More Photos (click for enlargingness)

Grandma and Grandpa Graser are still in town. They will be heading back to Plattsburgh tomorrow.
Grandma has been entertaining Lucy to an heroic degree

And taking care of the details -- like bathtime
Dad seems to be having a good time. Although I am sure he was disappointed that we didn't wait out the crowd at the G&R in Waldo for a bologna sandwich yesterday.


We have been pretty much living outdoors.
The garden, which I weeded after this picture was taken, is looking good.

On the other side of he deck is a walkway that Mary put together. It is still a work in progress.

And we still haven't figured out what to do with the butterfly house. It lives in the basement with nothing but a Genny Cream Ale can for company.

Photos from the match

As noted in the previous post, we had tons of fun at the Columbus Crew soccer match.
Here are some photos to prove it. (you can click on these pix for enlarging goodness)
Lucy took this shot of me in front of a giant, inflatable beer bottle. We had just arrived at the stadium and I thought it was good sign that we would have a good time.
Lucy was a little in awe of the surroundings.
But she got used to them quickly
Even dad started to enjoy himself.
All-in-all, it was a great father-daughter outing.


And yes they did play a soccer game while we were there.

How tough is my Kid?

I took Lucy to her first professional soccer match yesterday (mine too).
We watched the Columbus Crew beat the Colorado Rapids 1-0.
Go Crew!
On one of the last plays of the first half the ball went off the field and into the stands right at us.
I leaned in front of Lucy to shield her and reached out with one arm to corral the ball. The other arm was around Lucy.
The ball slammed into my arm (it kind of hurt) and bounced right into Lucy's face.
I leaned in front of her - expecting to see a bloody nose or worse. I saw a big grin.
"It hit me in the face!" she crowed and then began talking to all the people in our section that were looking at her with great concern.
"Only that ball just hit me in the face." she explained and then started laughing.
The half ended and we left the our seats in search of cotton candy. Two people shook her hand.
I stopped walking by a bathroom to ask if she had to go and then asked.
"Did it hurt?"
"Oh yes," she said and then asked for the 500th time for some cotton candy.
Lucy won a teddy bear and a Strawberry Shortcake sport ball. She ate popcorn, Dippin' Dots ice cream, pepperoni pizza, cotton candy and drank a Pepsi Cola. I had a hot dog some of Lucy's popcorn and a beer. Lucy also bought a yellow horn that has been hidden.

It was a great time in a beautiful stadium.
We took a bunch of pictures with a disposable that I will post later this week.
Grandma and Grandpa Graser come to town today.

Video created

Cheapest possible equipment, least amount of training and very little time. But, I have crossed the threshold, broken the ice and set a standard. Now others must improve on what I have started.
I hope.
check them out at Marion Star.com

Coming along in audio

About six weeks ago, the idea of putting audio files on the newspaper's Web site was fantasy.
Finally, I want to Radio Shack (of all places), bought a digital voice recorder and we were off and running.
For the first six weeks it was all me. But this weekend I finally got a reporter to collect some wave files. I still do all the editing but we are off and running.
Check them out on the Marion Star Web page

Have you been to Nepal? Well, when you go ...

This is a real conversation I had with someone yesterday.
"So we were flying across the Pacific, in business class," he said and then glanced over at me and made eye contact, "you know what that's like."
Yup, I certainly do.

Who else would be in my movie?

Main Characters
My brother Mike would be played by David Cross


Billy Barty would play my trusted, older friend that I go to for advice.


The Billy Barty character does not exist in real life and wasn't even in the book (that has never been written). I just like a movie with Billy Barty.

My sister, Ellen, would be played by Erin Moran


And my sister, Carol, would be played by Nancy Cartwright


My Parents:
A young Candace Bergen would play my Mother

And Spencer Tracy would play my father


At times in the movie Spenser Tracy would inexplicably be replaced by the claymation figure of Danny Divito from the Brisk Iced Tea commercials


Family:
Of course, my wife would be played by Leela from Futurama
And my daughter would be played by Franka Potenta who played Lola in "Run, Lola, Run"
A movie I can't get out of my head

Get it? Lola? Leela? It's a joke.

