Nathans Sandbox  -

26 Oct '04 - 07:21 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Sushi and other fish

I re-found this picture (don't ask). I have been thinking of my old home and have felt a bit nostalgic so I decided to hang a picture up. Plus the sushi sorta fits with the watering hole mantra.

I remember eating here with JC several times a week. Even when we were both short on cash, we would scrounge together the 10.00 to get the lunch deal. I can also remember NRS trying to choke a roll down and gagging. (stick with the chicken and soup). My last Madison meal was here. There is nothing like it down here but I do not expect there to be. There are many places that serve sushi though. However I have not been fortunate to try most of them. (besides Koreana off of parmer which I linked to before) *sigh*....

25 Oct '04 - 13:18 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Goodness *Updated

Tme is almost up. or at least it seems that way right now. Hospital trip Friday was long, all the way from after work till 6am Saturday. They sent us home after telling us we could not have the baby there or if we did, it would be sent to Seton main hospital but the Dr continues to send us there. I do not see the logic but the Doc knows best...right? (insert western medicine soap box here) We returned to the hostpital on Saturday afternoon but left early. Now the contractions are going again so I will let you know if we a have a new member of the family tomorrow as it appears there will be another trip to the hospital this evening.

*UPDATE: false alarm. Everything checked out ok, no labor just contractions. They set a record for checking us in/out though.

22 Oct '04 - 10:43 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶34.5 weeks and other news

Gas 1.84 87 octane (Randals)
High 89
We had an appointment for an ultrasound at the perinatal office this morning. Abi is 5lbs 14oz and is now right side up (which is upside down) or rather, she is no longer breech. He verified that she is a girl. Kim says pain is a 7/10 during the contractions which are 6-8 minutes apart. (Contractions started again Monday at noon)

If you feel adventurous, check the list of stuff in the right column that I have updated including a map with dots on it of where people are that have visited. I thought that it would be neat since family is spread all over the place...

21 Oct '04 - 10:51 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Books I want to check out

This may be the first of a type of post that I plan on updating at future points in time. (Where now, I make comments to entries instead)
These are some books that I am interested in checking out, first listed by Neal Stephensonon a slashdot entry:
Fiction I have lately read and enjoyed:

• Set this House in Order by Matt Ruff
• Ilium by Dan Simmons
• Iron Council by China Mieville
• Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart
• The I Love Bees alternate reality game
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke
• The Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland (in galleys; soon to be published)
• Short story collections by Etgar Keret: The Bus Driver who Wanted to be God, and The Nimrod Flip-out. Last time I checked, The Nimrod Flip-out was only available from an Australian publisher named Picador, but this should pose only the most minor of challenges to Slashdot readers. Keret is a young Israeli writer who has also done some work in film and graphic novels.

• Skeletons on the Zahara by Dean King
• The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Lincoln's Cooper Union address
• Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson

06:37 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶34 weeks

We have now passed 34 weeks. Anxiety and excitement are intensifying rapidly. Contractions started again on Monday but after trips to the hospital on Monday and Tuesday evenings, they have backed off a bit. Kim is resting and trying to make it to 36 weeks so keep your fingers crossed that we can make it. Here's to the last few weeks of a full nights sleep.

20 Oct '04 - 07:19 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Happy Birthday Kelly

I forgot to post this a while back, but happy birthday Dr. Kelly. Natalie said the trick to remembering is that it always falls on the real columbus day. (oppsed to observed).

If only I could remember when the real columbus day was?

15 Oct '04 - 11:03 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Happy 81st Grandma

Yesterday was my grandma's birthday. She was spending it at home resting (in Oklahoma City) as she is recovering from a recent surgery. She said she was filling a bit sick and when asking about Kim, said she can remember back to the days of sickness from being pregnant and feels just about as quesy now as she did then. Our thouthts and love are with you for a fast recovery Grandma.

09:08 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Moment

Kim and I. Taking it easy at the Pecan festival in downtown Austin. Photo courtesy of Travis. Warm days at the start of fall make for a nice day to spend outside. Leaves here are beginning to change in some locations. Dad reports that it was snowing yesterday in Duluth, MinneSNOWta. Isn't Kim pretty? It took a good bit of pleading to get her to pose for this photo. We shared one of those fried onion things that looks like a flower. Huge onion...

07:44 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶33 weeks

Wednesday marks milestone 33 weeks. Discomfort, I am told is currently a 7/10. Baby movements are less drastic but still there. According to the guides, at this point, the amniotic fluid is at the highest level in the pregnancy. The amount will remain constant until delivery. Fat continues to accumulate which turns the baby's skin color from red to pink.

