Flea Market Wars

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Earth Tatooine
NC State Fair Education Building B Mos Eisley, 'hive of scum and villany'

It was like being in Mos Eisley itself! Wren and Reiley and I headed out to the flea market at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh – “The Oldest, the Biggest and the Best” – on a tip that there were Star Wars action figures to be had. It was great fun, lots of all kinds of junk to rummage through. There are a couple large air-conditioned buildings and lots of outdoor stalls to peruse. The outdoor stalls are usually tented and many have large fans blowing. If you split your time between the cool indoors, the tented shops, and the nice shady outdoor rest spots (there are lots of them), you’ll have a great time without breaking a sweat. We picked up a cool smoothie before we got there and it couldn’t have been better. Continue reading “Flea Market Wars” →

Memorial Day boat trip

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For Memorial Day, we decided it was time to break out the 4-man inflatable boat that Santa brought. Grammy fed us a nice lunch, and the girls and I worked on inflating the boat. It’s quite a nice boat, and comes with a fast, easy pump that Wrenny took command of. Between the three of us we had it inflated in no time. It’s actually a rowboat, complete with a set of locking oars. Continue reading “Memorial Day boat trip” →

9.0 Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

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My good friend Mr. Stephen Wolfe has brought me daily oranges to nurture me, stayed by my side after finding me (embarrassingly) curled up in a ball of pain on the carpet at work – following me home an hour later to make sure I arrived home safely, and, during a recent trip to the bookstore, decided to buy me a favorite book of his. It was quite a good fantasy book, creating an alternate reality that was visually vivid while avoiding cliches. Pretty good character development, too. Thanks again Stephen, gentleman and scholar.

9.5 San Juan

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This game always seems to be billed as second-in-line, because it’s a two-player spin-off of Puerto Rico, a bigger game. But dig around for it, it’s worth it – a great game of skill building up your base city before time runs out. There are lots of ways to achieve that goal – Andrea used a new one on me today (monument-building) to sneak up and clobber me. I guess it’s not too new, Reiley has won before that way. Wait a minute, I think I better reassess… :> Anyway, we play a lot of two player games, and this is one we keep coming back to for its well-balanced strategy options and manageable scope. Here’s Andrea whooping it up on me today… I’m so glad for the little ways I can make her happy. UNTIL NEXT TIME! :>

Back Under The Knife

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I’m back in the hospital for what with a little luck will be my final cancer surgery ever. Read more in the usual place.

We’ve entertained ourselves with White Chicks, Borat, the British version of The Office, and our other little shenanigans, me on the computer (I now have our MythTV box (read: Tivo) accessible via the web, whoop!), and Andrea reading books and cranking through Logic Puzzles. :>

Reiley and Missy encounter

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A week or so ago, Reiley was riding Ms. Debbie’s usually well-behaved horse named “Missy”. At the end of the lesson, Missy decided she would gallop hard back to the stable. On the way, Missy ran into another horse, and reared up. Reiley flew up and belly-flopped onto the ground, getting a bloody nose and a busted knee. Poor kid! She was wearing an ace bandage for a few days afterwards. She’s young and bounced right back though – she’s already played in a soccer game. (Coach Mike: “I don’t want excuses, now GET OUT THERE AND PLAY!” :P just kidding!) This week she literally gets back on the horse. Good for her!

UPDATE: Reiley read this and wanted to correct something: she was BUCKED off, not REARED off. Either way, she’s a trooper. :>

8.5 VH1’s Nocturnal State, etc.

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OK, I guess I’m officially getting old, to be interested in a show on the “more mature” music video channel. Or am I just incurably immature for watching music videos at all? Age is so confusing these days. Is 40 the new 30? And 30 the new 20? Or do we all just remain children in today’s consumer-oriented society?

Anyway, I recorded the show on the MythTV box and it is actually watchable if you turn on “auto-skip commercials” (otherwise, definitely NOT). The following have me humming all day:

  • Audioslave: Doesn’t Remind Me
  • Nickelback: If Everyone Cared
  • John Mayer: Waiting on the World to Change
  • Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor: You Get Yours
  • Paulo Nutini: New Shoes
  • Juliet: Ride The Pain

I guess some of that comes from MTV, so I guess I’m still young (immature? delusional?)… and some comes from elsewhere… whatever… :P