The Modernish Father

The Boy colored this at school. I’m guessing there’s more to Barry’s story than what this single page can convey, but since this was all he brought home, it’s kind of weird.

With the great gymnastics experiment over and done with, it’s time for The Boy to move on to yet another sport. Around these parts, the portion of the calendar between Christmas and Spring Break means one thing – basketball.

Good news – after a few weeks of relying on automated posts and just general laziness on my part, I think I’ve finally rediscovered my blogging mojo. I’m not sure why I haven’t felt like writing in the evenings. We’ve all been taking turns being sick and the kids are keeping us busy, but that’s [...]

These are my links for Feb. 6th through Feb. 11th:

Play the old school Oregon Trail online
Need I say any more? This is the second version, not the original monochromatic version.
Tags: history computer apple video_games

Texas electricity rates soar under deregulation
Shock of shocks. Just like every other industry that's been deregulated, "competition" and the "open market" have meant substantially higher electric bills for most Texans.
Tags: government texas business

Putin denies dancing to ABBA
We know all know that Vladimir Putin is a big ol' scary former KGB agent who could kill us all in our sleep, but come on – everyone loves ABBA. Even macho hombres. He shouldn't be afraid to admit it.
Tags: russia funny music

Klington bat’leth used in Colorado robberies
I don't condone illegal activities such as robbing convenience stores, but at least this guy had the gumption to do it with some flair. On the down side, it looks like the bat'leth he's holding is some kind of miniature version and not a full-scale replica. I wonder if he knew what it was or just picked it up because it looked menacing.
Tags: colorado funny star_trek crime

Japanese fraud scheme adds a fun dollop of craziness
Sure, Bernie Madoff may have swindled folks out of $50 billion, but even he didn't have the guts to make up his own fictional currency. None of the newspaper articles I saw did a good job of relating just how dumb this whole thing is, but the wiki page does a fairly good job.
Tags: japan economics currency crime

Scientists suspect link between dam and Sichuan earthquake
Nearly nine months after a devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, left 80,000 people dead or missing, a growing number of American and Chinese scientists are suggesting that the calamity was triggered by a four-year-old reservoir built close to the earthquake’s geological fault line.
Tags: china geology

These are my links for Jan. 27th through Feb. 4th:

Pet detectives actually do exist
I love my dog, but if she ran away I don't think I could fork over $95/hour + travel expenses so someone else could look for her. Best part of the article – the woman actually didn't find the dog. Money well spent.
Tags: texas animals houston

Folding car dealers sticking it to buyers
Traded in a car that you hadn't paid off? Bought a used car? Better hope your car dealer doesn't go under. Amazingly enough, car dealerships aren't required in many states to take care of liens before reselling a car – meaning if they go under, the original owners or the ones who bought it used could end up getting stuck with a bill they didn't count on.
Tags: stupid business automobile

National pastime? A look at the numbers
What is America's national pastime? Each of three major sports can make their own case. As much as I love baseball, I think it's pretty clear that it's definitely been supplanted by football over the past fifty years.
Tags: baseball basketball football mlb nfl nba

Controversy brewing over Nixon tapes transcription
A handful of historians and authors maintain that the most authoritative transcripts of the Nixon tapes include significant omissions and misrepresentations that could influence interpretations of the Watergate incident and its subsequent cover-up.
Tags: history presidents

WBC adopts lame extra-inning rule
I understand MLB's rationale for instituting pitch-count limits in the World Baseball Classic, but I don't understand why they have to have this incredibly lame rule: every half-inning after the 13th will start with base runners on first and second. And don't give me any crap about speeding up games. This is supposed to be baseball, not intramural softball.
Tags: baseball mlb wbc

Soon you’ll be able to smell like a Vulcan in heat
Star Trek has always been just a few steps behind the Star Wars franchise in terms of slapping their name on everything that could be conceivably sold, but it looks like that might be a thing of the past. Now you can finally play Uno with Scotty staring back up at you while you wear that the scent of illogical animal passion, Pon Farr. And the least exciting tie-in ever: Star Trek Scrabble. (Unless it's in Klingon. That would be hard.)
Tags: star_trek business movies

Olsen Field in line for extreme makeover
I love Olsen Field, but even I recognize that it's sorely in need of some serious updating. Looks like it's finally going to happen. I'm honestly not thrilled about the proposed "play station" – I hate things at ballparks that cater to people who don't want to watch baseball. I suggest these people not go to baseball games.
Tags: baseball stadiums aggie_baseball ballparks olsen_field

Hackers crack into TxDOT road sign
Transportation officials are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead."
Tags: technology funny texas

USPS thinking about cutting back on mail delivery
With the economy in the crapper, mounting costs and lower traffic, the U.S. Postal Service is asking Congress to remove the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.
Tags: economics government business congress usps

LEGO ballplayers ready for action
Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Jason Giambi immortalized in LEGO. Well, Giambi not so much.
Tags: baseball funny yankees mets red_sox lego

Man, how’s this for lazy? Now I’m repurposing Facebook chain spam for blog posts. It’s really not my fault. Between a basketball game, fighting the kids before bedtime, making dinner for ourselves, cleaning up after dinner and watching an episode of Highlander: The Series (The Wife is trying to get me hooked on it. We’ll [...]