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It's the last day in April, and looking a bit...
April 30, 2002 by Adam in Family
It's the last day in April, and looking a bit on the soggy side outside my window. Jamie was out last night, so Sam and I ate "guy food", watched cartoons, and walked over to play at the park. Fortunately, Jamie returned in time to watch the momentous Blue's Clues episode where Steve goes to college, leaving the show forever. Jamie almost seemed more excited than Sam, who practially fell asleep.
I'm still using my stair stepper. I was up at 5 am, watching television and sweating. All great fun.
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Well, I just finished Dungeon Siege
April 30, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Well, I just finished Dungeon Siege. It was a quick little ending - colorful and fun, a fitting end to a beautiful and mindless game. I had no idea really why I was defeating the evil badguy at the end. Only that he was evil.
Soon, Morrowind hits the shelves and I'm sure that will keep me busy for some time. Also, I'm starting to get into Neverwinter Nights preparation again. My modules progress well. I've been adding scripting pieces as we find out more of the scripting language. Hopefully my modules end up being interesting and fun.
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I'm nearing the end of Dungeon Siege
April 29, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
I'm nearing the end of Dungeon Siege. Having practically no story is a bit disappointing, though the game itself is beautiful. Having completely new foes and landscapes appear frequently certainly helps. I'll probably finish it up in a few days, just in time for Morrowind.
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I picked up an exercise machine today
April 29, 2002 by Adam in Family
 I picked up an exercise machine today. It's a stair stepper, on sale at Sears. We rearranged the "nerd cave", moving out the couch and putting the rear computer speakers on the ceiling. The exercise machine is now positioned so someone can watch t.v. or fiddle with the computer while exercising. Very cool.
The day itself was good. Sam played with Sue and Guidu while Jamie and I shopped, set up the exercise machine, and hung out at the house. Sam's now watching Justice League and should go to bed soon. Great fun.
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Sunday afternoon
April 29, 2002 by Sue in Wielesek
Sunday afternoon. What a lovely weekend! We puttered around Saturday morning, then picked up Isa while Seraph and Robbie went to tea. Dick, Isa and I went out to the farm to see the horses, definitely one of her favorite trips. It was so pretty that we sat out in the sun rolling an old basketball around after we exhausted our supply of sugar cubes. Isa is definitely
fearless. For some reason she is at a stage when she looks a lot like my kid brother Dick and Meg's middle daughter, Julie.
We came back into town to meet Seraph and Robbie at their house, while Dick ran the manly man weedeater around the edge of their yard - the big gas one rather than my wussy electric one.
Then Dick and I picked up some tortilla chips, salsa, some Pacifico beer, a couple of lemons and Training Day, and settled in to get a head start on Cinco de Mayo next weekend.
We have such a big Latino/Mexican population that our Cinco celebration has been renamed Fiesta Latina. For the first time, the League of Women Voters will have a table there; our state organization is now printing our Voters Guide in Spanish as well as English.
A quick movie review..I'm not sure that Training Day is exactly a funny lighthearted movie, but Denzel Washington definitely earned his Oscar.
Adam and Jamie brought Sam over, and we made another trip to the farm. Sam watched someone burning garbage, and told me that he wanted to be a "Burner" when he grows up. Well, a Burner and a Cowboy. It was kind of fun for him to meet our tenant, Jerry, and see his rodeo belt buckle. A good time was had by all!
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Sam took a tumble down the stairs today
April 29, 2002 by Adam in Sam
 Sam took a tumble down the stairs today. He had run up to get his blaster in order to pretend playing spies. He wacked himself pretty good, but miraculously recovered a couple minutes later. I think he'll have a bruise on his shoulder, but that's about it.
Sam continues to be endlessly silly. We built him a Lego scuba outfit for his bath tonight, which he thought was great fun.
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Sam's sitting on my lap, and we just finished...
