The Saddest Photo in the World

Okay, I took a photo while they were crying. Get over it. I couldn't resist because it was cute.

Basically, they weren't playing nicely, so my wife told them to sit next to each other and to hug each other until they could get along. They cried while holding each other and I just had to indulge myself. I photoshopped a lot of Alex's face because of his owies.

2X Monday

Today's theme was double the fun. When my Mom sent me out for KFC, it wasn't until the drivethrough until I realized that I hadn't brought my wallet. Luckily, I was able to pull out before we had another baby. Wait. No, luckily, I hadn't ordered yet, so I drove home, got my wallet, and went back to KFC.

Then later that night, I went to Blockbuster, and was a bit excited that I had rented the newish Godfather Wii game. So I went home, pulled up the chair, and opened the case to see Wii Sports staring back at me. I called them and I had to bring it back, and I even had to explain to them that they've been ripped off, that Wii Sports was a literally free game that came with the console, and their new game was the last customers problem. I ended up with Marvel Alliance or something, which wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be.

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Watched Children of Men yesterday and thought it was really good. So it came as a surprise to me when I went to the IMDB forums and some people, probably kids who cite Bloodrayne as their favorite movie, completely pan the movie. I think that the movie was one of the best yet, a very great sci fi movie without the sci-fi elements that usually turn me off the genre. Just trying to imagine a world without children or babies being born is enough of a premise. But seeing the long takes that are sometimes aided with CG, sometimes not, but never getting in the way of the movie, is just a involving experience. If you haven't seen this movie, go see it. It's a movie that says so much about humanity in so little words.

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So I've been trying to settle on a photo management/editor alternative. Just thinking that I should do something with some of the photos that I have, and having used Aperture to correct a bunch of photos that I shot during yesterday's 18th birthday party that my friend's daughter had, I thought that I should probably do more with some of the great pics that I do have.

Right now I use iView Media Pro, and I do like it. Great organization, fairly responsive, does a variety of tasks that I do like. However, the image editor just sucks, and even if I could edit it in Photoshop, I would have to sort it back into the batch. It's not impossible, but not easy either.

I liked using Aperture, but that thing is such a memory and process hog. Using it just slows everything down, and I can't even use it on the Mac Mini because it's simply not fast enough. Furthermore, it's got no discernable organization tool or indicator that tells you how much space you've used, so backing up's kinda a pain. It's a little too much for what I do, but I do like two things about it. A strong, non-destructive editing interface built in, and versions. I am able to mess around and keep versions and masters separate. That I like.

iPhoto is for babies. I don't use that. I always think I'm missing something but like Aperture, it's a memory hog with very basic tools.

Anyway, just talking out loud.

Hospital Update

Well, after much testing the doctor came to the conclusion that it was probably a kidney/bladder infection, so she got some antibiotics and painkillers. We left the hospital at 5 in the morning, and then turned into vegetables.

There was no need to hold a persian over her abdomen after all. You know, a cat scan.

Juicy Juicy Gossip... From the Hospital!

It got my attention when a cop was hanging outside a room, out of view just waiting.

Then the guy came out and called his dad on his cell phone, and basically gave me the scoop. This guy was in a fight, and after the cops were called, he was admitted to the ER and he was bitching about the potential ER bill. Of course, on the phone he was describing how he plummeled the other guy, and he was getting stitches. It's never, "Man, he hit me so hard my grandfather rolled in his grave." or "Man, if this was a prison fight, I'd be the spoonee, not the spooner."

Anyway, all the grandstanding was cut down by a nurse who told him to not speak on the cell phone in the hospital, but also to get back into his room.

When he was discharged, the nurse read off a bunch of stuff that was juicy, like "contusion", "drunken" and stuff like that.

And just a moment ago, a cop mistakely popped his head in our room.

I was just about to say, "it's not sodomy if we're married and she likes it," but he left.

A Zen Moment

So I was in the kitchen, just thinking about myself, what the hell I'm supposed to be doing and whatnot. Thinking about how I'm lucky in the sense that I have a lot of interests, but none of them really define me per se.

I love Macs, but I'm not in Terminal plugging away at code or buying every new iPod that comes out or going to the conventions in San Fran, even though that might be cool. I love photography, but I have an entry level DSLR and pretty basic lenses. Although I was doing some mental math in my head while washing out some dishes and realized that my meager 500 dollar camera, after two different lenses and a speed light, comes in barely under a grand. Oops. But hey, I'm not buying glass that's 800 bucks. Crazy.
I love gaming, and yeah, my newest system is a Wii, but I don't have anything considered next gen graphics. I don't have to buy new games when they come out, though I have exceptions. Paper Mario is looking really fun right now. I think the whole concept of Paper Mario is appealing to me because I envy the idea:

If I came to a problem I couldn't figure out, just draw a box around myself and voila! I'm in another dimension, and I can just walk around the problem. Now that's problem solving.

I also love movies, but unlike my good friend up in Alaska, whom I secretly envy because he has a DVD collection that rivals the library of a small town, I don't really buy that many movies. Now if you knew me, you'd say, "Well, no, you don't buy them..."
But you know, I don't go out to see movies anyway. Except this Friday when I subject myself to Grindhouse. Before the Weinsteins decide to split it into two movies.

