the DronesClub	the smackdown	Fierce Creatures	Little Blenheim	Barmy in Wonderland	the dernier cri

The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936

June 2008	July 2008	Aug 2008	Sept 2008	Oct 2008	Nov 2008	Dec 2008
Jan 2009	Feb 2009	March 2009	April 2009	May 2009	June 2009	July 2009

 

December 31, 2008

I love good sushi!

10:53 p.m. - Yay! We got our sushi on tonight. We looked in on Sakura Bana this evening and gorged on nearly $100 worth of the tasty, tasty sushi. Afterward, Jennifer and Julie got it into their heads to get cake from the Market Basket. They bought an entire cake based on the crazy logic that it was more effective to buy the entire thing rather than two slices. Well, whatever. They got me a slice of carrot cake, so all was well. I am completely stuffed at this moment. If one is going to break the diet, you may as well make it something worth enjoying.

It's about an hour to midnight. I may not be able to make it that long. Usually Jennifer is the first one to fall asleep. Tonight it may be me who gives up first, and I took a good hour's nap when I got home from work at 4:30.

Happy New Year's everyone!

December 29, 2008

8:44 a.m. - I had a big bag of (low carb) pumpkin seeds I've been saving for a week to enjoy at work. And when I got to work this morning, I put them in a cup to munch on throughout the day. And then I absentmindedly took a can of diet coke and poured it all over my seeds, thereby rendering them thoroughly inedible. Sigh. . .  

7:15 a.m. - Percy had an accident in his kennel this morning. It was. . . horrible. Just horrible.

The dogs are enjoying a Monday morning, namely because all 3 are fast asleep. I am dressed (not shaving today - I'm going to be rebellious) and ready to go to work. I can't say I am bounding out the door this cold Monday morning in late December gladly, but as the fellow sings in the light opera Ruddigore, "duty, duty must be done/the rule applies to everyone."

December 28, 2008

9:12 a.m. - Quiet Saturday yesterday. We got out of the house and looked in on a few stores for some errands, but mostly puttered around the house. Jennifer's mother sent some cool presents, which will keep me entertained all day. Family Guy Season 6 - awesome! And a web camera, which I had great fun setting up. I set up a Skype account, too, so Jennifer spent some time talking to her sister Emily in Italy. We need more friends with Skype - until we have a lot of friends with little cameras, this will really only be a novelty. Then again, I could buy a system of cameras to set up in here, and we could watch the dogs remotely online. Maybe not. I'd never get any work done.

And nothing new to report today. It is a balmy 22° with a windchill of 13°. After 26° below earlier last week, this is practically Autumn weather. I'm glad most of the snow melted on Friday.

December 26, 2008

The dining room table set for Christmas lunch yesterday.

7:34 p.m. - Beautiful, quiet Friday. The weather was a balmy 55° or so. We spent some time this morning chipping the ice from the sidewalk as it melted around our feet. Joe from across the street came by and helped hack away snow and ice from around the cars so the melting runoff could quickly flow down the street to the gutter.

Jennifer and I looked in on a few stores for post-Christmas shopping. Kohl's - I picked up much needed socks (Percy loves tearing apart my socks!). We stopped by the Factory Card Outlet and Jennifer picked up wrapping paper for next year. We had Chinese at the buffet for lunch.  Then Jennifer went to Goodwill and I spent a bit more time shoveling the last of the ice off the sidewalk. I took a great nap around 5:00. I'm puttering around the house right now, and Jennifer is working on a project across the street with Julie.

9:17 a.m. - Marcus and I looked in on the Dundee Dell last night for a Scotch and nachos. We had a 12 year old Glenmorangie portwood which made my mouth do a happy dance. They really compliment an order of nachos. A former co-worker of Marcus's happened to be in the Dell and we enjoyed a nice evening. I am particularly glad that smoking has been banned in bars, which makes it a much nicer experience when you don't have to come out smelling like an ashtray. I think we got home around 11:30 or so. I haven't gone out like that in a long time, which was a nice break.

December 25, 2008

Jennifer's new Christmas platter.

