tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62735172011-08-01T13:23:36.728-07:00On the information superhighway, there are passengers and drivers. Then there's the yahoos who try to eat and drive at the same time....Johnnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-45727593798837177982009-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:002009-10-11T18:57:23.057-07:00

I made a post to the other blog, so I'm excused from posting here today.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-36049597625470692842009-10-10T18:17:00.001-07:002009-10-10T18:23:35.606-07:00

100_6777Originally uploaded by Yuek HahnAn amazing thing is happening today--I have absolutely no outside obligations to attend to. I really don't know how this happened, but I'll gladly take it. Anyway, with the day stretching before me and all sorts of things on my to-do list, I chose to mess with our tree. One of the blessings of our little home is Seattle is the flowering cherry tree that has

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-25449195564635594312009-10-06T22:08:00.000-07:002009-10-07T08:14:38.053-07:00

I'm facing a dilemma this evening: Do I spend my own money to benefit my employer or not? The situation is that my boss, John Emdall, recently asked me to redesign the company's website. The current Yoyodyne site is a fancy-schmancy APX thing that's getting out of date. John Emdall wants a new site, not too complicated, but still nice looking. And cheap. He wants cheap. Hence his asking me,

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-43738614943710866992009-10-04T20:51:00.000-07:002009-10-04T20:54:13.649-07:00

It's Sunday night and as I try to write, I find my mind lacking in profundity. Too tired, I guess. But then again, blogging at the end of the day used to be the norm, and I could come up with something to say. What's the difference? I'm I just older and too many of the old synapses have worn out? Has the stress of the weekend sapped my creativity? Am I just hoping to slap together a blog post and

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-88306907422353311862009-10-02T21:48:00.000-07:002009-10-02T21:52:52.618-07:00

Did I say daily blog posts? Hahahahahahahaha! What was I thinking? I really don't have time to blog tonight. I have to get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow and catch a bus (or three) to Bellevue.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-34680297049495462462009-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:002009-10-01T19:51:49.137-07:00

Just 31 days until National Write a Whole Honkin' Novel (Or At Least Try to Blog Every Day) Month. Me, I don't think I'll wait that long. I've felt the blog muse stirring in the depths of my... well, not soul, really. Maybe more like a pancreas. Anyway, I thought I might make an attempt to blog every day in October--just to see if I still can. I'll probably cheat and count posts to the book

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-18880082280158263492009-01-21T17:46:00.000-08:002009-01-21T17:47:48.696-08:00

So the big day has come and gone. The dawning of the Age of Obama. I wanted to soak in all the inaugural pageantry, but, alas, I had to work. John Silver did have the coverage streaming onto his computer. Looking across the room, I was able to observe the swearing in. But then J.S. shut down the feed and we got back to business. (He later said that he had wanted to catch the inaugural speech, but

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-65352950621815721182009-01-21T17:44:00.001-08:002009-01-21T17:46:19.533-08:00

(Written on Saturday, posted on... Wednesday? I've gotta manage my time better.)Heh. Yesterday at work I got to install Adobe Creative Suite 4 on my Mac. One of our customers has upgraded, hence it was time for us to do so as well. So at 7:30 am, when I determined that I could not open the mysterious InDesign file they had sent, I started the installation. Foolish lad that I am, I went and

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-36963271139200768772008-12-31T22:58:00.000-08:002008-12-31T23:20:33.277-08:00

...um, I forget. Anyway, I almost let December slip by without a post. Naughty me. I really would have posted, but December was so gosh darn busy, what with overtime and birthdays and Christmas and snowstorms and all. So now it's December 31st and I'd like to do a retrospective of 2008 but, a) I only have 44 minutes left and, b) my life in 2008 wasn't all that exciting, now was it? So I guess

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-56475742558101307642008-11-29T22:08:00.000-08:002008-11-29T22:09:52.731-08:00

I mentioned yesterday that I was creeped out by the Vision Forum catalog. Just too darned whitebread-Confederate for me. But I have to say, I have more respect for their product line than that of the Life Way store we shopped at yesterday. I walked into the store and was overwhelmed by the good ol' American materialism. Who would have thought that the Bible could inspire so much merchandise? I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-37162801509562070052008-11-28T21:06:00.000-08:002008-11-28T22:19:45.829-08:00

The Christmas shopping season has begun! Noodles and I ventured out to do some shopping today and I've already got the creeps. Actually, I've had two creepy moments, one today and one earlier in the month. That earlier one was the "Beautiful Girlhood" catalog that I mentioned two weeks ago now. The actual name of the company is The Vision Forum. Somehow we got on their mailing list and every year

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-87174923641028244482008-11-27T20:57:00.000-08:002008-11-27T21:08:47.725-08:00

So Thanksgiving has come and ('tis almost) gone. I hope you had a happy one. Mine was okay. One downer was that I haven't been feeling to Thanksgivingly. I first noticed it last Friday. We were at a prayer meeting and for a prayer topic, our leader suggested we think about those thing in the past year for which we were exceptionally thankful. The problem was, I wasn't feeling exceptionally

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-6993981565607322902008-11-25T21:17:00.000-08:002008-11-25T21:18:46.350-08:00

