Books | What's New With Mick

August 17, 2006April 26, 2008

Vital Statistics

Tina, Graham and I went car shopping today. We decided that we really needed at least one reliable car, so rather than replace the truck with another used truck, we’re going to get a new family car. Today we looked and and drove a Kia Sorento, a Scion xB and a Chevy HHR. The Sorento was nice and Kia has a great warranty, but they couldn’t come down to our price range. The HHR might be nice, but after driving the xB, there was really no question which car we would get. We’re going to finalize our financing options and might have a new Scion next week!

Thomas didn’t go with us today because he’s been at Cub Scout Camp all week. Tina has missed him greatly and we’re going to pick him up there tomorrow. I suspect that he’s hardly noticed we’re not there.

I may have mentioned a couple of weeks ago about spending the night at the hospital as part of a sleep study. The study confirmed that I have positional sleep apnia which means that I have an abnormal number of apnia episodes when I sleep on my back. I also exhibit apnia symptoms while I am in R.E.M. sleep. During the sleep study, if I would have shown apnia by 2:00 AM, they would have awoken me in order to fit me with a CPAP device. I did not meet the criteria and did not exhibit severe enough apnia until after I went into R.E.M.’s sometime after 2:00 AM. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I awoke at 5:30 and realized that they had not awoken me. Later, the technician explained my situation and assured me that I would probably still be fitted for a CPAP on another night. Thus, I am scheduled for another study next week and I’m pretty sure it will be to do that very thing. I’ll write more later when I know more.

Bike odometer: 59 miles
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, KBOO Bike Show, Humpy’s Soul Show
Recent viewing: Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Nature, Monk, Countdown, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Car shopping, recycling, garbage, paid bills, expense report, upgraded my DSL
Imperative To Do: Setup Airport Express, install network in Graham’s room, labels for my sister’s CDs
Cool link: Moving by bike

August 10, 2006October 28, 2015

Vital Statistics

Of all the weeks to be away from home and returning on a plane, it looks like this one was the worse. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better than today was for travellers. I’m taking everything possible out of my carry-on bag to make the search easier. I need to remember to put my money clip in my checked bag. I’ve been caught with that thing twice! (It’s got a small knife blade in it as you find out from the Knife Sharpener Reviews)

Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: n/a
Recent viewing: Talladega Nights, Lucky Louis, Flight Plan
Recent playing: Snood, Bejeweled , Zuma
Recently accomplished: WWDC
Imperative To Do: n/a
Cool link: “While you are reading this…”

August 6, 2006April 17, 2008

Vital Statistics

I’m waiting in the airport now for my flight to board for SFO. I had a middle seat but I bought a $24 upgrade for “Economy Plus” that gets me a window seat on the exit row. It’s a scam, but still worth it.

Yesterday Thomas and I went on the annual bike ride for his Cub Scout pack. This year I chose the route and it was quite enjoyable. There’s a length of bike path on Marine Drive along the Columbia that is about 4 miles long. When we got to the end, we pushed our bikes down to the beach and the boys played in the sand for over an hour. It was hot by the time we headed back and I was sucking wind by the end. Thomas really enjoyed it, though, and wants to go on more bike rides. I need to make time for that!

Bike odometer: n/a
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: Last Week’s Album Chart
Recent viewing: Dead Zone, Countdown, Sportscenter, Pee Wee’s Playhouse
Recent playing: Snood, Halo
Recently accomplished: Packed for trip, Cub scout bike ride, Costco shopping, filled up propane tank, paid bills, cleared Tivo bandwidth, laundry
Imperative To Do: Fly to San Francisco, check in to Marriott, pack money clip
Cool link: Flying man (or is that “falling with style”?)

August 3, 2006April 12, 2008

Vital Statistics

Tonight I sleep at the hospital so they can study my sleep. It’s very likely that I have sleep apnia and we’re hoping that the study results in a prescription for a CPAP machine.

Starting Sunday, I’ll be in San Francisco until Friday for the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.

