You! You Did This To Yourself!

Like a lot of people I have spent the last few weeks working while keeping an eye on the stock market. I know there has been a lot of gnashing of teeth about Citibank and Bank of America, two of the largest banks in the world.

Their long slide into irrelevance and embarrassment is their own doing. I refuse to feel pity and shame for these companies that made irresponsible decisions and are now causing us all to suffer.

Citibank, in particular, has lost 97% of it's value over the last five years. I hope you fail. I hope you fall into bankruptcy. I hope your executives soil themselves as shareholders and employees alike storm the boardroom and demand justice.

watching Man vs. Wild and working on documentation.

I have this sinking feeling that I'm being outmaneuvered on something and I don't like it.

getting all caught up after a very busy night last night.

so I just keep wondering if there's going to be some point where the NYSE hits 0. what then? go home, hug the family, and wait for the end of the world?

to the girl on the blue scooter: the sight of you laughing as you raced cabs down JFK, your purple scarf waving in the wind, made my morning

Yesterday's Loss in Soccer

The kids' loss in soccer yesterday is still sticking with me.  I'm not sure why, though I know that I was hoping to win.  The team we faced was very physical, and I haven't taught my team to be like that, so I guess I was hoping for skill to win over violence.  Violence is probably too strong a word, but my daughter's knees are bruised up this morning and scraped.

You who know me know that I don't worry about bruised and scraped knees per se, it's part of childhood, but I don't like it when it comes at the hand of kids who are routinely pushing my little girl to stop her from dribbling the ball.

Very frustrating.

kids lost a 2-squeaker to a very physical team. they kept pushing my kids. oh well. part of sports is learning to handle losses.

got the catalog of Girl Scout camps McKenna could attend. she's really a big girl now, isn't she? damn I wasn't ready for all this emotion

someone walked by singing "she's a rich girl" so now I've got Hall & Oates stuck in my head. thanks Steve!

listening to Radio Lab and finishing out the crossword. it's seriously one of the best ways to start the day.

watching Lost. ready for bed.

Ich bin ein Gummi Bear

My friend Jessica posted this on her blog, and I'm passing it along. It's the earworm du jour. Not quite as infectious as the Mai-a-hee song, but still worth a listen to be sure...

I present "I'm A Gummi Bear" (in English) or (my favorite) in German:


"ICH BIN EIN GUMMMIII BEAARRRR"

working from home. Heather's not feeling great on the pump yet, so I'm nearby to help. :( Just takes time to get used it I hope.

I was not expecting to be in the office today. I am exhausted and foggy in the head.

Yesterday's Weight Loss

I lost 8 lbs yesterday at the gym. Go me! McKenna came downstairs and looked at me and said "You look thinner." w00t!

Exercising

I joined Planet Fitness today. My wife's been a member for a few weeks now and has been very happy with it so I went today and worked out. It's good to finally be in a gym again. I'll post updates as I exercise so you all can keep track.

On that note, I worked out for an hour and I'm tired and sore, so have a good night.

buckling down and getting some things done now. big code release tomorrow. 28 new things go to the client.

Mo with the Red Hair

I'm kind of an anomaly amongst fathers. I go to all of my kids' special events, including class parties. I figure I only have one pass at these kinds of events and given the choice between a quicker path to success at work or building the strongest family relationship I can, I'm going to choose family every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The way I figure, the employer I have today is not going to be there to take care of me when I'm decrepit and old. They will not give me grandchildren in the future. I don't get hugs from my work. It's pretty clear (or I think it is) which is more valuable.

So, yesterday McKenna's class had their Valentine's Day Party, and I was there. But I wasn't just there. I make an event of it. I dress up, I act goofy, I am one of the kids when I am there. So for the party yesterday I dyed my hair bright red. I've been growing it out for almost two months so I could, and now I want to share the awesomeness with you.

There you have it. I thought it was a good look for me, but yesterday afternoon my wife made me shave it all off. I'm back to being bald.

But maybe I'll dye the beard green for St. Patrick's Day...

thinking about playing some PS3 and relaxing for a few minutes before bed.

on the Flintstones birds filled in for modern technology, so it occurred to me that some poor bird was Fred Flintstone's toilet. OMG!

my dad would have loved Flobots. he may have been born in 1923 but he loved radical politics and musical innovations.

my wife just texted me and told me that no one at my daughter's school is eating the soup I made. I'm kind of heartbroken. :(

back on my diet full time now. only one more carb indulgence day to go: Fastnacht Day.

been reading "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" lately. makes me want to dig out my dad's old copy of "The Joy of Yiddish"

Big Day Today - Heather Gets Her Insulin Pump

I took the day off today because my wife's starting the insulin pump.  This is a huge thing for us that's the result of about six months of hard work on the part of Heather and a lot of prodding, suggesting, and help from me.

For those who don't know, an insulin pump is essentially an electronic pancreas.  It helps diabetics take better control of their blood sugars by continually streaming small amounts of insulin into their body, rather than the traditional methods of four or more injections or mixing types of insulin to try and manage the highs and lows of daily living.

This week she will be doing a "dry-run" which means she will load the pump with only saline but will use it as if it were really dispensing insulin.  If all goes well with this week's work she will start using it for real next week.  I took next week Monday off for that as well.

Technical Data:

For those who are really curious, my wife's going to be using the Animas One Touch Ping, which is one of the most advanced pumps available.  It comes with both the pump and a PDA like device that communicates wirelessly with the pump and helps the user determine the right amount of insulin based on their current blood sugar (aka bolus) and what they've eaten.  It also trends blood sugars so the long-term effectiveness of the pump can be determined as well as adjust to natural lows and highs in the body.  It does not, as of yet, automatically test the blood sugar and self-calculate insulin.  Doctors say that's another ten years before that happens.  When it does, it will be a breakthrough for diabetics everywhere, nothing short of a fully automatic external pancreas.  Also of interest to me is the fact that it's another step closer to cyborgs.  So, it's cool in a way that I'm married to a cyborg.  ;)

I've come to the conclusion that leftover lamb rogan josh is the real breakfast of champions. hands down.

working on some client issues because I have off tomorrow. I won't know what to do with myself having off all day.

chewy granola is for pansies. real granola is hard, like the men who eat it.

working hard and keeping my pimp hand strong.

huge mess in the office. a toilet exploded. all of the carpet in the front entrance is ruined. the whole office reeks of chemicals.

dishes are done. laundry's done. work is done. I'm putting the kids to bed and going too. good night!

all full of tasty Chinese food. dynasty in Camp Hill wasn't bad. I actually thought it was decent. my wife was unimpressed.

I have absolutely nothing pithy to say and just thought I'd share.