avablog

The replacement for my recently-departed iBook is on its way to my door. Here’s what it looks like:

I just couldn’t make myself drop the additional $200 for the black model.

This computer will be a pretty big jump forward from my old machine, but for day-to-day use, there’s not much I’ll do with it that’ll take advantage of all it can do. Kevin tells me he’s been impressed by this computer’s immediate predecessor’s ability to quickly rip DVDs, but I don’t really rip DVDs. Perhaps I should start.

Have you ever wanted to look at thousands of pictures of our adorable daughter but didn’t want to register an account at flickr, where they’re stored?  Now you can!

[Read more →]

Memory is an amazing thing. That goes without saying (but I’m sayin’ it anyway, clearly). In and of itself, the electrochemical process that is memory is quite an invention. The way it persists, old memories fading away and becoming as good as forgotten in our everyday lives, only to come rushing back the moment we receive some sensory cue that immediately and vividly brings an event out of the past. And it’s usually the darnedest things that spur these memories. Like shag carpet.

[Read more →]

Leah and I were sitting on the couch last night, watching TV and chatting idly about my crazy scheme to get a new Apple MacBook laptop and give my beloved 900MHz iBook G3 to Leah’s mom in an effort to bring her at least into the late 20th Century.

[Read more →]

Well, here’s where it all started (for me, at least, and I guess for Ava, too, in a way). I’m told this shot was taken the day I came home from the hospital after being born.

That’s my mom, there, overseeing my yawn. I can’t look at this picture without thinking about the day we brought Ava home and showed her our (her) house for the first time. There’s just no forgetting that moment when your life goes from two to three. It’s even more profound in many ways than being in the hospital and seeing Ava for the first time.

[Read more →]

As I’ve mentioned, I was born in Madison, WI, in 1970. Shortly thereafter, we moved to Evanston, IL, where my brother was born in 1972. I don’t recall a thing about living in Madison, though something about the place seems vaguely familiar when we now visit the place where my family used to live.

[Read more →]

We met with a banker last evening about a house loan for the renovation/addition we’re thinking about.  I’ll cut to the chase:  The bank will be happy to lend us an amount that is much past our ability to pay back.  Even using conservative numbers, the payment on our loan would consume my monthly pay.  That’s before paying for anything else like utilities, daycare, and groceries.  So, the house renovation is officially on hold as of now.

In related news, my friend Marcia just sent along a piece from The New York Times about a couple with a new baby who live in a 265sf apartment.  No, that’s not a typo.

Those of you who were prescient enough to register an account here at avablog have access to all the pictures I put up of Ava from time to time. If you haven’t registered, don’t despair! You can always click on the “register” link over at the right and set up an account (it’s easy and fast). If I know who you are, where you came from, or how you came across the blog, I’ll set your user level to allow you to see all the posts.

[Read more →]

For a while there it was looking like our fledgling New Year’s Eve party was going to be snubbed out this year by Rachel’s monstrous schedule at school.  Luckily for all of us (and especially for her), Rachel’s carved some leeway into the next year, which means she and Kevin are a “go” for this year’s festivities.

[Read more →]

Sunday night, Leah and I watched a show about the methamphetamine catastrophe in Iowa. When I was writing that first sentence, I hesitated for a bit in consideration of the best way to describe meth’s impact in this state. Epidemic is the word you hear thrown around most often. But after watching the soul-dampening profiles of these addicts and their families, it’s clear that this is more than “just” an epidemic. More, even, than a catastrophic epidemic.

[Read more →]

Sometimes it’s just weird to be around Iowa City without anything to do. But it sure is nice. No running around to get the car packed and Ava loaded up for a trip to Madison or Decorah or Chicago. No big social events to buy food and wine for. No parties to dress up and find sitters for. It’s healing.

[Read more →]

Today at work we’re having the last of this season’s staff tailgate events. It’s a biggie. There are plenty of people in the office who have strong Wisconsin ties (including yours truly, who was born in Madtown lo, those many years ago), so emotions are running high on the eve of the Hawkeyes/Badgers clash.