6:06 p.m. - Way too much Christmas feasting. Jennifer made a ham with so much sweet, sweet glaze, you couldn't look at it without wearing a welding mask. We made a cornbread casserole, rolls, that nasty cranberry gelatin stuff, Paula Deen's gooey cake, pecan pie, and fruit salad. I had far too much. After Julie went home at 2:00 and the kitchen was cleaned, I zonked out from 3:00 to 5:00 for a well earned nap. That's my kind of Christmas feast!

I may meet Marcus later and look in on the Dell.

Menu Sherried onion soup Roasted Red Pepper Soup Tortilla Espanola Chorizo el forno Gambas al la plancha Abondigas Championes Ailo Pollo Especial Goat cheese Croquette Manchego cheese Garlic marinated mozarella bread olives flan & pink champagne cake

9:03 a.m. - Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas weekend with friends and families. We've got off to a rip-roaring start. If you're going to break a diet on Christmas, you may as well jump off the pier feet first, which is what I did. We went to Mark's for tapas, and Grant cooked up a storm for us. Everything was so good, I practically had to be wheeled away from the table. They started us off with martinis, which to me tasted more like pineapple juice than alcohol, so by the time I noticed there was anything in there, the alcohol had already made itself at home in my hippocampus.

I had to take a picture of the dog eating cake on the table before I removed him from the scene of the crime!

And homemade sangria throughout! I can't tell you what all this on the menu means (except for the obvious stuff like bread and olives), but it was excellent. Grant knows his way around the kitchen, and I doff my cap at his culinary magic! We had a great evening, great company, and great fun. Julie got it into her head to watch Pee Wee's Christmas Special from about 1988, and whether it was sangria or not, but we were roaring. The highlight for me was catching the dog - whose name I forget - on the table chomping on the cake, with pink frosting all over her muzzle.

Great evening! We got home around 11:00, I think, and pretty much immediately zonked out for the evening. It's Christmas right now, and we're about to experience the joy and wonderment as the puppies open their presents. Don't tell them, but we got the Omaha Steak treats.

 

December 24, 2008

The new wagon. . . redesigned because kids can't have too much too soon. 1:45 p.m. - The news reports that Radio Flyer, the maker of kids' wagons since time immemorial has redesigned their classic wagon for "the 2.0 world," whatever that means. They have redesigned the wagon, taking the approach of car makers who put in features designed for the customers active lifestyles (another phrase that means nothing).  There are padded seats, foot brakes, beverage holders, a digital handle that tracks, temperature, time, distance, and speed. There is a slot for an mp3 player, complete with speakers. Huh?  Doesn't all this take away from the experience of riding in a wagon in the first place? Exactly why do you need to calculate the speed of your wagon? I don't think breaking Mach 3 is really an option, much less 10 mph. Why not add a phone recharging station that is powered by the wheels turning? Aren't kids already disconnected from the real world already? Do they really need to experience family time while connected to their iPods? The strength which has propelled the sale of wagons since before the Great Depression is that they have promoted family time, or at least stimulated kids' imagination or sense of fun as they rode in it or pulled a sibling in it. That hasn't changed since . . . ever. If kids are to be thoroughly indoctrinated in the wired world from early childhood, the Radio Flyer folks may as well go the extra step and design the Virtual Wagon, a 3D wagon simulator that gives kids the experience of riding in a wagon.

December 23, 2008

9:24 p.m. - Shout out to Miz Murphy who has me hankerin' for Cluck U Chicken "thermo-nuclear" wings. Wouldn't it be cool to drive to New Brunswick, NJ right now to get some chicken?

Don't disturb anything. I know exactly where everything is.

8:01 p.m. - Sigh. . . lured into temptation and sin. I had a slice of pizza and a bread stick for lunch today in lieu of my healthsome tuna. Bad. Bad. Bad. Must resolve to be better tomorrow.

I spent most of the day moving my crummy old furniture out of my office and the nice furniture in. They wouldn't let me take it up to the third floor parking lot and heave it over the side. Now I have really nice furniture, but less space, so I am forced to keep my files in order so I can find them. That's probably a good thing. Who'd've thunk I had so much stuff in my office? On the plus side, I now have more wall space to hang a few old maps. Bonnie gave me an 1891 Cram atlas map of Omaha, which will look good there.

