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Parental Schadenfreude
When I was dating Danielle, during one of the trips to her house I asked to see old family photos. That was a big tradition in our house as I got the bug for documenting things with photography from my mother. Each of my brothers and I have about two dozen photo albums full of…
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Sparklers for the 4th of July
Sparklers were an ever-present feature of my childhood 4th of July celebrations. This year we introduced the twins to sparklers (I’m pretty sure Scarlett has used them at least once before). They kids had a lot of fun and there were a couple burn-scares, but I think it was worth the slight parental anxiety. (Did…
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The Redwoods Trip
I’ve done a few travelogues on this blog (like the series covering my trip to the Grand Canyon) and I usually cover things chronologically. However, this time around I’m writing things about 3.5 months later. So rather than worry about covering things chronologically, I’m going to cover them by topic. Family Vacations We were visiting…
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Review: Bleeding Violet
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves My rating: 4 of 5 stars I bought this book as part of a Humble Bundle. This book wasn’t the reason I bought the bundle. I avoided it for a long time because the cover made it look like something I wasn’t going to enjoy – perhaps a romance or…
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Pacific Northwest Trip Part 2
This year happened to contain one of the driest summers the Pacific Northwest had seen. There were lots of fire raging, some intentionally set and some caused by nature. On the way to the Bachelor Party caving trip, I saw this immense plume of smoke from a fire. I’d been to lots of caverns before,…
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Review: Chrono Trigger (Boss Fight Books, #2)
Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is a deconstruction and reconstruction of the plot; it is an examination of what made the game so special. And it is a chunk of the author’s autobiography. Unlike the author, and…
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Sleep
Sleep is one of the most stress-inducing topics for parents. Well, for first time parents. I imagine that, baring some medical conditions, once you’ve figured out how to get one kid to sleep through the night, you can reapply the template over and over. I think one of the reasons sleep tends to be so…
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San Francisco Trip Days 6 and 7: The Wedding (actually in Livermore) and Aftermath
The wedding day went the way these things always go. If you’re not involved you’re spending most of the day waiting around until it’s time to get your nice clothes on and go to enjoy the wedding. I went to get In-N-Out Burger for lunch and learned that Scarlett really, really likes french fries. There…
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San Francisco Trip Day 5: Off to Livermore
Today’s post makes the series name somewhat inaccurate, hence the subtitle. We awoke and, having spent the week debating the best course of action, decided it made the most sense for us to all go to the airport to pick up the rental car since it cost the same to get out there whether it…
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Top 200 Photos: #100
Another Otakon photo for today’s Top 200 Photo. photo #100 is: I previously mentioned how Ranma ½ got me into anime. At the time I also discovered Bubblegum Crisis (the original OAV) although I never got to finish it because the video rental place didn’t have the entire series. After that, other than borrowing Slayers…
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Top 200 Photos: #152
Back to Baltimore for this Top 200 Photo. photo #152 is: Another photo from Otakon. I was especially happy to see these guys at Otakon. Ranma ½ was the first anime I ever saw. It was my entry into the whole genre. I remember discovering it at a video rental store in Tualatin, OR. They…
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Thinking like the Physically Disabled
While listening to a recent podcast of This American Life (TAL) it made me realize the troubles that the disabled have to go through in this country. I don’t mean the way others treat them differently, although that certainly is an issue, but rather the little things we take for granted. The sad thing is…
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Grand Canyon Trip: 5 Oct 2010
While on my trip to the Grand Canyon I kept a journal of my experience in order to create an after-the-fact travelogue. Presented over the next few days is an edited version + photo essay of my trip. — 5 Oct 2010 Tomorrow I get to see the Grand Canyon! I’ve been waiting to see…
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Review: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland
I’m a big Tim Burton fan and I also tend to like his casting of Johnny Depp. But I’m no fanboy: I found Tim Burton’s take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be worse than the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The first thing I have to get off my chest and…
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Renting a Camera Lens
For my cousin’s wedding I wanted to have a f/2.8 lens. I had had bad luck with my current lenses at Richard’s wedding because I couldn’t get good enough low light performance. So I decided to rent a Canon EF 24-70mm L f/2.8 lens. So not only will it be an f/2.8, but it will…