Fortress Of Awesome

Well, that just about wraps it up for 2011

2011-12-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

Good game, everyone.

Now, let's try NOT to have an apocalypse this year.

My Cube

2011-09-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Rarely does something speak to me on such a basic level.

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches!

2011-08-31T21:40:00.001-07:00

Why is Shelob in my tomatoes?

2011-07-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Circle Is Now Complete

2011-07-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Wow Signal

2011-06-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

As of this morning, we've got a new word. "Wow".

Currently, she's walking across the dining room pushing her doll stroller (with a banana in it), saying "Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!" Iz, that's how I feel all the time.

It's been two and a half months since the first word. Let's recap.

"No" She's getting a lot of mileage out of this one. Usually she says it all breathy; imagine Marilyn Monroe going "noooooo" with a head shake. But more adorable, and less sexy. Most excitingly, she's learned that saying "no" when you really mean "yes" is funny. As in "Can I put this away?" "Noo!"

"Ma" & "Da" She's settled on one syllable most of the time.

"Bye!" Usually accompanied by a hand wave. Adorably, she pronounces it like "Die!" She's learned to wave at airplanes as they fly overhead, waving and calling out "Die!"

"Hi!" Whenever someone comes into a room or she sees them again. Pronounced more like "Aye!" which gives our house this extra piratanical nautical vibe I'm liking.

"Eye" Proving that the bit of the brain that handles pronunciation is different from the one that resolved homonyms, she's can also identify the eyes.

"Wa Wa", and occasionally, something that sounds a lot like "A wa". Something tells me we're going to be calling water this for the next decade.

"Fooh" I can get behind this - why learn words for different kinds of food? It's all just food.

"Nomah" I have no idea what this means, but she says it ALL THE TIME. It's clearly not a negative, and it's not about her mom, so it's not a constructed word. It's a puzzle.

Yesterday, when she saw something that surprised and delighted her, she said something that sounded exactly like "Oh, Sit!" She felt like she had to sit down to absorb the surprise, maybe?

(Footnote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal)

Helping to vandalize our own property

2011-05-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

Training Begins Early!

2011-04-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm calling it: We've got a first word.

2011-03-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

"Up".

She likes climbing the stairs. A lot. (Which I don't seem to have a picture of, oddly.)

We've had a variety of meaning-laden syllables crop op over the past few months; "Da da da da" is clearly me, "Ma ma ma ma" is clearly Heidi. "Waa" can mean either she's thirsty or that she wants to go for a walk. (Baby talk has homonyms? Who knew?)

She says "Yeaaa!" a lot, but I suspect that's more a sound of excitement than an affirmative. And a sound that is best spelled as "nnnnoooooo" usually means she's not happy about something.

So - clearly the language centers of the brain are solidifying. She's certainly making sounds that mean things, but they're vague things, and vague sounds. They're just that - sounds - not words.

Until "Up".

This started a week or so ago. The pronunciation is clear - it has two distinct sounds. Both the vowel and the consonant are in there, and the closing "p" sound is firm. One of the recurring aspects of the other near-words Iz uses is that she'll make the first sound of the word with the first mouth shape, and then just trail off. With "Up", not only is she using both letters, but she's reshaping her mouth while she does it.

And it only means one thing: she wants to go upstairs. She's loved climbing the stairs on her own ever since she learned how to crawl, and now she's got a word for it.

"Up." That's the right direction to be moving, Isabel.

2011-02-16T01:16:00.001-08:00

My daughter walked over to me when I got home today and gave me a hug.

That was new.

We're thirteen months in. A baker's year. Let's recap.

She started walking about a week ago. She's been taking the occasional cautious side-step for a few weeks, but she really started actually walking about last thursday. She's still a little unsteady on her feet; I'm not sure it's occurred to her that walking is a legitimate replacement for crawling yet. It's still a novel new thing, with no obvious use. She just toddles around the living room for the sake of it, grinning wildly. Toddles. My baby just became a toddler.

She does this thing when she gets crawling really fast where she starts swinging her butt back and forth like a Komodo dragon. I'm going to miss that. I haven't managed to get that on video yet - I think I only have a few days left to try.

