Here's a brain teaser, in honor of the start of the baseball season:
In one official at-bat, the pitcher has already made ten pitches, the batter has fouled none off, and the batter is still at the plate awaiting another pitch. Under what circumstances is this possible?
I'll answer tomorrow if no one gets it.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
What Would YOU Like to Hear?
After dying in a car crash, three friends go to heaven for orientation.
They are all asked the same question:
"When you're lying in your casket, and friends and family are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
The first guy immediately responds, "I would like to hear them say that I was one of the great doctors of my time, and a great family man."
The second guy says, "I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a huge difference in the children of tomorrow."
The last guy thinks for a moment, and then replies, "I guess I'd like to hear them say, ' Look, he's moving!'"
They are all asked the same question:
"When you're lying in your casket, and friends and family are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
The first guy immediately responds, "I would like to hear them say that I was one of the great doctors of my time, and a great family man."
The second guy says, "I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a huge difference in the children of tomorrow."
The last guy thinks for a moment, and then replies, "I guess I'd like to hear them say, ' Look, he's moving!'"
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Flowers are Red
If there's a better song than Harry Chapin's "Flowers are Red" about the stifling of young creativity, I'd like to know what it is.
My mom, who taught kindergarten for decades, thought this song should be formally required listening for all student teachers.
Someone put some beautiful animation to it:
Go to Youtube if you want to see Harry and the band play it. It's not hard to find and definitely worth the bother.
My mom, who taught kindergarten for decades, thought this song should be formally required listening for all student teachers.
Someone put some beautiful animation to it:
Go to Youtube if you want to see Harry and the band play it. It's not hard to find and definitely worth the bother.
Churlita Asks
In the last post's comments, Churlita asks:
I've been thinking about therapy again. I'm not sure if it will make things worse or better. In general, do you feel like it helps?
Here goes:
In general, it helps. I know who to call, right away, if ever I have suicidal thoughts, or am so panicky I cannot function.
But when things are going relatively well, it can feel like a waste of time. Especially if you're being so boring, tedious or repetitive that the pshrink is having trouble staying awake.
And when you touch on sore spots, it's not always cathartic. Sometimes it's just ripping a protective scab off a big wound. Which I think is what happened Wednesday night and why I typed the post Thursday that I did.
Things are slightly better today.
I've been thinking about therapy again. I'm not sure if it will make things worse or better. In general, do you feel like it helps?
Here goes:
In general, it helps. I know who to call, right away, if ever I have suicidal thoughts, or am so panicky I cannot function.
But when things are going relatively well, it can feel like a waste of time. Especially if you're being so boring, tedious or repetitive that the pshrink is having trouble staying awake.
And when you touch on sore spots, it's not always cathartic. Sometimes it's just ripping a protective scab off a big wound. Which I think is what happened Wednesday night and why I typed the post Thursday that I did.
Things are slightly better today.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Cure for Vacation
I've been running non-stop since I returned home on Sunday and any lingering mood-elevating effect has entirely dissipated.
Didn't even come straight home from A.C. before I was back to being Suburbodad. RFB and MiDC were spending Sunday afternoon at a Purim carnival (both of them working their little tushies off and MiDC getting to also play some). When I crossed the Potomac from DC into Virginia, I realized they'd still be at shul, so drove straight there to help with clean-up.
Sunday night we had a wonderful visit with a cousin who was in from out of town on business. I was exhausted from the road trip but it was worth it. She's a dear person and MiDC was a perfectly charming fellow.
Monday to Wednesday are a blur, both at work and at home, just gettin' caught up.
Tuesday night we met an old friend and his family for dinner. They're in DC for vacationing and carved time out for us. Again, both their teenager and our 10-year-old were perfect, well-behaved gentlemen you'd be proud to take to any restaurant.
Their son was into "Magic: The Gathering" and shared playing tips with Monkeyboy.
Guess what deck of cards the little monkey had to buy on Wednesday and what gaming site he had to sign up for on Wednesday night? When you're ten, and a fourteen year old shows you cool stuff, you want to try it out yourself.
So far we've only got the demo version on the PC, and I've warned MiDC that we're not likely to pay for the full version, once the demo is up. With luck, the 10-year-old attention span will work to my advantage here, for once.
Wednesday evening pshrink appointment left me overwrought and questioning the value of continuing talk therapy. The meds work, but I was sadder last night and am still sadder today, than before my appointment. I honestly don't know if it's a case of "no pain, no gain" or just beating a dead horse.
I wanna run away again.
