Baby Dos: Week 24

Size Comparison: A Capsela Kit. Ok, I never actually had Capsela. I leaned more towards Legos. But I had friends with Capsela and they always seemed interesting. Building toys have been big for a long, long time. They've grown increasingly more specialized which I find to be a bit of a bummer. Sure, the Star Wars themed Legos look cool but once you've built an X-Wing Fighter, what else do you do with all those special parts. Like Tinker Toys, Erector sets, and many Legos, Capsela was pretty open to design and redesign.

Baby Dos is growing. She's moving around a lot, too. It seems like her schedule syncs up well with ours, being more active in the evening but quieting down about the time we're going to bed. I hope the continues for, you know, the next several years.

Our appointment with the doctor went smoothly on Monday and it really was a quick checkup. The doctor listened to the heartbeat, asked if we had any questions, and confirmed that Denisa was feeling fine. All is well. The next appointment will iunclude the gestational diabetes test. As you can imagine, Denisa is really looking forward to that.

Maggie

Around nine years ago, a mixed breed dog joined our family. My in-laws own a business near the Indy airport and, one day, a dog took up residence under their dumpster. We don't know where she came from or how she came to be sleeping under a dumpster. We checked newspapers and shelters to see if anyone reported a lost dog matching her description but never found a thing. We assume someone dropped he off somewhere. Terribly sad.

Fortunately, though, my in-laws like dogs, fed her a few ham sandwiches, and took her home. Anyway, she stole my then-fiancee's heart and has been with us ever since. Maggie is part of our family and we love her dearly. She's a terrific dog but still somewhat of a mystery as we have no idea what breeds combined to create Maggie. When people ask what kind of dog she is, we usually answer with something like "brown" because that's the best we've got. There are a couple tests (Mars Wisdom Panel™ MX Mixed Breed and MetaMorphic Canine Heritage Breed) available to help track down your mixed-breed's heritage and I admit that I'm tempted. We haven't sprung for it and I doubt that we will. Still, it's an interesting proposal.

Has anyone else tried one of these tests? What was your experience? Looking at these pictures of our 23 pound brown dog, any thoughts on breed? Lab? Dachshund?

Canned Ham: Conspiracy Theory

The Secrets to Aging

I'd really like to know about this big aging cover-up. I mean, I've managed to age but that was mostly due to my own tenacious hardheadedness about not wanting to be dead.

Surely there's an easier way. There's probably some suit in a high-rise office that's keeping it from us.

Baby Dos: Week 23

Size Comparison: A Mego Action Figure (Captain America, in this case). I never had the superhero-themed Mego figures but I was fortunate enough to have the Lone Ranger and Tonto figures. They were terrific. Their size made them a lot heftier to play with than a lot of the later action figure. They were kind of on the same scale as the original G.I. Joes. What's also great is that they came with real clothes. It's a good time to look through the eBay listings to see all the toys lacking the frequently lost items of clothing. It makes for some awkward but hilarious pictures. What? It's Captain Kirk, Spock, The Hulk, and Penguin all hanging out with no pants. Interesting. I missed that comic book.

It's hard to believe we're over half of the way through the pregnancy already. It's gone by with blinding speed. The baby is getting stronger each and every day and we're feeling her movements get stronger as well. Just the other day, I could actually see the baby kick. It was just a little blip but still...pretty amazing. The growth rate is hard to believe.

Anyway, we have an appointment with the doctor this coming Monday. I believe it's just the standard checkup and won't involve anything out of the ordinary (ultrasounds, glucose test, etc.) but, still, wish us luck.

And, yes, I did refer to the baby as her but that's not because we know the baby's gender. Using he/she makes it sound a lot more personal than always using it or the baby.

All things Retro

I happened upon what it is maybe my new favorite site for all things retro. If you're into things like old toys, cars and/or bikes, Max Headroom, or, heck, almost anytyhing, check out Retro Thing.

There's an especially interesting story about how, in 1987, someone hijacked a local Chicago television signal and broadcast their own version Max Headroom. There's some good video of the hacking but, be warned, it does involve some mooning.

There's no way for me to summarize the site without continuing, as I've already done, to post way too many links. It's a good time and I plan visit Retro Thing on a regular basis.

Johnny Bench

Despite the incredibly cold weather and that fact I could see my breath while I was out in the garage, I finished the workbench this weekend. And, I must say, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. I started with the plans for The Ultimate Tool Stand but ended up making quite a few changes. The first change being a move to building the base out of 2 x 4s rather than MDF. That was partly for economy and party because 2 x 4s fit much better than sheet goods in a 1995 Honda Civic. The other change was to use particle board instead of MDF for the flat surfaces. Again, it was a little cheaper and I doubt the work I'll be doing will be putting so much stress on the thing that I need to worry much about it falling apart.

Anyway, the feature list:

1. The whole thing is on locking casters. When I want to use it, I can roll it out . When I'm done, I roll it into the corner and my car still fits in the garage.

2. Sliding doors. Combined with the enclosed ends and the dividers, the doors create two large , nigh dust-free compartments. Plenty of space for saws, routers, etc.