She got really sick for the first time last week too. Monday night last week she had a fever, which had basically never happened before. She woke up in good spirits the next morning and it hasn't come back, which makes that the definitive "no news is good news" story. On the other hand, I think she emitted five times her body mass in snot over the weekend. And she barfed up snot five times last night. We're all well rested.

She's also become quite the climber. She climbs everything. All the time. For any reason. If we have to move things in this house much higher up, Heidi won't be able to reach them either.

The hugs are also new. She didn't used to be all that affectionate - now she'll toddle over, throw her hands around your chest and give you a big hug.

This totally happened

2011-01-23T15:32:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T21:21:00.001-08:00

Happy Festivus!

2010-12-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

My cat died today.

2010-11-18T00:42:00.000-08:00

She was old - 19 or 20, I've lost count. Either way, that's about two-thirds of my life. She was a skinny slip of a black cat, more fur and skin than anything else, with almost laughably tiny ears.

We named her Retsil. There's a town off Puget Sound in Washington State called Retsil. The ferry to the town across the water was an adorably small all-black boat. After we got back from Washington twenty years ago, we got an adorably small all-black kitten. The name seemed to fit.

When I was in junior high, she used to climb onto my chest and lick my face until I made her stop. That was the clearest the pores in my nose have ever been.

When she was a kitten, she was practically invisible. She'd vanish for hours at a time. We finally discovered that she was sleeping in the far corner under my dresser, a tiny fuzzball back in the dark.

We had these big pink easy chairs she used to love sleeping on. She'd climb to the top of the back of the chair, and let her forepaws hang down the back of the chair, her chin resting between them.

She was a nervous cat, but a friendly one. She didn't like to hold still, she was always pacing back and forth, back and forth. Petting Retsil was always vaguely comical - she would walk over, you'd pet her head a few times, she'd run to the other side of the room, wait a second, and then trot back. She'd keep that up as long as you were willing.

She started as an indoor-outdoor cat, but at some point moved outside full time, refusing to come back in. We used to feed her on the back balcony. She would carefully climb up a tree to the balcony, eat, and then climb back down again, looking back over he shoulder the whole way. That tree is covered with vertical scratches along its whole trunk.

I always used to worry about her on Halloween - that some wierdo would find a black cat and do something to her. I'd always out on November first as soon as I could to see if she was okay. She always was.

She would never get out of the rain. It would be pouring, and she'd be crouched in the mud under a tree, with water dripping on her head. I always used to build her a house at the start of winter - somewhere dry and out of the wind with her food. She would always stare incredulously at me while I put it together. She'd move in a few nights later.

Finally, she was getting old enough we brought her back inside and didn't let her out again. She moved into what used to be my room. Her favorite spot was just next to the same dresser she used to sleep under. She couldn't fit under it anymore, but she would always sleep right next to the same corner she always used to.

Once, when we brought Isabel over, Retsil came wandering out of her room to see what the fuss was about. She was ancient by cat standards, and old cats and babies never mix well. Isabel was beyond excited - it was all her grandmother could do to keep her contained. Restil padded over to get a closer look at the baby. Isabel's hand shot out towards the cat, a huge grin splitting her face.

"Here it comes," I thought. "One of those two is about to get bitten."

Restil calmly turned her head and let the baby fondle it. Isabel got a fistful of fur, and Restil didn't even twitch. When Isabel was done, Restil quietly padded back to her room.

Thanks, Retsi.

PRIME RIB JERKY?!?

2010-10-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

"We've been coming to the same party for ten years, and in no way is that depressing."

2010-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Helloooo??

2010-09-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

I am DARTH VADER! From the planet VULCAN!

2010-09-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

An excellent vintage!

2010-09-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

Yard work is thirsty work!

2010-09-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

We just took Iz to breakfast!

2010-08-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

Super cute is the norm with this gal!

2010-07-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

Now that she isn't teething or fighting off a tummy bug, she is as happy as she is adorable.

Sleepy Girl on her way back to Sacramento

2010-07-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Unabomber is loose in Santa Cruz

2010-07-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Roadtrip to the store! Iz hated it!

2010-06-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

2010-06-20T21:19:00.001-07:00

Roadtrippin!

2010-06-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Back to the scene of the crime. Again.

