Thursday, May 06, 2004
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Fish Spotting
Choose a tank... Choose your fish... Choose fake plastic plants with little green leaves...
Jen and I finally decided we were ready to open our hearts and our home to pets. We bought a fish tank about six weeks ago.
After waiting a week to let tank settle, we bought a pair of swordtails (one male, one female) on a Friday night. The males are yellow and silver. They're about two inches long with funny tails. The females are more orange and goldfish looking.
Swordtails are supposed to be fairly hardy. We figured they would be a good choice for our first fish. Unfortunately, we got off to a bit of a rough start. The female acted really weird all week (staying low, hiding behind things). The male started bouncing around and swimming into the walls of the aquarium. (I noticed the fish food we were using contained "fish meal". Had I given him mad fish disease? Gasp!)
The male was dead by Wednesday morning of the first week.
We’re we bad parents? Had we done something wrong? The temperature was fine. The chemistry readings all came back normal. I was beginning to lose hope. Maybe we had just gotten bad fish from the pet store.
Then, on the next Friday morning as I was feeding our one remaining fish, I noticed a few little floaty things near the rocks. Was that food floating around? Was it just a poo? I looked closer, and saw two little eyes looking back at me (was it a poo with eyes?). I also noticed that the adult female was suddenly a lot friskier.
I looked some more and I noticed 5 or 6 other pairs of little eyes. Baby fish. Cool.
As it turns out, the female was pregnant. Swordtails are "livebearers", so she may have come home from the pet store knocked up (and that helps explain the nutty behavior) (still not sure what was up with the male...).
Instead of going back to the pet store for replacement fish as we had originally planned, we bought some netting to seal off the babies from the dangerous areas of the tank. And it’s kinda funny... If I hadn’t spotted them that morning, the new fish we were going to get very easily could have eaten the babies and we never would have known.
We spent at least an hour that night fishing the babies out of the tank and getting them into the netted area. Just when we thought we were done, we would spot another one. And they can be pretty tough to catch when they don’t want to get caught. They like to hide between the rocks along the bottom. There were about 15 babies in all.
We’ve only lost six of the babies so far. And they’re getting big so fast. I don't know if the remaining fish will all live, but the whole "circle of life" thing taking place right in our living room was pretty neat to watch.
I'll keep you posted on how many survive.
Choose a tank... Choose your fish... Choose fake plastic plants with little green leaves...
Jen and I finally decided we were ready to open our hearts and our home to pets. We bought a fish tank about six weeks ago.
After waiting a week to let tank settle, we bought a pair of swordtails (one male, one female) on a Friday night. The males are yellow and silver. They're about two inches long with funny tails. The females are more orange and goldfish looking.
Swordtails are supposed to be fairly hardy. We figured they would be a good choice for our first fish. Unfortunately, we got off to a bit of a rough start. The female acted really weird all week (staying low, hiding behind things). The male started bouncing around and swimming into the walls of the aquarium. (I noticed the fish food we were using contained "fish meal". Had I given him mad fish disease? Gasp!)
The male was dead by Wednesday morning of the first week.
We’re we bad parents? Had we done something wrong? The temperature was fine. The chemistry readings all came back normal. I was beginning to lose hope. Maybe we had just gotten bad fish from the pet store.
Then, on the next Friday morning as I was feeding our one remaining fish, I noticed a few little floaty things near the rocks. Was that food floating around? Was it just a poo? I looked closer, and saw two little eyes looking back at me (was it a poo with eyes?). I also noticed that the adult female was suddenly a lot friskier.
I looked some more and I noticed 5 or 6 other pairs of little eyes. Baby fish. Cool.
As it turns out, the female was pregnant. Swordtails are "livebearers", so she may have come home from the pet store knocked up (and that helps explain the nutty behavior) (still not sure what was up with the male...).
Instead of going back to the pet store for replacement fish as we had originally planned, we bought some netting to seal off the babies from the dangerous areas of the tank. And it’s kinda funny... If I hadn’t spotted them that morning, the new fish we were going to get very easily could have eaten the babies and we never would have known.
We spent at least an hour that night fishing the babies out of the tank and getting them into the netted area. Just when we thought we were done, we would spot another one. And they can be pretty tough to catch when they don’t want to get caught. They like to hide between the rocks along the bottom. There were about 15 babies in all.
We’ve only lost six of the babies so far. And they’re getting big so fast. I don't know if the remaining fish will all live, but the whole "circle of life" thing taking place right in our living room was pretty neat to watch.
