BOB!!

cruiser @ 2009-11-04T16:08:00

2009-11-04T21:09:17Z

We just got a pair of TiVos - one for the kitchen, one for the living room. I ordered a Series2 for the kitchen, which I got directly from TiVo, and an HD for the living room, which I got from B&H. Because I ordered the Series2 from TiVo, the service was activated when I ordered it. The package from B&H arrived first, so I got it set up and activated service. Since the Series2 was already activated, I got $100 off the lifetime service because of the 'multi-service discount'.

Upon discussion with harimad, we decided to get an HD box for the kitchen as well - we'd talked off and on about the possibility of replacing the 13" TV/VCR in the kitchen, and we decided that now was the time.

I called TiVo to start the return process on the Series2, using their 30 day money-back guarantee. After I did that, I ordered the other HD TiVo (again from B&H - they've got competitive prices and they've always been reliable for me). When I activated it, I again got the multi-service discount.

After I returned the Series2, they credited the full amount of the TiVo and the service plan to my credit card. So for the price of shipping the Series2 box back to TiVo (just under $10) and the time it took me to deal with the returns process & the time it took me to drop the package off at FedEx, I got a hundred dollar discount on my lifetime service for both of the HD TiVos.

Sometimes, things just work out.

Little Miss Contrary

2009-11-02T23:20:30Z

This morning, I was talking to Nicky. I asked her a series of questions about what she wanted to do. After each question, she emphatically shook her head 'No!' Finally, I asked, "Are you going to answer 'No' to everything I ask you?" She smiled and nodded her head. I wonder if she realized she was making a joke.

Football

2009-10-28T17:11:00Z

Watching Monday Night Football yesterday morning (thanks TiVo!), as the players went into a huddle, Meg exclaimed, "They're making a carousel!"

Watching the Redskins play, it looks like their new play caller might be on to something. In three trips inside the Red Zone, they got 2 touchdowns. Now if the offense can just not give the other team the ball inside field goal range, they might just get some wins.

Sometimes the truth isn't pretty

2009-10-23T05:10:24Z

Yesterday, after I had dressed Nicky, Meg asked, "Why is she wearing her Redskins shirt?"

I decided to be completely truthful, and thus responded, "Because she doesn't realize how dismally they're playing this season."

Meg, "Oh."

Radio Shack

2009-10-19T00:11:19Z

I was in Radio Shack to pick up a few sundry items today, one of which was a project box. I was chatting for a little while about the Redskins with a guy who turned out to be a not-yet-on-duty store employee. I guess the time we spent talking made him feel I was approachable, because when I picked up the project box, he came over and asked me about it.

He said, "I know we're supposed to be the experts here, but I have a question for you. I've seen a few people picking up those 'project boxes' [ed. note: I could hear the quotes around it] and was wondering, what are they actually for."

My internal scriptwriter must have been in helpful, non-snide, non-sarcastic mode, because I didn't say, "Projects, duh!" or "It's OK if you're not as expert as me, because I've been pushing trons around since before you were born." Instead, I answered him straight.

For those of you who've ever wondered, project boxes are to make your home-built, possibly badly hacked and cobbled together projects look presentable enough to hang out in your house with professionally made electronics.

Poll Answer: You Be the Judge

2009-10-18T23:42:37Z

After my traffic ticket appearance, I asked, "Which person gets a new hearing?" The winner is:

I had a really bad cough and missed work all week, and my dog died, so I didn't go to court last week

The guy (technically, a hearing administrator, not a judge) told the guy whose child care provider was late, "Well, you should have made backup arrangements." If my case had already been heard (and I was still sitting there for some reason) and thus unable to be prejudiced by comments from the peanut gallery, I would have pointed out to the administrator that the parent is the backup arrangement, and inquired how many levels of backup would be required to justify a new hearing. He went on to state that the departmental policy with regard to rescheduling missed hearings is that it needs to be a verifiable emergency. When the woman whose dog died (and had a really bad cough) had her hearing, she had a parking receipt from her doctor's office and a prescription bottle.

That's what keys are for

2009-09-24T02:08:29Z

This evening, I gave Nicky my keys to play with. She was jingling them around and I asked her if she was going to unlock the door with them. She looked up at me, then crawled over to the bathroom door, stood up, and put the key up to the doorknob. Fortunately for us, she was trying to use my car key to unlock the bathroom - we're safe for a bit longer.

