So Let It Be Written...

So let it be done.

I've made the jump to Wordpress. So update your bookmarks, RSS feeds, and however else you were able to connect here. I don't have my own url yet, but that'll be the next step if I ever commit to spending the cash. First, I want to get a new camera.

I give credit to Blogger because they got me interested in doing this and had a fairly easy setup for those of us new to the medium. I still have one blog on Blogger with another waiting in the wings. So I won't be a stranger unless I like Wordpress so much to add them to the exodus.

I'll keep this blog up and running for as long as they allow me to. Mainly so that people can continue onto the new one. But if you want to see the latest, go here.

Crying Wolf

The news this morning is that the US government has more proof that the bombs used in Iraq have Iranian origins. Haven't we heard this sort of thing before? I doubt the world would fall for this pretense again.

Gastro

My goodness yesterday sucked! Having gastro (a stomach virus) is horrible enough when you get it by yourself and you're relegated to writhing in your bed trying to get some sleep. But both my wife and I woke up with it. My symptoms were not as bad (aches, fatigue, occasional nausea, slight headache, and stomach ache from time to time) as my wife who had them full blast. So I was left to caring for the kids. So my day basically consisted of staying as much as possible in a prone position getting up every 15 minutes to tend to the little ones. Although it's preferable to what my wife went through, it still sucked. So far it looks like a good night of sleep seems to have cured it, but my stomach is still rumbling. Update: my wife still has it. But she'll have a nice quiet home with which to cope with it.

We must have caught it Saturday night while seeing Perfume downtown and having a drink at McLean's. Has anyone else seen Perfume? I'm curious what's your take on it. I can see it being viewed in many different ways: repulsive, bizarre, artistic. We had a choice between Children of Men, Perfume, and Blood Diamond. We got there too late for Children of Men, so we chose Perfume over Blood Diamond. As for myself, I found it bizarre with an artistic premise and style, but a bit over-the-top in spots.

Anyhow, let's hope the gastro is gone. I'll likely be making the transition to Wordpress over the next week since it is finally available. Thanks to Vila for the heads-up. I'd like to do it along with some housekeeping, so I may not be posting for a bit.

Android Dream

Taken in front of the Chateau de Chenonceaux in the Loire Valley of France. It's alway been one of my favorite photos, but I'm still amazed how much attention it has gotten on Flickr.

Does anyone know what the title is referencing?

Mega-YULblog

Holy mackerel! There was a huge crowd at YULblog last night. Estimates run from 70 to 100 people. Quite a change from this time last year when we were lucky to have a dozen. Although I wasn't interested in seeing all 100 attendees, I was very happy to catch up with familiar faces and meet many new faces of blog I've been following for a while especially Danièle, Kate, and Vanou. As Danièle pointed out, it's interesting because you are meeting this person for the first time, yet you already know so much about each other already.

I had trouble prying myself to leave because there were so many people I wanted to talk to. Even after four hours of conversation. As Martine mentioned, it would be even better if they toned down the music. I was hoarse this morning from speaking so loud. But otherwise it was a great evening and I hope it continues to have this kind of turnout.

Thanks everyone for the best wishes and the compliments regarding the weight challenge. Though it could be that I look slimmer because I haven't cut my hair. Since my head looks bigger, the rest of me looks smaller. At least that's the plan.

YULblog Tonight

I'll likely be there unless there's a minor emergency. It's been a few months since I've been in attendence. Hope to see you there.

Mini-digits

So the second truth about me that I'm revealing is that I have very short fingers.



I discovered this when I was in high school and for about the next ten years I would often compare the size of my hands to people I met. And there was only once that I found someone other than a family member who had shorter fingers. She was a girlfriend and a foot shorter than myself. The two family members are my mother and my sister who are about six inches shorter than me.

So I must be a freak of nature. Well not really. I'm talking about the distance from the skin in between the fingers up to the tips. I have what can be best described as bear claws or webbed hands. The skin between my digits rides higher up than normal, but that doesn't mean I look like a duck. When you compare from the base of the hand to the tips of the fingers, the difference is not as dramatic.

Has this been a handicap at all? Well, I'm not good at the piano or basketball but I am better than average at skill sports like darts and pitching. I can't say I've ever felt at a disadvantage. You would think it would make me a great swimmer, but since my arms are shorter than average (not noticably) they must offset.

So that's it. Nothing big, but still true.

Update: There's one thing that the post by Jonas reminded me of. I have a heck of a time finding gloves that fit. The fingers are always to short. Sometimes I can squeeze myself (and stretch out) womens size gloves, but it's pretty rare. Although the fingers are the right length, my palms are way to big for them. So when I find a pair that fit well like my current winter gloves, I repair them as often as possible to get as much use out of them as possible.

And I just checked out my wingspan. It's 68 1/4". An 1 1/2" short of my height. And I my proper shoe size is 9 1/2. So although we are the same height (which I find hard to believe) I seem to be the physical polar opposite of JP.

Defeat

They lost.