'Tis the season, again. Time to start working on the Christmas cards. We've been making our own for years. Coffee draws the picture, Noodles gathers quotes and writes original thoughts for the insides and I turn the whole thing into something we can photocopy, fold and mail out. Of course, we haven't done that for the past three years. In '05 and '06 we were in China and last year we sent out a

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-26573319163975896162008-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:002008-11-22T21:45:50.539-08:00

Now yesterday was the day I missed posting. I was too busy up to the point where I got too tired. Sorry. As you might suspect, I won't be writing a novel this month, either. I've added a new blog to the blogroll. It's a blog by a friend from high school, Dave. I definitely had mixed feelings when I heard he was going to blog. On the good side, Dave's funny and is a good writer. Plus he plays in a

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-18617596242554324812008-11-20T21:56:00.000-08:002008-11-20T21:58:06.962-08:00

Yes, another day of working overtime and watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.... I felt cheated--Anjali takes a minor role in the second half of the film, but even then she is much more enticing than her half dressed sister. Um... don't tell my wife I said that.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-56205102243979121252008-11-19T21:59:00.000-08:002008-11-19T22:03:19.473-08:00

I just want to say, for the record, that I did not miss posting yesterday--I blatantly skipped posting yesterday. Instead I wrote a couple of overdue e-mails, read a Nitpicker's Guide and watched part of a Bollywood movie. No, not the same Bollywood movie. Soon after I took Baghban back to the Library, I received word that Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... was waiting on hold for me. Unlike Baghban,

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-569336386515837752008-11-17T20:38:00.000-08:002008-11-17T20:43:27.514-08:00

For the sake of convenience, I stopped in at Albertson's to pick up a few things. As I checked out, the cashier asked if I had my Preferred Customer card. I honestly admitted that I didn't have one. (That is the best policy, because if you do say you have one, they don't believe you and make you show it to them.) So the cashier whips out a card, swipes it over the scanner and I saved a total of

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-13067040305114742232008-11-16T20:51:00.001-08:002008-11-16T21:06:00.467-08:00

(A Hamburgerland restaurant review.)(I know, it's incongruous to have a review of an Asian restaurant on a blog called Hamburgerland. Maybe one of these days, I'll get around to reviewing hamburgers. Yeah, one of these days...)Ugh, ngóh báau lak. We just got back from dinner at The Orient Express, a new Asian restaurant in town. If you know Seattle, you might have driven past Andy's Diner on

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-15965693303138639422008-11-15T20:50:00.000-08:002008-11-15T20:55:30.742-08:00

I was planning on writing about this catalog we got celebrating "beautiful girlhood" among other things, but work has gotten in the way. Rather than working a couple of hours last night, I figured I'd go in today and put in a half day. Well, first my work took longer than I thought, so I expanded that half day to six hours, then we had a emergency fix that involved a recalcitrant film processor

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-43659867992938453072008-11-14T19:31:00.000-08:002008-11-14T19:32:33.478-08:00

I don't know what to write. I was so desperate I grabbed my old journals from the '80s off the shelf to see if I could steal material. Do you realize that I only had one entry from November the 14th? Do you realize that it was about five lines of totally boring drivel? I shudder to think how much of those writings I would excise if I were to go through and edit my ramblings. I never was one for

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-18172266305837941262008-11-13T21:54:00.000-08:002008-11-13T21:58:50.118-08:00

Yeah, I know, I missed a day. Hey, what do you expect? I mean I got in over two hours of overtime and then I had to rush home for dinner and then I had to rush off to a discussion about church politics with the opposition and then I had to rush home and have a discussion with my wife about the previous discussion and then I had to check my e-.... Oh. Wait. It's not past midnight yet. It sure

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-43072935270161814692008-11-12T16:29:00.000-08:002008-11-12T16:47:23.549-08:00

Ah, whatever shall I write? I'm currently at the Library, downloading radio programs for Noodles. I can't afford a DSL connection, but with an AirPort card and free WiFi at the Seattle Public Library, I don't have to. The Library is quite busy this cool and rainy afternoon. There were so many kids running about that I thought there must have been a class having a field trip or something. I'm

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-44635651153826666272008-11-11T17:05:00.000-08:002008-11-11T17:07:02.419-08:00

A film by Ravi ChopraStarring Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Mahima Chaudhary(and others not listed on the DVD case)(Today's blog post is a movie review.)I checked this Bollywood flick out of the Library this weekend. It was over 3 hours long, so I figured it would contain a dance number or two. It's the tale of a devoted father, Raj Malhotra (Amitabh Bachchan), who is on the verge

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-86601651382293165762008-11-10T17:16:00.000-08:002008-11-10T17:17:42.811-08:00

Looks like today's another short post day. We've got to take Bunnah to the Magnolia Community Center for her gymnastics class. (Yeah, I know Jefferson Park's program is much closer, but back when the child started gymnastics, J.P. wasn't offering them.) She gets to run and jump and tumble and swing and the rest of us take a stroll in a neighborhood we could never afford. Then it's back to the gym

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-50722214113419013822008-11-09T21:11:00.000-08:002008-11-09T21:14:48.456-08:00

