The House Rabbit Society. You, like Amy Sedaris, can own a rabbit as your primary pet. In Portland, here's the link for the local rabbit rescue organization.

Just say it a few times. Rabbit. Rabbit rabbit rabbit rabbit.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/30/2004 03:22:00 PM

 
HEY, I FORGOT TO FOLLOW UP ON THE CAR-BUYING EXPERIENCE. It went smoothly. We went to http://www.autobytel.com, detailed the kind of car we wanted, and about 30 minutes later the fleet manager from Herzog-Meier, one of the local VW dealerships, called and gave us a quote immediately. It was about eight hundred bucks below MSRP, which wouldn't be a great deal except that the high-end diesel wagon we wanted is a rare beast, and none of the other dealers we talked to were close to dipping below MSRP. (Ah, the benefits of talking to the fleet manager.)

So we showed up to the dealership, didn't have to do any haggling, and got our car with no trouble other than the wait to get in to see the finance guy. That part went fine, because we were preapproved through our credit union, Portland Teachers'. We left with the car, and haven't even crashed it yet.

As Tom Skerrit said in "A River Runs Through It," I am.... pleased.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/30/2004 09:53:00 AM

 
I READ SLASHDOT. That in itself isn't enough to make me a geek--with my relative lack of techie skills, I'm only a geek poser. But a recent post noted "Thyne Oldest Known Tech Manual," a recently-found 1391 manuscript in which Chaucer himself explained to his young son how to use an astrolabe. The followup included this post, which is hurt-your-sides funny if you get it and "huh?" material if you don't.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/30/2004 09:45:00 AM

 
NEVER GOOGLE YOURSELF. You'll realize that other people with your same name are bright lights of creativity and genius, while you are merely a talentless hack.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/29/2004 11:29:00 AM

 
THE NYT CAN BE BEWILDERING. In today's online edition, the featured story (top right, next to the headlines, is a story on the giant bullfrog of South Africa, titled A Loathsome Frog, Perhaps, but Surely Lionhearted. The tree showing the journalistic division this story comes from runs like this: "internations/africa/midrand journal."

"Midrand Journal"?
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/29/2004 10:22:00 AM

 
Ping-Pong Ball Avalanche Home Page. Say no more.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/28/2004 09:47:00 AM

 
SO OBNOXIOUSLY SWEET AND LOVABLE FIANCEE TRINA AND I will be heading out to the car dealership this afternoon to do battle with the Evil Salesman who stands between us and our goal: a silver VW Jetta TDI GLS wagon. We will come back with our shields or on them. I will report back.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/27/2004 08:59:00 AM

 
SO CHILL OPENS HIS BLOGGING CAREER with a nice fast-food related link, and will doubtless keep us rapt if he can avoid digressions on the respective merits of various tube amps and other arcana. Any bets?
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/27/2004 08:47:00 AM

 
AS A FORMER CLASSICS STUDENT, I am psyched for the new movie Troy, though only in the same way I am psyched to see Torque--both promise grand spectacle. Torque's premise is men (and women) riding incredibly overpowered high-performance overtly phallic racing motorcycles. Troy's is this.

Plus Orlando Bloom as Paris. Hmmm...Paris was a phenomenal archer in the Iliad. Legolas was a phenomenal archer in The Lord of the Rings. Bonus points to whomever can name that American teenager who won a bunch of archery medals at the 1992 Olympics, 'cause Orlando Bloom will be playing him in an exclusive made-for-TV movie coming soon to the "Biography" channel.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/20/2004 10:08:00 AM

 
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. The National Academy of Sciences says we should have it by 2010. To render in Powerpoint format:

"§ First, most Americans who are uninsured have jobs or are part of families in which someone works;

"§ Second, people without health insurance do not receive the care that they need and they and their families suffer as a result;

"§ Third, lack of coverage among tens of millions of Americans has adverse effects on the health and security of entire communities;

"§ And fourth, the high rate of uninsurance saps the economic vitality of our nation."

43 million people without health insurance. 18,000 unnecessary death annually due to lack of insurance.

The poorer health and premature deaths of uninsured people costs the nation $65 billion to $130 billion a year.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson: universal coverage by 2010 is "not realistic."
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/15/2004 08:07:00 PM

 
MICHELLE WIE JUST SHOT A 72 IN THE FIRST ROUND OF A PGA EVENT. To recap: Michelle is six feet tall. She drives 300 yards. She is 14 years old.

Eeps.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/15/2004 07:54:00 PM

 
THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE SEEN IN WEEKS. Seriously. This is as good as classic GYWO. I laughed until I was short of breath and started squeaking mouselike and people started peeking into my office to see if I was ok.

I'm ok. No, really. I'm fine.

[It was Jack's link.]
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/15/2004 07:46:00 PM

 
IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME TOO. This NYT story on online gaming between members of the armed forces who play xBox Live features this alarming quote:

"When the United States Air Forces in Europe, known as Usafe, polled its personnel between the ages of 18 and 25 on what would most improve their life while stationed abroad, the most frequent response was Internet gaming centers."

Or maybe it's not alarming. The part about Internet gaming being the top priority of our mins and wimmins in uniform, that part I get. The part about the Air Force having the acronym "Usafe"? Frightening.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/15/2004 07:43:00 PM