Birthdays and Anniversaries

Today, 17-June-2007, is both Father's Day -- and I qualify -- and also my parents' 46th wedding anniversary. I wasn't there, but have seen the pictures. Dad was in his Navy whites, Mom in a white gown, of course. I'm not going to say my parents are my heroes -- that's both sappy and clichéd, and simply being my parents is more than enough burden to celebrate. I cannot imagine what it's like fulfilling the role of "parent" for nearly a half-century, but I do hope I get to find out. It's a pretty good example for which to strive. I started a lot later, though.

Also recently, both the dear wife and I had birthdays in the past few weeks. We were in Houston when mine rolled around, a weekend spent going to Astros games (all of us for one, me alone for the second), the Houston Art Car Parade (too many pictures to choose just one; I'll try to get a gallery up), then one night in Galveston at Moody Gardens, where we toured the rainforest pyramid before heading home. Val and the kids surprised me (really!) with a few presents -- a baseball book and a toy sushi set, which was great fun (but which, by now, I've largely relegated to the kids to enjoy).

Amalie prepares a California roll (well, not really).

After the Art Car Parade, we walked back across downtown Houston -- our hotel was right next to the ballpark -- and it wasn't so hot or bright a day that we were miserable, though it was a decent trek (the buildings provided plenty of shade). Along the way we came across a huge sculpture that was perfect for the kids to play with, so we took a few minutes and let them poke about.

The kids interact with a gigantic sculpture in downtown Houston.

Pretty birds at Moody Gardens.

Val's birthday is less than a month after mine, and while I'd like to say I was on top of things, that wouldn't nearly be the case. The traditional gift, a medallion -- she collects them -- of the 2007 Iditarod winner (it was Lance Mackey), was frustrated in that such a medallion has not yet been produced, and may never be (some of the winners apparently are hard to get to agree to personal image licensing, as was the case in 2006). So the day before, I started just winging it, picking up a few things we needed or wanted anyway, plus a roll of paper, and to be fair I had gotten her a book a few days earlier, so I wasn't a total basket case. In all, Val got eight gifts, and the one roll of paper served the need perfectly; there were two leftover bits just about right for Amalie's origami hobby, so she took them and folded them into animal heads, which currently are lost among the usual ground clutter. As with the kids, Val had to find the gifts scattered about the homestead, but with two small and eager helpers this only took a few minutes.

Val, assisted by Carson, surveys her birthday hoard.

Opening the gifts was not a problem either, as she had four extra hands more than ready to rip and tear. The haul included: a new rice cooker, a grilling rack, the aforementioned book about physicist Richard Feynman, a DVD movie (The Queen; it's pretty good), a standup banana hook for the kitchen, a bar of peach soap, a pound of organic coffee, and a new wallet. This one was particularly special for me, both because her old one was falling apart, and the pockets inside were so small that I had to abrade my knuckles whenever retrieving receipts or filching a bit of cash. The new wallet is sturdy, well-conditioned leather with roomy pockets; it went into service immediately with hearty approval.

The finishing touch was, of course, birthday desserts. While we make cakes for the kids, the preferred option among the big people is a selection of treats from Central Market, which is what I did get. A small chocolate cheesecake, a brightly-frosted cupcake, a walnut brownie, and a slice of carrot cake (my personal favorite, though I'm more than happy to share), all eaten in a round-robin style, though the kids liked the cupcake best, as witness below.

Amalie enjoys some birthday cupcake.

As does Carson.

Guess who got baths later?

So, good birthdays to enjoy. There was a Mother's Day in there as well, and Val was suitably feted, mainly through our vacation weekend with not a meal to be cooked nor (and this is more important) cleaned up. And we got in some swimming in Galveston, which is always fun.

And as for Father's Day? All I wanted was a cup of coffee and a few minutes peace to read the comics, and I got it. It helps to aim small sometimes.

Rocket Launch 2007

Tomorrow, Saturday 09-June, is supposed to be when Roger Clemens makes his major league debut this season, starting for the Yankees against Pittsburgh.

