Everything Under the Sun

Weekend Assignment #291: It didn't work

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:08:00 +0000

I don't like when things don't work. I get very angry when I spend my time putting something together and it doesn't work. Especially since it takes me ten times longer than the average person to put anything together. Much like Peter Brady, I'm not mechanically inclined. Karen wants to dredge up bad feelings in this week's assignment:

Weekend Assignment: #291: Sooner or later, everyone buys, is given or otherwise acquires something that just doesn't work as expected. Tell us about that useless, broken, fraudulent, glitchy, disappointing acquisition.

Extra Credit: Did you eventually end up with something that worked?

I had some trouble coming up with a good story for the week. I know I've had many things not work, but I couldn't come up with anything good. I have several examples of kid's toys that didn't work as advertised. (When did Hot Wheels stuff becomes so poorly made?) But, nothing of mine; until I looked into the yard. Then the anger flowed back into my memory banks.

A few years ago I bought a new lawn mower. I won't mention the brand, let's just call it a "Zorro." I bought the new Zorro because the lawn mower I had was a little old and didn't cut very well. Or run very well. So, I brought home the box that the Zorro was in and set out the parts. There weren't many things to put together, just the handle and maybe the wheels. I think that is right.

I checked the instructions to see what needed to be added to make it run. All it said to do was put gas and add the oil that came in the box. No problem I can do that. I think I was done and ready to go in 20 minutes. I was feeling good about myself. Now it was time to cut grass and try the sucker out.

I pulled the handle to get the motor purring. No dice. I expected that, though. The thing was brand new and I expected it to be a bit difficult to start. Pull again, and again, and again. Each pull was raising my blood pressure a little higher. Not because of exertion. I can't remember how many times I pulled that stupid cord, but it did start eventually, but it didn't stay running. No, why would a brand new Zorro start and stay running on the first day? That's silly.

I don't know how long I kept working at it, but I eventually gave up and used the old mower. The one that didn't cut well or run well, ran better than the new Zorro. I was not a happy camper.

I can't remember now how I figured out the cause of problem. But it boiled down I followed the directions. See, for whatever reason, there was already oil in the mower. I over-filled it and messed it up. It had about double the amount of oil it should and it wouldn't run properly. I was able to get some out and get it going eventually (not the same day of course) but I was still ticked off. My guess is, someone bought it and put the oil in and returned it, though I could be wrong. Maybe the company was trying to screw with me.

This is why I need a handy man to live in our shed. It would make my life much easier.

Ed Grimley's love child on Dancing with the Stars?

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Look at this clip of Aaron Carter on Dancing with the Stars, especially at the 30 second mark.

Now, let's look at Ed Grimley dancing.

The resemblance is uncanny!

That's all I have for you today. Enjoy!

Chocolate, running and family

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:51:00 +0000

Last Sunday I ran in the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K in Chicago. I think Jenn had found out about this race last year after it was already over, but we knew we wanted to do it this year. Who wouldn't want to run in a race that has hot chocolate, chocolate fondue and candy bars after the race. You'd be crazy not to!

Turns out, A LOT of people thought the same thing. Last year I heard they had a bout 2500 people. This year it was about 12,000. Maybe more. I don't know if they expected it top be this big, but I had some concerns after the sixth e-mail letting us know about a change in the parking, packet pick-up, more parking issues, etc. I was concerned this had grown too big, too fast and was going to be a logistical nightmare.

I went with their plan of parking at Navy Pier and taking a shuttle they set up over to Montrose Harbor. I don't know that area well, not that I know much of the downtown area well, but I guess there is not a whole lot of parking in that area. After the 5th e-mail warning me that this parking lot would fill up quick, Jenn told me I should leave around 5:30am to get there and get a spot. Good thing we changed the clocks back that night! Let me tell you one thing, I had thought about not going. I really thought this was going to be a complete disaster. I had visions of standing around and not being able to get to the race, of chocolate running out, and lack of porta-potties. I'm not sure what I was more worried about. Probably the chocolate. But, I went anyway and it was mostly due to the fact that I was meeting my second cousin there.