Okay, so I promised the tale of online ordering at Yoyodyne. Let me first explain the situation at our shop. There's two of us pre-press guys that make up the art department of our shop. John Silver is the lead operator because a) he's been there longer, b) he has a wider range of experience with computers, traditional lithography and print shops, and c) he cares a lot more about the job than I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-33070284925908590212008-11-08T20:01:00.000-08:002008-11-08T20:04:59.980-08:00

I was going to tell the tale of my newest job responsibilities, but my wife wants the computer. She's listening to talk radio shows which we downloaded onto the laptop. (It being our internet computer and all.) I would have written and posted earlier but I was taking a nap. And come to think of it, she was using the computer then, too.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-40357961214261402002008-11-07T17:38:00.000-08:002008-11-07T17:59:32.791-08:00

Not much to comment on today. 'Twas a typical Friday rush at work. I managed to slog through my stack of work and have ten whole minutes left over to work on our new online order system. (Did I mention the online order system? No, I didn't. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow.) I also skipped my regular breaks, instead working my daily blog and comics check in between sundry tasks. One item of local

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-91228836053693895822008-11-06T18:00:00.000-08:002008-11-06T18:05:03.485-08:00

Bunnah was looking over my shoulder and is very annoyed that I use the pseudonym "Coffee" when referring to her sister. The truth of the matter is that Bunnah was the one who came up with the nickname and I shamelessly stole it from her. So now the truth has been told and I can go have some supper with a clear conscience.Bunnah also insists that I sign this.Very Sincerely,Johnaka Hamburger Lad

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-69556015574945033672008-11-06T17:55:00.000-08:002008-11-06T17:59:50.515-08:00

This is scary. My children are showing quite an interest in the recent election. Not only were they checking in on the election returns throughout Tuesday night, but right now, two days later, they are still asking questions about about it. Now in Coffee's case that would make sense--she'll be old enough to vote in the next presidential race. (Obama vs. Palin?) But Bunnah? She's wayyy to young

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-69773153216960747732008-11-05T19:49:00.000-08:002008-11-05T19:51:39.012-08:00

Hmmm. If--I'm speaking hypothetically here--if I were actually posting every day in November, which, of course, is pretty far fetched, what would I write about today? Election Day delivered its usual mixed bag of results. The results of some races were welcome news, others were rather disappointing. So I didn't spend last night dancing in the streets or anything. (We did go dancing, but that was

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-90778349337440824592008-11-04T17:44:00.000-08:002008-11-04T17:48:31.396-08:00

I just wanted to say that I've found this presidential campaign to be very disappointing. We've received a high number of political phone calls this week and all of them came when I wasn't around to talk on the phone. I sooooo wanted to tell the campaigners that I was voting for McCain--that I felt sorry for him that no one had called me to tell me to vote for him. But alas, I have been unable to

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-31930045621938695532008-11-03T16:47:00.000-08:002008-11-03T16:51:14.794-08:00

Have you heard about National Blog Posting Month? I did. Today. Pbbbbbbbt!Hmmm, since I missed the chance to blog once a day for everyday in November, maybe I should just alter the rules a bit. Maybe I should just post once in November. Yeah, I think I manage that.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-38089561919769321202008-10-15T19:54:00.001-07:002008-10-15T20:07:31.407-07:00

We saw a handbill the other week that caused quite an uproar on the neighborhood listserve. What had happened is that a neighbor who runs some second amendment rights group (and lists the same in his e-mail sig) talked about starting up a sort of citizen patrol--basically a group of neighbors strolling about and hopefully spoiling the general inner-city atmosphere for those loitering with

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-80511292774361566082008-09-20T10:00:00.001-07:002008-09-20T10:00:52.238-07:00

100_6575Originally uploaded by Yuek HahnAnother reason I haven't been blogging much is that I've been painting. The house needed a touch up, so bit by bit I've been touching up the trim--scraping, priming and repainting. Then I decided to do the house itself. That may have been a mistake. Three sides of the house were okay but the south wall... well let's say that the south wall yielded up it's

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-20375291325016288692008-09-17T14:20:00.000-07:002008-09-17T14:22:08.294-07:00

Well, how about this? I've got some time to kill and am somewhat inclined to blog. These days it seems like a rare combination. Let's see... of what shall I write?Objectivist no more: There was an internet death in my life the week before last. Nick Otani was a fellow that I had "met" back when message boards were my craze. I qualify the "met" because, of course, I never spoke to the man in

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-2310236956024739872008-09-01T17:45:00.000-07:002008-09-01T17:46:47.901-07:00

Just wanted to acknowledge the end of the storyline for the strip For Better or For Worse. I've been a fan of the strip for a number of years, though I've actually stopped reading about a year and a half ago. In my opinion, the quality of the writing has gone downhill and it just wasn't as fun to read anymore. Still I think the strip ended on a nice note. Having Elizabeth rush to the hospital in

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-59304183547079634452008-08-28T21:34:00.000-07:002008-08-28T21:36:51.978-07:00

I call my daughter a drama queen, but after yesterday, I have to think she comes by it naturally. Actually it started Tuesday night. Just before heading to bed, I discovered that I had an e-mail from Buster, my old boss at Wombatsch. It was very straightforward--we want to hire you now because were drowning in work. My first reaction was, "Crap. Why now?" You see, a number of weeks ago when I was

