QuestionAbel Parenting

The family went to Edmond yesterday to do a bit of shopping.  The ol’ tax refund finally came and we had a few things we needed (clothes) and things we didn’t (pretzels and candy).  Target was first, since that’s where I like to buy pants.  That’s right, fans.  You can buy pants just like me!

The next stop was the stop I had been most excited for – Best Buy.  We don’t have an electronics store of this variety here in town, so I was quite excited to peruse the computer section.  Then, I got to the computer section.  Despite being the fastest growing segment of the computing world, there were only three (3) netbooks available to look at and test, and two of them were different only in color.  They had the Eee PC (too small!) and the HP something or other (it wasn’t a mini-note).  The HP seemed okay, but it was hard to check out since the security bar obscured a good portion of the screen.  I was very much hoping they would have a Sony Vaio P or Dell Mini or any of the many other netbooks so I could test the keyboard.

Luckily, they had the Mac station set up.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a new Mac.  All my friends seem to have purchased their’s a couple of years ago and the new MacBooks and iMAcs are very new.  And beautiful.  BB had the giant 24″ iMac.  And a 20″.  Sam wanted to know why I was interested since my G5 iMac works well enough for our desktop machine.  Greed.  That’s the only reason.  That beautiful tapered body with that amazing looking keyboard (USB on the side?  Great idea!) and scroll button mouse was like sweet, sweet crack to me.  It was absolutely beautiful.

The MacBooks took my breath away as well.  These were the new model, machined from a single piece of aluminum.  This whole bit of time I have been very much thinking of a simple netbook to be my laptop, but these MacBooks…they may have changed my mind.  There is something to be said for the extreme portability of the netbook, but there’s so much more I can do with a MacBook.  Would I be happy with a MacBook?  Yes.  Happier?  I am unsure.  I wish we could get a new iMac as then I would feel far less inclined toward the MacBook.  Decisions, decisions.

The Mall came next.  I received a haircut and then took the baby for a spin while Sam tried on clothes.  I barely had started on my pretzel (I love mall pretzels) when Sam called to tell me she could find nothing she liked clothingwise and was ready to go.  I hadn’t even hit the arcade yet, so I asked her to wait a little bit.  Classic Sam, as she had been to JC Penney and apparently no other place because she spent the next hour and a half in Macy’s.  Sam claims a hatred for shopping, but if I videotaped her in a Macy’s and then had her watch it, it might be the proof I would need to prove her wrong.  I’m not complaining, because she got great deals (so did I!) and purchased some clothes she looks great in.  However, the kitchenwares section of this particular Macy’s needs a good going-over.

I was only in Macy’s for the end of her excursion.  My time passed playing Silent Scope for a little while and then perusing WaldenBooks.  WaldenBooks reminds me of a Hudson News with more books, which is basically what it is.  I’m no stranger to the small, mall bookstore.  I prefer the big chain stores in my malls, but I took what I could get.  Generally, I look for books by authors I like.  It assures me they are still in print in case my own copies spontaneously combust or something.  This is what I found.

WaldenBooks has the oddest organization of books I’ve seen.  Neil Gaiman’s Coraline was in the Sci-Fi section while Stardust was in the kid’s fiction section.  Right in the same area as My Teacher is an Alien.  Stardust is not the most challenging of Gaiman’s work, so I could see it being shelved in this area, but not when Coraline is in the adult section.  The distinction makes no sense to me.  Terry Pratchett’s Nation was also in the adult section, as were all the Twilight books.  It may have been confusing for the store, since they didn’t seem to have much division for the under 18 department.  It seemed there were picture books and then youthful chapter books.  I suppose it would makes sense, then, to include the more mature of these in the adult section.  Coraline still confused me.

Well, then we went to Barnes and Noble and I was fairly happy.  The Barnes and Noble in Quail Springs is set up very differently from my hometown’s, which makes it seem strange.  They also have a much smaller cookbook section.  Too bad, as I’m trying to find a copy of Jacques Pepin’s kitchen technique book – the latest edition.  Not to be found.  They did have “Fragile Things,” a Gaiman short story collection, as well as the latest Mario Acevedo book, “Jailbait Zombie.”  It sounds pretty good.  I’m not too enamored with Felix Gomez, but they are entertaining which is nice.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t justify buying two fifteen dollar paperbacks, so I left Jailbait behind.  Probably a good choice, but I doubt I will find it here in town.

I also bought “Evil Genius” as I’ve just finished its sequel, “Genuis Squad.”  I will probably write about that another time.

At this point, it was time to leave as Sam had exploded formula over herself and Zachary in the car.  We needed to get some butt cream for Zachary and she needed to change before dinner.  We went to Lottinville’s in Edmond and had an okay time.  I was thrown off as they’ve moved down the road to a much fancier looking building.  It has an atmosphere of high class and they serve meatloaf.  Which is odd to me.