You Be the Judge

2009-09-17T03:23:10Z

Updated, since I should have used check boxes, rather than radio buttons, and I added a choice so that you can answer the poll in the negative.

Please tell me in comments whether your answer is what you think happened, or what you think should have happened.

View Poll: You be the Judge

I Win!

2009-09-17T02:37:49Z

Today, I went to court to fight a parking ticket. It was (as it should have been) an open and shut case for dismissal. The meter was broken, I called in the broken meter to the city's office that handles such things, I got a ticket. Of course, the parking enforcement person doesn't have a way of knowing that the meter is broken, so I wasn't upset about the ticket. What I did learn today, in going to the hearing, was that the folks who adjudicate parking tickets actually have access to the maintenance system for the meters - so while I was sitting there, he checked that system & said "Your ticket was written on the 21st, and the maintenance record shows that it was checked on the 24th & was jammed."

Of the 6 people in the room for hearings, I was last, so I got to listen to everybody else's case. One woman had to leave and asked to come back another time - since they have walk-in hearings, her request was kindly granted. One woman had two tickets in an emergency no parking zone (here in DC, "emergency no parking" is the same was what gets called "temporary no parking" in other jurisdictions - street repair, movie shoots, etc. all get "emergency no parking). The tickets didn't have the dates & times for the emergency no parking, so the tickets were "defective on their face" so she won. One guy got a ticket for parking during street cleaning. In his exceptionally long-winded explanation (he pleaded "admit with explanation") he explained that he was only there for 40 minutes, he fed the meter, he didn't see a street-sweeper, he didn't interfere with a street-sweeper, blah, blah, blah. He lost. If I had more time than money, in his shoes I would "admit with explanation" and ask the administrator to reduce the fine by the amount I fed into the meter - he might have had a shot with that.

The last two were people who were requesting new hearings for moving violations because they missed their scheduled hearings. Rather than tell you what the outcomes were, I'm going to let my readership take a stab at it:

UPDATE: I goofed so I closed the poll - please enter your choices in the poll in the next entry

View Poll: You be the Judge

Daddy, she's pulling my hair

2009-09-14T23:51:33Z

About five times this evening, Meg complained that Nicky was pulling her hair.
The first time, I pointed out that Meg had Nicky's straw in her hand.
Each time afterwards, I pointed out that she had Nicky's straw in her hand again.

His & Hers Trophies

2009-09-12T00:01:33Z

Yesterday, harimad and I ran the Anacostia/Bolling Joint Base 5K/10K.

When we got there, there were about 20 people milling about, even though it was only about 5 minutes before the walk started - a much smaller turn out than last year. harimad had planned on doing the 5K walk, but when she saw how few women were there and realized she might have a shot at an age group award, she decided to she'd run the 5K, even though she hasn't been training much lately.

While I was driving, I had been trying to decide whether I wanted to run the 5K or the 10K. As I was waiting in line to sign up, Eric, a guy from the Navy Capitol Region Running Team (who is waaaaay faster than I am) got there. So I asked him which race he was planning to run. He told me he was doing the 5K, since he's running a marathon this weekend. So I decided to run the 10K, since I didn't feel like getting smoked by Eric if I didn't have to.

The 5K and 10K started together and I started out at the front of the pack with Eric. After about a hundred yards, I had to remind myself to slow down, since he was running at a pace I couldn't maintain for 5K, let alone the 10K I was doing. Eric pulled away pretty quickly, and that was the last I saw of him until after I reached the finish line.

A couple other people got ahead of me for a little while, but I passed them near the 5K turnaround, and was ahead of the pack the rest of the race. When I crossed the finish line, I told them I was the first 10K runner arriving (since I'd passed a 5K walker or runner just before the final turn). They told me I was 2nd, which puzzled me to no end. The guy who finished 5 seconds behind me was also puzzled, because he was sure that nobody was ahead of me. We soon found out what happened. Eric had missed the 5K turnaround and wound up running the 10K, finishing about 7 minutes ahead of me.

Since harimad was the second woman across the finish line for the 5K, and I was the second place mens finisher in the 10K, we wound up with matching trophies. They stand about 3 feet tall, which is vastly out of proportion for the number of runners and the quality of the competition. They're about what I'd expect to see (along with a cash prize) for a race with 5000 runners - or in a race with this few runners, it would have to be an invitational (for which I would not get an invitation).