I'm glad he's going to be back on the mound. I just don't much care for the uniform he'll be wearing.

Yes, I am a Red Sox fan of long standing, and so, in a good-natured, love-the-game way, I hate the Yankees. It's nothing personal; I've never hated any individual Yankee player (except Bernie Williams, and that was for baseball reasons). And it's not like Clemens hasn't worn the pinstripes before. This time, however, I really think he did not make the best choice of team for which to play.

Clemens made no secret that, were he to come back in 2007 (and I never, never doubted that he would), it would be with the Yankees, Red Sox, or Astros, where he had pitched since 2004.

Looking at these teams in turn:

Boston simply doesn't need him. The Sox have a huge lead in the AL East, and while no lead is ever big enough until the magic number reaches zero, it has to feel good to be sitting, not only on top, but seeing the Yanks down in fourth, sometimes fifth (dead last) place. So, while Clemens would have looked great -- perfect, really -- wearing the Fenway whites again, it was not necessary for the team to get him.

The Astros, well, I kinda figured this year was doomed. They staggered badly last year, only staying in contention because the Cardinals were so weak as well, and the 2007 team was going to be Biggio's march to 3000 hits. (Aside: and that's what the team is doing. Bidge is clearly on the very cusp of being washed up, and his presence atop the lineup is one reason why the team is doing so poorly. He's not all of the cause, but he isn't helping. Hurry up and get him to 3000, maybe around 3015 for the respectability of it, and then sit him down.) Clemens in Houston would help, sure, and he's got plenty of ancillary reasons to play there -- I'll detail in another post soon -- that I thought he would find compelling. But not so, this year.

So, the Yankees... nearly $200 million in payroll, and losing. This team simply has not come together like many expected, and has dug itself into so large a hole that nothing is likely to help. They paid a fortune for Rocket's services (and I honestly do not care how much he earns; one, he's worth it, and two, it was willingly offered. The Yankees can afford doing things like this), but it won't be enough. I'm not here to diagnose the Yankees' woes (and actually find it somewhat amusing, but that's a topic for another time), but I expect the 2008 team will be significantly different, and that Clemens won't be a part of it. There's still a lot of the season left to play, but it's not looking too well in the Bronx, Rocket or not.

So Clemens is coming back, but his impact will necessarily be limited. For that, and other reasons, I would have much rather seen him in Houston. Ah well; good luck in Noo Yawk, Roger (except against Boston). Come back again in 2008.

Yes, I think he will. And in 2009. But those are posts for another time.

And the fog cleared

Success! And there was much rejoicing. My friend Steve was able to diagnose, repair, and recover everything. The old hard drive is dead as a doornail, but the new one did get a complete copy of everything before things went transwarp weird. And that disk is now live and the important stuff backed up.

Steve just rocks, man. Geeks rule.

Onward through the fog

Subsequent to the lightning strike, I pulled out all the PC gear from the office and diagnosed each component. For the most part everything worked. But my OS had been acting dodgy, and at a suggestion from a valued geek friend, I bought a new, bigger hard drive with the intent of giving it a clean install of the PC OS I use (Windows 2000) and porting over all the important data -- mainly the family picture archive, but there's some other things I want to keep as well. Some tax records, things I've written, assorted baseball data, a few games and apps, my eBay records.

An eternal pox upon the scabrous head of Bill Gates. I have no idea exactly what went wrong, and I'm certain that the drives are not cooked (the data is still there; there's no reason either one would be erased), but right now my PC isn't working at all. So tomorrow I'm off to Dallas for some personal tech service, which I hope will bring things back to life.

This is just so, so wrong. Technology is meant to serve us. I am so disgusted that I'm thisclose to simply bailing and buying a new PC box loaded with Vista. I hate that seven-year old technology is doing this. Thankfully I have my Mac, which rarely barfs, and never so badly.

Anyway... here's hoping that tomorrow brings recovery.