April 28, 2002 by Adam in Family
Sam's sitting on my lap, and we just finished a hearty breakfast, my favorite part of the week. Yesterday was a Spring cleaning morning, and this time we cleaned the main floor bathroom. As always, Sam danced to music while he dusted. In the afternoon, we hung up Jamie's new blinds. They ended up being far more complicated than the woman at the store promised. The directions were mostly meaningless, but we managed to stick it together.
Today we may look for a new chair for Jamie's sitting area. I'm also interested in stair stepper machines. We'll see how much time we have and what's really open today. (Sam wants me to write, "and my toy fell", since he's playing and listening to me type). Sam's going to grandma Sue's sometime today too. Hopefully it'll give Jamie and I a chance to visit.
Now Sam wants me to write, "and I slipped and fell." Talk about a ham.
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Yesterday Robbie, Isabell, Hanni and I treked...
April 26, 2002 by Seraph in Cortez
Yesterday Robbie, Isabell, Hanni and I treked up to Portland. I headed off to a continuing legal education class on Collecting Judgements and Bankruptcy (Please pay your bills now!), while the gang went to the zoo and Powells. I'm not sure who saw more wild wooly animals - me or them!
Tonight we're going to our friends, Bryn and Paul's house for dinner. Hopefully Isabell will try to behave herself, and not torture their cat.
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I ordered a flat panel monitor yesterday
April 26, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Projects
I ordered a flat panel monitor yesterday. It's a fairly small 15" one, and really cheap. The plan is to hook it up to the Lego computer for now, though it may eventually get hooked up to the Fossil computer, as it has the digital output for LCD panels. I'm not really sure how much it will be used - it's kind of an experiment at this point. Who knows? Perhaps it will make it into some sort of future case mod . . .
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It was a beautiful day yesterday
April 26, 2002 by Adam in Family
It was a beautiful day yesterday. Jamie and Sam picked me up for lunch, and we headed to Hendrick's Park for an impromptu picinic. Sam and I pretended to be spies, peeking through the bushes at Jamie and running about. All great fun.
Brant and Wendy came over, as a mini-birthday for Brant. Jamie made lasagna and cake from scratch while teacher Phyllis watched Sam in the afternoon. It was a fun, low-key evening.
I think allergy season is upon us. I had a mild headache this morning (though nothing that coffee can't cure). Jamie's been a bit more achey, however. I keep trying to push Claratin on her, but she usually refuses, denying the realities of living in the valley.
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The other day, Sam was talking to Jamie and h...
April 25, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
The other day, Sam was talking to Jamie and he said, "Mom? Did you know there's a new game coming? Neverwinter Nights."
So, it appears some of the enthusiasm has rubbed off on the boy.
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The weather has been so nice these last few d...
April 24, 2002 by Seraph in Cortez
The weather has been so nice these last few days that I keep trying to sneak out and garden. Playing with Isa and Robbie usually takes priority though, so I'm not getting to much done.
Isabell has been cutting about 4 teeth right now and has just been miserable. Robbie thinks she may have allergies, but I'm still in denial about that possibility.
We're off to Portland tomorrow. I have an all day class, and Robbie, Isa and maybe Hanni are heading out to play for the day!
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Sam donned his gear last night, and we took h...
April 24, 2002 by Adam in Sam
Sam donned his gear last night, and we took his bike to the park. He seems to have a great time zipping about, and even managed to make it down a small hill by himself, applying the brakes as needed. He's getting really big, both physically and mentally. The other day, Sam made a cryptic remark:
"Sometimes I feel like I'm still in mom's uterus. It's dark, but I'm not scared. Because it's really just in my mind."
Hmm. Pretty deep.
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Any suggestions on summer internships? I'll d...
April 23, 2002 by Jamie in Sadie & Greg
Any suggestions on summer internships? I'll do anything for May and June...
How about a crash course in child development and the social lives of human young (aka nanny :-)?
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I continue to slash and burn my way through D...
April 22, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
I continue to slash and burn my way through Dungeon Siege. It's slowing down a bit, as I keep asking that age-old actor's question: "What's my motivation?" The game is beautiful and fun, but there's a nagging voice that keeps asking why my lowly farmer decided to go off and fight evil.
