Atomictumor

I discovered that I’m still a comic book geek.

I started really liking “The Office” (the American version, that is.  The british one still isn’t funny).

I concluded that climbing up into the attic to run the home theater wire up there isn’t ever going to happen.

I got cut on the hand by one of the demon cats.

I read books to Pigpen, and talked dorky with MastaG.

I bought a pair of corduroys, and am wearing them now.

I slept in (until 8).

I watched the leaves not change color.

I lamented the passing of summer (again), and regretted the coming of winter (cuz its all my fault.  Or Demeters.  Whoever).

I cleaned up the house, and kept it clean for 3 days.

I watched GAC make the new banner, and then forgot to put it up.

I realized that I love (like?) my family more as I get older, and that the farm isn’t a bad place to spend a weekend.

I argued the points of good beer with Philistines like Nodbob and Dustifer, who, much like Daco, prefer Budwater.  What worked against me was that the good beer was a 30 minute drive, but the bleah beer was 15 minutes.  Guess which one won?

I remembered why I liked my job, and got a handle on why I’ve had a hard time living with myself lately (its because I’m a dick, evidently, but its OK.)

I fell in love with my wife again for the 3652nd day, and married her for the 2nd time.

I thought to myself how nice it is to have friends (both real and imagined).

I got drunk.

I got hung over.

I swore off heavy drinking.

I returned home to two of my favorite records scratched up by the cats, and then forgot my badge to get into work this morning necessitating a sleepy trip back home.

I still have a smile on my face, and life is so good.  Vacations are great!

Our weekend was two trips in one. Two celebrations. Two birds, one stone. Friday was The Missus’s birthday and then came, on Saturday, the much lauded ten year anniversary of AT and GAC’s marriage. I’ve been looking forward to both for several months now and all went really well. I hate to see this weekend pass by.

Birthdays and weddings.
The sleepy drive home is done.
Autumn comes and goes.

The Missus is hard to buy a gift for. Sure, if money weren’t an issue I’d have a few gifts lined up, but that would only last for a couple celebrations. I’d then be right back where I am now. Gift giving is hard for me, but not because I don’t like giving gifts. I love giving gifts and usually can’t wait to give them away.

Finding the right gift is more like finding the right word. There are many words to say what you want, but not all will do. Walker Percy wrote that you say things by comparison, by coming up alongside the thing you want to describe. We make metaphors to make sense of things and to get our point across. I suppose a gift is a sidelong glance towards someone you love. It’s a hope that you try to communicate. A gift is a sacrament.

A marriage is a sacrament, too. It is so in a strict religious sense of the word, but also in another sense. A marriage is a representation of the commitment made between two persons. A marriage is hope acted out and made visible. It’s a communal event that, like a dance, is done amongst a bunch of people.

This weekend was filled with great celebration. I’m thankful I got to be a part of that.

Sparks fly off lit wood.
We all sit around the fire.
Our kids play fireflies.

Mid-October night
Campfire, tossed old firecrackers.
Not one was a dud.

In the silt filled pond,
What ripples shallow water?
Autumn afternoon.

Blueberry brush pile,
Used to be tall as your head,
Waits for autumn fire.

The Cemestos Gardens folks made it home from the Blueberry patch last night about 11:30PM. It was a sleepy, but ok drive home. I sure do like all the reflectors tdot has put on I-75 around Calhoun. Makes me feel like I’m driving down a runway. Does anybody know why it stinks along that stretch of the interstate? Always smells like sulpher and reminds of the stretch of I-81 near Morristown, where Inka set up shop.

We had a wonderful time down at the Wedding Renewal. Those folks sure know how to throw a party, complete with camp fire and glow sticks. Many thanks, and I’ll post a more complete review later after I’ve drank a few cups of coffee.

Yes, folks, its official, Youtube has been neutered.  Sure, you can still post the video of your little nephew’s bar mitzvah, but anything that may smell like copyrighted material is persona non grata. 

It all started the other day when Google came out of nowhere to buy Youtube in a massive stock offering that made everybody in a 5 county radius filthy rich.  Well, no, it really started when the RIAA started snarling like an inbred hillbilly when a suitor comes for his sister at the thought that Youtube was hosting music videos of artists, because, by damn, they’re going to make you pay to watch advertisements for their music. 

Well, the other day I got notifications that the videos upped for GAC’s post about the best intros for TV shows were ‘in violation’ of some sort of copyright thing, and so the fun begins.  This morning, I was perusing Youtube for a clip from a TV show to show ol’ Nodbob, who’s been having a rough morning, and lo and behold, nothing is there.

Yes, if you want to make a video of any other inane kind of dumbness, its all about Youtube.  However, if you want to try to watch a TV show on the grainy, poor, 400 X nothing resolution, well, you’re in violation.

Now, I’ve got an idea, but I’m sure it won’t go over, but seems to me that allowing uninhibited use of any kind of video at a profit free place like Youtube (sure, they make a profit, but you don’t pay anything to watch the video) would do nothing but help people who create content.  Otherwise, well, we all go back to bit torrent, perfect quality picture and sound, and downloading for free. 

Which is what they deserve anyway, for doing this to Youtube when I was just getting to like it.  Grumble.