I'll keep you posted on how many survive.
Saturday April 24th, 2004: The Best Sports Saturday of My Life.
10:50 Saturday morning. The phone rings. It's my dad.
"What are you doing today?"
"Nothing major."
"You want to come watch the draft at Gillette?"
"Absolutely. I'll get there as soon as I can."
And like that, I was gone.
I got there as fast as I could (I may have actually exceeded the speed limit on the drive up). It was 11:58 by the time I parked my car (the draft starts at noon). But considering I had no advance warning, I think I did pretty well.
We were in the Fidelity Clubhouse area. Absolutely freakin' gorgeous. And they hand you three free drink tickets as you walk in the door (price of a beer without the ticket: $6.50).
There were actually a few thousand people there to eat, drink and cheer for players who might see the field five months from now. Cheerleaders walked around handing out signed pictures. It was quite the party.
The food was incredible. I was eating free beef and free swordfish and washing it down with free beer. Did I mention I wasn't paying for any of this?
And football. There was all kinds of football to talk about. Which teams needed what. Who was going to trade out. Was every team in the first round going to take a wide receiver?
Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crenel came out to talk to the crowd (and had to wait for the chants of "RO-ME-OH!" to die down before he could speak).
Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weiss came out and discussed why they made the pick they made in the first round.
Mr. Kraft showed up and thanked us for our support.
Is there anything quite like the NFL draft? Does anyone even care about the draft in other sports? I defy even the most die-hard Red Sox fan to name 2 picks from their last draft.
And there was also baseball to watch. The Sox beat the Yankees. Does it get any better than that? My only complaint is that the Red Sox game could have been on a few more TVs. There were only about 75 televisions in the room, and I had to get up and walk to check the score.
Considering the Patriots had the moving truck loaded up and pointed west a mere twelve years ago, it's amazing to see this much support and excitement in the off-season. The Patriots are the class of the league in the best-run league of all of professional sports.
10:50 Saturday morning. The phone rings. It's my dad.
"What are you doing today?"
"Nothing major."
"You want to come watch the draft at Gillette?"
"Absolutely. I'll get there as soon as I can."
And like that, I was gone.
I got there as fast as I could (I may have actually exceeded the speed limit on the drive up). It was 11:58 by the time I parked my car (the draft starts at noon). But considering I had no advance warning, I think I did pretty well.
We were in the Fidelity Clubhouse area. Absolutely freakin' gorgeous. And they hand you three free drink tickets as you walk in the door (price of a beer without the ticket: $6.50).
There were actually a few thousand people there to eat, drink and cheer for players who might see the field five months from now. Cheerleaders walked around handing out signed pictures. It was quite the party.
The food was incredible. I was eating free beef and free swordfish and washing it down with free beer. Did I mention I wasn't paying for any of this?
And football. There was all kinds of football to talk about. Which teams needed what. Who was going to trade out. Was every team in the first round going to take a wide receiver?
Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crenel came out to talk to the crowd (and had to wait for the chants of "RO-ME-OH!" to die down before he could speak).
Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weiss came out and discussed why they made the pick they made in the first round.
Mr. Kraft showed up and thanked us for our support.
Is there anything quite like the NFL draft? Does anyone even care about the draft in other sports? I defy even the most die-hard Red Sox fan to name 2 picks from their last draft.
And there was also baseball to watch. The Sox beat the Yankees. Does it get any better than that? My only complaint is that the Red Sox game could have been on a few more TVs. There were only about 75 televisions in the room, and I had to get up and walk to check the score.
Considering the Patriots had the moving truck loaded up and pointed west a mere twelve years ago, it's amazing to see this much support and excitement in the off-season. The Patriots are the class of the league in the best-run league of all of professional sports.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
April 28, 2004
Dear Governor Carcieri:
I am a 28-year-old professional living in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I have lived and worked in the Providence area for seven years.
I am very fond of this area, and would like to buy a house and start a family here someday. Unfortunately, housing costs in this area have become unreasonable. I am at the point where I may be forced to move to another state to realize my dream of owning a home. If enough people like me come to the same conclusion, it will handicap the Rhode Island workforce for years to come.
Please let me know what you intend to do about the shortage of affordable middle-class housing in this area.
Very truly yours,
Patrick J. Canole
Dear Governor Carcieri:
I am a 28-year-old professional living in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I have lived and worked in the Providence area for seven years.