I should back up here. See, I've never met my second cousin, Kristina. I know, you are wondering why that could be, especially since we lived close by, heck we went to the same high school for one year after mine closed down. I know! I know! Let me explain, okay? So, she is my dad's cousin's daughter. Got that? But, since my mom and dad divorced when I was very (I mean very) young, I never lived with him so I didn't get to see a whole lot of his family. Except the closest relatives of course. I didn't know where she lived. I didn't know she was in my school. I just didn't know.

Anyway, back to the present day. See, there is this thing called Facebook. You may have heard of it. Jenn and I have a friend on there who Kristina is also a friend of, she saw something Jenn wrote on our friends wall, let's call her Jenny, since that is her name, and she reached out to Jenn. Then, after many messages back and forth we set up to meet at this race.

It wasn't easy. She was coming in from Wisconsin(!) and meeting a friend and then taking the "L" in. Of course, there was a problem so she was delayed and didn't get there until after the race already started. So, after I finished she texted me and let me know when she was done, but I was in the longest line ever to pick up my gear, then we finally met there and met up with her friends. (It was actually a little more difficult, but I decided to spare you some of the details.) The extra funny part was that I went to school with two of her friends that she brought. Weird, but cool!

We all talked for a little bit, her friends asked how the heck we never met, then we had to part ways to go back home. I'm sure she wanted to go to sleep since she was up at 2 am to get there. much crazier than me getting up at 5. We are planning on getting together for another race in December. This time Jenn is going to come, and hopefully we can get some lunch, or something.

So, back to the race. The line at Navy Pier was long, but once they started getting some extra busses running, it was okay. There definitely was plenty of room at the race site for all the people. I don't know how the chocolate supply was since I only ran the 5K and people were still running when I left. Oh, and there were plenty of porta-potties, too. I know you were on the edge of your seats for that news. Overall, it was fun. I'm glad I went, though I didn't need any more chocolate in my life one day after Halloween.

Full moon tonight, you know what that means.

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Full moon tonight
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

It's crazy day! Good this this didn't happen on Halloween. How would I figure out who was a real werewolf from a kid in a costume?

Blogging may be a little light this month. I'm doing something a little crazy, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. I'm a glutton for punishment, what can I say?

I will be back soon to tell you about this weekend's race. It's a good story. Really!

Weekend Assignment #290: Sick Call

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:15:00 +0000

My Internet connection as been spotty today, so I hope I can finish this and send it out.

Anyway, Karen wants to know how often we get sick.

Weekend Assignment: #290: Are you one of those lucky people who hardly ever get sick, or do you tend to catch every cold or flu or virus that comes along? And when you do get some infectious disease, do you stay home, or try to keep going?

I don't think I get sick that often, but my frequency has increased since we've had kids. They are little bacteria and virus factories. When I do get sick, though, I get sick. Like, incapacitated sick. I don't know why, but I'm useless. I just want to curl into a ball and die. My head will hurt, my back won't let me stand up straight, basically I look like an 80 year-old man who was born without a spine.

There was one time when I was sick as a kid, I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I passed out and smacked my head on the linen closet door. I wasn't sick when I went to bed, and I didn't realize anything was wrong when I first woke up, but as I was standing there the room was growing dark and I knew something was wrong. I tried to get back to my bed, but, obviously, I didn't make it. The door still has the dent on it. I should have taken a picture of it to post along with this. Just imagine one of those doors with the slats on it, and the bottom 1/6th are a bent into the shape of a head.

Extra Credit: Are you getting a flu shot this year?

I usually don't get the seasonal flu shot, but I will probably get the H1N1 shot, if it's available for my age group.

And that's Perfection!

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Perfection (3 sixty 5 -- 57)
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

Remember this game? The kids found it in the closet of my old bedroom a couple of weeks ago. It's still works. I decided to use this for my picture for the Flickr photo group theme day -- Play. It turned out okay. I forgot how high the pieces flew.

Do you remember the song from the commercial? I do. For some stupid reason I had memorized it when I was a kid. I watched a lot of TV, what do you expect?

I also remember my brother playing a trick on me about that stupid song. We were in bed, back when we shared a room, and he kept asking me how the song went. So, I'd sing it. He must have asked me ten times, trying to pretend like he didn't remember. Then he said said, "Does it go like this?" and he started signing it. Only, it wasn't him. He had recorded me on his cassette player (those old shoe box-sized ones) and played back my voice. For some reason this pissed me off, which is stupid, but being the youngest of the family I yelled at him just loud enough for my mom to hear and get him in trouble. Being the youngest was the best sometimes.