I signed up for the Neverwinter Nights beta signup. I doubt they'll pick me, but it's promising that they're getting close to releasing the game. After Morrowind, I'm hoping that game keeps me going for quite some time.
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It was more gardening for me this morning, fr...
April 22, 2002 by Adam in Family
 It was more gardening for me this morning, frantically weeding and cleaning before Jamie came home. It looks quite beautiful, and I'm pretty proud of myself.
Jamie and Sam had a good time at the beach. They mostly hung out, visited the sea lion cave, and played at the beach. As soon as he arrived, he wanted to get in his dad playtime. We were building Legos and flying them around the yard in no time.
Tomorrow I'm heading back to work, hopefully cleaning more of the various projects up. It'll be good to give my hands some time to heal. I've lost track of the various cuts and splinters.
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What a day
April 21, 2002 by Adam in Family
What a day. I woke up early, made myself pancakes at the crack of dawn, then started in on weeding. Since I already had the truck, I began the bark-o-mulch runs. By eleven, I had moved and spread three truck loads. I then had a brief interlude of launching rockets and eating lunch with my dad, Hanni, Jenny, Seraph, and their respective offspring. Quite the crowd. Then it was a final bark-o-mulch trip, then trade back to my car. Oh, and somewhere in there I managed to finish the laundry and unload the dish washer.
For a treat, I made a trip to Johnson Brothers' in Coburg. Excellent plant selection, and I managed to come back with a few nice treats. There's still some outside cleanup to do, and the plants to put in the ground. Since it's still only seven o'clock, I may try a bit of that before I collapse to bed.
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I just got back from that cellebrating collab...
April 20, 2002 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I just got back from that cellebrating collaboration poster session- had an interesting conversation with a prospective Ada comstock scholar from Ghana about structural adjustment programmes and the World Bank/IMF. Fascinating perspectives. John Foran came and offered me a lifetime of UCSB lovin as a graduate student. they have a very good graduate programme in cultural sociology, which is one of those weak in the knees interests I have. It might be nice to be in a sunny place for seven years. He wants me to be a professor, which I'm a bit dubious about. but all that's a year away. Hope everyone is doing well.
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Sam just called to let me know that he and Ja...
April 19, 2002 by Adam in Family
Sam just called to let me know that he and Jamie loved me, and that they were heading out for the coast. I'm hoping for a productive weekend, with lots of yardwork so I don't miss them too much. I'm hoping tonight that I can pick up my mom's truck in preparation for the activities.
Work has improved. It's been great to actually get things done, as I start feeling fidgety when the work piles up. Combined with a mocha and some good tunes on my headphones, it's all good.
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Work has been exhausing today
April 18, 2002 by Adam in Adam
Work has been exhausing today. I've been in all-day meetings the last few days, and work has been piling up steadily. This morning, I started work on some of them, but our main Intranet server died right before eight in the morning. It took two hours before I figured out what was going on and could fix it. It was pretty stressfull, especially with everyone calling to see how it was coming along.
The rest of the day has gone well, and I've actually cleaned up a number of the smaller projects. This weekend should be productive at home, though I'll miss Jamie and Sam. Tonight's my last time to visit before the weekend, so I better make it count.
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Hi, just the quickest note to all from mom th...
April 18, 2002 by Sue in Wielesek
Hi, just the quickest note to all from mom the attorney, who is right in the middle of a custody case. I truly think that after this batch, I'm going to stop taking custody cases. They are emotionally wrenching, and generally hard on people, and kids.
Other than that, life is fine. Sadie wants to take a car back to school next year. I wonder if the old Nissan can make the trip. Of course, that means that Seraph and Robbie won't have an extra car. We'll have to work on this issue.
We had a nice, albeit form, letter from Smith, saying that
Sadie was part of some event for outstanding scholars this Saturday, and we were welcome to drop in. For more details, call me....