Didn't even come straight home from A.C. before I was back to being Suburbodad. RFB and MiDC were spending Sunday afternoon at a Purim carnival (both of them working their little tushies off and MiDC getting to also play some). When I crossed the Potomac from DC into Virginia, I realized they'd still be at shul, so drove straight there to help with clean-up.
Sunday night we had a wonderful visit with a cousin who was in from out of town on business. I was exhausted from the road trip but it was worth it. She's a dear person and MiDC was a perfectly charming fellow.
Monday to Wednesday are a blur, both at work and at home, just gettin' caught up.
Tuesday night we met an old friend and his family for dinner. They're in DC for vacationing and carved time out for us. Again, both their teenager and our 10-year-old were perfect, well-behaved gentlemen you'd be proud to take to any restaurant.
Their son was into "Magic: The Gathering" and shared playing tips with Monkeyboy.
Guess what deck of cards the little monkey had to buy on Wednesday and what gaming site he had to sign up for on Wednesday night? When you're ten, and a fourteen year old shows you cool stuff, you want to try it out yourself.
So far we've only got the demo version on the PC, and I've warned MiDC that we're not likely to pay for the full version, once the demo is up. With luck, the 10-year-old attention span will work to my advantage here, for once.
Wednesday evening pshrink appointment left me overwrought and questioning the value of continuing talk therapy. The meds work, but I was sadder last night and am still sadder today, than before my appointment. I honestly don't know if it's a case of "no pain, no gain" or just beating a dead horse.
I wanna run away again.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
How Many Teams Are in the Atlantic 10?
Strangely, the answer to this question is 14.
Twelve play in the A-10 Tournament. GW was one of the two lowly A-10 teams that didn't.
So the roadtrip featured less live basketball watching than last year. Still, the Temple/St. Joes final was pretty awesome. St. Joes was up at the half, and played 20 minutes of excellent basketball. They were playing WAY over their heads.
Temple came roaring out of the locker room at halftime, made up the 7 or 8 points they were down in a flash, and took possession of the game. They built a comfortable lead and never lost control of it. Great coaching and great heart.
I had a good time palling around with guys I rarely see. There were hijinks and shenanigans.
I got to play a little blackjack, which was a good thing.
Re-entry at work has been pretty overwhelming. Witness no posts despite being home since Sunday. Sorry.
Monkeyboy's finger is healing. No pain, and we're down to just a band aid and a hydrogen peroxide finger bath nightly, when we change the band aid.
He can throw a ball and, as of Monday night, can hold a violin bow correctly.
The attic has a suspicious hole. We can put a hav-a-hart trap up there, but the problem remains until the squirelly little hole is repaired. So, for the moment, we're calling roofers and awaiting another squirrel visitation. If a squirrel returns to the attic before the roofers, I'm going up there and politely asking him to leave.
That oughta work, right?
Twelve play in the A-10 Tournament. GW was one of the two lowly A-10 teams that didn't.
So the roadtrip featured less live basketball watching than last year. Still, the Temple/St. Joes final was pretty awesome. St. Joes was up at the half, and played 20 minutes of excellent basketball. They were playing WAY over their heads.
Temple came roaring out of the locker room at halftime, made up the 7 or 8 points they were down in a flash, and took possession of the game. They built a comfortable lead and never lost control of it. Great coaching and great heart.
I had a good time palling around with guys I rarely see. There were hijinks and shenanigans.
I got to play a little blackjack, which was a good thing.
Re-entry at work has been pretty overwhelming. Witness no posts despite being home since Sunday. Sorry.
Monkeyboy's finger is healing. No pain, and we're down to just a band aid and a hydrogen peroxide finger bath nightly, when we change the band aid.
He can throw a ball and, as of Monday night, can hold a violin bow correctly.
The attic has a suspicious hole. We can put a hav-a-hart trap up there, but the problem remains until the squirelly little hole is repaired. So, for the moment, we're calling roofers and awaiting another squirrel visitation. If a squirrel returns to the attic before the roofers, I'm going up there and politely asking him to leave.
That oughta work, right?
Monday, March 10, 2008
...and Exhale
Phew. We saw the hand surgeon today. He confirms no broken pinky bones. Took off the splint and put the finger in a much less restrictive band-aid and plastic cover combo.
Still not sure how the nail will come out, but Monkeyboy reports that it doesn't hurt right now. After one week more of no bowing the violin or practicing with his new Little League team, he's cleared to do pretty much whatever doesn't hurt.
There is so much in the world you cannot protect them from. I'm a bit terrified about it this moment but know the only healthy thing to do is send him out there to live life anyway.