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-73749542261982336412008-08-18T16:36:00.000-07:002008-08-18T16:49:53.586-07:00

I got an interesting political ad in the mail this weekend. If I were to judge it from the photographs alone, Barack Obama is running for the office of Governor for the State of Washington. He will be helped by Chris Gregoire*, who is either his wife or his personal assistant. Politics. Gahk. I'm tempted to throw away my vote on a third party or something.______________________* for you

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-16459756650694523492008-08-08T22:17:00.000-07:002008-08-08T22:18:37.385-07:00

I'm watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies as I type this. It's a politeness thing. If, in the next couple of weeks, any of my Chinese acquaintances e-mail me and ask if I've been watching the Olympics, I can honestly say yes. I'm assuming they'll all be tuning in during the games, as the Olympic hype was already going on back when we stepped off the plane in 2005. Of course, it could be that

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-59533337371887831342008-07-20T22:02:00.000-07:002008-07-20T22:04:31.788-07:00

Ooooh wow! I got my name in the paper! A few weeks back, we had a little discussion on our neighborhood listserv over the use of the term "BeHi" as a nickname for Beacon Hill. Well, it turns out that yesterday was a slow news day and the Seattle Times ran an article on the gent who came up with the moniker. The author of the article also lifted my listserv posting in its entirety. Now I'm aglow

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-34227033695434581002008-07-15T16:54:00.000-07:002008-07-15T16:56:10.305-07:00

I'm going to cheat and let someone else write a blog entry for me. Back in the halcyon days of my childhood, I often enjoyed reading Bible stories. As I got older, I "grew out" of them and was expected to read the actual Bible. (It took me a while to start enjoying that, but that's another story.) Finally, when I had kids of my own, I got to encounter Bible stories again. As I read them to my

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-35903403136863100612008-07-11T07:11:00.000-07:002008-11-09T21:06:52.512-08:00

One thing that happened during my hiatus is that I was appointed to guide Yoyodyne into the wonderful world of FSC certification. Now if you're like me, when you first read that, you asked yourself, "What the heck is FSC?" You could, like me, start to do a Google search, but I'll save you the trouble and tell you that "FSC" stands for the Forest Stewardship Council. (I mention this not because

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-75561443746642604672008-07-07T21:17:00.000-07:002008-07-07T21:19:11.761-07:00

Boy, I wish I was rich again. In the past few weeks I took the time between Stargate SG-1 episodes and did some number crunching. Unless we keep getting little presents like the one from Uncle Sam a few months ago, we're going to be spending about $100 more than we take in each month. Getting a raise from Yoyodyne doesn't seem likely, and for various reasons I'm reluctant to go out searching for

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-6225975760221759582008-07-04T23:36:00.000-07:002008-07-04T23:42:38.369-07:00

I'd like to share some spam with you, for your entertainment. As a rule, I try not to mock the writing mistakes of other people, but in the case of spammers I feel justified in employing a moral double standard. The name of the financial institution has been changed to protect the $137.48 in my account from unscrupulous people. My comments will be in italics._____(Official Big Honking Bank Logo)

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-15310809266794336032008-07-01T16:40:00.000-07:002008-07-01T16:41:34.592-07:00

The dreaded KJR has added insult to injury with their latest self-promo spots. Since all twelve of the songs they play are fun to sing along with, the spots feature some jamoke warbling along with some classic rock tune. It's bad enough that I have to listen to the same songs day after day after day, but do I have to listen to them sung off-key as well? (I know, I know, I need to get myself an

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-79235565157621758662008-07-01T16:37:00.000-07:002008-07-01T16:39:47.593-07:00

(Actually, I wrote this yesterday, but am posting it today so I don't have a June '08 archive with one puny post.)Okay, I'm back. I doubt if I'll be much more prolific than I was a few months ago, but I think it might be good to keep up the writing skills, such as they are. Yesterday I became a full fledged deacon of my church. For those unfamiliar with the term, a deacon is simply... well,

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-90551273737494469932008-04-08T20:12:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:07:30.111-07:00

Aw, why kid myself? I'm not writing any more. There's nothing exciting going on that compels me to write. Nor do I have the time to try and create something amusing about the mundanity that is happening. (Or, as Karen suggested at the last Weblogger's Meetup, to fabricate lies about daily life.) So I'm going to take a sabbatical. Go fishing, as it were. (Though actually it's more like go watch

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-2817459925600427202008-03-21T07:00:00.000-07:002008-03-21T07:02:55.725-07:00

Alas! and did my Savior bleedAnd did my Sovereign die?Would He devote that sacred headFor such a worm as I? --Isaac Watts

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-34454157364568406152008-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:002008-03-16T18:03:10.668-07:00

Yesterday we went with Coffee to receive her award for that arts contest she won. Turns out that I don't need to be quite so jealous. Even though she won first place in the teen prose category, there was only one award given out in that category. Hmmmmm. Well, I still liked her piece. And besides the handy dandy certificate (suitable for framing) she won a free lunch or dinner for two at Roy's

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-82328363997592527362008-03-11T17:59:00.000-07:002008-03-12T08:25:57.118-07:00