Meanwhile, quiet evening at home. We're meeting friends for tapas which will be fun and lunch on Christmas with our neighbor Julie. Tonight, we're relaxing at home. The dogs are fast asleep and Jennifer is watching White Christmas.

December 22, 2008

9:35 p.m. - Traumatic! Horrible! I had to drive to the Target at Crossroads Mall (aka West Omaha) for some stocking stuffers. It was obscenely cold out, snowing, and horrific driving conditions. And that means that the asshole in the Big Truck needs to plow down the parking row at the store at 70 miles per hour to get there first, wherever "there" is. All the mouth-breathers were out in force this evening - the mothers with the 18 children in tow, all screaming and crying for candy or Transformers, oozing cold germs out of every pore. I got a few simple items of virtù for Jennifer and high-tailed it back to east of 52nd Street. Normally, I'd take a detour through Dundee, Cathedral, and the Gold Coast neighborhoods to clear my palate after such a traumatic trip out west, but with the weather as it is, I made it home as fast as I could.

December 21, 2008

You know I never post YouTube videoes, but I make a rare exception for this Simpsons Mad Men parody. 7:31 p.m. - Maureen stopped by from across the street with a plate of Christmas goodies. We have the coolest neighbors. Except, why do neighbors stop by on those days when I decided not to take a shower, the house is a mess, and I'm wearing my grubbiest sweats. I couldn't figure out how to post this on Facebook, so I am posting this Simpsons parody of Mad Men, one of the best things they've ever done. The episode was stupid to be sure, but the opening was hi-larious. . . . You can tell I am bored witless on a Saturday evening. 5:10 p.m. - I still offer you no interesting tales of winter at the North Pole. It's cold here. I have done a bit of laundry and otherwise, nothing of note this entire day. Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? 2:43 p.m. - Winter, from Hell's heart, I sneezeth on thee. This stinks. I'm the guy on the block who has not gone out to scrape the sidewalk clean. And I have no intention of going outside in this weather. Windchill of -22°. This weather is intolerable, and I continue to sneeze and sniffle. I took a long nap at 1:00, and Jennifer woke me up at 2:00. She went over to play at Julie's and I am puttering around, installing foam insulation in the electrical outlets on my exterior walls, and settling down to watch a bit of television. There's nothing on.

December 20, 2008

7:33 p.m. - No updates other than mind-numbing cold outside. -1° with a windchill of -19° out there. Yikes! I've been nursing this cold all day. Jennifer went out shopping this morning and brought home insulation for the electrical outlets, which I've been somewhat working on earlier today. I took a nap around 4:00 and have been pottering ever since. I really ought to have gone with her to Brian and Jennifer's party, but that would involve a) getting dressed, b) going outside, and c) mingling with people who are less sick than myself. I have opted for a braver course of remaining home and jamming to the light Operas of Messrs Gilbert and Sullivan.

Cold outside. Very, very cold. Mom, why couldn't you have accepted a job at a university in a warmer state back in 1973?

1:00 p.m. - Through the power of the internet, experience the cold of a Midwestern winter. Weather.com reports a windchill of -13°. That wouldn't be too bad except for the 25 to 30 mile per hour winds that cut through scarves, gloves, and sweaters like a knife. That lonely figure outside 20 minutes ago wearing a Red Sox jacket and a Harry Potter scarf wrapped around his head like a Russian babushka was me. Don't laugh - that Harry Potter scarf is warm. I pushed a little bit of snow around, for whatever good that did. I had to restore the tissues afterward with a shot of butterscotch schnapps, which seemed to do me a bit of good. Or at least, it did no evil.

I took the dogs out, and they were not happy one bit. That's enough of the outdoors life for me for one day.

