New Look for the Old Blog

Spent a decent part of this weekend installing and then customizing a new theme for the blog. The one upside to WordPress’s growing dominance in the field of blog platforms is the ubiquity of free, available themes. The one downside is that, for the most part, the themes usually leave a lot to be desired

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Energymania II: Monster vs. Red Bull vs. Rockstar vs. Full Throttle

So here’s my current Top 3: Monster Khaos – The spelling hurts and it doesn’t taste as good as Full Throttle Fury. On the other hand, it has 40% less sugar, which I’m guessing is why it out-buzzes FTF for me. And the taste is far from awful — there’s very little of the sulfuric

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You Know the World’s Becoming a Better Place When…

The people who deliver the yellow pages books stop leaving them at your doorstep and instead drop them off within six feet of your recycling bin. Out of gratitude for their astonishing courtesy I was tempted to, like, keep this one. But how often do you get the opportunity to throw away yellow pages as

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My First Red Egg and Ginger Party

I finally got to go to a *real* Chinese party. Finally, finally, finally! Here’s my one photo: In case you’re wondering, the Red Egg and Ginger Party celebrates a baby’s first month of being alive. The event, as shown above in a photo taken from my cell, begins with the serving of red eggs and

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Some Days I Wonder Whether Living in SoCal Is Worth It

But not today: early February, upper-70’s, no smog. Nice. bkd

New Year, New Robot Friend

Look at him go!: Pros: My carpets get reasonably vacuumed without me doing anything beyond pressing a button. Doesn’t try to talk to the TV. Finds corners I didn’t think it could find. Quietest vacuum cleaner I’ve ever heard. Doesn’t break when it hits a wall. Has a gentle soul. Cons: Seems aloof, doesn’t respond

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Merry Christmas!

It’s sort of snowing here in Tacoma. Here’s the lighthouse at Brown’s Point, just down the hill from my parents’ house, photo taken yesterday (it was warmer yesterday): bkd

With MUZAK, Nothing’s Sacred

While at IHoP in Murray, Utah three weeks ago, they played New Order’s “Age of Consent” over the PA. I thought I was the only person who’d ever heard that song before (or close enough). How does New Order back-catalog become part of 80s-themed MUZAK? It felt like sacrilege. bkd

Renting the Jeep Wrangler on Kauai

Pros: Strikes impressive pose against red-clay graveyard backdrops. Complete inability to effectively lock vehicle (you can’t lock the zippers and velcro that keep the top on) enforces devil-may-care attitude regarding stuff. Has an AUX jack for your iPod. “When you’re driving behind a Kia and the Kia makes it through the flooded road all right,

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Everything Is Fantastic

Everything.