2010-06-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

Shenanigans!

2010-06-06T15:44:00.001-07:00

A baby kicking a table is not a screaming baby

2010-06-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Throughout breakfast, Iz slowly scooted her way down across her stroller until her tiny feets could reach the edge of the table. And then she began to kick it with extreme concentration.

Aha, we thought. She's learned to entertain her self quite well! She's happy and content!

So we finished our meal successfully and strolled out to the car, feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

And then discovered that she had dons the single biggest blowout of her entire life to date at the same time. It was everywhere - filled the diaper, all over her clothes, coated the inside of the stroller.

"I'm beginning to learn," Heidi said, "that there is no such thing as 'I brought too many baby clothes.'"

Situation: improving

2010-06-06T11:16:00.001-07:00

Chico Weekend! Let's recap!

2010-06-06T09:50:00.001-07:00

It's our anniversary (two years; woooo!) so we decided to jaunt up to Chico for the weekend. For extra sauce, this is Isabel's first overnight trip away from home.

Let's recap the weekend so far!

Chico: Still here!
Jack's Diner: No longer serves the Party Omlette!
French Bakerty: has become a Starbucks!
Employee Quote at Cafe Mondo (which used to be known as "the scone place": "Um, we've NEVER had scones."
Cafe Mondo Coffee: now undrinkable!
Isabel: peed all over the hotel bed!

So, clearly we're rocking a 5 out of 5 here. But, I gotta make this quick - in 15 minutes this wireless access point is becoming a Starbucks.

Isabel's first restaurant!

2010-06-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

Status Update

2010-05-26T23:46:00.000-07:00

OMG LOOK AT THIS OUTFIT

2010-04-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

13 pounds of pure rage

2010-03-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, THAT was a long weekend.

Let's recap the day:

Rockstars: 1
Mountain Dews: 2
Items on list of things to do completed: 0

Extremely fussy babies: 1

I don't have a joke, this is just adorable

2010-02-01T15:37:00.001-08:00

It's more La Tigra than Blue Steel, I'm thinking

2010-02-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

The long drought ends

2010-01-28T18:51:00.001-08:00

The greatest restauraunt in the history of the universe returns.

And the food is EXACTLY the same.

This is a child who has learned her own power

2010-01-28T15:27:00.001-08:00

So, Isabel basically screamed for 20 hours non-stop yesterday. Today she's calm, collected, just hanging out - with an expression that says "I have learned that I can destroy everything around me whenever I choose."

Bwaaaaa?

2010-01-26T03:57:00.001-08:00

THIS is how you make having a newborn work

2010-01-25T15:44:00.001-08:00

Anyone who says different is selling something.

"...if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

2010-01-24T01:25:00.000-08:00

And so the greatest talk show in the history of the medium comes to an end. Conan's last show was spectacular - if you missed it, make sure to catch it before hulu pulls it.

We'll be here when you land, Coco.

Omega Man!

2010-01-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

As alert readers of the Twitter Update feed on the right will have noticed, Netflix streaming let me accidentally watch Omega Man the other night.

(Sidebar: Netflix streaming makes having a newborn possible. Up at 3am for another feeding? Why not just order up Omega Man and chillax?)

Somehow, I'd managed to never actually see this all the way through. The first 30 minutes is excellent, and then it starts a steady downhill slide straight into one of the least subtle alegories of an ending I've seen since Neo went from being a Jesus-eque character to actually BEING Jesus.

Final Score: 2 points, but an honorable mention for this:

Seriously, any movie that can provide THAT image is a winner. (Why yes, those are ruffles, and yes that IS velvet!)

I also bring this up so I can link to Mick LaSalle's Appreciation of Charlton Heston. This was in the SF Chronicle after Chuck died a while back, and it's not an obituary so much as just that - an appreciation. I'm sort of an accidental Chuck fan, and I keep trying to paraphrase this when people ask me why. Omega Man finally gave me an excuse to dig the link out of the web and post it here.

(And, for the record, if you haven't seen it, go rent Touch of Evil. Trust me.)

An amazing number of problems are being solved in this image

2010-01-20T13:10:00.001-08:00

When DO they grow legs?