Just got word last night that Coffee won a local writing contest. Of course, if I want to maintain anonymity, I can't link to any press releases or news articles that may be out there. sigh. What's a proud father to do? I know, I'll be jealous instead. Coffee submitted a short tale about a old immigrant woman and a young white girl passing on the street. A touching and culturally sensitive tale,

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1626994780771588552008-03-08T20:34:00.000-08:002008-03-12T08:27:00.391-07:00

What a wonderful week for brain candy! Not only has Sluggy Freelance started a new Harry Potter parody (the jokes of which I will now be able to get), but I also borrowed a mess o' Doctor Who DVDs from the library. I first put in a request for them a couple of months ago, after reading something about the latest series on the 'net. (Jack's blog, maybe? I forget.) My name sat in the hold queue for

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-78060512263380652802008-03-01T20:45:00.000-08:002008-03-01T20:48:34.682-08:00

Well, my new boss, John Emdall, has failed to fulfill his promise to tend to our raises by the end of February. In the one month since he took ownership of Yoyodyne, all he seems to have done is rearrange the shop floor, paint the pressroom walls and give lots of tours. So far I've met John's mother, his kids, his sister and her husband, and one of his cousins as they've toured the building. (I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-86495191797719709972008-02-29T17:26:00.000-08:002008-02-29T17:28:55.687-08:00

I spent the other evening playing catch up--reading the minutes from our church's council meetings for the past three years. I don't know what possessed me. Well, I do, actually. While we were overseas, we had heard about some friction between the pastor and some of the lay leaders of the group. Now that I've volunteered to be on a committee at church, I wanted to see if the minutes would shed

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-10073480439631391342008-02-18T21:51:00.000-08:002008-02-20T17:57:32.574-08:00

I took the long way home from work this afternoon. In honor of Presidents' Day, Noodles and the girls took the car and drove up to Mt. Rainier for some snowshoeing. This left me with the choice of either Metro transit or my own two feet to carry me home. Since it was a sunny day and I don't get enough exercise, I chose the latter. This is the first time I've walked home from work since 1991. Of

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-35917431463267308752008-02-14T19:58:00.000-08:002008-02-14T20:00:10.099-08:00

Um, in my last post, I spoke in error. Now if I were a major metropolitan newspaper, I'd run a correction on page two or three or so, tucked neatly in a corner. But I'm not a major metropolitan newspaper and I don't have a page two, so I will confess my error right up front in a new post, where all can see. (Besides, it'll give me another chance to blam about Classmates.com.)Ahem, last night I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-36849891256629292222008-02-13T17:37:00.000-08:002008-02-13T17:44:48.363-08:00

Oh, what a dilemma before me! Do I stand by my principles and sacrifice civil politeness? Or do I cut a deal with the forces of greed and bloated web design and return the greetings of an old friend? 'Tis an agonizing choice. What I refer to, if you haven't guessed, is the nigh omnipresent Classmates.com--the website that offers to give you the latest scoop on your school day compatriots. You

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-58955848974345934952008-01-29T21:22:00.000-08:002008-01-29T21:33:20.240-08:00

I know, I'm a couple of days early, but odds are I wouldn't find the time to blog in those two days. I'm a bit surprised that I managed to find time today. Interesting how much my blogging seems to spring as much from the time to write as it does from the desire to write. Ah, well. Anyway, during the past week or so, there were a few things that I wanted to blog about, so I should just write down

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-80358607157215953462008-01-21T21:01:00.000-08:002008-01-21T21:02:57.984-08:00

I've started watching through Stargate SG-1, having finished watching all of the collected Farscape episodes. Like Farscape, I'm borrowing the DVDs from the Library, so weeks after I put in my request, I end up with a two week glut of watching television. The thing was, with Farscape, I had to exercise self control to stop myself from watching just one more episode. With Stargate, I can take it

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-23884995676625501572008-01-19T13:53:00.000-08:002008-01-20T14:59:46.337-08:00

(I have to make an official report, so I'll have to refrain from adding too much personal comment.)The January Meetup had a sparse attendance: Chris (Actually, he was the third to arrive, but I'm putting him first because he's has the alphabetical advantage.), Clark (He was the first arrival, technically, but he also had dinner at Ralph's, which gives him a slight advantage.), and John. (I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-26773521063312815622008-01-13T16:22:00.000-08:002008-01-13T16:24:28.275-08:00

It's deja vu all over again. Back on January 2nd we had a state of the company meeting at work. The company, we were told, is for sale. Well, all but sold, actually. Some of my coworkers were quite shaken by the news. Me, I haven't been employed there long enough to be shaken. Besides, this is the fourth time I've been sold out. I've endured a buyout which didn't affect me in the least and one

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-70135063740793265292008-01-13T16:20:00.000-08:002008-01-13T16:22:10.759-08:00

Passion builds like a summer storm.I am the wind, a force of natureRaging across the prairie with the power to make the forests tremble.Then--a sparkThe majesty begins to falter.Lightning flashes and the metaphor shatters.I am a child and the merry-go-round slows to a stop.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-28248564459196985162008-01-01T20:05:00.000-08:002008-01-01T20:08:48.937-08:00

I saw an odd thing today. While we were walking down the hill today, we saw that someone had defaced a number of real estate signs. A real estate agent name of Henry Ung had placed a bunch of little green signs on a number of corners along College St., I guess directing people to various homes he's selling. One of the neighbors apparently is honked off about this and took it upon themselves to