Other characters:
My friend Melissa, who would have the only singing part in the movie, would be played (at her request) by Alfre Woodard

And the Dalai Lama would show up as himself to read the epilogue notes at the end of the movie.

Of course I am open to suggestions.

The Movie or My Life II

It has just become painfully obvious to me that there will never be a movie of my life made. Unless I finance it myself and then I will never be able to afford Clint or Philip.
Someone at work suggested Ron Howard

I guess he could play a young Catnap.

The Movie of My Life

It just became painfully obvious to me that in the movie of my life, I am going to be played by Clint Howard or possibly Philip Seymour Hoffman .

What I have been up to

After one week of frustration over not getting good clips from the singing competition we are sponsoring, I made a few adjustments and made my best recordings yet.
Only two more weeks of the show left. I have to figure out something to do at the finale.
check out all the singers here: week 5 singers
If you just have a few minutes you have to listen to the six year old that opened the show:
Brianna Ballinger

Back deck day

Had a great back deck day on Saturday.
Lucy and I went to Lowes early to get some plants and a pair of tin snips. I need the snips to alter a downspout on the front of the house.
I think my alteration is going to work.
We cooked a kielbasa on the grill for lunch and ate it with toothpicks and a dish of mustard.
Then for dinner we had chicken kabobs with lots of veggies.
We grilled up some fresh pineapple that was drizzled with honey for dessert.
We live like kings!

Bike is ready

Finally took my bike to the shop for a tune-up and I am ready to ride. Now the weather has to cooperate. For instance, as I type this it is 40 degrees out -- too cold for me.
Got a back-hand compliment at the bike shop.
The kid who brought the bike out mentioned that the color made it easy to spot (it is bright yellow).
"It has nice components though," he said.
I told him the story of how I bought the bike in Black Mountain, N.C. Including how the guy who owned the shop came to purchase the frame from which my bike was built.
"Yeah," he said as he closed the register and headed towards the back room. "It has nice components."
It does have nice components.

back to work

I made two audio posts yesterday. One from the Wal-Mart parking lot and one from my backyard. Now It is 4:21 a.m. and I don't even know my name.

Read my column about blogging

I'm not sure how good this is and the link will only stay good for a seven days so check it out and let me know.
My column in the Marion Star

Why is this man frowning?

Because it rained all day yesterday and we could not get out on the deck.
The sun is out this morning so things look better for possible garden work.
I do need to mow.
I have had a very sore neck since Friday. The pain is mostly on the right side and climbs down my arm to my elbow.
I love those therma pad thingys that stay hot for 12 hours.
At least the squirrel is out of the chimney. The stupid creature was in there for 4 days - ignoring all our entreaties to go chew on his nuts elsewhere.
Finally, mothballs (insert your own joke here) combined with an open door and two hours of quiet from the Grasers resulted in Mr. Fuzzy-Tailed-Rat staggering out the door and into the front yard (where, if there is any irony in the world, he was eaten by a hawk).
Today I gotta put something on the chimney cap to keep this from happening again.

Back Deck Life

We have been pretty much living on the back deck. Probably the most enjoyable part of the house. It needs a little work. We are perplexed by the chain-link fence. But, it is still a ready-to-party spot.
(click on these photos for larger versions)
Lucy took this snap-shot of me at the grill:

What an amazing belly! The result of three months of bachelor living followed by deck living. I am not exactly sure what I am doing with the left hand. It looks like I can't reach everything I used to reach.

Here's a shot of Lucy after a dip in the wading pool. She is undoubtedly asking me to get her some juice.


This is a shot of Lucy escaping from the sandbox:


And here's a kid that was not so lucky:


From a distance, my belly does not seem that big:

Lucy took this photo. I only cropped it a little. I like her full frame shots a lot.

The Three States of Lucy:
Lucy is generally doing one of three things. Here they are

Asking:

She almost always wants something - food - a toy on a high shelf - a "treat" - to be picked up and held upside down so she can giggle uncontrollably - and on and on and on.

Eating:

The kid likes to eat. But, not everything. Food served on a plate while being confined to a table and family conversation is generally "sorta yucky." Food in a cone is always acceptable - even after being dropped on the filthy zoo tarmac.