3. Three removable boxes. These provide several things. First, height adjustment. If I want to work on something tall like a bicycle, I can pull the boxes off. If I'm working on something smaller, I put them back. Also, when I use a miter saw, I pull out the middle box, set the saw in its place, and the two outside boxes provide a level "feed." Removing all three boxes leaves the bench at a good height to line up with my table saw...a perfect outfeed surface.

4. Clamp space. The open area sandwiched between the top and bottom of the boxes, provide ample space to clamp things. Per the Ultimate Tool Stand, I still have the ability to cut grooves into the boxes which would provide even more clamping capability.

5. It's incredibly strong. A lot stronger than I expected.

6. I think the whole thing cost me around $50. Not bad.

I'm still thinking I may coat the horizontal surfaces with polyurethane. That would definitely help smooth and protect the surface. Of course, it needs to get a lot warmer before I can even thing about doing that.

High Yield Hybrid

Warning: I'm all over the place with this one.

Word is the Toyota Prius outsold the Ford Explorer in 2007. It's an interesting statistic and I think it does say something about the nation's changing attitudes towards car purchases, fuel economy, and the environment. However, I'm not sure it says that much.

Comparing the sales of two similar vehicles is a good indicator of buyer preferences. Looking at sales for a Honda Civic vs. those for a Volkswagen Jetta seems like a valid comparison. But, once that comparison starts spanning completely different market segments, the validity of the comparison drops. This is especially true when the different market segments are as vastly different in size and scope as large SUVs and hybrid cars. Let's face, if a buyer is looking for an SUV, the Explorer is only one option out of dozens. What manufacturer doesn't build a SUV? On the other hand, a buyer looking for a hybrid car, can choose from, what, a handful options? An even better comparison would be to compare sales of hybrid Civics with their non-hybrid counterparts. Those interested in the SUV market would be advised to check the numbers of something like the hybrid and non-hybrid Toyota Highlanders.

Somewhat related is that the Prius dramatically outsells its closest competitor, the Honda Civic hybrid. One would think the Civic, having been around since the mid-1970s, would have a strong following of previous owners. Is the difference due to Prius having been around a few more years than the Civic hybrid? Or, does it have more to do with the image of hybrid cars and hybrid car owners as this editorial argues? Is there something to be said for flaunting one's greenness.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not anti-hybrid by any means. I do question whether hybrids are a long-term answer to ongoing fuel issues and I'm hesitant to put that much money into something that's a band-aid. If a hybrid makes financial sense when we're looking for our next car, we'll certainly consider it. If it comes down to me having to drive the car fifteen years for the fuel savings to catch up with the extra expenditure...well...it's probably not going to happen.

Anyway, hybrid sales for November of 2007 made up less than 3% of "light duty" vehicle sales. I think that's still a dramatic upswing from some past numbers but there's still a long way to go. Keep it up, hybrids, my checkbook is watching.

Baby Steps

Jesse took his first unassisted steps over the weekend! He's been able to cruise along furniture for months and, recently, he'd been able to walk while holding onto just our fingers but this was the first time he's done it without any help.

He was holding onto a kitchen chair and, after a lot of encouragement, he finally let go, took about 4 steps, and fell into my arms. Initially, Jesse wasn't all that excited about it but once we started clapping and laughing, so did he. He hasn't done much walking since but he did take a few more steps last night.

My Main Man is getting to be such a big boy.

Baby Dos: Week 20

I don't have a size comparison this week. Instead, I have something even better...a picture from our ultrasound last Thursday. We were pleased to find that everything looks great. They measured bones, checked the heart, checked other organs, and did just about everything BUT inform us of the baby's gender. Again, we chose not to find out the baby's gender during the ultrasound, preferring to be surprised at the birth. I have a gut-feeling as to whether the baby is a boy or a girl so we'll see if that's right. On top of all that, Baby Dos was measuring within a couple days of what was expected so, in theory, our previous estimated due date of around May 23rd/24th should be about as close as can be expected.

If you're dying for a dose of retro, I did see a pretty nice Fiero on the drive to work. It was a white GT fastback model so it would've had the beefier V6 engine and, potentially, some beefier suspension components. It was also sporting a black set of classic Pontiac starburst wheels. I'm going to guess it was 1987 but I don't know for sure. It was pretty similar to the one found here. I tell you what, the Fiero is one of the most underrated vehicles made. It was always a good car for what it was intended...a commuter car for short trips around town. Unfortunately, the public expected a mid-engine, two seater to be, you know, a sports car. It's a shame the Fiero didn't evolve into a sports car (and a fine one, at that) until the public had already decided it would never be one. By then, it was too late. Sigh.

A New Frontier

I stopped buying monthly comic books a few months ago. That was a big deal for me if for no other reason than than I'd been making a semi-weekly trip to the comic shop for several years. It's not that I've given up on comics as that's certainly not the case. If anything, I'm more into them than ever. But that stoppage has freed up both time and money (but mostly time) to invest in reading either graphic novels or collected reprints of monthly comics. I enjoy having everything "right there". There's no waiting for next month's issue. There's no trying to figure out what I missed before I started picking up a title. Anyway, I've written about that before.

