*Chirp* *Chirp* *Chirp*

NOT the sound of a sweetly singing spring time bird. This model lasts a LONG time, but you can't just unplug the battery when it expires. You have to snap off the plastic tag that deactivates it completely.

What's super awesome is that this is the second 10 year smoke alarm I've used up. I've been buying my own smoke alarms for two decades! Hooray for oldness!

What's a super bummer is that scary warning on the back; "CONTAINS RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL AMERICIUM 241 - 1.0 MICROCURIE".

So, it's earth day, and I'm not going to risk the wrath of my environmentally aware children by throwing radioactive waste out with the kitchen garbage. What am I supposed to do with this thing!?

What's super awesome is I'm friends at church with a health physicist; he collects household sources of radiation for fun to use in demonstrating his equipement.



So I'll be giving it to him, the world's landfills will be one microcurie lighter of a possible source of alpha radiation.

(And hey, if any of you readers have old orange or red Fiestaware ceramics . . . I'd be happy to take that vintage source of household radiation off of your hands)

I Want . . .

World peace.

A clean kitchen.

A houseful of people who also want a clean kitchen, so they will clean it whenever they go through the room.

My wife to do her housecleaning naked.

Better curtains for all of the windows.

A big flat panel TV.

Time to watch a TV.

Time to play computer games.

Better snow boots for me and the kids.

A really great job that I looked forward to every day that I could take the train to and from.

My kids to take school seriously, and find classes that they love.

People to just be a little nicer to each other.

My boiled eggs to peel without damaging the egg.

A new snow shovel.

More snow next year. Seriously. But only on Friday nights so its cleared by Monday morning.

George R. R. Martin to finish his Ice and Fire series before Brandon Sanderson has to do it for him.

A subscription to a Cable or Satellite provider that comes with a TiVo-branded DVR.

To lose more weight.

My children to all come home safe, every time.

To be a little more fearless.

Each of my kids to marry in the temple.

More chances to dance with my wife.

My cars to functions flawlessly.

I want everything. I know I can't have it all, so I either prioritize and focus on the things I want most, or dither, and get none of it.

I want to believe that I what I want most is world peace. But the fact is, my kitchen floor is mopped while the world has not achieved universal calm. I suppose my priorities are revealed in my deeds, not my wants.

Springtime Snowfall

This happens for a couple of days every Spring.Our neighbor across the alley has a pretty tree that blooms with pink and white flowers. When the the petals fall off, they make drifts all over the nieghborhood, like little piles of fluffy snowflakes.I've never tried to make a snowball out of one. This year, it rained, so I might have been able to make a slushy one.These pictures will have to tide me over until next winter's real snow comes again.

7670 Days!

That's how long I've been married. It looks like a big number. It's close to 1/3 of an average lifespan. But having lived those 21 years myself, it doesn't seem like it's been that long.

I love playing games with time. I married young, something I account as one of my great fortunes. Later this year (in 114 days, Wednesday August 11th to be precise), I will pass a delightful point. On that date, I will have been married for exactly 1/2 of my life. Past that point, the balance will forever tip in the direction of my marriage.

For me, that's not just a cute image. Marriage is the fulcrum at which eternity balances. It is within the confines of my marraige that my worth as a man, as a son of God, is determined.There is nothing I want with greater fervor and intensity, than to do right by my marriage covenants.

I love you Jennilyn. Happy Anniversary

Movie Word of the Day - Elegiac

You see this word used all the time to describe certain kinds of movies. (Click the link to open a search of the "Rotten Tomatoes" web-site for reviews with the word in them; more than 200!)

"Grand Torino"
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Terrence Malick's version of "The Thin Red Line"

What does it mean? The first time I ever saw it used was to describe the score from the movie "Platoon". So I figured it just meant "classical-sounding", or possibly "the juxtaposing of something peaceful and something violent). But I didn't have access to the internet back then.

"Elegiac" is the adjective form of the word "elegy", which is the sermon offered at a funeral or a poem mourning the dead. So elegiac movies are not necessarily (though they often are) concerning the death(s) of the main character(s), but they are necessarily somber in tone. They almost always look backward, lamenting the passing of something (an age, youth, peace, etc.)