Point is, my passions have the same level of commitments as my skills. I'm not great at anything, just okay in a lot of things. I think about my zodiac, which is Libra, and I think that's mighty representative of my personality. I try to seek a balance in the things I do, and although I think I often fail miserably, I still think that that's embedded in me. I don't want conflict, and I try to make peace.

Enough philsophy for now. I've got to exploit this free hospital internet. Whee!

Blogging from the Hospital

My wife's been having some pain in her abdomen and back for the last few days, and she's thinking bladder infection. She's drinking a ton to cleanse her system, with water and cranberry juice, and even taken some OTC medication that her stupid stupid boss suggested, in lieu of actually going home early.

Well, today before she went to work and she was just miserable. And when she came home tonight, she had a fever to boot. After a bit of considering (since we have absolute crap insurance and no extra money coming in), we decided to go to the emergency room.

And here we are.

They don't think it's a bladder or kidney infection, and they are going to run some blood work and also start an IV. There's talk of a CAT scan for her abdomen also. And all we're thinking about is how we can't really afford all of it.

Don't really know how long it'll be, but I reckon it's going to be a longish night. Oh boy. They haven't even officially started yet and it's almost 2:30 in the morning.

Donald Rumsfeld Hands On

A Real Post

Okay, here's a real post.

Easter, as always, wasn't so much about religion around the house. Nope, it was two little kids running around being happy as can be, with the permission to devour as much candy as their little bodies can handle. They had three hunts, one at a YMCA, another one indoors at home, and one at Grandma's house. The YMCA hunt was okay, the disproportionate amount of people versus eggs was fairly noticeable - Alex only got like 4 eggs and Zoe got 6 or so. There was a toddler who had a basket full of eggs, and I'm sure the mom got a lot of evil eyes for that. Good god, what a terrible example to pass on.

We did the Redmond Senior Center last year, but this year decided against it because after the cost was all tallied up, it would cost us 19 bucks just for admission. Excluding Zoe, who is still young enough not to be charged. I'm sure we would have gotten better candy, more eggs, and a smattering of eggs and bland pancakes that is the included "breakfast", but I dunno. 19 bucks seems a bit steep for something like an egg hunt.

So we did one at home as well, and the kids enjoyed going around the house, finding coins, chocolate eggs, weird foam edible bunnies, and lost souls in the little plastic eggs strewn all about the house. Yesterday was yet another hunt, although Grandma used real eggs, which Mr. Alex found out when he punctured an egg with his thumb expecting chocolately goodness only to find a bruised yolk staring back at him.

Easter, like Halloween, has become a boon for the candy industry. Alex can get kinda weird about candy, obsessed really, and this morning the first thing he wanted in his mouth was more candy. He was quickly shot down by his parents.

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This is the problem that I've been having lately, and it's something that I really need to work on. I have a very short span of patience now, and I think it's hugely in part that I feel like I'd rather be doing something else with my time. Yes, yes, I'm a parent, and quality time with my children is something that I should look forward to, and it is. But this internal battle that I have regarding how I should spend my time goes back a long way. It's not just like, oh, I have kids now. Okay, I'd rather be doing something else.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an oxymoron. Yes, I'm a pimpled face ointment junkie who happens to be a moron. I'm an oxymoron because I'm a private person most of the time, but I'm also very open about my problems. I practically broadcast that I'm not a great parent. But in real life, unless I'm comfortable with you, I usually keep to myself. I like my own time, and there are a lot of times whereby I don't really talk to people much, because I don't really have anything to say to them.

I've found people on myspace who are from my past, met them enthusiastically, and then... nothing. It's anti-climatic because I don't really have much to say to people. I lack skills to small talk, which impairs and probably dissolves a lot of relationships that I have with people. I don't try awfully hard to keep in touch with even my closest friends, and I don't maintain the friendships I have very well. It's just my loner personality. My family left me pretty much by myself growing up, so I've grown to adapt to being self-sufficient to a fault.

Anyway, what this has to do with my kids is that I need to knock it off. I know that if I continue of this path of not giving them quality time, and time to enjoy them for who they are will evaporate. Kids grow up and out of their parents anyway, but there is no reason why I shouldn't try to keep them close. It hasn't been easy lately, since Alex is getting combative and argumentative, and Zoe is passively defiant, and I feel like I have absolutely no control over what they do, and how I react. I'm sure it's just me refocusing my goal in life. This Videography thing has really thrown a wrench in my system, and I just need to get into a groove.

Sigh. I try with the kids, and I need to try harder. I don't want them to grow up and be like me. All anti-social and possessive of my time.

Easter Pics

Above is the slideshow of Easter 2007, they're scattered, but that's Twango for you. One of the photos is just of a car driving ahead of me, and since I was driving and didn't have my telephoto lens, I did the best I could and scaled the photo up for you.



Basically, the lady driver was wearing bunny ears, but since her ears were taller, she opened her sunroof to accomodate her detachable ears. Hmm. I worry about the world we live in.

iRack

Not usually a big MadTV fan, but this skit is pretty good.