Hugs to all, om
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The Fossil computer was acting up last week, ...
April 16, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Projects
The Fossil computer was acting up last week, a fan on the motherboard getting overly loud. I had recently done the 7 volt fan mod on the case fan that was cooling my video card. That took care of the fan there, but the motherboard fan was driving me nuts. I searched around, found that others had the same problem, and ended up just removing it. The heat sink under it never got warm to the touch.
For the first time, the Fossil computer is really quiet. Since that was a primary design feature, I'm glad it's finally accomplished. Ah, Nerdvana.
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Jim and Judy were in town last night, going t...
April 16, 2002 by Adam in Family
Jim and Judy were in town last night, going to a concert by someone who sang a song about "cigarettes and red vines." I suspect something in the country venue, but I can't really remember. Anyway, Jamie worked out, had dinner with them, and then off to a meeting. Sam and I had a boys night, watching an X-Men cartoon, having a bath, then going to bed. He's a neat kid, and funny too. Tonight it's off to Glen Campbell, my boss' house, for a dinner with my team. I get to show off my family too, which should be fun.
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Jamie cleaned my room yesterday, which was ve...
April 16, 2002 by Adam in Adam
Jamie cleaned my room yesterday, which was very nice. The one additional thing that I noticed was that my cute picture of Sam had been replaced by Reese Witherspoon. Now, I can appreciate a curvy blonde as much as the next guy, but I did wonder where the picture of Sam had gone. I sent off an e-mail to Jamie asking her to please replace the picture with one of my family. She replied simply, "Good boy."
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Another weekend come and gone
April 15, 2002 by Adam in Family
 Another weekend come and gone. Saturday morning was a Spring cleaning day. We cranked up the music, gave Sam a duster, and watched him dance around waving it about. Eventually, we cleaned the guest bedroom too. The rest of the weekend was fairly lazy. Lots of hanging out and playing with Sam.
It turns out that I'll be by myself next weekend. Jamie and Sam are going to the coast with Judy. I've got a ton of yard work I'd like to do. Time to butter up my mom and ask her for the truck. The bark-o-mulch calls to me.
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Work is wrapping up and a pleasant weekend lo...
April 12, 2002 by Adam in Family
Work is wrapping up and a pleasant weekend looms ahead. It's been a busy week here, and promises to be busy next week again. Fortunately, that all goes away when I head home. I'm sure I'll get an excited "Dado!" from Sam as he runs up to me. The joys of fatherhood.
No big plans for the weekend. I'd like to get out with Jamie a bit and spend a little time together. I'm sure Sam and I will play a bit on the computer. I'd also like to do another bike trip along the river - Sam had a great time last weekend. Time will tell.
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Oh, I forgot to say that when we took Sam out...
April 12, 2002 by Sue in Wielesek
Oh, I forgot to say that when we took Sam out for pizza, he discovered centrifugal force while spinning the pizza pan with a piece of pizza on it. Science. It's great.
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Well, the Great Zimbabwe is pretty great! If ...
April 12, 2002 by Sue in Wielesek
Well, the Great Zimbabwe is pretty great! If you like African history, you've seen pictures of it - an elaborate complex/village of beautifully fitted stone walls and a huge conical tower. It was built about 600 or 700 years ago, and in spite of white explorers trying to tear down the tower, which is solid, in search of gold, the tower still stands.
While we were on our way, the most amazing thunderstorm came on. The clouds looked as though they were a solid black ceiling, about 30 feet above us, and I expected space aliens momentarily.
This part of Zim is home to the opposition party, and road blocks and searches seemed more frequent. Even though we appeared unlikely terrorists, at one roadblock we had to open the trunk of the car while they patted it down for guns. We didn't have any trouble, and got adept at hauling out our passports and the car rental papers.
