Hello Alexander!

I met a new person today. By new, I mean one day old. Cute little fellow. But he reminded me how much newborn babies look like little tiny old people. You know, all wrinkly, with their scrunched up face and all... So congratulations to the new parents, you've got a beautiful little boy. And, like I may have mentioned before, his name is Alexander William, and I dare say, William is a fine choice for a middle name. I know I like it.

Now I should sleep, so that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm outtie 5000.

Taxed.

Last Friday I filed my taxes.
As usual, I am getting some money back.
The cool thing is, I already got my state refund, and I imagine that my federal refund is not far off. My taxes are really simple. All I need is my W-2 and I can file away! So last Friday I spent an hour putting all the right numbers in all the right boxes and a few clicks and $17 later I was done. Now I just have to wait for the rest of my money to come in.

Then...

Well, then I'm going to buy myself a present with some of it (it's time for me to get an Xbox360) and the rest goes to savings... or maybe my car... either way... Woooooo!!!! Money!

Thank you Cleveland!
Goodnight!

--Mr. W

It's a bird! It's a plane! .... Wait ,is that paper?

So sometimes I wonder why I am so interested in Japanese stuff... Then they remind me by doing things like this!

Such a great idea.

Sometimes having a party with coworkers can be fun!

So tonight there was a little party for people who contributed to a project at work last year. It was at the local bowling alley and there were maybe 18 people there. I bowled two games (I scored 129 in the first game which made me teh WINNAR of that game) and I played two games of cricket (that's darts for those who don't know...); I didn't win at darts...

But it was fun.

I got to see some of the people I work with "let their hair down" (that's a secret code for "drink a little too much) and I had a good time.

Now it's time to watch some cartoons and get some sleep because tomorrow ...
...
tomorrow .... .... ...!


well, tomorrow is another work day.

'Night

This message, brought to you by Science!

So it turns out that going outside into a -25 degree wind chill in short-sleeves and jeans really is not a good idea... Even for just 30 seconds.

The more you know.

(This message also brought to you by Poor Planning.)

It's Thursday!

So here it is. Thursday.

Something has happened in the last few days right?

No, not really.

No?

No.

Aw c'mon, something had to have happened since the last time you posted.

I worked?

That doesn't count. That's what everyone does.

Ok, I slept.

That doesn't count either.

Hmmm.... ok, one of my favorite cartoon characters got a mention on NPR!

Well, that's something I guess, but you've really got to start making things happen so you can talk about those things.

Ah, I see, I need to make things happen just so I can talk about them here?

Yes. When you do things it makes your life more interesting, and then you can tell people about all the things you've done.

I'll keep that in mind.

See that you do.

Cool. Thanks.

Hey, no problem. Go make things happen.

I forgot something!

So tonight, along with going to dinner, my friends and I wandered around the Rosedale mall in Roseville, MN. We went and checked out the Apple store... I think I'm going to get a 20 inch iMac sometime in the next few months. Those computers are just plain sexy, and I need a new machine. I'll have to find out how to make it dual boot into both OS X and windows so that I can have the pleasant user experience of OS X and the work functionality of Win XP. XP is the only choice I have for connecting to work (cuz I don't want Vista yet, it still has too many problems...) We also stopped by a little shop that carries all kinds of Japanese toys and such called Tomodachi.
It's a cool little store and I picked up a few toys... One of which features Gloomy Bear.

Good stuff.
Cool toys.

I'm so happy to have found a nice import shop somewhere near me. I know there are other stores, but I am familiar with the Rosedale mall and it's an easy place to get to.

Mr. W is tired now, so it is time to say goodnight.

Friends rule.

Tonight I treated my friends Chris and Angelique to dinner. She is verrry pregnant and they are both getting ready to be new parents. Their son is due for his premier in the next two weeks, and I found out that his middle name is going to be William... Just like me!

That's totally cool.

William is an awesome name.

Also I got to play with Fred (the dog) and he's one cool pooch. You know it's been a good day when you get to spend time with friends and you get to play with a happy friendly dog.

So, in closing, friends rule.

So says Mr. W, and so it is.

Sushi Man!

So, some time ago I discovered that the upscale grocery store near me employs a sushi chef and I have been stopping by regularly to score a sushi hit. Today was such a day. But this time instead of just grabbing one of the pre-made items I struck up a conversation with Dragon (that's the name the chef goes by) and he asked if there was something I'd like that wasn't available in the cooler, and there was! So I hung out and chatted with him as he made a dragon roll for me. That was awesome. Eel is such good stuff.

And I got to chat with a Dragon. How many people can say that?

Cool.

And now for something interesting... Steampunk Star Wars Lego creations!
Gizmodo Stempunk Tie Fighter and more!
(For more information about what steampunk is see this.)

Plus, Gizmodo is an awesome site for getting the skinny on new gadgets accompanied by some funny (albeit sometimes juvenile) writing.

Good stuff.


Mr. W has sushi to eat and can't wait any longer.

Well, that was weird...

I'm going to share a description of something odd that just occurred...
It's kind of gross, so, fair warning...


I just went to brush my teeth and everything seemed normal at first, but then I felt something that seemed like a bit of food or something stuck to the left side of my tongue. I finished up with the brushing, but it seemed that the bit of whatever was still there. So, I rinsed out my mouth, stuck out my tongue, and took a look. It was then that I saw what appeared to be a blood blister on the side of my tongue.

What the heck is that?

So I squished it with my fingers.... and...... POP!
Blood on the mirror. And blood running into my mouth.
Now the blood seems to have stopped flowing and it feels like I have a canker sore on my tongue.
WTF?

Not to say that I didn't enjoy the popping, but what the heck was that thing?

Ahh well. I'm just gonna go to sleep so I don't have to think about it.

Goodnight moon.

Mr. W

Erm... That link didn't work....

The Alzheimer's link didn't work before, so I'm gonna try again...


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109091102.htm

There's the link again...

Good stuff.

Alzheimers symptoms reversed in minutes

So, this is pretty cool...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109091102.htm

Alzheimer's disease is something that runs in my family, but this new research seems to indicate that there may be a way to stave off or reverse the effects of this debilitating disease.

Keep on truckin'!

Another day, another... day.

So this week has been the first full week of work after the Christmas and new years holidays. And the week is only half over...

After the nice quiet and short weeks in the end of December this whole five day long week seems extra long. But it is nice to have my motivation for work return. During the holiday weeks it was easy to just slack off and take it easy, but now I find that I have a renewed sense of motivation. It probably doesn't hurt that I got a nice raise last Friday. Straight-up cash is a great motivator. And I got a sweet chunk of change...

It turns out that even though I thought I had a rather mediocre year, the bosses thought I was doing a fine job and I deserved more money for it. That's always a nice thing to hear.

Guitar Hero.
I am a guitar legend. (On easy.)
It's strangely satisfying to be a virtual rockstar. And, I am a rockstar.

So rock on.
Rockstars.

I'm out!

Mr. W

Second!

So here it is. The big second post.

Nothing special to report, had a fun day of gaming up in Lindstrom. Lots of guitar hero 3 and some Lego Star Wars on the Wii.

Good times.

Cute kid.

Fun was had by all.

First!

So, I've tried this blog thing before and I abandoned my efforts. That's not really surprising since I don't really talk about myself or my life all that much. It seems that mostly my life is rather uneventful, but I think that's true for most people. So I think I'll take another crack at it. And if people find this blog and think that there is some value to it, well then, I suppose that it has been successful. But more importantly, it may have some value to me.

That's really all I've got for now. I'll put some real substance here later...

So "Hello World!"

It's me, Mr. W.