Big news is that Nathan is in underwear. Holy moly I can see the no diaper light at the end of the tunnel. He'll regress, but the wheels are in motion. Please Please Please.
Owen got a short buzz cut per his request, though his request to get it short, with a bald circle in the middle was not granted. Sorry son.
Off to Seattle this weekend, just Katie and I. We'll probably just chill, and might see our friend (via sister) Kerri if she ever emails back. That crackhead.
Not too much else right now. Happy for my Chargers.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
No one knows what is going to happen
Being in the mortgage industry, I've had a lot of people ask me what is going to happen with the economy over the past few years. I told anyone who would listen in 2004 that there was a mortgage crisis pending, and as I kept saying it would get worse, I never imagined all of this.
So I still get friends asking me what is going to happen. Now I have no answer. Either do these guys: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/diamond-and-kashyap-on-the-recent-financial-upheavals/
And so if the really good economists can only mostly explain what has happened and what is trying to be done about it, and really don't know what is going to happen next, I'm folding my hand. That being said, I bought Activision stock today, because I think people are going to be all over the new Guitar Hero (in stores October). I do know that people like their video games, and this play rarely disappoints.
I feel very fortunate to have a good job and mostly financially secure in these difficult times. I am on the fringes of it in my business, as we are kind of innocent bystanders, but I am more enthralled with the scope of the crisis. The last real financial crisis (S&L) happened when I was in college, and before that were the problems of the late 70s and early 80s, of which I had no recollection other than only being able to get gas every other day.
So though it sounds harsh, this whole crisis is somehow... fascinating? To a business minded guy like me who has seen almost nothing but good economies in his adult life, the flip side is the equivalent of a mechanic popping the hood on a car to see what is wrong. I'm really trying to soak up all I can about this, because I've never been through such a failure on such a scale.
So to sum up, I'm turning this thing around and going academic on everyone. Watch what happens, soak in as much as you can, and then figure out for yourself what it all means. No one else knows! Your guess is good!
So I still get friends asking me what is going to happen. Now I have no answer. Either do these guys: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/diamond-and-kashyap-on-the-recent-financial-upheavals/
And so if the really good economists can only mostly explain what has happened and what is trying to be done about it, and really don't know what is going to happen next, I'm folding my hand. That being said, I bought Activision stock today, because I think people are going to be all over the new Guitar Hero (in stores October). I do know that people like their video games, and this play rarely disappoints.
I feel very fortunate to have a good job and mostly financially secure in these difficult times. I am on the fringes of it in my business, as we are kind of innocent bystanders, but I am more enthralled with the scope of the crisis. The last real financial crisis (S&L) happened when I was in college, and before that were the problems of the late 70s and early 80s, of which I had no recollection other than only being able to get gas every other day.
So though it sounds harsh, this whole crisis is somehow... fascinating? To a business minded guy like me who has seen almost nothing but good economies in his adult life, the flip side is the equivalent of a mechanic popping the hood on a car to see what is wrong. I'm really trying to soak up all I can about this, because I've never been through such a failure on such a scale.
So to sum up, I'm turning this thing around and going academic on everyone. Watch what happens, soak in as much as you can, and then figure out for yourself what it all means. No one else knows! Your guess is good!
Monday, September 15, 2008
David Foster Wallace
Being out of touch (or maybe it was just reported), I just found out this morning that David Foster Wallace killed himself. For those of you don't know, he was a brilliant author who wrote some short story collections (the eclectic Girl with Curious Hair), a tome of a novel (Infinite Jest, a book with 125 pages of footnotes), and essentially reinvented the essay as a mode of writing, at least with my generation. In the latter category was the really funny and insightful "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never do Again", which had some great writing, both funny and insightful, and funny, and also funny.
But what I really admired about him was his ability to write, and sometimes to write sentences just because he could. That may seem odd, but consider this sentence, toward the beginning of Infinite Jest:
"He reached up to his chin, where there was a wen." This sentence added nothing to the narrative. Really, nothing. The only reason it was there was because 1) He wanted to show off that he knew the vocabulary word "wen" - a small facial cyst; and 2) More importantly, read that phrase again "where there was a wen." Brilliant. So brilliant that when I read Infinite Jest, 11 years ago during a period I was unemployed, I was awed to the point that I kind of wanted to be an author to create a sentence like that. Honestly, if I could write 5 sentences that good in my life, I would feel like I could call myself a writer.
RIP DFW. Perhaps you couldn't generate any more of those perfect phrases.