But for those of us who care not for football, the real news is the food. Wisconsin is often referred to as God’s Country, not — as many people assume — because of its gorgeous landscapes, but because you can’t walk more than 30 yards in any direction without tripping over a block of sharp cheddar or a bratwurst piled with kraut. And so, the culinary theme for today’s tailgate was “Cheese and Bratwurst.” PRAISE!

I’m known in certain circles as possessing a prodigious appetite. I don’t eat a lot all the time, but I occasionally do eat a lot…quite more, in fact, than many unsuspecting waitpersons I’ve known might guess upon looking at me. So you may imagine my glee when I walked down to the tailgate this morning and found an entire steamer tray filled to overflowing with beautifully-cooked bratwurst. And next to it? A giant bowl of sauerkraut. Had our entire staff showed up at the event and every person walked away with three brats, there would still have been dozens left. It was a magnificent sight.

But because tonight is my semi-weekly dinner with my dad and brother, and we’re having my father’s famous “11-pound Lasagna,” I kept myself to only two brats. It wasn’t easy. I’m thinking there’ll be leftover brats for the staff this afternoon, so I might break down and grab a couple more before five. Mmm. Bratwurst. Reminds me of one of my very favorite quotes from The Simpsons:

Homer: Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

How does Long John Silver’s stay in business?  One of the Yum! brands, along with Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, among others, the restaurant had $38M in net income in 2005.

Wikipedia tells me that Yum! is in the process of pairing LJS with KFC, just as they’ve been pairing it with A&W (another Yum! brand) since last year.  I’ve never eaten at a Long John Silver’s, and that’s saying something.  I’ve ventured into just about every fast food restaurant I’ve ever come across; certainly a guy who’s eaten a hot dog from a place called DW Butter-dipped Dogs wouldn’t turn his nose up at a little fried fish?  But it’s true.

I know that my abstinence is at least partly to blame on the fact that I knew a kid in high school who worked at LJS, and he used to do some unspeakable things with the fryer (well, they’re speakable, but you sure don’t feel so good for having spoken them).

This all comes up as a result of seeing a commercial on the tube just now for some new dish at LJS.  Their TV spots always bring on the, “What?  They’re still in business?” moment.  All I can figure is that the obvious success of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell is supporting the LJS business.

Do you eat there?  Do you know anyone who does?  No names…I’m only curious.

From today’s Wall Street Journal:

A growing number of auto companies are trying to place ads and products in child-oriented areas such as gyms that cater to kids, social-networking sites where young people hang out and the Saturday-morning cartoons. Their aim is to spur sales to parents — and, down the road, to the children themselves.

And then there’s the promotion that got 5-year-old Daniel Lower-Basch his own tiny Hummer, which he calls his “red monster.” He got one of the toy Hummers given out in McDonald’s Corp. Happy Meals in August — the first time a car maker directly offered versions of its vehicles in the meals. That month, the General Motors Corp. brand also launched a Web site, HUMMERkids.com, with games and printable coloring pages of H3 models. Daniel, of Alexandria, Va., says of his toy car: “I think it’s really cool. When I push it, it goes for a long time.”

How perfect is it that McDonald’s is shilling for Hummer? Are there two better symbols of depraved gluttony? What kind of parents would ever want their child to grow up to drive such an irresponsible vehicle (or want them to grow up with the assumption that they’ll be driving a car at all)? No matter how much MTV I watch, I’m still never prepared to read stuff like this.

Every year, about this time, I find myself wondering about the average amount of dead leaves a typical Oak (White, Red, Pin, whatever) puts off over the course of its life.  Aside from causing all the raking I do, it seems like it must be a pretty significant amount of biomass.  Couple hundred pounds?  Can’t be a ton, can it?  I guess most Oaks do live a long time.  The question warrants some research.