I still have Electronic Perfection, which was nothing like this game. It was a lot more like Simon. I don't recall playing that too often. I wonder if it still works? Anybody have 10 C batteries for me to use?

Poised for attack

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:43:00 +0000

I see you
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

Sure, this squirrel looks all nice and cuddly up there in the tree eating his little nut, but he would grab you by the throat in a second if you let him. Or, maybe he'd chew through your power line to your house and let all your food spoil. Either way, squirrels are pure evil. Don't. Ever. Forget.

How is your Monday?

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #60: Black and White Photography

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've been here on the blog, and even longer since I joined Carly's photo shoot Monday. But, I'm back now. I think I have more time now. I hope.

Anyway, this week Carly wants some Black and White photos. I have a couple. Nothing special.

Here is shot I took earlier in the week. Actually, I took it before I knew the theme for the week. It's part of the kids swing set, but I like the old time-y look it gets in black and white.

This I took today. It was originally in color, but since it was so gloomy and dreary outside, it looked like it was in black and white. I've gone back and forth a few times, and I can't tell the difference. The birds look a little creepy against the gloomy sky. Don't you think?

That's all I have this week. Go check out the other photos!

Death Troopers sounds like a great idea

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:26:00 +0000

A few weeks ago a happened across a post on SF Signal about a book called Death Troopers. I'm not a Star Wars book reader, I'm not sure if I've ever read one, but this was a Star Wars horror novel. That sounded very interesting to me. I read a a little more about it, derelict ships, horrific disease, possible zombies...what's not to like? Just check out the cover!

The book is written by Joe Schreiber. Now, I'll admit it, I hadn't heard of him before, but the idea of the book was just too good. I checked out his site and noticed that he was going to be at a Borders close by yesterday, so I went. I thought it would be a good idea to see what he had to say about the book, and what it was like writing a book in the Star Wars world was like. It turns out, it was a lot of fun.

Joe was lead out by some Stormtroopers and others from the 501st. And they guarded him during the talk. See:

Now, like I said, I've never read a Star Wars book, nor gone to s Star Wars signing, so I don't know if this is normal. I also think it was safe to say I was the only one there who hadn't read any other Star Wars novels. These people knew there stuff. I'll leave it at that.

Joe himself was super nice. After the short reading he made it more of a conversation with the audience. Always a good idea in my opinion. He also took his time with each person who got their book signed. I mentioned how my son was getting into Star Wars now, but I have to hide this book and paraphernalia that I got since it was not meant for a boy of seven. It turns out he also had a son the same age, but he also said how when he was the same age when the original Star Wars movie came out he was pretty scared by it. Which does make sense, there was some scary parts there for kids that age, like me. It was a PG movie, so that only makes sense. But, yeah, Darth Vader is a bit scary, not to mention Jabba the Hut, or many of the characters from the Cantina on Tatooine. (Sorry, my inner geek just popped out.)

I haven't read the book yet, I just got it that day, but I think it is a safe purchase if you are an Star Wars or horror fan. Even better if you are both. (No, I didn't get anything for free to say that.)

By the way, I haven't told my son where I went Monday night. I don't think he'll understand that it's something he can't read yet. I can't show him the pictures either, he'd be extra mad if he knew there were Stormtroopers there.

Well, that was longer than I had planned

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Yesterday I went for a run. I had taken a bit of a break due to my shoulder/neck problem, and my leg was bothering me a bit after my last race. But, after reading Mr. Unfocused's tweets about the Urbanathlon I was going to do this year, I decided I better get moving again. I was feeling pretty good yesterday, so I decided I'd go out and run 5 miles. I figured I'd take it kind of slow to make sure nothing was hurting, and it would give me a good idea how I'd feel for the race I'm running in two weeks. On a side note, I find it funny that I refer to these as races. That's what they are, but I have no chance of winning, so I should just call it an organized run. Don't you think? Oh, but this race (sorry, organized run) is pretty cool. It's called the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. Yes, lots of chocolate is involved. How do you pass it up?