2010-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Isabel Helman: Stats

2010-01-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

By Popular Demand, her initial stats are as follows:

Length: 20 inches.

Weight: 8lbs, 7 oz.

Adorability: 18/00

Eyes: Baby Hazel, but seem to be darkening

Hair: Black, with expectations that it will drop out and be replaced with something blonde.

Eats: roughly every two hours

Isabel: one week old

2010-01-17T01:04:00.001-08:00

TOUCHDOWN

2010-01-12T14:39:00.001-08:00

Just out of shot is a vaguely disapproving nurse

2010-01-12T14:38:00.001-08:00

Sergeant Grumbles is ready to leave

2010-01-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

"It's Grumbles, ma'am - Sergeant Grumbles."

2010-01-11T23:10:00.001-08:00

For some reason, this made my butt go to sleep

2010-01-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

Helman, Party of Three

2010-01-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome aboard, Isabel Lovell Helman.

I hope we're the parents that you deserve.

The Final Countdown!

2009-12-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

20 DAYS YA'LL!!!

Our lil daughter is on her way :)

36 Weeks Ya'll

2009-11-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Four weeks to go! Isabelle is super kicky and I think she is rearing to pop outside. I am officially uncomfortable, so I am excited about her coming out to play as well.

HOLY CARP, 33 WEEKS!

2009-11-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Lil Iz is going to be here next month. AMAZING!

Stay on Target!

2009-10-25T00:13:00.001-07:00

T-Minus 9 Weeks as of today.

OUR LIL PUMPKIN!

2009-10-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

So amazed I have just 10 weeks to go!
(sing "The Final Countdown" here :D)

2 Pounds and Over a Foot Long!

2009-09-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

No, that is not a headline for an ad about a Tacos de Alcopoco Burrito (see Monday, June 8, 2009), it's our baby! Our little bun in the oven is not so little anymore!

FOA: August 19, 2009 to ???

2009-09-22T14:27:00.001-07:00

Say hello to the new Fortress of Awesome.

FOA: April 20, 2007 to August 19, 2009

2009-09-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

And THAT is how you do that.

Stand by for updates.

Guess what we did today!

2009-08-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

THAT'S RIGHT! WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Who you can't see flanking us is Paul and Nancy, they helped make this happen. THANKS GUYS, you are the kindest In-Laws ever!

PS> Gabe has the cutest smile here :)

Every 4th Thing

2009-08-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

NEW HELMAN HOUSE!

2009-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Say hello to the new Fortress of Awesome.

IT'S A GIRL!

2009-08-12T12:09:00.001-07:00

After today's ultrasound, we know we are going to have a daughter this December! Say hello to Isabelle Lovell Helman :)

Newly added: Current Reading List

2009-08-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

Because having a blog wasn't already narcissistic enough, I've added my "current reading" list to the sidebar, retroactive back to October.

Now you too can follow along and watch as I start and fail to finish books!

20 WEEKS: HALF WAY!

2009-08-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

That is one sweet lil melon :)

WEEK 19: Such is Mango!

2009-08-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

Our sweetie baby is getting tropical this week, we'll be 5 months as of Sunday!!!

And how was YOUR weekend?

2009-08-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

YES, that IS a skull-shaped wasps nest on the back of that freaky doll's head.

We spent the weekend at my parent's old house packing up the remaining childhood stuff. This doll did not make the cut, we left her next to some rusty nails on the cutting block -- so now she is spooky mountain people's performance art.

We are going to frame this photo and try to sell it on Second Saturday.

18 WEEKS: Our Lil Sweet Potato!

2009-07-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Super Exciting! 4.5 months is almost 1/2 way there :)

It's your birthday!

2009-07-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

Something about today's XKCD made me smile big and wide, and I found it oddly life-affirming. I'd been having kind of a crappy night, and this cheered me up to no end.

We all need a friend like that, and I think it turns out I have a few. Thanks, y'all - you know who you are.

Wolfram Alpha: good idea, terrible interface

2009-07-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

"The market of stupid people is indeed enormous. The market of stupid people who like to use data-visualization tools is, well, not."

Unqualified Reservations digs into why Wolfram Alpha works so badly.

"You've got to come back with me, Marty!"