This, our last night in Zim, was spent at a motel/resort which must have been new and quite fashionable in about 1960. We had a rondeval, and the dining room had a roof but was otherwise open. Actually, it was lovely, even if a bit down at the heels. The tree in front had obviously been a home for weaver-birds for many years, and was hung with all their nests, looking like large Christmas ornaments waiting for Martha Stewart to come alone with a little gold spray and some tasteful lighting.
And so, the next morning we regretfully said goodbye to Zim
and headed back to the Johannesburg airport, aiming to be there in time to put Sadie on the night plane to Amsterdam.
Dick and I stayed at a hotel near the airport, and spent (aargh!) the next day hanging out at the Johannesburg Airport. The trip back, which is more or less one continuous
flight, punctuated only by the mayhem of transferring from Gatwick to Heathrow, is pretty mind numbing. I did learn from my last trip; wear comfortable underwear.
And so a year of adventures ended, and we spent a lovely New Years Day with the family at Lohring and Yayoe's, celebrating a belated Christmas.
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I was giving Sam a bath last night, and he wa...
April 11, 2002 by Adam in Sam
I was giving Sam a bath last night, and he was upstairs in the one that has the jets. Now, the jets by themselves are pretty cool, but when combined with a bubble bath, they're a force to be reckoned with.
Sam cranked up the bubbles to almost overflowing and he stood up in the bath, covered in bubbles. He explained how he was doing an experiment to turn himself into a goblin, and that he had all the ingredients ready. The funniest part to me was hearing him carefully pronounce "experiment" and "ingredients". I have no idea where he picks up these things. Well, except from me, of course.
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As soon as Sam and I got home last night, we ...
April 11, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
 As soon as Sam and I got home last night, we loaded up Dungeon Siege. Although I was itching to try out the game, that just wasn't going to happen. Sam happily clicked through the game, relegating me to telling the characters to drink health potions and fiddle with the inventory. He seems to do a pretty good job with the game, even though he kept telling me to equip weapons that might have looked cool, but weren't very effective.
The game itself is pretty good. It's got that addictive quality, though the gameplay is fairly simple. The graphics are nice, and some of the environments are beautiful to just walk around in. It's strange playing a game with no load screens - there's very little to distract from the feel of the game world.
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It feels like I'm just now getting in the gro...
April 10, 2002 by Seraph in Cortez
It feels like I'm just now getting in the grove of the time change. I'm suprised at how hard it hit us this year. So far the big advantage has been that Isa is still on the old time and sleeps until 7am!
Work's been crazy/interesting this last week. We have a big case involving medical records. I always get morbidly fasinated by human biology!
Robbie and Isa have been swimming at the YMCA a couple of times each week. Since our trip to Kah-Nee-Ta, Isabell has really been into water (unless you're trying to wash her hair). She has now learned how to get in and out of the bath tub by herself!
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The week is slowly moving along
April 10, 2002 by Adam in Family
The week is slowly moving along. Since the weather has been dreary, we've moved back inside for most of our play time. Sam and I suited up in our rain gear last night, then ran around the house, just to get some exercise. I've noticed the pollen quite a bit these days. Lots of early morning headaches, even with the Claritin.
We're still in pretty good spirits, though. No exciting projects or plans these days. I'll usually come home and play with Sam while Jamie is either out and about, or hanging out relaxing. It's all good.
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On Sunday, Sam was going to bed and talking t...
April 09, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
On Sunday, Sam was going to bed and talking to Jamie. "Not tomorrow, but the next day, is a special day." "Why?" asked Jamie. "Dungeon Siege."
So, it looks like Sam is almost more excited than this game than I am. Now, UPS is saying that it won't be in until Wednesday. Poor Sam will be disappointed.
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We were having dinner last night, eating spag...
April 08, 2002 by Adam in Sam
We were having dinner last night, eating spaghetti. Now, Sam's not big into vegetables, so I was explaining how he was technically eating vegetables, because spaghetti sauce had tomatoes in it.
"It's a fruit," says Jamie, who's correct from a scientific standpoint. I was about to launch into an explaination of how congress categorized tomatoes as a vegetable in order for the tomato growers to get a certain tax break. Jamie put on an exaspirated look and asked me why I was even going to try.