So the next time you see that word used, feel smart. You know what it really means.

Depth of Inventory

One of the roles I've sort of slipped into is the inventory manager of our home. I usually stop and shop while Max is at Boychoir, so I am usually the one who knows how much food we have on hand. What meat is in the freezer. Where the eggs are that we bought 2 months ago so we can boil them (because old eggs, when boiled, peel like a frozen Hershey's Kiss).

I note how certain types of cereal move in and out of popularity. There was a run on the Honeynut Cheerios for a few weeks, but now no one is eating them. Was a time that our youngest went through a box of cinnamon toasty squares every few days, but now she just makes regular out-of-bread toast.

I've realized I keep inventory of more than just food. A few weeks ago, our microwave stopped working abruptly. Have you ever looked at having your microwave fixed? Ludicrous! But luckily, I had a spare in the garage. I actually have two spares in the garage. One is our nice microwave that we brought here when we moved, but one of the kids broke the glass turntable. We've been making do with the built-in the last two years. Until the aforementioned abruptness. So I've been watching freecycle, jumping on every old microwave, hoping to find a matching piece of glass. No luck so far, but did luck into the second spare.

We have a spare washing machine. It's older than the one we use. We had a second spare washing machine, but some friends had their's break, so Jenni gave it away. We were glad to share our bounty of spares.

Spare TV (now; when our TV broke at Christmas, we got two replacements).

We used to have two or three spare beds, but we've been slowly giving those away. Now, we have half a dozen extra headboards, but those are an art project, so we just find a space to store them.

Where does inventory, storage, spares stop, and junk start? Where does it become clutter?

Surely if it gets in the way, that's one indicator of clutter.

If the cost (in terms of labor, space, effort, especially time) of keeping it is greater than the cost of replacing it, that's a big clue. It took me exactly one week to replace our TV. So that makes me think it's dumb to keep another one around as a spare.

The washing machine, though, that took two months to find. And if ours dies, we would be at a crisis situation (have you ever run completely out of underpants? That's a crisis, I don't care how old you are!) in less than seven days.

I have things I have never used. A working dehumidifier, unused in 8 years. A power washer, given to me by my Dad the last time he got a new one. I've had it so long, his new one is now getting thrown away, and he may take back his/my old one. Never used.

Old lumber. I tell myself I'm saving it for the backyard campfire pit. We have two, maybe three fires a year. I think I have enough wood right now for at least 7 fires. Yeah, some of it needs to go.

I finally got rid of part of my collection of old computer monitors. It's a pain to have a monitor go bad, but I realized the inventory was too deep when I had enough to replace every unit in the house. Twice. The last time I had a monitor go bad was 9 years ago. I think I could get rid of all but one and be safe.

Stuff is comforting when you need it. But stressful when it's in your way. Doubly stressful when it is in the way of other people. How awful is it to go and look for something you stored, but someone else moved it? Used it? Threw it out years ago, why on earth did you think it was still in the house?

Today, I think I'm going to get rid of that extra TV. Some of that wood. One or two more of those old monitors. Take the power washer over to Dad's.

Job Hunt update

I'm still looking! Some days, it's hard to look. Easier to surrender to the daily burden of chores, kids' appointments. There is always one more basket of laundry to put away.

The interview some of you heard about a few weeks ago for the moving company went well, but they've given the job to someone else. I had a great phone conversation with a former executive from my working-for-Maryland days, wherein he expressed delight at being a reference. There are some upcoming job openings in local government that I hope to drop his name.

I am working part-time pulling documents from the Baltimore County Circuit Court. Maybe I will blog a little about some of the more interesting cases. They are the original filings that subsequently go to Maryland's Courts of Appeal; lawyers often like to see the info and memos which are the basis for the appellate rulings. The income has been enough to disqualify me for unemployment, which is notable, in a faint-praise way. Yay me.

Called back to work the census starting in May. Jennilyn predicts I will be doing quality control follow-up of NARFU (Non Response Follow-up) canvassing.

Life continues. I stand by the statement I've made many times over the past few months. Given the dreadful cost of life's infinite variety of hardships, I would rather my life's stress be losing my job, than any of the other major disasters people face.

We are healthy. Grateful for our friends prayers and well-wishes.