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-69315252515481295162007-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:002007-12-11T23:07:17.333-08:00

This morning I heard the news that I was and yet was not expecting to hear. Anita Rowland died yesterday afternoon. She was battling cancer and I knew things weren't going well, so I wasn't surprised to hear of her death. Yet, even when your facing the inevitable, there's always that part of you that assumes that today isn't the day.Anita is like the godmother of Seattle blogging. I remember when

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-87961006339723562292007-11-28T20:35:00.000-08:002008-01-20T15:01:28.846-08:00

Aw, man. I don't know what to write about. I think I've been operating on a low level depression for the past few months. This has been the busy season at work, but it's nothing like the old job, with the constant requests for "as much overtime as you can stand". Of course, looking at my credit card bill--with charges for homeschool curriculum and Christmas presents--I think I'd welcome as much

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-45521020404561460422007-11-14T21:58:00.000-08:002007-11-14T21:59:37.095-08:00

I suppose if I intend to go to the weblogger's meetup this month, I should actually blog. Anyway, I'd like to say I've been suffering from writer's block, but that implies a hindrance to a desire to write. I think what I've got is better termed writer's apathy. I really don't feel like I have anything to say. My life in America is boring and for the past few weeks I've embraced that destiny. (

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-61686702244470839142007-10-20T22:01:00.000-07:002007-10-20T22:02:57.088-07:00

I had an odd dream the other day. I went to work--at my old company, Bloatmeal. It wasn't really my old workplace, of course, but more like an odd dream version of the same. It was a very nice space, all carpeted and nicely furnished. The work stations were sort of set up like a classroom, with banks of three desks arranged in rows. For some reason, I had brought my wife along. She wanted to use

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-64099343494116522852007-10-19T17:41:00.000-07:002008-01-20T15:08:16.837-08:00

I went to the Weblogger's meetup last Wednesday. 'Twas a unique gathering--totally attended by Mac users. That was actually bad news, because that meant that our beloved and fearless leader, Anita Rowland, wasn't there. She's been having a bad time, healthwise, and wasn't up to it. (Apparently my prayers are getting a "no" response.) Anyway, there were only three of us who braved the wind and

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-52078073372273037762007-10-10T22:12:00.000-07:002007-10-10T22:16:44.915-07:00

I just got an e-mail from my former boss. You know, the guy who runs the shop that just laid off about thirteen people. He may have an opportunity soon and wants to know if I'm available. I don't know if I should be flattered or appalled that he would call me instead of one of those folks who just lost their job. I think I'll stick to making business cards.....

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-11024563314389484132007-10-10T22:09:00.000-07:002007-10-10T22:11:23.321-07:00

Last night, in my quest to, um, do something else with my life, I did my stint as a phone volunteer with KBCS. It's been something that I had in mind for a few years now. I even went so far as volunteering a few years back, but given my limited availability, they didn't take me up on my offer. This year, however, I was able to make the cut.I signed up for the 7-9 shift, so a bit after supper, I

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-69765413108025276002007-09-30T21:09:00.000-07:002007-09-30T21:11:58.443-07:00

I found out this past week that I dodged the bullet... sort of. My former company, Wombatsch, the first place I sought a job after returning from overseas, laid off about 13 people. I haven't worked there for over two years, but it was a like a shot in the gut. It made me thankful that I wasn't hired there. (not like that was at all likely, I see now) I think I'm even more thankful that I didn't

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-91404213509000336062007-09-29T15:45:00.000-07:002007-09-30T21:12:10.153-07:00

I don't make a good monk. For the past two years I was living in a foreign land, doing without a number of luxuries that we enjoy in these United States. So did that allow me to break my addiction to comfort and materialism. Heck no. Now back in the States I struggle with the temptation to make up for lost time. The most notable addiction I'm gratifying this week is TV. Shopping for English

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-6423432832986825262007-09-24T21:46:00.000-07:002008-03-01T21:06:41.679-08:00

I have a bad feeling that work is about to become intolerable. I haven't blogged much about Yoyodyne, but it is a pretty nice job. The work is relatively easy and the people are nice. So far I haven't been impressed into overtime, but folks warn me that the time is coming. On the other hand, it isn't the perfect workplace. I miss having hot water available for tea and they tend to be a bit

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-36098611572212780952007-09-20T19:54:00.000-07:002007-09-20T20:06:18.256-07:00

I went to the Webloggers meetup last night. Another interesting evening, though I felt a bit out of place for some reason. I'm not a tech-head, not much of a writer these days, and I was even unaware that yesterday was Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrrr. But I do have a blog, so I can at least go and listen to other people talk. Anyway, that's not what I was going to write about. One of the folks

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-47023948154258486412007-09-16T21:52:00.000-07:002007-09-16T21:58:11.743-07:00

I read an interesting little article in last week's Beacon Hill News. It seems that Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin wants to amend the laws so that goats can be kept within city limits, just like dogs or cats. I like this idea. I've long been a fan of goats, as they seem to have an aura of humorosity that you don't find in most other farm animals. And back in China, the sound of a herd of