Bike odometer: 27 miles (new battery)
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli, I Love Being The Enemy by Reggie Miller and Gene Wojciechowski
Recent listening: Diver Down by Van Halen, Feels Like Home by Norah Jones, Spirit Trail by Bruce Hornsby, Running On Empty by Jackson Browne, Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks
Recent viewing: Monk, Sportscenter, Countdown, Rockstar: Supernova, Last Comic Standing
Recent playing: Snood
Recently accomplished: Trimmed the hedges, fixed the new extension cord I chopped with the hedge trimmer, burned CDs for my sister, bike tune-up, fixed watch
Imperative To Do: Truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, weed, send CDs to people
Cool link: Honey, why is the water bill so high?

July 18, 2006April 12, 2008

Vital Statistics

Looks like we’re looking at 90+ degree heat later this week. Saturday might be the day we go see the new Superman movie in Digital Super High Def at Cinetopia.

Bike odometer: 39 miles (I think my bike odometer needs a new battery)
Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: DrugMusic, Lynryd Skynyrd, Run DMC by Run DMC
Recent viewing: The ESPY’s, Sportscenter, Countdown, The 4400, Monk
Recent playing: Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Lubed bike, returned cans, pulled huge blackberry vine, sequenced CDs for my sister
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, buy battery for bike odometer, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, burn CDs for my sister
Cool link: Chris Bliss: Awesome juggling act choreographed to the final medley on Abbey Road.

July 15, 2006April 12, 2008

Vital Statistics

Graham and Tina are at Cub Scout Camp this weekend so Thomas and I are having a bachelor’s weekend. Some of the agenda items include: returning cans and bottles to the store, poker at Jonathan’s, Halo, Bust-A-Move and maybe some yard work if we find time.

Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dead Kennedys, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Brainiac, Mythbusters
Recent playing: Bust-A-Move, Halo
Recently accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room, burn CDs for my sister
Cool link: Gaussboys Super Magnets: Purveyor of rare earth magnets. These are super-powerful – check out the Crazy Pics link.

July 8, 2006April 12, 2008

Vital Statistics

Current reading: The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, RockStar: Supernova
Recent playing: Poker Room, Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Receipts, mowed lawn, pulled weeds
Imperative To Do: Call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Last.fm: Track your music listening habits and share them with your friends.

June 28, 2006August 5, 2016

Vital Statistics

It’s been very hot in Portland the last few days but it cooled down today. On Monday, we set a new high (102) the venus factor for June in Portland. Usually it’s still raining in June so I think this is a nice departure for us. It’s back down to the 80s today, though, which makes for a much nicer bike ride to work.

Vital Statistics

Yow! I started this entry over 10 days ago! Time flies by in the summer. Tina’s dad, Leroy, was here to visit this week. The boys really enjoyed that. The NBA Finals are over and so I’m expecting some free time to become available, but it probably won’t work out that way.
The weather has been great here but it’s getting hot today. Probably need to put the air conditioner in the window.

Current reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, NPR Story of the Day
Recent viewing: My Life On The D-List, NBA Finals, Sportscenter, Pardon the Interuption, Futurama, Cars
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently accomplished: Deposited checks at the bank, mowed the lawn, stripped the picnic table, made appointment with sleep doctor
Imperative To Do: Install air conditioner, call Sears, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: Flash Flood: Flash animation illustrating the sequence of events that led to the flooding of New Orleans.

June 12, 2006April 12, 2008

Vital Statistics

Just woke up. I’ve been sick since Friday morning. Sore throat, cough, feeling like crap – that kind of thing. Everyday I think that maybe another day in bed will help, but then I wake up feeling like crap again. I guess I’ll just throw in the towel tomorrow morning and go back to work.

Current reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Smoke and Guns by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
Recent listening: n/a
Recent viewing: Heat at Mavericks, French Open: Men’s Final
Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo
Recently accomplished: n/a
Imperative To Do: Get better, call Sears, call sleep doctor, bike repairs, get watch fixed, truck shopping, bank, Internet for Graham’s room
Cool link: The Week in Unnecessary Censorship: My favorite “bit” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.