Moving Fast:

The kid is almost always moving fast. Except when it comes time to clean up her room or get ready for bed.

Office Life:
When I am not on the deck I am in my office.
This is the the wall to the left of my desk. I hope nobody looks too closely at the awards and certificates and such. Most are kind of lame.


Here is my view throughout the day:

The mess ebbs and wanes.

Finally, this is the road behind the office:

Midwest enough for you?

We are moving to Alaska

Here is the latest Lucy story making the rounds in Marion Ohio:
Lucy hates to go to bed. It is totally ridiculous to sleep, she reasons, when you can be awake and playing.
There are pretty regular arguments about the need to sleep.
We usually give up any logical argument and say to her, "Look out the window, it's dark. It's time to go to sleep."
"I wish it would stay light out all the time so I would never have to go to sleep," Lucy said to me a few nights ago.
OK, just so everybody knows, I have an ego problem and can't help showing off my vast knowledge even when it is only to impress a four-year-old.
"In the summertime in Alaska," I pompously pontificated, "The sun stays out all night"
"Let's move to Alaska," Lucy said.
"We can't move to Alaska honey because Gannett doesn't own a newspaper there," I replied.
"As soon as Gannett buys a newspaper in Alaska, we can move there," I added, I believe just to tease her.
Now Lucy has been telling anybody that listens that as soon as her daddy buys enough newspapers we will be moving to Alaska, where they have 40 different words for "white space."

You are Visitor Number







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But Who's Counting?

the lyrics of the blog

The name of the blog comes from a Tragically Hip song.
Here are the lyrics. I have no idea what they mean.

I want a book that'll make me drunk
full of freaks and disenfranchised punks.
No amount of hate no load of junk
no bag or words no costume trunk
could make me feel the same way
an inch an hour two feet a day
to move through night
in this most fashionable way.
There's this fuckin band you gotta see
they used to scare the living shit outta me.
No frothing dog no cool insanity
no rock n' roll no christianity
makes me feel the same way
an inch an hour two feet a day
to move through night
with very little else to say
but i'm helpless less with the people
than the space
No struggletown no bemused trudeau
no solitary walks through vacant lots
in moonglow
Tonight the winter may have missed its mark
you can see your breath in Springside Park
coffee-coloured ice and peeling birch bark the
sound of rushing water in the dark
makes me feel the same way
an inch an hour two feet a day
to move through life
with very little else to say
but i'm helpless more with the people
than the space
I mean I'm helpless less with the people
than the space
You see, I don't know Neil
I don't know Neil

funny photo

I found this on Fark.com and thought it was hilarious.

click on it to see it well.

Why did I poison the dandelions?

If I took a picture of the border between my lawn and my next-door neighbor I wouldn't need to type this.
My lawn is litterered with dandelions. Hundreds of them.
His lawn has not one. He has no clover, no crabgrass, no nothing. Just bright green thin-leafed grass.
Me? I got it all, a regular jungle.
He's been in the house a couple of years while we just moved in so I have a bit of an excuse. Still, I have great lawn envy.
So, while Mary and Lucy were in New York, I put down the weed and feed - twice. Plus, I wandered through the yard with the broad-leaf weed killer gun shooting poison on every yellow head I saw.
When I got home from work the other day,Mary had rearranged the table on the back deck and I noticed a jar on the table filled with some rather sad looking dandelions.
Lucy was in the yard picking more.
"Lu
cy," I said, "I wouldn't pick those. Daddy poisoned them."
"Why did you poison the flowers daddy?"
"They're weeds, not flowers."
"They're flowers."
"They're weeds."
"What's a weed?"
"It's a plant you don't want."
"I like these flowers."
I am a monster.

Audio posts and snow and computer crap

Jason Sandford showed me the link to audio post and you can see my first one just below this. Not much to say. Just thought I would check it out.. very cool feature. I guess I could use it to add to my blog while I was on the road and away from a computer.

It is snowing here. Has been all morning. Not too bad, but enough for April 24

I spent the better part of yesterday tyring to load a driver on my old computer so that I could use my key drive....no luck.. not sure what I am going to do..
kind of sucks.

More later, got some work to do.