The feeling is the same as it was when the University of Illinois men's basketball team lost in the final a couple years ago. Am I sad, disappointed, or upset? Just a little, but in the end every game has a winner and a loser. Each team was deserving enough to win it. To get that far in the season says something already considering the all the other teams that season who didn't make it.

So now it's time to throw my support behind the Chicago Cubs. For them it has been 98 years since they won it all. With a sizable change of personel over the winter it looks to be a different team this year. Let's hope they can do it.

Celebrity

The other night we went to a large birthday party for one of our relatives. It was a surprise party and was an extremely well done affair with great food, good company, and a great band. But there is another reason we'll remember that night. One of the guests brought a local celebrity. So as much as I/we enjoyed the night, there was always one eye occasionnally glancing over in that corner of the room.

Now, I have always felt that celebrities get enough wanted or unwanted attention. So I don't approach them and try not to stand there gapping in awe in order to respect that many of these people would like to return to being another invisible face in the crowd. But I could not help but keep covertly checking over in that direction to see what she was like. How did she interact with others? How did she hold herself? How well does she dance? I have to say that although we did not speak face to face, she's quite a respectable person and very outgoing. She's also incredibly thin. They say TV adds five pounds, but she seemed to lose ten to twenty stepping out from in front of the camera.

And it was also fun to watch the others at the party. From what I saw, everyone respected her space and allowed her to enjoy the party with the company that she came with. But there were many who like myself would glance over to see what was going on. Once, a couple of teenage girls sat there with their mouths gaping open gazing at her as she crossed the room.

It's interesting because last summer I had also seen her co-star from our favorite Quebec television series. I had gotten into the elevator to leave work. A couple floors down, she got in. Part of me wanted to say that I enjoyed her work in the series, part of me wanted to allow her her space, and another part wasn't entirely sure it was her. So I kept my eyes forward, but I swear that out of the corner of my eye it looked like she was staring at me. As I turned to verify if that was the case, the doors opened at another floor and more passengers got in before I could look in her direction. When we got to the ground floor, it seemed everyone was continuing to the basement, so I headed out and on my way. From what I heard behind me, she didn't realize it was the ground floor and the others told her how to get out. It was then hearing her distinctive voice that I was positive it was here. But with my body already on the way out, I would have felt awkward doing an about-face.

Although it would have been nice to talk to her and say that I wish the series had continued, I still prefer to allow celebrities to lead lives with as little unwanted attention as possible. They likely get enough recognition on the street without my input. They're people doing their jobs like everyone else. It's the way I'd want to be treated also if I were in that position.

Superbowl Shuffle

Interesting to see it again after all these years. It's painful to watch at times because of the cheesey lyrics and Steve #4 has no rhythm. Another thing is that "the Fridge" #72, who was considered big at the time, could be considered slim compared to your average player of today.

Go Bears!

Sunday evening we'll be camped out in front of the television eating Maison du Roti sausages and chili I threw together during the last football game. We'll be suffering through the commercials and faux billboard advertisements from the local feed for what will hopefully be a Bears victory. I'll also be keeping an eye on the shots of people in the stands because this guy will be at the game.


This is a shot of my father (left) and my cousin (right) at a past Bears game. They are probably the most diehard Cubs and Bears fans that I know. My father scored tickets to the game in Miami and will be there in one of the upper corners. He's quite a sports fan and it's great that he'll be there for what can only be described as nirvana for a fan like him.

The guy in the center is an off-the-bench mascot or cheerleader. I think he started coming to games wearing a football uniform and the head of a bear that was obviously taken from a bear skin rug because it tapered to a flat point at the back. So he would spend the game walking around the stadium having his picture taken with everyone and giving high-fives. Then I guess someone in charge decided it would be great to have him on the field. Soon after he was there and waving one of those huge 10ft x 20ft flags that they have at college games. Then at some point during the game he would come back into the stands and do what he was doing before. I'm curious if he will be on the field during the game.

And here's a shot that my sister took of one of the lions in front of the Art Institute including the flag of Chicago. You should go and see her and her boyfriend's photos here. They are both quite good.


The city really has been going nuts for this game. I can't imagine what's it is like to be hearing the hype constantly on every newscast. I've gotten a taste of it when I check into the Chicago Tribune's webpage or that of ESPN. It's always the head story along with a dozen supporting ones. I kinda remember past years seeing how much coverage was given to the game along with the preceding week. For those years, I just flipped the page. But you really get a grasp of how much coverage there is when it's your team. It's really quite something.
Well, the big game is coming. It looks to be an evenly matched one and should be fun to watch.

Go Bears!

A Weight Wager

As many of you may have heard, Blork and I have made a wager over who could lose the most weight relative to their goal. So the clock has started ticking with the end date in early August six months from now. In addition to the weight I've lost already, I've committed to lose another 27lbs. That would get me to 178.5 which is considered healthy for my height and frame. But I haven't weighed that much since 1991.

It should be fun. I enjoy healthy competition and as long as Ed can keep up, it will be a great motivator to stick to the goal. Regardless of the outcome, we'll likely both be in better shape. And we can celebrate at the end with some chocolate chai cupcakes a la Martine.