tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65785582008-10-18T14:06:09.208-05:00the peculiar thoughts and thrilling adventures (?) of a stay-at-home dadRusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comBlogger536125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-29518628441216907932008-08-02T22:28:00.003-05:002008-08-02T22:37:54.475-05:00

Art Monk and Darrell Green were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. So here's a little something in honor of a couple of great players, and 'Skins fans everywhere: Hail to the Redskins!!! Yes, I live in Texas now, but I still root for only two football teams... the Washington Redskins and whoever is playing against the Dallas Cowboys!!! ;-) Tags: Green; Monk; Redskins

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-17996379998373163222008-08-02T15:04:00.000-05:002008-08-02T15:46:21.420-05:00

Imagine this scene at an airport as you fly back from that blogging conference in the Bahamas: Man in Black with a Badge: "Excuse me , ma'am, but I need you to give me your laptop." US Citizen: "I'm sorry?" MIB: "It's a matter of Homeland Security. Pursuant to DHS regulations, we are detaining your laptop indefinitely. Also, after we look at your personal and business files, we may have to send

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-51216792825221079872008-08-01T13:16:00.001-05:002008-08-01T16:14:37.440-05:00

FYI - US Senate candidate Rick Noriega is holding a live, online townhall meeting this afternoon at 1:30pm CDT. Update: Well, looks like there were a few bugs in Noriega's first virtual townhall. Some of the comments in the chat were pretty funny though. He'll be in Austin next week - in person, not a virtual campaign stop. Filed Under: Political Yak Hat Tip: Postcards from the Lege (via

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-68611281680206940262008-08-01T11:25:00.004-05:002008-08-01T11:45:52.322-05:00

Hey, Harry Potter fans! I just noticed that J.K. Rowling's book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, is finally available for pre-order on Amazon! The book is a collection of fairy tales from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, complete with introductions and commentary on each by Professor Albus Dumbledore. Rowling is donating her proceeds to charity. Good stuff! Filed Under: Bookworm Yak Tags:

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-80841437010539528102008-07-31T16:33:00.001-05:002008-07-31T17:12:16.902-05:00

Anna Quindlen has an interesting column in next week's Newsweek magazine, entitled The Techie in Chief. She draws some historical references to President Abraham Lincoln's understanding and use of cutting-edge technology (specifically, the telegraph) during the Civil War. She throws in a comment form the National Security Agency following 9/11, that the US is "behind the curve in keeping up with

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-62012761377159914842008-07-31T15:14:00.003-05:002008-07-31T16:27:38.842-05:00

Scrabulous has been resurrected, sort of.... It's been redesigned (with a number of changes) and it's name has changed to Wordscraper, but it's back. If your not familiar with Scrabulous, it was an online application/game based on Scrabble that was wildly popular on the Facebook social networking site. The game was blocked on Facebook a couple days ago due to a lawsuit filed by Hasbro, which

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-10763736364331034432008-07-31T13:28:00.002-05:002008-07-31T13:34:55.818-05:00

Hey, I just found out that Harry Harrison is going to be name a Grand Master of Science Fiction this year! Cool! Filed Under: Geeky Yak Hat Tip: Whatever Tags: Harry Harrison; scifi; SFWA

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-42695791561296060212008-07-31T13:07:00.002-05:002008-07-31T13:26:12.447-05:00

I'm working at the computer in our game room. My wife is down the hall in our bedroom on her computer. We had this exchange a few minutes ago: DW: "I just got an expense report for an A-Team meeting, but I don't know whose it is." Me: "I pity the fool who loses his expense report." It's the little things in life that amuse me.... ;-) Filed Under: Geeky Yak Tags: A-Team

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-45910157154089193842008-07-31T11:34:00.002-05:002008-07-31T11:44:34.144-05:00

I haven't blogged much lately (in case you didn't notice), but I decided to take a peek at my stats just to see how pitiful they've become. Amazingly, Daily Yak still averages 12 hits a day. Lesson to new bloggers: this is what happens when you don't post regularly! Just for a kick I looked at my search engine referrals and the number one search term used to find this blog is - "space ships" Huh

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-92097357360905405812008-07-31T10:59:00.002-05:002008-07-31T11:11:53.135-05:00

Eh, probably not (at least, not yet). Still, Cuil is pretty cool. I like the layout of the search results (though they could put more on a page), and they get props for not tracking the search terms I use. This Netiquette column sums things up pretty well.... Filed Under: Geeky Yak Tags: Cuil; Google; Internet; search

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-26094262178353617402008-07-30T12:08:00.001-05:002008-07-31T11:53:38.900-05:00

I spent last weekend attending the Texas PTA Summer Leadership Conference at the Austin Convention Center. Nearly 4000 people attended, participating in hundreds of workshops on topics ranging from nutrition to PTA tax filings. I focused on a program presented by Strong Fathers for increasing dads' participation in schools. Some good stuff! Saturday evening I ended up getting a ride back to