Sam simply asked, "Is it complicated and boring?" I shut up, and that was that.
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Back at work, after another good weekend
April 08, 2002 by Adam in Family
Back at work, after another good weekend. That makes three great weekends in a row - a sure sign that Spring is here and no one is sick. Sam and I played on the computer Sunday morning, then went off with Jamie to the river trail. There, Sam amazed us by riding his bike for an hour as we struggled at times to keep up. We stopped by the mall, where I picked up a new shirt and jeans. I was amazed by the various fit and treatment options for blue jeans these days. I ended up with "standard fit" jeans with an "antiqued" finish. Too many choices these days.
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All is well here- finishing up an OCD paper a...
April 08, 2002 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
All is well here- finishing up an OCD paper and hoping to write one on SA this afternoon. Crunch time is upon me, but I've perfected the art of muddling through. I'm hoping to go to Southern Africa early and do some research in South Africa or Botswana, but don't have much time to formulate the details of any of it.
We'll see.
Love and hugs to all.
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Well, we had a delightful Easter weekend
April 08, 2002 by Sue in Wielesek
Well, we had a delightful Easter weekend. Seraph and Robbie planned a short spring vacation trip to Kahneeta, a resort on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. It was beautiful and warm, and although there is a casino there, the resort is fmaily oriented. There are literally warm springs on the reservation, and two big swimming pools, open year round. Apparently the water is so hot when it comes to the surface that they have to mix in cold water before it goes into the swimming pools. Seraph, Robbie and Isa went over on Thursday, and Dick, Hunni and I drove over on Saturday morning. We went into town to the Indian Museum, which was really interesting. On Sunday, there was an Easter egg hunt.
One part of the resort has a huge public swimming pool, playgrounds, a spa, and so forth, and this part must be open to all the Native people who live on the rez, since
the Easter egg hunt was crowded with lots of kids. I can't help but wonder if Native people from other Oregon tribes don't go to Kahneeta because it would be so nice to be surrounded by people who look the same, even if only for a
weekend.
I want to finish up our travelog. We left you, dear reader,
just as we were going into Harare to meet Brian and his family. In spite of some worries about whether we would be
imposing, we had a wonderful time. Brian is a banker, and Irene is a pharmacist. They have a five year old, Holly, who is amazingly cute. Brian has two older children, Ashley and Warick. Ashley lives in London, but she and her boyfriend were home for Christmas. They have a lovely home, with a pool and I actually went swimming on Christmas Day.
I had fun with Irene; they took us shopping at both a shopping mall very much like any shopping mall in the US, and a market which is quite a lot like Saturday Market in Eugene without the tie-dye and aging hippies.
While we were there, Dick, Sadie and I drove to a site north of Harare with cave drawings. These were huge hills which looked as though each hill was one continuous rock,
with water apparently flowing up out of the rock. Signs at the little museum at the site explained that the area had been a religious site for centuries. I don't know if I saw anything else in Africa which was so moving.
With great reluctance, we left the next morning, facing a hard drive from Harare to Johannesburg. We had trouble finding gas, but after some delay, headed southwest.
Next report: the Great Zimbabwe.
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With Sam perched on my lap, we finished up Je...
April 07, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
With Sam perched on my lap, we finished up Jedi Outcast. The end was non-stop fun, dueling evil Jedi, driving an AT-ST around, and helping out Luke lay down the law. The final battle was frighteningly easy - it was over in about 30 seconds. I had horded all these moble sentry units, which I used to great success.
The good news is that Dungeon Siege on it's way to me. According to UPS, it's coming in Tuesday. I've heard fairly positive reviews from it, though I also hear that the game practically plays itself. That's good, in one sense. Sam should have no problem playing it, which has been problematic with Jedi Outcast. His poor light sabre spent more time cutting through walls that any evil Jedi.
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When I arrived at home last night, Jamie had ...
