I Keep Telling You, You Listen to Me, You Live Longer!

OK, so, what I don't understand is why on earth you'd want a linguini alfredo smoothie to begin with... explain yourself! I mean, I get the pasta fetish - I'm a pasta man myself... but seriously... isn't that going a bit over the top with it all? Can you start off with a simple marinara smoothie first and work your way up to alfredo? Hey, I'm just sayin'... look, all you have to do is tell me what it's worth to you...

Today was Bring Your Family Into Work Day, so I did just that! I took them into the rug shop and turned them loose, to "help." Surprisingly, I still got some work done... after work, things were surprisingly tense as well - too many stops to make, not enough time to make them... it ended up ok in the end, but man, I do not operate well under high-pressure situations. Just about gnawed my own arm off with the dripping angst of it all... oh, I hate being disappointed, Smee!

On a higher note, I got my (free) copy of Left 4 Dead in the mail yesterday! It is aging on the shelf as we speak! Hopefully, I'll get it up and running in time for Halloween. Which reminds me... and now, Star Wars Jack-o-lanterns...

We've got to figure out how to make these things smaller! If you want to see more, including the Darth Maul design that is just too hardcore cool for a spot on this lowly blog, you'll have to go read this article...

And in keeping with the Star Wars vibe I've had going for the past 36-to-48 hours, I'll now post another Star Wars related video, for your viewing pleasure! This is from the original Star Wars... yes, I promise you'll like it... especially if your name is "Logan" or some variation thereof...

OK, fine, I'll stop with the Star Wars stuff. Sheesh! You're so finicky! Hey, if someone like me (who's not all that into sci-fi) can find this stuff amusing, so can you! And you think sci-fi's lame... you'd love to prove that, wouldn't ya? Get your name into the National Geographic...

We're having Youngest Daughter's birthday party a week after the fact, on October 31, and we've decided it will be a costume party. When I heard, I smiled a fatherly smile, patted my tummy absent-mindedly, and sighed, agreeing that it was a cute idea, and hoping it would end up successful. But then I thought, "What the! Hey, I wanna dress up!" You know how long it's been since I dressed up for anything in a costume? It could possibly be way back in high school, when I dressed up as a woman for the church youth group Halloween party... yeah, not a good idea... they made me take off the costume and make-up, under threat of being forced to leave... Anyway, I might as well dress up as something cool... then again, asking an aging nerd to define "cool" is a recipe for embarrassment... I guess I could dress up as the Doppler Effect...

Eldest Daughter is going to be Hannah Montana... so that idea is taken. This could take us all one long step closer to civil war... Any other suggestions?

Hey, what ever happened to Paula? Paula! Come home! I remember Paula... she was so cool... so much more cooler than me...

Well, at least I'm not this guy...



I guess you've noticed something a little strange with Dad. It's okay, though. I'm still Dad.

You know what's grindingly annoying? When people post quizzes in their blogs, with their answers... as if anyone in their right mind wants to take time out of their busy blog-browsing day and read the answers to ridiculous questions about random topics! There's always that little glimmer of interest, where you think, "Maybe I'll copy the questions, answer them myself, and then post them for everyone else to read, because Lord knows, even though everyone hates to read these things, for some reason I'm certain people will find my answers fascinating!"

So here's a quiz about books. Can you say, "blog filler"? I knew you could!

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Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
No snacks. I don’t like to get crumbs in my bed. If I get hungry, I chew on the dust jacket…

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I’ve done it on occasion, to underline a particularly awesomely-worded sentence or phrase, but not lately. Or I’ll write reminder notes to myself in the margins… that way if I ever read the book again, years from now, I’ll remember to go pick my daughter up from work tomorrow afternoon…

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Bookmark, definitely. I used to mark my place with a booger, but the pages sticking together was annoying.

Laying the book flat open?
Sure, why not? It doesn’t change the words of the story, it’s just an aesthetic thing… I’ll also purposely crease the covers, rip out random pages and draw little hearts over each lower-case “i”. Needless to say, the library is not amused…

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
I usually read history books. They're long and cheap and usually about men killing each other...

Hard copy or audiobooks?
I usually choose the hybrid… I read books out loud. I do the voices, too…

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I read until I’m about to nod off, regardless where I’m at. Unless I’m reading in the tub. Or while driving.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Nope, I’ll guess at the definition based on the context. Hmm… I wonder what “unfamiliar” means...?

What are you currently reading?
A Shadow in Summer, by Daniel Abraham, which started off good, but is pretty much mired in description, which tends to drag the pace way down. Other than that, I’m proofreading this blog post…

What is the last book you bought?
Book 2 and 3 of the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Of course, that Calvin and Hobbes book arrived more recently, but I technically bought it many months ago… however, we shall not mention that book by its name in this blog anymore… from now on, if I need to reference it, it will be “That Book Which Shall Not Be Named”…

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
One at a time, normally… I don’t have two sets of eyes! And I can’t read Braille…

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
1am to 3am or so, every night. Keeps me young.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
Hmm… series, I guess… my favorite series is the Phone Book…

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
The Name of the Wind (Rothfuss). Gates of Fire (Pressfield). Blogging For Mouth-Breathing Dummies.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Haphazard Chic. Anywhere there’s a space, insert Book A into Slot B… don't mess with me, man... I'm a lawyer!

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Well, that's more than enough nonsense for now. Remember the New Movie Quote Contest Rule: The points for guessing the Theme cannot go to the leader - they are catch-up points! Hopefully, that will make things more interesting...

I'm outta here. There's something fishy going on here, and I don't think it's the chicken. Goodbye, Sam, and never forget: you killed me first. Until tomorrow, remember, you taught me that people will do anything for a potato...