What they did have was aromatic bitters, so I finally was able to order an Old-Fashioned and see what the deal was.  I discovered there’s a very good reason most people don’t keep bitters on hand.  It was bitter.  The fruit in it smelled very sweet and made it seem even more bitter, which was crazy.  Luckily, the waiter took pity on us and let me have a whiskey sour for free.  Thank goodness.  Sam got baby-back ribs, which were pretty good but I think I can do better.  I got salmon which was dry.  It had this cucumber/dill salsa-ish thing on top.  However, someone forgot to tell the chef that cucumbers have a fairly mild flavor and it’s pretty hard to taste them when they are surrounded by onions.  I could have handled the onions – usually I gag – but they were all I could taste when I ate.  The side was a sort of Mexican rice that didn’t complement the fish at all and tasted very similar to the Mexican rice we had in my high school.  I didn’t like it then, either.  I was disappointed and ate very little of my dish.  Had the waiter checked on us again, he might have discovered my uneaten plate with dry fish, but the busgirl took it away and I didn’t feel the need to complain.

So, dinner wasn’t too great for me.

However, dessert was great!  We had creme brulee and it was very light, yet rich.  Sam has an aversion to dairy desserts that aren’t drowned in berries, but I wanted it naked and she humored me as I’d had such a poor meal.

We are home now, and Zachary is sick.  He has an ear infection and been on antibiotics for the past two days.  There seems to be something wrong elsewhere, though, as he has terrible diarhea.  The doctor will be seeing him very soon, again, so I think things will be okay.

Today, we will be spending money.  Doing our part for the economy.  Also, we need to eat.

Man, everyone should read Neil Gaiman’s blog.  He gives me hope as an aspiring writer.

Have I even talked about The Graveyard Book on here?  I don’t know that I have.  It won a Newbery medal, you know.  I read it before all the fuss – making me far cooler than anyone else.  It was pretty great, yeah, it was.  Gaiman writes some damn fine stuff for adults but I really think his youthful stuff shines brighter.  Coraline was great.  When he lets his sense of humor in, he’s far better, too.  “American Gods” drug a little for me because it got very serious in spots, but “Anansi Boys” did not.  (I’m using quotes, not underlining, because its easier and this isn’t english class).

I greatly enjoy his down-to-earth view of the goings on in his life, as well.  He makes it seem so crazy and fun.  Man, if I could purchase some work ethic in a bottle, I could be living that life.

Man.

I’ve been looking online at netbooks and laptops lately. I want some portability while still having room to type, and it annoys me that seemingly none of these manufacturers have just taken full size keyboard (ignoring the numeric keypad) and slapping a screen on it. The Sony VAIO P comes close, but it’s over eight hundred dollars. The point of a netbook is not just portability, but also low cost. For eight hundred dollars, it should at least have a touch screen.

That would be solid. The HP Mini looks pretty nice, but I am unsure about its keyboard. I tried a netbook from Asus at Radio Shack today and the main problem was the keyboard. What’s stopping me from getting a portable-ish keyboard and a pocket PC?

So the search continues. I may just go with a NEO which is just a keyboard and LED screen – all you can do on it is type and write. No Internet or anything like a distraction. But I’m unsure if I would enjoy that, either. Portability is a drag. I wish I could just design my own computer. That would be the best thing ever.

First, Pluto!  That icy/rocky world out in the depths of Solar System.  In the comments area, Laurel Kornfeld has posted with Pluto support so I thought I would post the link to her LJ – she is a Pluto supporter with a logical look at the debate.  Which is refreshing because I’ve met (in person!) one or two c-r-a-z-y Pluto supporters.  They are similar to the crazy Pluto non-supporters:

Me:  That Pluto stuff is pretty interesting.

Them:  PLUTO IS/IS NOT A PLANET!

Me:  Well, there’s plenty of debate to support either side.

Them:  GO TO HELL!  PLUTO FOREVER/SUCKS!

And that happened to me – IN REAL LIFE ONE TIME.  I may have embellished.

I emailed Dr. Tyson about how much I enjoyed his book.  My favorite part probably stems from my habit of teaching positivity to school groups, which is that he seemed to keep a level head and his sense of humor about his place in the debate.  So I told him and was surprised he emailed me back.  I’m not used to that type of friendliness – and it was an actual email, too.  None of this form letter business.

Anyway, I find it all fascinating.  I have always been a bit interested in Astronomy, more the physical aspect than anything else.  I get a big confused over star charts but love learning about the bodies out there and the general exploration of the Solar System.  It’s exciting that so much has been discovered in the Kuiper Belt and we’re barely scratching the surface.  Too bad schoolin’ made it so boring.  And don’t get me started on physics – the most boring class about interesting (to me) things I have ever taken.