I'm happy with my race, and I'm happy to get a trophy, but I'm almost embarrassed to show the trophy, it's so gaudy. I'm also a bit peeved at Eric, because I'd have had an even bigger, gaudier trophy if he had run his own race, instead of running mine.

I'd be happy to eat your wings for $3

2009-09-11T23:05:37Z

On Sunday, I went to Giant to pick up some wings. The price on the shelf was $5.99, and they had a $2 off sticker on them (because they were about to hit their expiration date).

When the guy rang them up, they came up as $6.99. I pointed out the discrepancy with the shelf price, so he sent somebody back to check it. The guy confirmed the price I said it was, so the cashier knocked another dollar off, without changing anything on the cash register. So the receipt said $4.99, but I actually paid $3.99.

When I got home, I looked on Giant's website to see what their policy was regarding the scan price not matching the shelf price. As I expected, it's "If any item scans higher than the price marked, advertised, unit price tagged or signed, you are entitled to one unit of the item FREE."

So today, I went back to Giant to get my money back. I brought the label from the wings with me, so that the person at the customer service desk would be able to scan the bar code (saving her a trip to the meat cabinet at the back of the store). She thanked me for doing so. I explained the situation, and she stepped into the booth and came back out with $6.99. I pointed out that I had only paid $3.99 and she said "The receipt says the item was $6.99, and there's nothing about the $1 he knocked off, and I can't give you back the coupon. So you get $6.99."

OK. Works for me. Giant gave me some wings and paid me $3 to eat them. I'll take that deal any time.

I also noticed that Giant raised the price on the wings to $6.99, but will knock off a buck if you have a Bonus Card. What a great deal!

Waking up Canadian

2009-09-03T00:52:16Z

I didn't know it until the beginning of last month, but on April 17th of this year, I became a Canadian citizen. Canada changed their citizenship law such that, as the child of a Canadian citizen, I am also one (there are a lot of details, but that's the summary).

The government of Canada produced a cute video, which you can watch on YouTube. It would have been nice to have a Mountie knock on my front door and tell me about it, but a hockey player in my bedroom when I woke up would have been a bit creepy.

It doesn't really change much, except that now crouchback can stop referring to me as a crypto-Canadian (unless, of course, he doesn't want to - it's not like a change to the citizenship law means that I'm going to be walking around with a jug of maple syrup all the time - or at least not any more than I already do).

I do have to try to be nicer, and remember to gloat to you Americans about how much better our health care is. I should also probably brush up on my French cuss words.

First Word! and First Step!

2009-09-02T23:21:52Z

For quite a while now, Nicky has been babbling and making sounds that might be words - it's tough to tell when a baby says "Dadadadada" whether she actually means Daddy or whether she just enjoys making the D sound. But when Nicky climbed onto her big sister and said "MehMehMuh" we decided that it was time for parental propaganda to kick in. Her first word is officially Meg. This made her sister quite happy (for about 5 seconds before she moved onto the next thought).

Also, a couple of days ago, she turned away from a table she was standing next to and holding, took one step toward a nearby table, then fell and caught herself. It wasn't really walking, but then today she let go of the gate into the hallway and took an actual step toward me with her arms raised.

Yee Hah!

2009-08-27T16:58:15Z

After pressing a button on one of her little sister's toys that started it playing "Turkey in the Straw", Meg jumped on a rocking horse and said, "Yee Hah!" I wonder where that came from.

The Happiest Baby in the World

2009-07-22T21:52:02Z

For a while, I've been referring to Nicky as the Happiest Baby in the World. She's always cheerful and smiling, laughs a lot, etc. But recently, I realized that always isn't quite a true statement. She's really, really cranky when she wakes up. Clearly, she takes after my father and my brother, Dan. Of course, even if she cries and carries on pretty much every time she wakes up from a nap, on average, she's still a very happy baby.

Homemade Beef Jerky

2009-07-17T00:51:03Z

It's worth noting that not counting labor or the small amount of power to run the dehydrator, the beef jerky I just finished making cost about the same amount as buying it from the store. It's also worth noting that this is despite the fact that the beef used to make the jerky was a rather expensive cut that my in-laws picked up at Whole Foods after misinterpreting my wife's request that they pick us up some beef. Assuming we were to buy the same cut of beef at the Commissary, it would be quite a bit cheaper. If we were to buy a less expensive cut, I'm guessing that we'd be paying about half as much to make it ourselves, and still winding up with better jerky.

