don't know how to use it), and this tent does not survive heavy windstorms. I.e., we end up with the top of the tent in our face, and I remember looking at the clock at least once an hour from 12:30 to 6:30.
Lamentably, we had to be somewhere in the morning, so we were gone by 7:15, when the rest of them started to prepare breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and pancakes. We had cereal at home.
Happy Valentine's Day
Here's a collage of Valentine's Day candy hearts I made to poke fun at the candy heart system. Didn't get around to posting it until now.
Children biking
So I introduced my 10yo to a hill to bike down, and a shortcut it has to a local park. She has since become obsessed with riding down this hill at top speed (to be honest, I have too) and then taking laps around the park's sidewalk. This last week I told her she has to start biking up the hill each time we do that. She can make it halfway before stopping, and about 3 times up the hill kills my legs to death.
My 7yo is starting to catch on to biking. My approach has gone from constant critiquing (and him telling me that he refuses to go without training wheels) to leaving him alone and having him figure it out on his own. We were using the same hill as above (just closer to the bottom) to teach the balancing without the need to learn pedaling and he has started to learn exponentially. I even brought him on one of the park expeditions with the 10yo and he managed all right. He averages pedalling about 7 seconds before having to restart, except uphill.
I think I now understand why people wear biker shorts.
1) Because pants hit the gear box
2) Because pants (particularly those on the tight side) cause pain in certain areas
My 7yo is starting to catch on to biking. My approach has gone from constant critiquing (and him telling me that he refuses to go without training wheels) to leaving him alone and having him figure it out on his own. We were using the same hill as above (just closer to the bottom) to teach the balancing without the need to learn pedaling and he has started to learn exponentially. I even brought him on one of the park expeditions with the 10yo and he managed all right. He averages pedalling about 7 seconds before having to restart, except uphill.
I think I now understand why people wear biker shorts.
1) Because pants hit the gear box
2) Because pants (particularly those on the tight side) cause pain in certain areas
Exercise update
I haven't exercised properly in over a week. Oops. I've been staying up too late and not sleeping enough, and have been exhausted pretty much since last Tuesday, so I haven't felt the desire to exercise.
But after my 2-hour nap and 10 hours of sleep, I might be ready to start again in a few days. Or later. I have already put on the "you're not exercising" buffer weight.
I guess you might count biking with the children and being throttled in a sparring match with my instructor as exercise...
But after my 2-hour nap and 10 hours of sleep, I might be ready to start again in a few days. Or later. I have already put on the "you're not exercising" buffer weight.
I guess you might count biking with the children and being throttled in a sparring match with my instructor as exercise...
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