So, yes, I went for a run after work. I set out at around 4pm and started out a little fast so I could warm up. It was a bit chilly yesterday. I was feeling good. My leg started to bother me a little around 3.6 miles, but it was a manageable pain. I would stop on occasion to stretch and it would feel better, so I was happy. As I was nearing the house I checked out my Garmin watch and saw I was at 4.88 miles. Nearly perfect for just guessing on a route. I wanted to make sure I did the full five, just so I could make sure I beat my virtual partner, so I had to run passed the house. That's when I noticed something i hadn't expected. One of the cars was gone. I knew Jenn said she needed to get a few things at Target, but she was going to wait until I got home.

When I stopped a few hundred feet from the house I checked my phone. Jenn tried calling three times. Not a good sign. I called her back and she told me she was at the vet. She wasn't positive, but she thought Cruise might have swallowed a magnet from a dart set the kids had. She saw him chewing something, it sounded like metal, and the kids couldn't find all the darts. She took him to the vet to see what they had to say. Now I was stuck outside the house without a key and she was a couple miles away. I stood out front stretching out for a bit and noticed there were no cars at any of the neighbor's houses that I knew. Great.

As I tried to look casual in the front of the house so as not to raise any suspicions, Jenn called me back to say the vet was going to do an x-ray to see if the magnet was in Cruise's tummy. I think they should have tried to stick metal on him first, just to keep the costs down, but I'm not a veterinarian. Since it was going to be a while I told Jenn I'd head that way and which roads I'd take. I was starting to get cold so I needed to start moving.

This time I plugged my headphones into my phone so if could hear if she called, and I set out for the vet. I was walking at first, but with the breeze and drizzle, I soon realized I needed to jog to stay warm. Wouldn't you know it? I was one block away from the place when Jenn called and said they couldn't see anything. So she picked me up, we headed home, and within 2 minutes the kids found all the darts. Sigh. Our son decided he was going to write down some rules of the house after this experience. Yes, keeping the darts upstairs was first on the list.

What's the moral of this story? Always take a key when you leave the house for a run. Or, just don't run. (I think that is going to be Nike's next tag line.)

The good news was that I ran 7 miles instead of 5. The last two were pretty slow, but who cares.

Weekend Assignment #288: Columbus Day

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Since Columbus Day just passed Karen wants our opinion about the holiday:

Weekend Assignment: #288: Columbus Day seems to have become a largely disregarded and maligned holiday in recent years, as the dark side of the explorer's legacy has made inroads in the public's perception. Do you think that the voyages of Christopher Columbus still merit a national holiday? Why or why not? And if not, what holiday would you propose to replace it?

Extra Credit: Did you even get Columbus Day off from work or school this year?

Yes, I think it still does merit a holiday. Sure, he wasn't a perfect man, but we do owe a lot to him. If someone else had discovered it, would things be different? We we be the same nation we are today? Who knows, a lot happened from the first time he came this way and the time we actually became a nation. (That was in 1776 in case you weren't sure). But, since he is regarded as the man who discovered America, we should celebrate his day. It only makes sense.

As for the dark side of his legacy, as Karen points out, no, he was not the best human being. That is something we have to remember, to avoid things like that again, but also put behind us in a way. You know? Let's not repeat those mistakes.

Also, I think we have to give this man special props. He was wrong on his charts and route, he thought the Earth was much smaller, he thought he was somewhere else when he got to the Bahamas, yet we still celebrate him every year. How awesome is that? If Columbus were around today he'd be a CEO of a major money losing corporation. Am I right? Also, notice how no GPS units are named Columbus? See, Magellan knew what he was doing. Well, I should say he knew what he was trying to do. If he lived he would have been successful in his endeavor.

But, I digress.

I did have Columbus day off this year, but it was just by chance. It's not one of our holidays at work. But, it made it easy to go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with the kids.

A decade and-a-half, minus one

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Fourteen years ago today Jenn and I were married. I know I am lucky, but for Jenn it's like she hit the Mega Jackpot.

Har.

I'm kidding of course, it's pretty much the other way around. I was lucky enough to meet her in college and still can't believe my luck.

We don't really have much planned for today since it's a weekday, but I did pick up something special for dessert. That's the most important meal of the day anyway, am I right?

Don't expect me to get all mushy here, it's not for your eyes or ears. I think you understand.

I'll be back tomorrow!

It's been a busy weekend!