11:10 a.m. - Where has the morning gone? I woke up at 5:00 and I fell asleep around 7:00, finally getting up at 9:00 to take the dogs out. It's damnably cold and snowing and all sorts of mean and nasty weathers out there. Our neighbor Tim is busy shoveling - he's so responsible. I am sitting at the computer in my pyjamas, and have no intention of doing the slightest productive thing today other than nurse my cold and reacquaint myself with an old friend called television. Jennifer is up and went out to play (in this weather!) with Julie, so I am rattling about the house by myself. Perhaps I'll get enough energy to inventory my map collection again. It's nearly doubled in size since the last time I did it. Then again, maybe a nap first.

December 19, 2008

11:06 p.m. - The weeks' worth of planning, cleaning, and effort paid off. The get-together was the social event of the year, and a good time was had by all. Jennifer and I are exhausted. She's asleep already and I'm heading that way now. I had to put up a few pictures first, of course, which you can see right here. 2:30 p.m. - Yay me! I figured out how to mail merge a Microsoft Publisher document, thereby making my Lodge newsletter take a fraction of the time to prepare. Now, if I can just get the fellas to invest in a postage machine, life would be even easier. Note: pictures of the poinsettia tree at Lauritzen Gardens are here.

December 17, 2008

Crookshanks is stuck in the Christmas tree. Just like Winnie the Pooh.

9:06 p.m. - Still trying frantically to get the house straight. I lost Monday with Scottish Rite and the funeral for a member of my Lodge on Tuesday. I've spent most of this evening since I got home cleaning downstairs. For the most part it is neat, but we are putting away those infinite piles of stuff which seem to accumulate with no real home and just move from pile to pile and desk top to desk top. Hopefully nobody will come upstairs where these piles have been hidden.

The animals continue their endless fascination with Jennifer's Christmas tree. We caught Crookshanks during a grab and smash raid. The fat lug had climbed up a few branches - miraculously without tipping over the tree - and got stuck, just like Winnie the Pooh. He had to endure the humiliation of our laughing at him and taking his picture before we heaved him out.

In the meantime, I finally got the December newsletter folded, stapled, addressed for 150 guys, stamped, and ready to mail tomorrow. I told members of the Lodge that there was no way I was doing all that each and every month. I am trying to figure out how to mail merge the newsletter, and if we have a bulk mail permit, the process is whittled down to printing, folding, and stapling. Much easier. The real question is: do we really have something interesting to say each month. I won't mail out a tedious newsletter with stupid crossword puzzles that nobody looks at. I need content!

December 16, 20088

Crookshanks nearly attacked me to get at the remains of tuna fish!

7:19 a.m. - The windchill is 14 below today. It's snowing with a few inches expected. The dogs could barely stand to be outside for a minute. I feel horrible when I hear a dog somewhere in the neighborhood outside howling in this cold weather to be let in. Poor little guys!

I received news late Sunday night that a member of Florence Lodge passed away. My last act as head of this worthy band of pirates is to arrange a Masonic funeral for him, so I spent a good two hours yesterday chasing down members of the Lodge. I've got about 12 guys who say they'll come tonight for a service, and I hope the weather won't deter them. I've got so much to do this week to get ready for Friday, but I will find time to honor Bill.

Last night was Scottish Rite's annual dinner. I stuck to my diet fairly rigorously, and I avoided the bar by helping Jim sell the KSA Christmas tree ornaments. I think I sold about $100 worth over the evening - not a bad haul. I got elected as an officer again, so next year will be my 5th year as a Scottish Rite officer. Yay me.

December 15, 2008

This little macedoine of fur is actually Gryffindor

8:05 a.m. - So, it's only a 1 1/2 mile drive to the office from home, but when your car doesn't even have a chance to warm up, it may as well be 100 miles. That was one of the coldest drives ever. I firmly believe that when the temperature is so cold as to preclude the movement of any molecular activity, the office should be closed. I hope my dogs stay warm today. 