April 06, 2002 by Adam in Family
 When I arrived at home last night, Jamie had prepared a relaxing faux bed-and-breakfast surprise. Sam greeted me at the door in his new fancy Hawaiian shirt. I had quiet reading time, snack and drinks. Then Sam went off with grandma and guidu while Jamie and I had a lovely dinner.
This morning, Sam woke up early, and came down to play the Star Wars game with me. Then it was yummy breakfast, and now we're off to play firefighter games in the back yard, putting out the steam from the dryer. Looks like a great beginning to another weekend.
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Jamie called to relay this story to me
April 05, 2002 by Adam in Sam
Jamie called to relay this story to me.
She had given Sam his socks, then turned around to do something else. After a few moments, he called out "Mom?" When Jamie turned around, she found Sam had stuffed both socks into his shirt. "Look mom, I have breasts!"
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Sam and I were playing on the bed the other day
April 05, 2002 by Adam in Sam
Sam and I were playing on the bed the other day. He started to slip off the side of the bed and I grabbed his leg, unfortunately after he hit his head on the wall. I asked him if he was all right.
"I'm okay. Just bumped my noggin. Good thing I had my skull in."
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It's been a beautiful week here in sunny Eugene
April 04, 2002 by Adam in Family
It's been a beautiful week here in sunny Eugene. Jamie stole me away from work today to have lunch at the 5th Street Market. Very nice.
Jamie's mom bought a house on the beach - Waldport, I think. I suspect we'll be making the periodic visits to the coast whenever the sale is final. Should be fun for all.
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Just got into the Smith South Africa Programme
April 04, 2002 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Just got into the Smith South Africa Programme. Send chocolates.
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Sam's sleep times seem to have shifted about ...
April 04, 2002 by Adam in Sam
Sam's sleep times seem to have shifted about an hour. These days, he goes to bed a bit after seven at night, and wakes up around seven or eight in the morning. It's strange to have the extra hour or so in the evening. Jamie's feeling it too, as she's been going to bed earlier just to keep up.
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Allergy season has started
April 04, 2002 by Adam in Adam
Allergy season has started. I awoke with a bad headache earlier in the week, then started popping Claritin soon afterwards. I'm feeling fairly normal now, and I'm hoping that the online prescription refill application works. I wrote the damn thing, so the irony of it not working wouldn't be lost on me. In theory, I can pick up my refill tomorrow.
It's been freakishly busy at work. They're making a big change to the directory that stores all our users and computers. Unfortunately, all the automated setup tools I wrote need to be fiddled with again. Should be fun.
I'll probably quaff some coffee again today. I get the serious pick-me-up, then I usually get exhausted around three in the afternoon. Such is the price I pay.
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Sam and I have both been enjoying Jedi Knight...
April 03, 2002 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Sam and I have both been enjoying Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Sam's favorite thing is to play team multiplayer with a bunch of bots, switch to the lightsabre, then cut holes in the walls while jumping around.
The single player game is pretty fun too. It starts slow, but ends up quite good after you get your light sabre and force powers. The Matrix-like sabre fights with the Reborn are worth the price of admission right there.
Also, I found this fun easter egg where you can get a two-handed light sabre. Great fun.
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Well, I have this presentation for special st...
April 02, 2002 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Well, I have this presentation for special studies works in progress on friday, and thought you guys might be interested in what I'm actually doing here in teh ivory towers. Here's what I have- suggestions are welcome!
First, I want to say that IÆve left a hundred things out for the sake of brevity and clarity. IÆm not talking about the labor movement, nor about the Pan African Congress, which organized pass law boycotts in 1959. One of these, the Sharpeville massacre, led to the banning of the ANC. I donÆt even come close to addressing the psychological impact of the ANCÆs shift to military resistance, or of the Black Consciousness Movement. I canÆt unpack the relationship between race and class in South Africa except to say that capitalism and racism were as symbiotic then as they are now. One of the important things that I leave out is the global context of colonization and the cold war. It is essential to remember South AfricaÆs geopolitical and mineral importance in both imperialism and cold war politics throughout this entire discussion, because it was international economic support that kept the apartheid regime in power.