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:28:00 +0000

As you know, Jenn ran the Chicago Marathon this weekend. Unfortunately, an injury caused her to stop at the halfway mark. She was not happy, of course. The day before the race when we took the dogs to the boarding place she pulled something in her left leg. She was limping the night before the marathon, which is never a good thing, but she went out that morning anyway. She put a lot of time and effort into getting ready for this, there was no way a simple muscle pull was going to stop her. I give her a lot of credit for that, I would have wimped out immediately.

We all stayed downtown that night, and since the hotel was on the race route, we all went out to see her at the 2.5 mile mark. She was already limping a bit. Again, not good. But she kept going. I left the kids with the grandparents and went out with Jenn's sister, cousin, and her sister's boyfriend and hopped on the train to go to the 8 mile mark. She was still running, but now she asked me for some of the Aleve. She was limping a bit worse, now. But she said she wasn't going to stop.

At this point we went back to the hotel since the 12.5 mile mark was only a few blocks away and I could meet up with the kids again. Before we got there Jenn sent a message asking us to pick up a knee brace for her. That was new, and certainly not a good sign. By the time we saw her she was limping much worse. The new problem arose in her knee on the opposite side. At this point Jenn said she may call it at the halfway point if the brace didn't help. We all thought that was a good idea. About ten minutes after we saw her she sent me a text saying she was stopping. Her knee now hurt more than her other leg. Based on how she has been walking the last two days, it was a good decision.

We are all proud of her. She tried her best. Heck, she tried period, much more than I would do for a marathon. That's just crazy. Not to mention she raised over $1200 for Children's Memorial Hospital. So, can you join me in a chant of:

"Way to go Jenn!"

Thanks.

In other news...

You may have noticed a new widget on the right side of the blog. See it? Well, about three weeks ago the someone from the Schmap Guides sent me an e-mail saying one of my photos on Flickr was short-listed for inclusion in there new Orlando Guide. They asked if I would be interested in allowing them to use it. So, I checked them out to make sure they were legit and then agreed. What the heck? So, turns out they chose to use mine, as well as several others. But still, it's kind of cool. Oh, you can go here, then bring your cursor down to the Epcot and watch as the pictures change on the upper-right. One of them is mine. Just look for my one by Mike. I think I'm the only one with that name there. So, that was kind of nice.

There's more, but that is all the fun stuff for now. I need to go make dinner. Sloppy Joe's, anybody?

Edit: Turns out you can get my picture from the widget, too. You need to scroll over the map to get to Epcot then click "photos" and you can scroll through them. Not much easier, I know.

Marathon Weekend

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:04:00 +0000

It's the marathon weekend. And, I don't mean it's a long weekend. Well, it is a holiday weekend, but that's not what I mean either. Should I just get to the point?

This is the weekend that Jenn is running the Chicago Marathon. Sorry, The Bank of America Chicago Marathon. I need to make sure I get it right, just in case the FTC thinks there is some kind of blogging shenanigans going on.

Today Jenn went downtown to get her racing packet at the expo. I was supposed to go with her, but I ended up napping. I've been a little under the weather the last two days. I think I got it from Jenn since she had a bad cold about two weeks ago. At least it's me and not her!

Tomorrow we head downtown in the morning to drop off the dogs, come back out here to take our son to basketball, come home and get everything together, then go downtown again to get to our hotel. Yes, I know, we live in the same area as the marathon, but it's not easy to get there that early and Jenn wants as much sleep, and as little stress, as possible on the morning of the marathon. Plus, the hotel is part of her birthday present that was a few days ago. I mean the night's stay in the hotel. I didn't buy the hotel for her.

On Sunday, when it's going to be in the 30s(!), Jenn will head to the starting line, and the kids and I will go outside to see her run past the hotel just past the two mile mark. Then I'm going to go off with her sister and cousin and try to get glimpses of her throughout the race. I'm sure Jenn is happy it is going to be so cool the day of the race, but I'd like it to be a bit warmer. Say, 20 degrees or so. Seventy-five would be perfect!

Right now Jenn is watching The Spirit of the Marathon to get all psyched up to run the race. I'm here typing on the keyboard because I have no spirit for the marathon. It's too long. Way too long. The human body wasn't designed to run that far. That's why we invented cars. And before there were cars we made animals take us where we wanted to go.

So, to sum it up, we have a busy weekend. Not sure when I'll be back, probably not until Monday is my guess. I may have to carry Jenn around the house after she is done and I can't type while doing that.