Our workplace has a United Way drive every year, during which we put on various events aimed at raising money for that organization.

One of the main events is a bake / book / movie sale.  Employees are encouraged to bring in stuff from home that they’d like to donate, and it’s all organized and laid out in one of our conference rooms upstairs.  I used this opportunity this year to go through my movie library and purge it of some of the films I never watch (is it kosher to still call these things “films?”).  OK, DVDs.  And VHS tapes.  It was a bit of a harrowing experience.  I found myself sitting in front of our media case for a long time, in silence, running through each movie’s scenes in my head before finally leaving it alone or dropping it into the “bye bye” bag.

I parted with quite a few titles.  Twenty, maybe?  A couple were duplicates (Leon: The Professional, for example, which I’d ended up with two of when a special edition was released — I’m such a sucker), and some were films I figured it was time to upgrade to a nicer version.  I did keep both my copies of This is Spinal Tap, of course; I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.

I also spent some time thinking about how and when to expose Ava to some of these movies.  I’m a big fan of all the Pixar stuff, and there’s nothing terribly objectionable in any of those titles.  But movies like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Deer Hunter, and Platoon are clearly going to have to wait a while (and don’t forget Full Metal Jacket, featuring a still-plump Vincent D’onofrio).

I probably would’ve had a more difficult time culling my library had I watched any of my DVDs in the last 18 months.  I’ve found that having a toddler is antithetical to enjoying movie screenings.

That’s right. What? You’re not done?

I love trying to find good gifts for people. Sometimes it’s things I know they want or need, but often it’s things I think they should have…things they don’t even know they need until I give it to them. My list this year has a little bit of each type of gift on it, and I’m well on my way to checking everything off.

I’d much rather give gifts than get them. My mom’s gift-giving philosophy is to buy a gift for someone when you find something nice for them, whether it’s December or July; you don’t need a special occasion. I think that’s a good approach, but when you have an “official” opening opportunity like Christmas, it’s nice to hold back a couple special things for the big day. And as I have two family members who celebrate birthdays on 12/24 and 12/25, the ante is upped a notch (do antes have notches?  Whatever.).

If only we could get some snow on the ground this year, even just for Christmas day.

When I was an undergraduate studying English, one of my professors nominated me for a scholarship. I ended up winning it, mainly, I suspect, because there was a lack of interest in the award. But I was excited to get it, and I was even more excited that a professor I admired thought enough of me to put me up for an honor.

[Read more →]

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an awesome place to visit. I hadn’t been there in years before we visited this past weekend.

But when you go to Shedd Aquarium as a child, there’s something you don’t remember so much:

This is what we saw as we were leaving. That’s the admission line. My recommendation would be to get to Shedd early. Also — if you don’t have kids — either have some of your own before you go or borrow someone else’s, and take a stroller. A stroller will get you in the side door.

Second recommendation: Rather than sit in the stands for the dolphin show, go down to the level below the stands and watch the show from there. There’s an underwater viewing area where you can watch the dolphins swim, which is vastly more interesting that watching them hop out of water, wave, or spin around on the surface.

Third recommendation: Penguins. Go see the penguins. I’ve seen a lot of penguins in zoos, but these Shedd penguins are real hams.

Lastly, buy tickets online if you know you’re going to go. Really. You don’t want to wait outside on the shores of Lake Michigan in November for 60 minutes.

Same s#%t, different day.  You figure it out.  I give up.

From one of our local papers today:

A Tiffin woman has been charged with child endangerment after a drug screening reportedly showed she and her infant daughter had tested positive for cocaine, authorities said.

…

In a similar incident, a Fairfield, Iowa, woman was charged earlier this year with using cocaine in the same house as her teen children.

Kimberly Bodkins, 36, and her children, ages 13 and 15, were tested for cocaine using hair samples on Sept. 12, officers said. Results revealed the children had indirectly ingested the drug and showed Bodkins had “an extremely high level of cocaine in her system,” according to police reports.