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-91427914092829883762007-09-12T21:36:00.000-07:002007-09-12T21:42:54.684-07:00

Well, I was kind of hoping that the wonderful world of business cards would yield some exciting insights into life, but thus far it hasn't. One thing I have noticed is that everybody has their name as their business e-mail address. Sometimes it's the first initial and the last name, sometimes it's the first name and last initial, sometimes it's the whole darn name. I find myself wishing that one

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-52666016172634687292007-09-05T21:18:00.000-07:002008-03-01T21:08:27.133-08:00

Okay. Must keep blogging. If I sit down and write I may get blessed with some inspiration. If I don't, well, I'll probably get more reading done. Hmmm. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it's the season for silence and turning pages. "A time to blog, a time to read."..... nah.Anyway, I suppose I should write about work. If you've read the background information--if that link even works--if

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-90401232311784048632007-09-02T21:24:00.000-07:002007-09-02T22:00:16.397-07:00

Awright, awright. I'm blogging. Well, writing anyway. I have been so brain dead when it comes to writing, the best I can manage is book reviews. And even those are lacking in thoughtfulness. (Well, in my defense I should point out that the latest books I've finished have been comic strip collections. Most people couldn't analyze those too deeply.) Is it a sign that it's time to move on from my

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-55993860478301201742007-08-16T21:45:00.000-07:002007-08-16T21:46:43.501-07:00

The moment no one has been waiting for: I'm back! Just as I started a new blog when I was moving to China, I felt I should start a new blog when I moved back to America. I even had a name picked out: Help! I'm a Bug!. But as the days passed, and I started unpacking all my old, junky stuff, I felt inclined to return to my old, junky blog. I mean, what the heck would I write about under the Bug

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1130466975452749972005-10-27T19:27:00.000-07:002005-10-27T19:36:30.523-07:00

I wasn't expecting to post here again, but there you go. I discovered that our town is the hotbed of blogging in Yunnan. One of my fellow foreigners, Matthew, stopped by last night. He mentioned that he had read my blog and had one of his own. The reason I can't post about it on Short Letter is that he doesn't want the other foreigners to know about it. So I ended up posting here. I'm so weird.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1122946674980706632005-07-31T12:59:00.000-07:002005-08-01T18:37:54.986-07:00

The action has moved to the new blog: A Short Letter Home. Hamburgerland will remain here to maintain the few posts to which others have linked.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1122535863450144732005-07-28T00:09:00.000-07:002005-07-28T00:31:03.456-07:00

I got to hug my supervisor today. Not that I had a burning need to hug her or anything. No, it turns out that she has Thursday and Friday off this week, so this was the last day we were working together. So I got a surprise farewell hug.It's been weird, people have already started to say goodbye. Monday as I started my shift, I ran into one of my coworkers from first shift. She figured she'd say

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1122332070397730612005-07-25T15:47:00.000-07:002005-07-25T20:57:04.546-07:00

Well, having two weblogs certainly doesn't mean I'm posting twice as much. I spent the whole weekend without even looking at my blogs. We've managed to find renters for the house-- ha! listen to me. "Find." By a miracle from above, suitable renters answered an ad and found our house acceptable. (Whether it was because of the view or because our heating oil bill was about a third of what they were

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1122006396540969602005-07-21T21:25:00.000-07:002005-07-21T21:26:36.546-07:00

Here's a bit of foolishness I just couldn't resist:Get your position here

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121905450234793682005-07-20T17:24:00.000-07:002005-07-21T21:27:49.683-07:00

000_0002 Originally uploaded by Hamburger Lad. Did I mention that Ernesto finished the shower? Well, Ernesto finished the shower. It took 7 days rather than the original estimate of two, but, man, did he do a good job. He also bought the coolest shower curtain (right) with fish on it. Oh, yeah. In addition to all the other tasks abounding on my to-do list, I managed to buy a new camera (

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121886968049309802005-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:002005-07-20T12:16:08.056-07:00

Just heard on the news that James Doohan--best known as Scotty from Star Trek--has died. What's going on here? Are all the actors from the original series going to die in the order in which I liked them? Watch out Nichelle!

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121849439593108892005-07-20T01:18:00.000-07:002005-07-20T01:50:39.653-07:00

I ran into our HR person in the hall yesterday and she asked me if I'd be open to having the traditional farewell cake in the lunchroom next Friday. (My last day is next Friday! Crimeny!) I don't care for such fussings myself, but I wouldn't want to deprive my coworkers of cake. (That's assuming any of them show up.)I think the reality of my departure is really starting to sink in for me. I'm

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121498883528415432005-07-16T00:07:00.000-07:002005-07-16T00:28:56.570-07:00

Just a little announcement that I've started a whole new blog for the China venture: A Short Letter Home. In my paranoia over offending the Chinese government, I was thinking of rebooting Hamburgerland--essentially covering up my past posts and my daily blogroll. Sherri had suggested starting a new blog, but I couldn't find a name I liked. Until now, that is. Anyway, the new blog has started and

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121399932157996242005-07-14T20:10:00.000-07:002005-07-14T21:52:58.920-07:00

Okay, I'm better now. The cold that was plaguing me and lulling me to sleep has (mostly) passed. So should I write about this past weekend, or the shower project? Heck, let's go for the weekend.As I mentioned, Sunday was Poodlepums' confirmation. My folks, my brother and his wife, and my sister all flew out for the event. It was the first time either sibling has been out this way since we moved

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1121236199093031832005-07-12T23:28:00.000-07:002005-07-12T23:29:59.096-07:00

Hosting the family this weekend wore me out. My head hurts, I'm dozing off in front of my monitor and ... zzzzzz. Time to go home.

