Part of me wanted to watch the DNC and RNC hoopla the last couple of weeks. Things just didn't work out. I have both reasons and excuses for not watching. However, Audible has made it easy for me to play catch up. They have ALL the major speeches from both conventions available for FREE download. I've already lined up most of the DNC speaches. I'll probably pick up at least McCain and Palin's crap as well.
I already told my husband that we should plan on divorcing ourselves from any live radio or commercial television programming until November. (TiVo is a blessing, yet again.) I have no tolerance for the negative campaigning that both sides indulge in any more. A negative campaign ad against the other side can even make me hate my own candidate.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
Little victories in parenting
Since my son returned from spending the summer with his grandparents, things have been generally better than they were before he left. Here are some of our little victories:
I'm sure that there will be more bumps in the road. But, I like that there are these tiny glimmers of progress.
- Grendel takes a shower every morning and actually uses soap and shampoo on his body without being asked to.
- He asked if he could attend the FIRST Robotics Team meeting after school today (something we've wanted him to do for a while, but gave up on). Apparently, it is now 'cool' to participate, and he has a few friends who are involved with the program.
- He was looking at the YMCA Life Saving course information this morning during breakfast. I asked him about it this evening. I pointed out that the class is 10 hours every Saturday for the next three Saturdays. He thought about it briefly, and whined about the time, but then said that he wanted to go tomorrow morning to see if he could get into the class.
I'm sure that there will be more bumps in the road. But, I like that there are these tiny glimmers of progress.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Contemplating a new evening routine
As many of you know, I suffer from chronic pain and wicked insomnia. Over the years, I've tried numerous activities and chemicals to get and stay asleep each night. For the next couple of nights, I'm going to try something new.
1) At 6pm, take Tylenol (or Advil) PM in hopes that it will get me sleepy long before I would traditionally go to bed (9pm).
2) Walk away from the television and the computer by 8pm.
3) Read a novel until I get sleepy or until 9pm, which ever comes first.
The goal here is to get better at winding down, and to cut down on the number of evenings that I fallback on my mother's sleep remedy (nightcaps).
Apparently, my mother also suffered from chronic pain and insomnia. She didn't talk about it much but, looking back, I can compare some of her routines and behaviors with my own. It's kind of scary when you recognize a parent in your own behavior, no?
Wish me luck with my latest 'cunning plan' for a decent night's sleep.
1) At 6pm, take Tylenol (or Advil) PM in hopes that it will get me sleepy long before I would traditionally go to bed (9pm).
2) Walk away from the television and the computer by 8pm.
3) Read a novel until I get sleepy or until 9pm, which ever comes first.
The goal here is to get better at winding down, and to cut down on the number of evenings that I fallback on my mother's sleep remedy (nightcaps).
Apparently, my mother also suffered from chronic pain and insomnia. She didn't talk about it much but, looking back, I can compare some of her routines and behaviors with my own. It's kind of scary when you recognize a parent in your own behavior, no?
Wish me luck with my latest 'cunning plan' for a decent night's sleep.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Labors of the weekend
I was a very busy bee this weekend around our house. A three-day weekend, of course, means a long list of tasks to complete. (Well, for certain type-A personalities, anyway.) And while I did not complete my list (I never do), I am rather proud of what I did manage to get done.
My primary accomplishment was the complete rewiring of my home network. It started with the death of my printer earlier in the week. Several months ago, I decided that I would replace my printer with one that was network capable. I have several computers on my desk, but I could only print from the primary. So, on Monday night we bought an HP C6280 All-in-One.
Knowing that the printer was network capable did give me pause. For you see, the three ports on my router, and the eight ports on my switch, were all taken. I could have ditched one or two things that I rarely use. But ... I decided it was time to make order out of chaos, so I purchased a Netgear ProSafe 24 Port 10/100 Switch on Saturday. On Sunday, I tore apart my entire network. I labeled all the cables. Then I reconnected everything in an orderly/logical fashion. I even showed my family where their machines were connected to the switch and how they could tell if they had good connectivity.
Voila!
I configured the printer for two of my four systems, and for my son's system (his printer has been whacked out for months). I still need to set up the new printer for my husband's systems, my work laptop, and (here's the real challenge) for my Fedora server. Maybe that will be next weekend's project.
My primary accomplishment was the complete rewiring of my home network. It started with the death of my printer earlier in the week. Several months ago, I decided that I would replace my printer with one that was network capable. I have several computers on my desk, but I could only print from the primary. So, on Monday night we bought an HP C6280 All-in-One.
Knowing that the printer was network capable did give me pause. For you see, the three ports on my router, and the eight ports on my switch, were all taken. I could have ditched one or two things that I rarely use. But ... I decided it was time to make order out of chaos, so I purchased a Netgear ProSafe 24 Port 10/100 Switch on Saturday. On Sunday, I tore apart my entire network. I labeled all the cables. Then I reconnected everything in an orderly/logical fashion. I even showed my family where their machines were connected to the switch and how they could tell if they had good connectivity.
Voila!
I configured the printer for two of my four systems, and for my son's system (his printer has been whacked out for months). I still need to set up the new printer for my husband's systems, my work laptop, and (here's the real challenge) for my Fedora server. Maybe that will be next weekend's project.
Chick flick or horror movie
Another nod to Dr Momentum on this one. Maureen Dowd opined in NY Times Op-Ed Columnist - Vice in Go-Go Boots? that the Sarah Palin story could be compared to the movie "Miss Congeniality". Maybe, if FearNET did a remake of it.
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