Have a good weekend!

See, I listen sometimes.

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Believe it or not, I actually went to the doctor to get my neck and shoulder checked out. As Jenn said, my family likes to see if things like this go away and not go to the doctor, but I went against tradition. I'm a trailblazer. A rebel. You can even say I went rogue. (Maybe I should have someone write a book about me, for me. Zing!)

Anyway, I went to the orthopedic doctor due to Jenn's, her her physical therapist sister's, urging. I was hopping not to need an MRI, but that wasn't the reason why I wasn't racing to go see the doctor, no matter what Jenn says. But, I wasn't looking forward to getting in the tube that looks like a cross between a sun tanning booth and Spock's coffin in Star Trek II.

The doctor came in and asked me what hurts and what I did. Of course, this was the day that everything felt the best, but I did my best to describe the problem. Then he had me perform some tasks. I had to make a fist and squeeze his hand, hold up my arms, push down on his arm, look at the floor, look up, and I think at one point he told me to pull his finger. I don't know why.

Then he started his doctor-speak. I understood, C6 (which was my apartment number in college), impingement, nerve, x-ray and anti-inflamatories. So, I guess I did something in my college apartment and had the nerve to impinge my anti-inflamtories. Whatever that means. All I know is I have some medicine I need to take and do some physical therapy for 6 weeks. The good news is I don't have to go back unless it gets worse. I always hate doing the follow up appointments. "So, everything is good? Great, thanks for wasting an hour! Go pay up front."

The best part of the night was when I took the dogs for a walk and Cruise decided he really needed to go the left when I went to the right. Now everything hurts again. Stupid dog. I thought they are supposed to sense when something is wrong and help you? I'm going to buy a little barrel to put on one of the dog's collars and put my medicine in it so he can bring it to me. Good idea?

Mr. Krabs gets some help

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:02:00 +0000

New protectors of the secret formula
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

Mr. Krabs has searched the galaxy for help to protect his secret formula. I don't think Plankton will try to steal the formula with these guys on the job.

(No, I didn't set this up. My son did. Really.)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #57: Weeds

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Carly wants photos of weeds for this week's assignment. That shouldn't bee too hard since they grow everywhere.

Take this guy for instance. He found away to grow on the ledge of our building at work. There is no soil there for it, or anything. This is taken with my cellphone, so pardon the quality of the shot. I would have zoomed in a bit if I had my regular camera. You'll have to click on it to get a good view.

I don't know if these clovers are technically weeds, but they grew here without being planted, so I consider them to be weeds. These showed up in a planter at my mom's house and she has decided to water them and keep them. Not bad looking for some wild growth.

That's all I have for you. Fall is approaching, so the weeds aren't as prevalent as they normally are.

Go check out the other photos through the link back to Carly's page.

weekend Assignment #286: Far Away.

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Karen wants to know where we want to go? At least she not telling me where to go.

Anyway:

Weekend Assignment: #286: What is the #1 place you'd like to visit that you haven't been to yet? Do you think it's likely that you'll ever get there?

I've been trying to think about the number one place I want to go. For some reason I've been having trouble coming up with the numero uno place. For a while it was Hawaii, but we went there about nine years ago. Then it was Australia, but not so much anymore. I still want to go, but I'm not looking forward to two days traveling. That is a long time in an airplane.

I'd like to go to Japan some time. Jenn and I were just talking about that the other night. Not that we are planning to go soon. We were just talking about if we'd like go sometime. The verdict was yes, we would. I might need to pack a big lunch, though. I don't know how much food I'll like there. Jenn will eat sushi all day, so she'll be fine. Can I get some Chicago style pizza delivered out there?

I'd like to go to Europe as well. We could hit England, Italy, then go up to hit Sweden, Norway, Denmark; that might be a long trip. I'll wait for the Euro to lose some value so it's a little cheaper. If that ever happens.

So my answer is Australjapaeurope. I just made that up.

Is it likely that I'll make it to all those places? It's tough to say. Depends on the economy, jobs, kids, way too many things to calculate right now. But, I certainly hope so.

Extra Credit: What is the farthest place from home that you've ever been?

The farthest place I've ever been is Maui. We are planning on getting back to Hawaii in 2011. I'm already planning where I want to play golf. You need to have priorities.