7:18 a.m. - I promise I haven't forgotten about you, loyal and faithful readers. Honestly. It's just that I have either absolutely nothing of interest to report or I've been so busy that I haven't had time to report on what I've been up to. So let's recap: this past week has been a blur of work, work, work. Nothing new there. Passing lightly over those doldrums, I had my Lodge's Past Master and 50 Year Member dinner on Friday. It was a stunning success. I had to tease Jennifer - only two hours before the Big Event, she was calling me with suggestions or ideas I hadn't thought of for the past month. Well, a bit too late for great center pieces now or delicious hors d'ouevres, right? Not so for Jennifer - she worked her mojo and found these little wire Christmas trees which made great centerpieces for the tables. It was a great evening, and kind of a nice cap to my year. I think I had about 30 people for the evening, which isn't bad for my Lodge. I had been hoping that finishing my year as WM of my Lodge meant I could gracefully bow out of a damnably long and cold drive to Kearney for Grand Lodge in February, so when the Big Cheese, the Head Mason hisself asked me if I was going to Grand Lodge, I squared my shoulders, looked him in the eye, and said. . . "Yes Sir, I'll be there." Final tally on spines and backbones: Micah - 0. 

We put our tree up for the first time in a few years.

On Saturday, I had a long KSA meeting at Scottish Rite. Ugh. They seem to get longer with too much ceremony added in to the mix. I just want to get down to business. Oh well. 'Nuff said on that matter. We spent the rest of the weekend trying to do some house cleaning to get ready for Friday's party. I'm not certain we made a lot of headway. Saturday's weather was fairly mild, so I spent about an hour blowing leaves and doing yardwork that should have been done a month ago. We spent a delighful evening at Tim 'n' John's party. I love his co-workers and we had a great evening. John had one of the 1896 pictures of his house blown up and printed on canvass which is hanging in their living room. It looks incredible, and I spent half the evening poring over the details of the house (and our house, of which a tiny amount of the south side is visible).

The weather dropped like a brick on Sunday, and the windchill dropped to TWENTY FIVE BELOW ZERO - where it has remained ever since. We have cold winds blowing through every chink or crack in the house, through electrical outlets, between the walls of the pocket doors. Not fun. I hate taking the doggies outside in this, and I won't leave them out for more than 2 or 3 minutes at most. We spent the afternoon putting up the Christmas tree. I had hoped Jennifer would simply hang a few ornaments on those pretty dogwood branches, but she went with the Big Kahuna this year, and we decorated that sad little 6' fake tree we got a few years ago. I think it's seen better years. Percy was very good throughout, and curled up under the tree. Adorable. And Crookshanks wanted to get right down to business with the ornament smashing.

Right, then. It's very cold and I'm off to work. Ugh.

December 7, 2008

Crookshanks guards my stash.

9:07 p.m. - Little of interest to report. Jennifer worked (of course) all weekend, and I puttered around. On Saturday morning, the Masters and Wardens club met, representing area Lodges' leadership. My Lodge hosted, so it was good to have some of my members present to represent Florence #281. Afterward, I ran a few errands. Baker's offered 10 cokes for $10, so I loaded my car up with 20 soldiers! Yes, I loves me some Diet Coke. On Sunday, I went back out and loaded up 10 more Diet Cokes. The kitchen table is full of caffeine free Diet Coke, which ought to last about - let's see, then - 30 Diet Cokes. I'd say about 30 days. Maybe 45. I plunged out amongst Christmas shoppers and looked in on Tuesday Morning, Omaha Steaks (for doggie treats for the beasts), Penzey's, and World Market, and bought a few presents for the office. We're doing Secret Santas, so I think my victim (er, co-worker) will be quite pleased with the results.

Joe presents the KSA the rampant lion, flag of Scotland

I took a brief nap this afternoon and spent some time trying to arrange my different Masonic files in some semblance of order. It's a nearly impossible task, I think. With some degree of order achieved, I have to get ready for the final Knights of St. Andrew meeting for 2008, prepare for Florence Lodge's Past Master dinner, start thinking about the audit for Florence Lodge's books for 2007 and 2008, work on the Masters & Wardens Scholarship Committee, and get a game plan to visit area Lodges to talk about the ethics program at Scottish Rite in April. It's going to be a very busy next few weeks!

In the evening, I went down to the Scottish Rite for the KSA appreciation dinner, which we hold every year. This year was a catered dinner and a good time was had by all. I didn't just break my diet, I smashed it into about 1,000 pieces. Well, I'll pick up the pieces tomorrow and start again. At any rate, about 25 people attended, and we passed out pins for those who hosted events. I earned 4 pins for my work. I will try to work harder and help host more events in 2009.