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-42114406802404765372008-07-30T11:34:00.000-05:002008-07-31T11:50:12.388-05:00

Blogging hasn't been a priority lately (life happens), but as I glance through my recent stats I get this wistful feeling... thinking back to a year or two ago when Political Yak had a fair draw, for a local political site. It even rated as one of the top ten political blogs in Maryland. We've come a long way, baby.... Just not in the right direction, blogging-wise. Some people feel blogging

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-54453997933405442222008-06-30T22:33:00.002-05:002008-06-30T23:00:14.591-05:00

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo. A free, online film by Joss Whedon starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day....{insert silly geek grin here}Cool! Hat Tip: Wil Wheaton Tags: Dr Horrible; Felicia Day; Neil Patrick Harris; Nathan Fillion; Joss Whedon

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-19122154553785942702008-06-28T20:38:00.003-05:002008-06-28T21:16:54.713-05:00

Tags: DNC; beer; ethanol

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-20254607596828189722008-06-13T22:11:00.008-05:002008-06-15T00:14:12.737-05:00

A little Friday night funny.... Hat Tip: A Family Runs Through It Tags: dancing; Star Wars

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-51022661183282947932008-06-10T11:06:00.002-05:002008-06-10T11:10:05.812-05:00

"Scientists have located the exact center of the Internet." Hat Tip: Clicked Tags: Internet

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-40866862242385455892008-06-05T20:05:00.016-05:002008-06-07T09:06:25.272-05:00

Hah! Another reason I don't particularly care to swim in the ocean. Thanks, but I'll stick to my nice clean er... well, at least, jellyfish-free neighborhood swimming pool. Tags: big; jellyfish

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-38786905286656244372008-06-03T11:39:00.007-05:002008-06-04T13:20:06.041-05:00

I just saw an interesting article on extreme frugal living. I'm intrigued by those who manage to simplify their lives so much while still maintaining an acceptable standard of living, and... well... still being happy. I agree that rampant consumerism is a problem in our society. However, I still like the comforts my current lifestyle provides. Am I willing to change my shopping habits and

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-46141963467591902292008-06-02T23:27:00.001-05:002008-06-03T11:18:51.165-05:00

Last Friday was the kids last day of school. Did you here the roar of freedom as the last bell sounded? It conjured up memories of summers past when my brother, sister and I were finally out of school. We, or at least I, spent a lot of time planning adventures of various sorts - tree forts to build, treasures to seek, games to play and worlds to invent.... The planning and inventing was almost

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-73118317033769317602008-02-19T09:09:00.003-06:002008-02-19T09:26:54.371-06:00

John Scalzi, one of my favorite authors (and favorite bloggers) is auctioning off an extremely limited edition, signed, bound manuscript of his upcoming book, Zoe's Tale. Being the neat guy he is, he's donating all of the proceeds to the Disabled American Veteran’s Charitable Service Trust. It's up on eBay with a current bid (at least as I type this) of... $2,025.01!!! Unfortunately, that's

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-26417546133442936312008-02-18T23:49:00.002-06:002008-02-19T09:06:15.391-06:00

I'm sure that this means little to anybody outside of my family, but today is the seventh anniversary of my stay-at-home dadhood. Happy SAHDiversary to me!!! So, how'd I celebrate? Well, what better way than just doing my job! I took the kids to school, did some housework, took my wife to a doctor's appointment, picked the kids up, spent a couple hours running a Girl Scout cookie booth with my

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-83131070616879724072008-02-14T21:05:00.002-06:002008-02-14T21:51:34.660-06:00

Well, it's not quite how I imagined Bulgaria vs Ireland, but.... USA Today has more on the increasing popularity of muggle quidditch. Hat Tip: Clicked Tags: Harry Potter; quidditch

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-39004643922600801122008-02-12T13:32:00.000-06:002008-02-12T13:40:46.163-06:00

In case you aren't familiar with how fans, and over 40,000 pounds of nuts, saved Jericho from cancellation (as mentioned in my last post), check out this video: Tags: CBS; Jericho; nuts; tv

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-59363577578600869542008-02-12T12:46:00.000-06:002008-02-12T13:32:05.294-06:00

I have a date with my tv (and my wife) tonight.... Having been resurrected from cancellation by popular demand (and over 40,000 lbs of peanuts), Jericho returns this evening! Yeah!!! {insert happy geek dance} Hey, tired of reruns and reality tv? Check Jericho out tonight! CBS (10:00pm EST/PST and 9:00pm CST). And if you missed any of the first season, CBS has the full episodes up on their

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578558.post-24295202164264114582008-02-09T23:07:00.000-06:002008-02-10T01:32:21.099-06:00

Stephen Brust, of Jhereg fame, has written a bit of Firefly fanfic. The free download is available at his Dream Cafe. Hat Tip: Whatever Tags: Brust; fanfic; Firefly

Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10044790943646055697noreply@blogger.com