Can you OD on Ben Gay?

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Oh, I hate to think what kind of searches lead people to this post...

It seems I have become old. Yes, I've been using Ben Gay all week. You might say to yourself, "But, Mike, you are a strong young man. Surely you just need it because you are working out too much."

Ha! You crack me up. And don't call me Shirley.

Do you know how I hurt my shoulder and neck? No, really, do you know? I have no idea. All I know is I was talking to Jenn and it felt like someone was poking me in the shoulder with a pencil. That pencil transformed into a dagger, which was slowly twisted around and yanked up to my neck.

When it first started, it was no big deal. I started moving my shoulder around to try and work it out, Jenn ran out to pick up some food, and when she came back I was nearly incapacitated and sitting on the couch. It was very weird. I wasn't lifting anything when it happened. I didn't just finish a workout. I was just standing there. I'm pathetic.

That all happened on Friday. I've spent the last few days downing Aleve and slathering my shoulder and neck with Ben Gay. My pillow smells like a menthol factory. I'm at least smart enough to wait until I get home from work to put the stuff on.

My shoulder feels a lot better today, though my neck is still sore. My guess is something is out of whack in my neck and causing the problem. Jenn has been telling me to make an appointment at the orthopedic doctor near our house. She's probably right. I like to wait for these kids of things to go away on their own, but it's taking a while and I can't do anything. When it is bad it hurts to walk, let alone run or do anything remotely physical. Heck, it hurts to lay in bed.

As I said, I'm old.

Maybe 60 minutes is looking for someone to blog for them...

I'll give you whatever you want.

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Ransom? (3 sixty 5 -- #25)
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

This sign always cracks me up when I see it. It is semi-threatening, don't you think?

You have my headlight? What do you want? I won't call the cops, I swear. I just want my headlight back!

No, I haven't been drinking. Why do you ask?

Have a great Monday!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #56: Autumn

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Carly wants something to do with Autumn this week. I took a few shots, some turned out better than others.

Here is a leaf full of holes. This was caused by a bug infestation that we had. Most of the leaves that fall from this tree look this way now. Let's hope it doesn't happen next spring.

Here is an attempt to show the red leaves showing up on this tree. It look really cool when it is all red. I'll try to get a shot when it is all red.

That's about all I have. Go to Carly's site and see the rest!

So, these things happened

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:23:00 +0000

I feel kind of lousy today. I'm not sure if it is because I'm coming down with something that has spread through our house, or if it is only because I pulled something in my shoulder/neck area. I have no idea what I did, all I know is my shoulder started to hurt last night then the pain dial was slowly increased to medium-high. My shoulder doesn't hurt much now, but my neck does. It hurts to move my head. I need a neck brace. Anyone have a spare?

Anyway, onto the point post. Yeah, like there ever is a point to any of my posts.

This was a good one. As I've said before, we have a new dog that we adopted a couple of weeks ago. We have all the paper work from the place we adopted him from, as well as all the vet visits, but a few things weren't filled out completely. It wouldn't be a big deal, but Jenn was taking the dogs to the daycare place today to get Cruise used to it since they will be spending the night there in a couple of weeks. So, I called one of the vets to get documentation of one of his shots. That call worked out fine. No problems. Then I called the second place. I'll transcribe it here:

(Voicemail answers. I don't listen to the message): Beep!

Me: Hi, my name is Mike and I adopted a dog that was recently brought in to your office. His name is Cruise or Jerry. His patient number was (i don't remember right now) and was brought in by a person name Carole...

(Here is where I look a little more closely at the paper)

Me: Oh, Carole, I'm calling you and not the vet. Never mind. (Click!)

Yes, I'm an idiot. I guess I don't know how to read. Needless to say Carole called us later to check on Cruise. I had to explain how stupid I was and that there was nothing wrong with Cruise. We haven't put him in a hospital yet. I swear. She's probably regretting letting us adopt the dog right about now.

The next story is almost as good. I got home from picking up the kids from school and stopping at my mom's. It was about 4pm when I got home. I check the voice mail and there is a message from one of the parent's from school. He was calling to make sure his son got to our house okay after school. No, you didn't miss anything I wrote, we didn't have him. I didn't pick him up. Now, this wasn't my fault. We left a message for them the night before saying we'd bring him on on Friday. I guess they didn't get the message. Our at least the husband didn't. By the time I called him back he had everything cleared up and was picking him up at school. It's not as bad as it sounds since they have after-school care and his son is always there anyway. He just needed to know where to get him.