I am very fond of this area, and would like to buy a house and start a family here someday. Unfortunately, housing costs in this area have become unreasonable. I am at the point where I may be forced to move to another state to realize my dream of owning a home. If enough people like me come to the same conclusion, it will handicap the Rhode Island workforce for years to come.
Please let me know what you intend to do about the shortage of affordable middle-class housing in this area.
Very truly yours,
Patrick J. Canole
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Remote Car Starter Guy
There's a guy in the next building over who loves his remote car starter.
He's probably in his late 50's or early 60's. I've only seen him 3 or 4 times. But I can pretty much guarantee that his Taurus is going to be running when I leave in the morning.
Sometimes, I'll go "pre-heat" my car on a really cold morning. I'm not above that. But I usually just start my car, go back into the house to brush my teeth, and get going. Remote starter guy lets his car run a good 20 - 30 minutes.
And not just on cold mornings. It was sixty degrees a few mornings this week and he was still letting his car warm up for 20 minutes (Dude... gas is two bucks a gallon right now...)
Will I be that nuts when I get older? I actually worry about these things.
Wackiness.
There's a guy in the next building over who loves his remote car starter.
He's probably in his late 50's or early 60's. I've only seen him 3 or 4 times. But I can pretty much guarantee that his Taurus is going to be running when I leave in the morning.
Sometimes, I'll go "pre-heat" my car on a really cold morning. I'm not above that. But I usually just start my car, go back into the house to brush my teeth, and get going. Remote starter guy lets his car run a good 20 - 30 minutes.
And not just on cold mornings. It was sixty degrees a few mornings this week and he was still letting his car warm up for 20 minutes (Dude... gas is two bucks a gallon right now...)
Will I be that nuts when I get older? I actually worry about these things.
Wackiness.
Monday, April 19, 2004
No Sugar Week (Part 1)
Candy. Cookies. Baked goods. These are my weaknesses. I’m ashamed to admit the percentage of my caloric intake that comes from sugary foods.
So I figured I’d try to go a week without just to see if I could do it. I still ate fruit (none of that Atkins crap for me... fiber is very important), but I'm going to try to go at least be a little smarter about what I eat and avoid processed sugar wherever possible. No soda. No cookies. No granola bars. No chocolate.
I will use my weight as a measuring stick... I’m not one of those people obsessed with what they weigh, but for our purposes here, it will serve as a measuring stick.
I wrote down everything I ate (I’m not going to repeat it all here... It gets very boring and repetitive...), but I also figured, if I’m going to suffer, I should at least get a few blog entries out of the process.
Day 1
171 pounds (I’m waaay down from where I’d like to be… I’ve lost a lot of muscle this winter).
I have raisin bran and orange juice for breakfast (which is a good amount of sugar right there, but I figure the fiber takes some of curse out of it).
I had a headache all afternoon. I miss my snacks.
Day 2
170 pounds.
I'm doing better this morning. Until somebody brings in donuts to work. Then my mouth starts watering thinking about donuts. I've got to stop thinking about donuts.
(I end up making it through the morning and not eating a donut).
I also discover Caffeine Free Diet Coke. There’s really not much left to Coke once you take out all the sugar and caffeine.
(stay tuned for Part 2...)
Candy. Cookies. Baked goods. These are my weaknesses. I’m ashamed to admit the percentage of my caloric intake that comes from sugary foods.
So I figured I’d try to go a week without just to see if I could do it. I still ate fruit (none of that Atkins crap for me... fiber is very important), but I'm going to try to go at least be a little smarter about what I eat and avoid processed sugar wherever possible. No soda. No cookies. No granola bars. No chocolate.
I will use my weight as a measuring stick... I’m not one of those people obsessed with what they weigh, but for our purposes here, it will serve as a measuring stick.
I wrote down everything I ate (I’m not going to repeat it all here... It gets very boring and repetitive...), but I also figured, if I’m going to suffer, I should at least get a few blog entries out of the process.
Day 1
171 pounds (I’m waaay down from where I’d like to be… I’ve lost a lot of muscle this winter).
I have raisin bran and orange juice for breakfast (which is a good amount of sugar right there, but I figure the fiber takes some of curse out of it).
I had a headache all afternoon. I miss my snacks.
Day 2
170 pounds.
I'm doing better this morning. Until somebody brings in donuts to work. Then my mouth starts watering thinking about donuts. I've got to stop thinking about donuts.
(I end up making it through the morning and not eating a donut).
I also discover Caffeine Free Diet Coke. There’s really not much left to Coke once you take out all the sugar and caffeine.
(stay tuned for Part 2...)
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
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