Death by Chocolate

2009-07-09T01:41:27Z

We've all seen restaurant menus with "Death by Chocolate" as a desert option. This guy's family will probably never look at those items on the menu the same again. It was a lot more funny when the Smother's Brothers did it.

New Teeth

2009-06-23T20:27:57Z

Since last month, Nicky has added a couple new teeth. The two top front ones have come in most of the way, giving her a bite which is much more effective on her food and dangerous to her family members.

Last night, she was awake from about 1-2:30 am. Fortunately, she was happy while she was awake, but that still meant I didn't sleep during that period.

Another Meme

2009-06-19T01:40:26Z

Not long enough to justify a cut:

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Definitely more than one.

I'm a princess now

2009-06-09T14:01:58Z

This morning, Meg was hanging out with me & Jess, while Nicky was asleep in her room. She turned to us and said "We are three princesses. Meg, Mommy, Daddy, and Nicky are three princesses."

Meg's Musical Tastes Part II

2009-06-02T13:55:58Z

We got a lot of kids music (along with a lot of hand-me-down clothes & toys) from our three nieces (which means we've barely had to buy any clothes for her - woo hoo!). But we haven't really played it much. Mostly Meg listens to what I'm playing for myself. I find it quite interesting the things she decides she likes.

Currently, residing in the car, we have the following albums:

Little River Band All Time Greatest Hits, Hootie & the Blowfish Cracked Rear View, and Dire Straits Brothers in Arms, all of which she has absolutely no interest in.

They Might Be Giants Flood, from which she frequently asks for Dead (which she calls "the Shopping Song"), Whistling in the Dark, and occasionally for Particle Man (which she calls "Triangle Man"). We also have Here Come the ABCs (yeah, it's kids' music, but it's kids' music by artists who do music for grown-ups), which gets requests for the opening track ("the ABCD song"), Go for G!, and Pictures of Pandas Painting (which she refers to as "the Penguin Song" - her class at school is called the Penguins, so they're far more important to her than the pandas).

From Woody & Arlo Guthrie's Grow Big Songs (another kids' album that I had long before I had any kids) she asks for Merry Go Round (which, given how much she likes to ride them, is no surprise at all), and likes to hear me sing Pick it Up (which is apropos in many situations).

We have The Arrogant Worms Semi-Conducted in the car, and all their other albums in the house, which saves a trip out to the car when she asks for one of their songs when we're in the house. Her most common requests are I am Cow and Billy the Theme Park Shark (aka "The Cow Song" and "Billy"), and occasional requests for We Are the Beaver. She likes to sing Rocks and Trees herself, but doesn't ask for it. And once, when I skipped over Celine Dion to get from "Billy" to "the Beaver Song", she said "Daddy, I want to hear Celine."

Mike & the Mechanics Living Years, from which she regularly asks for Black and Blue and Nobody's Perfect, which she first decided, quite inexplicably, was "the Down in the Street Song" - the only way I figured it out was to first ask "Did I play it in the car?" and then go through every song on every album in the CD changer one by one and say "Is that it?" After I found it, I told her the real title, and now she asks for it by name.

[Edited to add] About 5 minutes after the album ended, and I was doing the dishes, Meg suddenly said "I want Nobody's Perfect".

"Daddy, work is such a drag."

2009-05-26T10:28:26Z

This morning, as Meg was busily coloring in her Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book, I leaned over to her and asked for a hug.

She glanced in my general direction, and then said, "I have to do paperwork" and continued her coloring.

Nicky update

2009-05-19T17:11:10Z

The kids are keeping us busy, so it's been a while since I've gotten a chance to post about Nicky's recent accomplishments.

She's had two bottom front teeth for months, but shows no sign of wanting to grow any more.

A few weeks ago, she stood up on her own for the first time (supporting herself on a table). Since then, she pulls herself to standing all the time.

She likes to play peekaboo - yesterday, she was pulling a kitchen curtain in front of Mommy's face, and then pulling it back away, but mostly she likes to hide her own face.

She also likes playing the piano. She crawls over to it, and either sits on the floor and either reaches up over her head or pulls herself to standing and bangs the keys.

Batteries not included

2009-05-19T17:05:12Z

Yesterday, Meg saw a dead fly on a windowsill. She asked, "Why is that bee there?"

I answered, "Actually, it's a fly, and it's there because it's dead."

To which she replied, "You'll have to put new batteries in it, Daddy."