Anyway, there is an update for you, my friends, on WGU.  A professor happened upon this very blog and saw I was unhappy and then sprung into action. She contacted student services and got up in their grill I would assume.  So I got an email from someone to whom I explained my troubles and she was all “I’ll take care of it.”  She answered all my questions and set me up in a matter of two days.  It was pretty sweet.  So, it looks like I’ll be starting March 1st at the ol’ online college.  Finally to begin my trek toward a teaching degree.

Very refreshing week, all told.

The Pluto Files, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a pretty sweet little book.  I saw Tyson on The Daily Show a few weeks back and the man is hilarious.  Here is a guy who really loves what he does and has fun with it.  The book showcases a positive attitude toward conflict on his part as much as it chronicles Pluto’s storied past.

Pluto, for those of you who haven’t heard, recently lost it’s “planet” status.  Controversy abounds.  Facebook groups defending its honor have been formed and dismantled.  Of course, Pluto didn’t really change.  The definition of “planet” did.  It’s not too hard to understand once one realizes there’s at least one other astro-body out there larger than Pluto and not considered a full-on planet.

There’s no need to open a can of worms, though.  This book is a pretty great read.  Tyson explains both sides of the argument and gives us a view of his emails and letters during the height of the debacle.  The best thing about the arguing seems to have been a better opportunity for teachers to instruct students.  Here was astronomy happening right now. Too bad we don’t try to “demote” planets more often.

Even those of you who scoff at science would probably enjoy this bit of astronomy.  Tyson is a very likable fellow and I would love to meet him in person some day.

I was working in the yard today (because I’m a man, rargh) and enjoying it. Our lawn is a bit of a trouble spot as it doesn’t really grow in spots. Other spots it grows a horribly hard and pokey crabgrassish weed. I was raking the waste and roughing up the soil to sprinkle seed.

As the rake hit the ground in some sort of million to one shot, I heard a “clink.” It sounded metallic, so I wondered if it was a pipe or something. I reached down and saw a metal circle. A gold metal circle. In fact, the very wedding ring I have been missing since September.

Yes, the greatest news ever. That’s what that was.

I am increasingly enjoying the vast array of things available to me through the Internet.  Most notably, the Google word processor, available online.  It works similarly to a blog/desktop hybrid and I’m still checking it out.  Netbooks become far more viable when you can have that kind of storage space available to you.  Of course, without an Internet connection, you’re screwed.

This past week, I have been working on a multi-stage geocache.  Honestly (and somewhat bluntly), I have not been too impressed with the caches I’ve found around the area.  So this is something to fix that.

Discovery:  Kate Micucci.  Found her on Scrubs – and she’s awesome.  Just check out her band, Garfunkel & Oates (NSFP).

So, she’s got that going for her.

Okay, another post today featuring Z.o.m.b.i.e. toys.  These are pretty cool and seem to be inspired by M.U.S.C.L.E. Men, toys I grew up with.

Oh, Muscle Men.  I couldn’t even tell you apart.  You were just so awesome.  I think I might have one somewhere still – little pink man.

There’s a girl named Karen who has a website called Planet Karen.  It is her diary.  The last post and today’s are about the fire.  The fire that destroyed pretty much all her stuff.

It’s on the blogs of many, many webcartoonists which shows you what kind of community webcomics has.  I tried to read through her archive a little, but so many people are obviously on there that it’s slow as can be.

Even so, she could certainly use a donation.  Because it’s a damn fine diary.

Wikipedia has some answers.  This series has great potential for movies, as do most books in this genre.  It’s a no-brainer or studio heads as there is already a solid fanbase.  Teachers and Librarians can also be recruited to have kids see the movie since it will hopefully get them to read, which is a good thing.  I’m looking forward to February 12, 2010.

Wait, February 12, 2010?  That’s less than a year away!  Wow, and with no cast yet.  That seems to me to be a bit of a problem, especially with the effects shots this flick is going to need to really pull itself off.  It may be a young people’s movie, but that’s no reason to skimp.  Chris Columbus (of Sorcerer’s Stone and Home Alone) is at the helm, so I think it will be pulled off fairly well.

However, I wonder how it will do as a movie series.  Hopefully the Lightning Thief will do well enough to spawn a sequel, and hopefully they don’t do a mashup up the first few books.  Formulas in movies usually work pretty well – look at the many, many James Bond movies.  This has a short list of possible films, too, with a beginning and end.  So that’s good.

I’m pretty excited to see it.  That may not come through, but I am.  I enjoy the books, despite their formulaic plots, and love to see print characters come to life.  Here’s to 2010.