2009-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

So, the first scene in Back to the Future 2 is also the last scene in Back to the Future 1. But, since Michael J Fox was visibly older and Marty's girlfriend had been recast, they had to reshoot the scene for the opening of 2. (This should not be an exciting trivia fact to anyone.)

However, proving once again that no matter what, someone has more free time than you do, The Internet has made a side-by-side comparison of the two versions of the same scene.

Funny stuff to note: while Michael J Fox delivers his lines in a very different way, Christopher Lloyd is almost perfectly synced with himself. Also, the number of reused shots surprised me - for example, the close-up of Doc Brown pulling stuff out of the trash is recycled from the first version, but the shot of Doc dumping it all into Mr. Fusion is new - which means that some poor sod had to carefully watch the first version and figure out what pile of trash props they needed for the reshoot. (Why do that? How is that easier than just using new trash?)

Apollo + 40

2009-07-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

For the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, NASA has restored some of the original TV footage. BB, as always, has the original.

Still stunning, 4 decades later.

Also, there's something fundamentally eerie about the way we seem to have abandoned the future 40 years in the past.

In this post, there is a Rapping Opera Singer

2009-07-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Guys this is what the internet is for: some guys have used Science to make the Worst Song Ever. By their calculations, "fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population would enjoy this piece." Go Listen.

WEEK 15: Feeling like I'm pregnant

2009-07-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Up until now I just felt sick, but as of yesterday, something has changed. I went to take a nap and rolled onto my stomach and for the first time I felt like there was something there. I guess it is time for 5.25 months of side sleeping now :)

Swine Flu is Scary, by Heidi Helman

2009-07-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

So it turns out that Mother Nature's relative, Uncle Pestilence, has come up with a great thing to STRESS out pregnant ladies -- Swine Flu.

I consider myself a healthy gal; good pulse, great BP 108/67, high-ish but okay cholesterol, etc. I am a tad high on my prenatal screen for glucose tolerance, so I may be at risk for gestational diabetes, but that is temporary since it is based on placenta hormones and regularly I am not diabetic. I am a bit fluffier than I would like, but that is the way the it is and by all accounts I am a very healthy pregnant gal. Or am I?

According to the CDC: anyone who is overweight, pregnant, diabetic, asthmatic or suffers from heart problems is at risk to get the living tar kicked out of them by the Swine Flu. I can't help but notice that I can use three of those adjectives on myself. DAMN IT! So now I have these horrible fears of me and the baby catching the Swine Flu and keeling over from delivering in the middle of the winter flu season. I know this is a useless worry to dwell on because all I can do is take good care of myself, wash my hands often, avoid eating out as much, stop licking door knobs and hope for the best. No amount of worry will make me any safer from illness, if anything the stress of worry weakens the immune system.

I have had the flu once, I was a year out of college, and it was the worst I had ever felt in my entire life. I missed a whole week of work and I was living in a apartment by myself with my little dog Lexxy. I laid on the couch and moaned and little Lexxy laid on my chest and snuggled my cheek. After 3 days my fever of 103 broke and I began to want to stand upright again. By day 7 I was back at work.

Considering I pulled through that one flu within a week, I guess I should be comforted by the fact that my body knows how to kick some influenza tush. Maybe even if I do get Swine Flu, everything will turn out okay. I just have to make sure to keep taking good care of myself -- and not listen to the media.

Week 14: It would seem the symptoms weren't psychosomatic after all.

2009-06-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

G: IT HAS A FACE!

H: And it looks like Gabe :)

G: Hi there, little guy. We don't know what you're favorite food is, or what you like to do for fun, or even what you're gender is, but we love you already. Welcome aboard.

SONICS!

2009-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Somebody put together a youTube movie of every single use of the Sonic Screwdriver.

Also, mad bonus points for the musical selection.

Words to Live By

2009-06-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

“A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history-with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.”

--Mitch Ratcliffe

(Sidebar: while typing this in, I tried to find the correct Mitch Ratcliffe to attribute the quote to; I assume this is the right guy, but I'm still a little shaky.)

Volcanoes are Awesome

2009-06-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Recap: astronauts on the space station have taken a picture of an exploding volcano from orbit. My 10 year old self is FREAKING OUT.