I'll be AFK from Wednesday to Sunday. Not sure if I'll post again until after the road trip.
Take it easy y'all. Count your blessings.
Still not sure how the nail will come out, but Monkeyboy reports that it doesn't hurt right now. After one week more of no bowing the violin or practicing with his new Little League team, he's cleared to do pretty much whatever doesn't hurt.
There is so much in the world you cannot protect them from. I'm a bit terrified about it this moment but know the only healthy thing to do is send him out there to live life anyway.
I'll be AFK from Wednesday to Sunday. Not sure if I'll post again until after the road trip.
Take it easy y'all. Count your blessings.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Busy
In the last 48 hours I've:
Spilled coke on my keyboard, requiring the purchase of a new keyboard,
Crawled around in the unfinished attic of my house at 2:00 am chasing alleged squirrels RFB thinks she heard there. So far no evidence of squirrels in our attic. In RFB's, maybe,
Rushed home from work in the middle of the day to pick-up Monkeyboy at school for a 4-hour visit to the emergency room (our 5th in ten years). Nothing serious, in the end, we think. May lose a right pinky nail. Must see a hand surgeon for final diagnosis,
Carried on a running battle on Wikipedia about whether Peter Yarrow's article should be focused on a blow-job he got from a 14-year-old groupie in the 60's or on his music,
Pissed off, or been pissed off by, a ton of volunteers at work,
Suffered nightly insomnia, and
Generally felt like I was caught on a never-ending merry-go-round of agitation and horribleness.
Tutoring tonite was a welcome respite. I worked on Hebrew in transliteration in a group of five adults instead of doing one-on-one tutoring, with real Hebrew letters and vowels, with a series of four adolescents. It was rewarding. One of you was there and helped make the hour go by in minutes. Thanks.
Here's hoping the days get less interesting from here.
March 12th, A.C.
It's a town full of losers, I'm pullin' outta here to win.
(1000 non-redeemable, non-transferable points to the first one to identify this especially appropriate lyric for driving to the Jersey shore. Void where prohibited by law.)
Spilled coke on my keyboard, requiring the purchase of a new keyboard,
Crawled around in the unfinished attic of my house at 2:00 am chasing alleged squirrels RFB thinks she heard there. So far no evidence of squirrels in our attic. In RFB's, maybe,
Rushed home from work in the middle of the day to pick-up Monkeyboy at school for a 4-hour visit to the emergency room (our 5th in ten years). Nothing serious, in the end, we think. May lose a right pinky nail. Must see a hand surgeon for final diagnosis,
Carried on a running battle on Wikipedia about whether Peter Yarrow's article should be focused on a blow-job he got from a 14-year-old groupie in the 60's or on his music,
Pissed off, or been pissed off by, a ton of volunteers at work,
Suffered nightly insomnia, and
Generally felt like I was caught on a never-ending merry-go-round of agitation and horribleness.
Tutoring tonite was a welcome respite. I worked on Hebrew in transliteration in a group of five adults instead of doing one-on-one tutoring, with real Hebrew letters and vowels, with a series of four adolescents. It was rewarding. One of you was there and helped make the hour go by in minutes. Thanks.
Here's hoping the days get less interesting from here.
March 12th, A.C.
It's a town full of losers, I'm pullin' outta here to win.
(1000 non-redeemable, non-transferable points to the first one to identify this especially appropriate lyric for driving to the Jersey shore. Void where prohibited by law.)
Monday, March 3, 2008
We're #1
I got my very first visitor from the former Ceylon tonight.
Which would be exciting enough.
But he/she/it came here by way of the following search: "pictures of tom cruse fucking"
For which I am (drumroll please):
THE NUMBER ONE RESULT IN ALL OF GOOGLE-SRI LANKA.
It's all downhill from here folks.
Which would be exciting enough.
But he/she/it came here by way of the following search: "pictures of tom cruse fucking"
For which I am (drumroll please):
THE NUMBER ONE RESULT IN ALL OF GOOGLE-SRI LANKA.
It's all downhill from here folks.
Fun Political Time-Waster
OK.
This could cost me some serious sleep time. It's cartoonish, but cynically realistic.
When MiDC plays on the computer, one of us usually monitors every few minutes. We say it's to be responsible parents. But really, it's because he finds the coolest games.
What's scary, is that he's better at this one than I am.
This could cost me some serious sleep time. It's cartoonish, but cynically realistic.
When MiDC plays on the computer, one of us usually monitors every few minutes. We say it's to be responsible parents. But really, it's because he finds the coolest games.
What's scary, is that he's better at this one than I am.
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