Author: paul@digitaldendrite.com

Saturday: Woken up to the incredibly loud sound of birds outside the window. Kim’s and my eyes shoot open at around 6 and with difficulty, we get back to sleep.

Sunday: Again, 6 AM, birds are SCREAMING at us. No sleep. So, that afternoon, I open the A/C partition (it’s a window A/C, so there’s that accordian-style blocker to keep it in place) and sure enough, there’s a bird’s nest UNDER the A/C! The loud birds weren’t outside the window, they were in the room, usnig the metal A/C as a PA. So, out goes the bird’s nest, in comes a block of wood to keep the little creep out.

Today (Monday): Bird is back. I don’t know what he’s doing, but the damn thing, on a day where i can actually sleep in because I’m working late, is screaming at me again. This time, I smacked the partition, sending him flying. I’m going to catch him and eat him next, I swear. I’m exhausted because of a 2 oz. sparrow.

Grrrrrrrrr….

The site’s been down for about a week when, i THOUGHT, my OS X installation died. After trying this and that, I ultimately reinstalled, and that failed. And then it failed again, and long and short, all of my problems were more than likely caused by one l’il ole’ bad RAM chip.

But, who would have guessed.

In any case, I’m back up! Thanks for waiting. 😉

One of my all time favorite actors/comediens, John Cleese, has a very nice interview with Jennifer Senior of the NY Times. He’s just too funny. It’s hard to describe, but partly it’s that I can always hear him saying things, and he has wonderful timing, and I hear that in my head when reading anything of his.

An example, speaking about Michael Caine:

SENIOR: Is it also harder to age gracefully in comedy?

CLEESE: Oh, I don’t think so. I think if people know who you are . . . like if Michael Caine walks on screen, everybody knows it’s Michael Caine, and they don’t realize that he’s 130 or whatever. Because it’s Michael Caine, and we’ve loved Michael Caine for as long as we can remember, so we just see Michael Caine. We don’t think, “Who is that extraordinarily ancient man?”

Just funny. Well, read it yourself. Cracks me up.

This is from a chef named Alain Passard and it seems like a brilliantly simple recepie–to my mind, the best kind.

Chicken with peanuts

In the bottom of a cast-iron casserole over low heat, brown a chicken that has been cut into eight pieces in salted butter; turn the pieces and half-way through the cooking time add a bowl of small onions, quartered, and a small cupful of crushed peanuts; let cook uncovered, arranging the chicken pieces among the onions and peanuts; at the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with chopped fresh tarragon, fleur de sel (fine sea salt) and a half teaspoonful of finely grated lemon zest.

From the NY Times. Looks quick and easy. I’ll let you know if it’s any good.

1?1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in ?1/2- to 1-inch chunks
?1/2 cup flour, more as needed
4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons slivered garlic
?1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup ketchup.

1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Are they kidding? This is the new Playstation hand held device. If the game looks like what’s on the screen, I want one. BAD.

Driving home from dinner tonight, the following conversation from the back seat, all Katie:

“The tiger walks through the tall grass and POUNCES on his prey and eats him. Then he walks around and POUNCES again. And then he POUNCES and POUNCES all over. Then he lies down in the tall grass and goes to sleep. And later, he will POUNCE again when he wakes up!”

Pounce? She’s 3. Don’t ask me…

The Kodak Imagination booth at EPCOT did this to my 6 year old. Should I sue Walt?

For those of you peeking in on this little blog, my family and I are at Disneyworld. I thought that a hit/miss list would be interesting, or at least useful. So, here are my impressions (yes, I do impressions…) of a few rides/attractions were successfull/not successfull with a 3 and a 6 year old (and their daddy):

1. Tower of Terror. This ride totally rocked, and my 6 year old, who is a total thrill seeker, was scared at the introductory parts (stuff with Rod Serling, and lots of lightning). However, the ride itself, which would scare the bejeezus out of any adult, didn’t scare her at all. She loved it. It takes you up about 160 feet, and then drops you, randomly, and then brings you back up part way, drop, up, drop. My camera bag, around my neck, was floating in front of my face. It’s too much…we went on twice! I wouldn’t DREAM of taking my 3 year old on it.

2. Space Mountain. This ride is still amazing. It has such great twists and turns and the fact that it’s near pitch black keeps you on edge for ages. I loved it and so did my 6 year old.

3. The Haunted Mansion. I still think it’s pretty cool, but it scared my 6 year old silly. She was clutching at me the entire ride and literally jumped into my arms at one point. She was too young, I think.

4. Dumbo. No link for this one for some reason. Frankly, totally uninteresting, for my 3 year old and my 6 year old (and of course for me). It’s a long line and a very short ride.

5. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Not bad as a roller coaster. Space mountain is better. Some good sharp turns.

6. Winnie the Pooh and the Hunnypots (or something like that). No link, again. This was cute. We all went on it, and except for some mildly scary scenes, it was fun for all.

OK, this post has taken 3 days and it’s almost out of date already. I’ll post it, and maybe add more later.

This courtesy of the lovely and talented Di, a really cool flash drawing thingie. While away the hours and then send it to someone to amaze.