But what I really admired about him was his ability to write, and sometimes to write sentences just because he could. That may seem odd, but consider this sentence, toward the beginning of Infinite Jest:
"He reached up to his chin, where there was a wen." This sentence added nothing to the narrative. Really, nothing. The only reason it was there was because 1) He wanted to show off that he knew the vocabulary word "wen" - a small facial cyst; and 2) More importantly, read that phrase again "where there was a wen." Brilliant. So brilliant that when I read Infinite Jest, 11 years ago during a period I was unemployed, I was awed to the point that I kind of wanted to be an author to create a sentence like that. Honestly, if I could write 5 sentences that good in my life, I would feel like I could call myself a writer.
RIP DFW. Perhaps you couldn't generate any more of those perfect phrases.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
We have contact
I have entered the world of disposable contacts. The only real thing this means is that I can get sunglasses without question as to whether I can put prescription is. Oh, and I am likely to scratch my eye.
Owen lost another tooth. He's getting $2/tooth, and now that the $1 Gold coins are out, it seems like Pippi Longstocking money. He likes those coins.
Nathan and I go to Starbucks together on the way in to his day care when I take him in. Lately we go to one near us that has a grocery store near it. Last week, we saw a Mother's cookie truck, went to look inside, and the guy let us in the truck. Nathan was blown away. So many cookies! We haven't seen the Mother's truck since (the "cookie truck") but we have seen the "beer truck" "bucket truck" (a cherry picker), and today, a "bread truck." Good times.
Back to school night tonight. Not likely to be kegstands.
Owen lost another tooth. He's getting $2/tooth, and now that the $1 Gold coins are out, it seems like Pippi Longstocking money. He likes those coins.
Nathan and I go to Starbucks together on the way in to his day care when I take him in. Lately we go to one near us that has a grocery store near it. Last week, we saw a Mother's cookie truck, went to look inside, and the guy let us in the truck. Nathan was blown away. So many cookies! We haven't seen the Mother's truck since (the "cookie truck") but we have seen the "beer truck" "bucket truck" (a cherry picker), and today, a "bread truck." Good times.
Back to school night tonight. Not likely to be kegstands.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tooth Fairy
Well we had a very social weekend. Soccer on Saturday, friends over on Saturday, where parents played with parents and kids played with kids. What a concept. Good times. Then wine and food benefit with friends on Sunday and a new 12 year old babysitter. Wow.
Owen lost his first tooth Friday night. He had been playing with it in bed for awhile and it was very loose (and bleeding). He was kind of freaked out, and then he just pulled it out. He was very proud, as was I. It was almost 11PM.
The next night we did the tooth fairy thing. I went into his room to put money under his pillow and he was still kind of awake, asking me what I was doing there. I said I was just checking on him, and gave him a hug while slipping money under his pillow. Wayyyyyy, too easy. I think I could slip someone a Mickey if I needed to.
The next morning I asked him if he heard/saw the tooth fairy, and he responded that the only thing he heard was the "ding" of her wand.
Owen lost his first tooth Friday night. He had been playing with it in bed for awhile and it was very loose (and bleeding). He was kind of freaked out, and then he just pulled it out. He was very proud, as was I. It was almost 11PM.
The next night we did the tooth fairy thing. I went into his room to put money under his pillow and he was still kind of awake, asking me what I was doing there. I said I was just checking on him, and gave him a hug while slipping money under his pillow. Wayyyyyy, too easy. I think I could slip someone a Mickey if I needed to.
The next morning I asked him if he heard/saw the tooth fairy, and he responded that the only thing he heard was the "ding" of her wand.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Ohh-Ohh, it's a swedish thing
Title is a reference to U2's "The Sweetest Thing" which listens much better if you make it a swedish thing.
On the fence sick all week. Almost the worst, not sick enough to stay home, not healthy enough to feel like I can do anything. Blech.
Was supposed to go to boss' daughter's wedding Saturday, but got called off. So scandalous. Still have an event Sunday, so that is ok, then more golf on Monday.
Owen is a 1st grader... I can't help but think he is in the system. He's such a social kid and rambunctious. Dang, those kids have a lot of joy sometimes. I'm reminded of the Ray Romano routine where he catches his daughter just staring out the window and he asks her what she is thinking of. She says "Candy." Just candy, when was the last time you just thought about candy.
I now want some candy.
On the fence sick all week. Almost the worst, not sick enough to stay home, not healthy enough to feel like I can do anything. Blech.
Was supposed to go to boss' daughter's wedding Saturday, but got called off. So scandalous. Still have an event Sunday, so that is ok, then more golf on Monday.
Owen is a 1st grader... I can't help but think he is in the system. He's such a social kid and rambunctious. Dang, those kids have a lot of joy sometimes. I'm reminded of the Ray Romano routine where he catches his daughter just staring out the window and he asks her what she is thinking of. She says "Candy." Just candy, when was the last time you just thought about candy.
I now want some candy.
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