And now the weekend is over. Sigh. Where did it go? It seemed to pass so quickly.

 

December 5, 2008

7:18 a.m. - I think I slept reasonably well last night, garnering about 7 hours of the horizontal dreamless, minus one 4 am perambulation. But I am so tired right now, I can barely sit up. Me needs to go to bed earlier tonight. Tomorrow, the M&W Club meets at 9:00 a.m. at Florence Lodge. I wonder if I can skip. Probably not.

December 4, 2008

9:35 p.m. - A few thoughts. Number one (1): It is cold outside. Horribly, bitter, biting cold. The entire absence of heat. Deep space cold. And number two (2): we seem to generate a vast amount of waste paper. In the last few weeks, we have recycled vast amounts of paper. This week, we've received tons of catalogs, and I expect to fill up yet another entire bag.

Meanwhile, Jennifer is in bed, and I'm puttering around the house doing a little straightening. I am truly regretting having that side of gyro meat and tsadziki earlier this evening. Ugh. 

Look at what the Postman brung!

6:21 p.m. - I am so ashamed. I was at the NCGO Christmas party last night and gorged at the buffet, ruining a perfectly good diet. 5 onion rings. 5 chicken wings. 1 breaded mushroom. And two pieces of meat on a stick. Net crime: 100 carbs. Plus about 50 carbs between tuna fish for lunch and pumpkin seeds in the morning. And Jennifer had the remains of some popcorn, which I gobbled up – 50 carbs. 200 carbs for the day, when I should be at a lot less. And today I had leftover low(er) carb spaghetti from 2 days ago for lunch plus too many mixed nuts. 60 carbs. Bad, bad, bad Micah. Bad! I shan’t dwell on my crime but rather, resolve to go forth and do better.

Meanwhile. . . busy, but productive. The Scottish Rite had a committee meeting today, discussing how we would invent the Scottish Rite as an institute of ethical thinking. A well known ethicist has been invited to speak in Omaha, and we are creating, marketing, and promoting a series of events with him to inaugurate the ethics program. We’ve got nothing yet, but lots to do. And I have to educate myself about the professor, his writings and research, and just what the heck ethics is anyway. How is it different from morals or fairness? Are they mutually exclusive or inclusive? It was a good first meeting, and I am exciting about what we can do with this program.

I picked up a side order of gyro meat for dinner from Greek Islands. I am SO stuffed right now. And tired.

December 2, 2008

I should call the New World the Lost World.  All my gains of the last 4 years are gone.

11:12 a.m. - Every single share of New World I've purchased since September, 2004 has lost money. Four years worth of dedicated, disciplined savings has gone down the drain. I could have put the money in my mattress and done better. Well, the next time I find a time machine, I will correct that situation. 

Meanwhile. . . Lodge went well. It took me 12 months to learn how to run the show with the iron fist inside a velvet glove. I almost wish I had the fortitude to serve two years, just to use what I have learned, but I hand the reigns over to the new WM of my Masonic Lodge in January, and start easing my way to the exit. Until then, I am not going to stop doing my duty, and I'll continue to do my utmost to have a successful year.

What the well-dressed Englishman is wearing. . . apparently.

Little else of interest. I am trying to be faithful to my diet, but I probably ruined it with too many pumpkin seeds. Those things are so damn addictive, I can't help gobbling them up. My intestines are very unhappy with me. Jennifer made a really, really good low(er) carb spaghetti dinner last night, which was probably about 100 carbs or less for the whole dinner as opposed to maybe 300 for regular pasta and sauce. She makes dieting easy for me. The downside is that when I have lost a few sizes, I propose to go into a bespoke haberdasher with a picture of some smarmy Englishman wearing a bowtie and natty tweeds and say to them "You see this man? Do that to me." A new wardrobe for $4,000 - well worth it. But the hard part is getting to that point. 

 December 1, 2008

7:21 a.m. - I can't believe it is December already! Last thing I recall, it was March and we were heading to the Springsteen concert.