My research on the political revolution of South Africa works within John ForanÆs theoretical framework of third world social revolutions. First, he uses Theda SkocpolÆs definition of social revolutions- the rapid, basic transformation of a societyÆs state and class structure, accompanied and in part carried through by class-based revolts from below. He has theorized that in a third world context, five factors cause such social revolutions: dependent development; a repressive, exclusionary, Personalist state; the elaboration of effective and powerful political cultures of resistance; and a revolutionary crisis consisting of an economic downturn and a let up of external controls. IÆm going to explain the first two as a historical basis for South AfricaÆs political cultures of opposition.
Basically, dependent development is economic growth with social consequences. In South Africa, this refers to the 26.3 billion dollars of foreign capital invested in the economy by 1978. In 1979, South Africa was producing 47 percent of the worldÆs platinum, which is used for refining petroleum and 60 percent of the worldÆs annual supply of gold.
Now the dependent part of the equation is that the whole population was not getting rich on the countryÆs mineral wealth. In 1980, out of ninety countries surveyed by the World Bank, South Africa had the most inequitable distribution of incomes. While white South Africans had the highest rate of coronary disease in the world, an industrialized disease, the principle African diseases were pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and tuberculosis. The main causes of black infant deaths were pneumonia and gastroenteritis, which are products of malnutrition.
There are also some fundamental structural problems with keeping most of your population at sub poverty levels. Apartheid kept black labor cheap for industries. It also kept them poor and therefore unable to consume what was being produced. Apartheid policies didnÆt allow black laborers to become skilled. Unskilled workers canÆt meet the changing labor needs of an expanding economy.
In addition, South AfricaÆs economic growth relied on increased mechanization to increase productivity and profits. This required imported capital goods, making the state vulnerable to balance of payments deficits. This can be contrasted to other third world nations that have labor-intensive industries like textiles instead of farming or mining.
So thatÆs a basic overview of dependent development.
Now a repressive, exclusionary, Personalist state. What does that really mean? Foran describes it as a dictator-like leader who represses the lower class and excludes the growing middle classes and the economic elite from political participation. Collective military rule isnÆt a Personalist state because it usually has the support of the elite and is
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A very good Easter Sunday was had by all
April 01, 2002 by Adam in Family
 A very good Easter Sunday was had by all. Sam and I were invited over to the neighbor's Easter egg hunt. I think Sam's favorite part was picking up the balloons that had popped and collecting them in his bag.
We picked up Josh around noon, then did a short trip to a playground. That didn't last long, as everyone was hungry, and we ate egg salad sandwiches as fast as Jamie could make them. I entertained Josh and Sam with the various toys obtained through Easter activities. Then it was down to the nerd cave where Josh and Sam played the Star Wars game for several hours.
Sam went to bed early and Jamie and I visited for a bit. Life is good.
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We just came home from an exciting four day v...
April 01, 2002 by Robbie in Cortez
 We just came home from an exciting four day vacation at Kah-nee-ta resort. When we arrived on Thursday, it was sunny, but there was a cold northernly wind. We thought OH NO, but by Friday the warm weather returned. If you haven't been there before, it is up in the high desert. Beautiful plateues and canyons make up the area. We hiked down from the lodge down to the village where there are teepees and an olympic size warm-springs pool. We went swimming back at the lodge and relaxed. Saturday morning Seraph had a relaxing one hour massage, while Isa and I went to the fish hatchery. In the afternoon my mom, Sue and Dick came up for the night. Dick and Sue took care of Isa, while we pretended to be carefree adults. On Sunday, we had a brunch and then we went to an Easter egg hunt. Isa had fun picking up eggs and tossing them back onto the ground. The grandparents took Isa back to Eugene, while I played a round of golf and Seraph read a book. We had beautiful weekend, but it is nice to be back.
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