Author Archives: David Crampton

I have much to say.

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I’m updating from a new/refurbished laptop that has come my way thanks to the amazing . My wife. *sighs happily* I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to deal with the moon-eyes. They’re going to be around for a while.

I hesitate to call the machine reliable, lest it suddenly become not. Yes, it’s running Vista (Home Premium), but I’m not complaining too much. It is after the SP1 threshhold, after all. Also, it’s a Dell, who happens to also sell machines with Linux pre-installed. So, both wallet and conscience were served.

For Yule, got me a Philips GoGear mp3 player. It’s a spiffy little 2GB player that doesn’t try to be what it’s not. It’s simply a spiffy little 2GB mp3 player (along with other formats). And then, um, I lost it. Dropped it in the snow while moving Aidan’s car seat from one car to another at the crack of dawn. Well, yesterday, the snow began to melt. Hardcore. I looked a few times, but didn’t see it. I’d made myself pretty bummed about the whole deal, since it was a gift. Then, yesterday, lo and behold, Hunter to the rescue…

“Skippy! Your mp3 player! I found it!” We were on our way to Howell to pick up ‘s hopefully-fixed car. I ran over to him, raised my arms to the sky, and yelled “YES!” at the top of my lungs. I picked him up and spun him around, which made him giggle madly. Later, he kept asking why I’d spun him around, not quite grokking the response of “I was -that- happy, man.” I’m just thrilled that he saw that squareish black rubber holster on the side of our driveway.

After waiting a few hours for it to dry, I gave it a shot. My Philips GoGear survived being lost in the snow, shoveled into a snowbank, being melted on, and then being dried out. It works flawlessly. It’s one hardy piece of tech.

Good gift. :)

Catching up.

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I realize that I have some catching up to do. Nevertheless, I’d like to quote something from my regular blog:

“At 10:30 AM today, I will be getting married to Nikki. We’re Justice of the Peace’ing it, and will have our big ceremony/party in September. But today… today I make the pledge, I say the words, and I give the oath.

If you’re feeling like it, go ahead and smile for me today. I will be.”

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Pidgeon-toed

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Turns out that after having a bad control arm bushing (which started the wacky tread wear) and going months without an alignment (which continued the wacky tread wear, not to mention the car vibration at 65 mph and up), caused the metal bits in the tire to start poking through.

But only in some places.

So, off I go to get an alignment (finally) and a rotation. really should have had my hide for as long as I’ve waited. Anyway, it should be obvious that a pidgeon-toed car gets crappy gas mileage and is not happy. So, Spartan Tire recommends four new tires, but I put it off, because I don’t have the money right then. They align and rotate and my car is happier than it’s been in a looooong time. At about 70, my rear end starts to vibrate a bit, thanks to that wacky wear pattern on the one tire, but I’m riding high because the steering wheel is stable.

At this point, decided to quote . “This won’t do.” So, for an early Nikki Love Day (don’t you dare call it Valentine’s Day), she bought me four new tires.

I should have had these earlier. Even a Sunfire can handle the snow with four new tires. I look back on the wintery events that I’ve missed and curse my lack of car knowledge. Ah, well. Live and learn. In the end, I and my passengers are safer, and that’s good.

Ice Age, Cars, and The Prophecy

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When a two year old loves a movie, it gets watched. A lot. Over and over. As a consequence, I can quote a great deal of Ice Age. I have to say that my opinion has risen, as well. The Tae Kwon Dodos crack me up every time. Zeke the sabertoothed tiger steals the show from the other sabers, and the non-speaking humans (Neanderthals?) show an amazing amount of heart. “Hey, Lord of the Flame, your tail’s on fire.” Four stars out of five.

Another of Aidan’s favorites. I had mostly dismissed these CGI movies out of hand, like most kids’ movies. This one had character development, plot progression, and I actually cared about what was going on. Of course, I’ve seen this one about a trillion and one times, as well. “This might be a bad time, but you owe me thirty-four thousand dollars in legal fees. Uh-huh.” Heh. Four stars out of five.

This one has nothing to do with Aidan. No, really. I think I saw this one for the first time back when I was seventeen and working for Blockbuster. My memory of it was hazy, but I had a favorable impression of it. So, I added -all- of the Prophecy movies to my queue. Overkill? Perhaps. But that’s how I do things. :) Anyway, this one was as good as I remembered it, if not better. Christopher Walken as Gabriel, constantly referring to humans as “talking monkeys”, and needing them for “talking monkey things”. It was dated, sure, and setup was sacrificed for pace, but that didn’t seem to detract from my ability to suspend disbelief. Five stars out of five.

GoodReads Book Review

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The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene

My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was loaned to me in an effort to better understand my soon-to-be stepson and to understand myself. I was extremely cynical about the methods proposed in this book, but the author raised the same issues, and addressed them with respect and without sarcasm or dismissal. Definitely worth the read. I might suggest an addition to the already long title: “and Parents”

View all my reviews.