I guess it all boils down to voice mail conspiring against me for some reason.

Who stepped on Fred?

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Let 'er rip (3 sixty 5 -- #23)
Originally uploaded by Mike F.

I took this picture today while out looking for something to shoot for the Flickr photo group. I wasn't planning to take pictures of ducks, but I liked the way this duck is lifting his leg like he is passing gas. Childish, I know.

So, that's the bad joke in the title. They wouldn't say, "Who stepped on a duck?" since they are ducks. Get it? Hee.

On another note, my son lost his front tooth today. He's been working on it for a week. I've asked him several times if he wants me to tie it to a doorknob, but he just looks at me like I'm insane.

It's funny though, I lost my last tooth about 30 years ago, but I can still remember what it felt like to have a tooth that loose in my mouth. I have know idea why that is. We can't remember how much we gave, him for the last tooth he lost since it was large gap in time. Do we just try and shove a Wii under his pillow? Is that the going rate now?

Okay, back to watching some new TV shows. Anyone trying anything new and interesting?

Weekend Assignment #285: Lost and Found

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Since I was a slacker and didn't get to Karen's last assignment in time, I making sure to get this one done quickly. Karen's assignment of the week:

I'm going to combine the main question and the extra credit all into one. I hope that is okay with you. Too bad if not.

I can't remember exactly when this happened, but it was close to ten years ago. At least eight. I think. Anyway, it was a cold and snowy January (maybe February) night. Jenn and I had just gotten home from a dinner at Chevy's and I just come in from taking our puppy, Cosmo, out. I noticed something was different as soon as I took my gloves off. May hand, more specifically my left hand, felt weird. The usual rubbing of the wedding ring on my pinky wasn't there.

Since I'm a typical guy, I didn't say anything to Jenn at first. I went up stairs to check my dresser. Maybe I forgot to put it on this morning, I thought. Nope, not there. It wasn't in the bathroom. Not in my coat that was hanging up. It didn't take Jenn long to figure out something was up. So I confessed, my wedding ring was missing. I looked around the house. I looked as best as I could outside where I took Cosmo out, and out around the car. Nothing.

We both figured I dropped it outside the restaurant when I took my glove off to get my car key out of my pocket. I don't remember if we called the restaurant, but we probably did. Jenn wasn't mad. She knew it was an accident. Somehow, all those times I played with my ring, I never lost it. That would have been bad, this was understandable.

Since I had recently finished my second round at school, and we were paying bills back, we didn't rush out to get it replaced. It's not like I went out to bars a lot anyway. Nobody was going to think I was available.

Well, since the title gave the climax of the story away, I'll jump to what happened.

Sometime in March we were doing some spring cleaning. The place we were in was pretty small, and we didn't have kids yet, so it wasn't a tough task. As I was moving some stuff around off to the side of the patio door, something shiny caught my eye. Yep, my ring. See, I was right about it coming off with my glove, just wrong about the location. This was the patio door I always took Cosmo out, and when I took my glove off by the door it must have flew behind the speaker that was right there. See, sometimes it pays to procrastinate when it comes to replacing things!

At least it was a happy ending, right? I've never lost my ring again. But, I have forgotten to put it on at times. Usually when I've hit snooze one too many times before work.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #55: Bugs!

mike.everythingunderthesun@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:13:00 +0000

I think Carly is reading my mind. I've been taking a few pictures of bugs these last several days, and now the assignment is bugs. Cool. Not all of these were taken specifically for the assignment, but most were from this week.

First, I have a kind of creepy bug. I posted it on Flickr and someone figured out what it was. I just thought it was weird because of the super long legs. It was taken with my phone, so it's not the best quality.

This next bug shot is a little old. I took it while I was taking Quincy for a walk, again with the phone. It's a cicada of some sort coming out of it's shell, or whatever it is called.

This last one is a favorite. This was sitting on our doorstep the other day. It's a leaf bug. And since it was a macro shot, it takes care of the extra credit, too. The kids were very excited to see this outside. So excited that we were almost late for school.

There are my bug shots, now go to Carly's site and check out the rest.