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120708509518697342005-07-06T20:54:00.000-07:002005-07-06T21:44:30.686-07:00

Manoman, what a week! Saturday was full of being handy. Sunday was filled with support raising, lunch with friends, supper with the in-laws, a baseball game and fireworks. Monday, I put in a shift of overtime and later caught the fireworks. Tuesday was split between behing handy in the morning, pulling my regular shift and bopping over to the Webloggers Meetup. (Tommy Williams' report is as good

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120370561805541822005-07-02T23:01:00.000-07:002005-07-02T23:02:41.813-07:00

No painting this weekend. No-sir-ee. No, this weekend is a plumbing weekend. Hoo-hah!I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but one of the big question marks on this year's to-do list was to have a shower put into our ancient domicile. You see, our house came showerless. It had one bathroom with one bathtub--take it or leave it. We took it since the house was cheap and had a view. We thought

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120120082135613412005-06-30T01:06:00.000-07:002005-06-30T01:28:02.206-07:00

Well, I officially gave my notice to Wombatsch... twice. Tuesday afternoon I sent off an e-mail saying that my last day was going to be July 29th. Our HR person shot back a reply requesting that I submit things in writing, including my reason for leaving. So after my shift, I wrote up a short note stating my intention to "terminate my employment" on July 29th and that the reason was that my wife

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120803992116924872005-06-24T23:34:00.000-07:002005-07-07T23:26:32.123-07:00

Day one back in the worldAh, to be actually online again with my very own laptop! I thought that last night's post would bring closure to the event, but it seems that an epilogue is in order.I didn't describe the closing ceremonies too much, but they were very much like a graduation. After the program we hung around and schmoozed and a number of people were taking pictures. (One of my classmates

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1119676773993125382005-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:002005-06-24T22:43:30.553-07:00

Ah, to be actually online again with my very own laptop! You don't know what it's been like! Well, duh! How can they know what it's been like if you haven't been able to post? Voices? Am I hearing voices? Have I gone mad?Hardly. You're just resorting to a lame literary device to introduce your previous posts from the last two weeks.The last two weeks? Why, those posts were all rather short and

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120719815445248792005-06-23T21:37:00.000-07:002005-07-07T00:03:35.450-07:00

Day twelve of our Sauerkraut trainingIt's over. We have received our official Sauerkraut pins and training diplomas. (No decoder rings--maybe that's only for the long termers.) Of course, I haven't turned in my official Sauerkraut contract yet. Like yesterday's panel of experts I didn't find out about the session until it was too late. Serves me right for playing hooky. But I did get all of my

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120637765904799522005-06-22T22:48:00.000-07:002005-07-06T01:16:05.910-07:00

Day eleven of our Sauerkraut trainingAnd as we head down to the wire, the euphoric fog is dissipating. What was exciting is becoming routine and thoughts of home are starting to creep in. Not that I'm still not enjoying this, mind you. But the end of training is coming at just the right time. I can't even think of anything exciting to share with you. I crashed a couple of the long termer's

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120544022695831382005-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:002005-07-04T23:13:42.700-07:00

Day ten of our Sauerkraut trainingIt's twelve minutes after ten o'clock in the evening--our Minnesota bedtime, ya know--and Noodles is attempting to teach Poodlepums how to sing the alto line of a song. The reason for this was because Poodles was lamenting the fact that she would not be able to participate in the kids choir this year and was annoyed that adult choirs don't sing in unison. Noodles

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120496517754074332005-06-20T22:26:00.000-07:002005-07-04T10:01:57.763-07:00

Day nine of our Sauerkraut trainingA bit of changing gears today. Today was the first time I got to participate in the Teaching section of our training. It was quite different with a new set of teachers and a different focus. The first troubling thing that I noticed was that I was having trouble concentrating. I didn't know if that was due to getting to bed late last night or the fact that the

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120370729738648692005-06-19T21:49:00.000-07:002005-07-02T23:05:29.740-07:00

Day eight of our Sauerkraut trainingAnd on the eighth day, we rested.No classes. No note taking. No cafeteria service. We slept in and after a light breakfast--bagels and fruit--we went to the 11 o'clock service at a local church. For lunch we had ethnic food--a Minnesotan potluck. Actually there was one oddity. Someone had brought an African "soup", served over sticky rice. I qualify "soup"

Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273517.post-1120341344235326302005-06-18T21:56:00.000-07:002005-07-02T14:55:44.243-07:00

Day seven of our Sauerkraut trainingI don't believe it. I've got a homework assignment for Monday morning. What the heck is up with that?Today started okay. I still had a low level cold, but I was functioning okay. The plan was to attend a seminar on raising kids in a foreign (to them) culture, then hang out in the college library, have lunch, and take the kids to a children's museum in downtown

Johnnoreply@blogger.com