(Via BoingBoing and NASA)

Week 13: Hello Second Trimester! :)

2009-06-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

This week, it is a bitty little peach :) ADORABLE! We find out more facts this Thursday with ultrasound photos, will post soon...

The Beatles: Rock Band.

2009-06-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Alert readers of this space will have noted that we're both fans of Rock Band and The Beatles. So, Harmonix's new game is less a potential purchase as much as it is a lifestyle fine.

In case you missed it, check out the promo movies over at the official site. The opening cinematic is definitely the one to watch. To quote my Mother, "It's like they were actually THERE."

Oh by the way...

2009-06-15T17:56:00.001-07:00

In case you missed the subtext in the last post, it turns out we're having a baby.

PREGGO REPORT: 12 weeks and steady as she goes...

2009-06-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

So I am 12 weeks and 1 day today! I feel relieved and not ill at the moment; great feelings I haven't experienced much in the past 12 weeks :)

The baby is 2+ inches long and the size of a plum. How adorable is that!? I love the websites that equate fetal size to fruit, too cute.

The statistics took an exciting shift in our favor over the weekend, for those of you who don't know, 12 weeks is a marker all preg women wait for. Chances of the baby taking off at this point are significantly lower and we have moved into the wonderful territory of "90% Chance of Awesomeness!"

Thanks for all the well wishes and support!

Once again, YouTube brings the funny

2009-06-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

It's a regular topic of horrified conversation in Doctor Who fan circles: what would the show look like in american hands (besides that mid-90s TV movie we don't talk about.)

As usual, YouTube has the answer:

Doctor Who opening in the styles of both Dallas and Arron Spelling.

This post inspired by the rumor that for next season, new show-runner Stephen Moffat is going to be replacing the existing opening credits with one that has a classic show style "face in space". As long as they get rid of that awful remix of the theme with something better, they can do whatever they want as far as I'm concerned.

(There's actually a very easy test to tell if a version of the Doctor Who theme is good or not: if you can identify a single instrument being used, they screwed up.)

Also, to wash that down with, check out Star Trek as the A-Team (whomever made that gets a FONTS WEEK thumbs up for the font in the title there.)

Forms!

2009-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am so using these forms from here on out: bureauofcommunication.com

Wait, what?

2009-06-09T14:28:00.001-07:00

One fifth of the world's population can't see the Milky Way?

I refuse to believe that this is a real thing.

2009-06-08T16:10:00.001-07:00

The world doesn't work this way. If this was real it would be TOO SPECIAL.

The hotel vending machine could not be more ready to party.

2009-06-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

MORNING. THUNDER.

2009-06-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

Chico: where they install bottle openers INSIDE THE BATHROOM

2009-06-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

It's midnight! Time to eat a burrito the size of my head!

2009-06-08T00:21:00.001-07:00

Note: Yes, I ate the whole thing.

Heidi says: It was AMAZINGLY huge. I was impressed :)

Back at the scene of the crime

2009-06-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, Us.

Fact: Breakfast is delicious.

2009-06-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Remember, if it's the first meal of the day, it's still breakfast - even at 1pm.

Potstickers, check!

2009-06-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

For the night before our one year anniversary, we figured we'd eat dinner at the place we had the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.

(Spoiler Alert: This is also just about our favorite restaurant in Chico; House of Bamboo, which doesn't seem to have a website. It's this amazing "asian fusion" restaurant, and it's always empty whenever we go. If you're in the north-state, and want the best pot-stickers this side of the Three Gorges Dam, stop in and give House of Bamboo a try.)

Heidi has only one speed in Hotel Rooms

2009-06-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Why yes, Heidi did pack both a tablecloth and a vase for the hotel room.

This was not a responsible trip to the store

2009-06-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Human Languages: Not Type Safe

2009-06-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

My new favorite programming blog, secrectGeek, has an excellent article about how the better you are at programming, the worse you are at talking to people.

The executive summary: programming languages reward terse clarity, something that human languages do not reward in any way.

Here's the bit I think is funny: everybody except programmers already knows all this. This is why job requirements for programming positions always list "good communication skills" as a requirement. Pretty much everywhere else that's assumed. With programmers you have to list it as a seperate job requirement.