Something is seriously wrong with you, boy . . .

After years of struggling on my own, dealing with the aftermath of unmatched freedom and competing ideas, I finally did it: I bought my own MacBook Pro and joined the Dark Side. And I have to say, I love it. A trackpad that actually works? A trackpad that provides useful navigation and input? What novel ideas! A UI that is stable, and programs that don’t mysteriously crash or include text that matches the background (I’m looking at YOU, VLC on LXDE!!!)? What a novel idea! Yes, I still love my various Linux laptops, but I think I’m stuck in the beauty and simplicity of the Mac world for a while now. I’d better be, now that I have the wireless trackpad, keyboard and number pad.

Some day soon I need to find my way to a local library. I have not gone so far due to an unfortunate combination of circumstances: 1. I am lazy, and 2. I am too depressed when I compare the libraries here to the marvelous libraries in Kootenai County, Idaho. And I tend to procrastinate. And I am really lazy. Sigh . . .

I keep hoping for the whole Nook/Kindle/eReader lending library mess to shake out so that I can use an eLibrary, but so far, nothing seems to be happening. I guess then that it is time to go back to the Deep Thoughs and Big Questions and ask if 9:17am might not be too early to put on some pants already and step outside and enjoy the world.

Oh hey — the boy-child the book under his pillow. No need for pants or the great outdoors for now. Yay!

* Okay, probably more likely just “What’s for breakfast?”
** Okay, probably more likely just “Didn’t I already pee this morning?”

Screaming Head Laughing

This is but one of several heads mounted along the walls of my grandfather’s house. They used to scare the hell out of me when I was younger.

It did not help that my grandfather would tell a story of how the house was built by a father and son and that the heads, mounted along the wall (which appear to either be laughing or screaming, depending on my mood), are supposedly meant to look like the father, murdered by his son.

I love my grandfather, although the story he told was probably completely false. The house was most likely built by sadistic elves who liked to give small children horrible dreams.

Busted by Mutton

Poor Aaron has a love/hate relationship with sheep: He loves the way they taste, but hates the way they always want to trample him into dust. So with that in mind, here is his exciting 2006 Mutton Bustin’ ride. All 5 seconds or so of it.

[Show as slideshow]

Spastic Avenger

Okay, I’m hiding this image before it gives my viewer (viewers?) siezures.

The Spastic Avenger Strikes Again!

For my part, I am not so sure. Multiple spouses, male or female, seems like multiple headaches. Instead of two people charting the same course, you now need three or more people to work towards a common goal. Sure, you now have a division of responsibilities, but you also have to consider the feelings of everyone. It is hard enough thinking of anyone other than myself, dammit! I suppose I would be open to the idea of another wife or two, but only if I did not have to put in the extra effort. Yes, I am that lazy. I am not enlightened enough to consider being one of many husbands, however. And I think hiring a cleaning service would be less stressful and cheaper than either option.

So, California, or more precisely, Humboldt County, California: Majestic redwoods, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons, beautiful windswept beaches, and the mighty banana slug. I do not think I could give up the ocean again. Humboldt is beautiful, but suffers from a poor economic base and the high cost of California living. Everything from land to gas to milk to taxes is more expensive here, even though so many here are poor. Maybe if we weren’t paying $4.47 per gallon of gas, we would have more money for more important things, like cookies.

Idaho, or Coeur d’Alene anyway, is flat and cold and filled with people who believe the current President is a Kenyan Marxist Socialist Nazi Communist Manchurian Candidate (i.e. “the sheriff is near”). It is also quite affordable. And unlike Humboldt, Kootenai County has no shortage of doctors and great libraries. It may not have as many breweries as Humboldt, but it does have Trader Joe’s, Lowes, Home Depot and Spokane, WA nearby. I would sell my wife for a Trader Joe’s in my area (hey, TJ’s people, are you listening?) . . .

If I switch to driving a UEV and move the family into one of these, California might just match Idaho on the affordability front. Idaho will never match California on the oceanfront and banana slug front, however.

Not only do I smell like goat, but some days I feel like him. Fortunately, the exhausted, vomiting girl-child lying on the couch behind me shows me that it could be worse.