13 Oct '04 - 06:44 | Karma: + 3 - 0 | § ¶Politics, religion and turkeys

Thanksgiving is coming up, so I am making a list of things I need to be thankful for. That may take some time because there have been so many things happening that I am thankful for.
Next, we have the presidential elections coming up. Seems John Kerry is a real MasterDebater, but does that mean he can do better than the Bush? Personally, I like my freedom and while Bush may seem like a twit at times, I say "Bring Me A Shrubbery!" /Knights of Nie
...Althought my vote will go to Michael Badnarik.
Bush won the first time with 47.9% popular vote (271 electoral votes)
Clinton won with 43% popular vote (379 electoral votes)
Gore lost with 48.4% of the popular vote (266 electoral votes)
The Electoral College History also makes for some good reading. Hillary Clinton should brush up.

Did you know, that the current "Prime Minister" of Iraq is a British Citizen (Dr. Iyad Allaw? For the view in Iraq, check the Weekly Links for "Bagdad Burning".

12 Oct '04 - 07:33 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Command Line Beginnings

"Contemporary culture is a two-tiered system, like the Morlocks and the Eloi in H.G. Wells's The Time Machine, except that it's been turned upside down. In The Time Machine the Eloi were an effete upper class, supported by lots of subterranean Morlocks who kept the technological wheels turning. But in our world it's the other way round. The Morlocks are in the minority, and they are running the show, because they understand how everything works. The much more numerous Eloi learn everything they know from being steeped from birth in electronic media directed and controlled by book-reading Morlocks. So many ignorant people could be dangerous if they got pointed in the wrong direction, and so we've evolved a popular culture that is (a) almost unbelievably infectious and (b) neuters every person who gets infected by it, by rendering them unwilling to make judgments and incapable of taking stands."

This is THE Matrix! only not really. That is an excerpt from "n the Beginning..." something Neal Stephenson wrote. Mr. Stephenson also wrote Cryptonomicon, and Snow Crash which are technical fiction books that many geeks find entertaining. However, in the beginning is non ficition and witty. Mr Stephenson uses metaphor throughout to explain evolution as it relates to operating systems. Its not terribly technical so it is perhaps understandable by the non-geek type. (I could be wrong) It comforts me to find people who think like I do. helps me to know that I am not the only one.
*RANT: Why is it, that when I signed up to receive email updates when the author releases new works, I signed up as Text Only, but it sent me HTML email as confirmation? Then, (at the bottom) it reads "you are currently signed up to receive HTML emails, click here to switch to text". So I click and it says I am already signed up as TEXT? Somebody needs their head rebooted.

11 Oct '04 - 15:30 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Look Up or Look Out

Sometimes when you are just sitting there, day dreaming and looking around you never know what you will see. Then sometimes you notice something that looks different when you take your eyes out of focus and then back again.

Next, for those people who were on 620 yesterday at noon, YOU CANNOT merge when you are STOPPED! ugh.

11:47 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶2004 October 4

I moved to Madison in March of 1999, worked for a small architect firm, then went back to consulting in messaging to the Wisconsin DOT. I started at the DOT on October 4, 1999. Now, I started work at Spherion in March and started working for Dell on October 4, 2004.
What are the chances?

*Note, this entry was made on October 4, but due to a blip in the time-space continuum it warped to 7 days later.

06:36 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶psycho

So clicking around, I find this survey, and figure "what could happen?" . Well....

08 Oct '04 - 12:44 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶Things that make you go hmmm.

06:54 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶I scored!

Soccer Zone Austin is an indoor soccer field that just opened. As part of their grand opening, they have free friday night play and the first 4 season games are also free. So I joined the 18+ coed house team and played this last Monday. Plus, I got the first goal (and only) goal of our team. It was a punt into the top left corner. Through the rest of the game it was touch and go. Final score was 5 - 1, but it was a blast. All of us were sucking wind.

What did you think I was talking about?

p.s. What do you think of this column layout? keep it? or send it packing?

06 Oct '04 - 00:56 | Karma: + 0 - 0 | § ¶32 weeks today

Gas: 1.76 US Gal. (87 octane, Randalls)
Todays High: 88 Farenheit
Kim finally found a doctor that would do more than just want to give a shot of something and send her home. White blood cell count is high, and disconfort is high while we seem to be fighting a bug/virus that has the whole house coughing and uncomfortable. Hopefully this does not last much longer, its already been 5 days...

32 week checkup is today. Last check because of the pain and stuff was last Sunday and Abi is still going strong. Unfortunately becuase of the pain, everytime she kicks she makes Kim squirm.