I've read some books I've really enjoyed. I liked DC's Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex. I also really enjoyed Superman: Secret Identity. Of course, I've also read some that I didn't care for like Son of Superman.

Most recently, I've been reading DC: The New Frontier. It was published a few years ago so I'm a little behind the game as I only found out about it recently. And that was only because of an email I received about the upcoming animated movie based on the book. I've got to say, the book(s) (it's actually published in two volumes) have blown me away. Here's why:

1. It's a great story. It spans several decades, weaving several generations of characters into a something that ultimately gives us the first incarnation of the Justice League. Characters that really don't interact...ever...are meeting under believable circumstances. Obviously, it's a comic book so I'm using a pretty loose interpretation of the term "believable". Still, it's impressive.


2. It's set during the mid-/late-fifties. Why is that a big deal? Well, first, it's about the time the Justice League was actually developed (1960). Several of the individual characters like the Hal Jordan Green Lantern (1959) and the Barry Allan Flash (1956) also debuted during that timeframe. In other words, it's not a modernized version of the characters. It's not taking place in some other dimension. The time feels real and there are plenty of semi-accurate historical tidbits.


3. More important than the time of the setting is the mood of the setting. The time period just fits, for lack of a better term. Space was a mystery. Communism was a threat. The heroes of the day were astronauts, test pilots, veterans not juiced up athletes or grandstanding celebrities. People had a genuine sense of duty and honor. I don't know. It's not like I was alive during the 1950s so maybe I'm just being nostalgic for a time that at least appears less murky than today.


4. It does justice to the characters. There seems to be a trend to make comic book characters...you know...trendy. They've been created and recreated to make them more human and more flawed...ordinary people with flaws. The thing with DC: The New Frontier is that, while the character still have flaws, these characters were, at their core, extraordinary even without the powers. If they weren't extraordinary...well, that's where the supervillians come from. Anyway, the heros (superpowered and otherwise) inspire courage which, I think, is what they're meant to do.


5. It introduced me to characters the I either a) didn't know about or b) was unfamiliar with. The Challengers of the Unknown. The Sea Devils. The Suicide Squad. I'll be looking them up.


6. The Flash and Green Lantern, awesome characters that tend to get overshadowed by Superman and Batman, save the day. The Flash is fast. Really, REALLY fast. Seriously.

There's good interview with Darwyn Cooke, the author and artist behind DC: The New Frontier, on the Comic Book Resource site. He hits on a lot the things I mentioned. After this, I will be checking out some of his other work.

Check out the trailer for the animated movie.

2008 is Enough

2007 was a huge year at the RetroBrett house(s). To name a few of the big things to happen:

1. Sold our over-big house.
2. Didn't buy multiple houses.
3. Moved to an over-small apartment.
4. Bought a reasonably sized house and moved in.
5. Sold a car.
6. Bought a car.
7. Successfully parented our first child.
8. Found out we're having a second child.
9. Went on a Men's retreat.
10. Paid off all debts except the house.
11. Stopped buying comic books (that really was big for me).

2008 is looking better than ever. It's comforting to look at the above list and realize the most stressful events (i.e. the house/car things) shouldn't be happening again in 2008. Trust me...we're NOT moving in 2008. In theory, it should be a quiet year, right? Well, we'll see. Having the second child is our really big thing and that alone guarantees the year won't be quiet we couldn't possibly be more excited about it.

Anyway, as is customary with a new year, I have a list of resolutions that I hope to implement in 2008. Ok, I started to make this list but realized that everything kind of fell under one BIG resolution. So, one resolution with a lot of sub-resolutions/results.

1. FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! Seriously, don't get distracted by meaningless junk...tv, computer games, self critisism, etc.

• Finish reading the Bible. I guess I’ll never really finish reading the Bible but I do want to finish this pass through. I’m deep into Psalms right now.

• Read for pleasure. My to-read list gets longer every week.

• Get up earlier. When I do, I want to actually use that time for drawing, sculpting, writing...creating in general.

• Actually work on my list of creative projects. I have notebooks FULL of ideas and sketches. They aren't doing any good there.
  

• Continue to fix up/organize the house. Paint. Finish the workbench. Fence the yard. Again, a long list.

• Follow our written budget.

• Stick to a fitness program. I really need some cardio work. And putting on a few extra pounds wouldn’t hurt.

2008, bring it on!

Canned Ham: Regular Users

This is a very special installment of the RetroBrett Canned Ham How it is special? Well, it's RetroBrett's very first SimulBlog. At the very time this Canned Ham is posted, my friend and fellow blogger over at Professional Cool is blogging about the very same subject. No, not about spam. Rather, he's blogging about the subject of this particular spam. That subject? Colon cleansers.

(America’s Favorite Colon Cleanse Try it Free)

Yes, America has spoken. In a poll of several hundred users of colon cleanser, this one was chosen as the least detestable of them all.

I also like that the subject is in parenthesis. It's like the email is sharing some kind of secret that only the "in people" know.

In related spam, I almost always delete any email coming from the sender Colon Flush. Ok, I always delete them.